The Legend of the Condor Heroes (Chinese: 射鵰英雄傳) is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the Condor Trilogy and is followed by The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. It was first serialised between 1 January 1957 and 19 May 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily.[1] Jin Yong revised the novel twice, first in the 1970s and later in the 2000s. The English title is imprecise since neither species of the condor, the Andean condor and Californian condor, is native to China.
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 Cover of a 1960s edition of the 1st volume of the novel | |
| Author | Jin Yong |
|---|---|
| Original title | 射鵰英雄傳 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Series | Condor Trilogy |
| Genre | Wuxia |
| Publisher | Hong Kong Commercial Daily |
Publication date | 1 January 1957 to 19 May 1959 |
| Publication place | Hong Kong |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils |
| Followed by | The Return of the Condor Heroes |
| The Legend of the Condor Heroes | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 射鵰英雄傳 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 射雕英雄传 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Story of the Eagle Shooting Hero | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Plot
The story is set in imperial China during the wars between the Jurchen-led Jin Empire and the predominantly ethnic Han Song Empire. Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, a pair of sworn brothers, pledge that their unborn children will become either sworn siblings (if both are of the same sex) or a married couple (if they are of opposite sexes). One day, Yang Tiexin's wife, Bao Xiruo, saves a wounded Jurchen warrior, who turns out to be Wanyan Honglie, the sixth prince of the Jin Empire. Smitten by Bao Xiruo's beauty Wanyan Honglie later sends his troops to attack Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian's village. Guo Xiaotian is killed while Yang Tiexin goes missing.
Guo Xiaotian's pregnant wife, Li Ping, wanders into Mongolia, where she gives birth to their son, Guo Jing, who grows up in Mongolia under the care of Genghis Khan. He learns martial arts from the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and Ma Yu of the Quanzhen School, as well as archery skills from Jebe. The Chinese title of the novel is derived from an incident in Guo Jing's youth when he shot two eagles with a single arrow. On the other hand, a pregnant Bao Xiruo captured by Wanyan Honglie, believing her husband to be dead agrees to marry Wanyan Honglie. She gives birth to a son, Yang Kang, who is raised as a Jurchen nobleman. Although he is mentored by Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen School, he also secretly learns the evil "Nine Yin White Bone Claw" technique from Mei Chaofeng.
Guo Jing is honest, loyal and righteous, but outwardly slow-witted. In contrast, Yang Kang is clever, but scheming and treacherous. They eventually meet each other and their respective lovers, Huang Rong and Mu Nianci. The main plot follows Guo Jing and Huang Rong's adventures and their encounters with the "Five Greats", the five most powerful martial artists in the wulin (martial artists' community). During their adventures, both Guo Jing and Huang Rong learn various martial arts techniques from the most powerful martial artists in wulin at that time. Guo Jing also discovers who was behind the death of his father.
Meanwhile, Yang Kang plots with the Jurchens to conquer his ancestral ground. Yang Kang refuses to acknowledge his Han ethnicity and is strongly driven to acquire wealth, fame, glory, and powerful skills. His treachery is slowly unveiled throughout the novel in the feuds he has with Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
With Guo Jing's assistance, the Mongols conquers the Jin Empire and subsequently turn their attention towards the Song Empire. Guo Jing is unwilling to aid the Mongols in attacking his ancestral ground, so he leaves them and returns to the Song Empire to help his fellow Han people counter the impending Mongol invasion. On the other hand, Yang Kang dies from poisoning after attempting to kill Huang Rong with a palm strike, but ends up hitting her spiked soft armour, which was accidentally stained with poison. He leaves behind Mu Nianci and their unborn son, whom Guo Jing names "Yang Guo". In the meantime, the Mongol invasion of the Song Empire is temporarily halted when Genghis Khan dies.
Characters
English translation
The novel has been translated into English in 4 volumes:
- A Hero Born by Anna Holmwood[2]
- A Bond Undone by Gigi Chang
- A Snake Lies Waiting by Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang
- A Heart Divided by Gigi Chang and Shelly Bryant
Adaptations
Films
| Year | Production | Main cast | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Emei Film Company (Hong Kong) | Cho Tat-wah, Yung Siu-yee, Lam Kau, Lai Kwan-lin | See Story of the Vulture Conqueror |
| 1977 | Shaw Brothers Studio (Hong Kong) | Alexander Fu, Tien Niu, Lee I-min, Kara Hui | See The Brave Archer |
| 1978 | Alexander Fu, Niu-niu, Lee I-min, Kara Hui | See The Brave Archer 2 | |
| 1981 | Alexander Fu, Niu-niu, Yu Tai-ping | See The Brave Archer 3 | |
| 1993 | Scholars Ltd. (Hong Kong) | Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung | See The Eagle Shooting Heroes |
| 1994 | Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Jacky Cheung | See Ashes of Time | |
| 2021 | Lajin, Media Asia Film, CFM, M&H Pictures | Eddy Geng, Lin Yu Rou, Alex To, Eddie Kwan, Lam Chi Chung, Yue Dong Feng | See The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Dragon Tamer |
| 2021 | Kevin Yan, Ruan Ju, Tracy Wang, He Changxi, Tim Huang, Charles Lin | See The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Cadaverous Claw | |
| TBA | China Film Group Corporation | Xiao Zhan, Sabrina Zhuang, Vanda Margraf | See The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero |
Television
Comics
In 1998, Hong Kong's Ming Ho Press (明河社) published a 38 volume manhua series illustrated by Lee Chi Ching. This was published in Indonesia by MNC Comics in 2000.
Video games
- Shachou Eiyuuden: The Eagle Shooting Heroes is a video game developed by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation.
- Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation is a PC fighting game that included Mei Chaofeng and Zhou Botong as playable characters.
References
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