WuxiaSociety’s translation of Mandarin Duck Blades brings this classic wuxia novel to English-speaking readers with careful attention to literary and cultural nuances. It is based on Jin Yong’s Third Edition.
The in-house translation by Jenxi began in February 2024 and we released the first chapter on 1 March 2024, and completed the translation on 20 May 2025. This project represents our commitment to producing high-quality translations and marks the start of our efforts to provide improved fan translations. We aim to capture both the excitement of wuxia action and the subtle cultural elements that make these stories uniquely compelling.
While we acknowledge the 2010 fan translation posted on the now defunct SPCNET forum, which helped introduce this work to English readers, we’ve chosen to create a new translation that aligns with WuxiaSociety’s standards for accuracy and literary quality.
Our goal is to deliver a translation that honors both the original text and our readers’ desire for an authentic wuxia experience.
Looking for progress updates or want to discuss the translation? Join the conversation in our forum or on Discord. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates!
Follow the archive routes
- Read: Use the chapter list below, or return to the translation archive.
- Explore: Visit Jin Yong and the novel reference page.
- Understand: Read How we translate wuxia for the archive’s approach to names, terminology, notes, and revision.
- Watch: Follow the Wuxia adaptations route from source works to factual records and separate analysis.
- Write: Study story elements in wuxia fiction for recurring plots, relationships, and character patterns.
Translation
This translation is based on Jin Yong’s Third Edition. Check the See also section for related content.
Statistics
The English translation contains 23,146 words with 262 footnotes. The original Chinese text contains 37,000 characters.
- Part 1 — 2,145 words with 34 footnotes
- Part 2 — 2,329 words with 20 footnotes
- Part 3 — 2,310 words with 22 footnotes
- Part 4 — 2,268 words with 34 footnotes
- Part 5 — 2,116 words with 15 footnotes
- Part 6 — 2,125 words with 13 footnotes
- Part 7 — 2,161 words with 17 footnotes
- Part 8 — 2,207 words with 18 footnotes
- Part 9 — 2,060 words with 22 footnotes
- Part 10 — 2,011 words with 21 footnotes
- Part 11 — 2,130 words with 26 footnotes
- Part 12 — 1,322 words with 24 footnotes
Changelog
1 March 2024
- Created the Mandarin Duck Blades translation index page
- Added Chapter 1 of the in-house translation
- Chapter 1 contains 2,345 words with 32 footnotes
11 Mar 2024
- Added Chapter 2 of the in-house translation
- Chapter 2 contains 2,542 words with 22 footnotes
23 March 2024
- Added Chapter 3 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 3 contains 2,144 words with 20 footnotes
- Fixed broken novel index links
1 April 2024
- Added Chapter 4 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 4 contains 2,510 words with 21 footnotes
- Fixed broken pagination links for Chapter 2 and 3
28 June 2024
- Added Chapter 5 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 5 contains 2,302 words with 21 footnotes
2 August 2024
- Added Chapter 6 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 6 contains 2,218 words with 17 footnotes
- Added footnotes for Chapter 1 and 5
23 August 2024
- Added Chapter 7 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 7 contains 2,345 words with 12 footnotes
- Added footnotes for Chapter 4 and 6
30 November 2024
- Added Chapter 8 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 8 contains 2,039 words with 16 footnotes
14 January 2025
- Added Chapter 9 of the in-house translations
- Chapter 9 contains 2,232 words with 32 footnotes
20 May 2025
- Added Chapter 10 of the in-house translation
- Chapter 10 contains 1,811 words with 23 footnotes
24 May 2025
- Added Chapter 11 of the in-house translation
- Chapter 11 contains 2,291 words with 32 footnotes
18 October 2025
- Renamed Chapters as Parts since the novella doesn’t have actual chapters
- Some parts were erroneously based on the Second Edition. All parts now based on Jin Yong’s Third Edition.
- Restructured the flow for better narration across the parts, there are now 12 parts instead of 11
- Added the Mandarin Duck Blades 3rd Edition changes page to detail the changes between the Second and Third Editions