The Return of the Condor Heroes (traditional Chinese: 神雕侠侣; simplified Chinese: 神雕侠侣; pinyin: shén diāo xiá lǚ) is a classic wuxia novel written by Jin Yong, first published on May 20, 1959 in the first issue of Ming Pao and ran for about three years. This is the second novel of the Condor Trilogy. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in an unfamiliar world that does not approve of their taboo love between master and apprentice.
Alternate English titles are The Giant Eagle and Its Companion and Divine Eagle, Chivalric Companion. The Legend of Condor Hero: The Complete Saga as released on amazon is actually a misrelease of Return of the Condor Heroes (anime).[1]
Plot
[edit] The orphan
The story begins with the introduction of a new plot line and new characters. Li Mochou (李莫愁),a powerful and vicious woman, massacred the entire Lu family due to her humiliation after a reneged marriage vow. Lu Wushuang (陆无双), a youngster in the Lu family, was abducted by Li Mochou during the fights while her cousin Cheng Ying was saved by Huang Yaoshi (黄药师) (one of the Five Greats of the martial arts world and a significant character in The Legend of the Condor Heroes).
The main character Yang Guo (杨过) was then introduced as an orphan, living the life of a scavenger. He was accidentally hurt by one of Li Mochou's poisonous needles in the fight. Fortunately for him, he encountered Ouyang Feng (欧阳锋) (another member of the Five Greats, and a powerful villain in the previous story, and since gone insane). Ouyang Feng offered to help Yang Guo purge his poison, with the odd condition that he take the title of Ouyang Feng's adopted son. After Yang Guo was cured, their companionship did not last long as Ouyang Feng would enter one of his fits of madness and wander off. During the brief time they stayed together, Yang Guo received instruction in Ouyang Feng's legendary fighting style, which would later prove to be both a blessing and a curse.
When Yang Guo encountered the couple Guo Jing (郭靖) and Huang Rong (黄蓉), they immediately noticed that young Yang Guo bore an uncanny resemblance to Guo's sworn brother, Yang Kang (杨康). Upon learning that Yang Guo was in fact Yang Kang's son, the couple took Yang Guo under their care. However, Yang Guo did not get along with Guo Jing's daughter Guo Fu (郭芙) and his disciples (brothers Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文)). Furthermore, out of the fear that Yang Guo would follow the footsteps of his late father (a man who wielded the power of his martial arts for evil ends), Huang Rong offered her husband to taught Yang Guo. She would instead only instruct him on the teachings of philosophy and literary arts, instead of martial arts. Realizing that he was being treated differently from the other disciples, Yang Guo keenly felt the injustice, and slowly (for reasons of his own) began to doubt Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
One day when a fight broke out between Yang Guo and the Wu brothers. Upon being beaten, Yang Guo unexpectedly revealed hisToad Leap (蛤蟆功), taught to him by Ouyang Feng, and injured Wu Xiuwen badly. When questioned later by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, Yang Guo refused to reveal how he learned the Toad Leap. In any event, the answer was self-evident, as the only living person who knew the art was Ouyang Feng (who had killed five of Guo Jing's masters Jiangnan Qi Guai (江南七怪) and committed countless other crimes in the past). The couple decided at last that Yang Guo would inevitably learn martial arts in his own way, and that it would be better to at least have him taught properly in mainstream arts rather than chance corruption by any of the countless other "evil" styles. Yang Guo would be sent to the Quan Zhen Sect (全真教) for better guidance, and also for instruction in one of the most "mainstream" styles of the time.
[edit] Quanzhen sect
Despite the goodwill between Guo Jing and the elders of the Quanzhen Sect, things got off to a bad start. The younger Quanzhen members attacked Guo Jing in a case of mistaken identity, but their best efforts were easily defeated by the single man. Even after clearing up matters with the Quanzhen elders, there was still considerable grudge. Yang Guo was poorly treated, and his master Zhao Zhijing (赵志敬) perceived Yang Guo as rebellious and would not teach him proper martial arts. Teaching the boy only the verse and not the maneuver, Zhao Zhijing was able to fool his elders into believing that Yang Guo was just a poor student. After an incident where Yang Guo again used the Toad Leap and injured another student, the entire sect (who held countless grudges against Ouyang Feng in the past) turned against him with a vengeance. Yang Guo fled and escaped unknowingly into the nearby Tomb of the Living Dead, the home of the Gumu Pai (Ancient Tomb Sect, 古墓派), and was taken in by Xiaolongnü (小龙女). Due to previous agreement between Wang Chongyang (王重阳) and Lin Chaoying (林朝英), the respective founders of the Quanzhen and Gumu Pai, the Quanzhen priests were prohibited from following after him into the Tomb.
[edit] Ancient Tomb sect
Xiaolongnü imparted her skills to Yang Guo and they eventually ended up practicing the Art of Jade Maiden. At one point, they had to strip their bodies to practice but was chanced upon by Yin Zhiping (尹志平, 甄志丙 in later editions) and Zhao Zhijing. With her energy disrupted, Xiaolongnü was injured severely. At this critical moment, Li Mochou returned to look for the Art of Jade Maiden.
Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü sparred with Li Mochou and her disciple. They were pursued relentlessly by Li Mochou, and sealed up the only exit with a block of 500 kg stone, called Breaking Dragon rocks in the end. Li Mochou held Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü captive. After being tortured, Yang Guo finally said that he would die for Xiaolongnü. Li Mochou seized this opportunity to say to Xiaolongnü that she could exit the tomb now since she has finally found a man who truly loved her. However, Xiaolongnü saw through Li Mochou's trick, saying that she doesn't think there is another way out.
They were pursued again and they managed to shake off Li Mochou. Thinking that her death was near, Xiaolongnü asked Yang Guo to place her in one of the coffins in the room in the gumu. After Yang Guo climbed into the coffin with her, they found a secret lever. They fell through the coffin and ended up in a room which contained secret martial art manuals and many stone soldiers. Li Mochou found the opening in the coffin and sought them. They exited the tomb together through a waterfall. Li Mochou returned to her house and found Lu Wushuang missing along with her one of her martial art manuals, and vowed to kill Lu Wushuang.
Meanwhile, Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo learned a skill from the Sacred Scriptures of Nine Negations left behind by Wang Chongyang. One day, Yang Guo's godfather, Ouyang Feng, came to look for Yang Guo. After Yang Guo realized that it was his godfather who Xiaolongnü was presently engaged in a fight with, he stopped them and pointed out to the both of them that Ouyang Feng was his godfather. Ouyang Feng was overjoyed and immediately wanted to continue imparting his martial skills to Yang Guo. Not trusting Xiaolongnü, Ouyang Feng immobilized her, not wanting her to look at them practicing. Taking advantage of Xiaolongnü's immobilized state, Yin Zhiping raped her and ran away, worrying that Xiaolongnü would kill him if she found out that it was him. However, Xiaolongnü thought it was Yang Guo, who had been with her. When Yang Guo returned from practicing with Ouyang Feng, he became confused with Xiaolongnü's actions towards him. After he refused to address her appropriately as his wife, she flee away in a furious and sad state.
[edit] Love Flower
In the novel, there is a flower called the Love Flower (情花) which although beautiful, has hidden thorns. The thorns are very poisonous and it could be fatal if pricked by even one of them. Upon any thoughts of love, the victim would be hurt by the poison. Years ago, the love flowers were supposed to be extinct but it seemed that they still continue to thrive in a hidden place called the Passionless Valley, whose master is the ruthless Gongsun Zhi (公孙止). There is only two antidote to the poison of this flower, the passion pill, one with Yang Guo where the pill was put in his pocket, which he soon gave to Long'er and one where the wife of the Valley Master kept. In the English version on KTSF 26, these flowers bore the same name, but the valley and the pill were renamed "Heartless Pill" and "Heartless Valley"
Yang Guo was poisoned by this flower when he came to the valley while Xiaolongnü was badly injured in the later part of this novel. Since Yang Guo would not take the pill which was given to him because he thought Xiao Long Nu was going to die, Xiao Long Nu jumped off a cliff, leaving a message to Yang Guo, who could still be saved. The message read: "She was going to meet Yang Guo 16 years later and the time she is gone, he must take care of himself and wait for their reunion.". Her plan was to make him forget about her so that he would take the antidote and live for at least sixteen more years.
[edit] Sixteen Years Later
Yang Guo waited for sixteen years. He spent his time developing his martial arts with that divine bird, the Condor (culminating in creating the Melancholic Sad Palms) and then wandering the land, becoming a well known hero, the Condor Hero. On the day he was supposed to meet Xiao Long Nu, Yang Guo found out that Nanhai Nun did not exist and that she actually jumped off the cliff, so he jumped off the cliff to join her in death. To his surprise, the bottom of the valley had a lake.
Xiao Long Nu had actually survived and slowly recovered while at the bottom of the pit. She had no way of getting out and so lived her life like she did in the cave she grew up in. Yang Guo also survives the fall and they reunite. She and Yang Guo were very happy to find each other. He and Xiao Long Nu left the pit and found out that Guo Xiang (Guo Jing's daughter whom he had a close bond with) was in danger. They rescue her and take part in a battle to protect Xiangyang from Mongolian armada led by Möngke Khan. Yang Guo fought with General Jinlun Guoshi and eventually won. He then eliminated Möngke Khan, disbanding the entire Mongolian army, caused a civil war that disrupted the unity and invincibility of the Mongol Empire, and halting their invasion for another thirteen years until the succession of Kublai Khan. Yang Guo makes his peace with all the warriors. Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo are recognized as heroes and then leave off on their own. As it was about 40 years since the last competition at Hua Mtn, all the heroes gathered at the peak to pay respects to Hong Qigong who had died and buried there. Here, they renamed the 5 Greats since the North, West and Central had died, the Southern King abdicated, only Huang Rong father had remained unchanged.
In most if not all adaptation of the novel, the last chapter is never put in. It showed the entire group of heroes leaving Hua Mtn and ended up near Shaolin temple. There they met two very important characters that would play an important role in the conclusion to the trilogy.
The story would conclude on the The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠龙记).
[edit] Characters
[edit] The Condor (Giant Eagle)
The Condor (神雕) is a giant eagle living alone in a valley. It used to have a companion but he was long dead before it met Yang Guo. The Great Eagle's companion was actually a great sword master, nicknamed the Sword Devil (剑魔), by the name of Dugu Qiu Bai (独孤求败) or The Lonely One-Who-Begs-For-Defeat. After roaming China in search for someone to rival his great swordmanship, Dugu Qiu Bai came to a cave in the middle of a forest and lived there as a hermit. No one could defeat him so he became known as 'Great' but in the process, he also became a solitary person, living alone with only the condor for a companion. In doing so, he took on the name "Qiubai (求败)" ("begging for defeat"), perhaps out of arrogance, or more likely as a dogged quest to find the limit of his skills. After his death, the Great Eagle lived alone, and only came to encounter Yang Guo one night during a fight with a giant snake.
From the Condor Yang Guo learned his swordsplay. Because his right arm had been severed by Guo Fu, the spoiled daughter of his surrogate uncle Guo Jing in a fit of anger, Yang Guo trained relentlessly with his one arm under the waterfalls to wield the great sword of Dugu Qiu Bai. Eventually, when he achieved high skills in martial art, he and the condor ventured out to search for his lover which is also his martial art's master, Xiaolongnü (小龙女). Although it is described as a rather unattractive or ugly bird, the Condor however, possesses near human intelligence and fighting skills that can rival some of the best in the martial art world. Like its former master Dugu Qiu Bai, it is proud yet noble in nature and likes to challenge other human or beast it encounters.
[edit] Protagonists
* Yang Guo (杨过) - the main hero of the story. He is the orphaned son of Yang Kang (杨康) and Mu Nianci (穆念慈) who are both characters of the first part of the trilogy, The Legend of the Condor Heroes.
* Xiaolongnü (小龙女) - is Yang Guo's love interest. She is a disciple of the secret martial art sect, Gumu Pai (Ancient Tomb Sect, 古墓派).
* Guo Jing (郭靖) - is the sworn brother of Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang. He took care of Yang Guo when his mother died.
* Huang Rong (黄蓉) - is Guo Jing's clever wife and Yang Guo's surrogate aunt. She refused at first to teach martial arts to Yang Guo, fearing that he would turn out to be like his father.
* Lu Wushuang (陆无双) - is the spirited daughter of the Lu House, which is a prominent family in Jiang Nan. When she first saw Yang Guo, she thought he was half-mad and dim-witted and called him "Sha Dan. ( Idiot)" Later on, she began to develop strong feelings for him.
* Cheng Ying (程英) - is Lu Wu Shuang's mild-mannered cousin and a disciple of Peach Blossom Island Master Huang Yaoshi (黄药师), the East Heretic and Huang Rong's father. She helped Yang Guo rescue Lu Wushuang from the evil clutches of Li Mochou (李莫愁). Like her cousin, she also has affectionate feelings for Yang Guo.
* Wanyan Ping (完颜萍)- is a member of the royal family of Jin Dynasty. Her whole family was killed by the Yelü (耶律) Family and to avenge their deaths, she swore to kill Yelü Chuchai (耶律楚才) who was the prime minister of Mongolia. She reminded Yang Guo of Xiaolongnü and because of this, he taught her martial arts to defeat the prime minister's son, Yelü Qi (耶律齐).
* Guo Fu (郭芙) - is the spoiled daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. She used to look down on Yang Guo when they were younger. She later made her peace with Yang Guo after he saved her husband Yelü Qi and sister at the end of the novel. She grew up with Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文). They were sons of Wu Santong (武三通) and later became her first suitors. Since Guo Fu had trouble choosing which of the brothers to marry, Dun Ru and Xiu Wen fought a duel to the death. In order to prevent this fratricide, Yang Guo lied to the Wu brothers saying that Guo Jing and Huang Rong had already betrothed Guo Fu to him. This lie really offended Guo Fu. She intended to kill Yang Guo with the Shunü Sword which Xiaolongnü gave her but, fortunately, only severed his right arm.
* Gongsun Lü'e (公孙绿萼) - is the daughter of the evil Passionless Valley master, Gongsun Zhi (公孙止) and the cruel Qui Qianchi (裘千尺) who was known as the Iron Palm Lotus Blossom. She fell in love with Yang Guo even though he could not return her love. Eventually, she made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up her life to save him from the Love flower poison.
* Guo Xiang (郭襄) - is the gentle daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong and Guo Fu's younger sister. As a baby, she was kidnapped by Li Mochou and was fed by a female leopard. Later, the evil Tibetan monk, Jinlun Fawang (金轮法王) also tried to kidnap her. It was Yang Guo who finally saved her and returned her to her mother.
[edit] Antagonists
* Jinlun Guoshi (金轮国师) / Jinlun Fawang (金轮法王) - is known as the Living Buddha of Tibet and Mongolia's Defense Master. At the heroes' gathering in Da Shen Guan, he tried to take the title of "Head of Wulin" to stop the South Song Song Dynasty (960-1279) citizens from raising arms against the Mongolians. He was later defeated by Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü who teamed up and used the Jade Maiden Heart's Swordplay.
* Li Mochou (李莫愁) - is known as the Serpent Deity. The apprentice sister of Xiaolongnü, she was expelled from the sect because of her love for a man who later betrayed her. She roams Jiang Hu, striking fear in men's hearts and ruthlessly causing trouble when the mood strikes her.
* Gongsun Zhi (公孙止) - is the merciless master of Passionless Valley. His ancestors were once important officials of Tang Dynasty who fled to a fortress in the hidden valley to avoid prosecution. While gathering some herbs, he chanced upon the unconscious form of Xiaolongnü and fell in love with her.
* Qiu Chianchi (裘千尺) - is Gongsun Zhi's wife and known as the Lotus Blossom of Iron Palm Sect. Everyone thought she was dead but in truth, Gongsun Zhi disposed of her in a deep pit under the Passionless Valley. She was trapped in the pit as the tendons and ligaments to her arms and legs were cut by Gongsun Zhi when he wanted her dead. She survived by consuming the prunes that fell near her and trained herself to spit out prune seeds with deadly result. She also knows the recipe of the antidote for the poisonous plants in Passionless Valley.
* Zhao Zhijing (赵志敬) - is a third-generation disciple of Quan Zhen Sect (全真教) and also the master of Yang Guo when he was still studying there. He nearly destroyed his own school when he enlisted the Mongolian conquerors to help him become master of Quan Zhen Sect. He finally died from poison bees.
* Huo Du (霍都) - is a prince of Mongolia and a disciple of Jinlun Fawang.
* Möngke Khan (蒙哥汗)- is a Mongolian ruler who personally lead the attack on the city of Xiangyang. He was killed by Yang Guo at the end of the novel. His death resulted in internal conflict of succession within the Mongolian empire in which Kublai Khan won, temporary halting the Mongolian invasion.
* Kublai (忽必烈) was a governor of the southern territories of the Mongol Empire and its military general. He tried to persuade Guo Jing to switch his loyalty to the Mongol Empire again. After his brother Möngke Khan died at the hand of Yang Guo, he and his brother Hulagu started a civil war that disrupted unity of the empire. Eventually, Kublai won and became a Khan and Yuan Dynasty founder.
* Jinlun's Helpers - the four other Mongolian martial artists that assist Jinlun in important missions.
参考资料：最后的protagonists和antagonists就是人物介绍