The Return of the Condor Heroes

The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣) was first published on May 20, 1959 in the first issue of Ming Pao. The novel -- the pinyin for its title is Shéndi?o Xiál? -- ran for about three years.

Background

This is the second novel of Louis Cha's trilogy.

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The novel is set in mid-13th century. In the novel, Yang Guo is the orphaned son of Yang Kang and Mu Nianci who are two of the main characters in The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Related Topics:
Yang Guo - Yang Kang - Mu Nianci - The Legend of the Condor Heroes

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Raised by Yang Kang's sworn brother, Guo Jing, Yang Guo trained under Quan Zhen Sect martial arts (All True Religion) and met Xiao Long Nü of Ancient Tomb Sect (Gumu Bai), who eventually became his teacher. When they first met, Yang Guo was an impetuous and mischievous 14-year-old while Xiao Long Nü was a cold, unemotional 18-year-old. After years of being together in the Ancient Tomb and training in kung fu, they fell in love with each other.

Related Topics:
Guo Jing - Yang Guo - Quan Zhen Sect - Xiao Long Nü

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Flower of Love

In the novel, there is a flower called the flower of love(情花) which although beautiful, has hidden thorns. The thorns are very poisonous and if you are pricked by even one of them, it could be lethal. Years ago, the love flowers were supposed to be extinct but it seemed that they still continue to thrive in a hidden place called the Passionless Valley, whose master is the ruthless Gongsun Zhi. There is only one antidote to the poison of this flower, the passion pill, which is a tiny square-shaped tablet.

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Yang Guo was poisoned by this flower when he came to the valley while Xiao Long Nü was badly injured in the later part of this novel. Because there was no cure for Xiao Long Nü she jumped off a cliff, leaving a message to Yang Guo,who could still be saved;The message read:She was taken by Nanhai Nun(a fabricated role?to cure her disease, she would meet Yang Guo 16 years later ; so he would take the antidote and wait for her. Her original plan was to make him forget about her, this caused them to separate for sixteen years.

Related Topics:
Yang Guo - Xiao Long Nü

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The Condor

The Condor (??) is a giant eagle living alone in a valley. It used to have a companion but he was long dead before it met Yang Guo. The Condor's companion was actually a great sword master, nicknamed the Sword Devil (??), by the name of Dugu Qiu Bai (????) or The Only Lonely One-Who-Begs-For-Defeat. After roaming China in search for someone to rival his great swordmanship, Dugu Qiu Bai came to a cave in the middle of a forest and lived there as a hermit. No one could defeat him so he became known as 'Great' but in the process, he also became a solitary person, living alone with only the condor for a companion. In doing so, he took on the name "QiuBai (??)" ("begging for defeat"), perhaps out of arrogance, or more likely as a dogged quest to find the limit of his skills. After his death, the Condor lived alone, and only came to encounter Yang Guo one night during a fight with a giant snake...

Related Topics:
Condor - Yang Guo - Dugu Qiu Bai

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From the condor, Yang Guo learned his swordsplay. Because his right arm had been cut off by Guo Fu, the spoiled daughter of his surrogate uncle, Guo Jing in a fit of anger, Yang Guo trained relentlessly with his one arm under the waterfalls to wield the great sword of Dugu Qiu Bai. Eventually, when he achieved high skills in kung fu, he and the condor ventured out to search for his lover and kung fu master, Xiao Long Nü (???).

Related Topics:
Condor - Yang Guo - Guo Fu - Guo Jing - Dugu Qiu Bai - Xiao Long Nü

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