The English translations of the legend of the Condor Heroes novel you can find here: Wuxia society
he Legend of the Condor Heroes is a Hong Kong wuxia television series adapted from Louis Cha's (better known as Jin Yong) novel of the same title. The 59 episodes long series is divided into three parts.
Part 1: The Legend of the Condor Heroes - The Iron-Blooded Loyalists (射鵰英雄傳之鐵血丹心)
Part 2: The Legend of the Condor Heroes - The Eastern Heretic and Western Venom (射鵰英雄傳之東邪西毒)
Part 3: The Legend of the Condor Heroes - The Duel on Mount Hua (射鵰英雄傳之華山論劍)
It was first serialised between 1 January 1957 and 19 May 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Jin Yong revised the novel twice, first in the 1970s and later in the 2000s.
The 1983 version is considered by many to be a classic television adaptation of the novel and features the breakthrough role of Barbara Yung, who played Huang Rong
Genre Wuxia
Written by: Louis Cha (original story), Chan Kiu-ying, Cheung Wah-biu
Directed by: Johnnie To, Ng Yat-fan, Lau Si-yuk, Siu Hin-fai, Ching Siu-tung (action director)
Starring: Felix Wong, Barbara Yung, Michael Miu, Sharon Yeung
Theme music composer Joseph Koo
Opening theme
1. Tit Huet Dam Sum (鐵血丹心)
2. Yat Sang Yau Yi Yi (一生有意義)
3. Sai Kan Chi Chung Nei Ho (世間始終你好)
performed by Roman Tam and Jenny Tseng
Country of origin Hong Kong
Original language(s) Cantonese
No. of episodes 59
Producer Wong Tin-lam
Location Hong Kong
Running time 42 minutes per episode
Production company TVB
Release
Original channel TVB Jade
Original release February 21 – July 22, 1983
1st serie shown: February 28 1983 - March 25 1983
2nd serie shown: May 2 1983 - May 27 1983
3rd serie shown: June 27 1983 - July 22 1983
Broadcast time mondays till fridays 20:30 - 21:30
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_the_Condor_Heroes_%281983_TV_series%29
Plot
The story is set in the Song Dynasty and at the beginning of the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty's invasion of northern China. The first part of the novel revolves around the friendship of two men, Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, who become heroes in their own right as they fight the Jin invaders. The bond between the duo is so strong that they pledge to each other 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).
The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their sons after Guo Xiaotian's death and Yang Tiexin's disappearance. Guo Xiaotian's son Guo Jing grows up in Mongolia under the care of Genghis Khan. Yang Tiexin's son Yang Kang, on the other hand, grows up in Jin as a Jurchen prince's son. Guo Jing is mentored by the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" in martial arts but he is a slow learner and only manages to master part of the skills he was taught. Yang Kang was taught by Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect and he learns the evil "Nine Yin White Bone Claw" from Mei Chaofeng secretly.
The boys' personalities differ largely from each other due to differences in their upbringing. Guo Jing is honest, loyal and righteous, but slow witted. Conversely, Yang Kang is clever, but scheming and treacherous. They eventually meet one another and their respective lovers, Huang Rong and Mu Nianci. The main story line follows Guo Jing and Huang Rong's adventures and their encounters with the Five Greats. Meanwhile, Yang Kang plots with the Jurchens to conquer his native land of Song.
Yang Kang refuses to acknowledge his ethnicity and is strongly driven to acquire wealth, fame and glory. His treachery is slowly unveiled throughout the novel in the encounters he has with the protagonists, although he is ultimately outwitted by Huang Rong.
Assisted by Guo Jing, the Mongol army destroys the Jin Dynasty, subsequently turning its attention towards Song. Guo Jing is unwilling to aid the Mongols in conquering his native land and leaves Mongolia. Guo Jing returns to Song and helps his countrymen in countering the Mongol invaders. On the other hand, Yang Kang meets his retributive end, leaving behind Mu Nianci and their unborn son. The Mongol invasion is halted by Genghis Khan's unexpected death, although Guo Jing and Huang Rong see countless civilian deaths due to this military conquest.
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_the_Condor_Heroes)
Main characters
Huang Rong
Huang is born to Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng. Her mother died shortly after she was born and her father raised her all by himself on Peach Blossom Island. She was an intelligent child and quick learner, so her father imparted her with all his skills and knowledge. She flees from home after an argument with her father and disguises herself as a beggar by donning filthy rags.
Huang meets Guo Jing for the first time in an inn while arguing with a waiter. Guo feels sorry for her and decides to pay for her meal. Huang finds Guo interesting and she orders all kinds of fine cuisine and shares with him. Guo even gives her some gold ingots he received from Genghis Khan. When she asks, Guo offers her his prized Ferghana horse, a rare Central Asian breed. Since then, Huang is attracted to Guo as she sees that he is a simple, honest and innocent young lad.
Huang was initially better in martial arts than Guo, as the latter is slow learning despite being physically stronger. They embark on adventure together even though Guo's teachers, the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan", dislike Huang and oppose Guo's decision to be with her. They meet Hong Qigong, who teaches Guo his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to repay Huang's favours of preparing fine cuisine for him every day during the brief period of time he spent with them.
Hong initially refuses to teach Huang any skills when he learns that she is his rival Huang Yaoshi's daughter. However, he starts to like her for her cute nature, and especially after she and Guo saved his life from Ouyang Feng. He fought with Ouyang and was bitten by the latter's poisonous serpent, and lost all his inner energy in purging the venom from his body. He teaches Huang his Dog Beating Staff Technique after deciding to pass on his position as theBeggars' Sect's chief to her.
Huang plays a significant role in Yang Kang's death although she does not kill him directly. Yang attacks her with a palm strike in an attempt to prevent her from revealing the truth behind the murders he committed. However instead he hits the spikes on the armour she is wearing. The armour was incidentally stained with venom from a rare snake bred by Ouyang Feng and the poison seeps through Yang's wounds into his body and kills him eventually.
Towards the end of the novel, on the summit of Mount Hua, Huang Yaoshi finally consents to his daughter's marriage to Guo Jing.
(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_Rong)
Other main characters:
• Guo Jing Guo has thick eyebrows, large eyes, a sturdy and strong stature, and a complexion somewhere between dark and fair. He is described to be "dumb", slow in learning and inarticulate. Guo's most outstanding trait is his constant strife for moral rectitude, as observed when he faces a dilemma after Genghis Khan attempts to force him to lead the Mongol army to attack his native land. Although Guo was born and raised in Mongolia, he is unwilling to side with the Mongols to attack the Song Empire and exploit his own race.
• Yang Kang Yang was raised as a Jurchen noble and adopted his foster father's family name Wanyan. He was initially known as "Wanyan Kang" before his real heritage is revealed.
• Mu Nianci Mu was from Hetang Village in Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou). She became an orphan shortly after birth when an epidemic killed her family. Months before, her family offered shelter to an injured Mu Yi, who was escaping from Duan Tiande. When Mu Yi returned to her home to offer help, he saw that she was the only survivor in her family of seven (her parents and four brothers died) and decided to adopt the girl to repay her family's kindness. When Nianci became older, Mu Yi decided that it is time for him to find a suitable spouse for her. They travel around the land, staging martial arts contest for interested men to participate. The contestant must defeat Mu Nianci to win her hand-in-marriage but none has managed to overcome her yet. She learnt some martial arts from Hong Qigong after a brief encounter with him earlier, in addition to those taught to her by Mu Yi.
Main characters' parents
• Guo Xiaotian is Guo Jing's father. He made an agreement with his sworn brother Yang Tiexin for their children to become either sworn siblings (if they are of the same sex) or a married couple (if they are of opposite genders). He is killed by Duan Tiande's men.
• Li Ping is Guo Xiaotian's wife and Guo Jing's mother. She survived the raid on Niu Family Village but was captured by Duan Tiande. She manages to escape and eventually settles in Mongolia, where she gives birth to her son. She remains in Mongolia for the rest of her life and never returned home. She commits suicide to remind her son of his heritage when Genghis Khan tries to force Guo Jing to help him conquer the Song Em-pire.
• Yang Tiexin is Yang Kang's father. He specialises in the Yang Family Spear Skill which has been passed down for generations in his clan. He survived the attack on Niu Family Village and renames himself "Mu Yi" and adopts Mu Nianci as his daughter. He is reunited with his family later but his son refuses to acknowledge him. He commits suicide together with his wife after being cornered by Wanyan Honglie and his men.
• Bao Xiruo is Yang Tiexin's wife and Yang Kang's mother. She is soft-hearted and empathetic, as her name "Xiruo" (literally "pity the weak") implies. She survives the raid on Niu Family Village and is saved by Wanyan Honglie, who brings her back to the Jin Empire and marries her. She commits suicide to join her first hus-band.
Seven Freaks of Jiangnan
The "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan", also known as "Jiangnan Qi Guai is a group of seven chivalrous pugilists from Jiangnan. They are Guo Jing's first martial arts teachers. Ke Zhen'e was blinded many years ago in a fight against the "Twin Killers in the Dark Wind". Zhang A'sheng is killed by Chen Xuanfeng, while the rest (except Ke Zhen'e) are murdered by Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang.
The seven are:
• "Flying Bat" Ke Zhen'e
• "Marvelous Handed Scholar" Zhu Cong
• "Horse Deity" Han Baoju
• "Southern Hill Woodcutter" Nan Xiren
• "Laughing Buddha" Zhang A'sheng
• "Hidden Hero in the Busy City" Quan Jinfa
• "Yue Maiden Sword" Han Xiaoying
Five Greats
• Huang Yaoshi
• Hong Qigong (
• Ouyang Feng
• Reverend Yideng
• Wang Chongyang
Mongolia
Tem jin is an ambitious warlord who unites all the Mongol tribes under his rule and becomes Genghis Khan Guo Jing was raised under his care and he treats the boy like a son. At the end of the novel, before his death, he debates with Guo on what constitutes a hero.
Genghis Khan's children:
• Jochi (è¡"赤) is the oldest son.
• Chagatai is the second son.
• Ögedei is the third son.
• Tolui is the fourth son. He becomes anda sworn brother) with Guo Jing.
• Huazheng is the Khan's daughter. She was Guo Jing's childhood playmate and has a crush on him but the lat-ter sees her as a younger sister. Her father betroths her to Guo but they are not married eventually. She re-ports Guo to her father when Guo decides to disobey the Khan's order, intending to make Guo stay in Mongolia but unknowingly brings great trouble to Guo. Overwhelmed by guilt over what happened to Guo's mother, she leaves home and became a recluse for the rest of her life. Before leaving she warns Guo that the Mongols are planning to attack Xiangyang.
Genghis Khan's warriors:
• Jebe is an expert archer from a rival tribe who later becomes one of the Khan's trusted men. He teaches Guo Jing archery.
• Muqali
• Chilaowen
• Huduhu
• Zhelemi
• Bo'erhu returns to save Hong Qigong, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Huazheng and others when they were trapped by Yang Kang and Ouyang Feng.
• Genghis Khan's rivals:
• Jamuqa is Temujin's anda and ally. He becomes Temujin's rival in the war to unify Mongolia.
• Wang Khan was the anda of Genghis Khan's father, and formerly an ally of the Khan and Jamuqa. He sides with Jamuqa in the war against Genghis Khan later.
• Sangkun is Wang Khan's son.
• Dushi is Sangkun's son and Huazheng's original fiance.
Quanzhen Sect
• Zhou Botong
The "Seven Immortals of Quanzhen
are the seven students of Wang Chongyang. They lead the sect after their teacher's death.
• "Danyangzi" Ma Yu). He teaches Guo Jing some basic Quanzhen martial arts and inner energy skills.
• "Changzhenzi" Tan Chuduan He is killed by Ouyang Feng in a fight.
• "Changshengzi" Liu Chuxuan
• "Changchunzi" Qiu Chuji He befriends the Guo and Yang families in the first chapter. He becomes Yang Kang's teacher later.
• "Yuyangzi" Wang Chuyi He befriends Guo Jing after learning that the latter learnt from his senior Ma Yu. Guo helps him recover when he was injured by Lingzhi Shangren.
• "Guangningzi" Hao Datong also known as Guo Datong.
• "Qingjing Sanren" Sun Bu'er
• Yin Zhiping is one of Qiu Chuji's disciples. He goes to Mongolia to remind a 16-year-old Guo Jing of his scheduled match against Yang Kang.
• Cheng Yaojia is Sun Bu'er's student. She was almost raped by Ouyang Ke but Guo Jing and Huang Rong saves her. She later marries Lu Guanying under Huang Yaoshi's arrangement.
Peach Blossom Island
Huang Yaoshi's disciples
• The "Twin Killers in the Dark Wind are Huang Yaoshi's two eldest students. They decided to elope and fled from the island, taking with them their teacher's copy of the Nine Yin Manual. They master two skills derived from an unorthodox interpretation of the book: the Nine Yin White Bone Claw and Heart Shattering Palm Mei Chaofeng also learns the White Boa Whip Skill The couple are known for committing heinous crimes and are highly feared in the jianghu. They are:
• Chen Xuanfeng is nicknamed "Copper Corpse He fights with the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and tries to grab a six-year-old Guo Jing but the boy instinctively stabs him in the abdomen with a dagger and kills him.
• Mei Chaofeng born Mei Ruohua is nicknamed "Iron Corpse She is blinded by Ke Zhen'e in the fight against the "Seven Freaks". She escapes and trains hard in martial arts to avenge her husband. She meets Huang Yaoshi in Guiyun Manor and he forgives her and tells her to find his other four disciples. She is killed by Ouyang Feng.
• Qu Lingfeng makes his first appearance as Qu San a crippled neighbour of Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin. He runs the inn in Niu Family Village while doubling as a thief at night to steal treasures from the palace. Guo and Yang discover his secret after witnessing his fight with imperial guards. He is killed by a guard called Shi Yanming. His skeleton is discovered by Guo Jing and Huang Rong several years later in a secret chamber in the inn.
• Lu Chengfeng settles in Guiyun Manor near Lake Tai and nicknames himself "Handicap of Five Lakes" He once rallied a number of allies in a futile attempt to capture Chen and Mei for his teacher. He shares the same passion for arts as Huang Yaoshi and inherits his teacher's knowledge of medicine and strategic formations. He also leads a group of pirates who rob the rich and corrupt to help the poor. He moves to Dasheng Pass with his family and followers after his home is destroyed by Ouyang Feng. He died of illness.
• Wu Mianfeng died after contracting an illness.
• Feng Mofeng
Others
• Feng Heng was Huang Yaoshi's wife and Huang Rong's mother, who had eidetic memory. She memorised the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual after reading it once. She fell ill after giving birth to Huang Rong and died.
• Shagu (literally "foolish girl") is Qu Lingfeng's mentally handicapped daughter. She was first spotted by Guo Jing and Huang Rong in the inn at Niu Family Village. She is accepted by Huang Yaoshi as a grand student and taken to Peach Blossom Island.
• Lu Guanying is Lu Chengfeng's son and the young master of Guiyun Manor. His father refuses to teach him martial arts without permission from Huang Yaoshi, so he learns from Reverend Kumu instead. He marries Cheng Yaojia after falling in love with her on first sight, with Huang as the matchmaker. Huang later allows him to learn martial arts from his father.
Iron Palm Sect
• Qiu Qianren is the sect's chief and one of the more powerful fighters in the jianghu after the Five Greats. He is nicknamed "Iron Palm Skimming on Water for his prowess in martial arts and qinggong. He committed var-ious heinous crimes, including killing Yinggu's infant son and collaborating with Jin soldiers to terrorise Song citizens. He is saved by Reverend Yideng after falling off a cliff and repents. He is renamed to and becomes Yideng's student.
• Qiu Qianzhang is Qiu Qianren's twin brother. He is inferior to his brother in moral character and martial arts prowess, and relies on impersonating his brother to con and deceive others for a living. He falls to his death from Iron Palm Peak.
• Yashaogong
• Stronghold chiefs:
• Chief Qiao
• Chief He
• Chief Shi
Kingdom of Dali
• Liu Ying also known as Yinggu is nicknamed "Divine Mathematician. She was Duan Zhixing's concubine but he neglected her due to his obsession with martial arts. She had an affair with Zhou Botong and bore him a son, but the child was later severely injured by a masked attacker (Qiu Qianren). She pleaded with Duan to save her son but he refused and the infant died. Since then, she has been leading a reclusive life in the Black Swamp while plotting revenge on Duan and searching for Zhou Botong and her son's killer. During this time she tutors herself in mathematics and martial arts.
• Yideng's disciples:
• Diancang Yuyin disguised as a fisherman, was previously an admiral of Dali's navy.
• Zhang Shaoshou disguised as a woodcutter, was previously a general of Dali's army.
• Wu Santong disguised as a farmer, was previously the chief of Dali's palace guards.
• Zhu Ziliu disguised as a scholar, was previously Dali's premier.
• The Indian Monk is Yideng's junior who is an expert in medicine and healing. He translates for Guo Jing and Huang Rong the part of the Nine Yin Manual that was written in Sanskrit.
Beggars' Sect
The Four Great Elders of the sect are:
• Lu Youjiao. He befriends Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
• Elder Peng is a lecherous fiend who lusts for Mu Nianci. He betrays the sect and joins the Mongols eventually.
• Elder Jian (
• Elder Liang
• Li Sheng is a brave member of the sect who fights with Ouyang Ke to rescue the latter's victims, even though he is aware that he is no match for Ouyang. Guo Jing and Huang Rong show up to help him and he recognis-es them as Hong Qigong's students. Hong once taught him one stance of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. He refuses to kill Guo and Huang when Yang Kang orders him to do so, and chooses to commit suicide instead.
• Yu Zhaoxing
Wanyan Honglie and associates
• Wanyan Honglie is the sixth prince of the Jin Empire and a son of Emperor Zhangzong. He orders Duan Tian-de to lead soldiers to kill Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin so that he can seize Yang's wife Bao Xiruo for himself. He marries her and raises Yang Kang as his own son. He is obsessed with finding the Book of Wumu as he intends to use the knowledge acquired from the book to eliminate the Jin Empire's enemies and become a hero of his people. His plans are foiled by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who obtain the book in-stead. He later travels to Samarkand to form an alliance between the Jin Empire and Khwarezm Empire as part of a last ditch effort to counter the Mongols. He is eventually captured by Mongol forces and meets his end.
• Wanyan Hongxi is Wanyan Honglie's brother. He and his brother are sent to Mongolia as envoys to meet Genghis Khan in an early chapter.
• Ouyang Ke is Ouyang Feng's nephew, but is actually his illegitimate son. A lecherous fiend, he enjoys preying on young and beautiful maidens, especially Huang Rong, Mu Nianci and Cheng Yaojia. He initially wanted Guo Jing's Ferghana horse and later becomes Guo's rival in winning Huang Rong's affection. His attempts on Huang Rong have ended up in failure and shame for himself every time. His legs were crushed by a boulder in a bobby trap set by Huang Rong. He is murdered by Yang Kang eventually after attempting to molest Mu Nianci and Cheng Yaojia in Niu Family Village. Another motivation for the murder is that Yang Kang would be the most likely person to become Ouyang Feng's student after Ouyang Ke dies.
• Sha Tongtian is nicknamed "Devil's Gate Dragon King His left arm is amputated by Peng Lianhu after being infected with poison from a dying Yang Kang. He betrays Wanyan Honglie near the end of the novel.
• The "Four Devils of the Yellow River are Sha Tongtian's disciples. They are:
• "Soul-Severing Sabre" Shen Qinggang
• "Life-Chasing Spear" Wu Qinglie
• "Soul-Capturing Whip" Ma Qingxiong is killed by Lu Guanying's pirates
• "Death's Axe" Qian Qingjian is killed by the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" in the Mongol camp when he tries to assassinate Guo Jing.
• Hou Tonghai nicknamed "Three Headed Dragonis Sha Tongtian's inept junior.
• Liang Ziweng nicknamed "Ginseng Immortal Old Demon is an eccentric pugilist from the Changbai Mountains. 20 years ago he attempted to rape many women but they were saved by Hong Qigong and he suffered a humiliating defeat at Hong's hands. He rears a pet serpent meant to be used for an experiment. The snake nearly kills Guo Jing, who has been immobilised, but Guo bites its neck in self defence, kills it and drinks its blood in the process. Since then Liang has been stalking Guo and wanting to suck the latter's blood, believing that it will make him more powerful. Hong Qigong shows up to help Guo and Liang shuns away in fear when he recognises Hong. At the end of the novel Liang loses his footing in a final attempt on Guo at Mount Hua and falls to his death.
• Lingzhi Shangren is a Tibetan monk who poisons Wang Chuyi in a fight.
• Peng Lianhu nicknamed "Thousand Hands Human Butcher" is a notorious mass murderer. He poisons Ma Yu in a fight.
Song imperial court
• Huang Shang was the creator of the Nine Yin Manual.
• Duan Tiande is a military officer who leads his men to kill Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin. He is actually acting on Wanyan Honglie's orders, as part of the latter's plan to win Bao Xiruo's affection. He later reveals the truth unsuspectingly while being held captive in Guiyun Manor, and is eventually slain by Yang Kang.
• LÃ Wende is the commander of Xiangyang's military forces. Guo Jing and Huang Rong warn him about the Mongols' invasion at the end of the novel.
• Shi Yanming was a high ranking imperial guard. He and Qu Lingfeng killed each other in a fight in the secret chamber in Qu's inn. His skeleton is discovered many years later by Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
• Wang Daoqian was an official in the ministry of war. He was killed by Qiu Chuji after the latter discovered his attempt to trade secrets with Wanyan Honglie.
• Jiang Wen
Xianxia Sect
• Reverend Kumu is the abbot of Yunxi Monastery He is Duan Tiande's uncle and Lu Guanying's teacher. Duan lies to him that Qiu Chuji is a murderous villain after his life. Kumu believes his nephew and enlists the help of the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" to fight Qiu, resulting in a big misunderstanding.
• Reverend Jiaomu died incidentally during a fight between Qiu Chuji and the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan".
Others
• Ala ad-Din Muhammad II is the ruler of the Khwarezm Empire. He dies of pleurisy after his empire falls to the Mongols.
• Tang Zude
• Jiang Yuncong
(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Legend_of_the_Condor_Heroes_characters)
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