 One of earliest editions of book 9 of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber | |
| Author | Jin Yong |
|---|---|
| Original title | 倚天屠龍記 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Series | Condor Trilogy |
| Genre | Wuxia |
| Publisher | Ming Pao |
Publication date | 6 July 1961 |
| Publication place | British Hong Kong |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 1-58899-183-0 |
| OCLC | 51068759 |
| Preceded by | The Return of the Condor Heroes |
| Followed by | The Smiling, Proud Wanderer |
| The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 倚天屠龍記 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 倚天屠龙记 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Story of the Heaven Reliant and Dragon Slayer | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, also translated as The Sword and the Knife,[1] is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha) and the third part of 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.[2]
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 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.