Jin Yong revised the novel in 1979 with a number of amendments and additions. A second revision was published in early 2005,incorporating later thoughts and a lengthier conclusion. It also introduced many changes to the plot and cleared up some ambiguities in the second edition,such as the origin of the Nine Yang Manual. As typical of some of his other novels,Jin Yong included elements of Chinese history in the story,such as featuring historical figures like Hongwu Emperor,Chen Youliang,Chang Yuchun and Zhang Sanfeng. The political and ethnic clash between the Han Chineserebels and the ruling Mongols is also a prominent theme in the novel.
Plot
Set in China towards the end of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (c. mid 14th century),the story revolves around a pair of highly coveted and allegedly unrivalled weapons,the Heaven-Reliant Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber. According to a widely circulated mantra,either or both of them are thought to allow their wielder to rule the wulin (martial artists' community),which is divided into an "orthodox" side comprising schools such as Wudang and Shaolin,and an "evil" side represented by the Ming Cult,which is also unflatteringly called the "Demonic Cult". At the start of the novel,the Heaven-Reliant Sword is in the possession of Abbess Miejue,the leader of the "orthodox" Emei School,while the Dragon-Slaying Saber is seized by "Golden-Haired Lion King" Xie Xun,a senior member of the Ming Cult.
The protagonist,Zhang Wuji,has a mixed background:his father,Zhang Cuishan,is an apprentice of Zhang Sanfeng,the highly revered founder of the Wudang School;his mother,Yin Susu,is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng,the chief of the Heavenly Eagle Cult which is affiliated to the Ming Cult. He was born on a reclusive volcanic island,where he spent his childhood with only his parents and his godfather,Xie Xun. When Zhang Wuji was about 10 years old,his parents brought him back to the mainland;Xie Xun remained on the island. After their return,the Zhang family soon find themselves the target of many wulin figures seeking the whereabouts of Xie Xun and the Dragon-Slaying Saber. Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu refuse to reveal Xie Xun's location and ultimately commit suicide when they are cornered,leaving behind Zhang Wuji as an orphan.
Zhang Wuji,who had been kidnapped and injured earlier,roams the land in search of a cure. By chance,he wanders into an isolated valley,where he discovers the long-lost Nine Yang Manual and uses the inner energy skills described in the manual to heal himself and become a formidable martial artist. Through a series of serendipitous events,he also learns the Ming Cult's most powerful skill,"Heaven and Earth Great Shift". He gets involved in the conflict between the Ming Cult and the six major "orthodox" schools,which are bent on destroying the cult,and helps both sides resolve their past misunderstandings and make peace with each other. The cult members are grateful to Zhang Wuji and insist that he takes up the cult's leadership position,which has been vacant for years. After becoming the Ming Cult's leader,Zhang Wuji reforms the cult and becomes a key figure in leading the wulin and rebel forces to overthrow the Yuan dynasty.
Throughout his adventures,Zhang Wuji finds himself entangled in a complex web of love relationships with four maidens. The first,Zhu'er,is a horribly disfigured girl who is actually his maternal cousin. The second,Xiaozhao,is a Chinese-Persian servant girl who understands him very well. Xiaozhao has to leave China after learning that she is destined to return to Persia to lead the Persian Ming Cult.
The third maiden,Zhou Zhiruo,is Zhang Wuji's childhood friend. She falls in love with him,but has to turn against him as she is bound by an oath she made to her martial arts master,Abbess Miejue,who hates and distrusts Zhang Wuji and anyone related to the Ming Cult. Miejue devises a vicious scheme for Zhou Zhiruo to seize the two weapons by exploiting Zhang Wuji's love for her apprentice. Zhou Zhiruo also turns vicious after Zhang Wuji reneges his promise to marry her and swears vengeance on him.
The fourth maiden,Zhao Min,is a Mongol princess and Zhang Wuji's former arch-rival. Although Zhao Min and Zhang Wuji are initially on opposing sides,Zhao Min gradually falls in love with Zhang Wuji after their various encounters and eventually turns against her fellow Mongols to help him.
At the end of the novel,Zhang Wuji decides to retire from the wulin after he mistakenly believes that the Ming Cult's members are plotting to betray him. He decides that Zhao Min is his true love and they leave to lead a reclusive life far away from society. The second edition of the novel has an ambiguous ending about Zhang Wuji's relationship with Zhou Zhiruo. Zhang Wuji gave up an opportunity to become a ruler when the Ming Cult is on the verge of overthrowing the Yuan dynasty. Ideally,Zhang Wuji would have become the new emperor. However,his subordinate Zhu Yuanzhang seizes control of the Ming Cult and unites most of China's rebel forces under his leadership. After capturing Nanjing,Zhu Yuanzhang becomes the new emperor and establishes the Ming dynasty.
In 2005,Jin Yong published a third edition of the novel,which has a slightly different ending from the earlier versions. In this edition,Zhang Wuji feels disillusioned after failing to save a general's life and addressing Han Lin'er's death. He relinquishes his leadership of the Ming Cult to his deputies,Yang Xiao and Fan Yao,and then leaves the Central Plain with Zhao Min.[3]
The two weapons
The origins
The two titular weapons,the Heaven Reliant Sword (倚天劍) and the Dragon Slaying Saber (屠龍刀),were forged from the Heavy Iron Sword,which Yang Guo wielded in The Return of the Condor Heroes.
The Heavy Iron Sword belonged to Dugu Qiubai,a great swordsman whose skills were unmatched in his time. Yang Guo chanced upon the Heavy Iron Sword while he was recovering from the Love Flower's poison and the loss of his right arm. When Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü departed Xiangyang,they left the sword with the couple Guo Jing and Huang Rong. The sword was melted and special steel material was added and it was then forged into the two weapons.
In the third edition of the novel,the Heaven Sword was forged from Yang Guo's Gentleman Sword and Xiaolongnü's Lady Sword while the Dragon Saber's origin remained unchanged.
Hidden in the blade of the Dragon Saber is the military treatise Book of Wumu by the Song dynasty general Yue Fei. Similarly, concealed in the blade of the Heaven Sword are two scrolls detailing the Nine Yin Manual and Guo Jing's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.
The Dragon Saber was given to Guo Jing and Huang Rong's son Guo Polu, while their younger daughter Guo Xiang inherited the Heaven Sword.
The content of the hidden book and scrolls, in addition to the fact that the weapons can only be damaged and broken when used against each other, was the source of the claim that whoever possesses the Dragon Saber will rule the world and yet only the one who possesses the Heaven Sword can stand against the wielder of the Saber.
The secret of the weapons was passed down only from the leader of each generation of the Emei School to her successor. Miejue is succeeded by Zhou Zhiruo and the secret is passed on to the latter. In the novel, Zhou Zhiruo gains possession of both weapons through her cunning and deception and she breaks them to obtain their contents.
In the latest revision, two halves of an iron-plated map are hidden in the weapons instead of manuals. Once pieced together, the map points out the location of Peach Blossom Island, where the manuals are hidden. Jin Yong reasoned that the change was due to a possibility that the dissection of the weapons will cause the manuals to be burnt, hence two pieces of an iron-plated map would be better substitutes.[4]
Analogy
In Chinese culture, the Dragon is a symbol of the emperor or sovereign ruler. The full translated name of the Dragon Saber is "Dragon Slaying Saber", which implies that it is used to "slay the emperor". In this case, the "emperor" refers to Emperor Huizong of the Yuan dynasty.
Throughout Chinese history, several monarchs have become tyrants, just like when the mythical Dragon goes out of control and becomes a menace. The Heaven Sword's full translated name is "Heaven Reliant Sword" as it embodies Heaven. In Chinese culture, the emperor is respectfully called the "Son of Heaven", which implies that Heaven is the ultimate authority in determining who will be the ruler of China.
It can thus be interpreted as such: The secret in the Dragon Slaying Saber can be used to "kill" (dethrone) the (Mongol) emperor and replace him with another (Han Chinese) ruler. Ideally, a brilliant military leader can use the Book of Wumu to its full potential by staging a rebellion to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule. However, if the new emperor turns out to be an incompetent monarch or a tyrant, a martial artist can master the skills from the manuals in the Heaven Reliant Sword, assassinate the emperor and replace him with a wise and benevolent ruler.[citation needed]
The story was adapted into a manhua series, illustrated by Ma Wing-shing and Jin Yong credited as the writer. In 2002, ComicsOne published an English translation of the manhua as Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre. While the plot details remain intact, some of the story's events were not presented in the same order as in the novel.
Video games
In 2000, Softworld released a RPG based on the novel. The game ends after the battle at Bright Peak.
In 2004, Softworld released another RPG. Instead of the traditional turn-based RPG, this version has a real-time battle system (similar to Diablo), and follows the entire story.
Related Research Articles
The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong. It is the first part of the Condor Trilogy and is followed by The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. It was first serialised between 1 January 1957 and 19 May 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Jin Yong revised the novel twice, first in the 1970s and later in the 2000s. The English title is imprecise since neither species of the condor, the Andean condor and Californian condor, is native to China.
Guo Jing is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. He also appears as a supporting character in the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, and is mentioned by name in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. He is a descendant of Guo Sheng, one of the 108 outlaws from Mount Liang in the classical novel Water Margin. Guo Jing and Yang Kang were both named by Qiu Chuji, who urges them to remember the Jingkang Incident and be loyal towards their native land, the Song Empire. Guo Jing is killed during the Battle of Xiangyang along with the rest of his family except his younger daughter, Guo Xiang.
Zhang Wuji is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong.
The Jiuyin Zhenjing, also known as the Nine Yin Manual, is a fictional martial arts manual in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy.
The Ming Cult is a fictional cult and martial arts school featured in the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong, first published in serial form from 1961 to 1963. It is also briefly mentioned in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, another novel also by Jin Yong. It is loosely based on Manichaeism, an actual gnostic religion which originated in Persia in the 3rd century CE and later spread to other parts of the world, including China. The cult's headquarters is at Bright Peak in the Kunlun Mountains and it has several other bases spread throughout China. Its most powerful skills are the "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" and the "Martial Arts of the Holy Flame Tablets".
The Condor Trilogy (射鵰三部曲) is a series of three wuxia novels written by Hong Kong-based Chinese writer Jin Yong. The series is amongst the most popular of Jin Yong's works.
The Jiuyang Zhenjing, also known as the Nine Yang Manual, is a fictional martial arts manual in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy. It was first introduced briefly at the end of the second novel The Return of the Condor Heroes. It plays a significant role in the third novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber after Zhang Wuji discovers it and masters the skills in the book.
Zhao Min (趙敏), birth name Minmin Temür (敏敏特穆爾), formally Commanderial Princess Shaomin (紹敏郡主), is one of the two female lead characters in the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong. Jin Yong describes her appearance as "naturally elegant, with a bright countenance".
Zhou Zhiruo is one of the two female lead characters in the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong. Jin Yong describes Zhou Zhiruo's physical appearance as "beautiful, pure and free of worldly traits".
The Emei School is a fictional martial arts school mentioned in several works of wuxia fiction. It is commonly featured as one of the leading orthodox schools in the jianghu. It is named after the place where it is based, Mount Emei.
The Kongtong School is a martial arts school mentioned in several works of wuxia fiction. It is commonly featured as a leading orthodox school in the jianghu. It is named after the place where it is based, the Kongtong Mountains.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is a Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. It is a final instalment of a television trilogy produced by Zhang Jizhong, preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003) and The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006). Unlike the previous adaptations, this remake is the first to be primarily based on the third edition of the novel. The series was first broadcast on Wenzhou TV in China in October 2009.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is a television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast in Taiwan on CTS from December 2002 to February 2003.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, also known as The Legend of Dragon Slayer Sword, is a Taiwanese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on TTV in Taiwan in 1994. In this adaptation, the plot of the story is procrastinating, but the overall story is more complete, and the feelings of the play is more delicate and touching than other versions. It also corrected many unreasonable parts of the original story, and the ending of the plot is more in line with the plot of the original serial story.
Kung Fu Cult Master is a 1993 Hong Kong wuxia film adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Directed by Wong Jing, it featured fight choreography by Sammo Hung and starred Jet Li, Sharla Cheung, Chingmy Yau, and Gigi Lai in the lead roles.
Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, also known as Chivalrous Killer, is a two-part 1978 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
The Hidden Power of the Dragon Sabre is a 1984 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chor Yuen and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. The film is a spinoff of Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre is a 2019 Chinese wuxia television series adapted from the novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong. Originally published in newspapers from 1961 to 1963, the story has been revised twice; once in 1979 and the second in 2005. This remake is primarily based on the third edition of the novel and also being promoted as a rework to the 1994 adaptation. The series is the first adaptation to be released as a web series and was first broadcast on Tencent in China on February 27, 2019.
New Kung Fu Cult Master 2 is a 2022 Hong Kong-Chinese wuxia film directed by Wong Jing and Keung Kwok-man adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. The film stars Louis Koo, Donnie Yen, Raymond Lam, Janice Man, Yun Qianqian, and Sabrina Qiu. It is the sequel to New Kung Fu Cult Master 1.
References
↑ Wu, Dingbo; Murphy, Patrick D., eds. (1994). "Gallant Fiction". Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. p.248.
↑ The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan (武俠小說逍遙談), 2000, Huizhi Publishing Company (匯智出版有限公司), p. 57.
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