The Deer and the Cauldron

Oxford University Press edition of Louis Cha's final wuxia novel, The Deer and the Cauldron

The Deer and the Cauldron (traditional Chinese: 鹿鼎記; simplified Chinese: 鹿鼎记; pinyin: lù dǐng jì) or The Duke of Mount Deer is the last novel written by Jinyong.

The novel was initially published as a serial, the first installment being published on October 24, 1969 in Ming Pao and running for 2 years, 11 months, until September 23, 1972.

Summary

This story is centered around a witty, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, born in a Yangzhou brothel. Through a series of adventures- or misadventures, the teenage scamp made his way from the southern playground of Yangzhou to Beijing, the seat of Manchurian imperial power. There, he was kidnapped and taken to the palace (the Forbidden City) where he impersonated a eunuch. Xiaobao bumbled his way into a fateful encounter with the young Kangxi Emperor and they developed an unlikely friendship.

Early in his life at the Forbidden City, he met with Chen Jinnan, the leader of the patriotic Heaven and Earth Society, one of the anti-Qing resistance underground organizations. He became one of its Lodge Masters and the society's "mole" inside the palace. Later he was kidnapped to Snake Island, home of the Mystic Dragon Sect, where he ended up as Mystic Dragon's White Dragon Marshal.

By sheer luck and clever, but underhanded strategies, he managed to accomplish a number of seemingly impossible achievements. He played a major role in disposing the cruel and power-hungry Oboi, rescuing Kangxi's father, Emperor Shunzhi and reuniting father and son, destroying the Mystic Dragons Sect, weakening the uprising raised by renegade general Wu Sangui, the campaign against the Russia, and reaching a border treaty with Russian regent Sophia Alekseyevna and Fedor Golovin. He was also directly responsible for introducing Kangxi to many generals, who would become highly distinguished in the battlefield and very grateful to Xiaobao.

Throughout the story, Xiaobao exhibited devout loyalty to both Kangxi and the Society. Twice, Xiaobao had instinctively thrown himself between Kangxi and the assassins. He rescued many people of the resistance, including his master Chen Jinnan, on numerous occasions. He undermined the resistance's attempts on Kangxi's life, while using his influence in the court to keep the society from the hands of Manchurian authority.

For his numerous accomplishments, he was rewarded with immense wealth, ever-rising titles of nobility by Kang Xi. In the mean time, he also earned respect from Heaven and Earth Society for his works against Wu Sangui, other foreign enemies.

Ultimately, Xiaobao's conflicting identities came to an explosive end. Kang Xi revealed that he knew Xiaobao's relationship with Heaven and Earth Society, and forced Xiaobao to choose between him and the society. Although Kangxi still considered Xiaobao a loyal friend and subject, Xiaobao was eventually forced into exile for refusing to betray the society. Only years later was he allowed back to help Kang Xi deal with the conflict at the border with Russia.

In the finale of the novel, Xiaobao realized that he would never be able to reconcile between the two opposing causes, and his divided friendships were tearing him apart. He chose, instead, to walk out on it all- taking his immerse wealth, mother, seven beautiful wives and three children for a life of peace and tranquility away from Kang Xi and the society.

Themes and story review

This wuxia novel is unique in that the main character has very poor gongfu and was by no means a person of integrity. Xiaobao is a greedy, lazy, and womanizing anti-hero. He is unlike any of Jin Yong's previous Wuxia protagonists, who laugh at death and fight for what they believe to be a noble cause. Xiaobao's cause is his own advancement. But even if he did not believe in their cause, he had genuine loyalty and generosity to his friends.

The lack of absolute good and absolute evil in the real world is echoed in The Deer and the Cauldron. There is no nationalistic tone that is a prominent part of all of Jin Yong's previous novels. In the trilogy of The Legend of the Condor Heroes (set in the fall of the Song dynasty) and even The Book and the Sword (set in mid-Qing, during Emperor Qianlong's reign), the northern invaders were the obvious "bad guys", war-mongering tribes who preyed on the fertile Central Plains whilst the Chinese Han-dominated court was vulnerable.

Instead, in The Deer and the Cauldron, Jin Yong had grayed out the traditional black-and-white, Han versus Barbarians line. The foreign Manchurian emperor is portrayed as an intelligent, caring ruler doing his best for the people who did not always accept him. He is ruthless at times, but ultimately his actions improved the lives of the people (Kangxi is historically remembered as one of the greatest monarchs in Chinese history). On the other hand, the patriotic anti-Qing-pro-Ming resistance had foolishly placed their hopes in the incompetent and spoiled Zheng Keshaung of Taiwan, fighting for an aspiration that did not echo with the wishes of the common people. This style was in direct opposition to the stance that Jin Yong had taken previously.

Towards the end of the book, Xiaobao made a statement to the effect of "it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, a cat that catches mice is a good cat" (a quote from Chinese Paramount Premier Deng Xiao Ping). Does it matter the race, colour or creed of the leader, as long as he or she has the best interests of the people at heart?

Admittedly, the Manchurians indeed killed tens of thousands of Han people and ravaged the country, the reason which caused the Heaven and Earth Society to rebel for the days of Han Chinese rulers. In time, they forgot that the common people wanted only to live in peace and prosperity. Their zealousness reflects the world where people are divided violently along religious or ethnic lines.

The realism, down-to-earth ideas and timelessness of the themes of the novel, contributes to its success, with some fans claiming that it is Jin Yong's best book.

English language translation

Jinyong's novel has been translated into English by John Minford, published in three volumes from 1997 to 2002. Minford is an Honorary Research Fellow at Lingnan University, Chair Professor of Chinese at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chair Professor at the University of Auckland, Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Translation Society, and translator of numerous Chinese works, including the famous Chinese work of military strategy, Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and the renowned classic "The Story of the Stone". Several minute details were paraphrased and omitted in the translation, presumably for the western audience unfamiliar with wuxia novels.

Works based on the novel

There are also books to examine the office-politic skills displayed by the main characters and their modern day applications:

• 情境鹿鼎记, ISBN 7-80207-108-9
• 总裁韦小宝, ISBN 7-80673-728-6
• 破译韦小宝, ISBN 7-5048-4705-4
• 串烤韦小宝, ISBN 7-80661-929-1
• 人精韦小宝的混世法宝 ISBN 7-80100-576-7

Adapatations

There are several television and film adaptations of the novel; all of which have modified the original storyline.

TV series

• CTV Hong Kong (1970s) starring 文雪兒
• Hong Kong TVB (1984) - starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau; theme sung by Leslie Cheung
• CTV Taiwan (1984)
• Hong Kong TVB (1998) - starring Jordan Chan
• Hong Kong TVB (2000) - starring Dicky Cheung
• 2007 - mainland China - directed by Zhang Jizhong, starring Huang Xiaoming

Films

• Tale Of A Eunuch (鹿鼎記) (1983) - starring Wong Yu (汪禹)
• Royal Tramp (鹿鼎記) Hong Kong (1992) - directed by Wong Jing; starring Stephen Chow.
• Royal Tramp II (鹿鼎記之神龍教) (1992) - starring Stephen Chow
• Hero - Beyond the Boundary of Time (正牌韋小寶之奉旨溝女) (1993)
• Wais Romance (性愛韋小寶之玩女大王) (1994)

Video games

The Deer and the Cauldron DOS game introduction screen

There are also several RPGs of the novel.

• 鹿鼎記 (智冠) (DOS) (Traditional Chinese)
• 鹿鼎記 (歡樂盒)
• 鹿鼎記II

Other games based on the novel:

• J2ME game for phones:
  • 情圣韦小宝
  • 韦小宝笑传
• Online games:
  • 金庸群侠传Online
• and etc.

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