This is the first wuxia story written by Lois Cha aka Jin Yong.
Set in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796), the novel follows the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret organization aiming to overthrow the Qing government, and their entanglements with an Islamic tribe in western China.
Historical figures such as the Qianlong Emperor, and Fuk'anggan make appearances or are mentioned by name in the novel. Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor's Fragrant Concubine. The male protagonist, Chen Jialuo is a pure fiction, but the legend that Qianlong was originally a son of a Han ethnic minister - Chen Gelao - Chen Jialuo's father - is based on the widespread urban legend which has been widespread since the late 19th century.
Qianlong made six trip to Jiangnan (southern part of the Changjiang River in China) during his lifetime. And every time he went to Jiangnan, he always visited Haining, the house of Minister Chen Gelao. On his visit, he would spent some times there and stayed at Minister Chen's house. He even wrote a poem about filial son, dedicated for Minister Chen and his wife. His father, Yongzheng also gave a jade carving gift as appreciation to Chen Gelao. It's also said that Chen Gelao had a daughter, who was the same age as Qianlong. Chen Gelao and his wife, as well as the other children respected this girl so much, and even Yongzheng's wife- the empress -arranged a marriage for this girl, and her wedding celebration was said to be very grand that it could be compared to the wedding of a princess.
Therefore in Haining, people believe that Qianlong was a biological son of Chen Gelao. Jin Yong was born in Haining, Zhejiang. Therefore he must be familiar with this urban legend and this inspired him to write this story. Actually this novel is Jin Yong's first novel.
I had a chance to visit Haining in summer 2017. I visited Chen Gelao's old mansion, and the house which Qianlong stayed during his visit in Haining, and also had dinner at Qianlong's Restaurant (they said they serve the same dished for Qianlong 200 years ago :D ) and tasted the rice wine made by Chen Gelao's mansion. It's really worth a visit!
Anyway...the Chinese version consist of 24 chapters, while the English translation is 10 chapters, and the Indonesian translation is 37 chapters. I will stick with the 20 chapters when I post this story.
Set in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796), the novel follows the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret organization aiming to overthrow the Qing government, and their entanglements with an Islamic tribe in western China.
Historical figures such as the Qianlong Emperor, and Fuk'anggan make appearances or are mentioned by name in the novel. Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor's Fragrant Concubine. The male protagonist, Chen Jialuo is a pure fiction, but the legend that Qianlong was originally a son of a Han ethnic minister - Chen Gelao - Chen Jialuo's father - is based on the widespread urban legend which has been widespread since the late 19th century.
Qianlong made six trip to Jiangnan (southern part of the Changjiang River in China) during his lifetime. And every time he went to Jiangnan, he always visited Haining, the house of Minister Chen Gelao. On his visit, he would spent some times there and stayed at Minister Chen's house. He even wrote a poem about filial son, dedicated for Minister Chen and his wife. His father, Yongzheng also gave a jade carving gift as appreciation to Chen Gelao. It's also said that Chen Gelao had a daughter, who was the same age as Qianlong. Chen Gelao and his wife, as well as the other children respected this girl so much, and even Yongzheng's wife- the empress -arranged a marriage for this girl, and her wedding celebration was said to be very grand that it could be compared to the wedding of a princess.
Therefore in Haining, people believe that Qianlong was a biological son of Chen Gelao. Jin Yong was born in Haining, Zhejiang. Therefore he must be familiar with this urban legend and this inspired him to write this story. Actually this novel is Jin Yong's first novel.
I had a chance to visit Haining in summer 2017. I visited Chen Gelao's old mansion, and the house which Qianlong stayed during his visit in Haining, and also had dinner at Qianlong's Restaurant (they said they serve the same dished for Qianlong 200 years ago :D ) and tasted the rice wine made by Chen Gelao's mansion. It's really worth a visit!
Anyway...the Chinese version consist of 24 chapters, while the English translation is 10 chapters, and the Indonesian translation is 37 chapters. I will stick with the 20 chapters when I post this story.