The Book and the Sword
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| The Book and the Sword | |
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Cover of the English translation of "The Book and the Sword" published by the Oxford University Press in 2005. |
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| Author(s) | Jin Yong |
| Translator | Graham Earnshaw |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre(s) | Wuxia |
| Publisher | The New Evening Post, Oxford University Press |
| Publication date | 8th February 1955 |
| Published in English |
2005 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0195907278 |
| The Book and the Sword | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 書劍恩仇錄 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 书剑恩仇录 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Chronicles of the Book and the Sword: Gratitude and Vengeance | ||||||||||
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The Book and the Sword is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in Hong Kong between February 8, 1955 and September 5, 1956[1] in The New Evening Post.
Set in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the novel details the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret organisation that aims to overthrow the government, and their entanglements with an Islamic tribe in northwestern China. The "book" in the title refers to a Quran that was stolen from the tribe while the "sword" refers to a sword given to the protagonist Chen Jialuo by his first romantic interest Huoqingtong. Historical characters such as the Qianlong Emperor, Zhaohui (兆惠), Heshen, Zheng Xie and Fukang'an are also mentioned in the novel. One of the female protagonists, Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor's Fragrant Concubine.
This novel was Jin Yong's debut, and it quickly established him as one of the new masters of the wuxia genre.[citation needed] Alternate English titles of the novel are Book and Sword: Gratitude and Revenge and The Romance of the Book and Sword.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The Red Flower Society is a secret society that aims to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule in China. The society is led by a total of fifteen leaders with Chen Jialuo as chief. The fourth leader Wen Tailai is ambushed by a group of soldiers and arrested on the Qianlong Emperor's order because he knows a secret about Qianlong's birth and the emperor wants to silence him.
The story's development is mostly based on the society's repeated attempts to rescue Wen Tailai. The heroes encounter some Islamic tribesmen, who are pursuing a convoy of hired escorts, who have robbed them of their holy artefact, a Quran. Chen Jialuo aids them in defeating the mercenaries and recovers the holy book. He earns the respect and admiration of Huoqingtong, the daughter of the tribe's leader. Throughout the story, some of the heroes eventually find their rights after braving danger together. The couples Xu Tianhong and Zhou Qi, Yu Yutong and Li Yuanzhi, are married after two lengthy subplots.
Chen Jialuo and the heroes follow the trail of the convoy escorting Wen Tailai and arrive in Hangzhou. There, Chen Jialuo coincidentally meets the Qianlong Emperor, who is disguised as a rich man, and they strike up a friendship. However later when they discover each others' true identities, they become wary and suspicious. Qianlong's best warriors are defeated by the society's leaders in a martial arts contest and the emperor feels humiliated. He wants to summon his army to eradicate the society, but refrains from doing so as he is aware of their strong influence and connections in Hangzhou.
When Chen Jialuo finally rescues Wen Tailai, he is shocked to learn that the Qianlong Emperor is not a Manchu, but in fact, a Han Chinese. Even more shockingly, Wen reveals that Qianlong is actually Chen's older brother, who was replaced at birth with the Yongzheng Emperor's daughter. Chen Jialuo and the heroes take Qianlong hostage and try to persuade him to acknowledge his ethnicity. They suggest that he use his authority to drive the Manchus out of the Central Plains and assure him that he will still remain as emperor after that. Qianlong reluctantly agrees and takes an oath of alliance with the heroes.
At the same time, the Qing army invades northwestern China, where the Islamic tribe lives, and Chen Jialuo travels there to help his friends. He meets Huoqingtong again and her younger sister, Kasili (Princess Fragrance). Chen falls in love with Kasili and finds himself entangled in a love triangle, because Huoqingtong also has romantic feelings for him. The Islamic tribe is eventually annihilated by the Qing army and Kasili is captured and brought back to the capital Beijing.
The Qianlong Emperor is attracted to Kasili's beauty and tries to force her to become his concubine but she refuses. Chen Jialuo infiltrates the palace to meet Qianlong and remind him about their pact, whilst affirming that he will persuade Kasili to marry the emperor. Kasili later discovers that Qianlong has broken his promise and is secretly plotting to destroy the Red Flower Society, so she commits suicide to warn Chen. The society's members are angry with the emperor for renouncing his oath and they storm the palace. Qianlong is defeated and forced to come to a truce with the heroes. Chen Jialuo and his friends then return to the western regions after paying respects at Kasili's tomb.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Adaptions
[edit] Films
| Year | Production | Cast | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Emei Film Company (Hong Kong) |
Cheung Ying, Tsi Law-lin, Yung Siu-yee | See The Book and the Sword (1960 film) |
| 1981 | Shaw Brothers Studio (Hong Kong) | Ti Lung, Jason Pai | See Emperor and His Brother |
| 1987 | Hong Kong | Zhang Duofu, Chang Dashi, Liu Jia, Aiyinuo | See The Romance of Book and Sword and Princess Fragrance (film). |
[edit] Television
| Year | Production | Cast | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | TVB (Hong Kong) | Adam Cheng, Liza Wang, Candice Yu | See The Legend of the Book and the Sword (1976 TV series) |
| 1984 | TTV (Taiwan) | Yu Tien-lung, Sam-sam, Yang Liyin | See Book and Sword Chronicles |
| 1987 | TVB (Hong Kong) | Pang Man-kin, Jacqueline Law, Fiona Leung, Simon Yam | See The Legend of the Book and the Sword (1987 TV series) |
| 1992 | CTS (Taiwan) | Kenny Ho, Shen Meng-sheng, Leanne Liu, Fu Chuan | See The Book and the Sword (CTS) |
| 1994 | CCTV (Mainland China) | Huang Haibing, Wang Weiguo, Wang Jinghua, Yang Yanuo | See The Book and the Sword (1994 TV series) |
| 2002 | (Various countries) | Vincent Zhao, Aaron Chen, Esther Kwan, Rachel Ngan | See Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge |
| 2008 | Mainland China | Adam Cheng, Liu Dekai, Qiao Zhenyu, Niki Chow, Liu Ying | See The Book and the Sword (2008 TV series) |
[edit] Radio
In 1999 Hong Kong's RTHK produced a 32 episodes radio drama based on the novel, voiced by Tse Kwan-ho, Gigi Leung, Chow Kwok-fung and Jacqueline Pang.
[edit] References
- ^ The date conform to the data published in 陳鎮輝,《武俠小說逍遙談》, 2000, 匯智出版有限公司, pg. 56.
[edit] External links
- (Chinese) The Book and the Sword on Baidu Baike
- The novel at sokamonline.com
- English translation of the novel at Wuxiapedia
- Partial English translation of the novel at earnshaw.com
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