Condor Trilogy

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Condor Trilogy
Hanyu Pinyin
Shèdiāo Sānbùqǔ
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingSe6 Diu1 Saam3 Bou6 Kuk1

The Condor Trilogy (射鵰三部曲) is a series of three wuxia novels written by Hong Kong-based Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). The series is amongst the most popular of Jin Yong's works.

The novels in the trilogy are:

An English translation into 12 books published by

MacLehose Press began in February 2018.[1] Volume 1 has been published, containing the first four books, and the remaining 8 are pending translation and publication.[2]

Historical background

The first novel, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, is set against a backdrop of

Southern Song dynasty and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. Concurrently, Mongol tribes led by Temüjin (Genghis Khan) emerge as a rising power in the north. The second novel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, is set in the period when the Mongols attack the Southern Song dynasty after having conquered the Jin dynasty. The historical Battle of Xiangyang is also featured as one of the key events in the novel. The third and last novel, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, is set in the late Yuan dynasty (founded by the Mongols). Towards the end of the novel, the Yuan dynasty is overthrown by rebel forces and the Ming dynasty
is established.

Plot

Main articles: The Legend of the Condor Heroes § Plot, The Return of the Condor Heroes § Plot, and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber § Plot

Book of Wumu

The

Book of Wumu is a fictional military treatise written by the Song general Yue Fei. The book is highly sought after by the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty. Guo Jing uses the knowledge he acquired from the book to defend the Song dynasty. Before his death, he hid the book in the blade of the Dragon Slaying Saber. Nearly a century after the Battle of Xiangyang, the book comes into Zhang Wuji's possession. Zhang uses one of the strategies in the book to defeat Yuan forces at the siege of Mount Song. He passes the book to Xu Da
, who studies it and becomes a brilliant military leader. Xu Da leads rebel forces to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and becomes one of the founding pioneers of the Ming dynasty.

Early history

Prior to his execution, Song general Yue Fei detailed his military tactics and experience against the Jin forces in writing during captivity, titled Vital Information Against the Jins (破金要訣), in hopes that future generations will continue his mission to restore China with his text. After his death, the book is later renamed Book of Wumu and was hidden in a cave covered by a waterfall, 15 steps east of Cuihan Hall in the imperial palace in Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou). The book was later stolen by Shangguan Jiannan, the chief of the Iron Palm Gang, and brought back to Iron Palm Peak and hidden in the gang's forbidden grounds.

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

The book is highly sought after by the Jurchens of the Jin Empire, enemies of the Han Chinese-ruled Song Empire. The Jurchens hope to use the military strategies described in the book to defeat the Mongols in the north and conquer the Song Empire.

Wanyan Honglie, the sixth prince of Jin, travels to Song in disguise to find the book. He enlists the help of Ouyang Feng, Ouyang Ke, Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and other martial artists. They break into the palace and enter the cave, where they find a box, which supposedly contains the book. Guo Jing fights with Ouyang Feng to prevent him from stealing the book, but is severely wounded when Yang Kang betrays and stabs him. Guo survives with the help of Huang Rong and recovers from his injuries seven days later.

Guo and Huang discover a map to the book's location in Qu Lingfeng's rundown inn and realise that the book is actually on Iron Palm Peak. They travel there and succeed in retrieving the book. Guo later uses the knowledge he acquired from the book to lead the Mongol army to victory in the

war against the Khwarezm Empire
. However, as Guo is unwilling to side with the Mongols to conquer his native land in the Song Empire, he leaves Mongolia for good and returns to Song.

The Return of the Condor Heroes

In the sequel, the adult Guo Jing dedicates his life to defending the Song Empire from foreign invasion. By then, the Jin Empire had been conquered by the Mongols, who proceed to attack Song and

Fancheng, Guo Jing eventually dies a martyr when Xiangyang finally falls to the Mongols
.

Before Guo's death, he hid the Book of Wumu in the blade of the Dragon Slaying Saber. The latest edition of

Emei School
later.

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

Nearly a century after the

Ming Dynasty
.

References

  1. ^ "The "Lord of the Rings" of Chinese literature is finally being translated into English". Quartzy. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  2. ^ "A Past Unearthed (Return of the Condor Heroes, #1)". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
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