Ouyang Feng
Encyclopedia
Ouyang Feng 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
. As the "Western Venom" (西毒) of the Five Greats (五绝), the top five champions of the first martial arts contest on Mount Hua
, Ouyang is best known for his trademark martial arts technique "Toad Skill" (蛤蟆功) and his expertise in toxicology.
In the first novel, Ouyang is depicted as a ruthless villain, who resorts to all sorts of unscrupulous means to achieve his goal of becoming the most powerful pugilist in the jianghu
. He attempts to seize the fabled Nine Yin Manual, a manual detailing powerful martial arts and inner energy
techniques, but is tricked into practicing an edited version of the skills, which causes him to become insane eventually, but ironically, his prowess in martial arts also increases tremendously. In the sequel novel, Ouyang dies amidst laughter and forgotten past feuds together with his rival, Hong Qigong
. He is buried on Mount Hua beside Hong by his godson Yang Guo
, who succeeds him as the "Western Eccentric" of the new generation of the Five Greats.
and emerges as one of the top five champions, earning himself the nickname of "Western Venom" (西毒). He makes his first appearance while visiting Huang Yaoshi
on Peach Blossom Island with his nephew Ouyang Ke. Ouyang wishes to arrange for a marriage between his nephew and Huang's daughter Huang Rong
. However, Guo Jing
is also present and he contends with Ouyang Ke for Huang Rong's hand-in-marriage, with Zhou Botong
and Hong Qigong
supporting him. After a competition involving three rounds of tests between the two young men, Guo wins the contest, incurring the displeasure of the Ouyangs.
Later in the novel, Hong, Zhou and Guo are stranded at sea and are picked up by Ouyang's ship. When Ouyang realises that Guo had memorized the Nine Yin Manual, he attempts to trick and force Guo into writing a copy of the manual for him. However, under the instructions of Hong, Guo deliberately writes a wrong version of the manual for Ouyang, with verses written in reverse manner. Ouyang believes that he has succeeded in getting what he wants and attempts to kill Guo and Hong. Hong and Ouyang engage in a battle on the ship later and the ship sinks. Hong is poisoned by Ouyang during the fight and loses all his inner energy
after using it to purge the venom from his body. The now powerless Hong, accompanied by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, are at the mercy of the Ouyangs, as the five of them are marooned on an island. Ouyang Ke is tricked by Huang into loosening a boulder, which falls on and crushes his leg. Ouyang Feng coerces the three of them to look after his nephew and provide them with food, and in return, he promises not to harm them as long as they are still on the island. At one point, Ouyang reveals that he is actually Ouyang Ke's biological father, after having an affair with his sister-in-law. He is eventually picked up by Wanyan Honglie's ship.
After leaving the island, Ouyang practices the Nine Yin Manual obsessively, believing it to be genuine. He kidnaps Huang Rong and tries to force her to interpret the verses for him, but she provides him with wrong information, without him realizing that he has been deceived. Before the novel ends, Ouyang is seen to have become insane due to practising the manual's skills wrongly, but ironically, his prowess in martial arts has also improved tremendously.
by coincidence. He likes Yang and makes Yang his godson, promising to teach him martial arts. Yang learns the "Toad Skill" from Ouyang and uses it on two occasions in self-defence against bullies, and refuses to tell the truth when enquired by Guo Jing
and Huang Rong
on how he learnt the skill. Ouyang appears again when Yang and Xiaolongnü
are practising martial arts on Mount Zhongnan. Ouyang wants to teach Yang some skills, but does not want Xiaolongnü to overhear him, so he immobilizes her. He enters a fit of insanity later and leaves.
Ouyang appears for one last time on Mount Hua
, where he meets Yang and his old rival Hong Qigong
again. The two rivals engage each other in a fierce battle again, which lasted four days. The battle is only interrupted when Yang comes at intervals to serve them meals. The animosity between the two rivals is too strong for them to bear and they continue to pit their inner energies against each other for a full day. Both of them suffer from exhaustion but they are unwilling to back down to uphold their ego. They decide to use Yang, who has been an observer for the past few days, as an intermediate. Ouyang and Hong teach Yang their respective skills and ask Yang to perform for each other to see.
Hong teaches Yang his famous "Dog Beating Staff Technique". Ouyang has apparently lost after Yang performs the last stance "No Dogs Under Heaven". Ouyang spends the following night thinking of a counter move and the next morning he asks Yang to perform for Hong to see. Hong is shocked when he sees that Ouyang has managed to defeat his most powerful move. Hong finally realises that his rivalry with Ouyang is merely an illusion as there will not be an eventual victor between the two of them. Hong laughs hysterically and embraces Ouyang in defeat. At the same time, Ouyang seems to have recovered from his insanity as he finally recognises Hong. The two rivals die together amidst laughter and forgotten past feuds. Yang buries them side by side on Mount Hua.
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...
and its sequel 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 the "Western Venom" (西毒) of the Five Greats (五绝), the top five champions of the first martial arts contest on Mount Hua
Mount Hua
Mount Hua or Hua Shan in Chinese is located in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. Also known as Xiyuè, Western Great Mountain, it is one of China's Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance...
, Ouyang is best known for his trademark martial arts technique "Toad Skill" (蛤蟆功) and his expertise in toxicology.
In the first novel, Ouyang is depicted as a ruthless villain, who resorts to all sorts of unscrupulous means to achieve his goal of becoming the most powerful pugilist 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...
. He attempts to seize the fabled Nine Yin Manual, a manual detailing powerful martial arts and 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, but is tricked into practicing an edited version of the skills, which causes him to become insane eventually, but ironically, his prowess in martial arts also increases tremendously. In the sequel novel, Ouyang dies amidst laughter and forgotten past feuds together with his rival, 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...
. He is buried on Mount Hua beside Hong by his godson 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....
, who succeeds him as the "Western Eccentric" of the new generation of the Five Greats.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Ouyang is the master of a manor on Mount White Camel in western China. He specializes in using poison and rears venomous snakes as pets. He participates in the first martial arts contest held on Mount HuaMount Hua
Mount Hua or Hua Shan in Chinese is located in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. Also known as Xiyuè, Western Great Mountain, it is one of China's Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance...
and emerges as one of the top five champions, earning himself the nickname of "Western Venom" (西毒). He makes his first appearance while visiting Huang Yaoshi
Huang Yaoshi
Huang Yaoshi is a fictional character in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy. He appears in the first two novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes as a supporting character....
on Peach Blossom Island with his nephew Ouyang Ke. Ouyang wishes to arrange for a marriage between his nephew and Huang's daughter 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:...
. However, 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...
is also present and he contends with Ouyang Ke for Huang Rong's hand-in-marriage, with Zhou Botong
Zhou 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....
and 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...
supporting him. After a competition involving three rounds of tests between the two young men, Guo wins the contest, incurring the displeasure of the Ouyangs.
Later in the novel, Hong, Zhou and Guo are stranded at sea and are picked up by Ouyang's ship. When Ouyang realises that Guo had memorized the Nine Yin Manual, he attempts to trick and force Guo into writing a copy of the manual for him. However, under the instructions of Hong, Guo deliberately writes a wrong version of the manual for Ouyang, with verses written in reverse manner. Ouyang believes that he has succeeded in getting what he wants and attempts to kill Guo and Hong. Hong and Ouyang engage in a battle on the ship later and the ship sinks. Hong is poisoned by Ouyang during the fight and loses all his 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...
after using it to purge the venom from his body. The now powerless Hong, accompanied by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, are at the mercy of the Ouyangs, as the five of them are marooned on an island. Ouyang Ke is tricked by Huang into loosening a boulder, which falls on and crushes his leg. Ouyang Feng coerces the three of them to look after his nephew and provide them with food, and in return, he promises not to harm them as long as they are still on the island. At one point, Ouyang reveals that he is actually Ouyang Ke's biological father, after having an affair with his sister-in-law. He is eventually picked up by Wanyan Honglie's ship.
After leaving the island, Ouyang practices the Nine Yin Manual obsessively, believing it to be genuine. He kidnaps Huang Rong and tries to force her to interpret the verses for him, but she provides him with wrong information, without him realizing that he has been deceived. Before the novel ends, Ouyang is seen to have become insane due to practising the manual's skills wrongly, but ironically, his prowess in martial arts has also improved tremendously.
The Return of the Condor Heroes
Ouyang makes a few brief appearances in the sequel novel. He is now insane and meets the young 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....
by coincidence. He likes Yang and makes Yang his godson, promising to teach him martial arts. Yang learns the "Toad Skill" from Ouyang and uses it on two occasions in self-defence against bullies, and refuses to tell the truth when enquired by 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...
and 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:...
on how he learnt the skill. Ouyang appears again when Yang 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...
are practising martial arts on Mount Zhongnan. Ouyang wants to teach Yang some skills, but does not want Xiaolongnü to overhear him, so he immobilizes her. He enters a fit of insanity later and leaves.
Ouyang appears for one last time on Mount Hua
Mount Hua
Mount Hua or Hua Shan in Chinese is located in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. Also known as Xiyuè, Western Great Mountain, it is one of China's Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance...
, where he meets Yang and his old rival 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...
again. The two rivals engage each other in a fierce battle again, which lasted four days. The battle is only interrupted when Yang comes at intervals to serve them meals. The animosity between the two rivals is too strong for them to bear and they continue to pit their inner energies against each other for a full day. Both of them suffer from exhaustion but they are unwilling to back down to uphold their ego. They decide to use Yang, who has been an observer for the past few days, as an intermediate. Ouyang and Hong teach Yang their respective skills and ask Yang to perform for each other to see.
Hong teaches Yang his famous "Dog Beating Staff Technique". Ouyang has apparently lost after Yang performs the last stance "No Dogs Under Heaven". Ouyang spends the following night thinking of a counter move and the next morning he asks Yang to perform for Hong to see. Hong is shocked when he sees that Ouyang has managed to defeat his most powerful move. Hong finally realises that his rivalry with Ouyang is merely an illusion as there will not be an eventual victor between the two of them. Hong laughs hysterically and embraces Ouyang in defeat. At the same time, Ouyang seems to have recovered from his insanity as he finally recognises Hong. The two rivals die together amidst laughter and forgotten past feuds. Yang buries them side by side on Mount Hua.
Martial arts and skills
- Toad Skill (蛤蟆功) – Ouyang's signature martial arts technique. Its greatest weakness is that it can be overcome by a combination of Wang ChongyangWang ChongyangWang 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...
's "First Heaven Skill" and Duan ZhixingDuan ZhixingDuan Zhixing was the 18th ruler of the Kingdom of Dali between 1172 and 1200. Duan's reign was marred by the power struggles within the influential Gao family, whose power had long eclipsed the ruling Duan family.-Reign:...
's "Yiyang Finger". - Nine Yin Manual skills (九陰「假」經) – Ouyang is tricked into practicing the conventional version of the skills in a reverse manner. He becomes insane as a consequence, but ironically, his prowess in martial arts improves tremendously.
- Divine Serpent Fist (靈蛇拳) – a type of fist style that involves snake-like twirling and curling movements to strike an opponent from various angles.
- Divine Serpent Staff Skill (靈蛇杖法) – Ouyang wields an iron staff that has a poisonous snake perched on it. His staff movements will cause the snake to bite his opponent at will and the snake's venom can cause immediate death.
- Thousand Li in one moment (瞬息千里) – Ouyang's qinggong
- Force-reverse MeridianMeridian (Chinese medicine)The meridian is a path through which the life-energy known as "qi" is believed to flow, in traditional Chinese medicine. There is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.- Main concepts :...
(逆轉經脈) – Ouyang's inner energyNeigongNeigong, 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...
skill - Divine Camel Snowy Mountain Palm (神駝雪山掌)
- Bone-penetrating Dianxue Skill (透骨打穴法) – a type of acupuncture pointAcupuncture pointAcupuncture points are locations on the body that are the focus of acupuncture, acupressure, sonopuncture and laser acupuncture treatment. Several hundred acupuncture points are considered to be located along meridians...
sealing technique
External links
Ouyang Feng 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....