Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain

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"Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain" - English translation of the novel published by The Chinese University Press in 1996.

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (Traditional Chinese: 雪山飛狐; Simplified Chinese: 雪山飞狐; pinyin: Xue Shan Fei Hu), or Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, is a contemporary wuxia novel by Jinyong. Its first installment was first published in 1959 in Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper.

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain has a prequel, Other Tales of the Flying Fox, published in 1960.

[edit] Plot

This novel contains 10 chapters and is one of the shortest novels by Jinyong.

The novel revolves around the character Hu Fei (胡斐), following his quest to avenge his parents' death 20 years prior to the beginning of the story. The circumstances of his parents' murders gradually emerge from a conversation amongst a group of martial artists gathered at the Snowy Mountain in Manchuria to negotiate with Hu Fei. Those martial artists, along with Hu Fei, all have a deeply intertwined history of family vengeance, and the novel explores the concepts of loyalty, greed, and lust for power.

The novel is famed for its ambiguous conclusion, with the outcome of the climactic battle between Hu Fei and his father's killer, Miao Renfeng (苗人鳳), remaining unresolved. Miao Renfeng is characterised as a hero whose killing of Hu Fei's father was the result of treachery from a third party; meanwhile Hu Fei had fallen in love with Miao Renfeng's daughter, Miao Ruolan. This internal conflict afflicting Hu Fei speaks to the traditionally unquestionable matter of family honour, especially when it is in conflict with other principles of chivalry.

[edit] Characters

• Hu Fei (胡斐)
• Ruan Shizhong (阮士中) or The Hand of Seven Stars (七星手) - considered the top pugilist in the northern faction of the Tianlong School.
• Yin Ji (殷吉) or The Impressive Shaker of the Skies in the South (威震天南) - leader of the southern faction of the Tianlong School.
• Cao Yunqi (曹云奇) or The Sword of the Galloping Dragon (腾龙剑) - appointed as the leader of the northern faction of the Tianlong School in Eastern Liao.
• Zhou Yunyang (周云阳) or Sword of the Returning Dragon (回龙剑) - the younger brother-at-arms of Cao Yunqi.
• Tian Qingwen (田青文) or Brocade Marten (锦毛貂) - a beautiful and intelligent woman with a snowy-white complexion; the younger sister-at-arms of Cao Yunqi and Zhou Yunyang.
• Tian Guinong (田归农) - father of Tian Qingwen; served as the leader of the northern faction of the Tianlong School before he died.
• Tao Baisui 陶百岁 or The Pressure of the North-East (镇关东) - father of Tao Zi'an
• Tao Zi'an 陶子安 - fiancé of Tian Qingwen.
• Jing Zhi, the Great Master (静智大师) - a monk from the Temple of a Hundred Meetings in Shandong.
• Xiong Yuanxian (熊元献) - the Chief Escort of the Pingtong Armed Escort and Delivery Agency in Beijing. Highly skilled in the Di Tang Sabre Technique (地堂刀). Younger brother-at-arms of Liu Yuanhe.
• Liu Yuanhe (刘元鹤) - a member of the First-Class Guard from the capital of Beijing; elder brother-at-arms of Xiong Yuanxian.
• Third Madame Zheng (郑三娘) or The Double Sabre (双刀) - widow of a slain escort leader from the Pingtong Armed Escort and Delivery Agency.
• Stockade-Leader Ma (马寨主) - one of the three stockade-leaders from the River of Drinking Horses.
• Emperor Kangxi (康熙) - reigned between 1661 and 1720 as fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
• Emperor Qianlong (乾隆) - reigned between 1735 and 1794 as the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

[edit] External links

• (English) Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain - English translation of the novel at Wuxiapedia.com

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