Huang Rong

This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (August 2009)

Huang Rong (simplified Chinese: 黄蓉; traditional Chinese: 黃蓉; pinyin: Huáng Róng; Jyutping: Wong4 Jung4) is a fictional character from the Wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong^[1]. She plays a supporting role in the sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Huang Rong is the love interest and wife of Guo Jing. She is also the daughter of the "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi of the "Five Greats".

Character description

Huang Rong is described as a young beggar dressed in filthy clothing during her first appearance in the novel. Her face is stained with mud and her clothes are covered with dust. When Guo Jing agrees to meet her on the riverbank, her appearance has totally changed. She looks completely different from the beggar earlier, now that she is clean and dressed in beautiful clothes. She is described to be an unearthly beauty such that Guo Jing is taken aback by her new look.

Roles

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Huang Rong is born to the "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng. Her mother died shortly after she was born and her father raised her all by himself on Peach Blossom Island. She is intelligent and quick-learning so her father imparted her with all his skills and knowledge. She flees from home after an argument with her father. She disguises herself as a young beggar by dressing in filthy rags.

Huang Rong meets Guo Jing in an inn for the first time while she was causing trouble there. Guo Jing feels sorry for her and decides to pay for her. Huang Rong finds Guo interesting and she orders all kinds of fine cuisine and shares with him. Guo Jing even gives her some gold ingots he received from Genghis Khan. Guo Jing offers her his prized Ferghana horse, a rare Mongolian breed, when she asks for it. Since then, Huang Rong is attracted to Guo Jing when she sees that he is a simple, honest and innocent young lad.

Initially, Huang Rong is better in martial arts as compared to Guo Jing, as Guo Jing is slow-learning despite being physically stronger. They embark on their adventures together although Guo's teachers, the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan", dislike Huang Rong and oppose Guo Jing's decision to be with her. They meet the "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong and Hong teaches Guo his "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms" in return for Huang Rong's favours of preparing fine cuisine for him everyday during the brief period of time he spent with them.

Hong Qigong initially refuses to teach Huang Rong any skills when he realises that she is the daughter of his rival Huang Yaoshi. However, he starts to like her for her cute nature, and especially after she and Guo Jing saved his life from Ouyang Feng on the remote island. He fought with Ouyang Feng and was bitten by Ouyang's poisonous serpent. He loses all his powers after using them to purge the poison from his body. He teaches Huang Rong his "Dog Beating Staff Skill" after he decides to pass on the position of chief of the Beggars' Sect to her.

Huang Rong has a role in the death of the antagonist Yang Kang although she does not kill him directly. Yang Kang hits her in an attempt to silence her but he hits the spikes on the armour she is wearing instead. The armour is stained with venom and the poison seeps through Yang's wounds into his body and kills him eventually.

Towards the end of the novel, on the summit of Mount Hua, Huang Yaoshi finally consents to his daughter's marriage to Guo Jing.

The Return of the Condor Heroes

In The Return of the Condor Heroes, the Guo Jing and Huang Rong play supporting roles in the character development of the protagonist Yang Guo. The adult Huang Rong is now portrayed as a mature wife and mother with her former trickster nature downplayed but her strong intuition and unmatched intelligence still remain evident.

During the first meeting with Yang Guo, Guo Jing accepts him immediately and wants to raise him like a son and groom him into a young hero. However, Huang Rong has reservations regarding her husband's decision. She feels that Yang bears an uncanny resemblance to his late father in his attitude and behavior and does not trust Yang fully. Yang is only taught literary arts and Confucian values during the brief period of time he spent with the couple.

However, Huang Rong's attitude towards Yang Guo changes over time as her husband shows high regard for the boy and especially after Yang selflessly saved their family from danger for a number of times. She helps Yang fine-tune his Dog Beating Staff Skill which she learnt earlier from Hong Qigong. After Yang saved her daughter Guo Xiang from the Mongolians, she finally trusts him. However, after her elder daughter Guo Fu sliced off Yang Guo's arm in anger, she fears for her daughter's life as Yang remains a dangerous and unpredictable foe. However, Yang forgives Guo Fu and saves her life again later.

Huang Rong joins her husband in the defence of Xiangyang and provides Guo Jing with all the moral support to resist the invaders. Huang Rong is killed along with her husband and children after the city of Xiangyang eventually fell to the invaders on 31 January 1273.

Martial arts and skills

Huang Yaoshi

Huang Rong learns most her martial arts and skills from her father "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi. These skills demand a high level of intelligence and meticulousness to master so they reflect Huang Rong's traits very well. Her husband Guo Jing is unable to fully grasp all these skills. Some of these skills are as follows:

• "Peach Flower Fallen Hero Palm" (桃花落英掌) - known in later editions of the novel as "Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm" (落英神剑掌).
• "Divine Flicking Finger" (弹指神通) - a unique technique of channeling a large amount of inner energy into a finger and releasing it with a precise amount of strength and control. It is used to propel and fire objects at enemies with both force and accuracy.
• "Jade Flute Swordplay" (玉箫剑法) - a type of swordplay which focusses on attacking an opponent's acupuncture points.

Hong Qigong

Huang Rong meets the "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong while out on adventure with Guo Jing. Hong Qigong teaches them his martial arts in return for Huang Rong's favours of preparing fine cuisine for him everyday during the brief period of time he spent with them. The skills Huang Rong learnt from Hong are as follows:

• "Carefree Fist" (逍遥拳) - created by Hong Qigong in his younger days. It requires flexibility and smoothness as its name "carefree" implies.
• "Dog Beating Staff Skill" (打狗棒法) - one of the pre-requisites of becoming the Chief of the Beggars' Sect. This staff technique is one of the best of all staff and spear techniques for its ever-changing styles and movements. This skill is only known to the Chief and passed on from each chief to his successor. Hong Qigong teaches Huang Rong when he decides to pass on his position as chief to her. Huang Rong teaches Lu Youjiao this skill later when she names him as her successor.

Nine Yin Manual (九陰真經)

The Nine Yin Manual is the most coveted martial arts manual of its time for the incredible inner energy cultivation techniques and extraordinary skills it records. After Guo Jing memorised and mastered the skills detailed in the manual, he shared them with Huang Rong. Mastering the manual's skills allows both of them to maximise the potential of the various skills they have learnt earlier.

Other skills and abilities

• Laying formations – Huang Rong is well-versed in the art of laying formations such as the Eight Trigrams Formation to counter enemies' advances. She uses her powers to make huge rocks and boulders to form a powerful array and maze to confuse enemies and force them to retreat.
• Culinary skills – Huang Rong is an excellent cook as well. She prepared several fine dishes for Hong Qigong once to ask him to teach Guo Jing martial arts. Hong had a penchant for fine cuisine and could not resist the temptation that he had no choice but to keep his promise and teach Guo Jing.
• Miscellaneous skills and knowledge – Huang Rong acquired most of her knowledge of geography, medicine, strategy, music, literature and other fields from her father. Having such a wide database of knowledge proves useful as she is able to adapt in all kinds of situations.

Impact on Wuxia fiction

The female protagonists in Cha's works mostly play supporting roles in the character development of the male protagonists. They are often portrayed as the love interests of their male counterparts.

Huang Rong is arguably the only exception to this rule. The Legend of the Condor Heroes portray Huang Rong as a complex character and the love interest of the male protagonist Guo Jing. Their pairing may seem odd to readers at first but as the story progresses, readers actually do find that Guo Jing and Huang Rong complement each other with their strengths and weaknesses.

Huang Rong is also considered to be the most intelligent character of all in Cha's works. Her brilliance is displayed frequently in the novels, along with her mischievousness and shrewdness.

Film and TV adaptations

• List of actresses who played Huang Rong
  • Yung Siu Yi (1958)
  • Tanny Nien (1977)
  • Niu Niu (1978, 1981)
  • Michelle Yim (1976)
  • Barbara Yung (1982)
  • Susanna Au Yeung (1983)
  • Shen Hairong (1984)
  • Idy Chan (1988)
  • Athena Chu (1994)
  • Bonnie Ngai (1995)
  • Shirley He (1998)
  • Patricia Ha (1998)
  • Zhou Xun (2003)
  • Kong Lin (2006)
  • Ariel Lin (2008)

See also

• Guo Jing
• List of characters from The Legend of the Condor Heroes
• List of characters from The Return of the Condor Heroes

Notes and references