Huanjian Qiqing Lu
Huanjian Qiqing Lu, literally Tale of the Sword Returned and the Unusual Romance, is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng, first published as a serial between November 1959 and May 1960 in the Hong Kong newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily. It is the first instalment in Liang Yusheng's Pingzong series, followed by Pingzong Xiaying Lu.
The novel has been described as a "wuxia adaptation" of Cao Yu's 1933 play Thunderstorm. Set in early 15th-century China, it centres on a swordsman who abandons his pregnant first wife and later manipulates his second wife into helping him steal a coveted swordplay manual. Two decades later, his past returns to haunt him when the children from both marriages fall in love, unaware they are half-siblings, leading to a tragedy that destroys his family.
Publication history
Huanjian Qiqing Lu was first published as a serial between November 1959 and May 1960 in the Hong Kong newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Subsequent reprints include a 1988 edition by China Agricultural Publishing House, a 1996 edition by Cosmos Books, a 1996 edition by Guangdong Travel and Tourism Press, a 2012 edition by the Sun Yat-Sen University Press, and a 2016 edition by Brain Master Publishing.Plot summary
The story is set in 15th-century China during the Ming dynasty. Chen Xuanji is on a mission to assassinate Yun Wuyang, a legendary swordsman who has withdrawn from the wulin. Along the way, he gets entangled in a love triangle with Xiao Yunlan, who has a crush on him, and Shangguan Tianye, a Wudang Sect swordsman who loves Xiao Yunlan.By chance, Chen Xuanji meets and starts a romance with Yun Susu, Yun Wuyang's daughter. At the Yun residence, confrontations take place between Yun Wuyang and other wulin figures over a swordplay manual which Yun Wuyang had apparently stolen from the Wudang Sect years ago. Yun Wuyang's health subsequently declines after a series of fights against all of them.
Chen Xuanji is forced to take shelter in the Yun residence after being attacked by the jinyiwei. Yun Wuyang is mortally wounded while protecting Chen Xuanji, whom he knows his daughter truly loves. As death approaches Yun Wuyang, the truth of his life emerges. Years earlier, he had married Chen Xuemei and impregnated her, but abandoned her after she was wounded in battle.
Chen Xuemei, who had survived and given birth to Chen Xuanji, appears at the Yun residence in search of her son. The ultimate revelation that Chen Xuanji and Yun Susu are half-siblings drives Yun Wuyang to a fatal heart attack and causes Chen Xuemei to faint. Overcome by despair upon learning that the man she loves is actually her half-brother, Yun Susu commits suicide, leaving Chen Xuanji to mourn.
Principal characters
- Chen Xuanji – Chen Xuemei and Yun Wuyang's son.
- Yun Susu – Yun Wuyang and Mou Baozhu's daughter.
- Shangguan Tianye – a Wudang Sect swordsman who later becomes Bi Lingfeng's apprentice.
- Xiao Yunlan – Xiao Guanying's daughter who has affections for Chen Xuanji.
- Yun Wuyang – a legendary swordsman who used to serve under Zhang Shicheng.
- Mou Baozhu – Yun Wuyang's second wife.
- Chen Xuemei – Yun Wuyang's first wife.
- Bi Lingfeng – a crippled and disfigured outlaw who appears as a beggar.
- Xiao Guanying – a prominent wulin leader who has a grudge against Yun Wuyang.
Reception and legacy
Readers and critics generally regard Huanjian Qiqing Lu as one of Liang Yusheng's more concise and tightly-structured novels. On Douban, the novel holds a rating of 7.3 out of 10 based on around 50 reviews, with readers praising its poetic prose and tragic emotional tone. A 2019 article on Sohu described it as a compact and well-constructed story that effectively introduces the Pingzong series by combining elements of romance, martial-arts chivalry, and moral reflection.Reader commentaries have pointed out the novel's exploration of guilt, retribution, and intergenerational tragedy, with some comparing its plot to the 1933 play Thunderstorm by Cao Yu.
Huanjian Qiqing Lu is also regarded as significant in tracing Liang Yusheng's development as a wuxia writer.