Legend of the Condor Heroes

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Cover of a 1960s edition of the 1st volume of the novel
Author	Jin Yong
Original title	射鵰英雄傳
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Chinese
Series	Condor Trilogy
Genre	Wuxia
Publisher	Hong Kong Commercial Daily
Publication date	1 January 1957
Media type	Print
Followed by	The Return of the Condor Heroes

The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the Condor Trilogy and is followed by The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. It was first serialised between 1 January 1957 and 19 May 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Jin Yong revised the novel twice, first in the 1970s and later in the 2000s. The English title is a mistranslation since both species of the condor, the Andean condor and Californian condor, are not native to China. A more accurate translation is Story of the Eagle Shooting Hero.

The story is set in the Song dynasty and at the beginning of the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty's invasion of northern China. The first part of the novel revolves around the friendship of two men, Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, who became heroes in their own right as they fought the Jin invaders. The bond between the duo is so strong that they pledge to each other that their unborn children will become either be sworn siblings (if both are of the same sex) or a married couple (if they are of opposite sexes).

The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their sons after Guo Xiaotian's death and Yang Tiexin's disappearance. Guo Xiaotian's son, Guo Jing, grows up in Mongolia under the care of Genghis Khan. He learns martial arts from the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and Ma Yu of the Quanzhen Sect, as well as archery skills from Jebe. The Chinese title of the novel is derived from an incident in Guo Jing's adolescent years, when he shot down two eagles in the sky with a single arrow. Yang Tiexin's son, Yang Kang, on the other hand, grows up in the Jin dynasty as a Jurchen prince's son. Although he is mentored by Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect, he also secretly learns the evil "Nine Yin White Bone Claw" from Mei Chaofeng at the same time.