The Book and the Sword
by Louis Cha
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Description
In the Book and Sword, Louis Cha revives the legend about the great eighteenth-century Manchu Emperor Qianlong which claims that he was in fact not a Manchu but a Han Chinese as a result of a "baby swap." The novel is panoramic in scope and includes the fantastical elements for which Cha is well-known: secret societies, kungfu masters, a lost desert city guarded by wolf packs, and the mysterious Fragrant Princess.Tags
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Member Reviews
"Behind her, on her dressing-table, he noticed a broken mirror, and in it he saw the fractured image of the two of them embracing.
"'Look,' he whispered. 'There are one thousand pieces of me, and each one of them is holding you.'"
*
What a trip down memory lane. I am unable to separate the experience of reading this from the formative experience of obsessively rewatching the Taiwanese television production from the 1990's, and I imagine this book could be difficult to follow without prior knowledge of the story, so take that as you will. That said, this is a bloody-minded, thoroughly old-fashioned adventure tale with a sprawling cast of characters, outsized emotions, dramatic set pieces, and kung fu duels that unfurl like so many war show more banners. It is entrenched in traditional notions of duty and hierarchy, which make the bursts of anarchic chaos that much more startling. Static it is not, but readerly imaginative participation is essential. The last 50 pages -- !!!!! show less
"'Look,' he whispered. 'There are one thousand pieces of me, and each one of them is holding you.'"
*
What a trip down memory lane. I am unable to separate the experience of reading this from the formative experience of obsessively rewatching the Taiwanese television production from the 1990's, and I imagine this book could be difficult to follow without prior knowledge of the story, so take that as you will. That said, this is a bloody-minded, thoroughly old-fashioned adventure tale with a sprawling cast of characters, outsized emotions, dramatic set pieces, and kung fu duels that unfurl like so many war show more banners. It is entrenched in traditional notions of duty and hierarchy, which make the bursts of anarchic chaos that much more startling. Static it is not, but readerly imaginative participation is essential. The last 50 pages -- !!!!! show less
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Author Information
Louis Cha was born Cha Leung-yung in Haining, China on March 10, 1924. He graduated from Soochow University's law school in 1948. He worked as a journalist and translator for the newspaper Ta Kung Pao. He later became a film critic and editor for The New Evening Post in Hong Kong. In 1959, he established his own newspaper Ming Pao Daily News. He show more stepped down as chairman of the Ming Pao Enterprise Corporation in 1993. He wrote novels under the pen name Jin Yong. From 1955 to 1972, he wrote 14 novels including The Book and the Sword and Legends of the Condor Heroes trilogy. His novels inspired numerous film, television, and video game adaptations. He died of organ failure on October 30, 2018 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Book and the Sword
- People/Characters
- Qianlong; Chen
- Important places
- Hangzhou, China; China
- First words
- It was a hot summer's day in June, 1754, the eighteenth year of Emperor Qian Long's reign.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 895.1 — Literature & rhetoric Asian Literature Literatures of East and Southeast Asia Chinese
- LCC
- PL2848 .Y8 .S5413 — Language and Literature Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania Languages of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania Chinese language and literature Chinese literature Individual authors and works
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 94
- Popularity
- 337,630
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.68)
- Languages
- Chinese, English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
