 The "deer" is a reference to a remark made by Kuai Tong reported in the "Records of the Grand Historian", "the Qin emperor lost his deer, and all under heaven chased after it" (秦失其鹿，天下共逐之).The deer symbolises the common people of China, who are at the mercy of ruthless warlords vying succeed the fallen Qin dynasty.The title indicates one of the major themes of the novel, the struggle of Han Chinese supporters of the fallen Ming dynasty to free China from the rule of the invading Manchu Qing dynasty.