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Emperor Hui of Han (210 BC – 188 BC) was the second emperor of the Han Dynasty in China. He was the second son of the first Han emperor, Han Gaozu and Empress Dowager Lü. He is generally remembered as a weak character dominated by his mother, Empress Dowager Lü, personally kind and generous but unable to escape the impact of her viciousness. He tried to protect Ruyi, Prince Yin of Zhao, his younger half-brother, from being murdered by Empress Dowager Lü, but failed. After that he indulged himself in drinking and women and died at a relatively young age. Empress Dowager Lü installed two of his sons, Liu Gong and Liu Hong (known collectively as Emperors Shao of Han), the sons of Emperor's concubine(s) after he died without a designated heir. Emperor Hui's wife was Empress Zhang Yan, a niece of his by his sister Princess Yuan of Lu; their marriage was the result of insistence by Empress Dowager Lü and was a childless one.

Early life and years as crown prince[link]

Liu Ying's childhood is not completely clear. What is known is that he was not his father Liu Bang's oldest son—that would be Liu Fei, who would later be created the Prince of Qi. However, Liu Ying was considered to be the proper heir because his mother, the later Empress Lü, was Liu Bang's wife, while Liu Fei's mother was either a concubine or a mistress.

What is also known is that during Chu–Han Contention, when Liu Bang fought a five-year war with Xiang Yu for supremacy over the Chinese world, his mother, his sister, and he did not initially follow his father to the Principality of Han (modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and southern Shaanxi); rather, they stayed in his father's home territory, perhaps in his home town of Pei (沛縣, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) deep in Xiang's Principality of Western Chu, presumably with his grandfather Liu Zhijia.

In 205 BC, Liu Bang appeared to be near total victory, having captured Xiang's capital of Pengcheng. How his family received this news was unclear, but a few months later, when Xiang responded and crushed Liu's forces, Liu fled and, in his flight, attempted to pass through his home town to take his family with him. He was able to find his children and carry them along with him, but his father and wife were captured by Xiang's forces and kept as hostages—and would not be returned to him until Liu and Xiang temporarily made peace in 203 BC. The then-very young Liu Ying must have then spent these days not knowing what the eventual fate of his grandfather and mother would be.

After Liu Bang's victory and self-declaration as the emperor (later known as Emperor Gao), thus establishing the Han Dynasty, in 202 BC, he created his wife empress and Liu Ying, as his proper heir, crown prince. As crown prince, Prince Ying was considered to be kind and tolerant, characteristics that Emperor Gao did not like. Rather, he favored his young son Liu Ruyi, whom he considered to be more like him and whose mother, Consort Qi, was his favorite concubine. With the support of the officials, however, Prince Ying's status as heir survived despite Consort Qi's machinations.

As crown prince, Prince Ying, along with his mother, would be the ones who would rule on important matters at the capital in his father's absence during various campaigns. When Ying Bu rebelled in 196 BC, Emperor Gao was ill and considered sending Prince Ying as the commander of the forces against Ying Bu rather than campaigning himself, but at the suggestion of Empress Lü (who averred that the generals, who were generally Emperor Gao's old friends, might not fully obey the young prince), went on the campaign himself. Prince Ying was instead put in charge of home territories around the capital Chang'an, assisted by Confucian scholar Shusun Tong (叔孫通) and strategist Zhang Liang (張良). He appeared to carry out the tasks competently but without distinction.

Prince Ying succeeded to the throne of Han when his father died in 195 BC from complications of an arrow wound suffered during the campaign against Ying Bu.

Reign as emperor[link]

Immediately upon Prince Ying's ascension to the throne as Emperor Hui, Empress Lü, now empress dowager, became the effective lead figure in his administration. She wanted to carry out a plot of revenge against Consort Qi and her son Ruyi. She first arrested Consort Qi and put her in prison garb (shaved head, confined by stock, and wearing red clothes). She then summoned Liu Ruyi to the capital—an attempt that was initially resisted by Ruyi's chief of staff Zhou Chang (周昌), whom she respected because he was one of the officials who insisted on Liu Ying being the rightful heir. Instead of directly moving against Zhou and Liu Ruyi, though, Lü circumvented Zhou by first summoning him to the capital, and then summoning Liu Ruyi.

Emperor Hui tried to save Liu Ruyi's life. Before Liu Ruyi could get to the capital, Emperor Hui intercepted his young brother at Bashang (霸上, in modern Xi'an) and received Liu Ruyi into his palace, and they dined together and slept together. Empress Dowager Lü wanted to kill Liu Ruyi, but was afraid that any attempt might also harm her own son, and therefore could not carry out her plot for several months.

Empress Dowager Lü got her chance in winter 195 BC. One morning, Emperor Hui was out hunting and wanted to take Liu Ruyi with him. The young prince was then only 12 years old and refused to get up from bed, and Emperor Hui left for the hunt on his own. Empress Dowager Lü heard this and immediately sent an assassin into the emperor's palace to force poisoned wine down the prince's throat. By the time that Emperor Hui returned, his brother was dead. She then tortured Consort Qi inhumanely, and Consort Qi would die from the torture. When Emperor Hui saw Consort Qi in her tortured state, he cried out loud and became ill for about a year, complaining to his mother that he felt that he could no longer govern the empire, given that he, as the emperor, could not even protect the concubine and son so loved by his father. (Consort Qi had her eyes dug out, and her arms and legs cut off. The remaining head and torso were fed and kept alive in a pig's bin. This is the state in which Emperor Hui saw of his father's favorite, and the mother of his beloved little brother.) From that point on, Emperor Hui indulged himself with wine and women and no longer made key governing decisions, leaving them to his mother.

Emperor Hui, however, continued to try to protect his siblings. In winter of 194 BC, when Liu Fei, Prince of Qi—his older brother—made an official visit to the capital, they both attended a feast put on by Empress Dowager Lü. Emperor Hui, honoring the prince as an older brother, asked him to sit in a seat at the table even more honored than his own. The empress dowager was greatly offended and instructed her servants to pour a cup of poisoned wine for Liu Fei and then toasted him. As Liu Fei was about to drink the poisoned wine, however, Emperor Hui, realizing what was happening, grabbed the cup as if to drink it himself. Empress Dowager Lü jumped up and slapped at the cup, spilling it. Liu Fei was able to get out of the situation by offering an entire commandery from his principality to Princess Yuan of Lu as her realm. Empress Dowager Lü, who greatly loved her daughter as well, became pleased and let Liu Fei return to his principality.

Emperor Hui died in the autumn of 188 BC of an unspecified illness.

Marriage and children[link]

In winter 192 BC, Emperor Hui married Empress Zhang, a marriage that would not yield any children. However, whether Emperor Hui actually had children during or before his reign is a controversial question. The officials, including Chen Ping and Zhou Bo (周勃), who would later overthrow the Lü clan after the deaths of both Emperor Hui and Empress Dowager Lü, claimed that Emperor Hui had no sons—but that Empress Zhang, at Empress Dowager Lü's instigation, stole eight boys from other people, put their mothers to death, and made the children her own. Modern historians have split opinions on the issue, but largely believe that the boys were actually Emperor Hui's sons by concubines and that Empress Zhang did indeed put their mothers to death and make them her own children. (As, for example, Bo Yang pointed out, it would be logically incongruent, if Empress Zhang did steal these children from elsewhere, for her to put only the mothers but not the fathers to death.) Under this theory, the officials denied the imperial ancestry of these children in fear of the fact that they were also descendants of Empress Dowager Lü and her clan, and therefore might avenge the slaughter of the Lü clan—a reason that they themselves admitted. Except for Liu Gong (who was deposed and executed by Empress Dowager Lü), the other children either died young by natural causes or were executed by the officials after they made Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai (Emperor Wen) the emperor.

One can perhaps analogize these princes to the English "Princes in the Tower" -- innocent children who were the victim of dynastic infighting and their own bloodlines.

Personal information[link]

• Father
  • Emperor Gaozu of Han (2nd son of)
• Mother
  • Empress Lü Zhi
• Wife
  • Empress Zhang Yan
• Children
  • Crown Prince Liu Gong (劉恭), later Emperor Qianshao, executed by Empress Dowager Lü in 184 BC
  • Liu Shan (劉山), later renamed Liu Yi (劉義), later re-renamed Liu Hong (劉弘), initially created Marquess of Xiangcheng and later created the Prince of Hengshan (the first name change might have been required by this creation, as it is considered inappropriate in ancient China to have one's name (or one's male ancestors' names) share characters with one's titles), later Emperor Houshao, executed by the officials in 180 BC in the aftermaths of the Lü Clan Disturbance
  • Liu Chao (劉朝), initially created the Marquess of Zhi and later created the Prince of Hengshan, executed by the officials in 180 BC
  • Liu Wu (劉武), initially created the Marquess of Huguan and later created the Prince of Huaiyang, executed by the officials in 180 BC
  • Liu Jiang (劉疆), the Prince of Huaiyang, died in 183 BC of unspecifed natural causes
  • Liu Buyi (劉不疑), the Prince of Hengshan, died in 186 BC of unspecified natural causes
  • Liu Tai (劉太), initially created the Marquess of Changping and later created the Prince of Jichuan, executed by the officials in 180 BC

Emperor Hui's most trusted companion was documented by Sima Qian, China's Grand Historian:

Hui was thus the second of ten rulers of the Han Dynasty to officially elevate a male lover to the top of the administration.

See also[link]

• Concubine Qi
• Chinese history

References[link]

• Records of the Grand Historian, vol. 9.
• Book of Han, vol. 2.
• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 9, 11, 12.

Zhao Ji
Emperor of Northern Song Dynasty later Duke of Hunde 昏德公'
Reign	23 February 1100 - 18 January 1126[1] (&1000000000000002500000025 years, &10000000000000329000000329 days)
Spouse	Empress Xiangong 顯恭皇后 Empress Xiansu 顯肅皇后 Empress Mingda 明達皇后 Empress Mingjie 明節皇后 Empress Xianren 顯仁皇后
Issue
32 sons and 34 daughters
Full name
Family name: Zhao (趙) Given name: Ji (佶)
Posthumous name
Emperor Tishen Hedao Junlie Xungong Shengwen Rende Xianci Xianxiao Huangdi[2] 體神合道駿烈遜功聖文仁德憲慈顯孝皇帝
Temple name
Huizong (徽宗)
Dynasty	Song (宋)
Father	Emperor Shenzong of Song
Mother	Empress Yinzhe 欽慈皇后
Born	(1082-11-02)2 November 1082
Died	4 June 1135(1135-06-04) (aged 52)

Emperor Huizong (November 2, 1082 – June 4, 1135) was the eighth and one of the most famous emperors of the Song Dynasty of China, with a personal life spent amidst luxury, sophistication and art but ending in tragedy.

Born Zhao Ji, he was the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong. In February 1100 his older half-brother Emperor Zhezong (哲宗) died without a surviving son, and Huizong succeeded him the next day as emperor. He reigned from 1100 to 1126.

Huizong was famed for his promotion of Taoism. He was also a skilled poet, painter, calligrapher, and musician. He sponsored numerous artists at his court, and the catalogue of his imperial painting collection lists over 6,000 known paintings.^[3]

His temple name means "Honorary Ancestor."

Biography[link]

Emperor Huizong of Song, besides his partaking in state affairs that favored the Reformist party (refer to section on reformers and conservatives in Song Dynasty), was a cultured leader who spent much of his time admiring the arts. He was a collector of paintings, calligraphies, and antiques of previous Chinese eras, building huge collections of each for his amusement. He wrote poems of his own, was known as an avid painter, created his own calligraphy style, had interests in architecture and garden design, and even wrote treatises on medicine and Daoism.^[4] He assembled an entourage of court painters that were first pre-screened in an examination to enter as official artists of the court, and made reforms to court music.^[4] Like many learned men of his age, he was quite a polymath personality. However, his reign would be forever scarred by the decisions made (by counsel he received) on handling foreign policy, as the end of his reign marked a period of disaster for Song China.

A true artist, Huizong neglected the army, and Song China became increasingly weak and at the mercy of foreign enemies, despite his recasting of the symbolic Nine Tripod Cauldrons in 1106 in an attempt to assert his authority.^[5] When the Jurchen of Manchuria founded the Jin Dynasty and attacked the Liao kingdom to the north of the Song empire, the Song court allied with the Jin and attacked the Liao from the south. This succeeded in destroying the Liao kingdom, a long time enemy of the Song. However, an enemy even more formidable, the Jin, was now on the northern border. Not content with the annexation of the Liao kingdom, and perceiving the weakness of the Song empire, the Jin soon declared war on their former ally, and by the beginning of 1126 the troops of the Jin "Western Vice-marshal" Wanyan Wolibu crossed the Yellow River and came in sight of Kaifeng, the capital of the Song empire. Stricken with panic, Huizong abdicated on January 18, 1126 in favor of his son who became Emperor Qinzong (欽宗).

Pigeon on a Peach Branch, by Emperor Huizong.

Overcoming the walls of Kaifeng was a difficult undertaking for the Jin cavalry, and this, together with fierce resistance from some Chinese officials who had not totally lost their nerve, as Huizong had, resulted in the Jin lifting the siege of Kaifeng and returning north. The Song empire, however, had to sign a humiliating treaty with the Jin, agreeing to pay a colossal war indemnity and to give a tribute to Jin every year.

But even such humiliating terms could not save the Song empire. Within a matter of months, the troops of both Jurchen vice-marshals, Wolibu and Nianhan,^[6] were back south again, and this time they were determined to overcome the walls of Kaifeng. After a bitter siege, the Jin eventually entered Kaifeng on January 9, 1127, and many days of looting, rapes, and massacre followed. Huizong, his son Emperor Qinzong, as well as the entire imperial court and harem were captured by the Jin in the Jingkang Incident, and shipped north, mostly to the Jin capital of Shangjing (near today's Harbin). One of the sons of Huizong managed to escape to Southern China where, after many years of struggle, he would establish the Southern Song Dynasty, of which he was the first emperor, Emperor Gaozong (高宗).

Huizong and Qinzong were demoted to the rank of commoners by the Jin on March 20, 1127. Then on May 10, 1127, Huizong was deported to northern Manchuria, where he spent the last eight years of his life as a captive. In a humiliating episode, in 1128 the two former Song emperors had to venerate the Jin ancestors at their shrine in Shangjing, wearing mourning dress.^[7] The Jurchen rulers granted the two former emperors offensively named ranks of the Marquess (侯, hou) of Hunde (昏德, "Muddled Virtue") and marquess of Zhonghun (重昏, "Doubly muddled").^[7]

In 1137, the Jin formally notified the Southern Song court about the death of their captive.^[7] The man who once had been the most powerful ruler on earth and had lived in opulence and art died a broken man in faraway northern Manchuria in June 1135, at the age of 52.

A few years later (1141), as the peace negotiations between the Jin and the Song were proceeding, the Jin posthumously honored Huizong with the neutral-sounding title of Prince of Tianshun qun, after a commandery in the upper reaches of the Wei River (now in Gansu). His son, still alive, became styled the Duke (公, gong) of Tianshun qun.^[7] His third brother, Zhao Si King Yue （越王赵偲), lived in Gioro, was the founder of the clan Gioro in which the Qing Imperial Family Aisin Gioro is a cadet branch.^{[citation needed]} Gioro clan was split into Gioro and Donge (董鄂).

Art, calligraphy, music, and culture[link]

Huizong's calligraphy "Chong Ning Tongbao"

Huizong was a great painter, poet, and calligrapher. He was also a player of the guqin (as exemplified by his famous painting 聽琴圖 Listening to the Qin); he also had a Wanqin Tang 『萬琴堂』 ("10,000 Qin Hall") in his palace.

Huizong took huge efforts to search for art masters. He established the "Han Lin Hua Yuan"[翰林画院]("Han Lin imperial painting house") where top painters around China share their best works.

The primary subjects of his paintings are birds and flowers. Among is works is Five-Colored Parakeet on Blossoming Apricot Tree. He also recopied Zhang Xuan's painting Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk, and Emperor Huizong's reproduction is the only copy of that painting that survives today.

He invented the "Slender Gold" (瘦金體) style of calligraphy. The name "Slender Gold" came from the fact that Huizong's writing resembled gold filament, twisted and turned.

His era name of Xuanhe is also used to describe a style of mounting paintings in scroll format. In this style, black borders are added between some of the silk planes.

In 1114, following a request from Emperor Yejong of the Korean court of Goryeo, Huizong sent to the palace in the Goryeo capital at Gaeseong a set of musical instruments to be used for royal banquet music. Two years later, in 1116, he sent another, even larger gift of musical instruments (numbering 428 in total) to the Korean court, this time yayue instruments, beginning that nation's tradition of aak.^[8]

Huizong was also a great tea enthusiast. He himself wrote the famous Treatise on Tea, the most detailed and masterful description of the Song dynasty sophisticated style of tea ceremony.

• 

  Emperor Huizong of Song, Ting Qin Tu (Chinese: 聽琴圖, literally "Listening to the Qin"

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  Emperor Huizong of Song (Poem and Calligraphy)

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Plum and Birds

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Golden Pheasant and Cotton Rose Flowers

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Two Finches

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Dragon Stone

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Cranes 1112

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  Emperor Huizong of Song, Classic Thousand-character Grass script

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emperor Huizong of Song

Titles from birth[link]

• Prince of Suining Commandery (遂宁郡王)
• Prince of Duan (端王)
• Emperor
• Emperor Jiaozhu Daojun (教主道君皇帝)
• Duke of Hunde (昏德公)
• Prince of Tiansui Commandery (天水郡王)

Era names[link]

The era names of his reign were:

• Jianzhongjingguo (建中靖國 Jiànzhōngjìngguó) 1101
• Chongning (崇寧 Chóngníng) 1102-1106
• Daguan (大觀 Dàguān) 1107-1110
• Zhenghe (政和 Zhènghé) 1111-1118
• Chonghe (重和 Chónghé) 1118-1119
• Xuanhe (宣和 Xuānhé) 1119-1125

See also[link]

• List of Song Emperors
• Architecture of the Song Dynasty
• Culture of the Song Dynasty
• Economy of the Song Dynasty
• History of the Song Dynasty
• Society of the Song Dynasty
• Technology of the Song Dynasty

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1999). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66991-X (paperback).
• Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston: Houghton and Mifflin.
• Jing-shen Tao (1976) The Jurchen in Twelfth-Century China. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95514-7.
• Herbert Franke, Denis Twitchett. Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368 (Cambridge History of China, vol. 6). Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-24331-9. Partial text on Google Books.
• Huiping Pang (2009), "Strange Weather: Art, Politics, and Climate Change at the Court of Northern Song Emperor Huizong," Journal of Song-Yuan Studies, Volume 39, 2009, pp. 1–41. ISSN 1059-3152.

Please see: References section in the guqin article for a full list of references used in all qin related articles.

v t e Guqin (古琴) Aesthetics Construction Contemporary players History Literature Notation Playing technique Popular culture Qinpu Schools Societies Strings Tuning Yaji Melodies Ao Ai Guangling San Hujia Shiba-pai Jieshi Diao Youlan Liu Shui Meihua Sannong Pingsha Luoyan Xiao Xiang Shuiyun Yangguan Sandie Schools Guangling Jiuyi Lingnan Mei'an Pucheng Shu Yushan Zhe Zhucheng Societies London Youlan Qin Society New York Qin Society North American Guqin Association Historical personages Bo Ya Cai Wenji Cai Yong Confucius Guo Chuwang Ruan Ji Emperor Song Huizong Xi Kang Zhu Quan Players Cheng Yu Gong Yi Guan Pinghu Li Xiangting Lin Youren Wang Fei Wu Jinglüe Wu Zhaoji Zeng Chengwei Zha Fuxi Zhang Ziqian

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2009)

The Book and the Sword is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in Hong Kong between February 8, 1955 and September 5, 1956^[1] in The New Evening Post.

Set in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the novel details the quest of the Red Flower Society, a secret organisation that aims to overthrow the government, and their entanglements with an Islamic tribe in northwestern China. The "book" in the title refers to a Quran that was stolen from the tribe while the "sword" refers to a sword given to the protagonist Chen Jialuo by his first romantic interest Huoqingtong. Historical characters such as the Qianlong Emperor, Zhaohui (兆惠), Heshen, Zheng Xie and Fukang'an are also mentioned in the novel. One of the female protagonists, Princess Fragrance, is loosely based on the Qianlong Emperor's Fragrant Concubine.

This novel was Jin Yong's debut, and it quickly established him as one of the new masters of the wuxia genre.^{[citation needed]} Alternate English titles of the novel are Book and Sword: Gratitude and Revenge and The Romance of the Book and Sword.

Plot[link]

The Red Flower Society is a secret society that aims to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule in China. The society is led by a total of fifteen leaders with Chen Jialuo as chief. The fourth leader Wen Tailai is ambushed by a group of soldiers and arrested on the Qianlong Emperor's order because he knows a secret about Qianlong's birth and the emperor wants to silence him.

The story's development is mostly based on the society's repeated attempts to rescue Wen Tailai. The heroes encounter some Islamic tribesmen, who are pursuing a convoy of hired escorts, who have robbed them of their holy artefact, a Quran. Chen Jialuo aids them in defeating the mercenaries and recovers the holy book. He earns the respect and admiration of Huoqingtong, the daughter of the tribe's leader. Throughout the story, some of the heroes eventually find their rights after braving danger together. The couples Xu Tianhong and Zhou Qi, Yu Yutong and Li Yuanzhi, are married after two lengthy subplots.

Chen Jialuo and the heroes follow the trail of the convoy escorting Wen Tailai and arrive in Hangzhou. There, Chen Jialuo coincidentally meets the Qianlong Emperor, who is disguised as a rich man, and they strike up a friendship. However later when they discover each others' true identities, they become wary and suspicious. Qianlong's best warriors are defeated by the society's leaders in a martial arts contest and the emperor feels humiliated. He wants to summon his army to eradicate the society, but refrains from doing so as he is aware of their strong influence and connections in Hangzhou.

When Chen Jialuo finally rescues Wen Tailai, he is shocked to learn that the Qianlong Emperor is not a Manchu, but in fact, a Han Chinese. Even more shockingly, Wen reveals that Qianlong is actually Chen's older brother, who was replaced at birth with the Yongzheng Emperor's daughter. Chen Jialuo and the heroes take Qianlong hostage and try to persuade him to acknowledge his ethnicity. They suggest that he use his authority to drive the Manchus out of the Central Plains and assure him that he will still remain as emperor after that. Qianlong reluctantly agrees and takes an oath of alliance with the heroes.

At the same time, the Qing army invades northwestern China, where the Islamic tribe lives, and Chen Jialuo travels there to help his friends. He meets Huoqingtong again and her younger sister, Kasili (Princess Fragrance). Chen falls in love with Kasili and finds himself entangled in a love triangle, because Huoqingtong also has romantic feelings for him. The Islamic tribe is eventually annihilated by the Qing army and Kasili is captured and brought back to the capital Beijing.

The Qianlong Emperor is attracted to Kasili's beauty and tries to force her to become his concubine but she refuses. Chen Jialuo infiltrates the palace to meet Qianlong and remind him about their pact, whilst affirming that he will persuade Kasili to marry the emperor. Kasili later discovers that Qianlong has broken his promise and is secretly plotting to destroy the Red Flower Society, so she commits suicide to warn Chen. The society's members are angry with the emperor for renouncing his oath and they storm the palace. Qianlong is defeated and forced to come to a truce with the heroes. Chen Jialuo and his friends then return to the western regions after paying respects at Kasili's tomb.

Characters[link]

Adaptions[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Radio[link]

In 1999 Hong Kong's RTHK produced a 32 episodes radio drama based on the novel, voiced by Tse Kwan-ho, Gigi Leung, Chow Kwok-fung and Jacqueline Pang.

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Chinese) The Book and the Sword on Baidu Baike
• The novel at sokamonline.com
• English translation of the novel at Wuxiapedia
• Partial English translation of the novel at earnshaw.com