Juedai Shuangjiao is a wuxia novel by Gu Long first published in 1966. The novel is about a pair of twin brothers who, because of a feud between two formidable martial artists, were separated at birth and raised on opposing sides. , it has been adapted into four films and eight television series.

Plot

Eighteen years ago, a handsome martial artist, Jiang Feng, was injured in a fight and coincidentally saved by the sisters Yaoyue and Lianxing of Yihua Palace, one of the deadliest martial arts clans in the jianghu (martial artists' community). Yaoyue fell in love with Jiang Feng, but he rejected her despite her beauty because her arrogance put him off. He fell in love with the sisters' servant, Hua Yuenu, impregnated her and fled with her. Jiang Feng's jealous servant, Jiang Biehe, betrayed his master and caused a group of bandits to attack Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu shortly after Hua had just given birth to a pair of twin boys. Although Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu died, their sons were unharmed and discovered by Yaoyue and Lianxing. Yaoyue refused to forgive Jiang Feng for scorning her and vowed to take revenge by making his sons destroy each other. The sisters then adopt one of the boys, whom they name Hua Wuque. The other boy, known as Xiaoyu’er, is initially saved by his father's sworn brother, Yan Nantian, a powerful swordsman, but later falls into the hands of the Ten Great Villains, a group of notorious criminals in the jianghu. However, the Villains did not harm Xiaoyu’er and instead decide to raise him and train him to become the greatest villain in the history of the jianghu. Hua Wuque grows up to be a good-mannered, refined gentleman well-trained in the elegant martial arts of Yihua Palace. On the other hand, Xiaoyu’er is trained by the Ten Great Villains in a wide range of not-so-powerful martial arts and other skills such as theft, deception, the use of poison, and the art of disguise. Once he is old enough, the streetwise Xiaoyu’er ventures out into the jianghu alone and relies on his wits and skills on a series of adventures. During this time, he gets embroiled in complicated romantic relationships with various women, including Tie Xinlan, Su Ying and Zhang Jing. In the meantime, Yaoyue sends Hua Wuque to kill Xiaoyu’er, lying to him that Xiaoyu’er poses a dangerous threat to them. Against the backdrop of various escapades, the twins come to blows several times. Each of their encounters follows the same pattern. Hua Wuque is more powerful in martial arts than Xiaoyu’er, but the latter always manages to survive by using his wits to escape from the former. The twins are initially hostile towards each other and have wildly different personalities; Hua Wuque is righteous, intelligent but naïve, while Xiaoyu’er is expedient, streetwise and cunning. However, they gradually develop mutual respect and become friends after braving danger together. At the same time, they become entangled in a love triangle with Tie Xinlan. Determined to make the twins kill each other, Yaoyue eventually forces Hua Wuque to challenge Xiaoyu’er to a duel to the death. After Xiaoyu’er is apparently killed by Hua Wuque during the duel, Yaoyue reveals the truth to Hua Wuque and tells him about her plan to make their father pay the ultimate price for scorning her. Hua Wuque is horrified after learning the truth and realising that Xiaoyu’er is actually his twin brother. Just then, Xiaoyu’er comes back to life, having feigned death earlier by consuming a special drug. The twins finally recognise and acknowledge each other as brothers, thus putting an end to Yaoyue's evil plan and ending the story on a happy note.

Characters

Main characters

Yihua Palace

Valley of Evil

The "Ten Great Villains" are ten notorious criminals in the jianghu who live in Valley of Evil in the Kunlun Mountains. In spite of their collective nickname, they are not an official group per se because they often operate independently. Besides, their notoriety is due more to their various eccentricities and quirks rather than actual villainy. Five of them raised and trained Xiaoyu’er.

Murong family and associates

The Murong family is an influential and well-connected family of nine sisters based in Jiangnan who specialise in qinggong and the use of anqi (projectile weapons). Their power and influence stem from the sisters' marriages to other notable figures in the jianghu.

Jiang family

Twelve Zodiacs

The "Twelve Zodiacs" are a group of bandits ranked according to the twelve Chinese zodiac signs.

Others

Adaptations

Films

Television

Comics

In 1997, Hong Kong cartoonist Ho Chi-man drew a manhua series for the novel. Wong Yuk-long's comic, Force of Buddha's Palm has a long story arc which reproduces much of Gu Long's novels. This story arc was included in an English translation published in the United States by Jademan Comics from 1989 to 1993. Ho Che Wen created three comic series based on this story under the title The Impeccable Twins. The first series follow the novel but the second and the third series expand on events after the end of the novel.

Animation

In 2022, Tencent released the donghua (chinese animation) version on WeTV Indonesia, Thailand, and China.

Video games