As typical of many of his other Wuxia novels, Jin Yong implemented elements of history in the story, including characters such as the founder of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang, Chang Yuchun, Zhang Sanfeng and factual organisations such as the Ming Cult. 

 

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber(倚天屠龙记Yĭtiān túlóng jì) is a Chinese famous Wuxia novel by The Louis Cha, who is known as Jin Yong(金庸Jīn Yōng). It was first serialized in Ming Pao in Year 1961. The literal translation of the title is The Tale of the Heaven-Reliant and Dragon-Slayer.

Louis Cha revised the novel in 1979 with a number of amendments and additions. This is the edition which is the most familiar to readers. A second revision was published in early 2005, incorporating later thoughts and a lengthier conclusion. The second revision introduced many changes to the plot and cleared up some ambiguities in the second edition, such as the origin of the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing. However, some Jin Yong fans are disappointed with the new revisions.

The novel was intended to be the third and final installment of a trilogy(a trilogy is a series of three books, plays, or films that have the same subject or the same characters) after The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes. The historical background was set in the late Yuan Dynasty, nearly a century after that of the second novel, which is set in the final years of the Song Dynasty.