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The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

For other uses, see The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber soon nd themselves the target of several martial artists,
(disambiguation). who try to force them to reveal the whereabouts of Xie
Xun and the Dragon Slaying Saber. His parents refuse
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, also translated as and commit suicide. At the same time, Zhang Wuji is
wounded by the Xuanming Elders, but he survives after
The Sword and the Knife,[1] is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong
(Louis Cha). It is the third instalment in the Condor Tril- seeking medical treatment from Hu Qingniu, an eccentric
physician.
ogy and is preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes
and The Return of the Condor Heroes. It was rst seri- After ending up in an isolated valley by chance, Zhang
alised from 6 July 1961 to 2 September 1963 in the Hong Wuji discovers the long-lost Nine Yang Manual, masters
Kong newspaper Ming Pao.[2] the inner energy skills described in the book, and be-
Jin Yong revised the novel in 1979 with a number of comes a formidable martial artist. Later on, he helps
amendments and additions. A second revision was pub- to resolve the conict between the Ming Cult and the
lished in early 2005, incorporating later thoughts and a six major orthodox sects, which are bent on destroying
lengthier conclusion. It also introduced many changes to the cult. He earns the respect of the cults members and
the plot and cleared up some ambiguities in the second becomes its leader after mastering the skill 'Heaven and
edition, such as the origin of the Nine Yang Manual. As Earth Great Shift'. He reforms the cult and helps to im-
is typical of some of his other novels, Jin Yong included prove its relations with other sects. He becomes a key g-
elements of Chinese history in the story, such as fea- ure in leading the rebel forces to overthrow the Mongol-
turing historical gures like Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen You- led Yuan dynasty.
liang, Chang Yuchun and Zhang Sanfeng. The political Throughout his adventures, Zhang Wuji nds himself en-
clash between the Han Chinese rebels and the Mongol-led tangled in a complex web of love relationships with four
Yuan dynasty is also a prominent theme in the novel. maidens. The rst, Yin Li, is a horribly disgured girl
who is actually his maternal cousin. The second, Xi-
aozhao, is a Chinese-Persian servant girl who understands
him very well. The third, Zhou Zhiruo, is a childhood
1 Plot friend whom he develops a strong bond with. The fourth,
Zhao Min, is a Mongol princess and his former arch-rival.
Set in the late Yuan dynasty, the story revolves around Yin Li is apparently killed in the middle of the novel while
a pair of priceless and extremely powerful weapons, the Xiaozhao returns to Persia after it is revealed that she is
Heaven Reliant Sword ( ) and Dragon Slaying Saber destined to lead the Persian Ming Cult.
( ), which are coveted by many martial artists in the Zhou Zhiruo soon falls in love with Zhang Wuji, but has
jianghu. Either or both of them are thought to allow to turn against him as she is bound by an oath she made
their wielder to rule the wulin (martial artists commu- in front of her teacher Miejue, who hates and distrusts
nity), according to a widely circulated mantra which goes, Zhang Wuji and anyone related to the Ming Cult. Miejue
Honoured by the wulin, the precious Saber slays the devises a vicious scheme for Zhou Zhiruo to seize the
Dragon. It commands the world. Who dares to disobey? two weapons by exploiting Zhang Wujis love for Zhou.
If the Heaven Reliant does not appear, who can challenge Zhou Zhiruo also turns vicious after Zhang Wuji reneges
it?" ( , , , ! , ?) The ori- his promise to marry her and swears vengeance on him.
gins of this mantra are not known at the beginning of the Zhao Min was initially Zhang Wujis rival as they were
novel. on opposing sides. However, Zhao Min gradually falls in
The protagonist, Zhang Wuji, is of mixed heritage. His love with Zhang Wuji after their various encounters, and
father, Zhang Cuishan, is an apprentice of Zhang San- she even turns against her clan to help him.
feng, the highly revered leader of the Wudang Sect; his At the end of the novel, Zhang Wuji decides to retire from
mother, Yin Susu, is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng, the the jianghu after he mistakenly believes that the Ming
chief of the unorthodox Heavenly Eagle Cult. He spent Cults members are plotting to betray him. He decides
his childhood on a reclusive northern island, where he was that Zhao Min is his true love and they leave to lead a
born, with only his parents and his godfather, Xie Xun, reclusive life far away from society. (The second edition
to keep him company. When he is about 10 years old, he of the novel has an ambiguous ending about Zhang Wujis
returns to the Chinese mainland with his parents. They

1
2 4 ADAPTATIONS

relationship with Zhou Zhiruo.) Zhang Wuji gave up The secret of the weapons was passed down only from the
an opportunity to become a ruler because the Ming Cult leader of each generation of the Emei Sect to her succes-
eventually overthrew the Yuan dynasty. Ideally, Zhang sor. Miejue is succeeded by Zhou Zhiruo and the secret
would have become the new emperor, but instead, Zhu is passed on to the latter. In the novel, Zhou Zhiruo gains
Yuanzhang takes the throne and establishes the Ming dy- possession of both weapons through her cunning and de-
nasty. ception and she breaks them to obtain their contents.
In 2005, Jin Yong published a third edition of the novel, In the latest revision, two halves of an iron-plated map are
which has a slightly dierent ending from the earlier ver- hidden in the weapons instead of manuals. Once pieced
sions. In this edition, Zhang Wuji feels disillusioned after together, the map points out to locations on Peach Blos-
failing to save a generals life and addressing Han Lin'ers som Island, where the manuals are hidden. Jin Yong rea-
death. He relinquishes his leadership of the Ming Cult soned that the change was due to a possibility that the
to Yang Xiao and Fan Yao, and then leaves the Central dissection of the weapons will cause the manuals to be
Plains with Zhao Min.[3] burnt, hence two pieces of an iron-plated map would be
better substitutes.

2 The two weapons


2.3 Analogy
2.1 The origins
In Chinese culture, the Dragon is a symbol of the em-
peror or sovereign ruler. The full translated name of the
The two titular weapons, the Heaven Reliant Sword
Dragon Saber is Dragon Slaying Saber ( ), which
( ) and the Dragon Slaying Saber ( ), were forged
implies that it is used to slay the emperor. In this case,
from a single sword, the Heavy Iron Sword ( ),
the emperor refers to Emperor Huizong of the Yuan
which Yang Guo wielded in The Return of the Condor
dynasty.
Heroes.
Throughout Chinese history, several monarchs have be-
The Heavy Iron Sword belonged to Dugu Qiubai, a great
come tyrants, just like when the mythical Dragon goes out
swordsman whose skills were unmatched in his time.
of control and becomes a menace. The Heaven Swords
Yang Guo chanced upon the Heavy Iron Sword while he
full translated name is Heaven Reliant Sword ( ) as
was recovering from the Love Flowers poison and the
it embodies Heaven. In Chinese culture, the emperor is
loss of his right arm. When Yang Guo and Xiaolongn
respectfully called the "Son of Heaven", which implies
depart from Xiangyang, they left the sword with the cou-
that Heaven is the ultimate authority in determining who
ple Guo Jing and Huang Rong. The sword was melted and
will be ruler of China.
special steel material was added and it was then forged
into the two weapons. It can thus be interpreted as such: The secret in the
Dragon Slaying Saber can be used to kill (dethrone)
In the third revised edition of the novel, the Heaven Sword
the (Mongol) emperor and replace him with another (Han
was reforged from Yang Guos Gentleman Sword ( )
Chinese) ruler. Ideally, a brilliant military leader can use
and Xiaolongn's Lady Sword ( ) while the Dragon
the textbook to its full potential by staging a rebellion
Sabers origin remained unchanged.
to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and restore Han Chinese
rule. However, if the new emperor turns out to be an in-
competent monarch or tyrant, a martial artist can master
2.2 The secret the skills from the manuals in the Heaven Reliant Sword
and assassinate the emperor and replace him with a wise
Hidden in the blade of the Dragon Saber is a military trea- and benevolent ruler.
tise titled Book of Wumu ( ), authored by Yue Fei.
Similarly, concealed in the blade of the Heaven Sword are
two scrolls detailing the Nine Yin Manual and Guo Jings
"Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms". 3 Characters
The Dragon Saber was given to Guo Jing and Huang
Rong's son Guo Polu, while their younger daughter Guo Main article: List of The Heaven Sword and Dragon
Xiang inherited the Heaven Sword. Saber characters
The content of the hidden book and scrolls, in addition to
the fact that the weapons can only be damaged and bro-
ken 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 4 Adaptations
Sword can stand against the wielder of the Saber.
3

4.1 Films

4.2 Television
|- | 2017 ||

4.3 Comics
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 storys events were
not presented in the same order as in the novel.

4.4 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.

5 References
[1] Wu, Dingbo; Murphy, Patrick D., eds. (1994). Gallant
Fiction. Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture. Green-
wood Press. p. 248.

[2] The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui


( ), Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan ( ), 2000,
Huizhi Publishing Company ( ), p. 57.

[3] Heavenly-Sword,-Dragon-Slaying-Sabre/3rd-ed-
changes.
4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses


6.1 Text
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heaven_Sword_and_Dragon_Saber?oldid=
781002914 Contributors: Paul A, Ahoerstemeier, Gak, Mandel, David Gerard, Python eggs, Comatose51, R. end, Mindspillage, Dis-
cospinster, Pmsyyz, Kjoonlee, Danny B-), Kappa, Yuje, Pearle, Alansohn, Jute whatever, Mindmatrix, Exult, Skyler, Chobot, Crosstimer,
Ric815, RussBot, Red Slash, Leolohwj, Gaius Cornelius, Pseudomonas, NawlinWiki, Gohliangsong~enwiki, Welsh, Gorie, Caiyu, End-
less Echoes, Jkelly, Shawnc, Paul Erik, SmackBot, CrudeSword, Lds, Watcherq, HELLO, WORLD!, Ashli80, DHN-bot~enwiki, George
Ho, Germandemat, Perceive, Lexusdriver, Lulu288, Ddcc, DangerousPanda, CmdrObot, Aherunar, MVNdude, Cydebot, Ladida, Ghostex-
orcist, Okajaya, Minniemouse26, Dhn610, MER-C, Kayau, R'n'B, Ellesil, Landavia~enwiki, Nohansen, Little dragon boy, Cristiano.Yang,
JELLYshBELLY, Freescoring, AD AfterDeath, Isaac Sanolnacov, Labashop, Guillaume2303, Fleela, AlleborgoBot, Shokatsu-sensei,
4evarules, Fadesga, Blackswift, Tripleblader, DragonBot, Sparrowgoose, SoxBot III, Sanada Yuki-kun, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Tut-
terMouse, Newfraferz87, Gemoru, Lightbot, NeoBatfreak, Legobot, Yobot, DORC, AnomieBOT, Leongpc, Xqbot, Timmyshin, J04n,
LivingBot, Khaiwei yeo, Redclifan, Soangry, Shance8, CobraBot, ZhBot, ClueBot NG, FSII, BattyBot, Dchanz78, Makecat-bot, Ira
Leviton, Qiyuan Zhou, Bender the Bot, Noideawhattocallself and Anonymous: 151

6.2 Images
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007

6.3 Content license


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