Huo Qingtong: Warrior in Yellow

[yifu]

My contribution to this year's eid_ka_chand is a mini-tribute to Huo Qingtong.

Huo Qingtong is a major female character in Shujian Enchou Lu (the official English title for the novel is Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge), a novel set in China during the Qing Dynasty and written by Jin Yong/Louis Cha. She is the older daughter of Muzhuolun, leader of a Muslim tribe living near the Tianshan Mountains (in present-day Xinjiang). Being a disciple of the pugilists known as the Tianshan Twin Eagles, she is quite an expert at martial arts, very skillful with both the sword and the whip. The imperial palace, in an attempt to keep the tribes of the desert on a leash, sends mercenaries to steal the Qur'an belonging to Huo Qingtong's tribe, and she leads a group of her fellow tribespeople to retrieve the book.

Besides being a brave fighter, an intelligent person and arguably the most capable army general in her tribe, Huo Qingtong is also compassionate and considerate. Neither is she above sacrificing personal happiness for the sake of her tribe and the people she loves, much to many a reader's exasperation.

The novel has been adapted into TV series several times. Below are Huo Qingtong icons from the 2002 and 2009 adaptations.

2002: Esther Kwan

1	2	3	4

2002: Niki Chow

1	2	3	4

Fanfic

Title: the alchemy true human beings know
Genre: Gen
Wordcount: 1,036
Notes: Post-novel, which means spoilers for everything.
Shujian Enchou Lu © Jin Yong, et al.

the alchemy true human beings know

Comments

[frausorge]

Beautiful icons!

[yifu]

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Lovely icons! I've actually never heard of this novel. Would I be able to find it in a library or is it one of those rare jewels one must dig for online?

Oh, and would you recommend the 2002 adaptation over the 2009 one, or vice versa?

-syonanto
(found this page through eid_ka_chand)

[yifu]

In case you can't find it in the library, Amazon has the English translation. (I boldly assume you'd want the English translation, since I don't know where one can get the novel in Chinese)

would you recommend the 2002 adaptation over the 2009 one, or vice versa?

2002 is more fun to watch - better relationship dynamics, better actor chemistry overall. However, since the plot is made to drag on, the weaknesses in the story become more apparent. 2009 puts more emphasis on two major male characters (one of them is actually dead in the novel), so if charismatic old men and beautiful ladies (young and old) are your thing, you might want to try 2009.