The Deer and the Cauldron, also known as The Duke of Mount Deer, is a historical comedy novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the longest of his novels. Although the last to be published, it is the eighth of twelve in internal order. It was initially published in Hong Kong as a serial, running from 24 October 1969 to 23 September 1972 in the newspaper Ming Pao.
Although the book is often called a wuxia novel, it is not quite typical of the genre: the protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, is not an adept martial artist, but rather an antihero who relies on wit and cunning to get out of trouble.
Title
The novel's title is explained in the first chapter when the poet Lü Liuliang discusses two concepts with his son. The cauldron is a reference to a story in the Zuo Zhuan in which King Zhuang of Chu enquired the weight of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons – revealing his secret desire to seize the Mandate of Heaven. The deer is a reference to a remark by Kuai Tong recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian: "the Qin emperor lost his deer, and all under heaven chased after it". The deer symbolises the common people of China, who are at the mercy of ruthless warlords vying to conquer the lands of the fallen Qin dynasty.
The title indicates one of the major themes of the novel, the struggle of Han Chinese supporters of the fallen Ming dynasty to free China from the rule of the invading Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
In the afterword, Jin Yong wrote that his intention in writing the novel was to reflect societal and cultural realities instead of encouraging readers to imitate a cunning and evil protagonist. He considered modifying the ending to make Wei Xiaobao get his just deserts, but dropped the idea and retained the original ending after receiving negative feedback from readers.
Plot
The story centres on a witty, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, who was born in a brothel in Yangzhou in the mid-17th century during the early Qing dynasty. By chance, the teenage scamp helps an outlaw evade the authorities and follows him to Beijing, the imperial capital. In Beijing, he is kidnapped and taken to the imperial palace, where he impersonates an 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 strikes up a friendship with him.
One day, Wei Xiaobao encounters the Tiandihui ("Heaven and Earth Society"), a secret society aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty. He impresses Chen Jinnan, the Tiandihui's leader, who takes him in as an apprentice. Besides, he also becomes one of the Tiandihui's lodge leaders and agrees to serve as their spy in the palace. Later, he is taken captive by the sinister Mystic Dragon Cult and brought to the island where they are based. Through glib talk and flattery, he wins the favour of Hong Antong, the cult leader, and becomes one of the cult's five emissaries.
Wei Xiaobao makes a number of seemingly impossible achievements through sheer luck, cunning, and the use of unglamorous means such as cheating and deception. First, he assists the Kangxi Emperor in ousting the autocratic regent, Oboi, from power. Second, he discovers the whereabouts of the missing Shunzhi Emperor, who has been presumed dead, saves him from danger and reunites him 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 Wu Sangui's rebellion by bribing the rebels' allies to withdraw, allowing Qing imperial forces to crush the rebels easily. Finally, he leads a campaign against the Tsardom of Russia and helps the Qing Empire reach a border treaty with the Russians. Earlier on, he had met the Russian regent, Sophia Alekseyevna, and helped her consolidate control over Russia during an uprising. In the process of accomplishing these tasks, he also recommended talents to serve the Qing government, one of whom is Shi Lang, the admiral who led the successful naval campaign against the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan.