Sword Stained with Royal Blood
| Preceded by | The Smiling, Proud Wanderer |
|---|---|
| Followed by | The Deer and the Cauldron |
| Sword Stained with Royal Blood | |
|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Bì Xuě Jiàn |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | Bik1 Hyut3 Gim3 |
Sword Stained with Royal Blood is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in the Hong Kong newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily between 1 January 1956 and 31 December 1956.[1] Since its first publication, the novel has undergone two revisions, with the latest edition being the third. Some characters from the novel play minor roles or are simply mentioned by name in The Deer and the Cauldron, another of Jin Yong's novels.
Plot
The novel is set in China towards the end of the
Yuan wanders around the land and meets Wen Qingqing, a young maiden from a family of brigands. Wen is actually Xia Xueyi's daughter and she follows Yuan after being expelled from her family. Although Yuan initially wanted to seek redress for his father, he eventually joins Li Zicheng's rebellion to overthrow the corrupt Ming government. He helps the rebels retrieve the gold robbed by the Wen family, sabotages a battery of cannons supplied to the Ming army by foreigners, and finances the rebellion with part of the treasure he discovered in Nanjing. Yuan also befriends several martial artists, who pledge allegiance to him out of respect for his heroism. He organises his followers to form a militia and they pledge to serve and defend the Han Chinese nation from internal and external threats.
While Yuan sees overthrowing the corrupt Ming government as one of his key priorities, he also recognises that the Manchus in northeast China pose an even greater threat to the Han Chinese nation. Eager to prove his loyalty to his fellow Han Chinese, Yuan infiltrates the Manchu capital Mukden and attempts to assassinate the Manchu emperor Huangtaiji, but fails and narrowly escapes. Later, despite holding a grudge against the Chongzhen Emperor for his father's wrongful execution, he saves the emperor from a coup launched by a treacherous noble, Prince Hui. Around the same time, he meets He Tieshou, one of Prince Hui's allies and the leader of the Five Poisons Cult. Yuan succeeds in reforming her and accepts her as his apprentice. He also develops romantic relationships with Wen Qingqing and another maiden, Ajiu, who is actually Princess Changping, a daughter of the Chongzhen Emperor.
Yuan ultimately regrets his decision to support Li Zicheng because after overthrowing the Ming government, Li not only fails to fulfil his promises to restore peace and stability, but also condones his followers' brutality towards the common people. After seeing that the
Characters
Adaptations
Films
| Year | Production | Main cast | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 / 1959 | Emei Film Company (Hong Kong) |
Cho Tat-wah , Sheung-koon Kwan-wai, Chan Tsui-ping, Tsi Law-lin, Ng Cho-fan |
See Sword of Blood and Valour |
| 1982 | Shaw Brothers Studio (Hong Kong) | Philip Kwok, Chiang Sheng, Wen Hsueh-erh, Lung Tien-hsiang | See Sword Stained with Royal Blood
|
| 1993 | Hong Kong | Yuen Biao, Yip Chuen-chan, Sharla Cheung, Danny Lee, Anita Yuen | See The Sword Stained with Royal Blood |
Television
| Year | Production | Main cast | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | CTV (Hong Kong) |
Chan Keung, Wen Hsueh-erh, Lee Tong-ming, Shek Tin, Wu Yan-yan, Yuen Chau | See Sword Stained with Royal Blood (1977 TV series) |
| 1985 | TVB (Hong Kong) |
Felix Wong, Chong Ching-yee, Teresa Mo, Michael Miu, Regina Tsang, Rebecca Chan | See Sword Stained with Royal Blood (1985 TV series) |
| 2000 | Gordon Lam, Sarah Au, Charmaine Sheh, Kwong Wa, Melissa Ng, Fiona Yuen | See Crimson Sabre | |
| 2007 | Mainland China | Bobby Dou, Eva Huang, Sun Feifei, Hsiao Shu-shen, Vincent Chiao | See Sword Stained with Royal Blood (2007 TV series) |
Video games
- He Tieshou was a playable character in the 2008 personal computer fighting game Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation.
References
- ^ The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan (武俠小說逍遙談), 2000, Huizhi Publishing Company (匯智出版有限公司), p. 56.