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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.
4.1 Films
4.2 Television
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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.
5 References
[1] Wu, Dingbo; Murphy, Patrick D., eds. (1994). Gallant
Fiction. Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture. Green-
wood Press. p. 248.
[3] Heavenly-Sword,-Dragon-Slaying-Sabre/3rd-ed-
changes.
4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
6.2 Images
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Contributors:
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