少年歌行
Shao Nian Ge Xing
Author: 周木楠 / Zhou Mu Nan
Length: 1.01 million words
(460 chapters + 8 extra chapters)
Status: Completed in Jan 2018
Published by 不可能的世界
This is a wuxia adventure story with an ensemble cast that has many of the elements expected of the genre.
Genre: wuxia, action, adventure, drama, martial arts, imperial court
Tags: hardworking protagonist, genius protagonist, beautiful people, famous martial arts sects, assassin organization, mysterious past, prince in hiding, imperial court conspiracy, vying for throne, set in ancient China but not China.
Why read this story?
If you're a fan of the wuxia genre, whether in novels or from TV drama, you will love this story. The action is non-stop and the world built by the author is impressively fleshed out, from the relationships between characters and the martial arts sects, to the involvement of the imperial court with the martial world.
Secondly, the characters are all well-written, and the relationships that develop are natural and stay true to each character's personality. The martial arts abilities of the characters are deliberately moderated by their advancement so the protagonists don't win every fight. In fact, they often lose to much more powerful opponents, even until the very end. Despite the large cast, each character has their own characteristics and specialties, and are endearing in their own way. All readers are bound to find at least one favourite!
Another feature of this story that makes it exciting is the backstory for the "older" generation. Glimpses of it are told in the narration or flashbacks, which only makes you wish there was a prequel about them. (The author did write this prequel novel as well - check out Shao Nian Bai Ma here!)
Lastly, the novel has been adapted into an animated series which has gorgeous character designs and beautiful animated sequences of the fight scenes. The first season of the animated series brought many new fans to the novel (including me), and after a long delay, Season 2 finally aired in 2021.
A live action drama series also began airing in 2022-23. The drama series uses the character design of the animated series and follows quite a bit of the adaptation with added scenes to better explain the story in televised form. The author collaborated in the screenplay adaptation and promised that fans will be satisfied with the result.
For a more complete synopsis and summary of the story arcs, click here!
Which chapter of the novel should I read after finishing Season 1 of the donghua?
Season 1 ends off at the first arc of the novel even though parts of it references information found later in the book. To read from where Season 1 left off, start from Book 2. Click here to go straight to the Book 2 Index.
Which chapter of the novel should I read after finishing Season 2 of the donghua?
Season 2 finishes the second arc of the novel so you should start reading from Book 3. Click here to read a comparison of the second half of Season 2 and the novel so you can decide whether you want to read parts of the second arc of the novel too.
Where can I purchase this story and support the author?
The novel is published on 8kana - click here to read and purchase. (Currently, their entire library is being moved to the new site. But, to join the new site requires a China phone number so there's no way to purchase the novel overseas. Right now, I can't even log in to read it. =/)
From what I can understand, the novel is also published as physical copies divided into 5 volumes. They are printed in Simplified Chinese only and is hopefully, better edited than the online versions. Ahem.