Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils or The Cycles of the Heavenly Dragon (TC: ????, SC: ????, pinyin: Ti?n Lóng B? Bù) is a contemporary wuxia novel written by Jin Yong. It was originally published in 1963, and has since spawned several movies and television serials in both Mainland China and Hong Kong. The title of the novel has been a challenge for translators for years. It is based on the eight races of entities described in Buddhist text who are more powerful than humans on the cosmic scale. In Buddhism, even though these demi-gods are ranked higher than humanity, they are still bound to the Samsara by their own passions and desires. It is said that Jin Yong originally modelled each major character after one of the Races.(eg. Qiao Feng obviously represents the Naga) But as he wrote on, the complexity of the story made it impossible for such a simplistic mapping. Today the topic of which character corresponding to each Race is still a interesting matter of discussion among fans and readers.

Related Topics:
TC - SC - Pinyin - Wuxia - Jin Yong - Mainland China - Hong Kong - Buddhist - Cosmic - Samsara - Naga

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