''The Book and the Sword'' is a

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised between 8 February 1955 and 5 September 1956The 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. in the Hong Kong newspaper '' The New Evening Post''. Set in 18th-century China during the Manchu-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, the novel follows the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret organisation aiming to overthrow the Qing government, and their entanglements with an Islamic tribe in western China. The "book" in the title refers to a

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

that was stolen from the tribe while the "sword" refers to a sword given to the protagonist, Chen Jialuo, by his first romantic interest, Huoqingtong. Historical figures such as the Qianlong Emperor, Zhaohui,

Heshen Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the Manchu Niohuru clan, was an official of the Qing dynasty favored by the Qianlong Emperor and called the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After the death of Qianlong, the Jiaqing ...

Zheng Banqiao Zheng Xie (; 1693–1765), commonly known as Zheng Banqiao () was a Chinese painter from Jiangsu. He began life in poverty, but rose in the exam system to become a magistrate at Shandong. However, after 12 years, he became critical of the life of ...

and Fuk'anggan also make appearances or are mentioned by name in the novel. One of the female protagonists, Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor's Fragrant Concubine. This novel was Jin Yong's debut, and it quickly established him as one of the new masters of the wuxia genre. Alternative English titles of the novel include ''Book and Sword: Gratitude and Revenge'' and ''The Romance of the Book and Sword''.

Plot

The Red Flower Society is a secret society aiming to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Empire and restore

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

rule in China. It is led by 15 heroes, with Chen Jialuo as their chief. At the beginning of the novel, the Qianlong Emperor sends his men to ambush and arrest Wen Tailai, the society's fourth leader, because he wants to silence Wen Tailai, who knows a secret about him. The main plot follows the heroes' repeated attempts to rescue Wen Tailai, and is intertwined with two or more extensive subplots. The heroes encounter some Islamic tribesmen who are pursuing a convoy of mercenaries who have robbed them of their holy artefact, a

. Chen Jialuo aids the tribesmen in defeating the mercenaries and recovers the holy book. He earns the respect and admiration of Huoqingtong, the daughter of the tribe's leader. Throughout the novel, some of the heroes eventually find their future spouses after braving danger together: Xu Tianhong and Yu Yutong marry Zhou Qi and Li Yuanzhi respectively. Chen Jialuo and the heroes follow the trail of the convoy escorting Wen Tailai and arrive in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

, where Chen Jialuo coincidentally meets the Qianlong Emperor, who is disguised as a rich man, and befriends him. However, after they discover each other's true identities, they become suspicious and wary of each other. When the emperor's best warriors are defeated by the heroes in a martial arts contest, the emperor feels humiliated and wants to summon the military forces stationed in Hangzhou to destroy the Red Flower Society. However, he eventually refrains from doing so when he learns of the society's vast network of underground connections in Hangzhou. When Chen Jialuo finally rescues Wen Tailai, he is surprised to learn that the Qianlong Emperor is not a Manchu, but a Han Chinese. Wen Tailai also reveals that the emperor is actually Chen Jialuo's elder brother; shortly after his birth, he had switched places with a newborn princess and had been raised as a son of the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, born Yinzhen, was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from ...

and eventually inherited the throne. Chen Jialuo and the heroes kidnap the emperor and hold him hostage in the

Liuhe Pagoda Liuhe Pagoda (), literally Six Harmonies Pagoda, is a multi-story Chinese pagoda in southern Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. It is located at the foot of Yuelun Hill, facing the Qiantang River. It was originally constructed in 970 by the Wuyu ...

, where they try to persuade him to acknowledge his ethnicity. They suggest that he use his privileged status to drive the Manchus out of the Central Plains, and assure him that he will remain as the emperor after that. The emperor reluctantly agrees and swears an oath of alliance with the heroes. At the same time, the Qing army invades

northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

, where the Islamic tribe lives, so Chen Jialuo travels there to help his friends. He meets Huoqingtong and her younger sister, Kasili (Princess Fragrance). After falling in love with Kasili, he finds himself entangled in a love triangle because Huoqingtong also has romantic feelings for him. The Islamic tribe is eventually annihilated by the Qing army while Kasili is captured and brought back to the Qing capital. The Qianlong Emperor is attracted to Kasili's beauty and tries to force her to become his concubine but she refuses. Chen Jialuo infiltrates the palace to meet the emperor, reminds him about their oath, and promises him that he will persuade Kasili to be his concubine. Kasili later discovers that the emperor has no intention of keeping his promise and has been secretly planning to lure the Red Flower Society into a trap and destroy them. After Kasili commits suicide to warn Chen Jialuo, the Red Flower Society's leaders are angry at the emperor for betraying them so they attack the palace. The emperor is defeated and forced to come to a truce with the heroes. Chen Jialuo and his friends then head towards the

Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more sp ...

after paying their respects at Kasili's tomb.

Characters

Adaptions

Films

Television

Radio

In 1999, Hong Kong's

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econo ...

produced a 32-episodes radio drama based on the novel, voiced by Tse Kwan-ho,

Gigi Leung Gigi Leung Wing-kei (Chinese: 梁詠琪, born 25 March 1976) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. Early life She was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun on 25 March 1976 and was given the name Leung Pik-chi () for superstitious reasons; as ...

, Chow Kwok-fung and Jacqueline Pang.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book And The Sword 1955 novels Novels by Jin Yong Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Hong Kong newspapers Novels set in the Qing dynasty Novels about rebels Novels set in the 18th century Chinese novels adapted into television series Novels adapted into radio programs 1955 debut novels Novels set in Xinjiang