Seven Swords of Mount Heaven

Seven Swords of Mount Heaven(七剑下天山) is a long wuxia novel of 31 chapters, written by the famous Chinese wuxia novelist Liang Yusheng between 1956 and 1957.

Plot

The plot is based on the historical events of the early Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, such as the struggles within the imperial clan, the Wu Sangui rebellion and the Manchurian invasion of modern-day Xinjiang. Also, the plot has connections with the plots of other wuxia novels by Liang Yusheng, such as The Bride With White Hair and some characters were from these novels.

The ‘Seven Swords’ mentioned in the title does not have a literal meaning, but refers to seven swordsmen. They are said to be Ling Weifeng, Gui Zhongming, Mao Wanlian, Yi Lanzhu, Flying Red Sash, Zhang Huazhao and Wu Qiongyao.

Characters

These characters have also appeared in The Swordsman In The Mountain Pass (塞外奇俠傳) and The Bride With White Hair (白髮魔女傳) by Liang Yusheng.

Protaganists

* Ling Weifeng (凌未風) – the main protagonist in the novel and also known as Liang Mulang (梁穆朗). He was the third disciple of Reverend Ming Hui and the only one to inherit his master’s most powerful skills, with his martial arts prowess surpassing that of his two seniors. As such, he is considered to be the most powerful martial artist alive after the deaths of his master and the White Hair Demoness, but could never use a sword again after he lost his thumb. He was caught in a love triangle with Han Zhibang and Liu Yufang.

* Gui Zhongming (桂仲明) – adoptive son of Gui Tianlan and the biological son of Shi Tiancheng, whom he refused to acknowledge. He was described to be ‘a youth extremely gifted in martial arts’, almost on par with Ling Weifeng in terms of martial arts. Due to other complex reasons, he was still no match for Chu Zhaonan and other experts. He mastered the Da Mo Swordplay, allowing him to make great improvements in martial arts such that he was equally matched with Yi Lanzhu. He married Mao Wanlian.

* Yi Lanzhu (易蘭珠) – the daughter of Yang Yuncong and Nalan Minghui, and the younger cousin of Nalan Rongruo. She attempted to assassinate Prince Dodo alone to avenge her father. She also managed to master all the different types of swordplay within a short period of time, becoming equally matched with Gui Zhongming and was one of the last to inherit the Mount Heaven Swordplay. She married Zhang Huazhao.

* Mao Wanlian (冒浣蓮) – the daughter of Mao Xiang and Dong Xiaowan. She was also the adoptive daughter of Fu Qingzhu and the wife of Gui Zhongming.

* Flying Red Sash (飛紅巾) – a disciple of the White Hair Demoness. She was a Kazakh and elected leader of all the ethnic minority tribes living in Xinjiang. She was in love with Yang Yuncong.

* Zhang Huazhao (張華昭) – the son of Zhang Huangxin, who served under Prince Lu of the Southern Ming Dynasty. He was Gui Zhongming’s junior and the husband of Yi Lanzhu.

* Wu Qiongyao (武瓊瑤) – the daughter of the hero Wu Yuanying. She was also a disciple of the White Hair Demoness and the wife of Li Siyong, the grandnephew of Li Zicheng.

* Reverend Hui Ming (晦明禪師) – the most powerful martial artist alive and his real name is Yue Mingke (岳鳴珂). All his three disciples are leading martial artists in China. It is said the only the White Hair Demoness can rival him in martial arts, but in fact she was only better than him in qinggong.

* Zhuo Yihang (桌一航) – one of the leaders of the three great martial arts sects. He was one of the main characters from The Bride With White Hair.

* Yang Yuncong (楊雲驄) – the eldest disciple of Reverend Ming Hui. He aided the Kazakhs of Xinjiang resist the Manchurian invaders. He is the father of Yi Lanzhu, and was killed in a battle with Prince Dodo.

* Xin Longzi (辛龍子) – a disciple of Zhuo Yihang and a Kazakh. Although his master was nothing compared to Reverend Hui Ming and the White Hair Demoness, he was a rare martial arts talent who eventually surpassed his master and was almost on par with Ling Weifeng. He is caught between good and evil, turning against Ling Weifeng after being instigated by Chu Zhaonan. However, he was eventually enlightened by Ling Weifeng and returned to the path of goodness.

* Shi Tiancheng (石天成) – a disciple of Zhuo Yihang. He was the biological father of Gui Zhongming, who refused to acknowledge him.

* Gui Tianlan (桂天瀾) – adoptive father of Gui Zhongming. He had a fight with Shi Tiancheng over love rivalry and lost his life even though he was more powerful in martial arts than Shi. Fu Qingzhu had personally witnessed this fight, and expressed great regard for Gui Tianlan’s martial arts prowess.

* Fu Qingzhu (傅青主) – the founder of Wu Ji Swordplay (無極劍) and master of Mao Wanlian. He was one of the three most famous swordsmen in China, along with Chu Zhaonan and Shi Zhenfei.

* Shi Zhenfei (石振飛) – one of the three most famous swordsmen in China, along with Fu Qingzhu and Chu Zhaonan. He was also one of the two famous escort agency heads, with the other being Meng Wuwei. He was first introduced in the novel as being an elderly swordsman, but surprisingly his swordplay was extremely swift and accurate. He was hardly mentioned in any fights in the novel, except for his duels with Qi Zhenjun and Chu Zhaonan.

* Meng Wuwei (孟武威) – one of the two famous escort agency heads, with the other being Shi Zhenfei. He was not as powerful as Shi Zhenfei, but his inner energy was as strong as Chu Zhaonan’s.

* Liu Yufang (劉裕芳) – the daughter of a general serving under Prince Lu of the Southern Ming Dynasty. She was a ‘Friend of Mount Heaven’(天山之友).

* Taoist Xuan Zhen – the head of the Wudang Sect. His martial arts prowess enabled him to fight with Flying Red Sash for a long time without losing ground.

* Shi Da Niang (石大娘) – wife of Shi Tiancheng. She was more powerful in martial arts than her husband.

* Wu Yuanying (武元英) – the heroic father of Wu Qiongyao

* Han Zhibang (韓志邦) – lover of Liu Yufang.

* Nalan Minghui (納蘭明慧) – the lover of Yang Yuncong and mother of Yi Lanzhu.

* Nalan Rongruo – the elder cousin of Yi Lanzhu.

Antagonists

* Chu Zhaonan (楚昭南) – the second disciple of Reverend Ming Hui and the main antagonist in the novel. He served Wu Sangui and Emperor Kangxi as an Imperial Guard, and was considered to be the most powerful one. His martial arts prowess was equally matched by Fu Qingzhu and Meng Wuwei. He causes fear and panic every time he appears.

* White Hair Demoness (白髮魔女) – the main character from The Bride With White Hair and her real name is Lian Nishang (練霓裳). In this novel, her status and martial arts prowess could only be rivalled by that of Reverend Hui Ming. She was notorious for her vicious swordplay and unorthodox ‘evil’ martial arts.

* Qi Zhenjun (齊真君) – the most powerful martial artist from the evil side. In his younger days, Qi challenged Reverend Hui Ming and the White Hair Demoness to a fight. Reverend Hui Ming did not accept his challenge but gave him some encouragement. Qi Zhenjun was utterly defeated by the White Hair Demoness and chased away. 50 years later when he appeared again, he was already an accomplished swordsman, with strong inner energy and a unique style of swordplay. He had fought with Ling Weifeng several times, beating the latter initially, but gradually fell to the losing end as Ling became more experienced.

* Dorgon (多爾袞) – a Manchurian noble, elder brother of Dodo.

* Prince Dodo – a Manchurian noble, younger brother of Dorgon.

* The Three Western Devils (西域三妖) – they are Sang Qian(桑乾), Sang Gua(桑弧) and Sang Ren(桑仁). They have maintained a dominant position in the western regions of China for several years until they were expelled from the land by the White Hair Demoness. They made a comeback after the death of the White Hair Demoness, startling all with their powerful martial arts. Flying Red Sash managed to defeat one of them with much difficulty, but Xuan Zhen could not win them. They were eventually killed by Ling Weifeng using the ‘Mount Heaven Heavenly Glow’ (天山神芒).

* Cheng Tianting (成天挺) – a powerful Imperial Guard with equal status as Chu Zhaonan.

Other characters

* Emperor Shunzhi (順治帝)

* Emperor Kangxi (康熙帝)

* Wu Sangui (吳三桂)

* Prince Lu of the Southern Ming Dynasty (南明魯王)

Historic sites mentioned in the novel

* Hangzhou (杭州)
* Mount Wutai (五臺山)
* Yungang Grottoes (雲岡山窟)
* Jiange (劍閣)
* Kunming (昆明)
* Beijing (北京)
* Tian Shan (天山)
* Turfan (土魯藩)
* Lhasa (拉薩)

Adaptations

Movies

* Seven Swords – a 2005 film produced and directed by Tsui Hark.

TV series

* Seven Swordsmen – a 2006 TV series directed by Clarence Fok and with Tsui Hark as producer.