The Book and the Sword is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised between 8 February 1955 and 5 September 1956 in the Hong Kong newspaperThe New Evening Post. Set in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, 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 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, Zheng Banqiao 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 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, 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 Quran. 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. In Hangzhou, 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, tensions between them increase. When the emperor's best warriors are defeated by the heroes in a martial arts contest, the emperor feels humiliated and wants to summon imperial forces stationed in Hangzhou to destroy the Red Flower Society. However, he eventually refrains from doing so when he learns of the society's strong influence and connections in Hangzhou. When Chen Jialuo finally rescues Wen Tailai, he is surprised to learn that the Qianlong Emperor is in fact not a Manchu, but a Han Chinese. Even more shockingly, Wen reveals that the emperor is actually Chen's elder brother, who, shortly after his birth, had switched places with the Yongzheng Emperor's daughter. Chen and the heroes kidnap the emperor and hold him hostage in the Liuhe Pagoda, 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 western China, where the Islamic tribe lives, so Chen Jialuo travels there to help his friends. He meets Huoqingtong and her younger sister, Kasili. Chen falls in love with Kasili and 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 and 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, remind him about their pact, and promise him that he will persuade Kasili to marry the emperor. Kasili later discovers that the emperor is going to break his promise and is secretly planning to lure the Red Flower Society into a trap and destroy them, so she commits suicide to warn Chen. The heroes are angry with the emperor for renouncing his oath so they storm 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 after paying their respects at Kasili's tomb.
Characters
Adaptions
Films
Television
Radio
In 1999, Hong Kong's RTHK produced a 32-episodes radio drama based on the novel, voiced by Tse Kwan-ho, Gigi Leung, Chow Kwok-fung and Jacqueline Pang.
