Wuxia Novels in English — a list
Table of Contents
Jin Yong
Gu Long
Wolong Sheng
Liang Yusheng
Huang Yi
Wang Dulu
Huanzhu Louzhu
Liu Canyang
Priest
Huang Ying
Wen Rui’an
Long Chengfeng
Fu Hongxue
Ximen Ding
Murong Mei
Waning Moon
Others
Not many wuxia novels have been translated into English, though the fan translation community has translated quite a few Jin Yong and Gu Long novels. As I said in my previous post, in order to know what wuxia is you have to experience it. That means reading wuxia novels. So here's a list of what's available in English (that I'm aware of).
This list does not include recent wuxia novels originally written in English; it's only translations of wuxia novels originally written in Chinese. I don't know enough about what's out there with regard to original English wuxia novels, so just translations are listed for now.
NOTE: Some of the links below are broken due to spcnet.tv shutting down in July and due to my website shutting down in September. Restoring these links or finding alternatives is a work in progress. In the meantime, if you are looking for something specifically, message me through chat or leave a comment and I will try to find a working link of the novel for you.
Jin Yong
Might as well start with the best, right? Jin Yong is considered the best wuxia author. It's unanimous. He might not be your favorite, but he does it better overall than anyone else.
Jin Yong is the pen name of Louis Cha Leung-yung. He was once editor of New Evening Post, a newspaper in Hong Kong, where he was a colleague of Chen Wentong (Liang Yusheng). Liang Yusheng wrote the first wuxia novel of the "new school" of wuxia in 1954 at the request of the head editor, Luo Fu. In 1955 Jin Yong also began writing a wuxia novel for the paper, The Book and the Sword. In 1959 he started his own newspaper, Ming Pao, and he switched to publishing his novels there to help support the paper.
From 1955 to 1972 Jin Yong wrote 14 novels, then retired. He weaved historical events into his fictional narratives and was really good at describing fight scenes, making it so that the reader always knows what's at stake through each stage of the fight. He often paused the action to give the reader more information about the weapon or martial art being used. This made each fight scene a mini drama within the story. He also excelled at creating memorable, vivid characters, and he avoided the pitfall of repeating the same plot over and over in his novels (it helps that he only wrote 14 novels, which is not a lot compared to most wuxia authors).
His novels in English translation include:
The Book and the Sword — Jin Yong's first book, also the first to get an official translation (by Graham Earnshaw). It's an abridged translation, reducing the novel's original 20 chapters to 9 if I remember correctly. Skips a lot of fight details and character background and thought details. It's a good place to start, but it's not one of Jin Yong's better works. There's no fan translation of this.
Sword Stained with Royal Blood — Jin Yong's second novel. Fan translation. Ongoing translation.
Legend of the Condor Heroes — His third novel. This one has both a fan translation and an official translation. The official translation is published in four volumes: A Hero Born, A Bond Undone, A Snake Lies Waiting, and A Heart Divided. In the official translation, some of the names of people, nicknames and such, are better translated in the fan version, in my opinion. Unabridged, both the fan and official translation, although the official translation does cut out lines here and there, reduces others, and sometimes even adds sentences that Jin Yong never wrote in order to explain things. Also note that the fan translation is a translation of the 2nd edition, while the official translation is of the 3rd edition.
This novel is the first in the "Condor Trilogy" and is one of Jin Yong's more popular works (though not as critically acclaimed as others). A great choice for your first wuxia read, though.Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain — Jin Yong's 4th novel. Only an official translation exists, by Olivia Mok. The way she translates the names instead of leaving them romanized in pinyin is annoying, and she uses some words she clearly looked up in a dictionary (i.e., they are not commonly used words, such as "volant"; why not just say "flying"?), and key terms are sometimes subsumed under the same name ("outlawry" is used to translate several different terms). Unabridged.
This one is much different from other wuxia novels as the story takes place entirely within one day, and there are many flashbacks. Interesting read, but not your typical wuxia.Return of the Condor Heroes — Only a fan translation exists at the moment (unabridged), but there is an official translation planned. Same publisher as Legend of the Condor Heroes. As far as I know at the time of writing, it is still planned to be published after LOCH is finished. A volume is published every year, so it has taken LOCH four years to finish. It will be the same schedule for ROCH as well. For now there is the fan translation. Some grammar errors, but it is readable. One of Jin Yong's most popular novels; the romance between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu is classic. The second novel in the Condor trilogy.
The official translation is now being published. Volume 1, A Past Unearthed, is out now. Definitely a smoother, easier read than the fan translation.White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind — Fan translation only, unabridged. A short story (novella-length, really). A minor Jin Yong work.
Blade-dance of the Two Lovers — Another short story, and a minor work. Fan translation only, unabridged.
Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre — Fan translation only at the moment, unabridged. An official translation is planned, but will be after ROCH. This is the third novel in the Condor trilogy. Also one of Jin Yong's personal favorites.
A Deadly Secret — Fan translation only, unabridged. A short novel, generally considered a minor work. But in my opinion, it's one of Jin Yong's best. It's darker, not too many characters (a common wuxia problem), and the plotting is tight and fast-paced. If you like The Count of Monte Cristo, then you should give this a try. There are some similarities.
Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils — Fan translation only, unabridged. One of Jin Yong's best works. Three narratived threads woven together, one of his most complex novels.
Ode to Gallantry — Fan translation only. It's unabridged, but after ch.10 is switches to machine translation, which means that the translator used machine translation software for the actual translation, then edited it. So the accuracy of the translation is not reliable. A minor work.
Smiling, Proud Wanderer — Fan translation only, unabridged. One of Jin Yong's best novels. Chapters 1-21 are available here.
The Deer and the Cauldron — Fan translation and official translation by John Minford available. Considered by many to be Jin Yong's best novel. The fan translation is unabridged, but there are grammatical errors. The names are translated better than the official version, though. I recommend the fan translation. The official version is sold in three volumes, is heavily abridged, and contains some of the worst translation decisions (in my opinion) I've ever seen, such as translating the main character's name as Trinket instead of just writing it as a normal name, Wei Xiaobao.
Sword of the Yue Maiden — Fan translation only, unabridged. A short story, Jin Yong's final wuxia story.
Jin Yong's second novel, Sword Stained with Royal Blood, has not been translated. Other Tales of Flying Fox, has a partial translation, chapters 1-3.
Gu Long
Gu Long is right behind Jin Yong as second best wuxia author, according to majority opinion. Some place him above Jin Yong, others much lower. It's a matter of preference as his style is much different Jin Yong's.
He started his writing career writing literary short stories, but he couldn't make any money at it. A friend of his intrduced him to the wuxia literary salon in Taipei and he made friends with the top wuxia authors in Taiwan at the time: Wolong Sheng, Sima Ling, and Zhuge Qingyun. They loved to drink and gamble and carry on, which made writing a new serial installment for their wuxia novels each day a chore. So Gu Long began filling in for them from time to time, ghostwriting installments when they were too busy or unable to do it.
In 1960 he began publishing his own novels. In that first year he began eight novels, though he didn't finish many of them. He had a habit of negotiating payment, then writing a few volumes (wuxia novels, if not serialized in newspapers, were published in slim volumes of around 75 pages, a new volume each month) and then quitting and starting a new one with a different publisher so he could get paid again. So in his early days many of his novels were either unfinished or finished by someone else after he dropped it.
His style imitated the three mentioned above at first, but he gradually began to create his own voice. He borrowed from Western fiction and film, as well as Japanese detective fiction, to create this unique voice. It was a gradual process, but what he ended up with was a terse writing style that often bordered on prose poetry, writing short paragraphs and forgoing detailed fight descriptions for shorter, more abstract scenes. His novels tended to focus more on relationships than fighting, and he placed a lot of importance on friendship in his novels. He also hated tragic endings, so most of his novels end on a high note.
Many of his novels have been translated by fans:
Swordsman's Journey — Partial translation (ch.4-52, 59-62[end]). Fan translation separated into Book 1 and Book 2. His earliest book to be translated. It's speculcated that everything after chapter 10 was ghostwritten by someone else.
Flower Guarding Bell — Another early work. The last three chapters were clearly ghostwritten by someone else and the ending is rushed. Someone was obviously hired to wrap up the novel quickly after Gu Long apparently dropped it.
This novel was adapted to film in 1979 with Beauty Escort.Unofficial History of the Wulin — Partial translation (Ch.1-17 out of 44). With this novel Gu Long's own style was just beginning to emerge. Large scale, perhaps influenced by Jin Yong in that regard. Really annoying female lead. Opening is really good though.
Legendary Siblings — Unabridged fan translation. Still before he had created his own voice, but he is getting there. Grand scale, likely influenced by Jin Yong. This novel is one of his most well-liked by readers. Also one of his longest novels. Adapted many times to film and TV. The Jade Faced Assassin and The Proud Twins are Shaw Bros film adaptations. The 2020 TV serial, Handsome Siblings, is available on Netflix.
The Sword and Exquisiteness — Unabridged. Another mid-period work. Adapted to film in 1981 as A Sword Named Revenge (Chinese audio only).
Chu Liuxiang Book 1: Fragrance in a Sea of Blood — Unabridged. This series was inspired by 007 films and was the first time Gu Long had really made his style his own. Chu Liuxiang lives on a houseboat and solves various mysteries throughout the series. One of his most popular series.
This series was adapted many times to film and TV. Sometimes new storylines were created just for film. Some adaptations available on Youtube: Dressed to Fight, Chu Liu Hsiang and Hu Tieh Hua, Legend of Chu Liu-xiang, Everlasting Chivalry, The Young Moon Legend, Abbott White 2, Swordsman's Adventure, Master of Flying Daggers, The Denouement of Chu Liu Hsiang, Legend of the Liquid Sword. There are many more besides this, such as the classic Shaw Bros. films Clans of Intrigue and Legend of the Bat.
The Chu Liuxiang series is available at Foxs' Wuxia fan translation site (at time of writing, complete through Book 6):
Book 1: Fragrance in the Sea of Blood
Book 2: The Great Desert
Book 3: The Thrush
Book 4: The Legend of the Bat
Book 5: Phantom Love and Heroic Romance
Book 6: The Legend of the Peach Blossom
Book 7: The Legend of the New Moon
Book 8: Midnight OrchidSentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword — Unabridged. Some grammatical errors. One of Gu Long's best and most popular novels. It was originally two different stories that were subsequently combined into one. The first is about the mystery of the Plum Blossom Bandit, and the second is about the duel between Li Xunhuan and Shangguan Jinhong. Some really good poetic writing in this. First in the Flying Dagger series, and there are many adaptations of this series as well. The 1977 Shaw Bros. film The Sentimental Swordsman is a classic. There is also Flying Sword Lee.
The Eleventh Son — The only official Gu Long translation. Becky Tai, the translator, was originally a fan translator in the online wuxia community. This is considered one of Gu Long's best novels.
Happy Heroes — Unabridged. Considered one of Gu Long's best works. More lighthearted than most.
Meteor, Butterfly, Sword — Partial translation (ch.1-12). A fan favorite. Adapted to the classic Shaw Bros. film Killer Clans. There's also Butterfly Sword, among others.
The Celebrity — Unabridged. Another of his better works.
Bordertown Wanderer — Unabridged. The second novel in the Flying Dagger Li series. Takes place after Sentimental Swordsman, but stars Li Xunhuan's disciple, Ye Kai. Also Fu Hongxue. Youtube has the adapted film A Warrior's Tragedy.
Longevity Sword — Unabridged. First novel in the Seven Weapons series. Film: Pai Yu-ching.
Lu Xiaofeng Series — All seven novels in this series have been translated by fans, unabridged, all available at the above link. This is series is similar to Chu Liuxiang in that the hero, Liu Xiaofeng, goes around solving mysteries. This series is a bit better written than Chu Liuxiang. When Jin Yong retired from writing wuxia, he personally selected Gu Long to take his place writing wuxia for his newspaper, Ming Pao. The first novel in this series, Legend of Lu Xiaofeng, began the day after Jin Yong's The Deer and the Cauldron finished. There have been many adaptations of this series. One on Youtube is Legend of Lu Xiao Fong.
Also available at Foxs' Wuxia fan translation site:
Book 1: The Golden Roc Empire
Book 2: The Embroidery Bandit
Book 3: Before and After the Duel
Book 4: Silver Hook Casino Alley
Book 5: Mansion of Spirits
Book 6: The Phoenix Dances in the Nine Heavens
Book 7: Laughter of the Sword GodEagles Soar in the Ninth Month — Unabridged. The third novel in the Flying Dagger Li series.
Seven Killers — Unabridged. Typical of Gu Long's signature style with many plot twists.
Horizon, Bright Moon, Sabre — Unabridged. One of Gu Long's best works. However, it was not well-received when he first wrote it. It ran for 45 days in the newspaper before the paper pulled it due to reader dissatisfaction. Gu Long had stopped writing novels before, but it was always his own choice to do so; this was the first time the publication stopped running his work.
The novel uses a poetic, almost prose poetry style which was new at the time and readers were not used to it. The story goes that wuxia author Dongfang Yu also pushed to have it pulled in favor of his own novel, which ended up replacing Gu Long's (and was well-received).
Gu Long did finish writing the novel, however, and it was later published in book form. It has since been recognized by pretty much everyone as one of his best works. The cancellation of it though was a huge blow to Gu Long, and he never really recovered from that, mentally. Fourth novel in the Flying Dagger Li series, Fu Hongxue is the main character of this one.Blood Parrot — Complete translation. A horror wuxia novel. Huang Ying ended up taking over for Gu Long and ghostwriting part of this. Huang Ying later would write more books in this series under his own name.
Sword of the Third Young Master — Unabridged. A good late period work and a good place to start reading Gu Long for the first time because it has all the features of his signature style. Adapted many times to film, including in 2016 as Sword Master.
The Jade Tiger — Partial translation (ch.1-2). This novel marked a decline in his career. He never even finished writing it. The three volumes (in print) represent only the first half of the story; he never wrote a resolution. Typical mystery plot he is known for.
Righteous Blood Cleanses the Silver Spear — Unabridged. Short novel in his signature style. Film adaptation: Silver Hermit from Shaolin.
Dragon King with Seven Stars — Unabridged.
Heroes Shed No Tears — unabridged. Another good place to start reading Gu Long. It's short and has all his signature traits. Pretty good novel.
Flying Dagger, The Flying Dagger Reappears — Unabridged. Last book in the Flying Dagger Li series, a minor work, possibly ghostwritten. Film: Return of the Deadly Blade and A Sword Shot at the Sun.
Wolong Sheng
Soaring Swallows Startle Dragons — One of the most influential novels in the entire wuxia genre, this novel established the Nine Major Martial Arts Schools (Wudang, Shaolin, Mount Hua, Emei, Qingcheng, Mount Snow, Kongtong, Kunlun, and Diancang), as well as the trope of a villain/sect trying to conquer the martial world. Partial translation (ch.1-4).
Heavenly Sword, Supreme Sabre — Teaser, Ch.1 translation.
Armed Escort Banner — Teaser, Ch.2 partial translation.
Liang Yusheng
Liang Yusheng was already mentioned above with Jin Yong. Only one of his novels has been translated to English, a fan translation. Like Jin Yong, he incorporates history into his novels.
Legend of the White Haired Maiden — Unabridged.
Huang Yi
Huang Yi combined science fiction and fantasy into his work, though he has some pure wuxia novels as well, such as Twin Dragons (see below). He coined the term "xuanhuan".
A Step Into the Past — Unabridged fan translation. Time travel novel set during the Qin dynasty. A reader favorite.
Legend of Great Tang's Twin Dragons — Partial translation, ongoing. Huang Yi's most popular novel.
Wang Dulu
Wang Dulu was one of the Five Masters of the Northern School of wuxia. He was one of the "old school" wuxia writers active in mainland China before 1949. His famous work is the Crane-Iron series, of which Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the fourth installment. His works are mostly tragedies and feature a lot of romance, as he was a romance novelist before he turned to writing wuxia.
The Crane Startles Kunlun — Unabridged fan translation. First novel in the Crane-Iron series.
Treasured Sword, Golden Hairpin — Partial translation (ch.1-3). Second novel in the Crane-Iron series.
Huanzhu Louzhu
Huanzhu Louzhu (Master of Returning Pearl) is the pen name of wuxia author Li Shoumin. He was one of the Five Masters of the Northern School of wuxia along with Wang Dulu. His most famous work is the long Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains series. His style is much more fantasy oriented, feautring immortals and wild beasts and the like. So far only one novel has been translated to English:
Blades from the Willows — This is a short volume, a prequel to Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains. There's a nice review of this translation here. An official translation, out of print now.
Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains — His most famous work and one of the most influential wuxia and xianxia novels of all time. Partial, ongoing translation.
Liu Canyang
Heartbroken Arrow — Short 1981 novel originally serialized in The China Times newspaper. Not one of his major works, but a good condensed example of Liu Canyang's distinctive "Blood and Steel" style. Translation complete.
Priest
Legend of Fei — The drama of the same name starring Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo is based on this novel. Priest also writes danmei novels, but this is not one of them. Completed, unabridged fan translation.
Huang Ying
The Silver Sword Grudge — The first story in the Legend of Shen Shengyi series, first published in 1974. The series follows a professional killer on his way to becoming a chivalrous xia. Huang Ying made his name as the ghostwriter for Gu Long's Six Tales of Fright horror wuxia series, taking over the first novel and finishing it, then writing the other five novels in the series. His writing style is heavily influenced by Gu Long, but still with his own flair. Translation complete, unabridged fan translation.
Wen Rui'an
The Four Constables Return to the Capial by Wen Rui'an — Wen Rui'an is famous for his Four Constable series, which as been adapted to The Four film trilogy. This novel is five separate stories. Partial translation, just the first two stories plus a little of the third story.
Dream Shattering Sabre — The eighth story in The Four Great Constables series. A standalone novel, you don't need to have read previous stories first to read this one. Dropped.
A Gentle Blade — Book 1 of the Speaking of Heroes, Who's A Hero? series. Table of contents has it listed as "Volume 1", but actually this is a series of individual novels; they are not mere volume titles. Speaking of Heroes... is the overall series name. There was a cdrama adaptation in 2022 starring Joseph Zeng and Yang Chaoyue called Heroes. Ongoing translation.
Long Chengfeng
Snowblade Vagabond — Book 1 of the 50-book Snowblade Vagabond series. Introduces Long Chengbi and his friends Sima Xue, Xu Qiaozhi, Tang Zhuquan, and Wei Kongkong. Clearly inspired by Gu Long's Chu Liuxiang and Lu Xiaofeng series. Long Chengfeng is one of the many Gu Long imitators, and one of the better ones. Unabridged fan translaion. Translation complete.
The Tang Sect Crisis — Book 15 in the Snowblade Vagabond series. Standalone, no need to have read previous books in the series. Internecine strife within the fabled Tang Sect. Translation complete.
The Demon Staff — Book 37 of the Snowblade Vagabond series. Standalone. The Wood Demon Alliance is trying to dominate the martial world, but they have their own internal problems. Translation complete.
The Three Whirlwind Xia — Book 29 of the Snowblade Vagabond series. On hiatus.
Roaming the Jianghu for Twenty Years — Standalone novella, not part of the Snowblade Vagabond series. The Eight Major Martial Arts Schools battle the Black Killer Gang. Translation complete.
Fu Hongxue
Treading Blood to Sky's End — Book #1 of The Legend of Nangong Xue series. Female protagonist. Nangong Xue, orphaned daughter of a courtesan, is out to avenge her mother. Ongoing translation.
Blood Stains Eighteen-Point Mountain — Book #11 of The Legend of Nangong Xue series. ~30% complete. Hiatus.
Ximen Ding
The Bloody Bridal Chamber — Book #4 of The Amazing Hawk Constables series. The constable is Shen Ying in this one (the other is Guan Yijian). A wuxia whodunnit murder mystery, originally published 1981 in Wuxia World magazine. It differs from Wen Rui'an's Four Great Constables series in in writing style and also in that Shen Ying ang Guan Yijian are middle-aged men rather than young men, and they do not work on the same team. They each have their own team of assistants who help them solve cases. Translation Complete.
Murong Mei
The Killer Star — First published in 1971, The Killer Star is one of Murong Mei's transitional works, wherein his style takes on the influence of the then-trending Gu Long. The Killer Star is slaughtering renowned men of the jianghu and no one can stop him. So the Sword King Palace promises 10,000 taels of gold to whoever can capture the Killer Star alive. Dropped translation.
Waning Moon
Waning Moon on the Wutong Tree — Webnovel first published in 2005, one of the classic wuxia webnovels from the early online era in China. More realistic in tone, showing the harsh reality of the jianghu as Wang Tianyi, a lowly Qingcheng disciple, tries to survive amid sects and gangs scheming and fighting with each other for wealth and power. Ongoing translation.
Others
Below is a selection of other stories or snippets of novels from various authors.
A Rain of Blood Stains Flowers Red by Xiao Yi — Partial translation (ch.1-2).
Gan Shijiumei by Xiao Yi — Teaser snippet
Day In and Day Out by Wu Yongsheng — short story
Flickering Flame by Gentle Water — short story
Witness by Giant Hyssop — short story
Plain Wooden Spear by Gao Sui — short story
Whirling Snow by Chen Jiye — short story
Ancient Sword by Ye Yanbu — short story
A Lone Wisp of Smoke Rising by Treading Snow — short story
Quicksand Valley by Shangguan Ding — chapter 1 translation
Mighty Dragon Crosses the River by Yun Zhongyue — Teaser snippet of novel.
The Bandit by Dugu Hong — Teaser snippet
Broken Blade by Liu Canyang — Teaser snippet
Turbulent Times by Cang Yue — short story
A Xia in Fengdu by Long Zhongke — short story
The Avenging Eagle by Qin Hong — chapter 1 and finale translation
The Winner by Ni Kuang — short story
Master Guan by Qu Yehe — short story
Have Sword, Will Travel by Ni Kuang — chapter 1 translation
This list is not exhaustive, but these are the ones that I know of, aside from webnovels, which I did not include because I'm not sure what all's out there. That would require a lot more research on my part. Maybe another time.
I will update this list whenever I find new translations to add.
https://archive.org/details/wang-dulu-treasured-sword-golden-hairpin/mode/2up
Treasure Sword, Golden Hairpin translated very well done. Looked for this for so long.
And for new books actually written in English but I think of the genre I really enjoyed the Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu and, though it is in the middle of a series, Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo