Читать книгу The Sword Dancer - Jeannie Lin - Страница 3

I’ve always found it sexy when a hero and heroine cannot only match wits, but also match swords.

A common theme in Chinese adventure stories is the idea of the vigilante hero—a hero guided by honour and chivalry. But how much fun would it be to have the heroine in that role? And the hero, of course, would be the thief-catcher intent on capturing her.

Often people ask me where I get my ideas. For this book the origin was a famous poem by the poet Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty, titled Observing the Sword Dance Performed by a Disciple of Madam Gongsun. The poem starts with a description of a mesmerising sword dance, then moves into a nostalgic look at how much has changed in fifty years like ‘the turn of a page’. The sword dance ultimately becomes a symbol of the end of a golden age.

A final historical note: Wudang Mountain, which is mentioned in the book, is an actual location. In the Tang Dynasty the mountain was already established as a centre of Taoism. A Taoist master, Lu Dong Bin, known as the Sword Immortal, was also a famous figure of the Tang Dynasty. With these elements in mind, I took the liberty of associating my heroine’s sword-training as well as her Taoist upbringing with Wudang.

I hope you enjoy the adventures of my sword dancer and thief-catcher as they chase their way across the cities and rivers of Tang Dynasty China. There’s no better place to fight and fall in love, in my humble opinion.

For more information about the stories, or to contact me, visit me online at: www.jeannielin.com. I love receiving mail from readers!