Quick Answer: What Is The Legend of the Condor Heroes?
The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传, Shèdiāo Yīngxióng Zhuàn) is the first novel in the Condor trilogy by Jin Yong (金庸, Jīn Yōng).[5][8] It follows Guo Jing (郭靖, Guō Jìng), a young martial artist raised on the Mongolian steppe, and Huang Rong (黄蓉, Huáng Róng), his resourceful companion. In the English edition titled Legends of the Condor Heroes, begin with A Hero Born.[1]
- The first book to get: A Hero Born, translated by Anna Holmwood.
- How much to read: The English edition divides the first Chinese novel into four volumes. A Heart Divided finishes it.
- Whom to follow: Guo Jing, Huang Rong and Yang Kang (杨康, Yáng Kāng) are a manageable starting cast.
- A name to recognize: Huang Rong appears as Lotus Huang in the English edition.
This guide covers the opening setup and reading order without giving away the outcome of the central conflicts.
Two families are torn apart near the start of the novel. Their sons grow up in very different circumstances, and an old agreement is set to bring them together.[1]
By the time they meet, each young man has people he trusts and reasons for staying loyal to them.
Guo Jing, Huang Rong and Yang Kang
Guo Jing grows up on the steppe after his father’s death.[1]
A Hero Born gives his training room to unfold. His persistence is easier to see when you pay attention to what his teachers expect him to learn. If this is your first Chinese wuxia (武侠, wǔxiá) novel, pay attention to who teaches him. A teacher’s expectations can stay with a character long after the lesson is over.
Huang Rong brings a different set of skills. In the opening scene of A Bond Undone, she has been trading moves with martial experts who want to identify her school. She uses their assumptions about how a pupil should speak of a teacher to cast doubt on the conclusion they have drawn.[2]
The translation calls her Lotus Huang. The scene shows why knowing the customs of a school can be as useful as knowing its moves.
Yang Kang grows up with the status and privileges of a prince in the Jin realm. As he learns more about his parentage, the history of his family comes into conflict with the life he knows.[2]
Keep his position in mind whenever the novel brings him and Guo Jing together. Both men have inherited obligations, but the obligations point them in different directions.
The Story’s Setting and Its Test of Loyalty
The story takes place against the rivalry of the Southern Song and the Jurchen Jin and the rise of Genghis Khan’s Mongols. Guo Jing’s early ties to the Mongols make the setting personally consequential. When military loyalties shift, he has to decide what he owes to people who helped raise him and what he owes to the land associated with his family.[5] The Song dynasty guide gives background on the dynasty outside the novel.
There are quieter versions of the same conflict in the martial world. When a text such as the Nine Yin Manual (九阴真经, Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng) draws competing people together, the question is who gets access to knowledge and what they will do with it.[2]
The people who have taught Guo Jing give him reasons to value that knowledge differently from someone who wants it solely for an advantage.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes was serialized between 1957 and 1959.[6] The newspaper serial was part of Jin Yong’s career in Hong Kong. Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time borrows from the novel loosely.[6] Start with A Hero Born even if you came to the novel through that film.
The Four English Volumes in Order
The US edition uses the series label Legends of the Condor Heroes. The numbered volumes and translator credits are listed by the publisher.[1][2][3][4]
| Orden | English volume | Translator |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Hero Born | Anna Holmwood |
| 2 | A Bond Undone | Gigi Chang |
| 3 | A Snake Lies Waiting | Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang |
| 4 | A Heart Divided | Gigi Chang and Shelly Bryant |
A Hero Born is the entry point even if the main series name is more prominent on the cover. Keep reading with A Bond Undone and A Snake Lies Waiting before A Heart Divided. If you are borrowing a set, check all four subtitles. A search result for the series name may be a listing for any one of them.
What to Read After A Heart Divided
The next Chinese novel is The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣, Shéndiāo Xiálǚ). The English translation of that novel begins with A Past Unearthed. Yang Guo (杨过, Yáng Guò), called Penance Yang in that translation, brings the story into a younger generation.[5][7]
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龙记, Yǐtiān Túlóng Jì) is the third novel in the trilogy.[9] The volume numbers restart with the second novel’s English edition. If you are continuing from A Heart Divided, look for A Past Unearthed.
FAQs About The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Is A Hero Born the whole novel?
A Hero Born is the first of four volumes in this English edition. The first Chinese novel concludes in A Heart Divided.
Is Lotus Huang the same person as Huang Rong?
Yes. Lotus Huang is the name the English edition uses for Huang Rong. If you are switching between an English volume and a cast list that uses pinyin, you are looking at the same character.
Is The Return of the Condor Heroes a sequel?
Yes. It is the second novel in Jin Yong’s trilogy. A Past Unearthed begins its English translation after the events covered by the first novel’s four volumes.
Fuentes
[1] St. Martin’s Press. A Hero Born: Volume 1
[2] St. Martin’s Press. A Bond Undone: Volume 2
[3] St. Martin’s Press. A Snake Lies Waiting: Volume 3
[4] St. Martin’s Press. A Heart Divided: Volume 4
[5] Quercus / Hachette UK. A Heart Divided
[6] Yining Zhou, International Journal of Asian Studies. Mythic Frontiers and Nationalism
[7] Quercus / Hachette UK. A Past Unearthed: Return of the Condor Heroes, Volume 1
[8] Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Jin Yong Gallery
[9] HK01. Anna Holmwood and the Condor Trilogy