Juedai Shuangjiao

Juedai Shuangjiao
Author Gu Long
Original title 絕代雙驕
Country Taiwan
Language Chinese
Genre Wuxia, romance, adventure
Publication date
1966
Media type Print
Juedai Shuangjiao
Traditional Chinese 絕代雙驕
Simplified Chinese 绝代双骄
Literal meaning Peerless Duo with Spirited Horses

Juedai Shuangjiao, rarely translated in English titles, like Two Peerless Heroes,[1] is a wuxia novel by Gu Long. The novel spans a total of 126 chapters and was written between 1966 and February 1969. The story is about a pair of twin brothers who were separated from each other at birth and raised under different circumstances. The twins first see each other as enemies but gradually become friends and eventually acknowledge each other as brothers.

Plot

Jiang Feng, a handsome young man with weak fighting skills, is injured during a misadventure and saved by sisters Yaoyue and Lianxing of Yihua Palace. The sisters, considered the most powerful female martial artists alive, both fall in love with Jiang Feng, but he spurns them because of their arrogance. He instead falls in love with their servant girl, Hua Yuenu.

The couple are forced to flee Yihua Palace when Yuenu becomes pregnant with Feng's child, but are betrayed by Feng's servant Jiang Biehe and attacked by bandits. Hua Yuenu gives birth to a pair of twin boys and dies together with Jiang Feng during the assault. Yaoyue and Lianxing soon catch up, but Yaoyue refuses to forgive the late Jiang Feng for spurning her. She instead plans to avenge her rejection by forcing the twins to kill one another, adopting one twin as her own child and leaving the other. The second twin is saved by Yan Nantian, Jiang Feng's sworn brother and a mighty warrior hailed as the "Strongest Man under Heaven". Unaware of the first twin's fate, Yan Nantian pursues Jiang Biehe into the Villains' Valley, a town populated entirely by criminals. There, he encounters 5 members of the notorious Ten Great Villains, a group of criminals famed for their evil and fighting skill. Yan Nantian defeats them easily, but is eventually lured into a trap and captured. The villains torture him into a coma, but do not harm the child and instead decide to raise him as their apprentice, planning to groom him to become the greatest villain in history.

More than a decade later, the twins have grown up and are now a pair of handsome youths. Yaoyue names her twin Hua Wuque, and teaches him the martial art of Yihua Palace. The other child, Xiaoyu'er, is trained by the Ten Great Villains in different martial arts and a wide range of "villainous" skills such as theft, the use of poison, and the art of disguise. Xiaoyu'er ventures into the jianghu (martial artists' community) alone and encounters young maidens such as Tie Xinlan, Su Ying and Zhang Jing. He starts complex romantic relationships with most of them. At the same time, Hua Wuque is sent to kill him, having been told that Xiaoyu'er is a dangerous criminal but not about their true relationship. The twins fight on several occasions, but though Hua Wuque's fighting skills are far superior, the latter always manages to survive by relying on his wits.

The twins are initially hostile towards one another, and have wildly different personalities. Hua Wuque is righteous but naive, while Xiaoyu'er is expedient and cunning. However, the two of them develop an uncanny friendship and mutual respect after braving danger together. At the same time, they also get entangled in love triangles with the maidens they meet.

Yaoyue is determined to make the twins kill each other so she forces Hua Wuque to challenge Xiaoyu'er to a fight to the death. Xiaoyu'er is seemingly killed by Hua Wuque during the duel. After Xiaoyu'er's apparent death, Yaoyue exposes her true intentions to Hua Wuque and tells him about her plan to make their father pay the ultimate price for scorning her. Hua Wuque is shocked when he learns that Xiaoyu'er is actually his twin brother. However, Xiaoyu'er comes back to life later and reveals that he feigned death earlier by consuming a special drug. The twins finally recognise and acknowledge each other as brothers.

Characters

Protagonists

Xiaoyu'er's lovers

Yihua Palace

Good characters

Villains

Adaptations

Films

Year Title Production Main cast
1971 The Jade Faced Assassin Shaw Brothers Studio
(Hong Kong)
Lily Ho, Kao Yuen, Ku Feng, Lin Chia
1979 The Proud Twins Alexander Fu, Ng Wai-kwok, Wong Yung, Wen Hsueh-erh, Susanna Au-yeung, Kitty Meng, Tang Ching
1992 Handsome Siblings Hong Kong Andy Lau, Brigitte Lin, Sharla Cheung, Michael Miu, Francis Ng, Anita Yuen

Television

Year Title Production Main cast
1977 Juedai Shuangjiao TTV (Taiwan) Hsia Ling-ling, Chiang Ming, Chang Lu, He Szu-min, Betty Pei, Yin Pao-lien, Wu Heng
1979 The Twins TVB (Hong Kong) Wong Yuen-sun, Shek Sau, Michelle Yim, Wong Hang-sau, Wong Wan-choi, Idy Chan
1986 Xin Juedai Shuangjiao Taiwan Sharon Yeung, Huang Hsiang-lien, King Doi-yum, Wong Wai-man, Tien Feng, Chang Fu-mei, Ku Cheng
1988 Two Most Honorable Knights TVB (Hong Kong) Tony Leung, Hugo Ng, Kitty Lai, Shallin Tse, Maggie Chan, Michael Miu, Elliot Ngok
1999 The Legendary Siblings TTV (Taiwan) Jimmy Lin, Alec Su, Vivien Chen, Theresa Lee, Yu Li, Chang Jui-chu, Lin Jui-yang
2002 The Legendary Siblings 2 CTS (Taiwan) Jimmy Lin, TAE, Li Xiaolu, Lawrence Ng, Yu Li, Elvis Tsui, Zheng Guolin
2005 The Proud Twins Hong Kong Dicky Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Fan Bingbing, Yuan Quan, Elvis Tsui, Wu Qingzhe, Kong Lin

Comics

In 1997, Hong Kong cartoonist Ho Chi-man drew a manhua series for the novel.

Wong Yuk-long's comic, Force of Buddha's Palm (如來神掌) has a long story arc which reproduces much of Gu Long's novels. This story arc was included in an English translation published in the United States by Jademan Comics from 1989 to 1993.

Video games

References

  1. Wu, D.; Murphy, P.D. (1994). Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. p. 248. ISBN 9780313278082. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
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