How to Read Jin Yong in Chinese: Order, Editions, Level

To read Jin Yong novels in Chinese, start with a short one, then read the Condor trilogy in order, and leave The Deer and the Cauldron for last. This guide gives you a reading order for all fifteen works, an honest look at how hard the semi-classical register is, which edition to buy, and a 12-week plan for your first novel.

Jin Yong (金庸, pen name of Louis Cha) published his fifteen martial-arts novels between 1955 and 1972, mostly as newspaper serials in Hong Kong. They are still the most widely read wuxia in Chinese, and the source of countless dramas, films and games. They are also native literature written in a deliberately old-fashioned style, so plan on reading them as an advanced learner.

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Which Jin Yong novel should you read first?

Read a short one first: 鸳鸯刀 (a novella) or 雪山飞狐 (a single volume). They let you meet Jin Yong's style, his dialogue and his martial-arts vocabulary in a few weeks instead of a few months. If you finish one and enjoy it, move to The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传).

Most readers recommend 射雕 as the first long novel. Its hero, Guo Jing, is slow-witted and honest, so the story explains things to him and, through him, to you. It also opens the Condor trilogy, which runs through 神雕侠侣 to 倚天屠龙记 and shares characters, sects and techniques across the three books.

Avoid starting with 书剑恩仇录, even though it was his first. The prose is stiffer than his later work. Also leave 鹿鼎记 for last: it is his most celebrated book, but it is a satire that depends on knowing the conventions of the genre it mocks, and its narrator-hero Wei Xiaobao talks in street slang.

All fifteen Jin Yong novels at a glance

Listed in order of first serialization. Volume counts follow the familiar 36-volume collected editions; the difficulty notes are our estimates for learners.

The first characters of fourteen titles form a couplet fans use to remember them: 飞雪连天射白鹿，笑书神侠倚碧鸳. Jin Yong said he never planned it. Sword of the Yue Maiden is left out.

The best reading order for learners

1. 鸳鸯刀 or 白马啸西风: a short warm-up.
2. 雪山飞狐: one volume, a mystery told by several narrators.
3. 射雕英雄传: the classic, with a hero who learns as slowly as you do.
4. 神雕侠侣: the sequel; more romance and emotion.
5. 倚天屠龙记: completes the trilogy, about a century later.
6. 笑傲江湖: stand-alone, witty dialogue, sect politics.
7. 天龙八部: the most ambitious; three heroes and many kingdoms.
8. 鹿鼎记: the satire that turns the whole genre upside down.

Fit the shorter books (连城诀, 侠客行, 飞狐外传, 碧血剑) in between whenever you want a break from the long ones. 飞狐外传 is a prequel to 雪山飞狐, but the two can be read in either order.

How hard is Jin Yong's Chinese?

Harder than a web novel and easier than true classical Chinese. Jin Yong wrote in modern written Chinese with a deliberate old-world flavour. Narration is clear and well paced. Dialogue is semi-classical: characters say 在下 and 阁下, use four-character phrases, and quote poetry. Our estimate is HSK 6 or above (bands 7–9 in HSK 3.0) for comfortable reading, and a strong HSK 5 for the short books with a pop-up dictionary.

What you will notice on the first page

Two habits help. First, ignore the verse until the story has you; it rarely carries the plot. Second, keep a name list. 天龙八部 has dozens of important characters, and many people have both a name and a nickname.

Which edition should you read?

Jin Yong revised his novels twice, so there are three versions of most of them:

• Serialized edition (连载版): the original newspaper text, 1955–1972. Hard to find and mostly of interest to collectors.
• Revised edition (修订版, also called 新版): his revision of the 1970s. This is the text most Chinese readers grew up with, and most dramas follow it. Start here.
• New Century edition (世纪新修版): his final revision, 1999–2006. It changes some names, skills, relationships and endings, and adds notes. Some fans object to the changes.

In print, the Hong Kong publisher Ming Ho (明河社) and Taiwan's Yuan-Liou (远流) publish in traditional characters. In mainland China, SDX Joint Publishing (三联书店) released the first authorized simplified-character edition in 1994, and later editions came from other publishers, including Guangzhou Publishing House. Check the edition note on the copyright page or in the e-book description before you buy. Buy from official stores; free text sites are usually pirated and often mix editions.

Use English translations to check yourself

Five works have official English translations. Read a chapter in Chinese first, then check one or two hard passages against the English:

• The Legend of the Condor Heroes: four volumes from MacLehose Press, 2018–2021, translated by Anna Holmwood, Gigi Chang and Shelly Bryant.
• The Return of the Condor Heroes: MacLehose Press, translated by Gigi Chang, from 2023 (in progress).
• The Deer and the Cauldron: Oxford University Press, translated by John Minford (abridged).
• The Book and the Sword: Oxford University Press, translated by Graham Earnshaw.
• Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain: Chinese University Press, translated by Olivia Mok.

The translations are based on different editions, so details sometimes differ from your Chinese copy. That is normal, not a mistake in your reading.

Watch an adaptation first

Every major Jin Yong novel has several TV adaptations, from Hong Kong TVB classics to recent mainland remakes. Watching one before you read gives you the names, the relationships and the pronunciation of techniques. Use Chinese subtitles. Our guide to costume and wuxia dramas covers the 2017 Legend of the Condor Heroes, and the costume drama glossary covers the court vocabulary.

A 12-week plan for your first Jin Yong novel

This plan takes The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which has 40 long chapters in the revised edition, at about four chapters a week after a warm-up.

At 45 to 60 minutes a day, that is roughly 60 to 80 hours of reading. It is a serious commitment, but it is also one of the most rewarding reading projects in Chinese.

Track your reading hours

A Jin Yong novel is long enough that you will forget how slow the first chapter felt. Log each session in LangTrack to see your hours per chapter fall over time. For context on the scale, see how many hours it takes to learn Mandarin.

Frequently asked questions

Which Jin Yong novel should I read first?

Start with a short work such as Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain (雪山飞狐) or the novella 鸳鸯刀, then read The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传) as your first long novel.

What is the reading order of the Condor trilogy?

The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), then The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣), then The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龙记).

What HSK level do you need to read Jin Yong?

Roughly HSK 6 or above for comfortable reading with a pop-up dictionary. A strong HSK 5 reader can manage the short works. These are estimates, because the semi-classical dialogue is harder than the narration.

Which edition of Jin Yong should I read?

Most learners should read the 1970s revised edition (修订版). It is the text most readers grew up with and most dramas follow. The 1999–2006 New Century edition (世纪新修版) changes some names and endings.

Are Jin Yong novels written in classical Chinese?

No. They are written in modern written Chinese with a deliberately old-fashioned style. Dialogue uses older polite forms, set phrases and some verse, and Jin Yong spells 什么 as 甚么.