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Juedai Shuangjiao
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Wikipedia article
'Juedai Shuangjiao' is a wuxia novel by Gu Long first published in 1966. The novel is about a pair of twin brothers who, because of a feud between two formidable martial artists, were separated at birth and raised on opposing sides. , it has been adapted into four films and eight television series.
Plot
Eighteen years ago, a handsome martial artist, Jing Fng , was injured in a fight and coincidentally saved by the sisters Yoyu and Linxng of Yihua Palace , one of the deadliest clans in the 'jianghu' (martial artists' community). Yaoyue fell in love with Jiang Feng but he rejected her despite her beauty because her arrogance made him feel disgusted. Instead, he fell in love with their servant, Hu Yun , made her pregnant, and fled with her. Jiang Feng's jealous servant, Jing Qin (Jiang Bih) , betrayed his master and caused a group of bandits to attack the lovers just when Hua Yuenu had just given birth to a pair of fraternal twin boys.
Although Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu were both killed, their sons were unharmed and subsequently found by Yaoyue and Lianxing. Yaoyue refused to forgive Jiang Feng for scorning her and vowed to take revenge by making his sons destroy each other. The sisters then adopt one of the boys, whom they named Hu Wqu . The other boy, who became known as Xioyr , was initially saved by his father's sworn brother, Yn Nntin , a powerful swordsman, but later fell into the hands of the Ten Great Villains , a group of notorious outlaws in the 'jianghu'. However, the Villains did not harm Xiaoyuer and instead decided to raise him and train him to become the greatest villain in 'jianghu' history.
Hua Wuque grows up to be a good-mannered and refined gentleman well-trained in the elegant martial arts of Yihua Palace. On the other hand, Xiaoyuer is trained by the Ten Great Villains in a wide range of not-so-powerful martial arts and other skills such as theft, deception, the use of poison, and the art of disguise. Once he is old enough, the streetwise Xiaoyuer ventures out into the 'jianghu' alone and relies on his wits and skills to get through a series of adventures. During this time, he gets embroiled in complicated romantic relationships with various women, including Ti Xnln , S Yng and Zhng Jng
In the meantime, Yaoyue sends Hua Wuque to kill Xiaoyuer, lying to him that Xiaoyuer is a dangerous threat to them. Against the backdrop of various escapades, the twins come to blows several times. Each of their encounters follows the same pattern. Hua Wuque is more powerful in martial arts than Xiaoyuer, but the latter always manages to survive by using his wits to escape from the former. The twins are initially hostile towards each other and have wildly different personalities; Hua Wuque is righteous, intelligent but nave, while Xiaoyuer is expedient, streetwise and cunning. However, they gradually develop mutual respect and become friends after braving danger together. At the same time, they become entangled in a love triangle with Tie Xinlan.
Determined to make the twins kill each other, Yaoyue eventually forces Hua Wuque to challenge Xiaoyuer to a duel to the death. After Xiaoyuer is apparently killed by Hua Wuque during the duel, Yaoyue reveals the truth to Hua Wuque and tells him about her plan to make their father pay the ultimate price for scorning her. Hua Wuque is horrified after learning the truth and realising that Xiaoyuer is actually his twin brother. Just then, Xiaoyuer comes back to life, having feigned death earlier by consuming a special drug. The twins finally recognise and acknowledge each other as brothers, thus putting an end to Yaoyue's evil plan and ending the story on a happy note.
Characters
Protagonists
* 'Jiang Xiaoyu' , better known as 'Xiaoyu'er' aka Little Fish or Small Fry, is Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu's son. He was raised by the Five of the Ten Great Villains and trained to become a great villain. Though his body is covered in scars due to his brutal upbringing, Xiaoyu'er possesses considerable charm and rugged good looks which allow him to leave a lasting impression on every woman he meets. Although a respectable fighter, Xiaoyu'er prefers to rely on his intelligence, cunning, and a variety of skills such as thievery and deception that were imparted to him by his villainous tutors to overcome challenges. However, when he encounters the lethally effective Hua Wuque, Xiaoyu'er realises that tricks alone cannot be relied on to keep him alive, and devotes himself to improving his fighting ability, ultimately finding a martial arts manual, learning the advanced styles set out in it, and growing into a formidable martial artist in his own right. Although his tough upbringing causes him to adopt a callous, hedonistic persona in public, Xiaoyu'er actually has a strong moral compass and is naturally kind and protective of others.* 'Hua Wuque' is Xiaoyu'er's fraternal twin brother. He is the heir to Yihua Palace and its only male resident. He bears a striking resemblance to his father, and has a more androgynous beauty than his brother. Wuque is highly respected by in the 'jianghu' for his formidable prowess in martial arts and is gentlemanly, graceful and polite. However, he has a tendency to suppress his emotions and has a naive outlook towards life.
* 'Tie Xinlan' is the daughter of Tie Zhan, one of the Ten Great Villains. She is beautiful in appearance and appears softhearted, but is actually strong-willed, brash and extremely stubborn. She is a decent fighter and was trained in the skill 'Berserk Hundred Hits' by her father. She falls madly in love with Xiaoyu'er, even though he initially treats her badly. She later falls in love with Hua Wuque, who has strong feelings for her. This results in her becoming entangled in a love triangle between the brothers, and she often has to intervene to prevent them from fighting.
* 'Su Ying' is Wei Wuya's foster daughter. She is spoiled, arrogant, scheming and anti-social. She is well-versed in medicine and extremely cunning but has no significant martial arts skills. Her intelligence enables her to manipulate many martial artists throughout the novel. Her beautiful appearance and indifferent personality are similar to those of Yaoyue and Lianxing which was why Wei Wuya adopted her. When she meets Xiaoyu'er, she falls in love with him and decides to follow him until she wins his heart. She is more intelligent than him and knows how to adapt her behaviour according to his mood thereby making her the only person who can effectively control him.
* 'Yan Nantian' , nicknamed "Best Divine Swordsman Under Heaven" (), is the most powerful martial artist in the novel. He is Jiang Feng's sworn brother. His prowess in swordplay is unmatched in the 'jianghu' and his "swordsman aura" can be even felt from a distance. He is said to be so powerful that he can shave a man bald in a single move without the person noticing. He is massive in stature and dresses like a pauper. He is ambushed by the Ten Great Villains and enters a coma. He is revived by the physician Wan Chunliu, who kept him alive under the pretext of using his comatose body to test new drugs. He awakens only to find that he has lost most of his original abilities, and trains for long months to regain them, eventually even surpassing his previous level of power. He serves as Xiaoyu'er's role model and trains him in martial arts.
Xiaoyu'er's Love Interests
* 'Taohua' is a nomadic girl living on the plains. She is the first maiden Xiaoyu'er meets on his adventures. She plays a hospitable host to him.* 'Zhang Jing' is nicknamed "Little Fey" (). Although beautiful in appearance, she is extremely brutal. She has a fiery temper and hates evil to the core. Although not a very powerful martial artist, her moves are very fast, making her a formidable challenge even to more powerful opponents. Once, to comfort her mother, she decides to find the treasure left behind by her mother's ex-lover, Yan Nantian. She follows Tie Xinlan, who finds the treasure and meets Xiaoyu'er along the way, who gives her her first kiss. Ultimately marries Gu Renyu.
* 'Murong Jiu' is a member of the Murong family. She seems very cold towards people because she practises the 'Rock Altering Divine Skill' , a form of martial arts that cultivates inner strength by suppressing the emotions. Once, Xiaoyu'er disguises himself as a vengeful ghost to scare her and captures her. She falls in love with him afterwards but ultimately marries Black Spider.
* 'Tie Pinggu' is a servant in Yihua Palace. She helps Xiaoyu'er escape from Yaoyue. She is deceived by Jiang Yulang and loses her virginity to him, and is used as a bait to lure Xiaoyu'er into a trap. After she is abandoned by Jiang Yulang, she feels dejected and chooses to join Hu Yaoshi and the Twelve Zodiac. She is the daughter of the "cannibalistic" Great Villain Li Dazui.
* 'Hai Hongzhu' is the only child of Hai Laodie, the leader of a wandering performance troupe. Xiaoyu'er disguises himself as "Hai Xiaodai" and sneaks into the troupe. She meets him and falls in love with him. Xiaoyu'er refuses to admit that he is actually Hai Xiaodai after he saves her from danger in subsequent events.
* 'Duan Sangu' is Duan Hefei's daughter. She dresses up as a man to help her father with his business. She appreciates Xiaoyu'er's talents and recruits him to be in charge of the medicine shop. She helps Xiaoyu'er once in solving a mystery case. Xiaoyu'er influences her to dress like a woman.
Yihua Palace
* 'Yaoyue' is the first mistress of Yihua Palace. Although she possesses beauty, charisma and skill, she is described by Jiang Feng as "not a living person or human being, but fire, a block, ice or a sword instead". Jiang Feng rejects her and elopes with one of Yihua Palace's slave girls, Hua Yuenu. Yaoyue is angered and she pursues and hunts down the couple. After Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu die, Yaoyue intends to kill their twin boys but Lianxing stops her. The sisters choose one of the twins and raise him as their son and groom him to be the heir to Yihua Palace. According to Lianxing, before Yaoyue and Yan Nantian mastered all their respective skills, Yaoyue was slightly better than Yan, making her the most powerful martial artist at the beginning of the novel.* 'Lianxing' is the second mistress of Yihua Palace and Yaoyue's younger sister. She is described to be a sweet and pretty woman whose beauty surpasses that of a flower blooming in spring. According to Xiaoyue'er, in comparison to Yaoyue, Lianxing is warmer in character than her sister. This is confirmed by Tie Pinggu, because Lianxing, like Yaoyue, had also fallen in love with Jiang Feng, but was afraid to express her feelings for fear of her sister. After Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu die, Lianxing saves the twins by suggesting to make them kill each other when they are grown up instead of killing them now. Throughout the novel, it is hinted that Lianxing, unlike Yaoyue, does not take the revenge plot seriously. Hua Wuque sees Lianxing as a mother-figure and treats her with love and respect. Compared with Yaoyue and Yan Nantian, Lianxing is slightly weaker in martial arts than her sister, but equal to Yan.
Good Characters
* 'Gu Renyu' is nicknamed "Jade Faced Divine Fist" (). He is honest, simple and easily embarrassed. He practises his family's martial art 'Gu Family Divine Fist' , which blends in well when combined with Zhang Jing's palm skills. He is initially ordered by his mother to woo Murong Jiu, but falls in love with Zhang Jing instead and eventually marries her.* 'Black Spider' is a martial artist who dresses in a tight black suit and has a mechanical device strapped to his wrist capable of shooting spider web fluid at enemies. He is an expert in 'qinggong' and is capable of scaling walls with his 'Flying Silver Threads' skill. He has a strong personal ego and likes to play the role of an older sibling to his friends. He is in love with Murong Jiu but is afraid of confessing to her so he always watches her from a distance. When Murong Jiu ventures into the 'jianghu', he follows her closely and protects her with his life. They are married eventually.
Villains
* 'Jiang Biehe' is Xiaoyu'er's primary nemesis. He was originally Jiang Feng's servant and was previously known as 'Jiang Qin' . He betrayed his master for monetary rewards and became an influential nobleman and martial artist. He is brutal and ruthless by nature, but also intelligent and adept at deception. He is hailed as a "Hero of Jiangnan" for pretending to perform heroic and kind acts, while secretly conducting wicked deeds such as extortion and assassinations. When Xiaoyu'er attempts to expose his hypocrisy in public, he attacks Xiaoyu'er verbally and accuses him of committing the very atrocities he is responsible for. However, this backfires when he is tricked into revealing his involvement in those atrocities. He is eventually captured and crippled by Yan Nantian, who sends him to Xiaoyu'er for punishment. Xiaoyu'er spares his life and allows him to leave.* 'Jiang Yulang' is Jiang Biehe's son, who was named after Jiang Feng's nickname. He is trained by his father in martial arts and groomed to support his father in his quest to dominate the 'jianghu'. He has a pale complexion and appears feminine. He is an expert in charming and seducing women, and his many "trophies" include Tie Pinggu.
* The 'Ten Great Villains' are ten notorious criminals in the 'jianghu'. In spite of their collective nickname, they are not an official group 'per se' because they often operate independently. Furthermore, their fame is due more to their various eccentricities and quirks rather than actual villainy. Most of the ten are not even evil at all. The five who raised Xiaoyu'er are 'Du Sha', 'Haha'er', 'Tu Jiao Jiao', 'Li Dazhui' and 'Yin Jiuyou'. They develop an emotional attachment to the boy and treat him with a degree of affection. As such, Xiaoyu'er respects them as his surrogate parents and manages to convince Yan Nantian to spare them. By the end of the novel, all the original ten are dead except for 'Xuanyuan Sanguang' and 'Tie Zhan'.
* The 'Twelve Zodiac' are a group of bandits named according to the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. They are led by the "Rat" 'Wei Wuya', a paraplegic yet incredibly dangerous martial artist. Wei Wuya previously fell in love with the sisters of Yihua Palace and challenged them to marry him but lost.
Adaptations
Films
Television
Comics
In 1997, Hong Kong cartoonist Ho Chi-man drew a manhua series for the novel.Wong Yuk-long's comic, 'Force of Buddha's Palm' has a long story arc which reproduces much of Gu Long's novels. This story arc was included in an English translation published in the United States by Jademan Comics from 1989 to 1993.
Ho Che Wen created three comic series based on this story under the title 'The Impeccable Twins'. The first series follow the novel but the second and the third series expand on events after the end of the novel.
Video games
* (1999)* II (2000)
* III (2002)
* online (2005)
* (2006)
Another version
In Thailand, it has been adapted into a parody wuxia drama titled "" (lit: 'Xiaoyu'er the spearless divinity') in 1978 on Channel 3, two protagonists Xiaoyu'er played by Den Dokpradu and Hua Wuque played by Panya Nirunkul, directed and produced by Patravadi Mejudhon.References
Category:Novels by Gu Long
Category:1966 novels
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