Condor Trilogy

Bao Xiruo

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Bao Xiruo is a fictional character in the Jin Yong wuxia novel ''Legend of the Condor Heroes''.

Early life

Bao Xiruo was the beautiful wife of Yang Tiexin and mother of Yang Kang. In the novel, she rescued an injured Wanyan Honglie after the fight between the soldiers and Qiu Chuji, who assassinated a conspiring with the enemy invaders. Wanyan Honglie later appeared to save Bao Xiruo when Song soldiers led by Duan Tiande came to the Niu Family Village to arrest her husband and Guo Xiaotian for "treason" . Guo Xiaotian was killed in fighting and his wife Li Ping captured by Duan Tiande. Yang Tiexin was presumed dead and Bao, already pregnant with Yang's child, decided to follow Wanyan Honglie back to the Jin capital, when he revealed his identity as the sixth prince of Jin Kingdom. As revealed later in the novel, it was actually Wanyan Honglie who bribed and sent Duan Tiande to raid the Niu Family Village, with the goal of killing Bao's husband and possess Bao.

18 years later

18 years later, it was revealed that Bao Xiruo had married Wanyan Honglie and became a prince's consort. Her unborn child had grown up into a fine young man known as Wanyan Kang. Because of actively depress of her first husband's supposed death, she unintentionally neglect her son which result of Yang Kang fully under the care of Wanyan Honglie. Once, Wanyan Kang happened to meet Mu Nianci and her father Mu Yi in a martial arts contest for a spouse. In fact, Mu Yi was Yang Tiexin, who had survived the onslaught at Niu Family Village years ago . He had also adopted a daughter Mu Nianci, and the contest was actually his last-ditch attempt to locate the lost child of his sworn brother Guo Xiaotian. Wanyan fought with Mu Nianci and won, but after molesting her in public , refused to marry her as according to the rules. There was then a fight between Guo Jing and Wanyan Kang, as Guo kept insisting that Wanyan should keep his words rather than acting a playboy. Bao Xiruo arrived on the scene and stopped the fight, and Mu Yi caught a glimpse of her.

Reunion

Wanyan Kang decided to bring Mu Nianci and her father to his residence and had them locked up as a form of "protection". Mu Nianci and her father were rescued by Guo Jing and they tried to flee the prince's residence. Mu Yi happened to enter the place where Bao Xiruo stayed, and seeing that Bao still kept her husband's old spear, realized that Bao still loved him. Mu Yi then revealed himself to be Yang Tiexin, and the couple were reunited. Wanyan Kang arrived on the scene and refused to acknowledge Yang Tiexin as his biological father, mainly because of Yang's poverty. Later, Wanyan Honglie found out and led his army to pursue the couple, who tried to flee. Surrounded, Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo committed suicide together so they couldn't be separated again.

Ouyang Feng

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Ouyang Feng is a fictional character in Jinyong's The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Nicknamed the Western Venom , Ouyang Feng was one of the "" of Wulin during the Southern Song dynasty.

Biography

* Family name: Ouyang
* Given name: Feng
* Nickname: The Western Venom
* Gender: Male
* Children: Ouyang Ke

Ouyang Feng's Martial Arts

Divine Toad Stance

A powerful skill used while harnessing a great amount of internal energy. It is believed to be equivalent to the power of Hong Qigong's Xiang Long Shi Ba Zhang.

Used to Neutralize and absorb the poison to increase internal energy.

Snake Staff

A powerful staff kung fu said to be the equal of the Dog Beating Stick.

Reverse Jiu Yin Zhen Jin

A reverse of the original Jiu Yin Zhen Jin taught to him by Huang Rong. Huang Rong reversed the manual highly sought by Ouyang Feng in a bid to kill him as it will cause him to go crazy and die. However, he mastered it and became more highly skilled but became mentally unstable though not killing him.

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

Ouyang Feng is the illegitimate father of Ouyang Ke . He and Yang Kang murdered five of the original seven Jiangnan Qi Guai on the Peach Blossom Island . He also indirectly caused Yang Kang's（楊康) death by refusing to cure him of one of his poisons in revenge for Yang Kang（楊康) killing his son. By learning a faked copy of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing, obtained from Guo Jing, with deliberate mistranslation from Huang Rong, Ouyang Feng became mentally unstable.

During the second duel on top of Mount Hua, Qi Gong exploited this fact and struck Ouyang Feng on the head with the Dog Beating Stick Technique. He became insane as a result. However, as a sign of martial prowess, he created his own unique fighting style that enabled him to fight enemies upside down with all pressure-points moved, rendering him quite above pressure point striking techniques.

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Ouyang Feng would later become the god-father of Yang Guo , whom he taught Divine Toad Stance and the fake Jiu Yin Zhen Jing too.

Ouyang Feng encountered Xiaolongnü and fought briefly with her before the fight is broken up by Yang Guo. In his bid to teach Yang Guo his martial arts and preventing Xiaolongnü to observe his teaching, he immobilized her using his skills . This indirectly led to Xiaolongnü getting raped by Zhen Zhi Bing of the Quan Zhen Sect .

Ouyang Feng met his end after a final duel with Hong Qigong on Mount Hua, with Yang Guo as the only witness. They fought for four days with no results, stopping only for meals cooked by Yang Guo. Eventually, they decided to compete using their internal energy which ended in a draw also. Both refused to claim defeat, each claiming that he still had many techniques left to defeat the other. For the next three days, they used Yang Guo as their proxy, each instructing him in their respective skills and Yang Guo will demonstrate the technique to his opponent. Thus, Hong Qigong would teach Yang Guo a stance from his Dog Beating Stick and Ouyang Feng would teach Yang Guo to counter with his own staff art. Ouyang Feng seems to be beaten by Hong Qigong when Hong Qigong unleashed his final Dog Beating Stick stance: No Dogs Under Heaven.

Ouyang Feng spent a whole night to think of a counter move and managed to think of a counter move. He then excitedly instructed Yang Guo to demonstrate it. Upon seeing his ultimate technique countered, Hong Qigong laughed uproariously and embraced Ouyang Feng in defeat, calling Ouyang Feng by his true name. On hearing his real name, Ouyang Feng broke out of his insanity, recognised Hong Qigong and remembered everything. He then died laughing in his embrace with Hong Qigong, who also died at the same time. Both have died after exhausting all their internal energies. They were then buried side by side on Mount Hua by Yang Guo. It was observed by Yang Guo that Ouyang Feng would have lost the duel in real combat as he would not have had the time to ponder and create a counter.

Mu Nianci

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Mu Nianci is a supporting character from Jin Yong's famous work The Legend of the Condor Heroes. She is the love interest of the lead antagonist, Yang Kang . Mu Nianci is the foster daughter of Yang Kang's birth father, Yang Tiexin . Additionally, Mu Nianci is also the mother of Yang Guo , the protagonist in The Return of the Condor Heroes, the sequel of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. She died eleven years after she gave birth to her son.

Mu Nianci in the current edition of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is actually an amalgam of the original "Mu Nianci" and "Qin Nanqin" that was written out by Jin Yong. In the original edition, Mu Nianci was in love with Yang Kang, but she was not the mother of Yang Guo. Qin Nanqin was raped by Yang Kang. She would become a nun and traveled with Mu Nianci before settling down to raise Yang Guo. When Yang Kang was going to die of poison, the original Mu Nianci killed him out of pity and committed suicide next to him. Jin Yong stated that he believed Qin Nanqin's role to be unnecessary and decided to make them into one character in the later edition.

Biography

* Family name: Mu
* Given name: Nianci
* Gender: Female
* Adopted Father: Yang Tiexin
* Husband: Yang Kang
* Child: Yang Guo

Life

Mei Chaofeng

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Mei Chaofeng is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''wuxia'' novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. Known as the ''Iron Corpse'' due to her dark complexion and rigid appearance, She, along with her eloped husband Chen Xuanfeng , the ''Bronze Corpse'' , is one of the novel's main antagonists, heavily despised by the martial arts community for unethical behaviour. She died in battle against Ouyang Feng , attempting to save her teacher, Huang Yaoshi .

Biography

* Family name: Mei
* Given name: Chaofeng
* Nickname: Iron Corpse
* Gender: Female
* Husband: Chen Xuanfeng
* Martial Arts Disciple : Yang Kang

Mei Chaofeng's Martial Arts

Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts

As a disciple of Huang Yaoshi , learning martial arts at Peach Blossom Island, Mei Chaofeng learned the skills of Huang Yaoshi. It is unknown what skills she had learned from Huang Yaoshi.

''Nine Yin White Bone Claw''

Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng stole their master's, Huang Yaoshi , martial arts manual, ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' and learned to master the skills from the manual. Due to a lack of understanding of the manual and the desire to learn the skills in a very short time, she and Chen Xuanfeng train the skill of ''Nine Yin White Bone Claw'' without the training of internal energy. The wrong training of the skill and the lack of understanding of the manual led her and Chen Xuanfeng to practise a very evil way of training and eventually harm themselves.

Life

Mei Chaofeng was a disciple of Huang Yaoshi , one of the "" in the story. Mei Chaofeng fell in love with her fellow disciple, Chen Xuanfeng while on the Peach Blossom Island. As they were too afraid to seek their master Huang Yaoshi's approval for marriage, due to his ruthlessness and often-erratic nature, they decided to elope from the island and steal the second volume of their master's prized martial arts article, ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' , so as to become stronger than Huang Yaoshi and will not be pursued by him anymore.

Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng were persecuted by the rest of the martial arts community, primarily because of their unethical methods . Many more, however, were keen to obtain the prized manual. The couple were forced to flee to Mongolia, where they encountered mortal enemies Jiangnan Qi Guai , , headed by Ke Zhen'e . Ke Zhen'e had previously been blinded by Mei Chaofeng, and his brother slain. In the ensuing encounter, Ke Zhen'e returned the favor, blinding Mei Chaofeng. Chen Xuanfeng tried to even the odds; he took the young Guo Jing hostage. Guo Jing stabbed wildly at Chen, and was able to strike the navel, an area unprotected by Chen's peculiar martial abilities. Mei Chaofeng escaped with Chen Xuanfeng's body after Chen Xuanfeng was accidentally killed by Guo Jing. She then proceeded to remove the skin, which was tattoed with the manual of the stolen ''Jiu Ying Zhen Jing'', off Chen Xuanfeng's back

Mei Chaofeng continued to perfect her claw techniques in Mongolia but she was forced to flee again when she mistakenly thought she encountered , a powerful group of martial artists. The group she encountered was in fact the Seven Freaks, in collaboration of the head disciple of Quanzhen Ma Yu, aiming to scare her away from the area.

Mei Chaofeng found refuge in the courts of Wanyan Honglie , a prince and adopted father of Yang Kang . The young Yang Kang accidentally stumbled upon Mei's refuge; in exchange for Yang keeping the secret and providing fodder for her practice, Mei Chaofeng agreed to teach him the powerful ''Nine Yin White Bone Claw'' . Mei Chaofeng was herself crippled by incorrect application of the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' when she chanced upon Guo Jing, at the time still her inferior in martial art skills. Mei Chaofeng was about to kill Guo Jing for his role in Chen's death, but when she found out Guo Jing knew the methods to cure her , she agreed to help Guo Jing fight off his enemies.

Eventually Guo Jing and the Seven Freaks would face off with Mei Chaofeng once again, and with Guo Jing's improved martial art skills, they managed to defeat Mei.

She was killed by Ouyang Feng by intercepting a fatal blow, as Ouyang Feng attempted to attack her master from behind during a battle with the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. Before dying, Mei Chaofeng shattered the bones and sinews in her bones in order to fulfill an earlier promise to her master. Before Mei Chaofeng died, Huang Yaoshi re-initiated her as a member of the Peach Blossom Island. It was a wish that every one of Huang Yaoshi's banished disciples greatly desired but ironically, all of these innocent brethren of Mei who had been implicated by her treachery never saw this wish fulfilled.

Lu Youjiao

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Lu Youjiao is a character which appeared in the wuxia novels Legend of the Condor Heroes and Return of the Condor Heroes written by Louis Cha.

Lu Youjiao was first introduced as an elder of the Beggars' Sect. He was not very proficient in martial arts but was quite experienced with managing affairs in the sect due to having spent a long time in the sect.

In Legend of the Condor Heroes, Lu Youjiao appeared to have suspicion towards Yang Kang during the Beggars' Sect Meeting, when he claimed that he had inherited the position of chief of the Beggars' Sect from the previous chief Hong Qigong. Yang claimed that Hong Qigong had died and he was present at the deathbed, and Hong passed on the position of chief to him. Yang Kang wielded the Dog-Beating Stick, a symbol of authority in the Beggars' Sect which belonged to the chief. Since Yang had the stick in his possession, nobody else dared to defy him and acknowledged him as chief. Eventually, Yang Kang was exposed to have stolen the stick from Huang Rong, who was the rightful successor of Hong Qigong and Hong was still alive. Yang Kang fled and Huang Rong was truly acknowledged as chief of the Beggars' Sect when she demonstrated the Dog-Beating Skill with the stick, which was a skill that only the chief of the sect knew.

In Return of the Condor Heroes, Huang Rong wished to resign from her position as chief of the Beggars' Sect, and named her successor to be Lu Youjiao. Lu Youjiao succeeded Huang Rong as chief of the Beggars' Sect but only learnt a little of the Dog-Beating Skill from Huang Rong. When Huo Du and Jinlun came to the ceremony where a chief will be elected from all martial pugilists, Lu Youjiao had a fighting contest with Huo Du. Huo Du was unable to win Lu Youjiao even though Lu had not totally mastered the Dog-Beating Skill yet. Eventually, Huo Du played foul against Lu Youjiao and won the match. Later on in the novel, Lu Youjiao was revealed to have been lured and killed by Huo Du

He was said to have a pair of smelly feet, which would cause fierce dogs to avoid him due to the strong stench.

Lu Wushuang

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Lu Wushuang is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''wuxia'' novel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''. She is best known for being kidnapped by mortal enemy Li Mochou , forced to become her disciple, and for her romantic attachment to the novel's main male protagonist Yang Guo , which was unfulfilled because of Yang's unwavering commitment to Xiaolongnü .

Lu's family was massacred by Li Mochou, as Li sought revenge against a reneged promise of marriage. She escaped from Li after serving as her disciple, and during her travels met Yang Guo, and was attracted to Yang's carefree nature, especially after several close-encounters against their enemies.

Lu also has a cousin, Cheng Ying , who is a young disciple of Huang Yaoshi . Lu and Cheng would accompany Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü in their fateful journey to the Passionless Valley ; and they served to console a mournful Yang after the disappearance of Xiaolongnü.

Both cousins would reappear 16 years later to assist Huang Rong in her search for her daughter Guo Xiang. Lu Wushang was injured prior to the final siege on Xiang Yong.

List of characters in Condor Trilogy

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This article contains a list of characters that have appeared in Jin Yong's ''Condor Trilogy''.

= ''Legend of the Condor Heroes'' =
* Bao Xiruo
* Chen Xuanfeng（陳玄風）
* Duan Tiande
* Duan Zhixing/Reverend Yideng
* Feng Heng
* Genghis Khan
* Guo Jing
* Guo Xiaotian
* Han Baoju
* Han Xiaoying
* Hao Datong
* Hong Qigong
* Huazheng
* Huang Rong
* Huang Yaoshi
* Hou Tonghai
* Ke Zhen'e （柯鎮惡）
* Li Ping
* Liang Ziweng
* Lingzhi Shangren
* Liu Chuxuan
* Lu Chengfeng
* Lu Guanying
* Lu Youjiao
* Ma Qingxiong
* Ma Yu
* Mei Chaofeng （梅超風）
* Mu Nianci
* Nan Xiren
* Ouyang Feng （歐陽鋒）
* Ouyang Ke
* Peng Lianhu
* Qian Qingjian
* Qin Nanqin
* Qiu Chuji
* Qiu Qianren （裘千仞）
* Qiu Qianzhang （裘千丈）
* Qu Lingfeng
* Quan Jinfa
* Sha Tongtian
* Shen Qinggang
* Sun Bu'er
* Tan Chuduan
*
* Wang Chongyang
* Wang Chuyi
* Wanyan Honglie
* Wanyan Hongxi
* Wu Qinglie
* Yang Kang （楊康）
* Yang Tiexin （楊鐵心）
* Yin Zhiping （尹志平）
* Ying Gu （瓔姑）
* Zhang A'sheng
*
* Zhou Botong （周伯通)
* Zhu Cong

= ''Return of the Condor Heroes'' =
* Cheng Yaojia
* Cheng Ying
* Da’er Ba
* Duan Zhixing/Reverend Yideng
* Fan Yiweng
* Feng Mofeng
* Gongsun Lü'e
* Gongsun Zhi
* Guo Fu
* Guo Jing
* Guo Polu
*
* Hao Datong
* Hong Qigong
* Huang Rong
* Huang Yaoshi
* Hong Lingbo
* Hou Tonghai
* Huo Du
* Jinlun Guoshi the Monk
* Ke Zhen'e （柯鎮惡）
* Kublai Khan
* Li Mochou
* Liang Ziweng
* Lin Chaoying
* Lingzhi Shangren
* Liu Chuxuan
* Lu Liding
* Lu Qingdu
* Lu Wushuang
* Lu Youjiao
* Lu Zhanyuan
* Ma Guangzuo
* Ma Yu
* Nimoxing
* Ouyang Feng （歐陽鋒）
* Peng Lianhu
* Qin Nanqin
* Qiu Chuji
* Qiu Qianchi （裘千尺）
* Qiu Qianren （裘千仞）
* Sha Tongtian
* Sun Bu'er
* Sun Popo/Grandma Sun
* Tan Chuduan
* Tianming the Monk
* Wang Chuyi
* Wanyan Ping
* Wu Dunru
* Wu Santong
* Wu Sanniang
* Wuse the Monk
* Wuxiang the Monk
* Wu Xiuwen
* Xiaolongnü
* Xiaoxiang Zi
* Yang Guo （楊過）
* Yelü Chucai
* Yelü Qi
* Yelü Yan
* Yin Kexi
* Yin Zhiping （尹志平）
* Ying Gu （瓔姑）
* Zhao Zhijing （趙志敬）
* Zhou Botong （周伯通)
* Zhu Ziliu

= ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' =
* Bai Guishou
* Chang Jinpeng
* Chang Yuchun
* Chen Youliang
* Cheng Kun
* Daiqisi
* Ding Minjun
* Du Dajin
* Fan Yao
* Fang Ping
*
* Han Qianye
* He Biweng
* He Taichong
* He Zudao
* Hu Qingniu
* Huifeng
* Huitong
* Jing Xuan
* Jueyuan
* Kongjian
* Kongwen
* Kongxing
* Kongzhi
* Lu Zhangke
* Miejue
* Mo Shenggu
* Shi Huolong
* Shuobude
* Song Qingshu
* Song Yuanqiao
* Wang Baobao
* Wang Nangu
* Wei Bi
* Wei Yixiao
* Wu Lie
* Wu Qingying
* Xiaozhao
* Xie Wuji
* Xie Xun
* Xu Da
* Yang Buhui
* Yang Dingtian / Yang Potian
* Yang Xiao
* Yellow Dress Girl
* Yin Li
* Yin Liting
* Yin Susu
* Yin Tianzheng
* Yin Yewang
* Yu Daiyan
* Yu Lianzhou
* Zhang Cuishan
* Zhang Sanfeng
* Zhang Songxi
* Zhang Wuji
* Zhao Min / Zhao Ming
* Zhou Dian
* Zhou Zhiruo
* Zhu Changling
* Zhu Jiuzhen
* Zhu Yuanzhang

=Unclassified yet=
* Dugu Qiubai
* Mingyue
* Pan Tiangeng
* Wei Tianwang
* Yuanxin

Lin Chaoying

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Lin Chaoying is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''Condor Trilogy''.

Lin Chaoying is mentioned throughout the novel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''. She was also briefly mentioned in chapter 1 of ''The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber''.

* Martial Arts: Jade Maiden Manual
* Status in Wulin: Founder of the Ancient Tomb School

History

Lin Chaoying, with her repertoire in martial art skills, had put herself in the top list of the foremost and greatest martial artists in that era, namely the famous Five Great Fighters such as the , the , the , the and the .

Lin Chaoying met Wang Chongyang earlier in her life and they were very close to each other. They corresponded while Wang Chongyang was at war with the Jurchens and most of the letters were still neatly kept by her. Later, she was responsible for forcing Wang Chongyang out of his long seclusion with severe scoldings after his great loss to the Jurchen armies.

Thereon, both of them roamed the realm of martial arts together to assist the helpless and would often practise martial arts together to develop their martial arts to a higher level. Both fell in love with each other, unfortunately their egos and pride got in their way. Lin Chaoying would often indirectly show hints of love towards Wang Chongyang, but due to bestowed responsibility to defend the Central Plain, he feigned ignorance thereby rejecting her. Lin Chaoying was deeply disappointed and angered, mistakenly thinking that Wang Chongyang despised her. In the end Lin Chaoying and Wang Chongyang agreed to have a battle to sort out all their differences. The two battled at Mount Zhongnan, exchanging several thousand moves. As Wang Chongyang held back, the two of them reached a draw.

Lin Chaoying proposed one final duel to end it all. If Wang Chongyang could defeat her, she would leave him alone by committing suicide. But if she won, he would have to either surrender the Ancient Tomb to her or become a Taoist priest or Buddhist monk and live near the Tomb for at least ten years. Her implicit intention was that if Wang Chongyang surrendered the Tomb to her, he would marry her and live in the tomb together. However, if he did not want to do this, he had to become a Taoist priest or Buddhist monk. In this way, she prevented him from marrying someone else.

Wang Chongyang agreed and asked how they should duel. Lin Chaoying said that whoever could write on a stone slab with his/her bare fingers would be the winner. Wang Chongyang knew he could not do it and admitted defeat. Lin Chaoying walked over and touched the slab a few times. By touching the slab, she had smeared a chemical substance on the slab making the stone soft. She then started to write a poem on the slab and smiled wryly to Wang Chongyang that he was destined to become a Taoist priest.

Lin Chao Ying won and Wang Chongyang surrendered the Tomb. Unexpectedly for her, Wang Chongyang became a Taoist priest the next day and lived on Mount Zhongnan.

This was the time when her breathtaking and unmatchable martial art skills vanished from Jianghu.

After she moved into the Tomb with a nameless young maid, who later became her first disciple, she explored the Tomb and discovered a strangely built stone chamber where Wang had carved a set of impressive martial art techniques. To counter and keep up with Wang’s skills, she came up with a complete genuine set of martial art, which she later called Scripture of Jade Maiden’s Heart. However, the techniques were never put into practice and the training itself too was never fully accomplished because it required two people to be in sync while training.

Decades later, she died in grief and of heartbreak. She consolidated and streamlined all her other martial art techniques and skills acquired during her lifetime. These were passed on to her nameless disciple who in return taught them to her own recruited disciples, Li Mochou and Xiaolongnü, the-heiress-to-be of Ancient Tomb Sect. Besides that, Lin too laid down a few strict rules for those who became the disciples of Ancient Tomb Sect. The nameless maid later hired an old servant, Grandma Sun, to look after Li and Long as well as to take charge of the tomb’s household matters.

Li Ping

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Li Ping is a fictional character in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', a novel written by Chinese author Jinyong. She is the mother of Guo Jing in Jinyong's novel.

Biography

* Family name: Li
* Given name: Ping
* Gender: Female
* Husband: Guo Xiaotian
* Children: Guo Jing

Life

She was the wife of Guo Xiaotian and committed suicide to prevent Genghis Khan forcing her son to attack their own country, the .

Li Mochou

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Li Mochou is a fictional character from the ''wuxia'' novel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' by Jinyong.

Biography

* Family name: Li
* Given name: Mochou
* Gender: Female
* Disciple: Hong Lingbo

Her defense weapons and techniques

Palm of Divine Serpent

The ''Palm of Divine Serpent'' is a deadly technique that Li invented herself with essence of flame and contains venom extract from five most poisonous creature such as Centipede, Scorpion, Snake, Spider and Toad. Only by referring to The Manual of Five Venoms that Li experimented and documented could one purge the poison from victim's body.

Silver Needles of Freezing Soul

The ''Silver Needles of Freezing Soul'' is one of the techniques Li inherited during her training in Ancient Tomb. The frozen ice poison was carefully absorbed into the needles. If one merely touched, although not pricked, any part of the needle, his/her palm would immediately turn black — a sign of fatal poison

Fly Whisk

The ''Fly Whisk'' is an item that usually own by Taoist monks or nuns. This flexible technique too was inherited during her training in Ancient Tomb, which has specialized techniques using long, flexible weapons. Capable of drawing blood, breaking bones and causing internal injury as well as wrapping and removing the weapon of the opponent, it was one of her feared trademarks. However, she used it to fan the baby Guo Xiang-- the only nice thing she did with her whisk. In an English version of a TV series on KTSF 26, this weapon was called the "Horsetail Whisk".

Unparalleled Lightness of Ancient Tomb

This is the greatest technique of all the Ancient Tomb king fu.

Triple Non-existing Hands

The ''Triple Non-existing Hands'' is a skill she invented herself which she used against Yang Guo once. Comprises extremely vicious and cruel strikes that aim at the softest, weakest parts of the body .

Life

Li Mochou was the infamous third-generation disciple of Gumu Pai and was recruited by the young maid who became a Master herself after the death of Lin Chaoying , founder of the Sect. Because she was the first disciple, she was senior to Xiaolongnü , the chief protagonist of the novel.

In her younger days, Li Mochou met Lu Zhanyuan of the famous martial arts family, the House of Lu. Falling in love with him, she defied her master and left the Gumu Sect to be with him, resulting in her expulsion from the sect. However, Lu married He Yuanjun instead, and although Li Mochou attempted to break up their marriage, she was prevented by a powerful monk who made her put off her grudge for ten years. Swearing vengeance, she becomes a Taoist nun and became disdainful of love.

The novel began by describing how Li Mochou exacted vengeance on the Lu family some years after her lover Lu Zhanyuan and his wife died. After her act of murder, she kidnapped Lu Wushuang , Lu Zhanyuan's niece.

Li Mochou became infamous for her ferocious, merciless cruelty, which earned her the nickname of ''Serpent Demon'' . But due to her beauty and her apparent youth, some people also referred to her as ''Serpent Deity'' . With her fearsome and deadly ''Palm of Divine Serpent'' , the ''Silver Needles of Freezing Soul'' and ''Fly Whisk'' , she became irrational in her killings, including anyone with the name Lu and He.

Although she is the one of the most powerful female characters at the beginning of the novel, she is no match for Huang Rong and later Xiaolongnu who mastered " Yu Nu Xin Jing" in the later part of the novel.

Li Mochou took in a disciple by the name of Hong Lingbo whom she tasked to get the Jade Maiden Heart Manual of Gumu Pai . The plan failed when Xiaolongnü, with the help of Yang Guo , released a trap that would bury the tomb under the ground. Somehow Li and Hong managed to escape, and Li continued her vengeful ways.

Li's conflicted nature did not allow her to let go of her hate and desire for her Sect's prized martial arts secrets. She relentlessly pursued Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo for the manual but failed to lay her hands on it. Delirious from the Passion Flower, she finally meets her demise as she sees Lu's image in the fire at the Passionless Valley and walks into the fire.

Ke Zhen'e

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Ke Zhen'e（柯鎮惡）is a fictional character in the novels, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', written by Chinese author Jinyong.
He is the leader of Jiangnan Qi Guai and the martial arts master of Guo Jing. Ke Zhen'e was blind and had a broken leg as results of a battle with Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng .

Biography

* Family name: Ke
* Given name: Zhen'e
* Gender: Male
* Disciple: Guo Jing

Life

Ke Zhen'e is described as ill-tempered and easily aggravated, and is best known for being blinded in combat against his mortal enemies, Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng. Due to his disability , Ke Zhen'e has developed a very acute sense of hearing, and is highly skilled in projectile weapons. His ability to fight while blind earned him the name "Sky-Flying Bat". He is the strongest of all the Freaks and his weapon of choice is an iron staff.

In Legend of the Condor Heroes

The Jiangnan Qi Guai first appeared in the novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' when they were summoned by Reverend Kumu to fight with Qiu Chuji. Qiu Chuji and the Jiangnan Qi Guai injured each other badly in the fight. Qiu Chuji and the Jiangnan Qi Guai decided to settle their disagreements in a competition, devised by Qiu, to track down Yang Tiexin's and Guo Xiaotian's unborn children and to teach them martial arts. The children were to compete against each other in martial arts when they reached the age of eighteen to determine whose tutor is stronger. The Jiangnan Qi Guai were to track down Guo Xiaotian's unborn child and train the child in martial arts.

Ke Zhen'e and the rest of the Jiangnan Qi Guai found Guo Jing, the son of Guo Xiaotian in Mongolia where they taught him their martial arts. While teaching Guo Jing, Ke Zhen'e and the rest of the Jiangnan Qi Guai encountered Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng and engaged them in battle. Ke Zhen'e managed to blind Mei Chaofeng with his poison darts. Chen Xuanfeng was killed by the young Guo Jing, who stabbed him with a dagger. However, Zhang A'sheng of the Jiangnan Qi Guai perished in the battle.

Eighteen years later, the Jiangnan Qi Guai went to China to meet Qiu Chuji as agreed. They won by default because Yang Kang refused to accept his biological father Yang Tiexin, but accepted his stepfather, Wanyan Honglie, a prince of the instead.

At the Peach Blossom Island, the rest of the Freaks was murdered by Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang. Ke Zhen'e believed that Huang Yaoshi, the master of the island, was responsible for killing them, and because of this, harboured an intense hatred of Huang Yaoshi and his daughter Huang Rong. Ke Zhen'e later learnt the truth when Huang Rong helped him obtain confessions from Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang.

In Return of the Condor Heroes

Ke Zhen'e later lived with Guo Jing and his family at the Peach Blossom Island. There, he helped them raise their children. Thirty years later, he revealed to Yang Guo at the ruined temple where Yang Kang died, that his father Yang Kang was a villainous traitor to his country, and responsible for the murder of five of the Jiangnan Qi Guai.

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing

2008-09-19T18:42:00.003-07:00

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing , lit. ''Nine True Classic'' is a fictional ancient martial art article described by Jinyong's novels, the ''Condor Trilogy''.

Compilation History

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing was compiled by Huang Shang, a high-ranking official that served of Song Dynasty. The emperor ordered Huang Shang, a gifted scholar, to compile a book from numerous loose scrolls and ancient scriptures pertaining to psychic powers, healing techniques, martial art classics and philosophy. This compendium became the first volume of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. However, by reading and compiling the countless numbers of manuals, Huang Shang unknowingly enriched himself with Taoist knowledge and principles of internal strength , both of which, combined with his impressive intelligence, transformed him into a supremely powerful martial artist.

After that, the Song emperor ordered Huang Shang to lead an army to eradicate the Ming Cult, a sect originating in Persia who were conducting anti-government activities. The Song army proved unable to take the fortress, but Huang Shang fought the Ming Cult's most powerful fighters one-on-one and managed to defeat and kill nearly all of them until exhaustion finally forced him to retreat.

The Ming Cult, seeking revenge, sent their most powerful surviving martial artists to murder Huang Shang's family. An enraged Huang Shang vowed to eradicate the Ming Cult. For the next 40 years, Huang Shang dedicated himself to finding methods capable of neutralizing all of the Ming Cult's techniques. Additionally, because many of the Ming Cult members were affiliated with other martial art , Huang Shang had to develop techniques capable of neutralizing the techniques of those traditional schools as well.

Finally, Huang Shang succeeded in accomplishing this monumental task. Unfortunately, during the intervening years, his enemies had all died of other causes. Confronted with this reality, all Huang Shang could do was make a second compilation based on his 40 years of study; this became the second volume of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing.

The First Duel in Hua Shan

The two volumes of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing were not heard from again for many years, but when it reappeared, great chaos ensued. Top martial artists from all around stole and murdered one another in an attempt to get their hands on the manual, resulting in a tremendous amount of lives being lost. To prevent further loss of lives, a duel in Hua Shan was organised to decide the rightful owner of the manual. The Five Greats - ''Eastern Heretic'' Huang Yaoshi , ''Western Venom'' Ouyang Feng , ''Southern Emperor'' Duan Zhixing , ''Northern Beggar'' Hong Qigong , and ''Central Divinity'' Wang Chongyang - gathered at this summit and agreed that the winner of the tournament would gain sole possession of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing.

After a fierce, seven-day battle, Wang Chongyang won out and took possession of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. He incorporated some of the scripture's underlying principles into the techniques of his Quanzhen School , notably the precepts behind the big dipper formation, and in a final gesture of one-upmanship, he left a portion of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing capable of defeating the Gumu School in his former lover/rival Lin Chaoying's tomb.

Before passing away, Wang Chongyang left the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing in the care of his younger martial brother, Zhou Botong , beseeching him not to let it fall into the wrong hands. Wang Chongyang also stipulated that no member of the Quanzhen would be permitted to learn any of the techniques in the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing . ''Western Venom'' Ouyang Feng attempted to steal the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing, but was thwarted by Wang Chongyang himself shortly before the latter's death.

The history of the manuscript, up to this point, was told by Zhou Botong to Guo Jing when they were held up on Peach Blossom Island, in the novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes .

Leaking of the Manuscript

After Wang Chongyang's death, Zhou Botong traveled to Peach Blossom Island to warn ''Eastern Heretic'' Huang Yaoshi against stealing the manual. Huang Yaoshi's wife, who had the gift of photographic memory, memorized the text of the second volume of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing upon one viewing, then tricked Zhou Botong into thinking that the manual was a worthless fraud.

In a fit of anger, Zhou Botong destroyed the volume of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. Huang Yaoshi's wife copied the entire text for her husband from memory. Two years later, two of Huang Yao Shi's disciples, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng , in love and fearful that Huang Yao Shi is against their relationship, were secretly planning to elope. They stole the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing and fled from Peach Blossom Island. Huang Yaoshi, angered at their betrayal, crippled the legs of his remaining students - Lu Chengfeng, Qu Lingfeng, and Feng Mofeng - and banished them from the island.

Huang Yaoshi's wife then attempted to produce a second copy of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing for her husband, but the strain of the task was too much for the pregnant woman as the text was only hurriedly memorised two years ago, and died after giving birth to their daughter, Huang Rong. Henceforth, Huang Yaoshi vowed to destroy anyone who dared to learn from the cursed book.

Meanwhile, Zhou Botong had learned that he had been fooled by Huang Yaoshi. For the next decade and a half, he would be an unwanted guest on Peach Blossom Island, repeatedly harassing Huang Yaoshi to turn the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing over to him.

Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng, not fully understanding the complex techniques of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing, were only able to master one aspect of the book, a deadly claw technique named Jiu Yin Bai Gu Zhao . As a result, they were constantly pursued by the numerous enemies they made in Jianghu, as well as by individuals eager to obtain the manuscript.

Fleeing to Mongolia, Chen Xuanfeng was mortally wounded by the six-year old Guo Jing, the newly recruited student of the Jiang Nan Qi Guai, who had stabbed Chen Xuanfeng in fright when he picked Guo Jing off the ground. Chen Xuanfeng had tattooed the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing text onto the skin of his own chest, and Mei Chaofeng skinned her husband and took the grisly text with her.

Guo Jing Comes to Possess the Manuscript

Years later, a battle between Mei Chaofeng and Guo Jing left this humanskin copy in Guo Jing's possession . When Guo Jing arrived on Peach Blossom Island to seek Huang Rong's hand in marriage, Zhou Botong tricked Guo Jing into memorizing the entire text of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. After Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong destroyed the remaining printed copies of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing in the wake of a bitter argument, the complete Jiu Yin Zhen Jing existed only in the memories of Zhou Botong and Guo Jing.

''Western Venom'' Ouyang Feng, still seeking supremacy in the ''wulin'' , forced Guo Jing to produce a copy for him. Guo Jing produced a false copy of the manual for Ouyang Feng, with small changes that might escape the notice of a master martial artist. A few numbers were changed slightly, and some directions reversed. When Guo Jing and Huang Rong went to find Yideng to cure Huang Rong's internal injuries, the last few verses of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing were discovered to be a foreign language from the west . Yideng translated the language into Chinese. When Huang Rong was captured by Ouyang Feng to translate the obscure text, Huang Rong subtly changed the translation in her way. The result of all these inaccuracies was a boost in Ouyang Feng's sheer power, but at the cost of being driven to insanity.

Over the years, Guo Jing studied and practiced the principles of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. These principles, combined with his extensive kungfu knowledge, enabled him to rise to the highest ranks of the ''wulin''.

Guo Jing, his wife Huang Rong, and their allies defended Xiang Yang Fortress from the Mongol invaders for many years. Ultimately, seeing that the fortress would eventually fall, Guo Jing selected and copied powerful techniques that can be learned in a short period of time, including some from the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing, and placed these into the legendary weapon, the Heaven Sword . Guo Jing also the military textbook of the Sung Dynasty general Yue Fei into the Dragon Saber as described in the book .

The Heaven Sword became Guo Jing's legacy to his youngest daughter , who founded the E'Mei School . The secret to the Heaven Sword is passed down to the leader of the E'Mei School. A century later, it was the fourth-generation E'Mei Bai leader, Zhou Zhiruo , who retrieved the martial arts manual and used the Jiu Yin Bai Gu Zhao to wreak havoc upon the pugilistic world of her time. Near the end of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, a girl in yellow dress appeared and fought against Zhou Zhiruo using techniques from the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. She is the descendant of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. Because the manual inside the Heaven Sword only contain a few techiniques of the book and Wang Chongyang left only a few sections of the book at Gumu School, there is no longer a complete copy of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing.

Jiu Yang Zhen Jing

2008-09-19T18:42:00.001-07:00

In the wuxia universe created by Jinyong, the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing lit. 9 Yang True Classic, is a fictional martial arts manual, originating from the Sect. Those who study the martial arts contain within will have his Inner Strength improved tremendously.

This manual was first mentioned indirectly towards the end of ''Return of the Condor Heroes'', and formally appeared in the sequel ''The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber''. In the story, the manual was found by the protagonist Zhang Wuji, where it was stuffed into the stomach of a giant gorilla.

History

Jiu Yang Zhen Jing's history is sketchy. It has been rumored that Shaolin's founder, Bodhidharma or Da Mo, was the creator of the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing, but this has never been verified. The Jiu Yang theory was never written on a single book of its own. Rather, it was written between the lines of Lanvakatara Sutra, one of the many Buddhist Scriptures available in Shaolin. Therefore, its existence was unknown to the pugilistic world until the end of the The Return of the Condor Heroes storyline, when the Mongolian thugs Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi stole the manual from Shaolin Temple. Despite the common belief about the buddhist origin of manual, Zhang Sanfeng doubted this as he delves further into the text. He noted that the philosophy inside is quite Taoist in nature. Zhang Sanfeng also pointed out that the text was written in Chinese characters rather than Sanskrit, the language Bodhidharma would had used. These principles also give Zhang Sanfeng inspirations, which lead to the creation of his Tai Chi Quan.

Shaolin librarian Jue Yuan and his young disciple, pursued Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi to Hua Shan, where the newly-named New Five Greats were paying their respects to fallen Northern Beggar Hong Qigong and Western Venom Ouyang Feng.

With the help of Yang Guo, Zhang Junbao was able to thwart Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi, but the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing was nowhere to be found. Unbeknownst to all present at Mount Hua, Yin Kexi had hidden the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing in the abdomen of a large ape. Later on, Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi fought each other over the manual, a bloody duel that resulted in Xiao Xiangzi killed and Yin Kexi fatally wounded. On his dying words, Yin Kexi made a confession to Kunlun Sect elder He Zudao, asking him to tell the Shaolin people where the manual was kept. Yin Kexi, however, slurred the final statement, and instead of hearing "The book is in the monkey", He Zudao heard "The book is in the oil", which mystified everyone for a century.

Jue Yuan, as the Shaolin librarian, had already read the entire text of the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing and practising based on its principles , giving him extremely powerful inner strength. He also taught a small proportion of these principles to his apprentice, Zhang Junbao, giving him a powerful basic for kung fu learning. Three years later, there as was a challenger at Shaolin. None of the monks were able to defeat him, except Jue Yuan. However, because Jue Yuan was not authorized to learned martial arts, he had violated one of the rules in Shaolin, that is punishable by death. Thus, he and Junbao were to be put to death. Though he is willing to accept that sentence, he begged for Junbao's life but was denied. In desparation, Jue Yuan broke loose, and ran away with Junbao. , the youngest daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, happened to be a the foot of Shaolin and tried to defend Jue Yuan. They were however, no match for the full force of Shaolin temple as well as the fact that they didn't want to harm any of the attacking monks. Jue Yuan carried both away to safety but he overexerted himself. Before his death, he managed a deathbed recital of the text that was listened by Zhang Junbao, , and a high-ranking Shaolin monk named Wu Se. Each of them were able to memorize various parts of it. Because the natures and levels of their kungfu are different, their understandings of the text varied. Zhang Junbao and were able to incorporate various principles of the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing into their personal kungfu and the kungfu of the sects they eventually founded, Wudang Sect and E'Mei Sect, as did Wu Se for Shaolin.

No one, however, possessed the complete Jiu Yang Zhen Jing again for a century until the young hero Zhang Wuji, the injury-tortured son of Zhang Sanfeng's fifth student Zhang Chuisan, found the ape that Yin Kexi had hidden the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing in a century earlier . Kind-hearted and well-taught in medicine, Zhang Wuji liberated the books from concealment in the ape's abdomen. The 15-year old Zhang Wuji spent the next five years learning the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing; soon after the completion of his studies at age 20, he stumbled upon the sacred Ming Cult kungfu Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi , making him one of the most powerful martial artists of his time.

Huang Yaoshi

2008-09-19T18:41:00.013-07:00

Huang Yaoshi is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''Condor Trilogy''.

Nicknamed the Eastern Heretic , Huang Yaoshi was one of the "" of Wulin during the Southern Song dynasty. He was a unorthodox radical, regarded as a cultural by his contemporaries, and loathed the dogma of cultural rites in Chinese society, admiring only genuine honour and pure love.

Biography

* Family name: Huang
* Given name: Yaoshi
* Nickname: The Eastern Heretic
* Gender: Male
* Wife: Feng Heng
* Children: Huang Rong
* Grandchildren: Guo Fu, Guo Xiang, Guo Polu

Huang Yaoshi's Martial Arts

Peach Flower Fallen Hero Palm

In later editions, it is known as ''Falling flower Divine Sword Palm''

Divine Flicking Finger

A technique of channeling a great amount of power into a single finger, and releasing it with a precise amount of control. Can also be used to propel objects with both force and accuracy.

Similar to Southern Emperor Yi Yang Zhe

Jade Flute Swordplay

A swordplay technique primarily focussed on attacking an opponent's acupoints.

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

His story in Louis Cha's novel begins not long after Zhou Botong acquired ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' . Huang had recently married a beautiful and supremely intelligent lady, Feng Heng , who was born with an excellent memory. After reading it, she told Zhou Botong that he had been tricked as the manual was nothing more than a book of childish rites; to prove her point, she recited verbatim the first few sentences. Not knowing of Mrs. Huang's photographic memory , Zhou Botong became angry and destroyed it. Thus, the Peach Blossom Island had the only remaining copy of that volume of ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing''.

Huang Yaoshi had six disciples: Chen Xuanfeng, Mei Chaofeng, Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng, Wu Mianfeng, and Feng Mofeng. Despite Huang's erratic personality, his six disciples loved him greatly. Huang appeared to have loved his disciples as well, but did not demonstrate his affection as visibly because of his erratic, mercurial moods. As it was, Huang would profess to like something very much one day, but the next would hate it ruthlessly without reason.

Two of his disciples, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, had fallen in love and, having no idea how he would view such a relationship, were very afraid of informing Huang Yaoshi. When they decided to elope, they stole their master's copy of ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' in the hopes of developing their martial arts to a level at which they need no longer fear their master.

At that time, his wife, Feng Heng was pregnant . Upon discovering the theft, she decided to rewrite the manual from memory again, but the stress and effort added to the strain of her pregnancy, killing her during her birth labour. This drove Huang Yaoshi to near-insanity, and the consequences of it demonstrated the reason for his nickname: he shattered the leg bones of each of his remaining disciples , and drove them away from his island.

Though it was not mentioned, it is possible that the other servants became and deaf because of Huang. It is later made known that Huang Yaoshi had recruited the handicapped servants, who had been ostracized by their community, during his travels. However, in his bid to maintain his reputation, he did not publicize his good deed, instead, he spread rumours that the servants had been made deaf and mute by him.

Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng terrorised the Jianghu with their mastery of the terrible "Ninefold Yin White-Bone Claws" . Zhou Botong realised that he had been tricked by Huang, and returned to the Peach Flower Island to demand an explanation. Again, Huang Yaoshi demonstrated his personality by blaming Zhou for his wife's death, saying, "If you had not given the manual to my wife, she would not have memorised it, and felt the need to write it out for me."

Zhou Botong, because of his previous experience with Duan's consort, fueled the fury by saying, "I've done you a favour; now that your wife is dead, you'll have more time to improve your martial art skills!" The two broke out fighting, and Zhou Botong ended up being trapped inside the island's caverns. Huang Yaoshi then swore that he would kill Zhou Botong if he was able to force him out of the caverns. For the next twenty years, Huang Yaoshi preoccupied himself with this. Their animosity was largely resolved after Guo Jing's visit to Peach Blossom Island.

Huang Yaoshi also came to regret his banishment of the four innocent disciples and bade Mei Chaofeng find them and bring them back to Guiyun Mansion that belonged to his other disciple Lu Chengfeng so that they could learn the Cyclone Kicks which would heal their broken legs. However, Huang would never see any of his other disciples alive again as most of them had died. Qu Lingfeng was killed by an imperial guard; Wu Mianfeng had died of some illness; Chen Xuanfeng had been slain by Guo Jing. and Feng Mofeng was eventually slain by Jinlun Fawang.

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Huang Yaoshi makes several brief appearances, rescuing Cheng Ying from the clutches of Li Mochou, and teaching the protagonist Yang Guo two of his most famous skills. He also participates in the defense of Xiangyang 16 years later when the Mongolians under Kublai Khan invaded China.

Huang Rong

2008-09-19T18:41:00.011-07:00

Huang Rong 黄蓉 is a fictional character in the novel, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' written by Chinese author Jin Yong. She also plays an important role in the sequel, ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''.

In her first appearance, Huang Rong disguised herself as a young beggar dressed in filthy clothes. She dirtied her face with mud and covered her clothes in dust so as to look the part. Because of her trickster ways, she was often called by the people of jianghu as "rascal" or "muddy boy" without knowing her real identity. Later, when Guo Jing came near the river to look for her, Huang Rong appeared as she would normally appear, having an unearthly beauty and dressing in beautiful clothes.

Biography

* Family name: Huang
* Given name: Rong
* Gender: Female
* Birth: 1203
* Death: 31 January 1273
* Father: Huang Yaoshi
* Husband: Guo Jing
* Children: Guo Fu , , Guo Polu
* Other Family Member: Yang Guo （楊過）

Huang Rong's Martial Arts

Dog-Beating Stick Technique

The full set of the Dog-Beating Stick Technique were taught by Hong Qigong to Huang Rong when she took over as the next leader of the Beggar Sect

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

Huang Rong ran away from her home in Peach Blossom Island after an argument with her father, the powerful and knowledgeable ''Dong Xie'' Island Master Huang Yaoshi. She dressed herself in filthy rags and roamed Jiang Hu as a young beggar boy. She first met Guo Jing in an inn where she was causing some trouble. Feeling sorry for her pitiful state , Guo Jing offered to pay for her food and even gave her some of his gold ingots .

Huang Rong immediately saw that Guo Jing was a simple lad with an innocent heart, especially when he offered her his prized horse, a rare Mongolian breed, . She decided to secretly help him against the Four Fiends of the Yellow River and their martial arts uncle Hou Tonghai by tying them to a tree by the river. In addition, she more or less fell in love with him.

Huang Rong later met Guo Jing by that same tree after his duel with Yang Kang in the "Contest for a Spouse" staged by Mu Yi and his foster daughter, Mu Nianci.

In the beginning, Huang Rong's martial arts were more sophisticated than that of Guo Jing, who despite his raw strength was a slow learner. Huang Rong managed to get the great martial arts expert, ''Bei Gai'' Hong Qigong to train Guo Jing. Hong Qigong at first refused, having learned that Huang Rong was the daughter of his rival Huang Yaoshi. But Huang Rong enticed him with her outstanding cooking and delicious foods, which was Hong's greatest weakness, to teach Guo Jing each stroke of Xianglong Shiba Zhang with each day of food.

Later, Hong Qigong bequeathed his techniques to Huang Rong herself, and she competed with other Beggar Sect members for the position of Chief and Hong Qigong's successor. To win the match, she used some elements of the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'', which she managed to procure with Guo Jing's help.

She had an indirect hand in the death of Yang Kang at Iron Spear Temple.

The novel ended with her father's final consent to the marriage between her and Guo Jing.

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Like Guo Jing, Huang Rong served as a supporting character in The Return of the Condor Heroes, the sequel to The Legend of the Condor Heroes. In the book, she was portrayed as a more mature version of herself with her trickster nature downplayed but with her woman's intuition and unmatched intelligence still evident.

The story focused on Yang Kang's son, Yang Guo, his love for his kung fu master Xiaolongnü, and his journey into manhood and eventual heroism. But ever the cautious one, Huang Rong did not take to Yang Guo as easily as her husband, knowing that the son may have the father's nature, and that he might take revenge against her and Guo Jing for his father's death.

But her mistrust was tempered by her husband's high regard for Yang Guo, whom he treated like a son, and dispelled entirely by Yang Guo's repeated selfless acts. Later, she taught Yang Guo the Dog Beating Stick Style, the secret technique of the chiefs of Beggar Sect. Yang Guo had learned the forms of the technique earlier on Mount Hua where Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng dueled to the death. Huang Rong taught him the principles and cleared up parts that he did not understand. With this help, Yang Guo was able to hold off Jinlun Fawang, the Mongolian Protector. After Yang Guo selflessly risking his life rescuing her daughter Guo Xiang from Mongolians' captive, she finally began to trust him. Unfortunately, when her eldest daughter cut off Yang's right arm in a fit of fury, Huang feared for her daughter's life: Yang was a powerful yet unpredictable foe.

Impact in wuxia literature

The women of Jinyong are, for the most part, character foils in that they only serve to help the male protagonists develop their characters. They are often there as love interests.

Huang Rong is arguably the only exception to this seeming rule. The book, ''Legend of the Condor Heroes'', portrayed her as a complex novel character while at the same time, the love interest of Guo Jing. Their pairing is even uncanny at first but as the story progresses, it is shown to the readers that Huang Rong and Guo Jing actually complement each other.

Huang Rong is considered to be the most intelligent character in Jin Yong's novels by the majority. Her intelligence is frequently mentioned in the , as well as her cleverness, mischievousness, and wiliness. Guo Jing's "dumbness" is also the pervading description of his character but "dumb" with good intentions.

Film and television series

Many actress have played Huang Rong, including:
* Michelle Yim
* Barbara Yung
* Idy Chan
* Susanna Au Yeung
* Athena Chu
* Zhou Xun
* Kong Lin
* Ariel Lin

Hong Qigong

2008-09-19T18:41:00.009-07:00

Hong Qigong is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''wuxia'' novels, appearing in both ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and its sequel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''. He was best known for being the leader of the Beggars' Sect , and possessing the powerful martial arts technique ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'' . With the Beggars' Sect primarily based in northern China, he earned the nickname ''Northern Beggar'' , and ranked among the in the novel. Unlike the other four supreme martial artists, Hong Qigong was very lazy. He rarely ever passed whole sets of his skills to others, but would teach a stance or two to anyone he found worthy, such as when he taught a fraction of his skills to Mu Nianci. He only took Guo Jing and Huang Rong as true disciples.

He was also known as the ''Nine-fingered Divine Beggar'' , after severing one of his fingers as a reminder of once delaying to save a righteous man's who is also his master and previous leader of the Beggars' Sect life because of his appetite.

Hong Qigong was known for his culinary skills and appreciation of fine food.

Biography

* Nickname: Northern Beggar
* Gender: Male
* Major Martial Arts Disciples : Guo Jing and Huang Rong

Hong Qigong's Martial Arts

Xianglong Shiba Zhang

# 亢龍有悔 / 亢龙有悔 Proud Dragon Repents
# 飛龍在天 / 飞龙在天 Flying Dragon in the Sky
# 龍戰於野 / 龙战于野 Dragon Fights in Plains
# 潛龍勿用 / 潜龙勿用 Hidden Dragon Waits Prudently
# 利涉大川 / 利涉大川 Successfully Cross the River
# 鴻漸於陸 / 鸿渐于陆 Swan Lands Gradually
# 突如其來 / 突如其来 Sudden Attack
# 震驚百里 / 震惊百里 Stun All within a Hundred Miles
# 或躍在淵 / 或跃在渊 Ascend or Retreat to Depths
# 神龍斎�/ 棒挑癞犬 Lift Mangy Dog with Stick
# 壓扁狗背 / 压扁狗背 Squash Dog's Back
# 天下無狗 / 天下无狗 All Dogs Vanquished

A set of thirty-six staff techniques, this skill set is proof of leadership of the Beggars' Sect. It was taught to Hong Qigong by the eighteenth Beggars' Sect Chief. Hong Qigong passed the full set to Huang Rong when he appointed her as the next leader. He taught the external forms to Yang Guo for his proxy duel with Ouyang Feng.

Fists of the Free

A set of fist techniques created by himself when he was young, Xiao Yao Quan is described to be a martial art that is swift and carefree, but has little power. This skill was taught to Mu Nianci.

Roles

The Return of the Condor Heroes

In his advanced age he left the affairs of his sect to his successors and travelled the world in search of culinary delights. On Mt. Hua he met Yang Guo and was impressed by the young man's integrity. Together they met Yang Guo's adopted father, the insane Western Venom, Ouyang Feng, one of the five greats. The two old rivals fought each other for four days, and only Yang Guo's timely interruptions with food kept things from escalating too far. Eventually the old animosity proved too much, and the two Champions matched their internal energies directly for a full day, coming to another standstill.

Exhausted, both fighters were too proud to back down, each claiming that he still had many techniques left to defeat the other. For three days, they used Yang Guo as their proxy, each instructing him in their respective skills and making the budding martial artist demonstrate the technique to his opponent. Thus Hong Qigong would teach Yang Guo a stance from his Dog Beating Stick and Ouyang Feng would teach Yang Guo to counter with his own staff art. Hong Qigong seemed to have won this odd duel when he unleashed his final Dog Beating Stick stance: No Dogs Under Heaven.

Eventually Hong Qigong was defeated by Ouyang Feng, who spent a night to think of a counter move. Upon seeing his ultimate technique countered, Hong Qigong laughed uproariously and embraced his enemy in defeat, calling Ouyang Feng by his true name. The two had been the most bitter of foes for their entire lives; with this final duel, they embraced one another, laughing, and died. He was then buried side by side on Mt. Hua by Yang Guo. It was observed by Yang Guo that Hong Qigong would have won the duel as in real combat, Ouyang Feng would not have had the time to ponder and create a counter.

Han Xiaoying

2008-09-19T18:41:00.007-07:00

Han Xiaoying is a character in the wuxia novel Legend of the Condor Heroes written by Louis Cha.

She was the youngest and only female member of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. Han Baoju, another member of the Freaks, was her elder cousin. Nicknamed the 'Yue Sword Maiden', Hao Xiaoying was an expert in martial arts, particularly in the Yue Maiden Swordplay. She was described in the novel as being chilvarous and friendly, with a much more masculine character as compared to other women of her time. She wielded a sword in battle.

Once, the Freaks made an agreement with Qiu Chuji to track down the widows and unborn sons of Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin respectively, train the boys into fine martial artists and meet again in eighteen years time for a contest between the two young men. After a long and hard period of searching, the Freaks eventually found Li Ping, the widow of Guo Xiaotian, and her son Guo Jing in Mongolia. The Freaks were initially overjoyed upon finding Guo Jing, but were disappointed when they found out that he was actually quite slow-witted and might not be able to learn martial arts well.

Han Xiaoying was known to be in love with Zhang A'sheng, a member of the Seven Freaks. Once, Zhang A'sheng was mortally wounded in a battle with the evil 'Twin Ghosts in the Black Wind'. Before his death, Han Xiaoying expressed her willingness to marry him with tears in her eyes but Zhang rejected her and died.

Nevertheless, the Freaks managed to teach Guo Jing some basic martial arts. Once, Guo Jing was mistaken for being in league with the evil Mei Chaofeng, who was responsible for the death of Zhang A'sheng. They had noticed that Guo Jing knew 'Neigong', or internal energy, when they realised that they had only taught him basic martial arts only and never taught him anything about neigong. The Freaks suspected that Guo Jing had been learning from Mei Chaofeng and laid an ambush, wanting to kill Guo Jing to prevent further trouble. Han Xiaoying was quite kind-hearted by nature and unwilling to kill her disciple Guo Jing, so she flung herself in front of Guo Jing to protect him. Eventually, the Freaks realised that they had wronged Guo Jing and had almost killed their disciple.

Later in the novel, Guo Jing left Mongolia with the Freaks and went to China where he had his own adventures. Han Xiaoying died by committing suicide with her sword on Peach Blossom Island along with Zhu Cong, Quan Jinfa, Han Baoju and Nan Xiren, whose deaths were caused by Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang.

Han Baoju

2008-09-19T18:41:00.005-07:00

Han Baoju is a character in the wuxia novel Legend of the Condor Heroes written by Louis Cha.

Han Baoju was one of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan and was nicknamed 'Horse Deity' for his excellent skills in taming wild steeds and his strong passion and love for horses. He owned a precious steed and was also the cousin of Han Xiaoying, another member of the Seven Freaks. Also, Han Baoju was described to have a comically short and round appearance. Huang Rong even teased him once by calling him 'Shortie'.

He followed the other six Freaks to Mongolia in search of Guo Xiaotian's widow Li Ping and her unborn son Guo Jing. The Freaks had previously made an agreement with Qiu Chuji to track down the widows and unborn sons of Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin respectively, nuture the child into a fine martial artist and meet again eighteen years later for a contest between the two young men. After a long and harsh period of searching, the Freaks found Li Ping and the young Guo Jing and were overjoyed. However, they were not very pleased when they realised Guo Jing was quite slow-witted.

Nevertheless, they managed to train Guo Jing into a fine martial artist, equipped with the necessary skills to take on Yang Tiexin's son at the age of eighteen. Han Baoju was eventually killed at Peach Blossom Island along with Han Xiaoying, Nan Xiren, Zhu Cong, Quan Jinfa by Yang Kang and Ouyang Feng. He died under the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws' of Yang Kang beside the coffin inside the tomb of Feng Heng. His horse died in the Peach Tree Grove at Ouyang's hands - his chains had also been shattered in that location, fulfilling what he had always taught Guo Jing: "the person is alive when the chain is whole; when the chain is not whole its master is no longer alive."

Guo Xiaotian

2008-09-19T18:41:00.003-07:00

Guo Xiaotian is a fictional character in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', a novel written by Chinese author Jinyong
He is the father of Guo Jing and the husband of Li Ping .

Biography

* Family name: Guō
* Given name: Xiaotian
* Gender: Male
* Death: November 1200 ''''
* Wife: Li Ping

Life

Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin were neighbours and sworn brothers. The bond between the two was so deep that they swore to each other their unborn children would become either sworn brothers or sisters or be married . One day they meet the Taoist priest Qiu Chuji and invite him in from the cold to share some drinks together. Qiu Chuji strikes up a fast friendship with the two young men and presented each with a dagger and promised to return to transfer his skills to their sons.

One evening, Song soldiers led by Duan Tiande arrived to arrest Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian as traitors. Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian resist but they are overmatched and Guo Xiaotian is killed eventually.

Guo Xiang (fictional)

2008-09-19T18:41:00.001-07:00

Guo Xiang is a fictional character in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', a wuxia novel written by Jin Yong, and later mentioned in ''The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber''.

Biography

* Family name: Guo
* Given name: Xiang
* Gender: Female
* Birth: November 25, 1244 ''''/October 27, 1244 ''''
* Death: ''''
* Father: Guo Jing
* Mother: Huang Rong
* Husband: ''''
* Siblings: Guo Fu and Guo Polu

Life

Guo Xiang was the daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, younger sister of Guo Fu and the twin sister of Guo Polu. As an infant, she was later kidnapped by Li Mochou, who thought she was a daughter of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. Yang Guo, who begins to develop a fatherly love for the child, selflessly rescuing and protecting her from family's enemies despite the knowledge that her parents were possibly responsible of his father's death. After, she would become one of most important women in his life. She would meet Yang Guo again sixteen years later when she becomes deeply attracted to him in an innocent way. Yang Guo became very fond of her, in a brotherly manner, and gave her three Golden Needles guaranteeing the completion of three requests. Guo Xiang used the first to see Yang Guo's face , and the second to ask him to attend her 16th birthday. Eventually, she used the third to prohibit Yang Guo from committing suicide at Broken Heart Cliff when he thought his beloved wife was dead.

Like her sister, Guo Xiang also developed an affectionate feelings for Yang Guo. However, she knew that he loved only Xiaolongnü and his feeling for her were only brotherly. She sincerely wished Yang Guo happiness with Xiaolongnu. After Yang Guo succeeded halting the Mongolian Invasion on Xiangyang led by M?ngke Khan, he gave her his treasured weapon Heavy Iron Sword as a gift and Xiaolongnü gave her the twin swords Jun Zhi Jian (君子劍）and Shu Nu Jian （淑女劍）. After Yang Guo and his wife left the city, she was unable to forget her feelings towards Yang Guo and tried to find the couple.

A few years after Yang Guo and Xiaolungnu departed from the Central Plains, she took to wandering to relieve her heartache. There, she reunited with a young Zhang Junbao and inadvertently started him on the path to becoming one of the finest martial arts masters. Zhang Junbao and Guo Xiang were able to incorporate various principles of the martial art manual ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing'' into their personal kungfu and the kungfu of the sects they eventually founded, and . With ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing'', she became a well-known heroine and a fine martial art master in her own right, able to rival her own father, grandfather, and Yang Guo.

Thirteen years later, after Mongolian troops finally conquered the Southern Song Empire under the leadership of Kublai Khan, her parents and brother have died defending the city of Xiangyang. However before that, her parents melted Yang Guo's sword and made it into the Dragon Sabre, they also melted Xiaolongnu's twin swords to make the Heaven Sword. Hidden within the Dragon Sabre and Heaven Sword was a map to the military textbook written by the late great Sung Dynasty general Yue Fei and a scroll detailing the powerful martial art ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' and . The former was given to Guo Polu while the latter was bestowed upon her. She became the founder of the Emei Sect, continuing her family's missions to defend her people from Mongolians' oppressions, and searching for her family's lost Dragon Sabre until the day she died. Her family's missions continue through her disciples and successors of the E'mei Sect in ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre''.

Name

Guo Xiang was named after the city of Xiangyang, by her mother Huang Rong, while her twin brother Guo Polu was named by his father Guo Jing.

Introduction

Guo Xiang is the second daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. She was the founder of the martial arts sect .

Adaptations

Many actress have played Guo Xiang, including:
* Theresa Lee
* Lin Xiang-Ping , also known as Yvonne Lim who is a TV actress in Singapore
* Yang Mi

Guo Polu

2008-09-19T18:40:00.006-07:00

Guo Polu was the son Guo Jing and Huang Rong, and brother of Guo Fu and . He was a minor character from The Return of the Condor Heroes and the first owner of the Dragon-Slayer Sabre. He died with his parents after Xiangyang was conquered by Mongolian army.

Biography

* Family name: Guo-
* Given name: Polu
* Gender: Male
* Death: 31 January 1273
* Father: Guo Jing
* Mother: Huang Rong
* Siblings : Guo Fu,

Guo Jing

2008-09-19T18:40:00.005-07:00

Guo Jing is the fictional main character in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', a novel written by Chinese author Jinyong. He also plays a supporting role in the second part of the ''Condor Trilogy'', ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' . He is a fictitious descendant of an illustrious military family, the Guo Clan of the Tang Dynasty.

Biography

* Family name: Guō
* Given name: Jìng
* Nickname: The North Hero
* Gender: Male
* Birth: November 1200 ''''
* Death: 31 January 1273
* Father: Guo Xiaotian
* Mother: Li Ping
* Wife: Huang Rong
* Children: Guo Fu, , Guo Polu
* Other Family Member: Yang Guo , Zhou Botong
* Martial Arts Disciples : Wu Xiuwen and Wu Dunru
* Martial Arts Masters: Jiang Nan Qi Guai, Hong Qigong, Zhou Botong

Character Description

Guo Jing is described in the story as having thick eyebrows and large eyes, of sturdy and strong stature, and a complexion that is somewhere between dark and fair. He is frequently described as "dumb", "slow", and inarticulate, thereby the complete opposite of his love interest, the clever and witty Huang Rong.

His most distinguishing feature, apart from his slowness, is his constant strife for moral rectitude . Being a Mongolian-raised boy in the Legend of the Condor Heroes, he considered personal loyalty to be the highest virtues. In the Return of the Condor Heroes, the now matured and intelligent Guo Jing was very devoted to serving the people of his birth country.

Guo Jing's Martial Arts

By the time he reached middle age, Guo Jing was among the most accomplished and powerful martial artists of his era. He had a broad and deep body of martial arts skills that was unsurpassed among the martial artists of the Central Plains. At the end of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', he takes his place among the five great martial artists, known as ''Northern Hero'' , the successor of his teacher ''Northern Beggar'', Hong Qigong , for his years of devotion in defending the Song Dynasty. His repertoire included:

Mongolian Archery and Wrestling

Guo Jing was among the finest archers in the Mongol Empire, having trained with the great Mongolian archer and military leader Jebe for over a decade. Guo Jing famously shot down two eagles with a single arrow during his youth in Mongolia. He was also an accomplished wrestler in the Mongolian style of wrestling.

Martial arts of the Jiangnan Qi Guai

Guo Jing's first introduction to the martial arts of his Chinese homeland came from the Jiangnan Qi Guai - seven martial artists from the southern Chinese city of Jiaxing who located Guo Jing at the age of six and trained him in their various martial arts so that when Guo Jing turned eighteen years of age, he could compete against Yang Kang , the student of Quanzhen Taoist Qiu Chuji . The Jiangnan Qi Guai were not elite martial artists, but their early training provided Guo Jing with a good foundation for the more advanced martial arts he would learn later in his life.

Quanzhen Pai Wu Gong

Quanzhen Sect elders Ma Yu , Qiu Chuji , and Wang Chuyi taught Guo Jing various aspects of the Quanzhen Sect's martial arts, such as their ''qigong'' techniques. He was also able to grasp the essence of the famed ''Big Dipper Formation'' after reading the 9 Yin Manual and watching the formation used in real combat.

Xianglong Shiba Zhang

# 亢龍有悔 / 亢龙有悔
# 飛龍在天 / 飞龙在天
# 龍戰於野 / 龙战于野
# 潛龍勿用 / 潜龙勿用
# 利涉大川 / 利涉大川
# 鴻漸於陸 / 鸿渐于陆
# 突如其來 / 突如其来
# 震驚百里 / 震惊百里
# 或躍在淵 / 或跃在渊
# 神龍擺尾 / 神龙摆尾
# 見龍在田 / 见龙在田
# 雙龍取水 / 双龙取水
# 魚躍於淵 / 鱼跃于渊
# 時乘六龍 / 时乘六龙
# 密雲不雨 / 密云不雨
# 損則有孚 / 损则有孚
# 履霜冰至 / 履霜冰至
# 羝羊觸藩 / 羝羊触藩

The famous and fearsomely powerful martial art of the Beggars' Sect. It was created using the principles from the Book of Changes . It was taught to Guo Jing by ''Northern Beggar'' Hong Qigong , then the eighteenth reigning Beggars' Sect Chief and one of the five greatest martial arts masters of the time. It is mentioned in the novel that this technique is the single most powerful or external style martial art in the world, being unmatched in its sheer power. ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'' became Guo Jing's most powerful martial art skill and his default fighting technique.

Kongming Quan

These skills were taught to Guo Jing by his sworn brother Zhou Botong at Peach Blossom Island . ''Kongming Quan'' gave Guo Jing an alternate attacking skill to ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang.'' The novel also describes this attack as the polar opposite of ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'', being the epitome of the neijia martial arts, unmatched in subtlety and yet equal to the ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'' in power and ingenuity of style.

Shuang Shou Hu Bo

Zhou Botong also taught Guo Jing the skills of ''Shuang Shou Hu Bo'' at Peach Blossom Island. This enabled Guo Jing to simultaneously use a different martial art with each arm, often bewildering and overwhelming his enemies in the process. This also means that fighting him is akin to battling 2 opponents at the same time, effectively increasing his combat prowess, even though he is not necessarily more powerful.

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing

The most coveted martial art of its era, which included incredible ''qigong'' cultivation techniques and extraordinary martial art skills. Mastering the lessons of this text enabled Guo Jing to maximize the potential of the various skills he learned, such as alternating hard and soft blows with his 18 Dragon-Subduing Palms, which enabled him to last longer in high-level fighting. This manual ultimately enabled Guo Jing to become one of the greatest martial arts masters of his age.

Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts

After his marriage to Huang Rong , Guo Jing also learned the martial arts of his father-in-law, ''Medicine Master Huang,'' Huang Yaoshi . It is uncertain whether Guo Jing learned his father-in-law's complete set of martial arts, but at the very least, Guo Jing did learn Huang Yaoshi's finest and most celebrated martial art: the ''Divine Finger Thrust'' . Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts is extremely complicated and requires a high level of intelligence to master which does not suit Guo Jing's style of "power within simplicity".

Roles

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

The book follows Guo Jing's formative years in the steppes of Mongolia, where his mother, Li Ping fled after the attacked .

Being a pleasant-mannered child, Guo Jing befriended Tolui, the son of Genghis Khan and became sworn brothers with him. Later on, after Guo Jing learned martial arts from the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, the Khan came to rely on him as a loyal follower.

But because of a promise made years ago, Guo Jing left Mongolia for country to meet Yang Kang, the lost son of his father's sworn brother. And here began Guo Jing's journey from an obscure lad in the steppes to a martial arts hero, revered by the citizens of .

The Return of the Condor Heroes

The story follows several years after the end of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Now a prominent figure in South Song's military, Guo Jing is faced with the task of raising the orphaned son of his deceased sworn brother, Yang Kang. The boy was named Yang Guo, which means to "correct mistakes" .

This story focuses on the forbidden relationship between protagonists Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü . However, Guo Jing and his wife Huang Rong play active supporting roles, serving to shape the characters of the main protagonists, as well as provide conflict .

In the story, Guo Jing and Huang Rong had three children, a daughter named Guo Fu, and in the later part of the story, fraternal twin sister and brother, and Guo Polu, both with meaningful names. Xiang was named after the besieged city of Xiangyang on the banks of the Han River, a crucial point in the control of the waterways of the Southern Song as a main tributary into the Yangtze River. means "to defeat or drive away the barbarians", pertaining at the time to the "Mongols". appeared briefly in the third installment of the Condor trilogy, The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber.

The Birth and Death

Guo Jing's birthday cannot be determined exactly. There are conflicts among different chapters in the novels. His birthday must be in month 10. According to chapter 3 in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', ''"the moon rose high in the sky at midnight"'', so the birthday should be a full moon or approximately full moon day, may be day 11 to 20 in Chinese calendar. All these days in month 10 in possible birth years in western calendar is in November. So Guo's birthday should be in November, 1188/1196/1200/1201.

According to ''Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber,'' Guo Jing died exactly on the day Xiangyang was conquered. According to history, Xiangyang was conquered on the day ''Yichou'' of month ''Zhengyue'', 1273 .

Film and TV Adaptations

Many actors have played the role of Guo Jing in film and television productions, including:
* Alexander Fu Sheng
* Felix Wong
* Julian Cheung
* Li Yapeng
* Hu Ge

Guo Fu

2008-09-19T18:40:00.003-07:00

Guo Fu is the eldest and spoiled daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong in novel, The Return of the Condor Heroes. She is also the elder sister of and Guo Polu .

Biography

* Family name: Guo
* Given name: Fu
* Gender: Female
* Father: Guo Jing
* Mother: Huang Rong
* Husband: Yelü Qi
* Siblings: and Guo Polu

Life

Guo Fu was not as intelligent as her mother although as beautiful. She constantly made trouble for her family, and constantly bullied the young Yang Guo with Wu Xiuwen and Wu Dunru as a child. Almost ten years later, she was reunited with Yang Guo and became infatuated with him. However, Yang Guo by then was in love with Xiaolongnü . When Yang Guo rejected her father's proposal of her marriage to Yang Guo, she was deeply offended.

When Yang Guo was poisoned, she believed he wanted to trade her younger infant sister, Guo Xiang, for the antidote to his poison. Furthermore she learned that Yang Guo had told Wu Xiuwen and Wu Dunru that Guo Jing agreed for him to marry her, not knowing that Yang Guo was only trying to stop the two brothers from fighting each other to the death for her. She told him about his mentor's rape incident in a rage, and Yang Guo slapped her in the face. They fought briefly, but having been poisoned, Yang Guo did not have strength to resist. Putting his arm up to defend himself against Guo Fu's sword, Guo Fu severed Yang Guo's right arm. Later, Guo Jing wanted to punish her by cutting her arm off, he was only stopped by his wife, Huang Rong.

She married Yelü Qi , who later became the new leader of Beggars' Sect . At the end of the novel she finally was at peace with Yang Guo after he rescued her husband from the Mongolian army.

It is unknown of her fate after Xiangyang was finally conquered, since her parents and brother died after defending the city.

Feng Heng

2008-09-19T18:40:00.001-07:00

Feng Heng is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. She is the wife of the Eastern Heretic , Huang Yaoshi .

Biography

* Family name: Feng
* Given name: Heng
* Gender: Female
* Death: 1203
* Husband: Huang Yaoshi
* Children: Huang Rong

Life

A beautiful and supremely intelligent lady, Feng Heng , was born with an excellent memory. She married Huang Yaoshi and subsequently met Zhou Botong. After reading the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' from Zhou Botong, she was able to memorise the whole manual. She tricked Zhou Botong that the manual is just a book of childish rites and to prove her point, she recited verbatim the first few sentences to convince Zhou Botong. Zhou Botong was convinced and destroyed the manual in a fit while she wrote the whole manual from memory for Huang Yaoshi.

After the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' was stolen by Huang Yaoshi's two disciples, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng , she re-wrote the manual from memory again for Huang Yaoshi. As she was pregnant , the stress and effort to re-write the manual from memory added to the strain of her pregnancy. The added stress and effort killed her during her difficult child labour.

Dugu Qiubai

2008-09-19T18:39:00.012-07:00

Dugu Qiubai was a fictional character mentioned in three of Jin Yong's novels. He was given the nickname "''Sword Devil''" to reflect his skill and devotion in swordsmanship. Dugu Qiubai's surname, 獨孤, is a last name from a tribe in northern China. As individual words, the word 獨 means single, and 孤 means alone. His name, 求敗, means "seeking defeat". It is generally assumed that he gave this name to himself in his later years, when he could find no one to best him.

Introduction

Dugu Qiubai never made an appearance in any of Jin Yong 's novels. However, he is mentioned in details in the Return of the Condor Heroes and The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, and very briefly in the Deer and the Cauldron. He supposedly achieved the philosophical level of "swordsmanship without a sword" and is usually considered as the best swordsman in Jin Yong's novels. His swordsmanship styles were passed on indirectly to the protagonists of ''the Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''the Smiling, Proud Wanderer''.

His Dugu Nine Swords was described in Smiling Proud Wanderer, used by Linghu Chong , which contains nine forms to defeat or overcome any types of attack. It based on the principle of "no patterns beats any pattern" because one cannot predict a move which does not have a pattern. Therefore, in theory this technique of fighting has no style and cannot be beaten .

The Dugu Nine Swords are all about offensive moves. The idea is that when one forces one’s enemy to have no other choice but to defend himself, there is no need to defend one’s self.

Although each move was just one stance, it had endless variations. The more one learns, the more powerful it becomes when one comprehended the connections between each stance. The last three stances are said to be the most difficult ones.

Nine Stances

To master these sword techniques, the key lies on comprehension and not simply rigid memorizing. Once the essence of the sword techniques is understood, it can be used in endless ways, hence the idea of no pattern as a stance. Thus during combat, the more these stances are forgotten, the less restricted the practitioner becomes by the original stances.

Dugu Qiubai has another technique, namely the Heavy Sword Technique. It was used by Yang Guo and has a rigorous requirement on qi energy. This technique emphasizes that simple actions, when accompanied by potent qi exertion, can be more effective than the most complicated forms of attacks.

The Heavy Sword Technique requires the Heavy Sword to perform. It is stated in the book when Yang Guo was learning this technique, he commented that average swords would be broken right away once he exerted/ channelled his qi energy into the sword. The weight of the Heavy Sword would also boost the power of his thrusts and swings.

It should also be noted that Yang Guo managed to meet the qi energy requirement to attain Heavy Sword Technique by following the qi training process Dugu Qiubai undertook . Later on,Yang Guo became one of the most powerful qi practitioners in his time. This can be used as the basis to evaluate the qi energy power of Dugu Qiubai.

The Debate

It was argued among fans that whether the Dugu Nine Swords or the Heavy Sword Technique is more advanced. While there is not a definite answer to this question, there is a reference in the session during an interview:

Question: ''Did Yang Guo manage to learn Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship? How advanced he was in the area of martial arts?''

Answer : ''Partly because Dugu Qiubai had not passed on a complete record/script, his swordsmanship was not very strong. Yet his qi energy was stronger than Linghu Chong, as he had been training in the waterfall for sixteen years.''

The Tomb of Swords

Dugu Qiubai wrote about himself :

''"Having roamed the martial arts world for more than thirty years, I have killed all my villainous foes and defeated all heroic champions, under Heaven there's no one who can be my equal. Without any other choice, I could only retreat and live in seclusion in this deep valley, with a condor as my companion. Alas, throughout my life I searched for a match in vain. Unbearable loneliness is my destiny. ~Demonic Swordman Dugu Qiubai"''

In his Sword Tomb, it is stated:

''"The Demonic Swordsman Dugu Qiubai has become the invincible and unchallenged warrior under Heaven, he therefore buried his swords here. Alas, the heroes of the realm bowed down before me, now my long sword is of no use anymore... the agony!"''

;The first sword: "Fierce and aggressive, able to penetrate every obstacle. With it, I competed with the heroes of the Northern Plains during my teenage years."

;The second sword: "The Violet Flexible Sword, used it prior to the age of thirty. I accidentally wounded a righteous man with it, it turned out to be a Weapon of Doom. I felt great remorse and abandoned the sword in a deep valley."

;The third sword: "The Heavy, Blunt Sword, complexity is useless. Before I reached the age of forty, I used it to roam the entire Empire under Heaven."

;The fourth sword: "After the age of forty, I no longer relied on weaponry. Trees, bamboo and rock can all be my swords. From then on, the essence of my cultivation slowly reached the level of overcoming the sword without a sword."

Film and Television

Film

He appeared in a movie, Ashes of Time, filmed by Wong Kar Wai with permission from Jinyong who received credit as co-writer, wherein he wasn't actually a "he" but a "she." The movie was a prequel to the Legend of the Condor Heroes. Due to some minor deviations from the novel, some do not consider the movie canon.

Dugu Qiubai is here presented as a woman, Murong Yan, who developed a severe split personality--one male, one female--upon having her heart broken by Huang Yaoshi. They had met while she was pretending to be a man. When Huang Yaoshi stated in a drunken daze that if Murong Yin, her alter ego, had a sister, he would marry her. They agreed to meet later, but he stood her up, which drove her crazy. In a later scene she mistakes Ouyang Feng for Huang Yaoshi, and he does not correct her, telling her that she couldn't hold something "he" said when "he" was drunk against "him." She then asks Ouyang Feng to lie to her when she asks him if he loves her the most. Eventually, she wanders off, and it is stated that she became a mysterious swordsman said to practice against her own reflection.

Television

TVB filmed a TV series on Dugu Qiubai, but the story was created by TVB and is by no means considered canon.

Duan Zhixing

2008-09-19T18:39:00.011-07:00

Duan Zhixing was the King of between 1172 and 1200.

In fiction

Duan Zhixing, as the Buddhist monk Yideng , is a fictional character in the ''Condor Trilogy'', a wuxia trilogy by Jinyong. He is one of Five Supreme Martial Artists in the novel, along with Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, Hong Qigong, and Wang Chongyang.

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

In ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', Duan Zhixing was born into the royal family that ruled over the small southern Kingdom of Dali. In the Jin Yong universe Duan Zhixing like his predecessors was not only heir apparent to the Dali throne, but also a prominent participant in the affairs of the bohemian world of Jianghu.

The Duan family awed the martial arts world with their Yi Yang Finger , a martial art which had evolved through the Duan family's own unique way of striking acupuncture points. The highest level of the Yi Yang Finger could emit lethal ''qi'' from one's fingers.

Duan Zhixing was extraordinarily proficient in his art and became one of the Five Supreme Martial Artists. So great was his power and integrity that he was entrusted by the aging Wang Chongyang with the task of controlling the evil Western Venom ''Ouyang Feng''. The other Champions were either too mercurial in nature or could not be trusted with the task, and furthermore there was only two martial arts in the world which could definitively curb the techniques of Western Venom: Wang Chongyang's First Heaven Art and Duan's Yi Yang Finger. Wang took his younger martial-brother Zhou Botong with him to the Dali palace where he spent several months exchanging arts with the royal pugilist.

However, during this time Zhou Botong had an affair with Duan's consort, Liu Yinggu. Zhou did not know that this woman was the king's consort and fled the palace out of shame. The consort Liu Yinggu became pregnant with Zhou's child and despite being confined to quarters by Duan , was still very happy to have had a child by Zhou Botong.

After the child's birth, Qiu Qianren, believing the child to be the royal heir, attacked him at night. Qiu sadistically left the child mortally wounded but alive, in the hopes that Duan Zhixing would spend his prodigious energies in rescuing the baby's life. Liu begged Duan Zhixing to save her child. At that time he was due to go to a duel that would determine the fate of many, yet out of his love for Liu Yinggu, he relented. Just as he was about to begin treating the baby, he saw the love poem that Liu Yinggu had embroidered onto the clothing of her baby. Jealousy and anger filled Duan Zhixing who then refused to save the baby, shouting how unfair it was for him to save the baby of an adulterous affair and allow Liu and Zhou to spend the rest of their lives in happiness, while he would spend his in exhaustion and solitude. The baby died that night and Liu Yinggu's hair turned white overnight out of grief. She declared her undying hatred for Duan Zhixing and swore to kill him one day.

Duan Zhixing woke up from his jealousy afterwards and realised what he had done. The Duan family were traditionally deeply devoted Buddhists and once Duan Zhixing realised what he had done he was shaken to the core of his being. He therefore tidied up his affairs and decided to follow an ancient tradition of the royal family - becoming a monk. His Buddhist name was Yideng, meaning Solitary Light, possibly an allusion to his art. For decades afterwards Yideng did not involve himself in any affairs outside of his spiritual contemplation. His good friend Hong Qigong was present at his initiation so word was spread out to Jianghu not to disturb the Southern Emperor anymore.

Duan Zhixing inspired such devotion from his subjects that four of his most trusted ministers resigned their posts to become Duan's disciples. They could thus continue protecting and serving the man who would always be their lord and master. Their former posts include Chancellor of State and Commander of the Royal Guard.

Years later the dispute between Liu and Duan would end through the interference of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Duan would also become master to the repentant Qiu Qianren.

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Still later, Yang Guo would help mend the rifts between Liu Yinggu and Ci'en , as well as between Liu and Zhou Botong.

Duan Tiande

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Duan Tiande is a character in the wuxia novel Legend of the Condor Heroes written by Louis Cha.

Duan was first introduced in the novel as a Song army officer, who led government soldiers to arrest Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin for treason at the Niu Family Village in the first chapter. After a fierce fight, Guo was killed in battle by Duan Tiande and Yang was presumed dead. Guo's widowed wife Li Ping was captured by Duan Tiande.

Duan brought Li Ping with him to his uncle, Reverend Ku Mu's monastery and hid her inside. The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan and Qiu Chuji arrived later, searching for Li Ping. Qiu kept insisting that he saw Li Ping being brought into the monastery but Ku Mu denied it. The Seven Freaks interfered and a fight broke out between Qiu Chuji and the Seven Freaks. Eventually, it was revealed that Duan Tiande had indeed brought the captured Li Ping with him into the monastery, but had seized the opportunity to escape during the fight with his hostage. Meanwhile, the Seven Freaks and Qiu Chuji had an agreement to track down the widows of Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin respectively, nuture their unborn sons into martial artists and meet again eighteen years later for a contest between the two young men.

Li Ping managed to escape from the clutches of Duan Tiande and travelled north and finally arrived in Mongolia. There, she gave birth to her son Guo Jing and raised him. She constantly reminded her son that his father was killed by a man called Duan Tiande and he must avenge his father. Since a young age, Guo Jing had already a faint image of Duan Tiande as his mother had described to him Duan Tiande's physical features and he possessed a strong hatred and swore to kill Duan Tiande to avenge his father.

Eventually, fate brought Guo Jing, Yang Tiexin's son Yang Kang and Duan Tiande together where they confronted each other. Duan Tiande was killed by Yang Kang.

Condor Trilogy

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The Condor Trilogy is a trilogy of three wuxia fiction novels by Jinyong. The trilogy began with the decline of and Song Dynasty and the rise of Mongolian Empire. The story ended more than a hundred years later with the establishment of Ming dynasty. The characters in the trilogy played significant roles in the rise and fall of these nations.

Although the English name of the trilogy is "The Condor Trilogy", it is most likely a mistranslation, as the characters in the first two novels are associated with eagles, not condors .

The books in the trilogy are:
* ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''
* ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''
* ''The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber''

Cheng Ying

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Cheng Ying is a character from Jin Yong's novel Return of the Condor Heroes. She is a strong, independent fighter who, along with her cousin Lu Wushuang, develops affectionate feelings for Yang Guo.

Cheng Ying grew up in the home of the Lus with her cousin Wushuang. When Li Mochou massacred the Lu family, Cheng Ying was saved by Huang Yaoshi and brought up as his disciple. She later set out to find her cousin and rescue her from Li Mochou. With the help of Yang Guo, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang reunite. The cousins later joined the party at the Passionless Valley to retrieve the antidote for Yang Guo. When Yang Guo fell into grief over Xiao Longnu's departure, the cousins comforted him and there, recognized him as their sworn brother.

Sixteen years later, both Cheng Ying and Wushuang fought to defend Xiang Yang from the Mongols.

Chen Xuanfeng

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Chen Xuanfeng is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''wuxia'' novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. He is one of the novel's main antagonists, best known for eloping with fellow martial artist Mei Chaofeng , and being despised by the martial arts community for unethical behaviour. He died in the hands of a young Guo Jing .

Life

Chen and the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing''

Chen Xuanfeng was a disciple of Huang Yaoshi, one of the "" in the story. Huang is known for his ruthlessness and often-erratic nature, so when Chen Xuanfeng and fellow disciple Mei Chaofeng fell in love, they were too afraid to seek approval for marriage. Instead, they conspired to escape from their place of residence, and in the process stole their master's prized martial arts article, ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' .

The latter move brought dire consequences for the pair. An enraged Huang Yaoshi dismissed all of his remaining disciples after crippling them; these disciples who were both deeply embittered by their suffering and their hatred of Chen and Mei for betraying their beloved master spurred them to pursue their former brethren in revenge. In addition, because Chen and Mei lacked the necessary martial arts foundations to practice the ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing'' properly, they were forced to employ methods that are despicable and unethical to the martial arts community, such as using poison and striking their opponents' skull with their claws .

Death

In order to escape from the hordes of martial artists eager for revenge , Chen and Mei fled to Mongolia, where they encountered the Jiangnan Qi Guai , or the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. The head of the group, Ke Zhen'e , is a mortal enemy, as his brother was killed by Chen and Mei in combat, and was himself blinded.

In a fierce battle, Chen and Mei were on the verge of defeating the Seven Freaks, when a young Guo Jing inadvertently walked into the battle. Guo was at the scene to fulfill an earlier promise to meet the Seven Freaks to become their disciple; and when Chen stumbled over Guo, he sensed no imminent danger and was about to toss him aside. In fear, Guo produced his dagger, and struck a fatal blow on Chen.

Beggars' Sect

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Beggars' Sect is a fictional organization, often appearing in wuxia novels, most notably those by Jin Yong and Gu Long. They are characterized by their strict code of conduct and respect for ranks. This organization has been featured in several television series and other media. The organization is often portrayed as having a well-connected communication network and excellent information gathering capability due to its size, organizational structure, and the very nature of its members allowing them to blend in.

Beggars' Sect in Jin Yong's novels

In Jin Yong's novels, they are most noted for their patriotism towards the Han Chinese cause in defending against foreign invading powers, particularly in ''Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'' and the Condor Trilogy. The Beggars were noted to possess powerful martial arts skills which they use to help the poor and uphold justice. Its chief carries the 'Dog-beating' staff and is the only one in the sect who knows the 'Dog-beating' skill, which was passed from the previous chief to the successor. The famous 'Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms' also originated from the Beggars' sect.

Sect leaders

*Xiao Feng
*Hong Qigong
*Huang Rong
*Lu Youjiao

Zhou Botong

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Zhou Botong is one of the most humorous characters in Legend of the Condor Hero and Return of the Condor Heroes. Although quite old, he remained very active and constantly sought fun and entertainment. He had no students from the Quanzhen Sect, preferring carefree wandering to studied contemplation. He had the utmost respect for his elder martial brother Wang Chongyang, and abided by most of the rules he laid down. He became the sworn brother of Guo Jing, teaching him his invented techniques of Vacant Fist and Technique of Ambidexterity . Later Zhou Botong secretly accepted Yelu Qi as a student. Near the end of Return of the Condor Heroes, his favorite game was taking care of bees, a skill he learned from Xiaolongnu. He lived in secluded harmony with Yideng and Yinggu.

Biography

* Family name: Zhou
* Given name: Botong
* Gender: Male
* Love interest: Ying Gu
* Disciple: Yelu Qi
* Obession: Fun
* Fears: Snakes

His personality is also different from other wuxia masters. He lives to play, he plays to live, everything in his eyes is a game, and like food to Hong QiGong, fun is to Zhou BoTong.

Zhou Botong's Martial Arts

Quanzhen Pai Wu Gong

A disciple of the Quanzhen Sect and hence master the martial arts of Quanzhen Sect.

Kongming Quan

Zhou Botong invented the skills of ''Kongming Quan'' while trapped in the caverns of Peach Blossom Island after being trapped there by Huang Yaoshi . The novel also describes this attack as the polar opposite of ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'', being the epitome of the neijia martial arts, unmatched in subtlety and yet equal to the ''Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang'' in power and ingenuity of style.

Shuang Shou Hu Bo

Zhou Botong also invented the skills of ''Shuang Shou Hu Bo'' while trapped in the caverns of Peach Blossom Island. The Technique was created, due to boredom living in the caverns, to let him fight with himself using both arms, each arm using a different martial art.

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing

The most coveted martial art of its era, which included incredible qigong cultivation techniques and extraordinary martial art skills.

Jade Bees

The ''Jade Bees'' are taught by Xiaolongnu after he pestered her to teach him how to control the bees

Zhang Wuji

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Zhang Wuji is the fictional main protagonist in the wuxia novel ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre'' , the third part of Jin Yong's famous ''Condor Trilogy''.

Biography

* Family name: Zhang
* Given name: Wuji
* Birth: 1337
* Gender: Male
* Ethnicity:
* Father: Zhang Cuishan　 a.k.a "The Fifth Hero Zhang"
* Mother: Yin Susu
* Wife: Zhao Min (赵敏）
* Love interest: Zhou Zhiruo , Xiaozhao
* Godfather: Xie Xun a.k.a "Gold-haired Lion King"
* Grand master: Zhang Sanfeng
* Grandfather: Yin Tianzheng a.k.a "White-browed Eagle King"
* Uncle: Yin Yewang
* Cousin: Yin Li a.k.a "Spider Girl" （蛛儿）
* Martial Uncles: Song Yuanqiao , Yu Lianzhou , Yu Daiyan , Zhang Songxi , Yin Liting , Mo Shenggu
* Teacher: Hu Qingniu , Wang Nangu
* Affiliation: , Ming Cult/"Evil Cult"

''Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''

Early life

Zhang Wuji was born on the Arctic Ice-and-Fire Island in 1337. The "Golden Hair Lion King" Xie Xun, who suffered mental instability due to his practice of the Seven Injury Fist , went psychotic on the night of his birth, and attacked the Zhang couple. Zhang Cuishan was unable to stop Xie Xun, and Xie Xun stormed into the cave threatening to slaughter the couple. At that crucial moment, Yin Susu gave birth, and the sound of the infant's cry reminded Xie Xun of his own murdered baby son, and his insanity subsided. Seeing that Xie Xun cared a lot for their newborn, the couple promised Xie Xun that their son would be also his son. Xie Xun rejoiced at the idea of having a family again and became the boy's godfather. The young baby was named Xie Wuji , after Xie Xun's own infant son, who was murdered together with his family by his master Cheng Kun .

Wuji spent the next 10 years of his life on the island under the loving care of his family, especially from Xie Xun. However, it became apparent that they eventually had to return to the mainland if Wuji was to have a future. However, on the day of departure, Xie Xun refused to leave the island, fearing that his presence would put his sworn family under great danger. The Zhang family also refused to leave the island, but had to set off when Xie Xun threatened to commit suicide if they didn't. Before they left, Xie Xun told Wuji that his surname must be changed back to Zhang. Unknown to them all, the journey back to the mainland was nothing but the beginning of seven years of hardship for the young boy.

Orphan and Suffering

The return of the Zhang couple immediately caught the attention of the Wuxia society, as they held the key to Xie Xun's whereabouts . Yin Susu came up with the lie that Xie Xun died a long time ago, but the young and naive Zhang Wuji, accidentally called out the truth. The damage was done — the entire Wuxia world was onto the Zhang family and pursued them relentlessly for Xie Xun's whereabouts.

Zhang Wuji was later abducted as a hostage by the evil Xuan Ming Elders , and was inflicted with the "Cold Venomous Palm" of the Xuan Ming Elders. This was a tactic in order to get his parents to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun.

During Zhang Sanfeng's 100th birthday, the entire Wuxia community came to Mount Wudang to interrogate Zhang Cuishan and his wife, under the pretence of attending the party. Unwilling to reveal his sworn brother's location, and devastated to find that his wife was partly responsible for the crippling of his 3rd Martial Brother Yu Daiyan ten years prior, Zhang Cuishan committed suicide in front of everyone. The young Wuji, who was secretly taken to Mount Wudang by the Xuan Ming Elders, managed to cry out when he saw his father die, and was saved by Zhang Sanfeng. The reunion was short-lived, when his mother Yin Susu also committed suicide shortly after, in an attempt to extinguish any trail leading to Xie Xun. Embarrassed over the death of the Zhang couple, the Wuxia community retreated.

After the tragedy, the whole Wudang Sect was shocked to find that Wuji was inflicted by the incurable Xuan Ming Palm. To keep their promise to Zhang Cuishan that the young orphan would be cared for, all the Wudang masters worked hard for two years to get Wuji's condition under control, with little success.

Butterfly Valley

Seeing that the only hope to save Zhang Wuji's life was through the long-lost ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing'' , Zhang Sanfeng personally took Wuji to Shaolin Temple to plea for their share of the manual. After given a pitiless refusal, the pair wandered around the area and accidentally bumped into the rebel Chang Yuchun , who was wounded and fleeing from pursuers. Zhang Sanfeng repelled the Mongolians, saving Chang Yuchun and Zhou Zhiruo , the orphaned daughter of Chang's murdered boatman. Grateful for saving his life, Chang agreed to take Zhang Wuji to the Butterfly Valley and seek treatment from the "Divine Physician" Hu Qingniu . Zhang Sanfeng took Zhou Zhiruo away and later referred her to .

It was a hard journey for the young boy and man; both suffering physical conditions and almost lost their lives on a few occasions. However, when they reached the Butterfly Valley, Hu Qingniu was unwilling to cure Wuji, saying that he would not treat anyone from outside the Ming Cult. He changed his mind after learning that Wuji was the son of Yin Susu and suffering from a supposedly incurable injury . Hu was also impressed at Wuji's valor, who refused to beg for treatment despite constantly suffering from physical torment. Zhang Wuji was allowed to stay at Butterfly Valley, and over the next two years developed a de facto master/disciple relationship with the arrogant doctor. Despite Hu's superior medical skills, he was unable to cure Wuji, but taught Wuji to become a competent and kind-hearted young healer.

After Hu was murdered by an old adversary, Lady Golden Flower , Zhang Wuji fled Butterfly Valley with Yang Buhui , a young girl with a mixed history like him. Yang's mother, Ji Xiaofu , was killed by her master Abbess Miejue in Butterfly Valley because she refused to carry out orders to assassinate Ming Cult's Divine Messenger Yang Xiao , the father of her child. With her dying breath, Ji asked Zhang Wuji to take her daughter to her father Yang Xiao. The 15-year-old Wuji kept his promise, and managed the long and perilous journey to the Kunlun Mountains of western China.

First Love and Treachery

After giving Yang Buhui to her father Yang Xiao , the young Zhang Wuji walked off, hoping to die of his illness soon. He was attacked by a flock of vicious dogs, and met the canines' beautiful owner, Zhu Jiuzhen , who would become his first love interest. He was made to stay in the Zhu household under the permission of Zhu's father, Zhu Changling , who told him that he would be well taken care of as the family owned his father, Zhang Cuishan, a life debt. Zhu Changling even implied that he would marry Wuji to his daughter, much to Wuji's joy.

Unknown to Zhang Wuji, the whole story was staged by the Zhu family to lure information out of his mouth about his godfather Xie Xun, and he would be killed as soon as the plan succeeded. Eventually overhearing their conspiracy, Wuji fled without hesitation. During the chase in the snowy night, Zhang Wuji fell down a cliff. Zhu Changling, not wanting to lose his chance of finding the Dragon Saber, ended up falling down the cliff as well. They both landed on a rocky platform, and an enraged Zhu Changling attacked Wuji. A desperate Zhang Wuji crawled into a small tunnel , and came out of the other end into a hidden valley .

''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing''

In contrast to the icy mountains outside, the valley had a mild climate. Expecting to die there in peace, Zhang Wuji spent his spare time helping other animals in the valley with his medical knowledge. One day, a large old white ape came seeking help to relieve its abdominal pain. After performing surgery, Zhang Wuji removed a large mass, which turned out to be a series of buddhist scriptures wrapped in canvas. The books happened to be ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing'' — the only thing in the world that could save his life.

Zhang Wuji spent the next five years studying the ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing'', healing his poisoned body in the process. Unknowingly, studying the scriptures gave him an unrivalled internal strength. With the reignited hope of life, Zhang Wuji decided that it was time to re-experience the world, and left the peaceful yet isolated valley via the tunnel.

Return to the World

Zhang Wuji's first experience back to the real world was a disaster. Despite feeding Zhu Changling with fruits from the valley for the past five years, Zhu Changling's hostility towards him did not wane. The evil man set a trap which resulted in Zhang Wuji falling down the cliff again; Zhu himself died, trapped in the narrow tunnel as he tried to squeeze his way out of the tunnel into the valley.

Zhang Wuji managed to break his fall on a firewood pile, but broke both of his legs. Needing time to recover, he lay in the snow starving. An ugly young girl Zhu'er came by and grew sympathetic to him, cared for his injury and even assassinated Zhu Jiuzhen to avenge him. He later found out that the girl was actually Lady Golden Flower's pretty disciple as well as his cousin Yin Li, whose hand he bit trying to break free in Butterfly Valley many years ago. The girl fell in love with the young Wuji then, and was in search of him . They were later both captured by Miejue when Zhu'er crossed paths with the expeditionary Emei Sect, part of a six-sect coalition attacking the Ming Cult's main base on Brightness Peak . Although his leg fracture already healed, Zhang Wuji pretended that he was still crippled, waiting for the right opportunity to escape. During this time of waiting, he was reunited with Zhou Zhiruo, who was now Miejue's favorite disciple.

When Emei Sect captured a group of Ming Cult followers lead by Chang YuChun, Zhang Wuji jumped out to save the unarmed and badly injured Ming Cultists from being massacred. He made a bet with Miejue that all those men would be freed if he could stand three strikes from the ruthless nun. He was hurt badly by the first two strikes, but was able to easily shake off the third strike and use it to heal his injuries from the first 2 attacks after he finally learned to harness his internal energy. Soon after, he was trapped in a bag by the "Bag Monk" Shuo Bu De and taken to Brightness Peak. He was the only untouched spectator when Cheng Kun ambushed the Ming Cult elders and incapacitated them all, but was also injured himself. Cheng Kun then confessed that he was the mastermind behind everything, from the murder of Xie Xun's family to the conjoined siege on Ming Cult, the purpose being to destroy the Ming Cult as the previous cult leader Yang Dingtian married the woman he loved. Zhang Wuji, having learned that all the suffering his godfather went through was the doing of this man, burst through the bag in rage, and chased Cheng Kun into the household.

During the pursuit, Zhang Wuji bumped into Yang Buhui and her handmaid Xiao Zhao . When Yang Buhui grew suspicious of Xiao Zhao and tried to kill her, Zhang Wuji protected the girl. In appreciation, Xiao Zhao agreed to help Zhang Wuji trace down Cheng Kun, and guided him through a secret passage in the bedroom. However, they were both trapped inside when Cheng Kun, hiding in the dark, blocked the exit with huge boulders. Zhang Wuji then found out that Xiao Zhao was actually a beautiful young girl disguised as an ugly handmaid. After a failed attempt to blast a way out with gunpowder , the two wandered through the underground labyrinth, eventually ending up in a room where two skeletons remained inside. Reading a letter found on the skeletons, Zhang Wuji found out that the dead were Yang Dingtian and his wife, and Yang Dingtian intended to pass the leadership to Xie Xun. After realizing that Ming Cult was not the hideous and evil organization that everyone detested, but in fact a glorious and just group seeking to repel the oppressive and genicidal Mongolian rule, Zhang Wuji made the decision that he would protect the Ming Cult.

Xiao Zhao then handed Zhang Wuji a piece of lamb skin, telling him that it was the manual of the ultimate Ming Cult martial arts, Universal Grand Shift . Others would have taken years, but with the aid of his other skill, Jiu Yang Zhen Jin, he took hours and reached a level where none before him had reached . With his newly acquired skills, he pushed open a hidden trapdoor and came out of the exit. Realizing that the anti-Ming Cult coalition already fought their way past Ming Cult defence lines, Zhang Wuji rushed to Brightness Peak.

Battle of the Brightness Peak

By the time Zhang Wuji arrived at Brightness Peak with Xiao Zhao, the siege was almost over. The Ming Cult suffered heavy casualty as its commanders were incapacitated and unable to fight. Citing the Wuxia codes, the last capable Ming Cult elder, the "White Eyebrow Eagle King" Yin Tianzheng , challenged the master from the Six Major Sects to single combat in the hope of buying some time. When Yin Tianzheng eventually succumbed to exhaustion and injury, the six sects moved in for final mop-up. Zhang Wuji jumped into the field just in time, and claimed that he would fight on the Ming Cult's behalf.

One by one, Zhang Wuji defeated masters from the six sects, displaying his superior fighting skills and winning their respect, especially from Shaolin. Eventually the challenges came from Emei and Wudang Sect. When battling Miejue, who was wielding the fearsome Heaven Sword, Zhang Wuji managed to grab the sword out of her hand. Not wanting to embarrass Miejue, he asked Zhou Zhiruo to pass the sword back to her master. However, Zhou instead stabbed him in the chest under her master's command. Despite severe injury, Zhang Wuji refused to stop fighting, and managed to defeat Wudang's Song Qingshu , who was extremely hostile due to jealousy at Zhang Wuji gaining Zhou Zhiruo's love. When other Wudang masters came in to continue the fight, Zhang Wuji, thinking he would die in this battle, revealed that he was the son of Zhang Cuishan. Recognizing that the young man in front of them was the orphan of their 5th Martial Brother, the Wudang Sect rejoiced. With Wudang's withdrawal and the defeat of masters from all other sects, the siege on Ming Cult was unable to continue. Zhang Wuji successfully resolved the conflict.

Leader of the Ming Cult

Eternally grateful for saving them, the Ming Cult unanimously voted Zhang Wuji to be their 34th leader. Reluctantly, Zhang Wuji became the new leader of the Ming Cult, but under three conditions — cease all in-fighting, restrain retaliation on other Wuxia sects, and he would retire as soon as the Holy Fire Tokens were found.

Zhang Wuji's very first mission was to retrieve his godfather Xie Xun back from the Ice and Fire Island to Ming Cult's protection. A group of Ming Cult's best fighters began their journey, and found a crippled Yin Liting on the way. Believing that the injury was inflicted by Shaolin's Iron Fingers, they decided to pay a visit to Shaolin Temple. They passed by a Green Willow Mountain Villa and were invited by the owner, a mysterious beauty named Zhao Min . In the feast, they were shocked to find that Zhao Min holding Emei Sect's Heaven Sword. Out of curiosity, the Ming Cult elder Zhou Dian Green Wing Bat King" Wei Yixiao unsheathed the sword when Zhao Min temporarily excused herself, only to find a sandalwood-like sword inside. The group felt something weird, and exited the party. Before they travelled far, all commanders except Zhang Wuji were paralyzed. Using his toxicology knowledge, Zhang Wuji soon deduced that the scent from the wooden sword, mixed with that of a rare waterlily, was the cause of poisoning. Knowing that the only antidote was that waterlily itself, Zhang dashed back to the villa.

Zhao Min was already waiting for him, and seeing that Zhang Wuji knew exactly what to look for, she attacked him without provocation. Zhang Wuji easily fended off Zhao Min's attacks, and fetched her hairpin in the process, showing her that he could have killed her with ease, before threw back the hairpin. Zhao Min claimed that Zhang stole two pearls on the hairpin, and when that failed to fool Zhang, she pretended to commit suicide. Zhang Wuji rushed back to intervene, and was lure into a floor trap, but managed to drag Zhao Min down with him. In the dungeon, Zhang Wuji interrogated Zhao Min to release him, by taking off her shoes and tickling her feet. Unable to stand the "torture", Zhao Min gave up and sent the signal to open the gate, and started to develop a feeling towards Zhang. She later sent her men to give Zhang a small case containing the hairpin, which Zhang casually gave to Xiao Zhao as a gift.

The group continued their journey, but when they finally arrived at Shaolin Temple, they discovered that the entire temple was empty, with traces of blood stains. Defamatory words were carved on the back of the golden buddha statues, framing Ming Cult for the crime and threatening Wudang being the next target. Worrying that his grand master Zhang Sanfeng was in danger, Zhang Wuji set off with the "Green Wing Bat King" Wei Yixiao , and the rest of the Ming Cult followed right behind. On the way they were ambushed, and Wei Yixiao stayed behind to fight the enemy.

When Zhang Wuji arrived at Mount Wudang, a Shaolin monk also came to visit Zhang Sanfeng, carrying the severed head of Kongxing and claiming to be a survivor from the Shaolin raid. While tearfully asking to avenge Shaolin, the monk suddenly attacks Zhang Sanfeng, critically injuring him. A group of thugs led by Zhao Min appeared to challenge Zhang Sanfeng. Thinking his end was inevitable, Zhang Sanfeng intended to pass his newly invented Tai Ji Quan and Tai Ji Jian to his cripple disciple Yu Daiyan. Zhang Wuji, disguised as a young Taoist servant, quickly learned the new martial arts and stepped out to fight in Zhang Sanfeng's place.

Zhang Wuji easily defeated Zhao Min's two henchmen Aer and Asan, who were revealed as the real culprits behind Yu Daiyan and Yin Liting's crippling. Zhao Min then saw her hairpin on Xiao Zhao's head, and furiously ordered Ada, a master swordman to chop off Zhang Wuji's arm. With learning of Zhang Sanfeng's Tai Ji Swordplay, Zhang Wuji severed Ada's right arm instead. He then demanded Zhao Min to hand over the Black Jade Ointment , which was needed to treat the crippling of Yu Daiyan and Yin Liting. The Xuan Ming Elders appeared and rescued Zhao Min.

Zhang Wuji later infiltrated Zhao Min's hideout, stealing what appeared to be the Black Jade Ointment, which turned out to be a potent poison. Zhao Min then offered Zhang Wuji the antidote and the real ointment, on the condition that he would fulfill her three wishes in the future. Zhang accepted, and Zhao Min revealed that Zhang already had both things by his side — the antidote's formula was hidden in a pearl on the hairpin Zhao gave him, and the ointment was hidden in the case that contained the hairpin. With the real ointment, Zhang Wuji was able to cure Yin Liting, and partially restore Yu Daiyan's function, repaying a debt that his mother had owed.

Rescue at the All Peace Temple

After the incident at Mount Wudang, Zhao Min disappeared and was unheard for months. Zhang Wuji decided to hold a large gathering in the Butterfly Valley, officially claiming Ming Cult as an anti-Mongolian forces. During the meeting, he met with Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, Tang He and Deng Yu, who came with news that all martial artists who attacked Brightness Peak were captured by the Mongolians, and imprisoned at the All Peace Temple in 's suburb. Zhang Wuji decided a rescue mission and set off with Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao and Xiao Zhao.

One night, Zhang Wuji infiltrated the temple with Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, and found the prisoners held in a pagoda. They then discovered that Zhao Min was behind it — all the martial artist were made to battle the Mongolian warriors so Zhao Min could steal their moves , and their finger amputated if they refused to battle. When Zhao Min attempted to mutilate Zhou Zhiruo's face out of jealousy, Zhang Wuji stormed into the room, injuring the Xuan Ming Elders in the process. Wei Yixiao then threatened to disfigure Zhao Min if she ever harms Zhou Zhiruo.

Later that night, Zhao Min's mysterious mute master sneaked into Zhang Wuji's inn. Instead of attacking the triad, he peacefully led them to a suburban field and offered to challenge Zhang. When defeated, the mute spoke and revealed himself as Ming Cult's other Divine Messenger Fan Yao , who disfigured his own handsome face in order to infiltrate the Mongolian government. Fan Yao informed Zhang Wuji the details of the conspiracy: all the martial artists were drugged with a paralyzing poison called ''Muscle Softener'' and captured with little resistance. Zhao Min was a Mongolian princess, who planned to force the uncooperating Wuxia society to submit to the Mongolian rule.

The men concluded that they had to find the antidote to save the incapacitated martial artists. The plan was like this: the Xuan Ming Elders, who were in charge of the drug and antidote, would be the breakthrough point, as the older elder Lu Zhangke was a rapist and the younger one He Biweng an alcoholic. Wei Yixiao would abduct Lord Ruyang's concubine Lady Han , whom Lu Zhangke secretly craved, and used her to distract and trap Lu. Zhang Wuji would make a knockout drug with a temporary symptom similar to the ''Muscle Softener'', and mixed it in liquors. Fan Yao would then get He Biweng to drink it, who would then reveal the antidote when he was drugged.

When the Ming Cult heroes were busy with the rescue plan, the imprisoned Miejue told Zhou Zhiruo the secrets of Dragon Saber and Heaven Sword — the weapons were made by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, with the saber containing Yue Fei's military manual and the sword containing martial arts manuals such as ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing''. The only way take the manuals out was to hit the saber and sword together, breaking both. She then forced Zhou Zhiruo to make an oath that cursed her love towards Zhang Wuji, and she would use the relationship to approach Zhang, steal the Dragon Saber, then kill him.

Yang Xiao's plan worked, and Fan Yao obtained the antidote. However, Mongolian soldiers found out and started burning the pagoda. In the mean time, Zhao Min secretly asked Zhang Wuji out and confessed her feeling to him. When they returned, it was all chaos in the temple. Zhang Wuji held the Mongolians back long enough for all the prisoners to recover their strength. Wei Yixiao set Lord Ruyang's house on fire to distract and prevent the Mongolian army from mobilizing. However, Miejue hated the Ming Cult deeply, refused to accept Zhang's rescue and fell from the pagoda to her death.

The rescue of the martial artists secured their respect towards Zhang Wuji, and resolved much of their previous hostility towards the Ming Cult.

Encounter with the Persians

After rescuing the martial artists, Zhang Wuji remained in Dadu. Zhao Min secretly met him and told her first request — to have a look at Xie Xun's Dragon Saber. They set off with Xiao Zhao, and witnessed Lady Golden Flower and Yin Li kidnapping Zhou Zhiruo. The trio followed them onto a ship, and found out that Lady Golden Flower managed to locate the Ice and Fire Island and brought Xie Xun to her own island. Xie Xun seemed to know her very well, addressing her as "Mrs. Han" — she was actually Ming Cult's "Purple Coat Dragon King". She used Xie Xun's concern about Zhang Wuji to persuade Xie Xun to leave his island, demanded Xie Xun to hand over the Dragon Saber, and injured Yin Li for the reluctance to attack Xie Xun.

A group of Persian fighters suddenly showed up with the Holy Fire Tokens, and ordered the Ming Cult seniors to disarm and surrender to Persian Ming Cult. After being refused, they then attacked and captured Mrs. Han. Xie Xun told the group about the background story: the Persian fighters were from the Middle Eastern branch of Manichaeism, where the Ming Cult originated, and Mrs. Han was actually a Persian Holy Virgin named Daiqisi . Because she married "Sir Silver Leaf" Han Qianye, she violated the holy rules and would be burned alive as punishment. Zhang Wuji later managed to retrieve Daiqisi and captured a few Persian hostages. However, they were trapped on a small boat, within the range of Persians' ship guns.

Xiao Zhao was revealed as Daiqisi's daughter, inheriting the Holy Virgin status. Because she memorized the manuals of Universal Grand Shift, she qualified to ascend as the leader of Persian Manithaeism. In order to save everyone's lives, Xiao Zhao agreed to become the Persian leader, meaning she would remain a Holy Virgin for the rest of her life and never see Zhang Wuji again. After confessing her love to Zhang Wuji, she left with her mother for Persia.

Zhou Zhiruo's treachery

The Persians left the group a boat, and they landed on an island, with Yin Li's injury deteriorating. One night, everyone passed out, and when they woke up, Zhao Min, the Dragon Saber and Heaven Sword all disappeared. Yin Li's face was badly slashed and she fell dead shortly after. Zhang Wuji was greatly saddened and hated Zhao Min deeply, believing that she fooled and drugged them all. Zhou Zhiruo then made Zhang Wuji swear revenge and promise to marry her.

Weeks later, a Mongolian ship came and politely offered them a ride home, telling them that the ship was ordered to do so. Xie Xun forced the sailors to sail to the northeastern coastline. When Zhang Wuji came offboard, Xie Xun and Zhou Zhiruo slaughtered every sailor on the ship, much to Zhang's shock. They then travelled south into the China Proper.

Zhang Wuji bumped into and secretly followed the Beggars' Sect and Song Qingshu. Surprisingly, Zhao Min showed up with the Xuan Ming Elders to fight the beggars. In the chaos of the battle, Zhang Wuji sneaked in and grabbed Zhao Min, and interrogated Zhao Min after the beggars were gone. Zhao flatly denied committing the treachery on the island. Zhang Wuji, still liking Zhao Min, could not make up his mind to kill her, and decided to let her testify in front of Xie Xun. He returned to the inn only to find that both Xie Xun and Zhou Zhiruo have disappeared. Zhao Min managed to convince him to let her help with the search.

The pair spent a night in a cave and discovered a corpse, which turned out to be Zhang Wuji's 7th martial uncle Mo Shenggu. Wudang's other masters then entered the cave, and believed the pair to be Mo's murderer. During the fight, Zhang Songxi removed Zhang Wuji's balaclava, and Zhang Wuji was unable to explain the misunderstanding. However, they then overheard the conversation between Song Qingshu and Chen Youliang , which revealed Song Qingshu as Mo's killer. The two men then planned to drug Zhang Sanfeng using Song's Wudang heritage, and said Zhou Zhiruo was currently under the captivity of Beggars' Sect. After hearing that, the Wudang masters realized they have wronged Zhang Wuji, and rushed back to Mount Wudang. Zhang Wuji continued the pursuit with Zhao Min, but decided to leave her behind when she was sleeping.

Zhang Wuji tracked down the Beggars' Sect's headquarters and stormed the house. When Chen Youliang held Zhou Zhiruo hostage, Zhang Wuji returned the favor by holding the beggars' leader hostage. During the standoff, a mysterious, beautiful lady in yellow dress appeared and exposed Chen Youliang's conspiracy. Grateful for Zhang Wuji's participation in exposing the plot, the beggars apologized, and released both Zhou Zhiruo and a captured Ming Cult officer Han Lin'er. They told him Xie Xun had disappeared after killing several of their men.

The group then travelled to Haozhou and reunited with the Ming Cult's rebel forces. As Zhou Zhiruo was angry at his relationship with Zhao Min, Zhang Wuji agreed to marry her immediately to pacify her. On the wedding, Zhao Min showed up, gave Zhang Wuji a bundle of blond hair and asked him to fulfil her second wish — not to marry Zhou on that day. Seeing that the hair belonged to Xie Xun, Zhang Wuji pleaded with Zhou Zhiruo for forgiveness and called off the wedding. Zhou Zhiruo injured Zhao Min with a strange, claw-like martial art, then swore revenge on Zhang for her humiliation.

Zhao Min made it clear that she would abandon her family and heritage for her love. She also told him that Xie Xun was captured by Cheng Kun and held in Shaolin Temple. They later found that Xie Xun was to be publicly executed in a "Lion-slaughtering Rally" for his past rampage against the Wuxia community. Wuji decided to infiltrate Shaolin Temple with Zhao Min in order to find the exact location where Xie Xun is held. He stayed with an old couple, pretending to be an eloping couple with Zhao Min, and infiltrated the temple, only to find that Xie Xun's prison dungeon was guarded by three senior Shaolin masters, whose Vajra Devil-Subduing Array was almost impossible to neutralize. These three Shaolin masters had been practising their skills in past 20 years, in hope of defeating the previous Ming Sect leader. However, they were tasked by the current abbot to guard Xie Xun and kill whoever attempts to reach Xie Xun. While Wuji still managed to get to the dungeon, Xie Xun refused to leave.

Later that night, a masked stranger killed the couple housing them and laid in ambush waiting for Wuji and Zhao Min. Wuji managed to defend himself and Zhao Min, as well as recognize the attacker to be none other than Zhou Zhiruo, by the use of the strange, claw-like martial art. He was surprised at the speed and strength of the attacker, and claimed that few in the martial arts world would be able to defeat Zhiruo.

On the day of the "Lion-slaughtering Rally", all the various martial arts sects arrived. The Ming Cult's main force arrived at Shaolin Temple as well, to join the rally, secretly biding a chance to rescue Xie Xun. Zhou Zhiruo also arrived with the Emei Sect, bringing the Wudang renegade Song Qingshu, who claimed to be, now, her husband. A competition was held, with the winner gaining the right to dispose of Xie Xun. During the fight, Song Qingshu killed two of Beggars' Sect elders, but was crippled by Wudang's Yu Lianzhou. Zhou Zhiruo then fought both Yu Lianzhou and Yin Liting using a strange martial arts skill, which does not seem to be from Emei. When the three were fighting to a common ruin, Zhang Wuji interfered. Zhou Zhiruo took advantage of Zhang's compassion and injured him, claiming the herself as the winner.

At night, Zhang Wuji visited Zhou Zhiruo and offered to heal the dying Song Qingshu, in exchange that Zhou Zhiruo would save Xie Xun for him. Zhou responded to Zhang's plea vaguely.

The next day, Zhou Zhiruo went to challenge the Shaolin elders guarding Xie Xun's dungeon, and picked Zhang Wuji as her assistant. However, it became clear that her martial arts were all bluff, and Zhang Wuji was the only one capable of taking on the senior monks. When Zhang Wuji was held up wrestling the monks, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly held Xie Xun hostage. This distracted Zhang Wuji and almost got him killed. In the crucial moment, the lady in yellow appeared again to help Zhang Wuji, defeating Zhou Zhiruo easily with a form of martial arts similar to the latter's. The Shaolin monks praised Zhang Wuji for his skills , and agreed to set Xie Xun free.

Xie Xun then fought Cheng Kun and managed to blind and cripple him. He then incapacitated himself and asked the Wuxia community to punish him all they wanted. He was forgiven for his genuine remorse over his past crimes. An Emei nun attempted to assassinate Xie, but was foiled by the lady in yellow, who was implied to be a descendant of the legendary Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü.

Zhang Songxi then arrived to inform that a 20,000-strong Mongolian army was heading towards Shaolin Temple, threatening to burn and slaughter everyone. The martial artists hastily fought the Mongolians and were beaten back badly. When the Ming Cult forces managed to repel the Mongolians for the day, Zhang Wuji found the broken Dragon Saber and Heaven Sword among the leader-less Emei group . He then deduced that Zhou Zhiruo was the culprit behind what happened on the island.

Figurehead of the Anti-Mongolian Rebel Alliance

The Mongolian halted attacks after its vanguards suffered setback. The Ming Cult took the time to regroup, their craftsmen reforging the Dragon Saber but refusing to repair the Heaven Sword. Later that night, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min paid a visit to Xie Xun's dungeon, and saw a series of drawings on the wall. It confirmed that Zhou Zhiruo was also responsible for Xie Xun's capture. They then heard fighting nearby, and discovered Zhou Zhiruo being attacked and seriously injured by the Xuan Ming Elders. Zhang Wuji came for the rescue, and attempted to heal Zhou with his energy, which instead obliterated Zhou's internal energy from learning ''Jiu Yin Zhen Jing''. Zhou then attacked Zhao Min, who came to aid her, and fled after injuring her own fingers instead.

After repelling the Xuan Ming Elders, Zhao Min showed Zhang Wuji what she stole from Zhou Zhiruo — two pieces of strange textile with writings. Zhang Wuji read and realized that these were actually the manuals from Dragon Saber and Heaven Sword. Zhang Wuji then spent the night studying Yue Fei's military manual, and constructed a plan to fight the Mongolians.

On the second day, Zhang Wuji organized the martial artists into the main hall, where everyone recommended him to lead the battle against the incoming Mongols. Accepting the role, he handed out specific tactical orders and laid out his battle plan: the martial artists would fake retreat, and lure the Mongolians into a nearby valley, where they would then block the exit and finish off the enemy. The plan worked — until the Mongolian decided to send in only half of the army. However, Ming Cult's regular army reinforcement arrived in time to attack the Mongolians from the rear. The martial artists then went into full counterattack, completely overrunning the Mongols.

Following the victory, Zhang Wuji give the military manual to Xu Da, urging him to use it well to liberate the Chinese people. The martial artists, especially Shaolin monks, owed a big debt towards Zhang Wuji, and agreed to put aside any past hostility and hatred.

Yin Li's reappearance

With the crisis neutralized, everyone started going home. Members of the Emei Sect then revealed that Zhou Zhiruo actually did not marry Song Qingshu, and the whole deal was her way of getting back at Zhang Wuji. The people then saw Zhou Zhiruo rushing out of a forest in panic, yelling that she was haunted. She dived into Zhang Wuji's arms, confessing all the wrongs she had done and confessed her love for him. Zhang Wuji consoled her, with a sense of unease.

Zhang Wuji then found Zhao Min disappeared. Believing that Zhao was angry at him holding Zhou Zhiruo, he decided to search the entire mountain for her. At night, he found a mysterious girl sneaking up the mountain towards Shaolin Temple, and decided to follow. He then found Zhou Zhiruo in a buddhist ritual with Shaolin monks, praying for forgiveness from Yin Li's soul. The mysterious girl then showed her face through the windows, and was nobody but the dead Yin Li. Zhou Zhiruo fainted from the shock, and Zhang Wuji jumped out of the darkness calling out to Yin Li. He then asked the monks, who did not see the girl and were unable to explain whether ghosts really exist.

Zhou Zhiruo then asked Zhang Wuji to accompany her for a walk. She told him about her master's orders, begged for his forgiveness , and asked whom he loved out of her, Zhao Min, Xiao Zhao and Yin Li. Zhang Wuji told her that although he had feeling for all of them, Zhao Min was the one he loved most. Zhou Zhiruo told him that if he agreed to fulfil one wish for her, she would tell him where to find Zhao Min. Zhang Wuji agreed, and Zhou Zhiruo showed him that Zhao Min was just sitting in the bush behind them, incapacitated by someone's dim mak. When Zhang Wuji went to attend to Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly attacked him from the back, incapacitated him temporarily to pull her sword on his neck, threatening to kill him.

Suddenly, a girl in black, who was no one but Yin Li, ran out telling Zhou Zhiruo to stop. Zhou Zhiruo smiled and revealed that her attack was a trick to get Yin Li to reveal herself. She then tearfully apologized to Yin Li, who forgave her. Yin Li then angrily accused Zhang Wuji for not telling her his real identity, mistaking her for dead and almost burying her alive. She told him that the one she really loved was the young Zhang Wuji who bit her hand. She then left, leaving Zhang Wuji wondering what she really meant.

Retirement

Zhang Wuji departed with his Ming Cult, and brought the crippled Song Qingshu back to Mount Wudang. Zhang Sanfeng was happy to see him back, and agreed to let him marry Zhao Min.

After leaving Mount Wudang, Zhang Wuji then began touring and inspecting the various Ming Cult forces, accompanied by Zhao Min. One day they visited Haozhou, Zhu Yuanzhang's main base, who greeted him sincerely. During the welcoming feast, Zhang Wuji's food was drugged. When he woke up, he found himself bound up in a room with Zhao Min, who was unconscious from the drugging. He then overheard a conversation between Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, where Xu and Chang persistently recommended Zhu to execute their "leader". Shocked to hear that his two close friends would plot against him for power, Zhang Wuji became despaired at his fellow Ming Cult follower. He did not want to kill them and sabotage the anti-Yuan coalition, so he quietly busted the rope and walked out with Zhao Min.

Unknown to Zhang Wuji, Xu and Chang were actually referring to Zhu Yuanzhang's superior Han Lin'er, whom Zhu framed as a traitor.

Zhang Wuji decided to retire from the deceitful jiang hu world. He wrote a letter resigning as Ming Cult's leader, and passed the leadership to Yang Xiao, citing his third demand when he accepted the leadership.

After he wrote the letter, Zhao Min asked him to fulfil her third requests — painting her eyebrows. Zhang Wuji happily accepted the request, promising to do that for the rest of their lives. Zhou Zhiruo then appeared, also requesting him to fulfil his promise to her, saying that she would think of something on the day of Zhang and Zhao's wedding.

Personality

Despite his outstanding heroism and unique political foresight, Zhang Wuji's character is often perceived by many readers as "weak", "sissy" and "indecisive". This is mainly due to his pacificist ideals, which leads to the accused incompetence due to his lack of ambitions, and his complicated love relationships. His resignation of the leadership is even more criticized, as many readers regard it as "completely stupid" to give up the chance of becoming an emperor. Some described Zhang Wuji as a controversial character that "is both liked and hated" and "attracts the most appraisal and most criticism".

Zhang Wuji's personality is not difficult to understand if one considers his childhood. Zhang Wuji spent the first 10 years of his life under the unconditioned love of his parents and godfather, on an island isolated from the treacherous human world. He literally grew up within a morally sterile social environment. For his early literacy education, his father used ''Zhuang Zi'' as a textbook, which served to developed his Taoist-like harmonious, altruist and wu wei view of the world. The decision to retire at the prime of his political career also mirrors such values. Zhang's strong belief in the goods of humanity is particularly evident throughout the novel, often led to sufferings upon himself. The common belief is Zhang Wuji, like most such "nice guys", would certainly have a great deal of troubles surviving in the real world.

A devote pacificist, Zhang Wuji opposes all unnecessary killings, especially those of the innocent. This was the basis for his intervention during the Battle of the Brightness Peak, which he sacrificed greatly to prevent the slaughter of the Ming Cult followers. To take it even further, Zhang Wuji also holds mercy for his enemies, restraining from taking the lives of those hurt and insulted him the most. His virtue earned him respects and friendship from all parties, even formal hostiles such as the Shaolin Monastery, Kongtong Sect, Beggars' Sect. According to Jin Yong in his epilogue comment at the end of the novel, "he might not be a good enough leader, but he makes a great friend for us".

Zhang Wuji was a very democratic leader for a strongly hierarchical organization such as the Ming Cult. Due to his insufficient political skills, he sought advices from senior members with modesty, allowed non-judgemental promotions, and gave significant operative freedom to the lower-level follower. Zhang Wuji also pinpointed the issue that Jianghu intra- and inter-factional fighting must be stopped if China's liberation was to be achieved — a fact that most martial artists largely neglected. Despite him spending little time on administration, Ming Cult's rapid restrengthening owed much to Zhang Wuji's policy, and his effort to establish a united front contributed greatly to the anti-Mongolian cause.

Another significant role of Zhang Wuji is his identity as a skilled medical practitioner. His altruist personality fulfil the characteristics of an ideal healer perfectly. This obtained the silent esteem from the arrogant Hu Qingniu, who normally looked down upon others as "unsalvageable". Hu had lost trust in humanity after his beloved sister died when her husband Xianyu Tong , who Hu once rescued from brinks of death, ditched her to marry another woman in order to pursue 's leadership. After seeing the kind-hearted boy, Hu Qingniu treated Zhang Wuji as his only true disciple, committing wholeheartedly to this apprenticeship although never openly admitted it. In his mere teenage years, Zhang Wuji already acquired the knowledge that placed him well above others in the field. Many fans of Jin Yong's novels consider medicine as the profession that Zhang Wuji could truly excel.

Zhang Wuji's Martial Arts

Although generally regarded as being Wudang in style, Zhang Wuji is more or less freestyle in fighting, incorporating different techniques he observed and learned in his life. Zhang Wuji is not known to formally invent any new martial arts styles himself, but did create many innovative new techniques in combat. During the Battle of Brightness Peak, Zhang Wuji is also shown capable of instantly imitating techniques of his opponents, most notably Kongxing's Dragon Claws and Kunlun Sect leaders' swordplay.

Wudang Long Fist

An entry-level martial arts of the Wudang Sect, the 32-stance Wudang Long Fist is the first proper martial arts Zhang Wuji learned, taught by his father on their homebound raft when he was barely 10 years old. This is Zhang Wuji's basic fighting techniques until he obtained the ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing''.

Although simply and easy to learn, Wudang Long Fist is very powerful if used well. Zhang Wuji managed to break Wei Bi's right arm with a counter move during their fight, despite being weakened by his illness and previous injuries. It was also this martial arts that exposed Zhang Wuji's identity as Zhang Cuishan's son to Zhu Changling.

Cloud Ladder

Wudang Sect's famous qing gong technique. Though never described in the novel, Zhang Wuji either learned Cloud Ladder's mnemonics from his father, or from the Wudang masters when he was living on Mount Wudang.

The Cloud Ladder made Zhang Wuji a superb runner and jumper, almost rivaling Wei Yixiao, who is universally renowned for agility and speed. The Cloud Ladder is also instrumental in showing off his skills during his debut fight on the Brightness Peak.

Jiu Yang Shen Gong

A profound qi gong Zhang Wuji achieved from his learning of ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing''. Not only did this cured him of the seven-year suffering from the Xuan Ming Palm, it also granted him superior internal strength and an amazing rate of physical recovery. Zhang Wuji also used it to help many others recover from their previous internal injuries.

Zhang Wuji initially learned Wudang Jiu Yang Gong , a simplified and less powerful variant derived from Zhang Sanfeng's incomplete learning of the original ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing''. After unable to manage the young Zhang Wuji's illness with medications, Zhang Sanfeng decided to teach Wuji the Wudang Jiu Yang Gong to obtain some hope of recovery. Although Zhang Wuji was able to accumulate considerable amount of internal energy in his two years on Mount Wudang, it was not enough to deal with the progression of his illness. The requests to share the Shaolin and Emei versions were refused flat out. However, thanks to his learning of the Wudang variant, Zhang Wuji was able to recognize sections of similar writing within the Sanskrit buddhist scriptures he found in the white ape's abdomen, and realized it was the original ''Jiu Yang Zhen Jing''.

Because of his illness from the Xuan Ming Palms, Zhang Wuji's breathing pattern adapts to constantly fight the coldness. This allowed him to exercise Jiu Yang Shen Gong subconsciously, even during sleep, granting a much faster progress in his learning. However, his self-training of Jiu Yang Shen Gong was incomplete when his left the hidden Kunlun valley, with a last obstacle difficult to overpass . When he was slipped into Bag Monk's special bag and brought to the Brightness Peak, Zhang Wuji heard Cheng Kun's confession, was engulfed in rage and could not control his energy. The bag became overly inflated, and Cheng Kun attacked it after realizing someone was inside. When the bag eventually bursted with impact, the blast helped Zhang Wuji to overcome his last obstable, an ordeal that nobody else has ever experienced.

According to the novel, Jiu Yang Shen Gong allowed Zhang Wuji to learn, copy and adopt almost any techniques with ease, regardless of what style or school it is. Jiu Yang Shen Gong is also what enabled Zhang Wuji to learn the Universal Grand Shift within hours, while others before him tried decades and failed.

Seven Injury Fist

This is Kongtong Sect's powerful martial arts, capable of inflicting severe internal damage on the opponent. However, in the learning of this arts, the practitioner frequently suffers profound internal self-injuries, with each training level hurting a vital organ.

Desperately seeking vengeance, Xie Xun stole the manual from Mount Kongtong in order to build up his strength against Cheng Kun. By the time he realized the adverse effect of this arts, it was too late. Xie Xun suffered severe mental instability as a result of neuroendocrine damage.

Before Zhang Wuji left the Ice and Fire Island, Xie Xun decided that the limited time they had left together must be used efficiently. Despite loving the child very much, Xie Xun forcefully made the young Wuji memorize large quantities of mnemonics, punishing him physically for mistakes and failure. Zhang Wuji later realized the importance of his godfather's rather brutal teaching, when he found out the mnemonics were actually the famous Seven Injury Fist. With Jiu Yang Shen Gong, Zhang Wuji was able to effectively unleash the hidden power of the Seven Injury Fist, at the same time avoiding the self-injury from practising the harmful martial arts.

Universal Grand Shift

Ming Sect's ultimate martial arts, capable of translocating forces from one direction to another, often looking mystical for unfamiliar observers. This arts was invented in Central Asia, and the manual of this arts is written with a special ink on the back of a lambskin, revealing only when rubbed with blood. Universal Grand Shift is a very difficult martial arts to learn, often requiring decades of practice to progress just one level. It is treated as a top-secret treasure of Ming Cult — only the supreme leader of Ming Cult is allowed to read the manual, and many of them died from physical stress when forcefully trying to get past the obstacles. The death of the 33rd Ming Cult leader, Yang Dingtian, was the result of a tremendous background physical exhaustion from learning this arts, before exacerbated by the shock of seeing his wife having an affair with Cheng Kun in the secret cavern.

When Zhang Wuji came across this martial art, he initially had no motivation to learn it, as both he and Xiao Zhao were trapped inside the labyrinth. Xiao Zhao encouraged him to have a try at it, and Zhang Wuji agreed after seeing that the only way to open the exit's trapdoor was through the Universal Grand Shift. He cruised through the six training levels within hours, totally surprising Xiao Zhao . There were 19 sentences in the manual in the seventh level that he could not accomplish and gave up, but in fact he did the right thing as those sentences were actually red herrings that would be lethal if he had tried.

Tai Chi Fist

A revolutionary invention by Zhang Sanfeng, the 88-stance Tai Ji Quan uses an ideology completely opposite to conventional martial arts. Instead of seeking superior speed, power and preemption, Tai Ji Quan's moves are slow, soft and seemingly powerless. The essence of this innovative martial arts is to use the enemy's own weight and forces against himself, with minimal self-exhaustion.

The night Zhang Sanfeng finished his new martial arts, he was ambushed and injured by a monk claiming to be a Shaolin survivor seeking assistance. Although he killed the attacker with one blow, it became obvious that he was too weak to take the challenge from Zhao Min's gang . Not wanting his new martial art to be lost, Zhang Sanfeng intended to teach a to his crippled disciple Yu Daiyan. Unknown to him, his grand disciple Zhang Wuji was standing beside him disguised as a young servant, quickly learned the new martial arts, and used it to defeat Zhao Min's two henchmen Asan and Aer.

Tai Chi Swordsmanship

A series of fencing techniques created by Zhang Sanfeng, the 54-stance Tai Ji Swordsmanship is a twin invention to Tai Ji Quan. Like its kenpo counterpart, the martial arts utilizes slow, soft moves, often drawing circles like doing a Taoist ritual. Its essence is also to draw the enemy's attack against himself.

When Zhang Wuji defeated Asan and Aer , Zhao Min sent out Ada, a master swordsman formerly known as the "Eight-Armed Sword God" Fang Dongbai . Not really good at swordfights, Zhang Wuji felt unconfident against this opponent. Zhang Sanfeng then offered to teach him his newly-invented sword techniques in front of everyone. Instead of teaching him a series of movements, Zhang Sanfeng tried to make him grasping the essential principles of the sword art without memorizing the moves, thus enabling him to use the art freely without restraining himself to certain stances. Zhang Wuji understood the principle, and managed to unlearn all the stances within minutes, much to Zhang Sanfeng's delight and everyone else's confusion. Using only the sandalwood sword, Zhang Wuji then fought Ada, who was wielding the fearsome Heaven Sword. Surprisingly, Zhang Wuji dominated the battle and managed to severe Ada's sword-bearing right arm.

Holy Flame Token Martial Arts

Ming Cult's Holy Fire Tokens have a series of fighting instructions engraved on them, written in scripts. The techniques were said to be invented by the feared Islamist lord Hassan-i Sabbah. After the Chinese Ming Cult lost the six Holy Fire Tokens, the Persian Manichees managed to retrieved them and learned the martial arts.

When encountering the three Persian messengers, Zhang Wuji was having great trouble battling them — their moves were extremely weird, often attacking from strange angles with unusual parts of the body. Later when Zhang Wuji managed to capture the tokens from the Persians, he discovered the scripts. With Xiao Zhao's translation, Zhang Wuji quickly realized that the writing was nothing more profound than the first two levels of his Universal Grand Shift. It turned out that the martial arts from the Holy Fire Token was the complement to the Universal Grand Shift technique. By mastering this art, one can use the Universal Grand Shift more powerfully and efficiently. No longer suppressed by the element of surprise, Zhang easily defeats the Persian warriors.

Zhang Wuji would later use this martial arts on many of his Chinese opponents, with varying degrees of success. However, it almost got him killed when he attempted to free Xie Xun from Shaolin's captivity. The perverse and hideous nature of this martial arts fell directly to the repressing effect of the Vajra Devil-Subduing Array, almost gave Zhang Wuji a mental breakdown. He was only saved when he heard Xie Xun's chanting of the Diamond Sutra, which pulled him back to sanity.

Yang Tiexin

2008-09-19T18:38:00.009-07:00

''Yang Tiexin'' is the father of Yang Kang and the husband of Bao Xiruo in Jinyong's novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. He became brothers with Guo Xiaotian and said that their children should become brothers if both children are male, sisters if both children are female, or husband and wife if one child is male and one child is female.

Yang Kang

2008-09-19T18:38:00.007-07:00

Yang Kang is a fictional character in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, a wuxia novel written by Jinyong. He was the sworn brother of Guo Jing and the father of Yang Guo. Yang Kang was also a disciple of Mei Chaofeng and Quanzhen priest Qiu Chuji. His biological father was Yang Tiexin and mother Bao Xiruo. He was known as Wanyan Kang before he knew his true parentage, and he always thought that he was the son of Wanyan Honglie, the sixth prince of the Jin emperor. He married Mu Nianci and had a son Yang Guo

Biography

* Family name: Yang
* Given name: Kang
* Gender: Male
* Birth: 1203
* Father: Yang Tiexin
* Mother: Bao Xiruo
* Step-Father: Wanyan Honglie
* Wife: Mu Nianci
* Children: Yang Guo

Yang Kang's Martial Arts

Quanzhen Pai Wu Gong

Qiu Chuji taught Yang Kang the martial arts of Quan Zhen Sect after discovering that he is the son of Yang Tiexin. He was taught the martial arts by Qiu Chuji due to a competition between Qiu Chuji and Jiangnan Qi Guai to train him and Guo Jing to settle a martial arts competition between them.

Nine Yin White Bone Claw

Mei Chaofeng taught a young Yang Kang the ''Nine Yin White Bone Claw'' after he stumbled upoon Mei's refuge and discovered her secret. In exchange for keeping the secret of her training and providing fodder for her practice, she taught him the skills.

Life

Yang Kang was born Wanyan Kang in the royal courts of Jin and grew to believe that Wanyan Honglie was his real father. He was initially taught martial arts by Qiu Chuji, who made a bet with Jiangnan Qi Guai that they would locate and train the offsprings of the Yang and Guo family, and let the disciples compete. Qiu did not educate Yang well on virtues, a failure he later regretted greatly. Yang Kang, bored and tired of Qiu's righteous personality, secretly sought training from a refuging Mei Chaofeng.

When he was eighteen years old, Yang Kang came across a martial arts contest to find a spouse for Mu Nianci. He easily defeated Mu Nianci and molested her in public, but refused to marry her and took her shoe with him as a souvenir. Thinking it was absurd, Guo Jing came out and had a fight with him, trying to retrieve the shoe and the girl's honor. The fight ended after Yang Kang's mother Bao Xiruo came to the scene. Later, Yang Kang captured Mu Nianci and her father Mu Yi , whom he had accidentally hurt during the fight with Guo Jing.

After Mu Yi and Mu Nianci were freed by Bao Xiruo, Mu Yi went to visit Bao Xiruo later that night to reveal his true identity to her. Yang Kang ran into them and his mother told him that Yang Tiexin was his true father, but he refused to believe it.

Even after confirming his true identity as the son of Yang Tiexin, and that Wanyan Honglie was the real mastermind behind his family's tragedy 18 years ago, he still recognized Wanyan Honglie who raised and indulges him with luxury as his father. By accepting Yang Tiexin as his father, he would have denounced his claim as a prince of the Jin Empire. Throughout the story, Yang Kang was constantly in conflict, having to choose between the relationship with his stepfather Wanyan Honglie and his moral obligation toward fellow Han Chinese. Once while Wanyan Honglie was sleeping, Yang Kang took out a knife to stab Wanyan Honglie, but hesitated and covered him with blanket instead. Ultimately, he turned into a cunning and ambitious mastermind who betrayed his fellow people.

He was later killed when he hit Huang Rong's protective "Hedgehog Soft Vest", which was incidentally coated with Ouyang Feng's lethal poison when Guo Jing's master, Nan Xiren previously hit her in his dying delirium. His corpse was later scavenged by wild ravens, and what remained of it was eventually buried by his sworn brother Guo Jing. His death was ironic because Yang Kang killed Ouyang Feng's nephew/illegitimate son Ouyang Ke in order to become his disciple, and he was directly responsible for Na Xiren's poisoning.

Yang Kang's treachery are stark contrasts against the patriotic Yang Clan Generals of which he is a scion. More than seven generations of that clan had dedicated their lives of zealous service to the Song dynasty and were all people of noble character. However, his deeds also pivotal to the decisions that would shape the life of his sworn brother Guo Jing, when Guo was torn between the loyalties towards Mongol and Southern Song Empires, and his son Yang Guo's heroic destiny as ''The Condor Hero''.

Yang Guo

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The fictional character Yang Guo is the protagonist in the 1959 ''wuxia'' novel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' by Jinyong.

Yang Guo came to epitomize rebellious youth. His love affair with his teacher Xiaolongnü remains one of the classic love stories in wuxia fiction. According to the novel, Yang Guo traces his lineage to Yang Zai Xing, one of Yue Fei's generals. One of his greatest flaws was headstrong impulsiveness. He briefly sided with the Mongolians in an effort to kill Guo Jing, the protagonist from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', to avenge his father, unaware of the true nature of his father, the antagonist from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. However, upon realizing Guo Jing's love for him, he saved Guo Jing from the Mongolian camp. One of the main themes of the novel is his growth from a rebellious youth to a national hero. He bears a striking resemblance to his father along with his cunning and mercurial natures, but also the kindness and devotion of his mother.

Biography

* Family name: Yang
* Given name: Guo
* : Gaizhi
* Nickname: Heavenly Eagle Hero ; the West Eccentric
* Gender: Male
* Birth: February-March or May-June 1224
* Death: ''''
* Father: Yang Kang

* Mother: Qin Nanqin '''' / Mu Nianci ''''
Note: in later editions of the LOCH novel, Jin Yong remade an entirely different story line regarding Yang Guo's birth history. Thus, there are at least 2 different versions of Yang Guo's birth history, depending on the editions used for reference.

* Wife: Xiaolongnü
* Adoptive father: Ouyang Feng
* Martial master: Xiaolongnü
* First met Xiaolongnü: January 22 1239
* Married with Xiaolongnü: March-April 1244 ''''
* Left Xiaolongnü at Passionless Valley: April 15, 1244 '''' / January 18, 1244 ''
* Reunite with Xiaolongnü: April 20, 1260 '''' / January 21, 1260 ''
* Possible descendant: The girl in yellow dress in the sequel, The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber.

Name

Yang Guo was named by Guo Jing , his given name "Guo" means "fault" in Chinese, and style name "Gaizhi" means "correct it".

Possible descendant: A girl appeared in the later novel : Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre . In the novel it is not clearly stated that she was the offspring of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, but readers infer that she probably was, for her last name was Yang and she said "Behind the Zhong Nan Mountain, there is the Tomb of the Living Dead. Shen Diao Xia and his wife never show up in the Jianghu again."

Story Background

The background of the novel was set towards the end of in the mid 13th century. The son of the villain Yang Kang in the prequel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', Yang Guo was an orphan who was come upon and taken in at the age of 14 by his father's sworn brother, Guo Jing. After a childish fight with Guo Jing's daughter Guo Fu, where Yang Guo critically injured Guo Jing's disciple with Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance, Guo Jing took the Yang Guo to the Quanzhen School in the hope that he would receive a good formal training there.

Orphaned at the age of 11, Yang Guo grew up having to fend for himself as a beggar and thief, and developed a sneaky and rebellious personality. He soon developed a terrible relationship with many fellow masters in the Quanzhen School. Fleeing from the sect's punishment, he was given refuge by the neighboring Ancient Tomb Sect, which seemed to have a hidden long-standing rivalry with the Quanzhen School.

Years passing by, Yang Guo became entangled in a romantic relationship with his martial arts master, Xiaolongnü. The existence of such master-apprentice relationships is highly taboo in Chinese society, and both parties suffered tremendously pursuing their love. Yang Guo's own impulsive personality and his lack of respect for other senior martial artists only made the matter worse. After numerous tribulations, the pair was separated for 16 years. Yang Guo matured significantly by the separation, and upon reunion they eventually overcame the pressure and their love was accepted. The loyalty and daring attitudes of both Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü are the primary features of the story.

Yang Guo's Martial Arts

Throughout the book, Yang Guo encountered numerous elite martial artists and able to acquire elements of their skills. Eventually, he was able to create his unique blend, the '''' . Unlike the slow-learning Guo Jing, Yang Guo was extraordinarily intelligent, rather like Huang Rong . He stood without peer in his generation and was eventually honoured with a position among the , bestowed the title ''West Eccentric'' , taking the place of the deceased Ouyang Feng.

Ouyang Feng / ''West Poison''

At the beginning of the story, Yang Guo encountered the crazed elite martial artist Ouyang Feng, also known as ''West Poison'' because of his mastery with poisons. Becoming a foster father to Yang Guo, Ouyang Feng taught his erstwhile son the basics of his ''Toad Stance'' . He later was taught the snake staff techniques when his foster father was enraged with a battle with Hong Qigong.

Yang Guo was taken in by Guo Jing and Huang Rong; the former felt responsible for his sworn brother's orphaned son, but the latter held grave doubts about the son growing up to be like his father. Yang Guo was taught to read and write, but was not tutored in any martial arts. Being picked on by the other children, he fought back with his ''Divine Toad Stance'', and Huang Rong's suspicions seemed to be confirmed.

Guo Jing brought the boy to be raised by the Quanzhen sect, a Taoist martial arts school, whose martial arts Guo Jing had himself studied. Here, Yang Guo was to learn to be an upright citizen, and was apprenticed to Zhao Zhijing , but neither party was content with arrangement. Yang Guo, having seen Guo Jing easily defeat a group of Quanzhen martial artists , began harbouring resentment towards Guo Jing for not teaching him himself.

Smarting from the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Guo Jing , Zhao Zhijing was determined not to tutor Yang Guo in proper martial arts; teaching him only martial art cultivation verses by rote , Zhao Zhijing was able to keep up the appearance of instructing Yang Guo to his own masters. This left Yang Guo highly theoretically able, but lacking in application.

Ancient Tomb Sect Kung Fu

Yang Guo would later flee from Quanzhen due to his ill treatment. He came to live in the nearby Ancient Tomb with Xiaolongnü, the grand-disciple of the deceased Grand Ancestress Lin Chaoying , founder of ''Gumu Pai'' . From his new master Xiaolongnü, Yang Guo learnt the elegant and graceful martial arts of the ''Gumu Pai'', including the ''Unparalleled Lightness'' of Ancient Tomb, the ''Fist of Beauties'', the ''Palm of Infinitysupplied with the Gloves of White Silver'', the ''Long Sash of Gold Bells'', the ''Gold Needles of Jade Bee'' and the most of powerful of Ancient Tomb Sect's, the ''Jade Maiden Sword Play'' . Yang Guo's memorised Quanzhen verses enabled both him and Xiaolongnü to advance and eventually succeed in mastering the ''Jade Maiden Sword Play''.

''Dog-Beating Stick Technique''

Due to a misunderstanding, Xiaolongnü left Yang Guo. In his search for his master, Yang Guo met Hong Qigong , the ''Northern Beggar'' and former chief of Beggars' Sect. Shortly after, Yang Guo and Hong Qigong encountered Ouyang Feng once again. Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong, being lifelong foes, engaged in a days-long battle of martial arts and ''Qigong'' , with neither conceding defeat. The battle of qigong greatly weakened Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng, and both were seriously injured. Although both boasted of secret and powerful martial art techniques yet to be displayed, they were physically unable to duel any further.

In order to settle the duel, they used Yang Guo as an intermediary, telling him how to perform each technique for the other to see. From Hong Qigong, Yang Guo learned the clever and ingenious variations of the ''Dog-Beating Stick Technique'', and the vengeful and malevolent Snake Staff Techniques from Ouyang Feng. However, Yang Guo did not gain full comprehension of the Dog-Beating Stick Technique, until Huang Rong taught him the accompanying verses later on.

Dugu Qiubai's Sword Techniques

In a dramatic and tragic twist, an injured Yang Guo was attacked by Guo Fu , Guo Jing's daughter due to a misunderstanding, resulting in Yang Guo losing right arm. Yang Guo, severely weakened and delirious from loss of blood, staggered away from the scene and was subsequently rescued by, and in the process befriended, the legendary condor . The condor had once been a companion of the deceased legendary swordsman, Dugu Qiubai. The condor helped Yang Guo recover from his injuries, and acquainted him with both the sword and the techniques of Dugu Qiubai. The technique emphasizes great strength over fancy moves, advantages for the now crippled Yang.

In order to wield Dugu Qiubai's Heavy Iron Sword with one arm, Yang Guo trained relentlessly with the help of the condor. Later, armed with the Heavy Iron Sword, Yang Guo defeated a group of powerful martial artists on Zhong Nan Mountain . After his separation from Xiaolongnu, Yang Guo returned to the Condor Valley to continue his swordsmanship training for over seven years.

Melancholic Palms

During the 16 years Yang Guo spent waiting for Xiaolongnü's return, his great sadness drove him to create a set of palm techniques which he later called the Divine Melancholic Palms . It was a brand-new palm technique that rivalled even Guo Jing's powerful Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms . The Divine Melancholic Palms incorporated the martial arts that Yang Guo had learnt in his lifetime, which included the skills of martial arts masters like Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, Hong Qi Gong and the skills of different schools like Quanzhen Sect and Ancient Tomb Sect, as well as some of the techniques in the .

This palm technique was based on emotion. The more dejected Yang Guo felt, the more powerful the palm technique became. With this palm technique, Yang Guo sparred with two martial arts masters, Zhou Botong and Huang Yaoshi. Although their duels more or less ended in a draw, the two martial arts masters praised Yang Guo's genius in creating this set of powerful palm techniques. In fact, Zhou Botong went down on his knees to beg Yang Guo to teach him the Divine Melancholic Palms, but because of his fundamentally cheerful nature, Zhou Botong could not master it.

In his battle against the Golden Wheel Lama, Yang Guo was unable to fully master the power of the technique because he was overjoyed after his reunion with Xiaolongnü. However, at the verge of death, he was saddened by the fact that he would not be able to see her again and the power of the Divine Melancholic Palms returned, allowing him to defeat the Golden Wheel Lama and save Guo Xiang from being burned.

Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts

This form of martial art was taught to Yang Guo by Huang Yaoshi when he was saved by a girl called Cheng Ying. It turned out that the 2 girls rescued by Huang Yaoshi in the early part of the story was Cheng Ying and her cousin, Lu Wushuang. Unfortunately, Lu Wushuang got captured by Li Mochou. From Huang Yaoshi, Yang Guo learned the Divine Finger Flink and the Jade flute swordplay which later proved very useful for him.

True Manual of the Nine Yin

Yang Guo became familiar with a portion of this manual when he and Xiaolongnu were escaping from Li Mochou. Although far from complete, Yang Guo integrated the fragmental knowledge he gained from the manual into his martial arts. Much later on, in the story of the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber, a mysterious lady in yellow was able to wield the complete True Manual of Nine Yin. When she revealed that her last name was Yang, one of those present remarked that, based on legend, only Yang Guo had ever completed the Nine Yin Manual, so it was believed that the lady in yellow was the descendent of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.

Television and film adaptations

Several notable actors who have played Yang Guo in television or film adaptations of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'':
* Andy Lau
* Louis Koo
* Christopher Lee Meng Soon
* Huang Xiaoming
* Leslie Cheung
* Richie Ren

Wu Xiuwen

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Wu Xiuwen (武修文}, is a fictional character in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', a novel written by Chinese author Jinyong. He is the elder son of Wu Santong .

Biography

* Family name: Wu
* Given name: Xiuwen
* Gender: Male
* Father: Wu Santong
* Mother: Wu Sanniang
* Wife: Wangyan Ping
* Brother: Wu Dunru
* Known offsprings: Wu Lie , Wu Qingying

Wu Xiuwen's Martial Arts

Yi Yang Finger

Wu Xiuwen learned the skills of Yi Yang Finger from his father Wu Santong, who was a disciple of Reverend Yideng .

Life

Wu Xiuwen is the elder son of Wu Santong and Wu Sanniang. After his mother died of poisioning from sucking the poison out from his father, who was poisioned by Li Mochou , Wu Santong turned insane and ran away, leaving him and his elder brother Wu Dunru to fend for themselves. However, he and his elder brother went under the care of Guo Jing and Huang Rong . There, he get to know their daughter Guo Fu . When Yang Guo (楊過） came under the care of Guo Jing also, he ganged up with Wu Dunru and Guo Fu to bully him.

Eventually, he fell in love with Guo Fu. Simultaneously, his elder brother Wu Dunru fell in love with Guo Fu also and became his love rival. In the Battle of Xiangyang, in order to impress Guo Fu, he and Wu Dunru went out individually on their own to try to assassinate the Mongol Khan to end the war. He was defeated, as like his brother, by the Mongols and captured. Subsequently, he was released by the Mongols when Guo Jing and Yang Guo came to rescue him and Wu Dunru.

Later, in a final fight with Wu Dunru, in which the loser will have to give up Guo Fu, he and Wu Dunru was tricked by Yang Guo into believing that Guo Jing and Huang Rong had betrothed Guo Fu to Yang Guo. This causes them to give up the fight and reconciled. However, it has also eventually caused the loss of Yang Guo's right arm. Also, they decided to give up Guo Fu as they believed she was betrothed to Yang Guo already. Shortly after the fight, he and Wu Dunru was reunited with his father, Wu Santong, who was attracted by the sound of fighting.

Subsequently, he met Wangyan Ping and fell in love with her and married her. Several generations later, one of his offsprings named Wu Lie , along with Zhu Jiu Zhen and Zhu Chang Ling , the oppsprings of Zhu Zi Liu , tried to tempt Zhang Wuji to bring them to the Ice-and-Fire Island so that they could kill Xie Xun and get the Dragon Sabre.

Wu Dunru

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Wu Dunru (武敦儒}, is a fictional character in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', a novel written by Chinese author Jinyong. He is the younger son of Wu Santong .

Biography

* Family name: Wu
* Given name: Dunru
* Gender: Male
* Father: Wu Santong
* Mother: Wu Sanniang
* Wife: Yelu Yan
* Brother: Wu Xiuwen

Wu Xiuwen's Martial Arts

Yi Yang Finger

Wu Dunru learned the skills of Yi Yang Finger from his father Wu Santong, who was a disciple of Reverend Yideng .

Life

Wu Dunru is the younger son of Wu Santong and Wu Sanniang. After his mother died of poisioning from sucking the poison out from his father, who was poisioned by Li Mochou , Wu Santong turned insane and ran away, leaving him and his younger brother Wu Xiuwen to fend for themselves. However, he and his elder brother went under the care of Guo Jing and Huang Rong . There, he get to know their daughter Guo Fu and fell in love with her. However, his younger brother Wu Xiuwen fell in love with her also and became his love rival.

When Yang Guo (楊過） came under the care of Guo Jing also, he ganged up with Wu Xiuwen and Guo Fu to bully him.

In the Battle of Xiangyang, in order to impress Guo Fu, he and Wu Xiuwen went out individually on their own to try to assassinate the Mongol Khan to end the war. He was defeated, as like his brother, by the Mongols and captured. Subsequently, he was released by the Mongols when Guo Jing and Yang Guo came to rescue him and Wu Xiuwen.

In a final fight with Wu Xiuwen, the loser will have to give up Guo Fu, he and Wu Xiuwen were tricked by Yang Guo into believing that Guo Jing and Huang Rong had betrothed Guo Fu to Yang Guo. This causes them to give up the fight and reconciled. Also, they decided to give up Guo Fu as they believed she was betrothed to yang Guo Already. Shortly after the fight, he and Wu Xiuwen was reunited with his father, Wu Santong, who was attracted by the sound of fighting.

Subsequently, he will meet Yelu Yan , fell in love with her and married her in the end.

Quanzhen School

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The Quanzhen School is a major sect of Taoism that originated in Northern China. It was founded by the Taoist priest Wang Chongyang in the 12th century, during the rise of the . When the invaded the Northern Chinese in 1254, the Quanzhen Taoists were among those who exerted great effort in keeping the peace, thus saving thousands of lives, particularly those of Han Chinese descent. This branch of Taoism is also mentioned frequently in Jinyong's popular wuxia novels, including the Condor Trilogy.

Foundation Principles

The meaning of Quanzhen can be translated literally to "''All True''" and for this reason, it is often called the "''All True Religion''" or the "''Way of Completeness and Truth.''" In some texts, it is also referred to as the "''Way of Complete Perfection.''"

With strong Taoist roots, the Quanzhen School specializes in the process of "alchemy within the body" or ''Neidan'' , as opposed to ''Waidan '' . The Waidan tradition has been largely replaced by Neidan, as Waidan was a dangerous and often lethal pursuit. Quanzhen focuses on internal cultivation of the person which is consistent with the pervading Taoist belief of Wu Wei, which is essentially "action through inaction."

Like most Taoists, Quanzhen priests were particularly concerned with longevity through alchemy, harmonising oneself with the Tao, studying the Five Elements, and ideas on balance consistent with theory.

History

According to traditional legend, Wang Chongyang met two Taoist immortals in the summer of 1159 C.E. The immortals, Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin taught him Taoist beliefs and trained him in secret rituals. The meeting proved deeply influential, and roughly a year later in 1160 C.E., Wang met one of these men again. In this second encounter, he was provided with a set of five written instructions which led to his decision of living by himself in a grave he created for himself in Zhongnan Mountain for three years.

After seven years of living in the Mountain , Wang met two of his seven future disciples, Tang Chuduan and Qiu Chuji. In 1167 C.E., Wang traveled to and met Ma Yu and wife Sun Bu'er who became his students. These and others would become part of the seven Quanzhen disciples, who were later known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

After Wang's demise, it was left to his disciples to continue expounding the Quanzhen beliefs. Ma Yu succeeded Wang as head of the sect, while Sun Bu'er went on to establish the Purity and Tranquility Sect, one of the foremost branches of Quanzhen.

Another notable disciple of Wang was Qiu Chuji who founded the famous White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. Qiu Chuji was the founder of the Dragon Gate Taoism. Qiu was on good terms with the monarch Genghis Khan who put him in charge of religious affairs in . As a result, the Quanzhen School of Taoism continued to flourish long after Wang's death, right through to the present.

Popular culture

According to Jinyong's wuxia novels, particularly The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes, Quanzhen was the Taoist martial arts school founded by Wang Chongyang after losing a duel to Lin Chaoying.

How it was founded

Wang, as portrayed by Jinyong, was a patriot of , China and helped the people to fight against the invading Jurchens. Wang failed in this attempt and as a result, he spent several years meditating in an ancient tomb in Zhongnan Mountain.

Later, Lin Chaoying, Wang's rival in terms of martial arts, came to issue a bet, saying that if she won their match, he would have to give up the tomb to her or either become a Taoist priest or a Buddhist monk. Lin won the match and thereupon, Wang chose to become a Taoist and created a hut near the tomb, which later became the Chongyang Palace Shrine.

Support of the people

Apart from the story of how Wang founded the Quanzhen School, Jinyong did not deviate much from traditional legend or actual facts. Like in the real Quanzhen School, the Orthodox Religion of All True , as mentioned in the books, has its main principles based primarily on Taoist studies and secondarily on martial arts. In a short period of several decades Quanzhen gained a lot of support from both the world of martial arts and the common people. The disciples of Wang Chongyang, called the Seven Elders, were all revered as immortals and were a staunch ally of the Han Chinese during the occupation of the northern territories by the and the Mongolians later on.

In Jinyong's book, The Return of the Condor Heroes, Wang Chongyang's position as the most prominent martial arts figures of the era was eventually succeeded by his martial arts brother, Zhou Botong while his position as leader of the Quanzhen School was succeeded by Ma Yu, in accordance to historical records.

Orthodox kung fu

Jinyong's books described the Quanzhen School as one of the foremost kung fu sects in Jiang Hu. In terms of greatness, it rivalled the Beggars' Sect, which was another patriotic martial arts school who fought against the invading Mongolian horde. But while Beggar Sect members employed clever, unorthodox ingenuity to win their matches, Quanzhen's martial arts was strongly orthodox. Its popular techniques include:
*The Big Dipper Formation
*Pre-heaven Skill
*Quanzhen internal energy cultivation
*Quanzhen swordsmanship, i.e., ''the Swordsmanship of Common Demise''
*Quanzhen palm styles, i.e., ''Treading Frost and Breaking Ice Palms.''

References in Chinese literature

The Quanzhen School featured heavily in three of Jinyong's most popular wuxia works, known as the Condor Trilogy. First was The Legend of the Condor Heroes where the main character Guo Jing was trained in internal cultivation of strength by Ma Yu. The antagonist, Yang Kang was also a student of Qiu Chuji who had a bet with the Jiangnan Qi Guai that their two disciples should meet sixteen years after and duel.

In the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, Yang Kang's son, Yang Guo was brought to Zhongnan Mountain by Guo Jing to train under the Quanzhen taoists. However, the rebellious Yang Guo was not suited for the orthodox ways of Quanzhen and later went to train under Xiaolongnü instead, who was the grand-disciple of Lin Chaoying. In this book, the animosity between the two schools was symbolically fixed with the union of the young couple.

Chapter one of ''The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber'', the last of the trilogy, mentioned Quanzhen School in passing. The book was set hundreds of years after the two novels.

Branch and Sect

The seven disciples of Wang Chongyang continue expounding the Quanzhen beliefs. The seven Masters of Quanzhen established the following 7 branches.

*Ma jue : Yuxian lineage ;
*Tan Chuduan : Nanwu lineage ;
*Liu Chuxuan : Suishan lineage ;
*Qiu Chuji : Longmen lineage ;
*Wang Chuyi : Yushan lineage ;
*Hao Datong : Huashan lineage ;
*Sun Bu'er : Qingjing lineage .

Qu Lingfeng

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Qu Lingfeng is a fictional character in Jinyong's wuxia ''Condor Trilogy''. He was the third of six disciples and like the rest of his brothers was crippled by the Eastern Heretic in anger, is regarded by Huang Yaoshi as one of the most talented of his disciples.

Qu fled to the ''Niu Clan Village'' situated not far from the Southern Song capital of Lin'an . He adopted the name of Qu San ; it is likely that he chose this village because of its proximity to Lin'an with the purpose of stealing the cultural treasures inside the palace complex. He made friends with Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, fathers respectively to Yang Kang and Guo Jing and would engage in political discussions with them passionately.

Qu Lingfeng did manage to steal into the palace and escape with large quantities of cultural artifacts, gold and jade treaures, and pearls. However during one trip he was followed by a powerful Imperial Guard Zhang Dali who struck Qu in the back with a powerful palm attack, fatally injuring the latter. Qu was able to bury his dagger inside Zhang and both died inside Qu's secret chamber. Before dying Qu left a letter addressed to his master. From this letter it can be judged that Qu was the disciple closest to Huang's heart and knew that his master had a deep appreciation for cultural artifacts, hoping that the stolen artifacts would be accepted by Huang as a gift, and also reacceptance of Qu as a disciple. Qu left behind a daughter known only as "Sha Gu" or "Crazy Lady". It is not known whether this girl was Qu's biological daughter or adopted by him. But considering Qu's situation from the time of his exile until his death, it is unlikely that he did have a wife or had the mood to sire a daughter.

Huang Yaoshi eventually came to know what had become of his disciple and was overcome with remorse what his fit of anger had wrought on his beloved disciple and as compensation took back Sa Gu and taught her everything that Qu had wanted to learn but had never been able to.

Qiu Chuji

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Qiu Chuji was a Quanzhen Taoist, the most famous of Wang Chongyang's seven disciples, or . He was also the founder of the Dragon Gate Taoism .

History

In 1219 Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire and the greatest of Asiatic conquerors, invited Chang Chun to visit him. Genghis' letter of invitation, dated 15 May 1219 , has been preserved, one of the great curiosities of history. Here the formidable Mongol warrior appears as a meek disciple of wisdom, modest and simple, almost Socratic in his self-examination, alive to many of the deepest truths of life and government.

Chang Chun obeyed the summons and left his home in Shandong journeyed to Beijing. Learning that Genghis had gone further west upon fresh conquests, the sage stayed the winter there. In February 1221 Chang Chun started off again, traversing eastern Mongolia to the camp of Genghis' brother Ujughen, near Lake Bbr, or Buyur, in the upper basin of the Kerulun-Amur. From there he traveled south-westward up the Kerulun, crossing the Karakorum region in north-central Mongolia, and arrived at the Altay Mountains, probably passing near the present Uliassutai. After traversing the Altay he visited Bishbalig, the modern Urumqi, and moved along the north side of the Tian Shan range to Lake Sairam, Almalik , and the rich valley of the Ili.

We then trace him to Balasagun and the Chu and across this river to Talas and the Tashkent region, and then over the Jaxartes to Samarkand, where he halted for some months. Finally, through the Iron Gates of Termit, over the Oxus, and by way of Balkh and northern Afghanistan, Chang Chun reached Genghis' camp near the Hindu Kush. It was in Samarkand in the year 1221 where Chang Chun met with Muslim imams who viewed Chang Chun with disdain. He returned their contempt with the comment, "Why do you make the pilgrimage to Mecca? Do you not know that God is everywhere?"

Returning home he largely followed his outward route, with certain deviations, such as a visit to Kuku-khoto. He was back in Beijing by the end of January 1224. From the narrative of his expedition we derive some of the most vivid pictures ever drawn of nature and man between the Great Wall of China and Kabul, between the and . Of particular interest are the sketches of the Mongols and the people of Samarkand and its vicinity, the account of the land and products of Samarkand in the Ili valley at or near Almalig-Kulja, and the description of various great mountain ranges, peaks and s, such as the Chinese Altay, the Tian Shan, Mt Bogdo-ola , and the Iron Gates of Termit. There is, moreover, a noteworthy reference to a land apparently identical with the uppermost valley of the Yenisei.

After his return, Chang Chun lived in Beijing until his death on 23 July 1227. By order of Genghis Khan some of the former imperial garden grounds were given to him for the foundation of a Daoist monastery, the White Cloud Monastery that exists to this day.

Authorship of Journey to the West has sometimes been attributed to Chang Chun, but this is incorrect. The Xi You Ji was written by Wu Cheng'en. Such confusion may have arisen from its similarity to the title of Chang Chun's travel description, Qiu Chang Chun Xi You Ji.

Popular culture

Qiu Chuji is a fictional character in the novels of Jin Yong. The character is a fictionalized version of the historical figure and an expert practitioner of martial arts. He is not a very good Daoist in the strictly religious sense of the term as he does not abide by the laissez-faire precepts of Daoism for which he has been repeatedly berated by his senior Ma Yu. Qiu Chuji involved himself in matters of society extensively, assassinating corrupt officials, collaborators and traitors.

The Seven Immortals

* Ma Yu
* Tan ChuDuan
* Liu ChuXuan
* Qiu Chuji
* Wang ChuYi
* Hao DaTong
* Sun Bu'er

Ouyang Ke

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Ouyang Ke is a fictional character in Jinyong's ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''.

Life

Ouyang Ke is the nephew of the "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng（歐陽鋒) in Jinyong's novel. However, in reality Ouyang Ke was the illegitimate son born of Ouyang Feng's forbidden liaison with his sister-in-law.

In the novel, Ouyang Ke was a notorious, good-looking playboy who abducted and raped many maidens, and had a harem of seductive Central Asian girls as his "disciples". After encountering the beautiful Huang Rong , he tried to capture her as well, but without any success because Huang Rong outsmarted him every time.

He was eventually killed by Yang Kang（楊康）for trying to violate Mu Nianci .

Condor Trilogy

Bao Xiruo

Early life

18 years later

Reunion

Ouyang Feng

Biography

Ouyang Feng's Martial Arts

Divine Toad Stance

Snake Staff

Reverse Jiu Yin Zhen Jin

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Mu Nianci

Biography

Life

Mei Chaofeng

Biography

Mei Chaofeng's Martial Arts

Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts

''Nine Yin White Bone Claw''

Life

Lu Youjiao

Lu Wushuang

List of characters in Condor Trilogy

Lin Chaoying

History

Li Ping

Biography

Life

Li Mochou

Biography

Her defense weapons and techniques

Palm of Divine Serpent

Silver Needles of Freezing Soul

Fly Whisk

Unparalleled Lightness of Ancient Tomb

Triple Non-existing Hands

Life

Ke Zhen'e

Biography

Life

In Legend of the Condor Heroes

In Return of the Condor Heroes

See also

Jiu Yin Zhen Jing

Compilation History

The First Duel in Hua Shan

Leaking of the Manuscript

Guo Jing Comes to Possess the Manuscript

Jiu Yang Zhen Jing

History

Huang Yaoshi

Biography

Huang Yaoshi's Martial Arts

Peach Flower Fallen Hero Palm

Divine Flicking Finger

Jade Flute Swordplay

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Huang Rong

Biography

Huang Rong's Martial Arts

Dog-Beating Stick Technique

Roles

''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''

''The Return of the Condor Heroes''

Impact in wuxia literature

Film and television series

Hong Qigong

Biography

Hong Qigong's Martial Arts

Xianglong Shiba Zhang

Fists of the Free

Roles

The Return of the Condor Heroes

Han Xiaoying

Han Baoju