The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (simplified Chinese: 七侠五义; traditional Chinese: 七俠五義; pinyin: Qīxiáwǔyì) is an Chinese historical novel whose plot takes place during the Song Dynasty with Justice Bao as a main character. It was written by Yu Yue during the Qing Dynasty; the stories are largely based on the pingshu performed by Shi Yukun at that time. The book is one of the first novels in the wuxia genre.
Contents |
In the original pingshu there were only Three Heroes which are actually four people, namely Zhan Zhao, Ouyang Chun and the Ding brothers.
These five sworn brothers from Xiankong Island (陷空島) are also collectively known as The Five Rats or The Five Mice. They are in the order of their ages:
These titular characters are featured in the popular sequel to the The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, also from the same period. Some have credited Shi Yukun for this work but the stories differ considerably. These five are also sworn brothers.
| Year | Title | Type | Bao Zheng | Zhan Zhao | Bai Yutang |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | Judge Bao | CTS series (236 episodes) | Jin Chao-Chun | Kenny Ho | Chang Chen-Huan |
| 2003 | Cat and Mouse | Hong Kong film | Anthong Wong | Andy Lau | Cecilia Cheung |