Guo Jing
Encyclopedia
Guo Jing is the fictional protagonist of The Legend of the Condor Heroes
, a wuxia
novel by Jin Yong. He plays a supporting role in the sequel novel The Return of the Condor Heroes
as well. He is a fictitious descendant of Guo Sheng
of the 108 Mount Liang
outlaws in the classical novel Water Margin
.
Guo and Yang Kang
are both named by Qiu Chuji
, who urges them to remember the Jingkang Incident
and hence be loyal towards their native Song Dynasty
. Guo's date of birth is approximately on a night of a full moon in November 1205. Guo is killed after the fall of Xiangyang
to Mongol invaders.
, and moved to Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou
) after the Jurchens conquered the northern part of the Song Empire. Guo Xiaotian met Li Ping in Lin'an and married her. Two years after their marriage, Guo Xiaotian is killed by a group of soldiers led by Duan Tiande during a raid, on the orders of Wanyan Honglie. Li was heavily pregnant with Guo Jing then, and she was captured and held hostage by Duan, but managed to escape from Duan's clutches later. Li flees north and arrives in Mongolia, where she gives birth to Guo Jing. Guo and his mother are taken in by some nomads later and become part of Genghis Khan
's tribe after Guo meets Jebe
, an enemy of the Khan, who is later pardoned and accepted by the Khan as a warrior. Guo befriends the Khan's children and associates, becoming Anda
with Tolui
, the fourth son of the Khan. Subsequently, Guo encounters the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and learns martial arts from them. During a few skirmishes between the Khan and rival tribes, Guo demonstrates his loyalty to the Khan and helps to fend off the attackers. Genghis Khan sees Guo as a loyal subject and places great faith and trust in him, and betroths his daughter, Huazheng, to Guo.
At the age of 18, Guo leaves Mongolia to meet Yang Kang
, the son of his father's sworn brother, Yang Tiexin, for a contest agreed by their respective teachers years ago. Guo encounters several extraordinary pugilists, who teach him some of their skills. By chance, he finds two prized texts; Nine Yin Manual and Book of Wumu
, and the knowledge from the books allow him to becomes a powerful pugilist and brilliant military tactician as he gradually matures in his ideals. He meets Huang Rong
, his future wife, and they go through thick and thin together and are eventually married.
Guo returns to Mongolia after his adventures and joins Genghis Khan in the campaign
against the Khwarezm Empire. He plays a significant role in the capture of the city of Samarkand
and returns home in triumph. When he discovers later that the Khan is planning to invade his homeland of the Song Dynasty, he renounces his loyalty to the Khan and flees from Mongolia to establishes a base of operations within one of Song's strategic strongholds; the city of Xiangyang
. Since then, he vows to defend his homeland from foreign invaders and dedicates his life to doing so.
and highly revered national hero in the eyes of the Han Chinese
. Guo faces the arduous task of raising the orphaned son of his late sworn brother, Yang Kang
, and guiding him on the path of goodness. He names the boy Yang Guo
, in hope that the boy would redeem his family's honour, which had been tarnished by Yang Kang's villainy. In addition, Guo and his wife accept Wu Dunru and Wu Xiuwen as their disciples.
Guo and his wife Huang Rong
play active roles in shaping the character of Yang Guo. Guo's fervent loyalty and sense of righteousness serves as an inspiration for Yang and he serves as a role model for Yang to follow. On the other hand, Yang sees the couple as his enemies for their roles in the death of his father and often harbours the intention of killing them. Yang's anger and hatred gradually subsides when he discovers Guo's humble and kind character, and when he learns the details about his father's villainous past from Ke Zhen'e.
Guo becomes an active member in the defense of the city of Xiangyang from Mongol invaders. After he successfully establishes his base of operations within the city, Guo and his wife work with Xiangyang's government and military, and their wulin allies to defend Xiangyang. Guo and Huang have three children; older daughter Guo Fu and the twins Guo Xiang and Guo Polu. The girl Guo Xiang is named after the city of Xiangyang with the character "Xiang" in her name while the boy's name "Polu" means "to defeat and drive away barbarians."
Guo uses his knowledge and experience from his earlier campaigns to counter the Mongol invasion. His martial arts prowess and military tactics makes him a powerful foe to his enemies and his reputation strikes fear in them, while his heroic deeds in Xiangyang make the people see him as an embodiment of hope. It is revealed in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber that the city of Xiangyang eventually falls to the Mongol invaders
. Guo and his family died as martyrs in the battle, while his younger daughter, Guo Xiang, survived and founded the Emei Sect
later.
The most outstanding characteristic of Guo is his constant strife for moral rectitude, as observed when he faces a dilemma after Genghis Khan
attempts to force him to lead the Mongol army to attack his native Song Dynasty
. Although Guo was born and raised in Mongolia, he is still unwilling to side with the Mongols to attack his native land and exploit the Han Chinese
race. In The Return of the Condor Heroes
, the adult Guo dedicates his life and passion to serving Song and defending it from foreign invaders.
. Towards the end of The Return of the Condor Heroes
, his wife names him as the "Northern Hero" (北俠) of the new generation of the Five Greats. Guo's repertoire of skills and martial arts include:
. In his youth, Guo once shot down two eagles in the sky with a single arrow. The shooting incident earned him great fame and the admiration of the Khan. He also played wrestling as a sport with the Khan's children and associates in his childhood.
, Jiangnan
. The Freaks find the six-year-old Guo Jing after a long search that brought them to Mongolia. They teach him all the skills they know to prepare him for the upcoming competition with Yang Kang
.
Although the Freaks are not exactly the best martial arts teachers, their early training equipped Guo with the foundation for learning advanced skills later. The Freaks did not teach Guo Jing any inner energy
skills at all.
and Wang Chuyi of the Quanzhen Sect
, teach Guo some basics of their sect's inner energy
techniques. Guo is able to grasp and understand the basis of Quanzhen's "Big Dipper
Formation" (七星北斗陣) used in combat after reading the Nine Yin Manual and observing the formation used in actual combat.
by chance while out on adventure with Huang Rong
. Hong decides to teach Guo his "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" to repay Huang's favours of preparing fine cuisine for him every day during the brief period of time he spent with them. The Palms are said to be the most powerful external style of all Chinese martial arts and their sheer power have been unmatched. The Palms become Guo's default martial arts in combat and Guo becomes famous in the jianghu
for putting them to good use.
on Peach Blossom Island and becomes sworn brothers with him. Zhou teaches Guo the "Seventy Two Styles Vacant Fist" (七十二路空明拳). It is unmatched in subtlety and yet equal to the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" in power and ingenuity of style.
Zhou also teaches Guo the "Technique of Ambidexterity" (雙手互搏)), which allows him to use two different sets of martial arts techniques simultaneously. The slow-learning Guo manages to master this technique unexpectedly in a short period of time, whereas, ironically, his more intelligent wife is unable to master it at all.
to learn the skills within so he decides to let Guo learn instead.
Guo masters some of the manual's skills, which allows him to maximize the potential of the various skills he had learnt earlier. He can now alternate between hard and soft blows while using the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" and last longer while fighting stronger enemies.
, a military treatise authored by Yue Fei
. The book is highly coveted by many, as it is widely believed that whoever who owns it will dominate the world. The Jurchens and Mongols
are among those actively seeking the book.
Guo finds the book on Iron Palm Peak by chance. He reads through the book thoroughly and employed some of the tactics and strategies during the war with the Khwarezm Empire. The experience he gains from the Mongol campaigns
and knowledge from the book allows him to become a brilliant military tactician.
and Xiaolongnü
gave Guo Xiang their pair of Gentleman and Lady Swords and Yang's Heavy Iron Sword. In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, it is revealed that the swords were later melted and reforged into the Heaven-reliant Sword and Dragon-slaying Saber.
Guo Jing wrote the Nine Yin Manual from memory during the siege of Xiangyang
. In addition, he wrote a martial arts manual for his "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" as well. The manuals were hidden inside the blade of the Heaven-reliant Sword. Guo Jing also detailed all his military experiences and knowledge from the Book of Wumu
on a piece of cloth and hid it inside the blade of the Dragon-slaying Saber. The Heaven-reliant Sword were brought out of Xiangyang by Guo Xiang before the city was conquered, while the Dragon-slaying Saber fell into the hands of the Mongols after Guo Polu's death. The heroics of Guo Jing and Huang Rong became legendary tales and were occasionally mentioned in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
The Legend of Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the first part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between January 1, 1957 and May 19, 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily...
, a wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
novel by Jin Yong. He plays a supporting role in the sequel novel The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the second part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between May 20, 1959 and July 5, 1961 on Ming Pao. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in the wulin fraternity, which does not...
as well. He is a fictitious descendant of Guo Sheng
Guo Sheng
Guo Sheng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 55th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 19th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui".-Background:...
of the 108 Mount Liang
Mount Liang
Mount Liang is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong province, China which rises to 197.9 m above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 legendary Song Dynasty heroes of the classic Chinese novel Water Margin...
outlaws in the classical novel Water Margin
Water Margin
Water Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...
.
Guo and Yang Kang
Yang Kang
Yang Kang is the fictional antagonist and the foil to the protagonist, Guo Jing, in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.-Birth and heritage:...
are both named by Qiu Chuji
Qiu Chuji
Qiu Chuji was a Daoist disciple of Wang Chongyang. He was the most famous among the Seven True Daoists of the North...
, who urges them to remember the Jingkang Incident
Jingkang Incident
The Jingkang Incident , the Humiliation of Jingkang , or The Disorders of the Jingkang Period took place in 1127 when invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin Dynasty besieged and sacked Bianjing , the capital of the Song Dynasty of China...
and hence be loyal towards their native Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. Guo's date of birth is approximately on a night of a full moon in November 1205. Guo is killed after the fall of Xiangyang
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...
to Mongol invaders.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Guo's hometown is in Niu Family Village. His father, Guo Xiaotian, was from ShandongShandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, and moved to Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
) after the Jurchens conquered the northern part of the Song Empire. Guo Xiaotian met Li Ping in Lin'an and married her. Two years after their marriage, Guo Xiaotian is killed by a group of soldiers led by Duan Tiande during a raid, on the orders of Wanyan Honglie. Li was heavily pregnant with Guo Jing then, and she was captured and held hostage by Duan, but managed to escape from Duan's clutches later. Li flees north and arrives in Mongolia, where she gives birth to Guo Jing. Guo and his mother are taken in by some nomads later and become part of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's tribe after Guo meets Jebe
Jebe
Chepe Noyan was one of the prominent Noyans of Genghis Khan. His clan was Besud, which belonged to the Taichud tribe, which was at the time of Genghis Khan under Targudai Khiriltug's leadership....
, an enemy of the Khan, who is later pardoned and accepted by the Khan as a warrior. Guo befriends the Khan's children and associates, becoming Anda
Blood brother
Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...
with Tolui
Tolui
Tolui, was the youngest son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun Börte...
, the fourth son of the Khan. Subsequently, Guo encounters the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and learns martial arts from them. During a few skirmishes between the Khan and rival tribes, Guo demonstrates his loyalty to the Khan and helps to fend off the attackers. Genghis Khan sees Guo as a loyal subject and places great faith and trust in him, and betroths his daughter, Huazheng, to Guo.
At the age of 18, Guo leaves Mongolia to meet Yang Kang
Yang Kang
Yang Kang is the fictional antagonist and the foil to the protagonist, Guo Jing, in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.-Birth and heritage:...
, the son of his father's sworn brother, Yang Tiexin, for a contest agreed by their respective teachers years ago. Guo encounters several extraordinary pugilists, who teach him some of their skills. By chance, he finds two prized texts; Nine Yin Manual and Book of Wumu
Book of Wumu
The Book of Wumu is a fictional military treatise mentioned in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy...
, and the knowledge from the books allow him to becomes a powerful pugilist and brilliant military tactician as he gradually matures in his ideals. He meets Huang Rong
Huang Rong
Huang Rong is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. She plays a supporting role in the sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes.-Character description:...
, his future wife, and they go through thick and thin together and are eventually married.
Guo returns to Mongolia after his adventures and joins Genghis Khan in the campaign
Mongol invasion of Central Asia
The Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
against the Khwarezm Empire. He plays a significant role in the capture of the city of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and returns home in triumph. When he discovers later that the Khan is planning to invade his homeland of the Song Dynasty, he renounces his loyalty to the Khan and flees from Mongolia to establishes a base of operations within one of Song's strategic strongholds; the city of Xiangyang
Xiangyang
Xiangzhou District is a district of Xiangyang, Hubei, China. The district itself was formerly known as Xiangyang. It was a city famous for the Siege of Xiangyang by invading forces of the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty...
. Since then, he vows to defend his homeland from foreign invaders and dedicates his life to doing so.
The Return of the Condor Heroes
Guo returns as a supporting character in the sequel novel, set several years after the end of the prequel. The adult Guo is now a prominent figure in the Chinese wulinJianghu
The jianghu is the milieu, environment, or sub-community, often fictional, in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set.In modern Chinese culture, jianghu is commonly accepted as an alternative universe coexisting with the actual historical one in which the context of the wuxia genre was set...
and highly revered national hero in the eyes of the Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
. Guo faces the arduous task of raising the orphaned son of his late sworn brother, Yang Kang
Yang Kang
Yang Kang is the fictional antagonist and the foil to the protagonist, Guo Jing, in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.-Birth and heritage:...
, and guiding him on the path of goodness. He names the boy Yang Guo
Yang Guo
Yang Guo, style name Gaizhi , is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong....
, in hope that the boy would redeem his family's honour, which had been tarnished by Yang Kang's villainy. In addition, Guo and his wife accept Wu Dunru and Wu Xiuwen as their disciples.
Guo and his wife Huang Rong
Huang Rong
Huang Rong is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. She plays a supporting role in the sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes.-Character description:...
play active roles in shaping the character of Yang Guo. Guo's fervent loyalty and sense of righteousness serves as an inspiration for Yang and he serves as a role model for Yang to follow. On the other hand, Yang sees the couple as his enemies for their roles in the death of his father and often harbours the intention of killing them. Yang's anger and hatred gradually subsides when he discovers Guo's humble and kind character, and when he learns the details about his father's villainous past from Ke Zhen'e.
Guo becomes an active member in the defense of the city of Xiangyang from Mongol invaders. After he successfully establishes his base of operations within the city, Guo and his wife work with Xiangyang's government and military, and their wulin allies to defend Xiangyang. Guo and Huang have three children; older daughter Guo Fu and the twins Guo Xiang and Guo Polu. The girl Guo Xiang is named after the city of Xiangyang with the character "Xiang" in her name while the boy's name "Polu" means "to defeat and drive away barbarians."
Guo uses his knowledge and experience from his earlier campaigns to counter the Mongol invasion. His martial arts prowess and military tactics makes him a powerful foe to his enemies and his reputation strikes fear in them, while his heroic deeds in Xiangyang make the people see him as an embodiment of hope. It is revealed in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber that the city of Xiangyang eventually falls to the Mongol invaders
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...
. Guo and his family died as martyrs in the battle, while his younger daughter, Guo Xiang, survived and founded the Emei Sect
Emei Sect
The Emei Sect is one of the leading orthodox Chinese martial arts sects in the jianghu in several works of wuxia fiction. Its home base is on Mount Emei in Sichuan...
later.
Character description
Guo has thick eyebrows, large eyes, a sturdy and strong stature and a complexion somewhere between dark and fair. He is described to be "dumb", slow in learning and inarticulate.The most outstanding characteristic of Guo is his constant strife for moral rectitude, as observed when he faces a dilemma after Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
attempts to force him to lead the Mongol army to attack his native Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. Although Guo was born and raised in Mongolia, he is still unwilling to side with the Mongols to attack his native land and exploit the Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
race. In The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the second part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between May 20, 1959 and July 5, 1961 on Ming Pao. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in the wulin fraternity, which does not...
, the adult Guo dedicates his life and passion to serving Song and defending it from foreign invaders.
Martial arts and skills
The adult Guo is one of the most powerful pugilists of his age. His profound mastery of several different types of martial arts and skills surpasses that of many others in the Central PlainsCentral Plain (China)
Zhongyuan or the Central Plain of China refers to the area on the lower reaches of the Yellow River which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. It forms part of the North China Plain....
. Towards the end of The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the second part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between May 20, 1959 and July 5, 1961 on Ming Pao. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in the wulin fraternity, which does not...
, his wife names him as the "Northern Hero" (北俠) of the new generation of the Five Greats. Guo's repertoire of skills and martial arts include:
Mongolia
Guo is one of the finest archers in Mongolia. He was trained in his early days by the archer JebeJebe
Chepe Noyan was one of the prominent Noyans of Genghis Khan. His clan was Besud, which belonged to the Taichud tribe, which was at the time of Genghis Khan under Targudai Khiriltug's leadership....
. In his youth, Guo once shot down two eagles in the sky with a single arrow. The shooting incident earned him great fame and the admiration of the Khan. He also played wrestling as a sport with the Khan's children and associates in his childhood.
Seven Freaks of Jiangnan
Guo is first introduced to Chinese martial arts by the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan", a group of seven pugilists from JiaxingJiaxing
Jiaxing is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north....
, Jiangnan
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...
. The Freaks find the six-year-old Guo Jing after a long search that brought them to Mongolia. They teach him all the skills they know to prepare him for the upcoming competition with Yang Kang
Yang Kang
Yang Kang is the fictional antagonist and the foil to the protagonist, Guo Jing, in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.-Birth and heritage:...
.
Although the Freaks are not exactly the best martial arts teachers, their early training equipped Guo with the foundation for learning advanced skills later. The Freaks did not teach Guo Jing any inner energy
Neigong
Neigong, also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, refers to any of a set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts...
skills at all.
- List of the Seven Freaks' skills taught to Guo:
- "Demon-subduing Staff Skill" (伏魔杖法)
- "Bare-handed Disarming Skill" (空手奪白刃)
- "Bone and Joint Dislocation Hand" (分筋錯骨手)
- "Golden Dragon Whip Skill" (金龍鞭法)
- "Southern Mountain Saber Skill" (南山刀法)
- "Mountain-splitting Palm Skill" (開山掌法)
- "Huyan Spear Skill" (呼延槍法)
- "Yue Maiden Swordplay" (越女劍法)
Quanzhen Sect
Ma Yu, Qiu ChujiQiu Chuji
Qiu Chuji was a Daoist disciple of Wang Chongyang. He was the most famous among the Seven True Daoists of the North...
and Wang Chuyi of the Quanzhen Sect
Quanzhen School
The Quanzhen School of Taoism originated in Northern China. It was founded by the Taoist Wang Chongyang in the 12th century, during the rise of the Jin Dynasty...
, teach Guo some basics of their sect's inner energy
Neigong
Neigong, also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, refers to any of a set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts...
techniques. Guo is able to grasp and understand the basis of Quanzhen's "Big Dipper
Big Dipper
The Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the Saptarishi , is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial...
Formation" (七星北斗陣) used in combat after reading the Nine Yin Manual and observing the formation used in actual combat.
Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms
Guo meets Hong QigongHong Qigong
Hong Qigong is a fictional character in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes and its sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes...
by chance while out on adventure with Huang Rong
Huang Rong
Huang Rong is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. She plays a supporting role in the sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes.-Character description:...
. Hong decides to teach Guo his "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" to repay Huang's favours of preparing fine cuisine for him every day during the brief period of time he spent with them. The Palms are said to be the most powerful external style of all Chinese martial arts and their sheer power have been unmatched. The Palms become Guo's default martial arts in combat and Guo becomes famous in the jianghu
Jianghu
The jianghu is the milieu, environment, or sub-community, often fictional, in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set.In modern Chinese culture, jianghu is commonly accepted as an alternative universe coexisting with the actual historical one in which the context of the wuxia genre was set...
for putting them to good use.
Zhou Botong
Guo meets Zhou BotongZhou Botong
Zhou Botong is a fictional character in the wuxia novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong....
on Peach Blossom Island and becomes sworn brothers with him. Zhou teaches Guo the "Seventy Two Styles Vacant Fist" (七十二路空明拳). It is unmatched in subtlety and yet equal to the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" in power and ingenuity of style.
Zhou also teaches Guo the "Technique of Ambidexterity" (雙手互搏)), which allows him to use two different sets of martial arts techniques simultaneously. The slow-learning Guo manages to master this technique unexpectedly in a short period of time, whereas, ironically, his more intelligent wife is unable to master it at all.
Nine Yin Manual
Zhou Botong has with him a copy of the Nine Yin Manual, the most coveted martial arts of its time, for the incredible inner energy cultivation techniques and extraordinary skills it records. Zhou has been forbidden by Wang ChongyangWang Chongyang
Wang Chongyang [Chinese calendar: 宋徽宗政和二年十二月廿二 – 金世宗大定十年正月初四] was a Chinese Taoist and one of the founders of the Quanzhen School in the twelfth century during the Song Dynasty. He was one of the Five Northern Patriarchs of Quanzhen...
to learn the skills within so he decides to let Guo learn instead.
Guo masters some of the manual's skills, which allows him to maximize the potential of the various skills he had learnt earlier. He can now alternate between hard and soft blows while using the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" and last longer while fighting stronger enemies.
Military strategy
Guo learnt military strategy and tactics from the Book of WumuBook of Wumu
The Book of Wumu is a fictional military treatise mentioned in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy...
, a military treatise authored by Yue Fei
Yue Fei
Yue Fei , style name Pengju, was a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan...
. The book is highly coveted by many, as it is widely believed that whoever who owns it will dominate the world. The Jurchens and Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
are among those actively seeking the book.
Guo finds the book on Iron Palm Peak by chance. He reads through the book thoroughly and employed some of the tactics and strategies during the war with the Khwarezm Empire. The experience he gains from the Mongol campaigns
Mongol invasion of Central Asia
The Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
and knowledge from the book allows him to become a brilliant military tactician.
Legacy
Before leaving for good, Yang GuoYang Guo
Yang Guo, style name Gaizhi , is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong....
and Xiaolongnü
Xiaolongnü
Xiaolongnü is the fictional female protagonist of Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes. The author describes her physical appearances as "skin as white as snow, beautiful and elegant beyond convention and cannot be underestimated, but appears cold and indifferent" .-Name:It is...
gave Guo Xiang their pair of Gentleman and Lady Swords and Yang's Heavy Iron Sword. In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, it is revealed that the swords were later melted and reforged into the Heaven-reliant Sword and Dragon-slaying Saber.
Guo Jing wrote the Nine Yin Manual from memory during the siege of Xiangyang
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...
. In addition, he wrote a martial arts manual for his "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" as well. The manuals were hidden inside the blade of the Heaven-reliant Sword. Guo Jing also detailed all his military experiences and knowledge from the Book of Wumu
Book of Wumu
The Book of Wumu is a fictional military treatise mentioned in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy...
on a piece of cloth and hid it inside the blade of the Dragon-slaying Saber. The Heaven-reliant Sword were brought out of Xiangyang by Guo Xiang before the city was conquered, while the Dragon-slaying Saber fell into the hands of the Mongols after Guo Polu's death. The heroics of Guo Jing and Huang Rong became legendary tales and were occasionally mentioned in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
External links
Guo Jing on Baidu BaikeBaidu Baike
Baidu Encyclopedia is a Chinese language collaborative Web-based encyclopedia provided by the Chinese search engine Baidu. Like Baidu itself, the encyclopedia is heavily self-censored in line with government regulations....