The Book and the Sword
Louis Cha is an icon of Chinese martial arts novels, and this novel apparently his masterpiece since it has been translated. The primary tension in my mind was the conflict between literary adventure logic, which would lead to the heroes winning, and historical knowledge that the Qing Dynasty would not be overthrown until the twentieth century. As it turns out, history triumphs over the heroes, who lose despite their superior martial arts due to treachery by the Qing Emperor (referred to as the Manchu Emperor in the older style). The heroes only escape because a virtuous princess commits suicide as a warning to them. The author glosses over how the heroes belong to a famously secret martial arts society and how those societies usually supported themselves with criminal behavior.
The book referred to is actually the Koran, the theft and recovery of which brings the Han martial artists and the Islamic warriors together to resist oppression by the Manchu. I'm not quite sure which of the many, many swords is referred to in the title. The plot is so complex with so many characters that even with sparse Chinese literary style the novel is just over 500 pages long.
The book referred to is actually the Koran, the theft and recovery of which brings the Han martial artists and the Islamic warriors together to resist oppression by the Manchu. I'm not quite sure which of the many, many swords is referred to in the title. The plot is so complex with so many characters that even with sparse Chinese literary style the novel is just over 500 pages long.