Quick Answer: What Is The Return of the Condor Heroes?
The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣, Shéndiāo Xiálǚ) is the second novel in the Condor trilogy by Jin Yong (金庸, Jīn Yōng). It follows Yang Guo (杨过, Yáng Guò) and his martial teacher Xiaolongnü (小龙女, Xiǎolóngnǚ). Their bond grows out of their training and comes into conflict with the rules other martial artists expect them to follow. In English, begin with A Past Unearthed.[4][5]
- The new generation: Yang Guo takes the central role after the first novel’s story of Guo Jing (郭靖, Guō Jìng).
- Two translated names: Yang Guo appears as Penance Yang. Xiaolongnü appears as the Dragon Maiden.
- The first English volume: A Past Unearthed opens this novel’s English translation. A Love Illicit is listed as volume two.
- The trilogy order: Read the first novel beforehand if you want the full background to Yang Guo’s family.
The guide covers the early relationships and the order of the books. It leaves the outcome of the romance and the later conflicts undisclosed.
A young man can inherit a reputation long before he has done anything to deserve it. When Yang Guo enters the martial world, some of the people he meets already have strong feelings about his father. With Xiaolongnü, his place in the martial world begins with learning a discipline together. The story asks what happens when the person who teaches him to belong somewhere becomes the person he is told he cannot love.
Yang Guo, Xiaolongnü and the Ancient Tomb
Guo Jing knew Yang Guo’s father, Yang Kang (杨康, Yáng Kāng), and brings the younger man into the orbit of the Quanzhen Sect (全真教, Quánzhēn Jiào). Gigi Chang’s translation gives Yang Guo the name Penance Yang.[1] If you are coming from the first novel, the changed generation is more important to follow than a new list of schools.
Yang Guo comes to train with Xiaolongnü in the Ancient Tomb (古墓, Gǔmù). The revised Chinese edition describes the pair practicing a shared martial discipline there.[4] Their practice gives each of them reason to notice what the other is doing. That attention is part of their relationship before anyone outside the tomb tries to define it.
If this is your first wuxia (武侠, wǔxiá) novel, keep track of the obligations that go with being someone’s student. Names and techniques tell you where a person trained. The duties attached to that training help explain why a private decision can become a public matter.
Why the Teacher and Student Relationship Matters
Xiaolongnü is both a teacher and the person Yang Guo wants to be with. Within the novel’s martial community, the romance crosses a rule about how teachers and students should relate.[3] When a scene moves from their time training to an encounter with other martial artists, ask who is in a position to define that rule. Compare what they owe each other as teacher and student with what other people expect them to give up.
The first English volume opens after the Mongols have defeated the Jurchen Jin and as they turn against the Southern Song.[1] The Song dynasty guide supplies historical background. Inside the novel, the conflict gives Yang Guo commitments beyond the relationship and puts him among people who already have strong ideas about what a hero owes.
The English Reading Order
The English volumes for this novel begin their own sequence. Use the subtitle and translator, especially if a catalogue groups them with English volumes of the first novel.[1][2][5]
| Порядок | English volume | Translator |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Past Unearthed | Gigi Chang |
| 2 | A Love Illicit | Gigi Chang |
The publisher identifies A Love Illicit as volume two and uses Dragon Maiden for Xiaolongnü in its description.[2][3] A Past Unearthed is the starting volume. If you are comparing a Chinese cast list with the English books, keep Penance Yang beside Yang Guo and Dragon Maiden beside Xiaolongnü so you can follow both without learning two separate casts.
The same Chinese title can identify a printed edition or an adaptation. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum displays an early popular edition and a photograph from a film production.[6] If you want the novel, search the author and the book title together. For a screen version, add the year or cast.
Where Return Fits in the Condor Trilogy
The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传, Shèdiāo Yīngxióng Zhuàn) is the first novel. Its English translation starts with A Hero Born and finishes with A Heart Divided. The next novel starts with A Past Unearthed.[5] Return works as an entry point if you are most interested in Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. The earlier novel gives you Guo Jing’s history with Yang Kang before you meet Yang Kang’s son.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龙记, Yǐtiān Túlóng Jì) is the third Chinese novel.[7] If you are choosing a sequence for Jin Yong’s fiction, distinguish the order of the three novels from the order of the translated volumes within each novel.
FAQs About The Return of the Condor Heroes
Can I read The Return of the Condor Heroes first?
Yes. Start with A Past Unearthed in English. Read The Legend of the Condor Heroes first if you want the background to Guo Jing’s connection to Yang Guo’s family.
Is Penance Yang the same character as Yang Guo?
Yes. Penance Yang is the name in Gigi Chang’s English translation. In the same translation series, Dragon Maiden refers to Xiaolongnü.
Is A Past Unearthed the complete novel?
A Past Unearthed is volume one of the English translation of the second novel. The publisher identifies A Love Illicit as volume two.
Источники
[1] Quercus / Hachette UK. A Past Unearthed
[2] MacLehose Press / Hachette Australia. A Love Illicit: Return of the Condor Heroes Volume 2
[3] Hachette UK. A Love Illicit
[4] Eslite. The Return of the Condor Heroes: Revised Chinese Edition, Volume 1
[5] Quercus / Hachette UK. A Heart Divided
[6] Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Jin Yong Gallery
[7] HK01. Anna Holmwood and the Condor Trilogy