 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2018) |
 Chapter 10 of The Book and the Sword, from page 6 of 5 August 1955 issue of the Hong Kong newspaper New Evening Post. | |
| Author | Jin Yong |
|---|---|
| Original title | 書劍恩仇錄 |
| Translator | Graham Earnshaw |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Wuxia, historical fiction |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | 8 February 1955 |
| Publication place | Hong Kong |
Published in English | 2005 |
| Media type | Print, serialised in The New Evening Post |
| ISBN | 978-0-19-590727-8 |
| Preceded by | A Deadly Secret |
| Followed by | The Young Flying Fox |
| The Book and the Sword | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 書劍恩仇錄 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 书剑恩仇录 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Chronicles of the Book and the Sword: Gratitude and Vengeance | ||||||||||
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The Book and the Sword is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). First serialised between 8 February 1955 and 5 September 1956[1] in the Hong Kong newspaper The New Evening Post, it is also Jin Yong's debut novel.
Set in 18th-century China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, the novel follows the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret society aiming to overthrow the Qing government, and their entanglements with a Uyghur tribe in southern Xinjiang. 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 protagonists, Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Fragrant Concubine.
Alternative English titles of the novel include Book and Sword: Gratitude and Revenge and The Romance of the Book and Sword.
- ^ The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan (武俠小說逍遙談), 2000, Huizhi Publishing Company (匯智出版有限公司), p. 56.