Mu Nianci
Encyclopedia
Mu Nianci is a character in Jin Yong's wuxia
novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes
. She is the love interest of the primary antagonist Yang Kang
and the mother of Yang Guo
, the protagonist of the sequel novel The Return of the Condor Heroes
. Jin Yong describes her appearance as "firm like a piece of jade, despite appearing weather-beaten, she is beautiful, with bright eyes and sparkling white teeth." (玉立亭亭，雖然臉有風塵之色，但明眸皓齒，容顏娟好)
on him and commits suicide to join him in death. Nanqin later also died after being bitten by a snake, but entrusts her son to Guo Jing before her death. Jin Yong felt that Nanqin's role is unnecessary and decided to merge the characters of Nianci and Nanqin as one in later editions.
). She became an orphan shortly after birth when an epidemic killed her family. Months ago, her family offered shelter to an injured Mu Yi, who was escaping from Duan Tiande. When Mu Yi returned to her home to offer assistance in combating the plague, he saw that she was the only survivor out of her family of seven (her parents and four brothers died) and decided to adopt the infant girl to repay her family's kindness. When Mu Nianci becomes older, her foster father decides that it is time for him to find a suitable spouse for her. They travel around the land, staging martial arts contest for interested men to participate. The contestant must defeat Mu Nianci in order to win her hand-in-marriage. However, no man has been able to defeat Mu. She learnt some martial arts from Hong Qigong
after a brief encounter with him earlier, in addition to those taught to her by her foster father.
Once, Mu Yi and Mu Nianci arrive in the capital city of the Jin Dynasty to stage another contest. A young Jurchen prince named Wanyan Kang
joins the contest out of mischief and he defeats Mu Nianci easily. According to the rules of the contest, Wanyan must marry Mu, but he refuses. He molested Mu during the contest and took her shoe as a souvenir. Mu Yi is displeased with Wanyan's attitude and he insists that Wanyan marries his daughter. Wanyan turns violent and shoves Mu Yi away. Guo Jing
, who has been watching the contest nearby, stands up for Mu Yi and he chides Wanyan for his behavior. Guo and Wanyan start to fight.
Just then, the prince's mother, Bao Xiruo, arrives on the scene and stops the fight. Mu Yi recognises Bao and is stunned. Mu is actually Yang Tiexin, Bao's first husband, who was apparently killed 19 years ago. Wanyan Kang is actually Yang's biological son, Yang Kang. Wanyan refuses to acknowledge his father and his parents commit suicide after being cornered by Wanyan Honglie. Before dying, Yang Tiexin discovers that the young man who stood up for him earlier is actually the son of his late sworn brother. He decides that Guo could be a suitable spouse for his foster daughter. However, both of them refuse Yang's arrangement, as Guo is romantically involved with Huang Rong
and Mu Nianci already has feelings for Yang Kang.
Mu Nianci attempts to kill Wanyan Honglie to avenge her foster father but Yang Kang intervenes and stops her. In fact, Yang has fallen in love with her ever since he first met her during the contest. Their love relationship gradually becomes more complicated. Yang is unwilling to give up his status as a Jurchen noble so he can enjoy wealth, fame and power. Mu tries to persuade him to give up and follow her to become an ordinary Han Chinese
citizen of the Song Dynasty
. Yang reveals his treacherous nature and collaborates with the Jurchens to exploit his own race. Concurrently, he lies to Mu and pretends to have changed for the better.
Mu discovers Yang's villainous deeds eventually and decides to leave him for good. They never meet each other again, even after Yang got his retribution. However, Mu is already pregnant with Yang's child and still loves him despite his misdeeds. She gives birth to the child shortly after Yang's death. The boy is named "Yang Guo
" by Guo Jing, who hopes that the child will redeem his family's honour by doing good and never follow his father's footsteps. Mu raises Yang Guo all by herself for 11 years before her death due to illness. Following his mother's instructions before her demise, Yang Guo had her remains cremated and buried at the Temple of the Iron Spear, in hope of reuniting her with his father in death.
in a ruined temple in Kaifeng
. Using the early martial arts training by her foster father as a foundation, she masters the skill within three days. When a combatant utilizes the skill, he or she is elegant, extremely light, agile, and appears as if he or she is dancing. Every motion is as beautiful as that of a jade yanornis
or huge eagle.
Qin Nanqin on Baidu Baike
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 The Legend of the Condor Heroes
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...
. She is the love interest of the primary antagonist 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 the mother of 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....
, the protagonist of 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...
. Jin Yong describes her appearance as "firm like a piece of jade, despite appearing weather-beaten, she is beautiful, with bright eyes and sparkling white teeth." (玉立亭亭，雖然臉有風塵之色，但明眸皓齒，容顏娟好)
Mu Nianci and Qin Nanqin
The character of Mu Nianci in the current edition of The Legend of the Condor Heroes is actually an amalgam of the original character of Mu and another character called Qin Nanqin (秦南琴). In the first edition, Nianci is the love interest of Yang Kang, but she is not the mother of Yang Guo. Nanqin lives with her grandfather and they catch snakes for a living. After Guo Jing saves her, she develops a crush on him. However, Nanqin is raped by Yang Kang and Nianci arrives too late to stop him. Nanqin becomes pregnant and gives birth to Yang Guo subsequently. Nanqin becomes a nun and travels with Nianci before settling down to raise her child. After Yang Kang was poisoned, Nianci performs a coup de grâceCoup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
on him and commits suicide to join him in death. Nanqin later also died after being bitten by a snake, but entrusts her son to Guo Jing before her death. Jin Yong felt that Nanqin's role is unnecessary and decided to merge the characters of Nianci and Nanqin as one in later editions.
Biography
Mu Nianci was from Hetang Village (荷塘村) in Lin'an province (present-day HangzhouHangzhou
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...
). She became an orphan shortly after birth when an epidemic killed her family. Months ago, her family offered shelter to an injured Mu Yi, who was escaping from Duan Tiande. When Mu Yi returned to her home to offer assistance in combating the plague, he saw that she was the only survivor out of her family of seven (her parents and four brothers died) and decided to adopt the infant girl to repay her family's kindness. When Mu Nianci becomes older, her foster father decides that it is time for him to find a suitable spouse for her. They travel around the land, staging martial arts contest for interested men to participate. The contestant must defeat Mu Nianci in order to win her hand-in-marriage. However, no man has been able to defeat Mu. She learnt some martial arts from Hong Qigong
Hong 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...
after a brief encounter with him earlier, in addition to those taught to her by her foster father.
Once, Mu Yi and Mu Nianci arrive in the capital city of the Jin Dynasty to stage another contest. A young Jurchen prince named Wanyan 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:...
joins the contest out of mischief and he defeats Mu Nianci easily. According to the rules of the contest, Wanyan must marry Mu, but he refuses. He molested Mu during the contest and took her shoe as a souvenir. Mu Yi is displeased with Wanyan's attitude and he insists that Wanyan marries his daughter. Wanyan turns violent and shoves Mu Yi away. Guo Jing
Guo Jing
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...
, who has been watching the contest nearby, stands up for Mu Yi and he chides Wanyan for his behavior. Guo and Wanyan start to fight.
Just then, the prince's mother, Bao Xiruo, arrives on the scene and stops the fight. Mu Yi recognises Bao and is stunned. Mu is actually Yang Tiexin, Bao's first husband, who was apparently killed 19 years ago. Wanyan Kang is actually Yang's biological son, Yang Kang. Wanyan refuses to acknowledge his father and his parents commit suicide after being cornered by Wanyan Honglie. Before dying, Yang Tiexin discovers that the young man who stood up for him earlier is actually the son of his late sworn brother. He decides that Guo could be a suitable spouse for his foster daughter. However, both of them refuse Yang's arrangement, as Guo is romantically involved 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:...
and Mu Nianci already has feelings for Yang Kang.
Mu Nianci attempts to kill Wanyan Honglie to avenge her foster father but Yang Kang intervenes and stops her. In fact, Yang has fallen in love with her ever since he first met her during the contest. Their love relationship gradually becomes more complicated. Yang is unwilling to give up his status as a Jurchen noble so he can enjoy wealth, fame and power. Mu tries to persuade him to give up and follow her to become an ordinary 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...
citizen of the 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...
. Yang reveals his treacherous nature and collaborates with the Jurchens to exploit his own race. Concurrently, he lies to Mu and pretends to have changed for the better.
Mu discovers Yang's villainous deeds eventually and decides to leave him for good. They never meet each other again, even after Yang got his retribution. However, Mu is already pregnant with Yang's child and still loves him despite his misdeeds. She gives birth to the child shortly after Yang's death. The boy is named "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....
" by Guo Jing, who hopes that the child will redeem his family's honour by doing good and never follow his father's footsteps. Mu raises Yang Guo all by herself for 11 years before her death due to illness. Following his mother's instructions before her demise, Yang Guo had her remains cremated and buried at the Temple of the Iron Spear, in hope of reuniting her with his father in death.
Carefree Fist
Mu learnt the "Carefree Fist" (逍遙遊) when she was 13 from 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...
in a ruined temple in Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
. Using the early martial arts training by her foster father as a foundation, she masters the skill within three days. When a combatant utilizes the skill, he or she is elegant, extremely light, agile, and appears as if he or she is dancing. Every motion is as beautiful as that of a jade yanornis
Yanornis
Yanornis is an extinct genus of omnivorous Early Cretaceous birds, thought to be closely related to the common ancestor of all modern birds. One species, Yanornis martini,...
or huge eagle.
External links
Mu Nianci 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....
Qin Nanqin on Baidu Baike
Baidu 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....