Saint Roch (Latin: Rochus; Catalan: Roc; Italian: Rocco; French: Roch; Spanish and Portuguese: Roque; German: Rochus; c. 1295 – traditionally 16 August 1327) was a Christian saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August; he is specially invoked against the plague.

The historical truth about Saint Roch

According to the searches of the Belgian historian Pierre Bolle (2001), that represent today the most exhaustive work on ancient lives of the saint, Saint Roch is not properly a historical saint. The work of Bolle by using a rigorous historical methodology, has cleared which of the hagiographies were the most ancient, and which were instead simple reworks and additions. According to Pierre Bolle, Saint Roch is a hagiographical doublet of a more ancient saint, Saint Racho of Autun (died ca. 660). Invoked against the storms, the figure of Raco would be to the base of the name of our saint (Raco/Roch), and of the patronage of the saint who recovers from the plague, patronage that would have been generated for aphaeresis, i.e. the fall of the first syllable of one the word, from the French name “tempeste” (storm). From “Racho” invoked to protect from “tem-peste”, to “Roch” protecting from “-peste” (plague) the step was short, and supported by the theories of medieval medicine, that attributed the causes of illness to the corruption of air and to the consequent breaking of the equilibrium inside the human body. The thesis of Bolle has completely revolutionized the studies on the saint, even if in hagiographic field the existence of doublets and homonyms to the base of the creation of new saints is a well known procedure, like in the cases of the saints Vincent of Agen and Alban of Namur.

Biography

According to his Acta and his vita in Legenda Aurea, he was born at Montpellier, at that time "upon the border of France" as Legenda Aurea has it,, the son of the noble governor of that city. Even his birth was accounted a miracle, for his noble mother had been barren until she prayed to the Virgin Mary. Miraculously marked from birth with a red cross on his breast that grew as he did, he early began to manifest strict asceticism and great devoutness; on days when his "devout mother fasted twice in the week, and the blessed child Rocke abstained him twice also, when his mother fasted in the week, and would suck his mother but once that day".

On the death of his parents in his twentieth year he distributed all his worldly goods among the poor like Francis of Assisi— though his father on his deathbed had ordained him governor of Montpellier— and set out as a mendicant pilgrim for Rome. Coming into Italy during an epidemic of plague, he was very diligent in tending the sick in the public hospitals at Acquapendente, Cesena Rimini, Novara and Rome, and is said to have effected many miraculous cures by prayer and the sign of the cross and the touch of his hand. At Rome he preserved the "cardinal of Angleria in Lombardy by making the mark of the cross on his forehead, which miraculously remained (Legenda Aurea). Ministering at Piacenza he himself finally fell ill. He was expelled from the town; and withdrew into the forest, where he made himself a hut of boughs and leaves, which was miraculously supplied with water by a spring that arose in the place; he would have perished had not a dog belonging to a nobleman named Gothard supplied him with bread. The lord Gothard, following his hunting dog that carried the bread, discovered Saint Roch and became his acolyte.

On his return incognito to Montpellier he was arrested as a spy (by orders of his own uncle) and thrown into prison, where he languished five years and died on 16 August, 1327, without revealing his name, to avoid worldly glory. After his death, according to Legenda Aurea,

"anon an angel brought from heaven a table divinely written with letters of gold into the prison, which he laid under the head of S. Rocke. And in that table was written that God had granted to him his prayer, that is to wit, that who that calleth meekly to S. Rocke he shall not be hurt with any hurt of pestilence."

The townspeople recognized him as well by his birthmark; he was soon canonized in the popular mind, and a great church erected in veneration.

The date (1327) asserted by Francesco Diedo for Saint Roch's death would precede the traumatic advent of the Black Death in Europe (1347-49) after long centuries of absence, for which a rich iconography of the plague, its victims and its protective saints was soon developed, in which the iconography of Roche finds its historical place: previously the topos did not exist.

The first literary account is an undated Acta that is labeled, by comparison with the longer, elaborated accounts that were to follow, Acta Breviora, which relies almost entirely on standardized hagiographic topoi to celebrate and promote the cult of Roch

The story that when the Council of Constance was threatened with plague in 1416, public processions and prayers for the intercession of Roch were ordered, and the outbreak ceased, is provided by Francesco Diedo, the Venetian governor of Brescia, in his Vita Sancti Rochi, 1478; the first documented cult of Roch dates to the 1460s and gained momentum during the bubonic plague that passed through northern Italy in 1477-79.

His popular cult, originally in central and northern Italy and at Montpellier, spread through Spain, France, the Low Countries, and Germany, where he was often interpolated into the roster of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, whose veneration spread in the wake of the Black Death. The magnificent 16th-century Scuola Grande di San Rocco and the adjacent church were dedicated to him by a confraternity at Venice, where his body was said to have been surreptitiously translated and was triumphantly inaugurated in 1485; the Scuola Grande is famous for its sequence of paintings by Tintoretto, who painted St Roch in glory in a ceiling canvas (1564).

Saint Roch had not been officially recognized as yet, however. In 1590 the Venetian ambassador at Rome reported back to the Serenissima that he had been repeatedly urged to present the witnesses and documentation of the life and miracles of San Rocco, already deeply entrenched in Venetian life, because Pope Sixtus V "is strong in his opinion either to canonize him or else to remove him from the ranks of the saints"; the ambassador had warned a cardinal of the general scandal that would result if the widely-venerated San Rocco were impugned as an imposter. Sixtus did not pursue the matter but left it to later popes to proceed with the canonization process. In fact no pope ever acted on this.

Numerous brotherhoods have been instituted in his honour. He is usually represented in the garb of a pilgrim, often lifting his tunic to demonstrate the plague sore in his thigh, and accompanied by a dog carrying a loaf in its mouth.

San Rocco joined San Gerardo as a patron saint of the city of Potenza, Italy.

Saint Roch churches

Europe

• San Roque (Cádiz), town in Andalucia, Spain, named after Saint Roch
• Saint-Roch, Paris, Rue St.-Honoré: the largest Late Baroque church in Paris
• St. Roch's Church in Glasgow, Scotland
• Chiesa della Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, Italy
• Eglise (Paroisse-Sanctuaire) de St. Roch in Montpellier, France
• St. Rochus Chapel in Bingen am Rhein, Germany
• Chiesa di San Rocco in Miasino (Novara), Italy
• Chiesa di San Rocco in Scilla, Italy
• Chiesa di San Rocco in Cles, Italy
• Igreja de São Roque in Lisbon, Portugal
• St. Roch Church in Białystok, Poland
• San Rocco, church in Rome
• Sveti Rok, church in Brežice, Slovenia
• Sveti Roko, church (not in use) Dubrovnik, Croatia
• San Rocco in Sora, (FR), Italy
• Sint-Rochus Kerk in Halle, Belgium
• Rochuskirche in the Düsseldorf-Pempelfort district of Düsseldorf
• Rochuskirche in the Landstraße district of Vienna
• St. Roch Church in Minsk, Belarus

North America

• St. Roch Church in St. Louis, Missouri
• St. Roch's Church in Staten Island, New York
• St. Rocco's Church in Johnston, Rhode Island
• St. Rocco's Church in Dunmore, Pennsylvania
• St. Rocco's Church in Glen Cove, New York
• St. Roch Church in Indianapolis, Indiana
• St. Roch Church in Mentz, Texas
• St Roch Church In Flat Rock, Michigan
• San Rocco Oratory in Chicago Heights, Illinois
• St. Rocco's Church in Cleveland, Ohio
• St Roch Church, Oxford, Massachusetts
• San Roque Church in Santa Barbara, California
• St Roch Church, Quebec City, Canada
• Campo Santo and St. Roch Chapel in New Orleans, Louisiana
• St. Rocco's Church in Pittston, Pennsylvania
• St. Roch Church in the Chickahominy section of Greenwich, Connecticut.
• St. Rochus Croatian Catholic Church in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
• St. Roch's Catholic Church in Kahuku, Hawaii

South America

• Iglesia de San Roque in Tarija, Bolivia

Asia and Australasia

• Saint Roch Catholic Church in Kahuku Hawaii
• St. Roch's Church in Glen Iris, Melbourne, Australia
• San Roque Church in JP Rizal St., San Roque, Marikina City, Philippines.
• San Roque Parish Church of Navotas (Metro Manila, Philippines)
• San Roque Cathedral, Diocese of Caloocan (Metro Manila, Philippines)
• San Roque Church of Mandaluyong City (Metro Manila, Philippines)
• San Roque de Manila Parish in Rizal Avenue, Sta.Cruz , Manila (Philippines)
• Gumayu'us San Roque in San Roque village, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Middle East

• San Roch Church in Rayfoun, Lebanon

Other things named after St Roch

• São Roque (disambiguation), a list of Portuguese towns named after Saint Roch
• St. Roch Avenue in the Gentilly neighboorhood of New Orleans, LA
• Sveti Rok Tunnel (Croatian Tunel Sveti Rok) in Lika, Croatia on the A1 Motorway

Trivia

• A popular Spanish tongue twister is El perro de san Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado ("Saint Roch's dog has no tail because Ramón Ramírez stole it").
• In Bolivia, Saint Roch's day, though not as celebrated as it once was, is considered the "birthday of all dogs", in which the dogs around town can be seen with colorful ribbons tied to them.
• The main train station of Montpellier, France is named after St. Roch, as well as a church and many squares and streets.
• In Bingen, Germany there is a St. Rochus pilgrimage church on top of a hill. Every year in August a one week pilgrimage -the "St. Rochusfest"- is held in memory of a 17th century vow of the city council.
• Some churches that are named after the saint distribute, as a pietistic practice, the "bread of Saint Rocco" to parishioners on August 16th, his feast day.
• Saint Rocco's procession is the Saint featured in the movie The Godfather Part II.
• The Society of San Rocco Di Simbario (Italy) was officially founded in April of the year 1920 in Chicago by Bruno Bertucci. He owned and operated a small grocery store at the corner of 24th Street and Princeton Avenue, near Chinatown, at the St. Therese Chinese Church, formerly known as Santa Maria Incoronato.
• According to Montague Summers' The Vampire in Europe, St. Roch was prayed to in Poland to ward off vampire attacks.

Notes

References

• Acta sanctorum, August, iii.
• Charles Cahier, Les Caracteristiques des saints, Paris, 1867

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia 1908: "Saint Roch"
• Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend, book V: Saint Rocke, William Caxton, translator
• Patron Saints: Saint Roch

The Return of the Condor Heroes is a classic wuxia novel written by Jin Yong, first published on May 20, 1959 in the first issue of Ming Pao and ran for about three years. This is the second novel of the Condor Trilogy. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in an unfamiliar world that does not approve of their taboo love between master and apprentice.

Alternate English titles are The Giant Eagle and Its Companion and Divine Eagle, Chivalric Companion. The Legend of Condor Hero: The Complete Saga as released on amazon is actually a misrelease of Return of the Condor Heroes (anime).

Chapters

Jin Yong revised the novel in 1970 and again in 2004. There are 40 chapters in the 2nd and 3rd revisions of the novel. Each chapter has a 4-character title. Most of the revisions are either clarifications or minor alterations of character motivations. These are the titles for 3rd revision, slightly different from 2nd revision of the novel.

1. 風月無情 — No Love Under the Wind and the Moon
2. 故人之子 — A Friend’s Son
3. 投師終南 — Seeking Tutelage at Mount Zhongnan
4. 全真門下 — Under the Teaching of Quanzhen Sect
5. 活死人墓 — The Tomb of Living Dead
6. 玉女心經 — Manual of the Jade Maiden
7. 重陽遺刻 — Chongyang’s Markings
8. 白衣少女 — Girl in White
9. 百計避敵 — Escaping from the Enemy
10. 少年英俠 — Young Heroes
11. 風塵睏頓 — A Pause from Roaming
12. 英雄大宴 — The Heroes’ Feast
13. 武林盟主 — The Chancellor of Martial Clans Wulin
14. 禮教大防 — Defending against Custom and Tradition
15. 東邪門人 — The Disciples of Eastern Heretic
16. 殺父深仇 — Avenging a Father’s Death
17. 絕情幽谷 — The Secluded Passionless Valley
18. 公孫谷主 — Valley Master Gongsun
19. 地底老婦 — The Old Woman of Underground
20. 俠之大者 — A Hero’s Top Imperative
21. 襄陽鏖兵 — Battle at Xiangyang
22. 危城女嬰 — A Baby Girl Born in a Falling City
23. 手足情仇 — Sibling Rivalry
24. 意亂情迷 — Turbulent Emotions
25. 內憂外患 — Domestic Strife, Foreign Aggression
26. 神雕重劍 — Divine Eagle’s Heavy Sword
27. 鬥智鬥力 — Fighting Strength with Wisdom
28. 洞房花燭 — Wedding Festivities
29. 劫難重重 — Ultimate Disasters
30. 離合無常 — Strange Encounters
31. 半枚靈丹 — The Other Half of the Antidote
32. 情是何物 — What Entity is Love
33. 風陵夜話 — Tales in the Night
34. 排難解紛 — Settling a Dispute
35. 三枚金針 — The Three Golden Needles
36. 生辰大禮 — The Birthday Celebration
37. 三世恩怨 — Gratitudes and Grudges of Three Generations
38. 生死茫茫 — Life and Death are Boundless
39. 大戰襄陽 — Great Battle of Xiangyang
40. 華山之巔 — The Summit of Mount Hua

The main characters are Yang Guo (楊過) and Xiaolongnü (小龍女). Yang Guo is the orphaned son of Yang Kang (楊康) and Mu Nianci (穆念慈), both characters of the prequel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. He never knew his father and could barely remember his mother. But their legacy, especially his father's, made him an outsider in the Martial Arts World.

Xiaolongnü is a mysterious girl of unknown origin and whose past is slowly revealed in the plot.

Raised briefly by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, Yang Guo was later sent to train under the Quan Zhen Sect (All True Religion). Fleeing from bullying and abuse at Quanzhen School, he met Xiaolongnü of Ancient Tomb Sect (Gumu Pai), who became his teacher. When they first met, Yang Guo was an impetuous and mischievous 14-year-old while Xiaolongnü was a cold, unemotional 18-year-old. After years of living and training martial arts together in the Ancient Tomb, they eventually fell in love with each other.

Plot

The orphan

The story begins with the introduction of a new plot line and new characters. Li Mochou (李莫愁),a powerful and vicious woman, massacred the entire Lu family due to her humiliation after a reneged marriage vow. Lu Wushuang (陸無雙), a youngster in the Lu family, was abducted by Li Mochou during the fights while her cousin Cheng Ying was saved by Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師) (one of the Five Greats of the martial arts world and a significant character in The Legend of the Condor Heroes).

The main character Yang Guo (楊過) was then introduced as an orphan, living the life of a scavenger. He was accidentally hurt by one of Li Mochou's poisonous needles in the fight. Fortunately for him, he encountered Ouyang Feng (歐陽鋒) (another member of the Five Greats, and a powerful villain in the previous story, and since gone insane). Ouyang Feng offered to help Yang Guo purge his poison, with the odd condition that he take the title of Ouyang Feng's adopted son. After Yang Guo was cured, their companionship did not last long as Ouyang Feng would enter one of his fits of madness and wander off. During the brief time they stayed together, Yang Guo received instruction in Ouyang Feng's legendary fighting style, which would later prove to be both a blessing and a curse.

When Yang Guo encountered the couple Guo Jing (郭靖) and Huang Rong (黃蓉), they immediately noticed that young Yang Guo bore an uncanny resemblance to Guo's sworn brother, Yang Kang (楊康). Upon learning that Yang Guo was in fact Yang Kang's son, the couple took Yang Guo under their care. However, Yang Guo did not get along with Guo Jing's daughter Guo Fu (郭芙) and his disciples (brothers Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文)). Furthermore, out of the fear that Yang Guo would follow the footsteps of his late father (a man who wielded the power of his martial arts for evil ends), Huang Rong taught Yang Guo the teachings of philosophy and literary arts, instead of martial arts. Realizing that he was being treated differently from the other disciples, Yang Guo keenly felt the injustice, and slowly (for reasons of his own) began to doubt Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

One day, a fight broke out between Yang Guo and the Wu brothers. Upon being beaten, Yang Guo unexpectedly revealed hisToad Leap (蛤蟆功), taught to him by Ouyang Feng, and injured Wu Xiuwen badly. When questioned later by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, Yang Guo refused to reveal how he learned the Toad Leap. In any event, the answer was self-evident, as the only living person who knew the art was Ouyang Feng (who had killed five of Guo Jing's masters Jiangnan Qi Guai (江南七怪) and committed countless other crimes in the past). The couple decided at last that Yang Guo would inevitably learn martial arts in his own way, and that it would be better to at least have him taught properly in mainstream arts rather than risk corruption by any of the countless other "evil" styles. Yang Guo would be sent to the Quan Zhen Sect (全真教) for better guidance and also for instruction in one of the most "mainstream" styles of the time.

Quanzhen sect

Despite the goodwill between Guo Jing and the elders of the Quanzhen Sect, things got off to a bad start. The younger Quanzhen members attacked Guo Jing in a case of mistaken identity, but their best efforts were easily defeated by the single man. Even after clearing up matters with the Quanzhen elders, there was still considerable grudge. Yang Guo was poorly treated, and his master Zhao Zhijing (趙志敬) perceived Yang Guo as rebellious and would not teach him proper martial arts. Teaching the boy only the verse and not the maneuver, Zhao Zhijing was able to fool his elders into believing that Yang Guo was just a poor student. After an incident where Yang Guo again used the Toad Leap and injured another student, the entire sect (who held countless grudges against Ouyang Feng in the past) turned against him with a vengeance. Yang Guo fled and escaped unknowingly into the nearby Tomb of the Living Dead, the home of the Gumu Pai (Ancient Tomb Sect, 古墓派), and was taken in by Xiaolongnü (小龍女). Due to previous agreement between Wang Chongyang (王重陽) and Lin Chaoying (林朝英), the respective founders of the Quanzhen and Gumu Pai, the Quanzhen priests were prohibited from going after him into the Tomb.

Ancient Tomb sect

Xiaolongnü imparted her skills to Yang Guo and they eventually ended up practicing the Art of Jade Maiden. At one point, they had to strip their bodies to practice but was chanced upon by Yin Zhiping (尹志平, 甄志丙 in later editions) and Zhao Zhijing. With her energy disrupted, Xiaolongnü was injured severely. At this critical moment, Li Mochou returned to look for the Art of Jade Maiden.

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü sparred with Li Mochou and her disciple. They were pursued relentlessly by Li Mochou, and sealed up the only exit with a block of 500 kg stone, called Breaking Dragon rocks in the end. Li Mochou held Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü captive. After being tortured, Yang Guo finally said that he would die for Xiaolongnü. Li Mochou seized this opportunity to say to Xiaolongnü that she could exit the tomb now since she has finally found a man who truly loved her. However, Xiaolongnü saw through Li Mochou's trick, saying that she doesn't think there is another way out.

They were pursued again and they managed to shake off Li Mochou. Thinking that her death was near, Xiaolongnü asked Yang Guo to place her in one of the coffins in the room in the gumu. After Yang Guo climbed into the coffin with her, they found a secret lever. They fell through the coffin and ended up in a room which contained secret martial art manuals and many stone soldiers. Li Mochou found the opening in the coffin and sought them. They exited the tomb together through a waterfall. Li Mochou returned to her house and found Lu Wushuang missing along with her one of her martial art manuals, and vowed to kill Lu Wushuang.

Meanwhile, Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo learned a skill from the Sacred Scriptures of Nine Negations left behind by Wang Chongyang. One day, Yang Guo's godfather, Ouyang Feng, came to look for Yang Guo. After Yang Guo realized that it was his godfather whom Xiaolongnü was engaged in a fight with, he stopped them and pointed out to the both of them that Ouyang Feng was his godfather. Ouyang Feng was overjoyed and immediately wanted to continue imparting his martial skills to Yang Guo. Not trusting Xiaolongnü, Ouyang Feng immobilized her, not wanting her to look at them practicing. Taking advantage of Xiaolongnü's immobilized state, Yin Zhiping raped her and ran away, worrying that Xiaolongnü would kill him if she found out that it was him. However, Xiaolongnü thought it was Yang Guo, who had been with her. When Yang Guo returned from practicing with Ouyang Feng, he became confused with Xiaolongnü's actions towards him. After he refused to address her appropriately as his wife, she ran away in a furious and sad state.

Love Flower

In the novel, there is a flower called the Love Flower (情花) which although beautiful, has hidden thorns. The thorns are very poisonous and it could be fatal if pricked by even one of them. Upon any thoughts of love, the victim would be hurt by the poison. Years ago, the love flowers were supposed to be extinct but it seemed that they still continue to thrive in a hidden place called the Passionless Valley, whose master is the ruthless Gongsun Zhi (公孫止). There is only one antidote to the poison of this flower, the passion pill, and there are only two such pills in existence. One was eventually put into the pocket of Yang Guo and the other was kept by the wife of the Valley Master. In the English version on KTSF 26, these flowers bore the same name, but the valley and the pill were renamed "Heartless Pill" and "Heartless Valley"

Yang Guo was poisoned by this flower when he came to the valley while Xiaolongnü was badly injured in the later part of this novel. Since Yang Guo would not take the pill which was given to him because he thought Xiao Long Nu was going to die, Xiao Long Nu jumped off a cliff, leaving a message to Yang Guo, who could still be saved. The message read: "She was going to meet Yang Guo 16 years later and during the time she is gone, he must take care of himself and wait for their reunion.". Her plan was to make him forget about her so that he would take the antidote and live for at least sixteen more years.

Sixteen Years Later

Yang Guo waited for sixteen years. He spent his time developing his martial arts with that divine bird, the Condor (culminating in creating the Melancholic Sad Palms) and then wandering the land, becoming a well known hero, the Condor Hero. On the day he was supposed to meet Xiao Long Nu, Yang Guo found out that Nanhai Nun did not exist and that Xiao Long Nu actually jumped off the cliff, so he jumped off the cliff to join her in death. To his surprise, the bottom of the valley had a lake.

Xiao Long Nu had actually survived and slowly recovered while at the bottom of the pit. She had no way of getting out and so lived her life like she did in the cave she grew up in. Yang Guo also survived the fall and they reunite. She and Yang Guo were very happy to find each other. They then left the pit and found out that Guo Xiang (Guo Jing's daughter whom he had a close bond with) was in danger. They rescue her and take part in a battle to protect Xiangyang from the Mongolian armada led by Möngke Khan. Yang Guo fought with General Jinlun Guoshi and eventually won. He then eliminated Möngke Khan, disbanding the entire Mongolian army, caused a civil war that disrupted the unity and invincibility of the Mongol Empire, and halting their invasion for another thirteen years until the succession of Kublai Khan. Yang Guo made his peace with all the warriors. Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo are recognized as heroes and they left on their own. As it was about 40 years since the last competition at Hua Mtn, all the heroes gathered at the peak to pay respects to Hong Qigong who had died and was buried there. Here, they renamed the 5 Greats since the prior North, West and Central Greats had died and the Southern King had abdicated.

In most if not all adaptations of the novel, the last chapter was removed. It depicted the entire group of heroes leaving Hua Mtn and ending up near Shaolin temple. There they met two very important characters, jue yuan and zhang jun bao, that would play an important role in the conclusion to the trilogy.

The story would conclude on the The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠龍記).

Characters

The Condor (Giant Eagle)

The Condor (神鵰) is a giant eagle living alone in a valley. It used to have a companion but he was long dead before it met Yang Guo. The Great Eagle's companion was actually a great sword master, nicknamed the Sword Devil (劍魔), by the name of Dugu Qiu Bai (獨孤求敗) or The Lonely One-Who-Begs-For-Defeat. After roaming China in search for someone to rival his great swordmanship, Dugu Qiu Bai came to a cave in the middle of a forest and lived there as a hermit. No one could defeat him so he became known as 'Great' but in the process, he also became a solitary person, living alone with only the condor for a companion. In doing so, he took on the name "Qiubai (求敗)" ("begging for defeat"), perhaps out of arrogance, or more likely as a dogged quest to find the limit of his skills. After his death, the Great Eagle lived alone, and only came to encounter Yang Guo one night during a fight with a giant snake.

From the Condor Yang Guo learned his swordplay. Because his right arm had been severed by Guo Fu, the spoiled daughter of his surrogate uncle Guo Jing in a fit of anger, Yang Guo trained relentlessly with his one arm under the waterfalls to wield the great sword of Dugu Qiu Bai. Eventually, when he achieved high skills in martial art, he and the condor ventured out to search for his lover who is also his martial art's master, Xiaolongnü (小龍女). Although it is described as a rather unattractive or ugly bird, the Condor however, possesses near human intelligence and fighting skills that can rival some of the best in the martial art world. Like its former master Dugu Qiu Bai, it is proud yet noble in nature and likes to challenge other human or beast it encounters.

Protagonists

• Yang Guo (楊過) - the main hero of the story. He is the orphaned son of Yang Kang (楊康) and Mu Nianci (穆念慈) who are both characters of the first part of the trilogy, The Legend of the Condor Heroes.
• Xiaolongnü (小龍女) - is Yang Guo's love interest. She is a disciple of the secret martial art sect, Gumu Pai (Ancient Tomb Sect, 古墓派).
• Guo Jing (郭靖) - is the sworn brother of Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang. He took care of Yang Guo when his mother died.
• Huang Rong (黃蓉) - is Guo Jing's clever wife and Yang Guo's surrogate aunt. She refused at first to teach martial arts to Yang Guo, fearing that he would turn out to be like his father.
• Lu Wushuang (陸無雙) - is the spirited daughter of the Lu House, which is a prominent family in Jiang Nan. When she first saw Yang Guo, she thought he was half-mad and dim-witted and called him "Sha Dan. (Idiot)" Later on, she began to develop strong feelings for him.
• Cheng Ying (程英) - is Lu Wu Shuang's mild-mannered cousin and a disciple of Peach Blossom Island Master Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師), the East Heretic and Huang Rong's father. She helped Yang Guo rescue Lu Wushuang from the evil clutches of Li Mochou (李莫愁). Like her cousin, she also has affectionate feelings for Yang Guo.
• Wanyan Ping (完顏萍)- is a member of the royal family of Jin Dynasty. Her whole family was killed by the Yelü (耶律) Family and to avenge their deaths, she swore to kill Yelü Chuchai (耶律楚才) who was the prime minister of Mongolia. She reminded Yang Guo of Xiaolongnü and because of this, he taught her martial arts to defeat the prime minister's son, Yelü Qi (耶律齊).
• Guo Fu (郭芙) - is the spoiled daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. She used to look down on Yang Guo when they were younger. Right after Yang Guo saves her husband Yelü Qi at the end of the novel, she realizes that she has always have affectionate feelings for Yang Guo. The poor treatments she showed toward Yang Guo were due to her desire to be noticed by him, her jealousy toward other women in his life. She quickly suppressed her thoughts, telling herself that she is now a married woman. She grew up with Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文). They were sons of Wu Santong (武三通) and later became her first suitors. Since Guo Fu had trouble choosing which of the brothers to marry, Dun Ru and Xiu Wen fought a duel to the death. In order to prevent this fratricide, Yang Guo lied to the Wu brothers saying that Guo Jing and Huang Rong had already betrothed Guo Fu to him. Guo Fu regarded this lie as an insult to her reputation . She struck Yang Guo with the Yunü Sword which Xiaolongnü gave her out of anger. In his weakened state, Yang Guo grabbed a sword to block her strike. The superior Yunü Sword severed both Yang Guo's sword and his right arm.
• Gongsun Lü'e (公孫綠萼) - is the daughter of the evil Passionless Valley master, Gongsun Zhi (公孫止) and the cruel Qiu Qianchi (裘千尺) who was known as the Iron Palm Lotus Blossom. She fell in love with Yang Guo even though he could not return her love. Eventually, she made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up her life to save him from the Love flower poison.
• Guo Xiang (郭襄) - is the gentle daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong and Guo Fu's younger sister. As a baby, she was kidnapped by Li Mochou and was fed by a female leopard. Later, the evil Tibetan monk, Jinlun Fawang (金輪法王) also tried to kidnap her and make her his disciple. after realizing her compassionate nature. It was Yang Guo who finally saved her and returned her to her mother.

Antagonists

• Jinlun Guoshi (金輪國師) / Jinlun Fawang (金輪法王) - is known as the Living Buddha of Tibet and Mongolia's Defense Master. At the heroes' gathering in Da Shen Guan, he tried to take the title of "Head of Martial Arts" to stop the Song Dynasty (960-1279) citizens from raising arms against the Mongolians. He was later defeated by Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü who teamed up and used the Jade Maiden Heart's Swordplay. Later in the novel, he wished to take Guo Xiang as his disciple after he realized that all his martial arts creations will be gone with him once he's die. His star disciple died before the novel begin. His second disciple,Da’erba, though honest, is dim-witted. His last disciple Huo Du has demonstrated times and times again that he is loyal only to himself.
• Li Mochou (李莫愁) - is known as the Serpent Deity. The apprentice sister of Xiaolongnü, she was expelled from the sect because of her love for a man who later betrayed her. She roams China, striking fear in men's hearts and ruthlessly causing trouble when the mood strikes her.
• Gongsun Zhi (公孫止) - is the merciless master of Passionless Valley. His ancestors were once important officials of Tang Dynasty who fled to a fortress in the hidden valley to avoid persecution. While gathering some herbs, he chanced upon the unconscious Xiaolongnü and fell in love with her.
• Qiu Qianchi (裘千尺) - is Gongsun Zhi's wife and known as the Lotus Blossom of Iron Palm Sect. She is also Qiu Qianren's sister. Everyone thought she was dead but in truth, Gongsun Zhi disposed of her in a deep pit under the Passionless Valley. She was trapped in the pit as the tendons and ligaments to her arms and legs were cut by Gongsun Zhi when he wanted her dead. She survived by consuming the prunes that fell near her and trained herself to spit out prune seeds with deadly result. She also knows the location of the hidden antidote for the poisonous plants in Passionless Valley.
• Zhao Zhijing (趙志敬) - is a third-generation disciple of Quan Zhen Sect (全真教) and also the master of Yang Guo when he was still studying there. He nearly destroyed his own school when he enlisted the Mongolian conquerors to help him become master of Quan Zhen Sect. He finally died from poison bees.
• Da’erba - is a Tibetian monk and a disciple of Jinlun Fawang. He is honest and loyal but very dim-witted.
• Huo Du (霍都) - is a prince of Mongolia and a disciple of Jinlun Fawang. He is intelligent but not loyal. He'd run in dired situation, leaving his allies and master behind.
• Möngke Khan (蒙哥汗)- is a Mongolian ruler who personally lead the attack on the city of Xiangyang. He was killed by Yang Guo at the end of the novel. His death resulted in internal conflict of succession within the Mongolian empire in which Kublai Khan won, temporary halting the Mongolian invasion for years.
• Kublai (忽必烈) was a governor of the southern territories of the Mongol Empire and its military general. He tried to persuade Guo Jing to switch his loyalty to the Mongol Empire again. After his brother Möngke Khan died at the hand of Yang Guo, he and his brother Hulagu started a civil war that disrupted unity of the empire. Eventually, Kublai won and became a Khan and Yuan Dynasty founder.
• Jinlun's Helpers - four other martial artists, Yi Ke Xi, Ni Mo Xing, Ma Guang Zuo, Da Er Ba, who were invited by Kublai from different countries to help the Mongolian with their invasion. Though at first, each wishes to be the leader of the group, they begrudgedly followed Jinlun Fawang after realizing he is superior. Ma Guang Zuo left after Yang Guo reminds him that someone with his compassinate nature shouldn't be around the rest of the group. Jinlun Fawang amputated Ni Mo Xing's legs after he stepped on Li Mochou's poisoned needle trap set by Yang Guo. He's killed by Yang Guo 16 years later. Yi Ke Xi and Da Er Ba returned at the very end of the novel, setting the stage for the next and last part of the trilogy The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

The Five Greats

Here are the five martial arts fighters, known as the Five Greats (Wu Gao Shou) decided by Huang Rong at the end of the novel:

• Zhou Botong (周伯通) - is known as the Old Mischievous Child (老頑童). At the end of the novel, he reluctantly took central position of the Five Greats as 'Zhong Wantong' (中頑童) which used to belong to his apprentice brother, Wang Chongyang (王重陽) aka Zhong Shentong.
• Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師) - is known as the Eastern Heretic (東邪), a man who dislikes the rules of that era and has a mercurial disposition. Also respectfully called TaoHua Daozhu (Master of the Peach Blossom Island) for where he lives, though he tends to wander around in this novel (as opposed to in Legend of the Condor Heroes, where he stayed primarily in Taohua Dao).
• Yang Guo (楊過) - is known as the Western Eccentric (西狂), in reference to his flouting of the conventions forbidding marriage to his master. As the name suggests, he gets along well with the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi. Successor to Ouyang Feng (歐陽鋒), the Western Venom (西毒) who is also his foster father. Ouyang Feng is one of the guest stars in The Return of the Condor Heroes because he only appears in Chapter 2, 7, & 11 out of 40 chapters in the novel, mentioned about 280 times in 3^rd revision of the novel.
• Yideng Dashi (Grandmaster Yideng, 一燈大師) - is known as the Southern Monk (南僧). He used to be called the Southern Emperor (Nan Di, 南帝), because he was the king of the Kingdom of Dali (大理國) until he abdicated and entered the monastery to become a monk.
• Guo Jing (郭靖) - is known as the Northern Hero (Bei Xia, 北俠), for his compassion and devoted efforts in helping defend fort Xiangyang over the years against Mongolian invasion. A successor to Northern Beggar Hong Qigong (北丐, 洪七公), who is also one of his teachers. Ouyang Feng dies with Hong Qigong on Chapter 11. Hong Qigong is considered a guest star in The Return of the Condor Heroes because he only appears in Chapter 10 & 11, mentioned about 187 times in 3^rd revision of the novel.

Adaptations

This novel is one of the best known among Jinyong's works. Many adaptations have been made and produced on the Condor Trilogy.

TV series

Year	Production	Yang Guo	Xiaolongnü	Country/Region	More information
1976	Shaw Brothers Studio and Commercial Television	Law Lok Lam	Lee Tong Ming	Hong Kong
1983	TVB	Andy Lau	Idy Chan	Hong Kong	Leung Ka Yan and Au Yeung Pui San as adult Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Idy Chan would play the young Huang Rong a few years later on the Taiwanese production of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Leung Ka Yan would play Hong Qigong in 1998 Taiwannese ATV's remake.
1984	CTV	Meng Fei	Pan Yan Tze	Taiwan
1995	TVB	Louis Koo	Carmen Lee	Hong Kong	Wong Man Biu reprises his role as Guo Jing, who he played in the 1978 version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes
1998	MediaCorp	Christopher Lee	Fann Wong	Singapore	see Return of the Condor Heroes (1998 TV series)
1998	TTV	Richie Ren	Jacqueline Wu	Taiwan	Deviates a lot from the novel, e.g. Xiaolongnü appears in black and crow braids. Actor Leung Ka Yan, who played Hong Qigong, previously played Guo Jing on Hong Kong's 1983 TVB production remake
2001	Nippon Animation and Jade Animation			Japan	see Legend of the Condor Hero (anime)
2006	CCTV	Huang Xiaoming	Liu Yifei	China	see The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006 TV series)

Comics

• Asiapac Publishing acquired the rights to produce an illustrated version of The Return of the Condor Heroes in 1995. Artist Wee Tian Beng, with the approval of author Jinyong, produced an 18 volume series chronicling the adventures of Yang Guo. The lavishly illustrated series, which was translated by Jean Lim, won the Prestigious Award in 1997 during the Asian Comics Conference held in Korea. There are also cute gag strips that poke gentle fun at some of the story's events.
• In 2002, Comics One published the first official English translation of "Legendary Couple" which is a retelling of Return of Condor Heroes. Louis Cha is credited as the writer with Tony Wong handling the illustration duties.

Video games

• Soft-World released a RPG based on the novel for DOS. The game is only available in Chinese language and cover the first half of the novel until Yang Guo met the divine eagle.
• New Shen Diao Xia Lü (2000) for Windows
• New Shen Diao Xia Lü 2 (2003) for Windows
• ISGame.com created this interactive version of the novel. Chinese Language only.
• ISGame.com followed up the success of the first game with this sequel. Again, it's Chinese Language only.

See also

• The Condor Trilogy

References

External links

• Divine Eagle, Gallant Knight - COMPLETE TRANSLATION of the novel at Wuxiapedia.com
• TVB Return of the Condor Heroes 1983 Reviews at spcnet.tv
• TVB Return of the Condor Heroes 1995 Reviews at spcnet.tv
• CCTV Return of the Condor Heroes 2006 Reviews at spcnet.tv
• Jin Yong Teahouse - fansite of Jin Yong's novels in Cinese
• QiQi.com - fansite of Jinyong novels
• Return of Condor Heroes (1983 - TVB) - fansite of the 1983 TV adaptation.
• TV adaptations - fansite