Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse
Encyclopedia
Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse is a wuxia
novella by Jin Yong. It is first published in 1961 in Ming Pao
. It is also the only time Jin Yong featured a female protagonist in all his novels.
girl Li Wenxiu loses her parents in the Gobi Desert
while on the escape from a group of bandits, who were after the map of the Gaochang
labyrinth. Placed on a white steed, Li Wenxiu flees to Kazakh territory and is taken into the care of an elderly Han Chinese man called Ji. While growing up, Li Wenxiu meets a Kazakh boy named Su Pu and they gradually develop a love relationship. However, Su Pu's father disapproves of the relationship between his son and a Han Chinese girl so they are forced to separate.
Several years later, Li Wenxiu meets a hermit named Hua Hui in an oasis in the Gobi Desert and helps him cure his wounds. Hua Hui is grateful to her and accepts her as his disciple, teaching her martial arts. She returns home amidst heavy snow and sees that Su Pu, his father and his new lover are taking shelter inside her house. Unfortunately, Chen Dahai, the leader of the group of bandits who killed Li Wenxiu's parents, arrives at Li's home and suspects that the map they have been hunting for is inside the house. He proceeds to ransack the house for the map and eventually finds it. The secret of the map is revealed when blood is spilled onto the cloth. Chen Dahai wants to silence Su Pu and the others but is stopped by Li Wenxiu, who is in disguise as a Han Chinese man. Li Wenxiu defeats and wounds Chen Dahai.
Chen Dahai flees with the map and finds his way to the labyrinth, while Li Wenxiu and Su Pu form a party of seven to pursue Chen and the bandits. The party finds its way to the labyrinth but discover ordinary items associated with Han Chinese culture in place of treasure and riches. To their horror, they encounter a "ghost" who haunts them by killing members of the party without leaving any traces. Just as they are about to flee, Su Pu discovers that his lover has been kidnapped by the "ghost" and he tracks down the "ghost" to its lair in the labyrinth, where it is revealed that the "ghost" is actually a martial arts expert in hiding.
The "ghost" retells his story and reveals that he was forced into exile and later betrayed by his former disciple, who is actually Ji. He reveals himself as the hermit Hua Hui, whom Li Wenxiu had saved earlier. Ji is also in disguise as a man in his 30s in contrast to his earlier appearance as an old man. Ji and the hermit fight each other. Li Wenxiu is shocked to realise that the two, who are close to her, are actually enemies. Eventually, Hua Hui dies in his futile attempt to kill everyone present. Upon leaving the labyrinth, Li Wenxiu hears the true story behind the items hidden in the labyrinth and its origins. She decides to leave the land for central China, feeling miserable after the loss of two of her loved ones and the marriage of her love interest to another woman.
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
novella by Jin Yong. It is first published in 1961 in Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
. It is also the only time Jin Yong featured a female protagonist in all his novels.
Plot
Young Han ChineseHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
girl Li Wenxiu loses her parents in the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
while on the escape from a group of bandits, who were after the map of the Gaochang
Gaochang
Gaochang is the site of an ancient oasis city built on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. A busy trading center, it was a stopping point for merchant traders traveling on the Silk Road...
labyrinth. Placed on a white steed, Li Wenxiu flees to Kazakh territory and is taken into the care of an elderly Han Chinese man called Ji. While growing up, Li Wenxiu meets a Kazakh boy named Su Pu and they gradually develop a love relationship. However, Su Pu's father disapproves of the relationship between his son and a Han Chinese girl so they are forced to separate.
Several years later, Li Wenxiu meets a hermit named Hua Hui in an oasis in the Gobi Desert and helps him cure his wounds. Hua Hui is grateful to her and accepts her as his disciple, teaching her martial arts. She returns home amidst heavy snow and sees that Su Pu, his father and his new lover are taking shelter inside her house. Unfortunately, Chen Dahai, the leader of the group of bandits who killed Li Wenxiu's parents, arrives at Li's home and suspects that the map they have been hunting for is inside the house. He proceeds to ransack the house for the map and eventually finds it. The secret of the map is revealed when blood is spilled onto the cloth. Chen Dahai wants to silence Su Pu and the others but is stopped by Li Wenxiu, who is in disguise as a Han Chinese man. Li Wenxiu defeats and wounds Chen Dahai.
Chen Dahai flees with the map and finds his way to the labyrinth, while Li Wenxiu and Su Pu form a party of seven to pursue Chen and the bandits. The party finds its way to the labyrinth but discover ordinary items associated with Han Chinese culture in place of treasure and riches. To their horror, they encounter a "ghost" who haunts them by killing members of the party without leaving any traces. Just as they are about to flee, Su Pu discovers that his lover has been kidnapped by the "ghost" and he tracks down the "ghost" to its lair in the labyrinth, where it is revealed that the "ghost" is actually a martial arts expert in hiding.
The "ghost" retells his story and reveals that he was forced into exile and later betrayed by his former disciple, who is actually Ji. He reveals himself as the hermit Hua Hui, whom Li Wenxiu had saved earlier. Ji is also in disguise as a man in his 30s in contrast to his earlier appearance as an old man. Ji and the hermit fight each other. Li Wenxiu is shocked to realise that the two, who are close to her, are actually enemies. Eventually, Hua Hui dies in his futile attempt to kill everyone present. Upon leaving the labyrinth, Li Wenxiu hears the true story behind the items hidden in the labyrinth and its origins. She decides to leave the land for central China, feeling miserable after the loss of two of her loved ones and the marriage of her love interest to another woman.
Characters
- Li Wenxiu (李文秀) - the protagonist of the novel.
- Old Man Ji (計老人) - the elderly Han Chinese man who raises the young orphan Li Wenxiu
- Hua Hui (華輝) - a hermit who becomes Li Wenxiu's martial arts teacher.
- Li San (李三) and Shangguan Hong (上官虹) - Li Wenxiu's parents who were killed at the beginning of the story.
- Su Pu - a Kazakh youth who is Li Wenxiu's childhood playmate. He was originally lovers with Li Wenxiu but is forced by his father to give up Li due to ethnic prejudice.
- A'man (阿曼) - a young Kazakh girl who becomes Su Pu's new lover.
- Chen Dahai (陳達海) - the leader of the bandits who killed Li Wenxiu's parents.
Adaptations
- In the 1970s, Hong Kong's RTVRediffusion TelevisionRediffusion Television was the first television station in Hong Kong, established on May 29, 1957, making it both the first British colony and the first predominantly Chinese city to have television...
produced a television series based on the story, starring Sharon Yeung as Li Wenxiu.
- In 1987, Taiwan's CTVChina TelevisionChina Television Company, Ltd. was established on September 3, 1968 by the then-ruling Nationalist Party of the Republic of China . The party owned the majority stake of the network...
produced a television series based on the story, starring David ChiangDavid ChiangJohn Chiang is a Hong Kong actor. His Chinese name is Chiang Da-wei . He is sometimes credited as David Chiang.-Biography:...
and Kwan Chung.
External links
Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse on Baidu BaikeBaidu Baike
Baidu Encyclopedia is a Chinese language collaborative Web-based encyclopedia provided by the Chinese search engine Baidu. Like Baidu itself, the encyclopedia is heavily self-censored in line with government regulations....