Trawling through old archived posts of the old Oldrain (Chinese language) wuxia forum, posts from around 2003-2004, and I got in the mood to check out Sima Ziyan 司馬紫煙, who I have not read much from. Because back then, in the early days of online wuxia fandom, Sima Ziyan had his own subforum on Oldrain. Aside from his, there was also a subforum for Huang Yi 黃易, Huanzhu Louzhu 還珠樓主, Yun Zhongyue 雲中岳, Sima Ling 司馬翎, and one shared between Wen Rui’an 溫瑞安 and Gu Long 古龍.

That was it.

There was a general subforum for posting about any author, but there was no dedicated Jin Yong 金庸 subforum, no Liang Yusheng 梁羽生 subforum. Later on, Oldrain would add subforums for them, but here, in 2003, there were only a few dedicated subforums, indicating which authors had a cult following at the time. It was refreshing to see healthy and varied discussion of an entire genre, wuxia, and not just endless circlejerking over Jin Yong, which is just about all you see on the English side of the internet.

Sima Ling’s dedicated forum makes sense because he was championed by wuxia scholar/researcher Ye Hongsheng 葉洪生, who was also a moderator of the forum at the time. The cult followings of Yun Zhongyue and Sima Ziyan though, are more surprising because these two authors have not garnered much attention outside these dedicated fandoms. Yun Zhongyue is far and away my favorite wuxia author. I will be posting more about him soon. And he did at least warrant a section in Ye Hongsheng & Lin Baochun’s 林保淳 book on the development of wuxia fiction in Taiwan. But Sima Ziyan did not, though he was later included in Lin Baochun’s solely authored history book on the same topic in 2022.

So I got to reading the posts still archived in the Sima Ziyan subforum on the Wayback Machine. Readers like his work because his characters feel like flesh and blood people, and he explores the complicated sides of our humanity. His history novels are lauded just as highly if not more so as his wuxia novels. They like his upholding of the xia 俠 ethos, and his novel The Great Hero《大英雄》is a fan favorite, the protagonist Sima Ziyan’s take on a Wei Xiaobao-like character. I read some more reviews and decided to take a look at his novel Sixth Month Frostfall《六月飛霜》and I liked the opening of that novel so much that I translated it. I love badass women characters in wuxia ficiton. Despite some marketing wank I’ve seen online, strong and capable and prominent women in wuxia are actually pretty common. It’s not “deviant” or abnormal or unusual to see them or include them in wuxia fiction.

This character, Leng Hanyue 冷寒月, so far is an interesting character. I will be reading this novel further and I suspect I will be checking out more of Sima Ziyan in the future. For more information on him, see the article by Yan Qing I translated about him a few years ago.

See the excerpt, which is taken from the beginning of chapter 1, after the break:

Sixth Month Frostfall¹ was a sabre, and also a person.

When first appearing in the jianghu, the person was unknown, and the sabre was unknown as well. It was held in the hand of a woman named Leng Hanyue (冷寒月).² The first time the woman appeared was at sweetgum Bridge Town in Gusu City. The town took its name from the bridge, Sweetgum Bridge, which stretched across Suzhou Creek. The river and bridge share a connection because of Zhang Ji’s unsurpassed septasyllabic cut verse:

The moon sets, the drongo³ caws, frostiness fills the sky,

Riverside sweetgums⁴ and fisherman’s lights face accompany worried sleep.

At Cold Mountain Temple outside Gusu City,⁵

A midnight bell toll reaches the passenger boat.

So the bridge became famous and the place became famous as well.

Sweetgum Grove Escort Agency was in Sweetgum Bridge, founded by One Leaf Heralds Autumn Chang Fenglin (常楓林).⁶ Chang Fenglin made his name in the martial world with the Autumn Sweetgum Swordplay passed down through his family. His most exquisite masterstroke was called One Leaf Heralds Autumn.

For thirty years no one had been able to break it. Every time he used this move, his opponent either was wounded and retreated or got a good taste of his blade and died, and so this masterstroke became his nickname.

Chang Fenglin was upright and modest, it was just that his subordinates were rather conceited on account of him, but not excessively so. At most the young men were happy when they saw a pretty girl and couldn’t help but use their status to their advantage.

Sweetgum Grove Escort Agency armed escort Wang Guangsheng was in a teahouse and saw Leng Hanyue sitting by herself at a table, slowing sipping tea and eating a snack. The first thing that drew one’s attention was her hands, pure white as jade, then slender fingers that made one want to touch them at the sight of them, The second thing that drew one’s attention was the sabre. Brass scabbard polished bright and shiny as snow, with a snow-white sabre flag hanging from the hilt, which was wrapped in black sharkskin. It was really good-looking and really stood out.

Wang Guangsheng was with a group of young men at the teahouse, and they all fell to making wagers, betting to see if he could come up with a way to touch her hands, and the loser would have to treat the winner to a feast.

Wang Guangsheng considered himself a young playboy and naturally accepted the bet at once, then he got up and went over to the woman. When he was almost upon her, this young woman with her head down eating a snack suddenly looked up, freezing Wang Guangsheng in his tracks.

His first thought was that this woman was beautiful, otherworldly beautiful, not a trace of the mundane about her. His second feeling was that this young woman was cold, her beautiful face not carrying the slightest bit of an expression, especially her eyes, which were frighteningly bright, frighteningly cold.

Wang Guangsheng almost considered turning around and leaving, but he had made a bet, and if he didn’t see it through he would lose face, so he steeled himself and cupped a hand over his fist in greeting. “I am Wang Guangsheng, an armed escort with the Sweetgum Grove Escort Agency.”

The young woman was expressionless when she said coldly, “I’m Leng Hanyue!”

Though her tone was cold, but she had stated her name right away, which plucked up Wang Guangsheng’s courage. Besides, though Leng Hanyue was a pretty name, he had never heard of it. There was no such name in the martial world, making Wang Guangsheng feel that she was not someone whom he couldn’t afford to offend. Therefore, he emboldened himself a bit and with smile said, “I also used a sabre. I saw Miss’ sabre was of extraordinary quality and couldn’t help but want to make your acquaintance!”

Saying that, he reached out and put his hand on the sabre scabbard, the other hand about to draw the sabre out. That was his intention. Sure enough, the young woman’s hand pressed down on the hand about to draw the sabre and she said coldly, “My sabre is not lightly shown to others. Once its out of the scabbard it must see blood before it returns. Still want to see it?”

Wang Guangsheng’s goal was to touch her hand, and that goal had been reached. Though that hand was soft and smooth, sending him into ecstasy, yet the young woman’s expression was really too cold, so cold it was a bit spine-chilling, so he drew back his hand with a smile. “I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to bother you! Sorry to have disturbed you.”

He cupped his hands and turned to leave when the woman whose face was as cold as her surname said coldly, “Wait a minute. My sabre has another taboo!”

Wang Guangsheng halted. “What taboo?”

“It can’t be touched by just anyone. Whenever anyone feels it, whenever anyone touches it, it again must see blood before it returns. Just now you touched it!”

Wang Guangsheng smiled. “Miss, don’t joke around. What kind of taboo is that?”

With a schwing the sabre was drawn from the scabbard. Wang Guangsheng only felt a slice of cold light come over him. Before he could react his wrist felt a chill and his right hand was severed and fell to the floor. Leng Hanyue sheathed the sabre and said coldly, “I never joke around.”

Wang Guangsheng lost a hand and was in so much pain he was hopping wildly. His buddies saw something was wrong and dispersed in a clamor. It was actually a teahouse waiter who helped Wang Guangsheng leave.

Sweetgum Grove Escort Agency was really well-known in this place, and Wang Guangsheng was not just an armed escort with the agency but was also Chang Fenglin’s nephew. The teahouse proprietor feared trouble and quickly took Wang Guangsheng back to the escort agency. Chang Fenglin happened to be there, and when he heard what had happened he couldn’t but go over there. He wasn’t’ shielding anyone’s faults, but the other side had acted rather too ruthlessly!

When he got to the teahouse, Leng Hanyue had not left yet, but the other guests had left, fearing trouble, leaving only a pile of waiters to wait on her in fear and trepidation.

Leng Hanyue occupied an entire table, that sabre placed beside her.

Chang Fenglin entered the teahouse and Leng Hanyue remained seated, making him a bit mad. He held quite a high status within the martial world, the number-one person in this area, and the other was just a young girl, so no matter what she ought to have stood up, but she showed no intention of doing that at all.

Of course he was loath to go up and introduce himself. He only coughed, signaling for someone next to him to introduce him for him. But Leng Hanyue said coldly, “Chang Fenglin, I know you’re here, what’s the matter?”

Chang Fenglin felt it even more intolerable. He only said, “Does Miss know me?”

“No, but I cut off your nephew’s hand, so I knew you would come. I’ve been waiting here for you!”

Chang Fenglin just laughed. “I did come here on behalf of my nephew. Miss, the way you handled…”

“If you are here to apologize there’s no need. I’ve already administered punishment. I have no interest in pursuing it further.”

That sentence stifled what Chang Fenglin as about to say. He just swallowed his saliva and said, “My nephew went for your precious instrument without permission, that was no doubt reckless on his part, but Miss, this taboo of yours seems a bit too excessive!”

Leng Hanyue said, “Everyone has their own taboos. I don’t think it’s excessive. My sabre was on the table, not bothering him. If he wanted to touch it he ought to have asked first. But he did it on his own presumptuously, so the punishment he received is deserved!”

Chang Fenglin said angrily, “Miss’ taboo is not inappropriate in principle, but before my nephew, others touched it. A waiter here moved it aside when he served your refreshments!”

Leng Hanyue sneered, “That’s right, you all saw it all clearly!”

“I wasn’t here, this was what others said. Since Miss does not deny it, then it’s clear there was no such taboo!”

Leng Hanyue said, “That’s right, my sabre doesn’t have these taboos, it’s only my personal weapon, but it can’t be on me all day, morning to night. It’s unavoidable that someone else my touch it. The taboo was made especially for your nephew. I cut off his hand to punish him for taking liberties!”

Chang Fenglin was stunned. “My nephew took liberties with Miss?”

“Outwardly, no, but inwardly he did. He made a bet with others and came over here to touch my hand!”

Chang Fenglin was surprised. “Is that so?”

Leng Hanyue said, “I wouldn’t wrongly accuse him. If you’re the upright, impartial senior of this area you can certainly ask around and find out the truth. But from the swaggering insolence your nephew displayed, even though you have a good reputation it won’t do you any good!”

Chang Fenglin had never been lectured like this before. He was furious. “Let’s not discuss right or wrong. My nephew getting his hand chopped off by you was due to his lack of skill. His martial arts was taught by me, so I’d like to learn from Miss!”

Leng Hanyue said coldly, “That’s what you wanted to say!”

“That’s right. Although I’m not famous, I’ve been established in the martial world for many years. If I just let it go at this today, then I will have to close down my escort agency.”

Leng Hanyue didn’t utter a sound, just drew her sabre with a schwing. “Proceed!”

The blade was suffused with a silvery white radiance, a cold surge of autumn water. Chang Fenglin couldn’t help but exclaim, “Great sabre!”

Leng Hanyue said, “The sabre is called Sixth Month Frostfall, obtained by my late grandfather in his campaign west. Though it’s not a famous blade, it’s a treasured sabre, incomparably sharp!”

Seeing the chillingly cold sabre, Chang Fenglin’s spine also felt a chill, and he was a bit resentful toward his nephew. This whole grudge was pointless, and this fight was even more senseless, an uneven fight that would bring him no honor but only subject him to ridicule for being a bully.

Chang Fenglin didn’t consider that he could lose. For decades he had gone through many famous people with not possibility of losing. But the impossible unfortunately did happen. He not only lost, he lost brutally. He drew his sword and said proudly to his opponent, “A precious instrument must be wielded by the virtuous. A girl like you wantonly drawing a sabre to hurt another, even if you have a treasured sword in hand it won’t do you much good. Come on an attack then!”

Given his status, he was qualified to speak like that to a young girl, and Leng Hanyue didn’t waste words, only a streak of cold light like an unrolled bolt of white silk.

Chang Fenglin stepped back in shock and only had time to pull back, but he left an arm on the floor that was surprisingly still holding his sword!

Chang Fenglin was in so much pain his whole body was shaking, but he didn’t cry out like his nephew had. He bore the pain and covered the wounded area of his right arm with his hand to staunch the blood that was spraying out, and in an agonizing voice said, “Great sabreplay, such overpowering sabreplay!”

“It’s also called Sixth Month Frostfall!” Leng Hanyue threw out, then coldly walked away.

This battle really wasn’t amazing and there were few who witnessed it, but word spread swiftly and immediately. Within one day the words “Sixth Month Frostfall” were made known.

One sharp treasured sabre, one move from a swift and fierce sabreplay, one cold as ice young woman as beautiful as the Moon Palace Goddess. These three things are all topics of intense conversation, so naturally they would easily be brought up.

Chang Fenglin closed down his escort agency and dismissed his disciples. He’d lost his right arm and naturally could no longer wield a sword.

Naturally some friends and relatives stopped by to console him, and naturally not a few were stirred by righteous indignation and wanted to take revenge, but they were all driven out by Chang Fenglin. He didn’t want to see anyone and really didn’t want to talk about it.

Leng Hanyue rode a horse, a pure white steed, snow-white without a single hair of a different color, very tall, an exceptional spirited steed. Her clothes were magnificent, and in her traveling bag she carried a lot of valuable jewels and gold sheets. When she lodged at an in during her travels she at times used gold foil sheets as a tip. She spent very generously.

With her coldly beautiful and haughty bearing, she ought to be the precious young miss of a great family, but she seemed more like a roving jianghu vagabond, aimlessly drifting, a lone rider, sabre at her side, as if she didn’t have a home.

Was she really so cold? Actually, no. She was quite amiable. Like toward kids on the street, or toward village girls tending the fields, or old woodcutters chopping firewood, as well as old monks in the temples, she was kind to them all, laughing and talking with them, doing all she could to help them, treating them like a friend and not putting on airs at all.

Like outside Gold Mountain Temple in Zhenjiang, she played hide-and-seek with a group of kids in the square. Off to the side a child was selling candied hawthorns, watching them play, appearing very envious. Leng Hanyue called him over to play, but the kid shook his head sadly in refusal. He had a stepmother who was very mean to him and forced him to sell fifteen sticks of candied hawthorns every day, and he couldn’t go home until he did. He had to sell the candied hawthorns, so he had no time to play with them.

Leng Hanyue bought all the candied hawthorns and distributed them to the kids to eat so that the child could play with them.

Not only that, she took an ingot of gold weighing ten taels and gave it to an old monk of Gold Mountain Temple and asked him to use the money to buy fifteen sticks of candied hawthorns every day from the child and give the candied hawthorns to the kids who gathered in front of the temple for them to eat.

She said that childhood ought to be a happy memory, a kid shouldn’t have to shoulder life’s bitter burdens too early.

From this it was clear that she not only had a kind, compassionate heart, she was brimming with love for people. Her cold indifference was reserved for people of the jianghu.

By the looks of her, she seemed to have no experience at all in the jianghu, but this was not so. After Chang Fenglin, a number of jianghu people came looking to cause trouble. Nominally they made it sound good by saying they were there for revenge on behalf of Chang Fenglin’s severed arm, but in reality these people were not close with Chang Fenglin at all, nor were they ones to help a friend at the cost of their own life.

Some of them came looking for Leng Hanyue to make a name for themselves, others didn’t think she was really all that, and others coveted her treasured sabre. Naturally there were others who had even more impudent designs. These people all used different methods. Some attacked in numbers openly, others hatched secret ambushes, but none of them managed it. They were all felled by the masterstroke Sixth Month Frostfall, some losing arms, others losing legs.

Leng Hanyue wounded not a few people but never killed anyone. Still, the jianghu turned pale at the mere mention of this female killer star, because although she didn’t take any lives, the method she used was too ruthless. When her treasured sabre shot out it didn’t return till it saw blood, and for the most part those who were wounded all lost limbs, lost their will to fight, and lost their means to make their living in the jianghu. Furthermore, public opinion about jianghu disputes was powerful enough to melt metal, confounding right and wrong, and Leng Hanyue unexpectedly became a female demon star, an enemy that was feared by all.

1. 六月飛霜, literally sixth month flying frost. This is an allusion to a story about Zou Yan of the Warring States period. Zou Yan was utterly loyal to King Hui of Yan and was praised by his ministers. But the king listened to slander and imprisoned him, and Zou Yan looked to the sky and wept. It was the summer of the fifth month and the heavens sent down frost for him. Later the fifth month became the sixth and in the Yuan drama The Injustice to Dou E it is snow, not frost. Snow in the sixth month now is a metaphor for a miscarriage of justice. 飛霜, flying frost, means 降霜, descending frost. Frost is also used to describe something that is bright and sharp, like the blade of a weapon. So flying frost evokes the image of a shiny, sharp, swinging blade.
2. 冷 means cold. 寒 means cold or winter, and 月 means moon.
3. Usually translated as crow, but the black drongo 烏臼 caws at night or in the morning, and is associated with the tallow tree. See note below. Drongo seems like the more appropriate choice.
4. Taking 楓 to mean 風香 the sweetgum, Liquidambar acalycina. This is the tree usually meant by 楓 in poetry, not the maple, as it is usually translated. Some speculate it might mean the Chinese tallow tree instead, Triadica sebifera, which has leaves that turn even redder than the sweetgum. It is called 烏臼 or 烏桕樹, the same characters as that for the drongo.
5. Gusu City, aka Suzhou.
6. One Leaf Heralds Autumn is a clever nickname. 一葉知秋 literally means one leaf knows autumn. Autumn is associated with red because of the changing color of leaves. One leaf turning red signals the arrival of autumn. In a martial arts context, this phrase evokes the image of a blade, as a leaf, turning red, as in a bloodstain. Autumn also evokes the term “autumn water” which is a metaphor for a sword, especially light glinting off the blade. So one stroke of the sword and blood is drawn. Also note that Chang Fenglin’s name, Fenglin 楓林, means “sweetgum grove”.