Tale of the Long Sword《長劍篇》is a wuxia novel by Xiao Yi and published in 1982. The following is a translation of a plot summary and short review from A Critical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Wuxia Fiction《中国现代武侠小说鉴赏辞典》edited by Liu Xinfeng, Chen Mo, et al.
There was a drama adaptation of this novel in 2005 under the title 長劍相思 (Sword of the Outlaw) starring Chen Kun and Li Bingbing, but it seems to be very different from the novel.
Plot Summary
During the year of a great drought, The Great Bandit of Liaodong, Gold Wing, arrives at Linhuai Pass and sends and invitation to the richest family of the area, that of Mai Yujie and expresses that before the night of the Midautumn Festival, he will come demanding 10,000 taels of gold. Huang Tong, one of the hangers-on at the Mai estate, in order to repay his host’s generosity, stands up for and defends his host and is seriously wounded by Gold Wing in the process. Just at the critical moment, a teacher from the Mai Family ancestral hall, Guan Xueyu, strides out and engages Gold Wing and a life-and-death battle. Guan Xueyu’s real name is Yan Xue, the son of Yan Zhuiyun, the head of the illustrious Yan School within the martial world. He is wise and brave and is an incredible martial artist.
But he is still injured by Gold Wing’s “black finger” and narrowly escapes. Guan Xueyu happens to run into the mysterious figure Miss Feng (phoenix), who saves him and uses her school’s gold feather insignia to repel the enemy. Turns out that Miss Feng is the daughter of Feng the Seventh, the head of the powerful but mysterious Seven Finger Snowy Mountain Gold Phoenix Lodge. Feng the Seventh once saved Gold Wing’s life. Miss Feng falls in love with Guan Xueyu at first sight, and she uses her sect’s secret medicine to treat Guan Xueyu and the Mai family’s only daughter, Mai Xiaoqiao, who is a student at Mount Jiuhua. However, the two cannot be fully cured of their poisoning without the antidote from Gold Wing’s sect.
Guan Xueyu bids farewell to the Mai family and Mai Xiaoqiao sees him off in the morning; the feelings between them apparent but left unspoken. Guan Xueyu arrives in Ningguo prefecture and gets to know the local chivalrous characters Bao Yu and the young master of the Beggar’s Sect, Tong Bing. Again Guan Xueyu fights with Gold Wing, but his martial arts is still not strong enough and he is defeated again. At an inn, he becomes acquainted with the martial world master Hermit Jiang and receives snake blood from Jiang with which he gets rid of the remaining poison in his body. Guan Xueyu also finds out that Hermit Jiang is the ringleader of the jianghu’s dark path and is now plotting to steal government relief aid meant to help disaster victims in Linhuai Pass. Feng the Seventh and his daughter Miss Feng also have their eyes on the relief money, as does the Great Bandit of Liaodong, Gold Wing.
Dark path chief Hermit Jiang, in his bid to steal the relief money, kills “Extraordinary Thousand-Hand Constable” Qin Zhao’s mother and son, who were responsible for escorting the relief money. He also captures Qin Zhao’s wife and holds her hostage. Guan Xueyu rescues QIn’s wife all by himself. At the same time, a righteous persoange, Expelling Clouds Monk, leaves his mountain temple and helps Qin Zhao and company protect the relief money and get away from Hermit Jiang’s henchmen. Mai Xiaoqiao comes to Ningguo prefecture looking for Guan Xueyu and happens to run into Miss Feng. She learns that Miss Feng also has plans to snatch the relief money so she has no choice but to openly oppose Miss Feng and help Expelling Clouds Monk protect the relief money.
Miss Feng is angry and duels with her but can’t bring herself to kill Mai Xiaoqiao. Qin Zhao and company run into Feng the Seventh at the disaster relief area. By this time, Feng the Seventh has already defeated Gold Wing and plans to trick Hermit Jiang, so he thinks the relief money is as good as his. Unexpectedly, Guan Xueyu appears, and just as Feng the Seventh is about to strike a deadly blow on Guan Xueyu, Miss Feng shows up and asks for mercy. Finally, Feng the Seventh agrees to let Qin Zhao and the relief money go on the condition that Guan Xueyu goes back to Seven Finger Snowy Mountain with him.
On Seven Finger Snowy Mountain, Guan Xueyu meets Feng the Seventh’s maternal aunt, the 96-year-old martial world master, Lu You. Lu You secretly teaches Guan Xueyu some exceptional martial arts and recognizes him as a godson. Miss Feng secretly descends the mountain and goes to Expelling Clouds Temple where she happens to run into Mai Xiaoqiao, whose poisoning from early is taking effect and is critically ill. Miss Feng uses her sect’s secret medicine to expel the poison and save Mai Xiaoqiao’s life, but the poison had entered her eyes and has blinded her. Expelling Clouds Monk decides to descend the mountain and go look for a doctor for her.
Feng the Seventh originally intended to have Guan Xueyu marry into his family and take his surname and then teach him all the martial arts he knows. Miss Feng loves Guan Xueyu wholeheartedly and goes to see him one night and confesses her feelings. Guan Xueyu loves Miss Feng, but also misses Mai Xiaoqiao, so he in a pickle and decides to leave without saying goodbye. Lu You helps Guan Xueyu leave Seven Finger Snowy Mountain. Miss Feng tracks him down and once again reveals her feelings and tells him about Mai Xiaoqiao being blinded. At Expelling Clouds Temple, Expelling Clouds Monk comes back with a doctor, Gold Wing’s teacher, Old Kuang. Old Kuang does everything he can but is unable to restore Mai Xiaoqiao’s eyesight. Lu You uses her skills to restore Mai Xiaoqiao’s eyesight but uses up her own vital energy in the process and passes away. Mai Xiaoqiao sees Guan Xueyu again and her heart is content; she decides to become a nun. Guan Xueyu obeys Lu You’s dying will to quell the martial world’s new conflicts. Miss Feng happily sets off on a new life with her sweetheart (Guan Xueyu).
Appraisal:
At first glance, this is a conventional wuxia novel—heroes and beauties, upholding justice and eliminating evil to the satisfaction of all. But after reading, one gets a keen sense of the artistry, charm, and profound philosophy contained within the work.
The romantic connection between Guan Xueyu and Miss Feng and Mai Xiaoqiao is the main thread of the entire book. The author doesn’t do here what you see in other works, making the main character’s emotions plainly evident, but instead uses contrast, implication, and foils to tell the characters’ rich and complex true emotions. Although Guan Xueyu likes Mai Xiaoqiao, yet in a short time he goes from not consenting to accepting Miss Feng, and a sense of pain arises spontaneously. From gratitude, to looking out for her, to being touched and then loving her, his feelings for Miss Feng develop very naturally. In the second half of the book, the author’s technique of loosening the reins the better to tighten them makes the reader fall into his trap—and assume that Guan Xueyu will end up with Mai Xiaoqiao at the end and therefore take pity on Miss Feng. Until the very end when Mai Xiaoqiao regains her sight and converts to Buddhism, and Guan Xueyu and Miss Feng become husband and wife; then we cry out in admiration and delight at the author’s meticulous design, and thinking back on it, feel that it was handled realistically and uniquely. This may well be called ingenuity.
In evaluating his characters, the author seems to rank Mai Xiaoqiao highly. But in fact, both reader and author like even more the distinctive personality that makes us love and detest her, of Miss Feng. Here the author is using a technique of first restraining, then allowing his character to flourish. In fact, regardless of the fact that wuxia characters cannot get away from their classical cultural beackground, the people appreciating the work are openminded modern readers; consequently, characters that have complicated personalities and are morally ambiguous tend to be better received, while flawless goody-goody characters are rather flat. Modern readers understand this principle well.
Based on artistic skill, characters like Miss Feng resonate more in people’s minds. Miss Feng falls in love at first sight with Guan Xueyu and rescues him multiple times. At the same time, she is a mysterious character of the martial world who bears a heavy burden, and has to act sinisterly because she cannot disobey her father. But the way she treats Mai Xiaoqiao, an her unexceptional side, brings out Miss Feng’s good nature. Mai Xiaoqiao is Miss Feng’s rival in love and she openly and “ungratefully” opposes Miss Feng and her martial arts is inferior to Miss Feng. Yet Miss Feng sympathizes with her and leaves her a way out, and in the end she even saves her. Of course, Miss Feng is Miss Feng. She is persistent and steadfast in pursuing the one she loves and lacks the humility that the “righteous” of the martial world often have, nor the forbearance or self-sacrifice. Although she is lenient and conciliatory with her love rival, she would never think of yielding on the issue of love. Just the opposite, as Lu You said, “She’s not one to lightly abandon her principles.” This principle is regarding her love. The author uses many perspectives to present this uncommon girl to us and is unforgettable for modern readers.
Compared to Miss Feng, *Long Sword of Longing*’s portrayal of Mai Xiaoqiao is more feeble. Aside from her beauty, Mai Xiaoqiao’s personality is more average and her martial arts is inferior to Miss Feng, and her “righteousness” appears passive. Perhaps this foreshadows her becoming a nun, but as one of the main female characters, she gived the reader a rather ordinary impression. In addition, although this work is successful in its portrayal of Guan Xueyu, it’s not without its faults. For instance, Guan Xueyu first owes “Venerable Sir Eight” Hermit Jiang a debt of gratitude, but then he learns about Jiang’s sinister plot and he doesn’t confront him. He just furtively rescues Qin Zhao’s wife. It lacks cohesion. And many times Guan Xueyu reacts seems unmoved by Feng the Seventh’s and Miss Feng’s kindness, which damages his image as a principled member of the martial world and doesn’t conform with the portrayal of that kind of character.