The purpose of this topic is to provide a source of reading reliable wuxia texts in original Chinese
Recently, in this topic #1 and this topic #2, TigerWong exposed the terrible inadequacy of online Chinese versions of Gu Long novels: how much content is missing in these online texts. I found the information rather disturbing.
For example, NONE of the online versions of Gu Long's "Jianke Xing" contains the ending! That's one whole chapter, a crucial part of the story, totally omitted from the online text. See links #2 above for an extensive coverage of the corrupted text in online versions of "Xiao 11 Lang."
Of course, it's not just Gu Long novels that face this online inadequacy. I'd always known that Jin Yong novels also have chunks of texts missing in the online versions. See this topic for an example of the corrupted text in online versions of DGSD.
Thanks to a link furnished by our friend Huang Yushi, I have discovered a reliable repository that collects wuxia novels, and I would like to share it with you. You can download Adobe PDF versions of Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng's novels, and read them the way they were meant originally. So far I have not noticed any major issues.
To download reliable simplified Chinese versions of wuxia novels, you just have to follow these steps (courtesy of Huang Yushi):
NOTE: If you're interested in simplified Chinese texts, the instructions assume you can browse through a simplified Chinese webpage
1. Go to (click): http://www.onlinedown.net/soft/26567.htm
This is the Jin Yong collection. If you're looking for another author, search for his/her name in the top left text box; when the search results appear, choose the correct link, and follow the rest of the instructions
2. Ignore the BIG FLASHING 立即下载 graphic
3. Scroll down until you see: 移动/联通/广电/长宽等
4. Select (click): 江苏联通 [本地下载]
Known issues
The only annoyance that I've noticed with these collections (so far, this is only an issue with the Gu Long collection) is that the organization of the novels is not always intuitive. Sometimes, one PDF file contains 2 novels, and the 1st novel doesn't have a preface but the 2nd novel does, then the 2nd novel's preface would be presented before the 1st story.
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Lastly, I encourage every serious reader to acquire an official print of the novels you read. Even though online texts exist--and now, there is a reliable source--they should be used for supplemental references rather than the primary basis of reading. Online texts offer convenience in copying and pasting passages to discussions; however, they should not replace hard copies which are still the most reliable versions, not to mention we owe respect to the authors and publishers to do so.