The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre is the final instalment of Jin Yong’s “The Condor Trilogy”. In the novel, Zhou Zhiruo was an orphan who was recommended by Zhang Sanfeng to Emei School and became a beloved apprentice of Abbess Miejue. In the TVB’s 2001 television drama version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, Zhou Zhiruo was played by Charmaine Sheh Sze-man, who just won the second runner-up at the Miss Hong Kong pageant.
The development of Zhou Zhiruo’s temperament can be divided into two stages: the early stage and the later stage. Zhou Zhiruo in the early stage was kind, gentle and elegant. The outfit displayed is the one worn by Zhou Zhiruo in the early stage, which fully showcased her gentleness and innocence with pink.
Zhou Zhiruo turned from kindness to cruelty in the later stage. She would undergo such a transformation, partly due to the pressure to fulfil the mission given by her master Abbess Miejue before she passed away, and partly because she had been simmering with resentment for not being loved by Zhang Wuji.
Charmaine Sheh Sze-man perfectly interpreted Zhou Zhiruo’s innocence in the early stage and cruelty in the later stage.
Bonus: Zhou Zhiruo was the most skilled female character in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. She knew several sets of excellent martial arts skills, including Emei Swordplay, Emei Nine Yang Skill, and Soft Palm of the Golden Peak. She also defeated her senior Ding Minjun, who competed against her for the position of Emei Leader, with Nine Yin White Bone Claw. In the end, at the Lion Slaying Wushu Masters, she earned the title of “Number One Martial Artist in the World” for her martial arts skills learned from the Nine Yin Manual.
