The Smiling, Proud Wanderer
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1980 edition
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| Author | Jin Yong |
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| Original title | 笑傲江湖 |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Wuxia |
| Publisher | Ming Pao |
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Publication date
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1967 |
| Media type | |
| The Smiling, Proud Wanderer | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 笑傲江湖 | ||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 笑傲江湖 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Laughing Proudly in the Jianghu | ||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xiào Ào Jiāng Hú |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | Siu3 Ngou6 Gong1 Wu4 |
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in Hong Kong in the newspaper Ming Pao from 20 April 1967 to 12 October 1969. The Chinese title of the novel, Xiao Ao Jiang Hu, literally means to live a carefree life in a mundane world of strife. Alternate English translations of the title include The Wandering Swordsman,Laughing in the Wind,The Peerless Gallant Errant, and The Proud and Gallant Wanderer. Another alternative title, State of Divinity, is used for some of the novel's adaptations.
The story's initial development revolves around a coveted martial arts manual known as the "Bixie Swordplay Manual". The manual is an heirloom of the Lin family, who run the Fuwei Escort Agency, a private security service, in Fuzhou. Yu Canghai, the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, leads his followers to massacre the Lins and attempts to seize the manual for himself, but does not find it. Lin Pingzhi, the sole survivor from the Lin family, is saved by Yue Buqun, the head of the Mount Hua Sect, which is a member of the Five Mountains Sword Sects Alliance. Yue Buqun accepts Lin Pingzhi as an apprentice and trains him in swordplay.
The novel's protagonist is Yue Buqun's most senior student, Linghu Chong, an orphaned, happy-go-lucky but honourable swordsman who has a penchant for alcoholic drinks. He befriends the notorious bandit Tian Boguang and saves Yilin, a nun from the (North) Mount Heng Sect, from Tian's lecherous advances. In the meantime, Liu Zhengfeng of the (South) Mount Heng Sect announces his decision to leave the jianghu (martial artists' community) and invites his fellow martial artists to witness his retirement ceremony. The event turns into a bloodbath when Zuo Lengshan, the chief of the Mount Song Sect, and other orthodox sects accuse Liu Zhengfeng of being unfaithful to their code by befriending Qu Yang, an elder of the "evil" Sun Moon Holy Cult. Liu and Qu are cornered by Zuo and his men and eventually commit suicide. Before dying, Liu and Qu give Linghu Chong the score of Xiaoao Jianghu, a musical piece they composed together.
Lin Pingzhi's entrance into the Mount Hua Sect causes Linghu Chong to lose his romantic feelings for Yue Lingshan, Yue Buqun's daughter, because she starts falling in love with Lin. Linghu Chong's association with unorthodox jianghu figures leads him into trouble; Yue Buqun punishes him by making him stay alone for a year in a secluded area on Mount Hua to reflect on his "misdeeds". He discovers carvings of swordplay techniques in a cave, practises them, and unknowingly familiarises himself with not only the skills of the other four sword sects, but also the counter-moves. He encounters Feng Qingyang, an elderly Mount Hua Sect swordsman, who teaches him the formidable skill "Nine Swords of Dugu".
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