The Complete Works of Jin Yong - The Sword Stained with Royal Blood

Author: Jin Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The Sword Stained with Royal Blood is my second novel, written in 1956. The true protagonist of The Sword Stained with Royal Blood is actually Yuan Chonghuan, followed by the Golden Snake Lord, two characters who do not appear in the book. Yuan Chengzhi's character is not particularly distinct. However, Yuan Chonghuan was also not well-developed, so in May and June 1975, I wrote an additional Biography and Critique of Yuan Chonghuan as a supplement. The Sword Stained with Royal Blood underwent two significant revisions, adding about one-fifth of its original length. The effort put into revising this book was the most of any of my works. Biography and Critique of Yuan Chonghuan is a new attempt on my part, aiming to write historical texts without directly quoting others, while not completely adopting a detached, bystander's perspective. The main innovation of this "biography and critique" is the argument that the fundamental reason for the Ming Emperor Chongzhen's execution of Yuan Chonghuan was not due to being tricked by a slanderous plot, but rather the clash of their personalities. This point has never been pointed out by previous scholars. This text has little academic value, as the books I referenced are limited in quantity and mostly what I had on hand. Some information from books like The Veritable Records of the Taizong Emperor and The Long Chronicle of Chongzhen is quoted indirectly, and the original sources could not be verified, so there may be inaccuracies. If this text has any significance, it may lie in its "readability." I made considerable effort to avoid the obscurity often found in historical texts. The current version is smoother than the initial draft, Yuan Chonghuan, the Hero of Guangdong, which was published in Mingbao.