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七俠五義 (第一部)

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Text ID
KR4k0209
Date
1879–1889
Dynasty
清

Qī Xiá Wǔ Yì 七俠五義 (Dì-yī bù 第一部)

Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (Part One, chapters 1–60) by 石玉昆 (述), revised by 俞樾 (改訂)

About the work

Qī Xiá Wǔ Yì 七俠五義 (Seven Heroes and Five Gallants) is one of the most celebrated chivalric-detective novels of the Qīng dynasty, combining the gōng’àn 公案 (court-case) genre with the xiáyì 俠義 (chivalric heroes) tradition. The text is spread across two parts in the Kanripo corpus: Part One (KR4k0209) covering chapters 1–60, and Part Two (KR4k0210) covering chapters 61–120. The central figure is the incorruptible magistrate Bāo Zhěng 包拯 (Judge Bao, 999–1062, styled Wénzhèng 文正, posthumous title Xiào Sù 孝肅), assisted by the chivalric knight Zhǎn Xióngfēi 展熊飛 (the “Southern Gallant” 南俠) and ultimately the four directional gallants, the “Five Rats” (五鼠), and other heroes — together making up the “seven heroes and five gallants” of the title.

Tiyao

No tiyao found in source.

Abstract

The textual history of Qī Xiá Wǔ Yì begins with the oral storytelling performances of 石玉昆 Shí Yùkūn (fl. mid-19th century), a Tiānjīn-area ballad-singer and storyteller (shuōshū rén 說書人). His repertoire of tales centered on Judge Bao was transcribed and published in the Xianfeng period (1851–1861) under the title Sān Xiá Wǔ Yì 三俠五義 (Three Heroes and Five Gallants), in 120 chapters. This original transcription was issued by the Jùzhēn táng 聚珍堂 publishing house in Beijing in 1879, under the title Zhōngliè xiáyì zhuàn 忠烈俠義傳 — a slightly variant form.

The eminent scholar 俞樾 Yú Yuè (1821–1907) then undertook a revision of the work, which he published in 1889 under the new title Qī Xiá Wǔ Yì 七俠五義, having retitled the original “three heroes” (sān xiá 三俠) to “seven heroes” (qī xiá 七俠) to better reflect the actual count of heroic figures. Yú Yuè wrote a preface explaining his revisions, which included correcting what he saw as factual and literary infelicities in the original transcription. His revised edition became the standard published form and the basis for the text now in the Kanripo corpus.

The narrative of Part One covers the origin and early career of Bāo Zhěng: his birth through a palace intrigue in which a concubine’s legitimate prince is substituted by a fox-spirit-born baby (chapters 1–3), his discovery of the truth and restoration of the emperor’s mother (chapters 4–19), his appointment as Prefect of Kāifēng and acquisition of the famous Dragon-Head Guillotine (lóngtóu zhǎ 龍頭鍘), and his encounters with the various gallant heroes. Key episodes include the “Ōupén” (烏盆 — the ghost in the black earthen basin), the “Yóuxiān zhěn” (遊仙枕 — the fairy-travel pillow), the exposure of the treacherous court official Páng Tàishī 龐太師, and the first meetings with Zhǎn Xióngfēi and the Five Rats. The opening intrigue episode (chapters 1–3) involving the court lady Lǐ-fēi 李妃 and the substituted baby was a famous source for the Peking opera cycle on “Judge Bao” themes.

Shí Yùkūn is not found in CBDB. His dates are not precisely documented; he is generally placed as fl. ca. 1840s–1860s. The CBDB records 俞樾 with birth 1821 and death 1907 (CBDB id 30237).

Translations and research

  • Shek Chia [Shí Jiā], tr. The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (partial). Various editions.
  • Susan Blader, Tales of Magistrate Bao and his Valiant Lieutenants: Selections from Sanxia Wuyi. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1998. — Partial translation with critical introduction.
  • Yenna Wu [Wú Yǐnnà], studies of the gōng’àn fiction genre.
  • Wilt Idema, “The Story of Bao Zheng’s Marriage to the Daughter of a Crab-Monster,” in various studies of Chinese popular fiction.
  • Robert E. Hegel, Reading Illustrated Fiction in Late Imperial China. Stanford University Press, 1998. — Discusses the illustrated editions of this work.
  • David Der-wei Wang, Fin-de-siècle Splendor. Stanford University Press, 1997. — Contextualizes the chivalric fiction genre.

Other points of interest

The Kanripo text is labeled 第一部 in the title header, corresponding precisely to chapters 1–60. The full 120-chapter novel is divided into two equal halves in the Kanripo corpus. The original Sān Xiá Wǔ Yì title is also used as an alternate name in modern discussions; both titles refer to the same work in its various recensions. The opening intrigue subplot — prince substituted at birth, wronged concubine imprisoned — became the basis for the famous jīngtǐng xiǎoshuō 京調小說 and opera cycle, giving the work a cultural reach far beyond the printed novel.

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