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.

Characters

Protagonists

• Yang Guo (??) - the main hero of the story. He is the orphaned son of Yang Kang (??) and Mu Nianci (???) who are both characters of the first part of the trilogy, Eagle-Shooting Heroes.
• Xiao Long Nü (???) - is Yang Guo's love interest. She is a disciple of the secret kung fu sect, Gumu Bai (Ancient Tomb Sect, ???).
• Guo Jing (??) - is the sworn brother of Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang. He took care of Yang Guo when his mother died.
• Huang Rong (??) - is Guo Jing's clever wife and Yang Guo's surrogate aunt. She refused at first to teach martial arts to Yang Guo, fearing that he would turn out to be like his father.
• Lu Wu Shuang (???) - is the spirited daughter of the Lu House, which is a prominent family in Jiang Nan. When she first Yang Guo, she though he was half-mad and called him "Sha Dan." Later on, she began to develop strong feelings for him.
• Cheng Ying (??) - is Lu Wu Shuang's mild-mannered cousin and a disciple of Island Master Huang Yao Shi (???), the East Heretic and Huang Rong's father. She helped Yang Guo rescue Lu Wu Shuang from the evil clutches of Li Mo Chou (???). Like her cousin, she also has affectionate feelings for Yang Guo.
• Wanyan Ping (???)- is a member of the royal family of Jin Dynasty. Her whole family was killed by the Yelu (??) Family and to avenge their deaths, she swore to kill Yelu Chu Chai (????) who was the prime minister of Mongolia. She reminded Yang Guo of Xiao Long Nü and because of this, he taught her martial arts to defeat the prime minister's son, Yelu Qi (???).
• Guo Fu (??) - is the spoiled daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. She used to look down on Yang Guo when they were younger but eventually came to admire him for his kung fu .She later made her peace with Yang Guo after he saved her husband Yalu Qi and sister at the end of the novel). She has two suitors, Wu Dunru (???) and Wu Xiu Wen (???) who are both sons of Wu San Tong (???). And just because Yang Guo lied to the Wu brothers that Guo Jing and Huang Rong want to make Guo Fu marry him to stop them from dueling (and in the end they refused to talk to her), which really offended her, she intended to kill Yang Guo with the Shu Nu Sword which Xiaolongnu gave her but, fortunately, only severed his right arm.
• Gongsun Lu'e (????) - is the daughter of the evil valley master, Gongsun Zhi (???) and the cruel Qui Qian Chi (???) who was known as the Iron Palm Lotus Blossom. She fell in love with Yang Guo but he could not return her love. Eventually, she made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up her life to save him.
• Guo Xiang (??) - is the gentle daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong and Guo Fu's younger sister. As a baby, she was kidnapped first by Xiao Long Nü who wanted to use her in exchange for the antidote to the poison that affected Yang Guo. She was snatched away from Xiao Long Nü by her apprentice sister, Li Mo Chou. Later, the evil Tibetan monk, Jin Lun Fa Wang (????) also tried to kidnap her when she was on her way to pursuade Yang Guo not to commit suicide. It was Yang Guo who finally saved her and returned her to her parents.

Antagonists

• Jin Lun Fawang (????) - is known as the Living Buddha of Tibet and Mongolia's Defense Master. At the heroes' gathering in Da Shen Guan, he tried to take the title of "Head of Wulin" to stop the South Song Song Dynasty (960-1279) citizens from raising arms against the Mongolians. He was later defeated by Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nü who teamed up and used the Jade Maiden Heart's Swordplay.
• Li Mo Chou (???) - is known as the Serpent Deity. The apprentice sister of Xiao Long Nü, she was expelled from the sect because of her love for a man who later betrayed her. She roams Jiang Hu, striking fear in men's hearts and ruthlessly causing trouble when the mood strikes her.
• Gongsun Zhi (???) - is the merciless master of Passionless Valley. His ancestors were once important officials of Tang Dynasty who fled to a fortress in the hidden valley to avoid prosecution. While gathering some herbs, he chanced upon the unconscious form of Xiao Long Nü and fell in love with her.
• Qui Chian Chi (???) - is Gongsun Zhi's wife and known as the Lotus Blossom of Iron Palm Sect. Everyone thought she was dead but in truth, Gongsun Zhi imprisoned her in a deep pit under the Passionless Valley.
• Zhao Zhi Jing (???) - is a third-generation disciple of Quan Zhen Sect (???) and also the master of Yang Guo when he was still studying there. He nearly destroyed his own school when he enlisted the Mongolian conquerors to help him become master of Quan Zhen Sect.
• Huo Du (??) - is a prince of Mongolia and a disciple of Jin Lun Fa Wang.
• Möngke Khan - is a Mongolian ruler who personally lead the attack on the city of Xiangyang. He was killed by Yang Guo at the end of the novel. His death temporary halted the Mongolian invasion.

The Five Greats

Here are the five martial arts fighters, known as the Five Greats (Wu Gao Shou) in Yang Guo's time:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Zhou Bo Tong(???) - is known as the Mischievous Old Man (Lao Wan Tong, ???). Later in the novel, he reluctantly took the title 'Zhong Wan Tong' (???) which used to belong to his apprentice brother, Wong Chong Yang (???).
• Huang Yaoshi (???) - is known as the East Heretic (Dong Xie, ??), a man who dislikes the rules of that era.
• Yang Guo (??) - is known as West Passionate (Xi Kuang, ??), a successor of Ou Yang Feng (???), the West Poison (Xi Du, ??) who is also his foster father.
• Yi Deng Dashi (Master Yi Deng, ????) - is known as the South Reverend (Nan Seng, ??). He used to be called the South Emperor (Nan Di, ??), because he is in the Kingdom of Dali(???) but he gave up that title and entered the monastery to become a monk.
• Guo Jing (??) - is known as the North Hero (Bei Xia, ??), a successor of North Beggar Hong Qi Gong (?????), who is also one of his teachers.