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| The Book and the Sword | |
Cover of the English translation of "The Book and the Sword" published by the Oxford University Press in 2005. |
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| Author | Jin Yong |
|---|---|
| Original title | 書劍恩仇錄 |
| Translator | Graham Earnshaw, John Minford, Rachel May |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre(s) | Wuxia |
| Publisher | The New Evening Post, Oxford University Press |
| Publication date | 8th February 1995 |
| Published in English |
2005 |
The Book and the Sword (traditional Chinese: 書劍恩仇錄; simplified Chinese: 书剑恩仇录; pinyin: Shū Jiàn Ēn Chóu Lù; Jyutping: Syu1 Gim3 Jan1 Sau4 Luk6; literally, "The Book and the Sword: Gratitude and Vengeance") is the first Wuxia novel by Louis Cha, who is better known as Jin Yong. It was first published on February 8, 1955 in The New Evening Post and ran for about one year.
Set in early Qing China during the rule of the Qianlong Emperor, The Book and the Sword details the quest of the Red Flower Society, an organisation aiming to overthrow the ruling Manchurian government, and their entanglements with an Islamic Uyghur tribe--the book in the title refers to a Qu'ran stolen from this tribe. Historical characters such as the Qianlong Emperor, Zhaohui (兆惠), Heshen, Zheng Xie and Fu Kang'an were also mentioned in the novel. Even one of the main female protagonists, Princess Fragrance, was also loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor’s Fragrant Concubine.
The debut novel quickly established Jin Yong as one of the new masters of the genre. He would go on to write thirteen more novels.
Alternate English titles of the novel are Book and Sword: Gratitude and Revenge and The Romance of the Book and Sword.
Contents |
Plot summary
The novel’s historical background is based in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (乾隆皇帝). The Red Flower Society (紅花會) was an anti-Manchu secret society which aimed to overthrow the ruling Qing government and restore Han Chinese rule in China. The society was led by a total of 15 leaders with Helmsman Chen Jialuo (陳家洛) as its primary leader. Wen Tailai (文泰來), the fourth leader of the society, was arrested by Qing soldiers on the Emperor's orders. It was later revealed that Wen held the key to a secret behind the true ethnicity of the Qianlong Emperor and his arrest was an attempt to silence him.
The plot's development is mostly based on the society's repeated attempts to rescue Wen Tailai. The heroes encountered some tribesmen from a Hui Uyghur tribe who were pursuing an escort convoy which had robbed them of their holy artefact, a Qu'ran (可蘭經). Chen Jialuo aided them in defeating the convoy and recovered the holy book. He won the respect of Huo Qingtong (霍青桐), the daughter of the tribe’s leader. She had also fallen in love with him. Throughout the story, some of the heroes eventually found their rights after going through thick and thin together. The couples Xu Tianhong (徐天宏) and Zhou Qi (周綺), Yu Yutong (余魚同) and Li Yuanzhi (李沅芷), were eventually married.
Chen Jialuo and the heroes followed the trail of the convoy escorting Wen Tailai back to the capital city and reached Hangzhou (杭州). In Hangzhou, Chen Jialuo met the Qianlong Emperor, who was in disguise, by coincidence and they struck up a friendship. However, later when the duo recognised each other, they became wary and suspicious of each other. Qianlong's men were defeated by the Society's heroes in a martial arts contest and Qianlong felt humiliated. He wanted to summon his army to eradicate the society, but refrained from doing so as he was aware of the society's influence in Hangzhou.
When Chen Jialuo finally managed to rescue Wen Tailai, he was shocked to hear that the Qianlong Emperor was not a Manchu at all, but a Han Chinese. Even more shockingly, Wen revealed that the Qianlong Emperor was actually Chen Jialuo's elder brother. Chen Jialuo and the heroes took the Qianlong Emperor hostage and tried to persuade him to acknowledge his ethnicity. They suggested that he employ his power to drive the Manchurians out of the Central Plains and affirmed that he would still remain in power after doing so. The Emperor reluctantly agreed and both sides came to a truce.
At the same time, the Qing army had begun an invasion of modern-day Xinjiang where the Uyghurs lived. The Uyghurs were at war so Chen Jialuo decided to travel there and help his friends. He met Huo Qingtong again and her younger sister Kesili (喀絲麗, aka Princess Fragrance (香香公主)). Chen was attracted by Kesili's beauty and fell in love with her. However, he gradually became entangled in a complex web of love relationships as Huo Qingtong was also in love with him. Eventually, the Uyghur tribe was annihilated by the Qing army and Kesili was taken into captive and escorted back to the capital city.
The Qianlong Emperor was attracted by Kesili's beauty and tried to force her to become his concubine but she refused. Chen Jialuo infiltrated the palace and met Qianlong again, reminding Qianlong of his earlier promise to put the nation's interests before his, whilst promising that he would persuade Kesili to become Qianlong's concubine. Later, Kesili discovered that Qianlong was going back on his word and she committed suicide to warn Chen. The Red Flower Society was angered with Qianlong for breaking his promise and stormed the palace which culminated into a bloody battle. Qianlong was forced to come a truce with the Society once again and eventually the heroes let him off on the condition that he promise never to persecute the society again. After paying their final respects to Kesili, Chen and the heroes returned to the western regions.
Characters
Main Protagonists and Antagonists
- Chen Jialuo (陳家洛) – the main protagonist of the novel. He was a disciple of Yuan Shixiao and was first introduced in the novel as being the leader of the Red Flower Society. He was usually dressed up formally and presented himself as a young nobleman.
- Huo Qingtong (霍青桐) – the daughter of the Islamic Uyghur tribe’s leader. She first met Chen Jialuo who helped her recover the Qu'ran which had been stolen from her tribe. She was an expert in martial arts as well as a resourceful military tactician.
- Princess Fragrance (香香公主) – her real name was Kesili (喀絲麗) and she was the younger sister of Huo Qingtong. She was in love with Chen Jialuo but was captured by the Qianlong Emperor, who forced her to be his concubine. She agreed but when she discovered that he was going back on his word, she committed suicide to warn Chen Jialuo.
- Qianlong Emperor (乾隆皇帝) – the ruler of the Qing Empire. He was a competent emperor who desired to be remembered in history as a wise ruler. He oppressed the people under his rule and persecuted the Red Flower Society. He was revealed to be actually the elder brother of Chen Jialuo.
- Fu Kang'an (福康安) – the illegitimate son of the Qianlong Emperor. He bore a similar appearance to his uncle Chen Jialuo. He was taken hostage by the Red Flower Society who used him to force Qianlong to come to a truce with them.
- Li Yuanzhi (李沅芷) – the daughter of a military officer named Li Kexiu (李可秀). She was in love with Yu Yutong but he always gave her the cold shoulder. Towards the end of the novel, Yu finally realised that she truly loved him and they were married happily.
- Zhou Qi (周綺) – the daughter of Zhou Zhongying. She was originally at odds with Xu Tianhong and often bickered and argued with him. However, both of them managed to escape death together and formed a close bond such that they were eventually married.
The Red Flower Society (紅花會)
- Taoist Wu Chen (無塵道長) – nicknamed Soul-Chasing, Life-Taking Sword (追魂奪命劍). He was arguably the most powerful in terms of martial arts of all the leaders.
- Zhao Banshan (趙半山) – nicknamed Thousand Arms Buddha (千臂如來). He became sworn brothers with Hu Fei in Other Tales of the Flying Fox.
- Wen Tailai (文泰來) – nicknamed Thunderbolt Hand (奔雷手). He was captured by imperial forces at the start of the novel because he knew the truth behind the Qianlong Emperor's ethnicity. The other heroes tried to save him several times. He was the husband of Luo Bing.
- Chang Hezhi (常赫志) and Chang Bozhi (常伯志) – nicknamed Black Wuchang (黑無常) and White Wuchang (白無常) respectively. They were twin brothers.
- Xu Tianhong (徐天宏) – nicknamed Military Zhuge (武諸葛). He was the mastermind behind all the Society’s plans and activities. He was originally at odds with Zhou Qi and often argued with her but they were married eventually after having gone through danger together.
- Yang Chengxie (楊成協) – nicknamed Iron Pagoda (鐵塔)
- Wei Chunhua (衛春華) – nicknamed Nine Lives Colourful Leopard (九命錦豹子)
- Zhang Jin (章進) – nicknamed Rock Daring (石敢當). He was a hunchback.
- Luo Bing (駱冰) – nicknamed Mandarin Ducks Saber (鴛鴦刀). She was the wife of Wen Tailai and she fought bravely to defend her wounded husband from enemies.
- Shi Shuangying (石雙英) – nicknamed Devils’ Wrath (鬼見愁)
- Jiang Sigen (蔣四根) – nicknamed Copper-Headed Crocodile (銅頭鱷魚)
- Yu Yutong (余魚同) – nicknamed Golden Flute Scholar (金笛秀才). He had a crush on Wen Tailai’s wife Luo Bing but at the same time Li Yuanzhi was also in love with him. He felt ashamed of having let Wen down and sorry for having treated Li coldly that he decided to become a monk. Later he came out of his secular life and was reunited with Li that they were eventually married.
- Xin Yan (心硯) – he was originally Chen Jialuo’s servant boy and became one of the leaders of the Society.
The Wudang Sect (武當派)
- Zhang Zhaozhong (張昭重) – nicknamed Fiery Hand Judge (火手判官). He was a member of the Wudang Sect and a treacherous villain who collaborated with the imperial forces to persecute the Red Flower Society. He was defeated by Chen Jialuo and knocked into an arena of ravenous wolves and met his end.
- Ma Zhen (馬真) – the leader of the Wudang Sect. He was murdered by Zhang Zhaozhong.
- Lu Feiqing (陸菲青) – a senior member of the Wudang Sect. He was the teacher of Li Yuanzhi.
Other Characters
- Zhou Zhongying (周仲英) – the master of Iron Courage Manor (鐵膽莊). He was a righteous and morally upright person. He killed his son in anger and regretted after that, but tried to hide his remorsefulness to contain his pride.
- Yuan Shixiao (袁士宵) – nicknamed Heavenly Pool Eccentric Hero (天池怪俠). He was the teacher of Chen Jialuo.
Analysis of the Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor hoped to become a highly revered wise ruler who would leave his mark in history, just as the Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝) and Emperor Taizong of Tang (唐太宗) were. These were technically, estimable pursuits for a Chinese emperor. The weight given to the manner in which history appraises an emperor's rule dates back to Sima Qian; Qianlong's own valuation of the two emperors matches the conventional Chinese interpretation.
To exert his authority, Qianlong oppressed his people and persecuted the self-proclaimed morally upright ones, such as the Red Flower Society’s members. Like many of the villains of the novel, Qianlong was a competent ruler but not a wise one. Throughout the novel, the antagonists' various talents in the arts and especially martial arts, are insufficient to cover their failure to understand the difference between importance and the people’s say.
Strong Female Protagonists
Li Yuanzhi was only one of several young female protagonists who were featured prominently in the novel.
Zhou Qi was another headstrong lady whose mother personified a more mature ideal image as a stubborn, loving, strong wife and mother. At one point, Zhou Qi pointed out her inability to embroider, much to her mother's displeasure, who snapped back sharply that no man who want to marry such a woman who does not possess the basic skills required for a woman, according to Chinese culture. Quickly, though, it was revealed that Zhou’s mother did not know how to embroider herself too, and in that moment Cha provides a classic, and pan-cultural, moment between parent and child hearkening back to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Luo Bing, the wife of Wen Tailai of the Red Flower Society, possessed both beauty and courage. Her martial arts prowess were featured strongly when she defended her husband, who had been wounded, from enemies and when the heroes went to attack the imperial convoy.
Huo Qingtong, the daughter of the Uyghur tribe’s leader, was also a resourceful military strategist and a formidable martial artist. She was highly respected by her people, so much that her father sought her advice on several issues. With her intelligence and abilities, she managed to defeat the invading Qing army by her strategic planning and deployment.
Ethical Claims
Often found within the novel are light-hearted reminders of the universality of people's ideals and their acknowledgments that ideals are often unmet. The monolithic nature of Chinese culture, with its strict guidelines—Confucian, Communist and otherwise—seems in this light not nearly so monolithic. Like Zhou Qi and embroidery, people do not live up to them all the time, not even to their parents. Instead, these purportedly essential standards are treated as secondary to what would be considered by Westerners as transcendent—the most common example being friendship despite religious, cultural or political differences.
If any kind of classical delineation could be made, it would seem that Cha believes in two kinds of people: those of naturally low moral character and those of high moral character. The former can have moments of clarity, and sometimes within the story a seemingly one-sided villain will recognize the true value. The latter are only subject to the failures associated with heroes; whether it be Zhou Zhongying’s pride and arrogance preventing him from showing remorse for the wrongful killing of his son or Xu Tianhong's inability acknowledge that he was in love with Zhou Qi.
This natural dichotomy is most evident in battle—-as should be expected from an adventure genre novel. Scoundrels may inflict some wounds, but only if they vastly outmatch their opponent or, more likely, overwhelm them with numbers or by treachery. Even so, the Red Flower Society tends to cut its path through hordes of enemies. Courage and skill do not only exist on the side of the heroes, but it is in much greater quantity, indicating that the morally superior side will naturally attract the superior one.
Still, there is a certain disconnection present in The Book and the Sword that is not so evident in Western popular fiction, which is, between skill and ethics. Stereotypically, the Western type of hero would respect the intelligence and skill of his nemesis except when they are used for evil purposes. The heroes in Cha's novels, however, respect their enemies' intelligence and skills, with an exception that the respect they hold does not conflict with a condemnation of their ethical stance. This separation lends plausibility to scenes such as the one where Chen Jialuo met the Qianlong Emperor and treated him in a cordial manner.
The question left unanswered is where this ethical stance originated. To claim that ideas of meritocracy are Western is to ignore the inspiration behind the bureaucratic reforms epitomized by the Chinese civil service exam. To claim that accepting the limitations of a human being, especially in regard to the strict ideals which society tends to place on humans, is somehow foreign to China, which referred to ignoring its long Taoist tradition. Instead, it seems that the ethical system espoused within The Book and the Sword is simply the modern iteration of a long history of Chinese ideals.
Adaptions
Films
| Year | Production | Cast | More information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Omei Film Studios (Hong Kong) | Cheung Ying as Chen Jialuo/Qianlong,
Tsi Law-Lin as Huo Qingtong, Yung Siu Yi as Princess Fragrance |
Producer Shao Bainian, Director Li Chenfeng |
| 1967 | Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) | Cheung Yick,
Jeanette Yu, Shu Peipei, Chiao Chiao |
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| 1981 | Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) | Ti Lung as Chen Jialuo,
Jason Pai as Qianlong |
See Emperor and His Brother |
| 1987 | Director Ann Hui |
TV Series
| Year | Production | Cast | More information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | TVB (Hong Kong) | Adam Cheng as Chen Jialuo/Qianlong/Fu Kang'an, Liza Wang as Huo Qingtong, Candice Yu as Princess Fragrance | See The Legend of the Book and the Sword (1976 TV series) |
| 1986 | TTV (Taiwan) | You Tianlong as Chen Jialuo/Qianlong, Sen Sen as Huo Qingtong, Yang Liyin as Princess Fragrance | See Book and Sword Chronicles |
| 1987 | TVB (Hong Kong) | Pang Man Kin as Chen Jialuo, Law Wai-Guen as Huo Qingtong, Fiona Leung as Princess Fragrance, Simon Yam as Qianlong | See The Legend of the Book and the Sword (1987 TV series) |
| 1992 | CTS (Taiwan) | Kenny Ho as Chen Jialuo, Shen Meng-Sheng as Qianlong, Lau Suet Wah as Huo Qingtong, Fu Juan as Princess Fragrance | Director Kuk Kwok Leung |
| 1994 | CCTV (Mainland China) | Huang Haibing as Chen Jialuo, Wang Weiguo as Qianlong, Wang Jinghua as Huo Qingtong, Yang Yanuo as Princess Fragrance | |
| 2002 | CTV (Taiwan), Tong Yan Co. (Hong Kong), SPH MediaWorks (Singapore) | Vincent Zhao as Chen Jialuo, Jeff Chen as Qianlong, Esther Kwan as Huo Qingtong, Rachel Ngan as Princess Fragrance | Also starring Ray Lui, Vicky Chen, Kym Ng, Guo Liang, Cheng Pei-pei, Bryan Leung and Zhang Tielin. |
| 2008 | CCTV (Mainland China) | Qiao Zhenyu as Chen Jialuo/Fu Kang'an, Adam Cheng as Qianlong, Niki Chow as Huo Qingtong, Liu Ying as Princess Fragrance | Adam Cheng, who previously played Chen Jialuo and Qianlong simultaneously in the 1976 adaptation, reprises his role as Qianlong. |
Radio Broadcasts
- In 1999, Hong Kong’s RTHK produced a 32 episodes radio serial, voiced played by Tse Kwan Ho as Qianlong, Gigi Leung as Princess Fragrance, Chow Kwok Fung as Chen Jialuo/Fu Kang'an, Jacqueline Pang as Huo Qingtong.
External links
- (Chinese) Jin Yong Teahouse - fansite of Jin Yong's novels in Cinese
- (English) The Book and the Sword - Website of an English translation by Graham Earnshaw.
- (English) Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge - Information on the revisions of the novel at Wuxiapedia.com
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