Seven Swords and Thirteen Heroes (All Three Volumes)

"Seven Swords and Thirteen Heroes", also known as "Seven Sons and Thirteen Lives", is a representative work of chivalrous novels in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, it was praised as "the greatest collection of swordsmen in history and the best of barnyard officers" (Jiang Wenpu's "Preface to the First Collection"). The author, Tang Yunzhou, is the owner of Peach Blossom Hall and is from Suzhou. His life is unknown. This book was published in three volumes, each with 60 chapters, for a total of 180 chapters. The first sixty chapters were published in the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896). Jiang Wenpu said in the preface to the first collection: "I know that once a book is published, it will spread like wildfire." As he said, after the book was published, it "popularized the country, and almost every home had a volume" (Yuehu Yuyin's "Second Collection" Preface). In the first month of Guangxu Xinchou (1901), the second volume was published on the 64th. Like the first volume, it was "popular among the people, and some people even couldn't put it down" (Yuehu Yuyin's "Three Collections" Preface). In June of the same year, three volumes with 60 chapters were published, and readers could see the golden leopard. Yuehu Yuyin praised its "wonderful writing and astonishing strange things, especially compared with the first and sequel volumes" (Yuehu Yuyin's "Three Volumes" Preface). [2] In his book "History and Red Studies", the famous historian Tang Degang mentioned that he was obsessed with "Seven Swords and Thirteen Heroes" when he was a child. [3] "Seven Swords and Thirteen Heroes" states that during the reign of Wuzong Zhengde (1506-1521), Sai Mengchang Xu He (alias Minggao) and other twelve heroes (Xu Qing, Luo Jifang, Yizhimei, Di Hongdao, Wang Neng, Li Wu, Yang Xiaofang, Bao Xinggong, Zhou Xiangfan, Xu Shou, Wu Tianxiong) gathered together, and each showed his chivalrous courage and superior martial arts, robbing the rich and helping the poor, eradicating violence and bringing peace to the good. Zi, Shan Zhongzi, Haiouzi) and Thirteen Shengs (thirteen sword immortals named after "sheng", namely Ling Yunsheng, Yufeng Sheng, Yunyang Sheng, Puppet Sheng, Dugu Sheng, Wo Yunsheng, Luofu Sheng, Yiguosheng, Mengjuesheng, Shushi Sheng, Wanjisheng , Hehaisheng, Ziquansheng), Yang Yiqing, the censor of the right capital, quelled the rebellion of Zhu Chixiu, king of Anhua, Gansu Province, and Wang Shouren, the censor of the capital of Qian, quelled the rebellion of Zhu Chenhao, king of Ning, Jiangxi. As a result, seven sons, thirteen students, and twelve heroes were each awarded awards. The whole story of the rebellion of Anhua King Zhu Chixiu and Ning King Zhu Chenhao described in the book is "added based on the original history" (preface to Yuehu Yuyin's "Three Collections"), which is generally consistent with historical facts.