Ni Kuang
"The Deer and the Cauldron", even among fans of Jin Yong's novels, has divided critical opinion mainly due to the character of Wei Xiaobao. Ni Kuang argued that "The Deer and the Cauldron" was "the best novel of all time, Chinese or foreign". Wong Kwok-pun of the Chinese University of Hong Kong felt that it was an inferior work compared to the "masterpieces" of the "Condor Trilogy" and expressed surprise that John Minford chose to translate an abridged version of it.