The Kunlun Swordsman

Name: The Kunlun Swordsman
ISBN: 9787520538107

Xu ZheshenChina Culture and History Press · ChinaSep 2024

3.7

Word count: 158K words
Chapters: 34
ISBN: 9787520538107

Report an error Find this book

Summary

This is a full-length martial arts novel, one installment in our press's Xu Zheshen Martial Arts Fiction series. Xu Zheshen, a representative author of the early Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school, writes martial arts fiction in an elegant, free-flowing style and excels at exposing the world's various ugliness with humorous language, thereby promoting the spirit of chivalry and praising a new world of freedom and democracy. The book tells of Jiaguo, the closed-door disciple of Old Man Kunlun, and an orphan girl who go up the mountain to learn martial arts in order to avenge a family wrong; after completing their training they marry and, hand in hand, descend the mountain; with their master's help they root out treachery and evil and act as champions of justice. Taking the movements of Old Man Kunlun and his disciples as its thread, the book strings together a series of injustices in the world; the story is rich and exciting, the characters are sharply drawn, it is full of romantic color, and it is highly readable.

Editor's review

As one of the "Xu Zheshen Wuxia Novels," this book continues the author's elegant, free-flowing, and humorous style, telling the lively and entertaining story of Jiaguo and an orphan girl who go up the mountain to learn martial arts in order to avenge a family feud, and then join hands to root out treachery and evil after completing their training. The whole book takes the movements of the old man of Kunlun and his disciples as its thread, stringing together a series of injustices in the world; structurally it is close to the traditional wuxia "travel—encounter—act" model, with vivid characters, strong romantic flavor, and high readability. Xu Zheshen, a representative writer of the early Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school, did not pursue only spectacular combat in his wuxia writing but often used a teasing style to expose ugliness and promote chivalry and the new spirit of freedom and democracy, which is also reflected in this book. It is suitable as light reading for understanding the flavor of Republican-era wuxia, and also for readers who like traditional chapter-based storytelling and humorous chivalric romance. If you expect rigorous historical research or hard-edged realistic martial arts combat, the romance and legendary quality of this book may seem lightweight.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like traditional wuxia and chapter-based storytelling and seek a light reading experience
Literature enthusiasts interested in the wuxia writing of Republican-era Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school authors
Readers who prefer a humorous, witty style and enjoy stories of chivalry plus romance
Readers who want to understand Xu Zheshen's wuxia series and read works comparatively

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strict historical research or realistic hard-edged wuxia
Readers who prefer modern fast pacing, strong suspense, or complex world-building
Readers uninterested in traditional revenge and sect-training formulas

Reading tips

You may first read the opening section that explains the backgrounds of Jiaguo and the orphan girl and their training on the mountain, grasp the characters' motivations, and then move on to the linked stories of their descent into the world to act chivalrously.
Read with the movements of the old man of Kunlun and his disciples as the thread; at each injustice you may pause briefly to appreciate the author's bead-stringing structural arrangement.
Pay attention to the humor and teasing in the narration and the exposure of worldly ugliness; do not chase only the outcome of fights, for Xu Zheshen's style is more visible there.
If you are interested in Republican-era wuxia, you may read it alongside wuxia works by other Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school writers and compare the similarities and differences in style and views of chivalry.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

版权信息
自序
第一回姻缘美满夫妇下昆仑行旅艰难弟兄谈剑侠
第二回斗姥阁独斗山魈雷公滩双擒水怪
第三回复亲仇圣母现原形变戏法村姑装丑相
第四回痴娃戏姊姊眼具玄功弱妹助哥哥拳逢劲敌
第五回倒擂台暗救红颜女入迷窟难为白面郎
第六回异想天开家姬充土娼奇谈海外师祖嫁徒孙
第七回占鳌头魁星受窘露马脚太岁遭殃
第八回长街卖字孝子拾奇珍古寺烧香贤妃遗宝物
第九回入法场闹笑话抱错亲夫进牢狱施奇方医痊病犯
第十回落草英雄生成菩萨相贪花和尚死戴美人头
第十一回笞犯人太太臀开花逐贤媳婆婆心泼墨
第十二回窃法宝存心斗法发奸谋借手惩奸
第十三回辞道号远走高飞见情书寻根究蒂
第十四回偷天换日黠婢便宜舍己医人情郎苦恼
第十五回苦命鸳鸯投桃报李销魂蛱蝶接木移花
第十六回是日也女化为男非官乎人奚变犬
第十七回主考拜门生文章吐气县官求罪犯面目何存
第十八回舌剑战唇枪专工戏谑心珠碎气弹大触霉头
第十九回不夜城神仙嘉伉俪中秋节夫妇庆团圆
第二十回龟奴仗义追赶恩人鸨母无情殴伤病客
第二十一回一场黑幕丈母嫁东床千两黄金少爷游北里
第二十二回梦里天堂开颜片刻人间地狱饮恨终身
第二十三回大茅山共赴尖刀宴小涧洞分尝镕铁汤
第二十四回缉捕得力吴大令升官溺爱不明魏乡绅失教
第二十五回养虎伤身新房临恶煞投鼠忌器阿姊顺凶神
第二十六回泼水难熔人心似铁燃香可闷官法如炉
第二十七回红颜薄命急雨逐飞花白璧微瑕狂风摧败柳
第二十八回好色医生思通魏女爱财店妇力任王婆
第二十九回天际看飞头钗光剑影灯前惭合卺靥晕心旌
第三十回鸳帐作蒲团劝郎学道龙门修草稿赖鬼成名
第三十一回一生一死乃见交情半喜半忧须查夙孽
第三十二回游地府羞煞众婵娟进冰山放逃诸鬼犯

FAQ

Is this book a complete standalone story?

The materials show that this book is one part of the "Xu Zheshen Wuxia Novels" series, but the story revolves around Jiaguo and an orphan girl avenging a family feud, going up the mountain to learn martial arts, and after completing their training joining hands to descend the mountain and root out treachery and evil. With the movements of the old man of Kunlun and his disciples as the thread, the main line is relatively complete and can be read on its own without first reading other works in the series.

What are the characteristics of Xu Zheshen's wuxia novels?

According to the materials, Xu Zheshen was a representative writer of the early Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school. His wuxia novels have an elegant, free-flowing style and are skilled at using humorous, witty language to expose worldly ugliness, thereby promoting the spirit of chivalry and praising a new world of freedom and democracy. This book also continues this approach of strong romantic flavor and prominent characters.

Who are the main characters in the story?

The core characters are Jiaguo, the old man of Kunlun's last disciple, and an orphan girl. To avenge a family feud, the two go up the mountain to learn martial arts; after completing their training they happily marry and join hands to descend the mountain. The old man of Kunlun, as their master, gives help at key moments, and the movements of master and two disciples string together a series of injustices in the world throughout the book.

Do I need to understand the Republican-era wuxia background before reading?

No special preparation is needed. The book's narrative is coherent and highly readable; you can go straight into the story. If you want a deeper understanding, you may briefly learn about the popular-literature context of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school and Republican-era wuxia; after finishing, you will have a clearer grasp of Xu Zheshen's style.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Xu Zheshen Author · Chinese · 1884

Xu Zheshen (1884–?), originally named Huanhai, courtesy name Boqing, pseudonym Zhesheng, was a native of Shengxian, Zhejiang (present-day Shengzhou). A late Qing novelist, he was one of the early representatives of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School. From the age of twenty he devoted himself to popular literature; in midlife he moved to Shanghai and lived by his pen, founding the Correspondence Novel Society. His writing spans romance, social fiction, martial arts, palace intrigue and historical themes. His output was considerable, with thirty titles held in the collection, including Han Palace Chronicle of Twenty-Eight Dynasties, The Three Heroes Zeng, Zuo and Peng, and New Tides on the Spring River, as well as martial-arts novels such as Kunlun Swordsmen, Three Heroes of the Red Chamber and Three Swordsmen of the Qing Dynasty, and historical fiction such as The Three Outstanding Figures of the Great Qing. Aimed at ordinary readers and emphasizing plot and readability, his work had a certain influence on the spread of popular literature in Republican China.