Deer and the Cauldron

by Jin Yong 3 books in this series

Set during the early reign of the Kangxi Emperor, The Deer and the Cauldron follows Wei Xiaobao—called Trinket in John Minford’s English translation—from a Yangzhou brothel into the Forbidden City. Illiterate, irreverent and almost entirely without conventional martial virtue, he survives through mimicry, bribery, luck and an instinct for the weakness of powerful men. His friendship with the young emperor is complicated by his simultaneous initiation into the anti-Qing Heaven and Earth Society.

Across the three abridged English volumes, Trinket becomes entangled in the overthrow of Oboi, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, the Qing conquest of Taiwan and the negotiations that produced the Treaty of Nerchinsk. Jin Yong turns these events into a picaresque satire of court politics, ethnic identity and patriotic rhetoric, repeatedly asking whether loyalty belongs to a ruler, a people, a sworn brotherhood or simply to those one loves.

Reading order

Books in this series (3 books)

1. The Deer & the Cauldron: Book 1

Jin Yong

Thirteen-year-old Wei Xiaobao, known as Trinket, is carried from the gambling rooms and brothels of Yangzhou into the Forbidden City after impulsively following a travelling storyteller to Beijing. Mistaken for a young eunuch, he befriends the boy emperor Kangxi before understanding who his companion is. His…

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2. The Deer & the Cauldron: Book 2

Jin Yong

4.6(12)

Trinket’s world expands beyond the Forbidden City as imperial errands, secret-society obligations and accidental promotions carry him through monasteries, provincial strongholds and the competing networks of the early Qing empire. He must continue convincing Kangxi that he is a loyal servant while concealing his position within…

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3. The Deer and the Cauldron: Book 3

Jin Yong

3.8(7)

Sent to Kunming, Trinket enters the household of Wu Sangui as the powerful satrap prepares to challenge the Qing throne. He meets Chen Yuanyuan, whose legendary beauty has been made part of the story of the Ming collapse, and tries to preserve his standing with Kangxi…

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