The Complete Works of Jin Yong - The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber 1-4

Author: Jin Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is the third book in the "Three Romances" series. The male protagonists in these three novels have completely different personalities. Guo Jing is honest and straightforward, Yang Guo is deeply passionate and unrestrained, while Zhang Wuji's character is more complex and also relatively weak. He has less heroic spirit, though his personality certainly has many strengths, it also has many flaws, perhaps, making him more similar to ordinary people. Yang Guo is absolutely proactive. Guo Jing maintains firm control over major issues, while minor matters require Huang Rong to push him forward. Zhang Wuji's entire life is always influenced by others, dominated by the environment, unable to break free from constraints. In love, Yang Guo is utterly devoted to Xiao Longnü, disregarding social norms; Guo Jing wavers between Huang Rong and Princess Hua Zheng, purely out of moral values, never hesitating in love. Zhang Wuji, however, remains entangled and confused. Regarding the four girls—Zhou Zhiruo, Zhao Min, Yin Li, and Xiao Zhao—his love seems deepest for Zhao Min, and later he also said the same about Zhou Zhiruo. But deep down, how much more does he love which girl? Perhaps even he doesn’t know. The author doesn’t know either. Since his character has been written this way, all developments must depend on his personality, and the author cannot interfere. Someone like Zhang Wuji, no matter how skilled in martial arts he is, can never become a great political leader. Of course, he never wanted to, and even if forced to, he would inevitably fail in the end. China’s three thousand years of political history have long made the conclusion clear. The three conditions for a successful political leader in China are: "Endurance," which includes self-restraint, tolerance, and cruelty toward political opponents; the second is "decisiveness"; the third is an extremely strong desire for power. Zhang Wuji half