The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber


The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, also translated as The Sword and the Knife, is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It is the third and final installment in the Condor Trilogy, preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes. It was first serialised from 6 July 1961 to 2 September 1963 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao.
Jin Yong revised the novel in 1979 with a number of amendments and additions. A second revision was published in early 2005, incorporating later thoughts and a lengthier conclusion. It also introduced many changes to the plot and cleared up some ambiguities in the second edition, such as the origin of the Nine Yang Manual. As is typical of some of his other novels, Jin Yong included elements of Chinese history in the story, such as featuring historical figures like Hongwu Emperor, Chen Youliang, Chang Yuchun and Zhang Sanfeng. The political and ethnic clash between the Han Chinese rebels and the ruling Mongols is also a prominent theme in the novel.

Plot

Set in the late Yuan dynasty, the story revolves around a pair of mysterious and allegedly unrivaled weapons, the Heaven-Reliant Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber, which are coveted by many martial artists in the jianghu. Either or both of them are thought to allow their wielder to rule the wulin, according to a widely circulated mantra which goes, "The powerful and honorable weapon:Dragon Saber; It can slay the Dragon. Use it to command the world. Who dares to disobey orders? If the Heaven Sword does not appear, what weapon can against the saber effectively?" The origins of this poem are not known at the beginning of the novel.
The protagonist, Zhang Wuji（张无忌）, is of mixed heritage. His father, Zhang Cuishan（张翠山）, is an apprentice of Zhang Sanfeng（张三丰, the highly revered leader of the respected Wudang Sect（武当派）; his mother, Yin Susu （殷素素, is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng, the chief of the nefarious Heavenly Eagle Cult. He was born on a reclusive arctic volcanic island known as the ice-fire island. He reforms the cult and helps to improve its relations with other sects. He becomes a key figure in leading the rebel forces to overthrow the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
Throughout his adventures, Zhang Wuji finds himself entangled in a complex web of love relationships with four maidens. The first, Zhu Er （蛛儿）, is a horribly disfigured girl who is actually his maternal cousin. The second, Xiaozhao （小昭）, is a Chinese-Persian servant girl who understands him very well. The third, Zhou Zhiruo （周芷若）, is a childhood friend who previously saved his life when they were young. He develops a strong bond with her. The fourth, Min Min Temur Zhang Wuji gave up an opportunity to become a ruler when the Ming Cult on the verge to overthrew the Yuan dynasty. Ideally, Zhang would have become the new emperor, but instead, the general Zhu Yuanzhang seizes command of Ming Cult's military and unites most of China's rebel forces. After capturing the city of Nanjing, he enrobes himself in the Dragon Robe and establishes the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Four years later, the founding emperor's subordinate, Xu Da, leads an attack on the Yuan capital, where the Hongwu Emperor is finally legitimately enthroned under the Mandate of Heaven. The Yuan remnants retreat to the Eurasian Steppe after losing China, where they establish the Northern Yuan dynasty under the leadership of Toghon Temür. The Mongols continue their war with the Ming dynasty, scheme to reconquer China but ultimately failed to overpower the Han Chinese's now-strengthened forces under the Ming.
In 2005, Jin Yong published a third edition of the novel, which has a slightly different ending from the earlier versions. In this edition, Zhang Wuji feels disillusioned after failing to save a general's life and addressing Han Lin'er's death. He relinquishes his leadership of the Ming Cult to Yang Xiao and Fan Yao, and then leaves the Central Plain with Zhao Min.

The two weapons

The origins

The two titular weapons, the Heaven Reliant Sword and the Dragon Slaying Saber, were forged from a single sword, the Heavy Iron Sword, which Yang Guo wielded in The Return of the Condor Heroes.
The Heavy Iron Sword belonged to Dugu Qiubai, a great swordsman whose skills were unmatched in his time. Yang Guo chanced upon the Heavy Iron Sword while he was recovering from the Love Flower's poison and the loss of his right arm. When Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü depart from Xiangyang, they left the sword with the couple Guo Jing and Huang Rong. The sword was melted and special steel material was added and it was then forged into the two weapons.
In the third edition of the novel, the Heaven Sword was reforged from Yang Guo's Gentleman Sword and Xiaolongnü's Lady Sword while the Dragon Saber's origin remained unchanged.

The secret

Hidden in the blade of the Dragon Saber is a military treatise titled Book of Wumu, authored by Yue Fei. Similarly, concealed in the blade of the Heaven Sword are two scrolls detailing the Nine Yin Manual and Guo Jing's "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms".
The Dragon Saber was given to Guo Jing and Huang Rong's son Guo Polu, while their younger daughter Guo Xiang inherited the Heaven Sword.
The content of the hidden book and scrolls, in addition to the fact that the weapons can only be damaged and broken when used against each other, was the source of the claim that whoever possesses the Dragon Saber will rule the world and yet only the one who possesses the Heaven Sword can stand against the wielder of the Saber.
The secret of the weapons was passed down only from the leader of each generation of the Emei Sect to her successor. Miejue is succeeded by Zhou Zhiruo and the secret is passed on to the latter. In the novel, Zhou Zhiruo gains possession of both weapons through her cunning and deception and she breaks them to obtain their contents.
In the latest revision, two halves of an iron-plated map are hidden in the weapons instead of manuals. Once pieced together, the map points out the location of Peach Blossom Island, where the manuals are hidden. Jin Yong reasoned that the change was due to a possibility that the dissection of the weapons will cause the manuals to be burnt, hence two pieces of an iron-plated map would be better substitutes.

Analogy

In Chinese culture, the Dragon is a symbol of the emperor or sovereign ruler. The full translated name of the Dragon Saber is "Dragon Slaying Saber", which implies that it is used to "slay the emperor". In this case, the "emperor" refers to Emperor Huizong of the Yuan dynasty.
Throughout Chinese history, several monarchs have become tyrants, just like when the mythical Dragon goes out of control and becomes a menace. The Heaven Sword's full translated name is "Heaven Reliant Sword" as it embodies Heaven. In Chinese culture, the emperor is respectfully called the "Son of Heaven", which implies that Heaven is the ultimate authority in determining who will be the ruler of China.
It can thus be interpreted as such: The secret in the Dragon Slaying Saber can be used to "kill" the emperor and replace him with another ruler. Ideally, a brilliant military leader can use the textbook to its full potential by staging a rebellion to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule. However, if the new emperor turns out to be an incompetent monarch or a tyrant, a martial artist can master the skills from the manuals in the Heaven Reliant Sword, assassinate the emperor and replace him with a wise and benevolent ruler.

Characters

Adaptations

Films

Television

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 story's events were not presented in the same order as in the novel.

Video games

In 2000, Softworld released a RPG based on the novel. The game ends after the battle at Bright Peak.
In 2004, Softworld released another RPG. Instead of the traditional turn-based RPG, this version has a real-time battle system, and follows the entire story.