Vengeance in a Sea of Blood

Name: Vengeance in a Sea of Blood
ISBN: 9787503496387

冯玉奇China Culture and History Press · ChinaOct 2024

3.0

Word count: 152K words
Chapters: 25
ISBN: 9787503496387

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Summary

This novel by Feng Yuqi, a writer of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school during the Republican era, is included in the Republican-Era Wuxia Fiction Collection: Feng Yuqi Volume. A wuxia work, it uses its protagonist and his experiences to encourage loyalty and filial piety and to expose villainy with a keen eye, conveying praise and blame through its narrative. Its themes are profound and its conception far-reaching, leaving readers with the sense that the author sees through everything. It is well worth reading, and this book is one of his works.

Editor's review

Blood Sea Vendetta is one of Feng Yuqi's wuxia works, included in the Republican-Era Wuxia Fiction Collection: Feng Yuqi Volume. Unlike novels devoted to pure martial combat, this one centers on human grudges and moral judgment: through the protagonist's experiences the author lays out loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, and with the technique of "holding up a torch to expose villainy" he cuts into the human heart, with praise and blame clearly drawn. The title's "blood sea vendetta" signals a revenge theme, but the author does not stop at satisfying vengeance; right and wrong are revealed layer by layer as the plot unfolds, and readers can feel a calm, worldly gaze. Feng Yuqi's language bears the clear imprint of Republican-era popular fiction—fast pacing, dense turns of plot—making it a good entry point for understanding wuxia in the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly mode. For researchers and general readers who enjoy old-school wuxia or follow Republican-era popular literature, the book offers both a story to read and a text to savor. As you read, notice how the author embeds moral exhortation in the plot rather than preaching stiffly; that is precisely its strength.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Republican-era old-school martial arts fiction and want to know the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School's works
Fiction lovers interested in the ethics of revenge and themes of loyalty and filial piety
Scholars and students studying Republican-era popular literature who need primary texts
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and clear-cut narratives of grievance and gratitude

Not a good fit for

Young readers who prefer modern new-school martial arts or fantasy settings
Those intolerant of Republican-era vernacular style and old-fashioned moral preaching
Hardcore readers seeking rigorous mystery or complex dissection of human nature

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to clarify the web of characters' grudges, then follow the revenge mainline
Note how the author portrays villainous characters and appreciate the method of "holding a torch to expose treachery"
After finishing, compare with historical sources on Republican-era martial arts fiction to understand the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School's place
If the preaching feels heavy, skim the discursive passages and focus on plot and dialogue

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
第一回教子有方慈亲含悲泪无父何怙血海泣深仇
第二回壁上剑长鸣预知喜讯月中愁不绝天赐麟儿
第三回三星在户一臂惊秋梦晓风残月千里送春燕
第四回亲上加亲白云生入赘诈中有诈柳春燕设防
第五回三侠战元霖镜花显圣一胎怀双胞柳氏异人
第六回报断臂恨广法师下山结银镖仇白秋萍殒命
第七回病里痛悼亡赖卿抚育客中遭失子泪滴香涛
第八回耐劳习苦效陶侃运甓救灾恤难度文子归山
第九回草上野鸳鸯终是祸水山中新头目声气互通
第十回燕语鹃啼别离在今日龙飞凤舞兄妹获石麟
第十一回红白剑光大战罗家集一千童子秘制长寿丸
第十二回有意栽培替徒儿训子无心同路代盗马受冤
第十三回辞师下山忽逢乔梓会新孀投宿顿起节妇愁
第十四回妙计破奸若飞智而黠见面不识小侠买勇神
第十五回剑马久闻名威震寨主妹兄齐脱险携手来归
第十六回麒麟寨中气煞唐天兆大塔寺里血溅广法僧
第十七回白璧无瑕鹃儿羞遭劫如鱼得水小凤快获郎
第十八回青鸾骤至解客馆要挟余孽尚留借禅室迷人
第十九回黑脸判官乔装新娘子风尘五侠怒戮俏尼姑
第二十回孝感动天来阿耨尊者恶僧剖腹报血海大仇
附录从鸳鸯蝴蝶派谈到冯玉奇小说
一、何谓鸳鸯蝴蝶派
二、如何评价鸳鸯蝴蝶派
三、如何看待冯玉奇的小说

FAQ

Is this book a complete standalone story or part of a series?

According to the available information, this book is one volume in the Republican-Era Wuxia Fiction Collection: Feng Yuqi Volume, part of the Feng Yuqi wuxia works collected in that series. Based on the available information, it is a standalone wuxia novel, not a continuous long work that must be read in order; readers can start directly with this book without reading other works in the series first.

Does the title Blood-Sea Vendetta mean the whole book centers on revenge?

The information shows this is a wuxia work in which the protagonist's experiences encourage loyalty and filial piety and pass judgment on right and wrong, with a profound theme. The title points to deep hatred, and given Feng Yuqi's approach of "holding up a torch to expose treachery," revenge is likely an important thread driving the plot; but the author cares more about using grudges and debts to set out judgments of loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness than about merely rendering vendettas.

Can I read this book directly without having read other works by Feng Yuqi?

Yes. This book is a standalone work in the Feng Yuqi volume, with characters and plot that stand on their own and do not depend on earlier groundwork. Readers new to Feng Yuqi can read it directly; they need only be prepared for the language style of Republican-era popular fiction and old-fashioned moral views, and will adapt to the narrative rhythm after a few chapters.

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About the author

冯玉奇 Author

Feng Yuqi was a writer of popular fiction in the Republican era. Public information about him is limited: neither his dates of birth and death nor his native place are clearly recorded. Yet the 172 works held in our collection attest to the sheer volume of his output. His writing is driven by plot, and his subjects range across wuxia, modern romance, social fiction, and time-travel and alternate-world fiction. Representative works include Chivalrous Five-Flower Chart, Wen Suchen, National Soul: Blood and Flowers, The Understanding Flower, Sea of Blood and Flowers of Love: Favors and Grudges, Soul Broken at the Slanting Sun: The Strange Man of the Desert Island, and Remnant Light on Green Waves. Most of these appeared in Republican-era popular-literature journals and as standalone volumes. His language is plain and accessible and his narrative pace brisk; he excels at interweaving love and hatred, gratitude and grievance, and chivalrous adventure, while also depicting the ways of the world. His work had a certain influence among urban readers of the time. Today his writings are collected in the Feng Yuqi volume of the Republican Popular Fiction Collection, offering a useful sample for studying the generic ecology of Republican-era popular literature.