Datang Youxia Zhuan

For the television series of the same Chinese title, see Paladins in Troubled Times.

Datang Youxia Zhuan, literally Story of the Wandering Hero of the Great Tang, is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng first published as a serial between 1 January 1963 and 14 June 1964 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The first part of a trilogy, the novel is followed by Longfeng Baochai Yuan and Huijian Xinmo.

Datang Youxia Zhuan

Author	Liang Yusheng
Original title	大唐游俠傳
Language	Chinese
Genre	Wuxia
Publisher	Ta Kung Pao
Publication date	1 January 1963 - 14 June 1964
Publication place	Hong Kong
Media type	Print
ISBN	9787805216294
Followed by	Longfeng Baochai Yuan

Datang Youxia Zhuan
Traditional Chinese	大唐游俠傳
Simplified Chinese	大唐游侠传
Literal meaning	Story of the Wandering Hero of the Great Tang
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dà Táng Yóu Xiá Zhuàn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Daai6 Tong4 Jau4 Haap6 Zyun6

Plot

The novel is set in mid-eighth-century China during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. The emperor has appointed Yang Guozhong as grand chancellor because Yang's cousin, Yang Yuhuan, is the emperor's favourite concubine. Nepotism and corruption are rampant in the government as Yang Guozhong, along with his relatives and supporters, dominates the political scene. Meanwhile, An Lushan wins the emperor's trust through flattery and gets promoted to military governor of Fanyang, where he covertly builds up his forces in preparation for a rebellion.

Meanwhile, in the wulin (martial artists' community), Dou Lingkan and Wang Botong compete fiercely for the position of chief of the wulin. Dou Lingkan and his brothers have the support of Duan Guizhang, a renowned swordsman who is also Dou's brother-in-law. On the other hand, Wang Botong forms a secret alliance with An Lushan, recruits many followers, and sends his children to be trained by top-tier martial artists.

Duan Guizhang is a close friend of Shi Yiru, a former bureaucrat. Their wives give birth to a boy (Duan Keye) and a girl (Shi Ruomei) respectively. One day, An Lushan, wanting to intimidate Duan Guizhang, sends his men to summon Duan to meet him. As Duan Guizhang is not at home at the time, Shi Yiru goes in his place and is held hostage by An Lushan. Duan Guizhang, along with Dou Lingkan's godson Tie Mole, later goes to An Lushan's base to save Shi Yiru but fail – Shi Yiru dies while Duan Guizhang is seriously wounded. Luckily for them, they are saved by Nan Jiyun and Huangfu Song.

Kongkong'er, one of Wang Botong's followers, kidnaps Duan Guizhang's son and uses him as a hostage to force Duan to withdraw his support for the Dous. Dou Lingkan is eventually killed by Wang Yanyu, Wang Botong's daughter, in a fight, and the rest of the Dous are massacred by the Wangs. With Nan Jiyun's help, Tie Mole escapes and vows to avenge his godfather. Duan Guizhang then sends Tie Mole to learn martial arts from Bu Anqi, a reclusive swordsman.

After training for seven years, Tie Mole returns to the wulin and finds himself caught up in the chaos of An Lushan's rebellion. He goes on a series of adventures, undermining the rebels by capturing Wang Botong's stronghold, and exposing the truth behind a 20-year-old mystery and helping to clear Huangfu Song's name. At the same time, he gets entangled in a love triangle with Wang Yanyu, whom he has fallen in love with even though she had killed his godfather; and Han Zhifen, another maiden he meets on his adventures.

At one point, Tie Mole saves Emperor Xuanzong and flees with him after the capital cities Luoyang and Chang'an fall to the rebels. He is also involved in the incident at Mawei courier station when the emperor's soldiers start a mutiny, blaming Yang Guozhong for their plight and killing him, and then demanding the emperor to execute Yang Yuhuan. The emperor reluctantly agrees in order to placate his soldiers, but holds a grudge against Tie Mole as he thinks that Tie Mole instigated the mutiny. He attempts to poison Tie Mole but the latter escapes.

The Siege of Suiyang is featured in the later chapters and many heroes, including Nan Jiyun, sacrifice themselves to defend the city from rebel forces. Tie Mole, Han Zhifen and the other survivors continue their legacy by rallying their fellow members of the wulin to help the government suppress the rebellion.

Characters

Main article: List of Datang Youxia Zhuan characters

Adaptations

In 2008 the novel was adapted into a Chinese television series titled Paladins in Troubled Times by producer Zhang Jizhong. It starred Victor Huang, Shen Xiaohai, He Zhuoyan, Liu Tianyue, Tae and Lu Chen.