Chinese mystery, science fiction, and wuxia romance novelist
Wang Dulu
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Native name
| 王?祥
|
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Born
| Wang Baoxiang
1909
Beijing
, China
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Died
| 12 February 1977
[1]
(aged 68)
Tieling
, China
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Pen name
| Wang Dulu (
Chinese
:
王度廬
)
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Occupation
| Editor / Writer
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Language
| Chinese
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Genre
| Wuxia
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Years active
| 1931 – August 1945
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Spouse
|
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Children
| 3
|
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Relatives
| Wang Shianshen (
Chinese
:
王先生
) (father)
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Wang Baoxiang
(
Chinese
:
王?祥
; 1909 – 12 February 1977),
[1]
was a Chinese mystery, science fiction, and
wuxia
romance novelist who wrote under the pseudonym
Wang Dulu
(
simplified Chinese
:
王度?
;
traditional Chinese
:
王度廬
). Wang is also known by the
courtesy name
Xiaoyu
(
Chinese
:
?羽
).
In the West he is best known for his series of interlinked novels, the
Crane-Iron Series
, which includes
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
. The novel has been adapted to film and television several times, most notably the award-winning film adaptation of the
same name
directed by
Ang Lee
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Wang was born in 1909 in
Beijing
to a poor family of Bannerman background. (His ancestors were ethnic
Han Chinese
adopted into the
Manchu
Eight Banners
.)
[2]
He worked as an editor for a newspaper agency, and as a clerk for a merchant association before becoming a writer. He is reported to have been self-educated. However, he graduated high school in 1924, and worked infrequently as a teacher until he moved to Beijing in 1931.
[1]
He also worked as freelance editor and journalist.
He and Li Danquan were married in 1935.
[1]
They had three children. Some sources credit Li as a working as journalist or editor at
Minyabao
(
Chinese
:
民意?
), a daily newspaper, where Wang also worked.
Career
[
edit
]
Wang wrote more than twenty novels from 1931 to 1949, though some sources attribute as many fifty novels to him.
[
citation needed
]
Most of his earlier works were
detective
and
mystery
novels.
He began writing
wuxia
novels after moving to
Qingdao
, sometime before 1938. From 1939 to 1949, Wang produced as many as thirty-six wuxia novels.
[3]
Crane-Iron Series
[
edit
]
Wang's most popular works are collectively referred to as the
Crane-Iron Series
(
Chinese
:
鶴鐵系列
), named after the first characters in the titles of the first and last installments in the series. The series’ five novels chronicle the struggles of four generations of
youxia
(
simplified Chinese
:
游?
;
traditional Chinese
:
遊俠
), often translated as wandering heroes. Each novel contains elements which link it with the others.
Portions or possibly all of the novels may have been serialized.
[4]
The following titles are arranged in internal chronological order rather than by their publication date:
- Crane Startles Kunlun
(
Chinese
:
鶴驚崑崙
, serialized title
Chinese
:
舞鶴鳴鸞記
1940-1941)
[4]
- Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin
(
Chinese
:
寶劍金釵
, serialized title
Chinese
:
寶劍金釵記
1938-1939; collected edition 1939)
[4]
- Sword Force, Pearl Shine
(
Chinese
:
劍氣珠光
, serialized titled
Chinese
:
劍氣珠光錄
1939-1940; collected edition 1941)
[4]
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(
Chinese
:
臥虎藏龍
, serialized title
Chinese
:
臥虎藏龍傳
1941-1942; collected edition 1948)
[4]
- Iron Knight, Silver Vase
(
Chinese
:
鐵騎銀?
, serialized title
Chinese
:
鐵騎銀?傳
1942-1944; collected edition 1948)
[4]
Crane Startles Kunlun
was written third, after
Sword Force, Pearl Shine
, and serialized under the title
Dancing Crane, Singing Luan
(
Chinese
:
舞鶴鳴鸞記
). The official website of actress
Michelle Yeoh
includes an English-language summary of the series.
[5]
Translations
[
edit
]
The two first volumes were translated into French, and published by Calmann-Levy. As of 2023, no official English language translations of his novels exist. However, there is a
manhua
series of the
same name
(and a second, revised edition), created by
Andy Seto
. The plot of the manhua departs substantially from the novels.
An unofficial English translation of
Crane Startles Kunlun
exists, and an unofficial translation is currently in progress for
Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin
.
[6]
Adaptations
[
edit
]
Ang Lee
's 2000 film adaptation,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
, included elements from other books in the
Crane
series, and also took liberties with the novel it was based on. The changes emphasized the romantic relationships between the protagonists from the novel. The film was also pitched as a martial-arts adaptation of
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen.
[7]
In 2013,
The Weinstein Company
announced an English-language adaptation of
Iron Knight, Silver Vase
was in development, with
Ronny Yu
attached to direct.
[8]
The film was later renamed
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
, and principal photography began in August 2014, with
Yuen Woo-ping
as director.
Later life and death
[
edit
]
After the
Chinese Civil War
, Wang was assigned to work as a school teacher by
Communist
leaders, who labelled him an "old literati". He was forbidden from producing new works.
[
citation needed
]
Following his retirement, possibly around 1966, he was labelled a "reactionary literati", thus the Communist Party punitively sentenced him to farm labor.
[1]
He died from an unknown illness on 12 February 1977.
[1]
Prior to his death he made several attempts to return to his wife and family who were living in Shenyang.
[1]
In 1999, Wang’s widow Ms. Li Dan Quan met with
Ang Lee
and
Michelle Yeoh
during the production of
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
.
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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