Timeline
| Era | Novel |
|---|---|
| 6th century BC | Sword of the Yue Maiden |
| 11th century | Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils |
| 13th century | The Legend of the Condor Heroes The Return of the Condor Heroes |
| 14th century | The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber |
| 16th century | (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer)1 (Ode to Gallantry)2 |
| 17th century | Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse Sword Stained With Royal Blood The Deer and the Cauldron (A Deadly Secret)3 |
| 18th century | Blade-dance of the Two Lovers The Book and the Sword Other Tales of the Flying Fox Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain |
1 The time frame of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer is unspecified; Cha states that it is intentionally left ambiguous because the novel is allegorical in nature. Nevertheless, people have speculated on the timeframe; the most possible candidate is the Ming Dynasty, because the Wudang and Emei sects (founded at the start of the Ming Dynasty) appear prominently, and because the Manchus (who destroyed the Ming Dynasty) are not mentioned. In The Deer and the Cauldron, the main character is also mentioned to be from a dynasty before Qing. In several film adaptations including Swordsman II starring Jet Li, the story is specified to take place during the reign of the Wanli Emperor, which would make it the late Ming Dynasty but just before the period of Manchu encroachment.
2 The time frame of Ode to Gallantry is also unspecified. The sources that would put the story in Ming Dynasty are that the mention of Zhang Sanfeng being already dead and the illustrations depict men wearing Han hairstyle.
3 The time frame of A Deadly Secret was ambiguous in its first and second editions. Cha specifically states that the story is inspired by the tragic story of his grandfather's servant seems to suggest that the events of the novel occurs near the end of the Qing Dynasty; the novel illustrations that depict men wearing Manchu hairstyle supports this idea. In the third edition of the novel, Cha links the story with Wu Liuqi, a character from The Deer and the Cauldron, fully integrating it into Qing Dynasty.
Read more about this topic: Jin Yong