The Deer and the Cauldron

The novel's title

The choice of the novel's title is alluded to in a section in the first chapter, in which a scholar has a conversation with his son. The scholar recounts that both the deer and the cauldron serve as metaphors for the Central Plains and the Chinese empire.

The historical text Records of the Grand Historian contains the following line, "The deer lost by Qin was hunted by all under Heaven", a figurative description of the rise of numerous rivaling warlords contesting for supremacy to capture a prize – the Chinese empire lost by the Qin dynasty.

During the Zhou dynasty, there were the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, which were symbolic of the Divine Mandate of rulership. The historical text Zuo Zhuan recorded an account in which the ruler of Chu, a vassal state under the Zhou dynasty, enquired the weight of one of those cauldrons from a minister in the Zhou royal court. This sent a clear signal that he was coveting the throne, which was nominally occupied by the King of Zhou.

The novel's title also refers to its historical setting, the Qing dynasty, when the Han Chinese subjects of the fallen Ming dynasty struggle to restore their former empire by opposing the Manchu rulers of Qing.

Plot

The story centres on a witty, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, who was born to a prostitute from a brothel in Yangzhou in the early Qing dynasty. The teenage scamp makes his way from Yangzhou to the capital, Beijing, through a series of adventures. In Beijing, he is kidnapped and taken to the imperial palace, where he impersonates a eunuch. While in the palace, Wei Xiaobao bumbles his way into a fateful encounter with the young Kangxi Emperor, the ruler of the Qing Empire, and develops an unlikely friendship with him.

One day, Wei Xiaobao is captured by some martial artists and taken out of the palace. He meets Chen Jinnan, the leader of the Tiandihui ("Heaven and Earth Society"), a secret society aiming to overthrow the Qing regime, and becomes Chen's apprentice. He also becomes one of the society's branch leaders and agrees to serve as their spy in the palace. Later, he is taken captive by another group of fighters, who bring him to Mystic Dragon Island, where the sinister Mystic Dragon Cult is based. Unexpectedly, he becomes the cult's White Dragon Marshal by flattering its leader, Hong Antong.

Wei Xiaobao makes a number of seemingly impossible achievements through sheer luck, cunning, and the use of unglamorous means such as cheating and deceiving. First, he assists the Kangxi Emperor in ousting the autocratic regent, Oboi, from power. Second, he discovers the whereabouts of the Shunzhi Emperor, who is presumed dead, saves him from danger, and helps him reunite with his son, the Kangxi Emperor. Third, he eliminates the Mystic Dragon Cult by stirring up internal conflict, which leads to the cult's self-destruction. Fourth, he weakens the revolt staged by Wu Sangui by bribing Wu's allies to withdraw, thereby allowing Qing imperial forces to crush the rebels easily. Finally, he leads a campaign against the Russian Empire and helps the Qing Empire reach a border treaty with its northern neighbour. Earlier on, he met the Russian regent, Sophia Alekseyevna, and helped her consolidate control over the Russian Empire. In the process of accomplishing these tasks, he also recommended talents to join the Qing imperial service, one of whom is Shi Lang, the admiral who led the successful naval campaign against the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan.

Throughout the story, Wei Xiaobao exhibits devout loyalty to both the Kangxi Emperor and his personal friends in the anti-Qing forces. He instinctively shields the emperor with his body from assassins twice and saves the emperor's life. He also plays an important role in assisting the Kangxi Emperor in consolidating power. On the other hand, he helps anti-Qing forces escape from danger on numerous occasions using his positions in the imperial court. He undermines the attempts by the society on the emperor's life as well as prevents the society from being destroyed by the Qing government. For his achievements, he is rewarded with immense wealth and titles of nobility. The highest position he reached is "Duke of Lu Ding" (lit. "Duke of Mount Deer"), which is used as an alternative English title for the novel. He earns the respect of the anti-Qing factions for eliminating wicked officials and defending the Qing Empire from foreign invasion. On top of his achievements, he also encounters seven attractive women on separate occasions, flirts and toys with them, and eventually marries all seven of them.

Wei Xiaobao's conflicting loyalties ultimately reach a disastrous conclusion. The Kangxi Emperor discovers his relationship with the Tiandihui, and forces him to choose to either remain loyal to the Qing Empire or become an enemy of the state. Wei Xiaobao faces a dilemma: If he chooses to follow the emperor's orders, he will have to betray his friends from the Tiandihui and help the emperor destroy them; if he refuses, he faces the possibility of death and the extermination of his family. He chooses instead to go into exile. However, emperor still regards him as a close friend and loyal subject so he pardons him and allows him to return to the palace later. Towards the end of the novel, the emperor tries to force Wei Xiaobao to help him eliminate the Tiandihui again. On the other hand, Wei Xiaobao faces an even bigger problem with the society. As Chen Jinnan had died recently, the society's members look up to Wei Xiaobao and want him to be their new leader.

Wei Xiaobao ponders the issue, realises that he will never be able to reconcile between the two opposing sides, and feels that his divided friendships and split loyalties are tearing him apart. He decides to leave and lead a reclusive life, and brings along his family and immense wealth with him. He is never seen again. It is said that when the Kangxi Emperor went on six inspection tours to the Jiangnan region throughout his reign, his true purpose was actually to search for Wei Xiaobao.

Sutra of Forty-two Chapters

The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters is a classical Buddhist text. The founders of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty made eight copies of it. After the Qing forces conquered the Central Plains, they looted large amounts of treasure and transported them to a secret location in northeast China. The map to that location was torn into several pieces and hidden in the eight books separately. Each book was given to one of the Eight Banners for safekeeping.

To protect the treasure, the Eight Banners' commanders were not told about the treasure vault. Instead, they were told that the books contained a secret leading to a location containing the "root" of the Qing imperial bloodline, the "Dragon's Pulse" (龍脈). If this "root" is disturbed, it will end the fortunes of the Manchus. This is to ensure that none of the nobles will attempt to find this location; they will instead guard the secret with their lives. Only the emperor knows the truth, as evident when the Shunzhi Emperor passes on this knowledge to the Kangxi Emperor.

The books are sought by many, including Hai Dafu, Mao Dongzhu, the Mystic Dragon Cult, the Heaven and Earth Society, the former Princess Changping, Wu Sangui and others. Some of them know the truth about the treasure while others wish to end the Qing dynasty by destroying the Manchu "root". Wei Xiaobao collects the eight books and pieces the map together. He finds the treasure at Mount Deer Cauldron (鹿鼎山) in Heilongjiang, but does not seize it for himself because he holds on to the belief that the treasure is the Qing imperial family's "root".

The eight books

The books are listed in order of appearance. Their origins and how Wei Xiaobao acquired them are also included.

Literary inquisition

In the early years of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the regent Oboi monopolised state power and introduced the practice of literary inquisition. Many intellectuals and scholars were persecuted for their writings. Zhuang Tinglong, a merchant from Huzhou, sponsored the publication of an unauthorised book about the history of the Ming dynasty. The book used the Ming emperors' era names, which were considered taboo in the Qing dynasty. Wu Zhirong found out and reported it to the authorities.

Zhuang Tinglong and his family were persecuted and the male members of the Zhuang family were killed. The incident also sparked off a chain reaction, in which several individuals who were not directly involved or linked to the book were similarly rounded up and executed. These individuals included scholars who helped to write and proofread the book, bookstore owners who sold copies of the book, distant relatives of the Zhuang family, and even people who had contact with readers of the book.

English language translation

The Deer and the Cauldron has been translated into English by John Minford and was published by the Oxford University Press in three volumes from 1997 to 2002. Several minor details were paraphrased and omitted in the translation.

Works based on the novel

There are books which examine the office politics displayed by the main characters and their applications in real life.

Radio

In 2000, Hong Kong's RTHK broadcast a 100 episodes radio drama based on the novel, with Eason Chan and Roland Leung voicing Wei Xiaobao and the Kangxi Emperor respectively.

Video games