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| Yang Guo (楊過) | |
|---|---|
| The Return of the Condor Heroes character | |
| Created by | Jin Yong |
| Portrayed by | see below |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | "Condor Hero" (神雕俠), "Western Eccentric" (西狂) |
| Aliases | Gaizhi (改之) (style name) |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 1224 |
| Family | Yang Kang, Mu Nianci |
| Spouse(s) | Xiaolongnü |
Yang Guo (simplified Chinese: 杨过; traditional Chinese: 楊過; pinyin: Yáng Guò; Jyutping: Joeng4 Gwo3) is the fictional protagonist in the 1959 Chinese Wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong[1].
Yang Guo is a personification icon in Chinese Wuxia culture for rebellious youth. His love affair with his teacher Xiaolongnü is one of the classic love stories in Wuxia fiction. One of the main themes in the novel is his personal development from an immature and rebellious youth into a legendary hero as he grows older. He bears a striking resemblance to his father Yang Kang for his cunning and mercurial nature, but also shares some traits of the kindness and devotion of his mother Mu Nianci.
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Biography
Birth and heritage
Yang Guo is born in 1224[2] to Yang Kang and Mu Nianci. He traces his lineage to Yang Zaixing, a famous subordinate of Yue Fei, who participated actively in the war between Song and Jin. His birth is briefly mentioned towards the end in the prequel novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. His father Yang Kang is the primary antagonist in the prequel, who was notorious for having committed several acts of evil. Yang Kang acknowledged the man responsible for the death of his parents as his father and abetted the Jurchens of the Jin Empire in exploiting his own race (Han Chinese) of the Song Dynasty. As such, Yang Kang was seen by Han Chinese pugilists as a dishonorable traitor for choosing wealth, fame and power over his own heritage and parents. Yang Kang met his retributive end in the Temple of the Iron Spear after he was poisoned by a deadly venom when he struck Huang Rong's poisoned-stained spiky armour. His corpse was devoured by crows.
Mu Nianci was heavily pregnant with Yang Guo then and she decided to leave Yang Kang after Yang repeatedly disappointed her by breaking his promises to acknowledge himself as a Han Chinese. She suffered great pains and finally gave birth to Yang Guo shortly after Yang Kang's death. She met Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Guo Jing heard of Yang's death and he hoped that Yang's son will never follow in his father's footsteps. He named the baby boy "Guo" (過), which means "wrong", and style name "Gaizhi" (改之), which means "to correct it". Guo Jing hopes that Yang Guo would one day redeem his family's legacy and honour. He promised Mu Nianci that he would teach Yang Guo martial arts and groom him into a fine young hero when Yang becomes older.
Early life
Yang becomes an orphan at the age of 11 after the death of his mother. He wanders around the land and meets the couple Guo Jing and Huang Rong. They recognise him as the son of Yang Kang and take him into their care. Huang Rong is suspicious of Yang Guo as she feels that he bears an uncanny resemblance to his late father. She opposes her husband's decision to teach Yang Guo martial arts and only teaches him literary arts such as poetry and the classics.
Guo Jing brings Yang Guo to Mount Zhongnan for better guidance and tutelage in the Quanzhen Sect in orthodox martial arts and moral ethics. In an earlier misunderstanding, Guo Jing fought and defeated several Quanzhen students who mistook him for an enemy. The Quanzhen students seize the opportunity to vent their anger and frustration on Yang Guo after Guo Jing leaves. Yang is often picked on and bullied by his fellow students. Even Yang's teacher Zhao Zhijing is prejudiced against him and he does not teach Yang any practical martial arts. Yang is unable to withstand the ill-treatment and he flees from Quanzhen after injuring one of the bullies.
Yang ventures into the nearby Tomb of the Living Dead and meets Xiaolongnü and Granny Sun. Xiaolongnü refuses to let him stay in the tomb and asks Granny Sun to send him back to Quanzhen. Granny Sun likes the boy and she defends him from the bullies. The scuffle gradually escalates into a fight between Granny Sun and the Quanzhen members. Granny Sun is killed by Hao Datong of Quanzhen accidentally in the fight. Xiaolongnü appears at the critical moment and rescues Yang Guo.
Love relationship with Xiaolongnü
Yang Guo becomes a student of Xiaolongnü of the Ancient Tomb Sect and they live together in the Ancient Tomb for many years to come. Throughout these years, they develop a romantic relationship and their teacher-student relationship is merely a superficial one. When he meets Guo Jing and Huang Rong later, they immediately oppose his decision to marry his teacher. Their relationship is viewed as highly taboo in the Confucianist Chinese society of that era. Yang Guo's impulsive personality and lack of respect for other senior pugilists, compounded by the rebellious streak in him, made the situation worse and he leaves with Xiaolongnü after the quarrel.
Yang Guo becomes an outcast of the Wulin and he is despised by his fellow pugilists. However, he saves Guo Jing's family from danger time and time again as he still respects Guo Jing and Huang Rong as his surrogate uncle and aunt. He is separated from Xiaolongnü for numerous times in the story briefly over misunderstandings but are always reunited again after encountering tribulations as tests of their love. The most formidable opponent who stands in their way is Gongsun Zhi of the Passionless Valley. Xiaolongnü ventures into Gongsun's valley by chance and wants to settle there permanently to forget Yang Guo forever. However, Yang finds his way there by coincidence and their flames of passion for each other are ignited again.
From rebellious youth to legendary hero
Throughout the story, Yang Guo encounters several extraordinary and elite pugilists. He meets Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong of the Five Greats and they teach him some of their skills. Yang Guo is a fast learner with extreme wit and intelligence in him. He employs those skills he learnt to his advantage and uses them for greater purposes as he gradually matures. He creates a new palm technique called the "Melancholic Palms", which is a hybrid skill incorporating elements of all he had learnt earlier.
Yang Guo suspects initially that Guo Jing and Huang Rong are responsible for the death of his father. He meets Jinlun Guoshi of Mongolia and agrees to help the Mongolians kill Guo Jing. Yang Guo is impressed with Guo Jing's fierce loyalty to his country and race and strong sense of righteousness. He refrains from killing Guo Jing on a few occasions when he had the chance to, and feels ashamed of himself for intending to kill a national hero. He learns his father's story from Ke Zhen'e and gives up his desire for revenge. He joins Guo Jing's side and aids the Han Chinese in defending the city of Xiangyang from the Mongolian invaders. At the end of the novel, after he has attained his undisputed status as one of the greatest pugilists of his age, he kills the Mongolian leader Mongke Khan and halts the Mongolian invasion temporarily, forever becoming a national hero in the eyes of the people.
During the 16 years of separation from Xiaolongnü, Yang Guo further improves on his martial arts and progresses swiftly under the tutelage of the Condor. He travels around the land and does a series of heroic deeds to help the common people. He is hailed as the "Condor Hero" (神雕俠) and his deeds become legendary. At the end of the novel, Yang Guo becomes the "Western Eccentric" of the new Five Greats, replacing his late godfather "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng.
Martial arts and skills
Ouyang Feng
At the beginning of the story, Yang Guo encounters "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng, a villain from the prequel novel who has become insane. Ouyang Feng likes Yang and makes him his godson. However, Yang Guo never knew his godfather's name until several years later. Ouyang Feng teaches him the basics of his famous "Toad Skill" (蛤蟆功) as a form of self-defence. Yang used this skill once in his childhood on the Wu brothers while he was bullied by them and injured Wu Xiuwen severely. Later, he uses the skill again while he is bullied in Quanzhen Sect and he knocks out one of the bullies.
He meets his godfather for the last time while his godfather is fighting with the "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong. Ouyang Feng teaches him the Serpent Staff techniques before his death.
Peach Blossom Island
The orphan Yang Guo is taken in by the couple Guo Jing and Huang Rong after they recognise him as the son of Guo's sworn brother Yang Kang. Guo Jing met Yang before while the latter was still an infant and he was the one who named Yang Guo. Guo Jing likes the young Yang Guo and wants to teach Yang Guo martial arts and groom him into a fine young hero. However, Guo's wife Huang Rong opposes her husband's decision as she is suspicious of Yang Guo and feels that Yang bore an uncanny resemblance in his attitude and temperament to his late father.
Nevertheless, the couple still brings Yang Guo back to their home on Peach Blossom Island and raise him like Guo Jing's other two young disciples, the brothers Wu Dunru and Wu Xiuwen. However, Yang Guo does not learn any martial arts at all from them and he is only taught literary arts such as poetry and the classics. After Yang Guo injured Wu Xiuwen with his "Toad Skill", the couple decide that it is better for Yang to be instructed by Quanzhen Sect, one of the highly recognised righteous and orthodox sects in the Wulin and Guo sends him there.
Quanzhen Sect
In Quanzhen, Yang Guo becomes a student of Zhao Zhijing, one of the most senior students of the "Seven Immortals". However, Zhao harbours a grudge against Guo Jing after being defeated by him earlier in a misunderstanding. When Guo Jing entrusted Yang Guo to Quanzhen and left, Zhao vents his anger and frustration on Yang Guo. Zhao is determined not to instruct Yang Guo at all in the martial arts of Quanzhen and merely teaches him the literary and verbal forms to disguise his negligence. Yang Guo is able to recite the verses of the martial arts smoothly but has not been taught at all on how to apply them in actual combat.
Yang Guo only learnt how to apply those verses in martial arts after he joined the Ancient Tomb Sect. He uses the verses to help himself and Xiaolongnü master the "Swordplay of Jade Maiden".
Ancient Tomb Sect
Yang Guo flees from Quanzhen one day after he wounded a fellow student with the Toad Skill when he is unable to bear with all the bullying and ill-treatment. He ventures into the nearby Ancient Tomb and meets Xiaolongnü. After the death of Granny Sun, who stood up to Quanzhen on behalf of Yang Guo, Xiaolongnü promised Sun before her death that she will take care of Yang forever. Since then, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü live together in the Ancient Tomb for many years to come and they develop romantic feelings for each other.
While in the Ancient Tomb, Yang Guo learnt the graceful and elegant martial arts and skills of the sect. Some of those are as follows:
- Qinggong of the Ancient Tomb Sect (古墓派輕功)
- "Fist of Beauties" (美女拳法)
- "Palm of Infinity Web" (天羅地網式)
- "Swordplay of Jade Maiden" (玉女素心劍法) aka "Jade Maiden Heart Manual" (玉女心經)
Nine Yin Manual (九陰真經)
Once, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü are fleeing from Li Mochou and they stumble upon a secret chamber in the Ancient Tomb. They discover carvings of the Nine Yin Manual on the stone walls and practise them. Although Yang Guo does not manage to fully master all the skills of the Nine Yin Manual, he integrates the fragmental knowledge he gains from those carvings into his own martial arts and his prowess improves tremendously.
The Nine Yin Manual is also a legacy of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. In the sequel novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, the mysterious Yellow Dress Maiden defeats Zhou Zhiruo's evil "Nine Yin White Bone Claw" (九陰白骨爪), an evil derivation of the manual, with an orthodox version of the claw. Her surname is briefly mentioned to be "Yang" and she hints to Zhang Wuji that she is a descendant of the Condor Hero Couple (Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü), by saying: "Behind Mount Zhongnan in the Tomb of the Living Dead, the Condor Hero Couple disappears from the Jianghu" (終南山後, 活死人墓, 神雕俠侶, 絕跡江湖).
Hong Qigong
Once, Xiaolongnü leaves Yang Guo after a misunderstanding. Yang Guo wanders around the land searching for her as he misses her terribly. Yang meets the "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong and his godfather "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng on Mount Hua. Hong and Ouyang are long-term rivals as mentioned in the prequel novel and they fight each other again on the summit of Mount Hua. Neither emerges the victor after several rounds of fighting which lasted for days.
By then, both of them are physically weakened after pitting their inner energy against each other. Both of them thought of new techniques to counter each other's moves but their low energy levels prevent them from doing so. Yang Guo has been an observer for the past few days and they decide to use him as an intermediary, performing each technique for the other to see. Yang learns the "Dog-Beating Staff Skill" (打狗棒法) from Hong. Eventually, Hong and Ouyang finally realise that their rivalry is merely an illusion and they embrace each other, dying together in laughter amidst forgotten past feuds.
Huang Yaoshi
Yang Guo meets the "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi once while he is escaping with Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying from Li Mochou's pursuit. Huang helps them defeat and drive away Li Mochou. After that, Huang chats with Yang and discovers that they both shared similarities in their personalities. Huang Yaoshi likes Yang Guo and teaches him his "Finger-Flicking Skill" (彈指神通) and "Jade Flute Swordplay" (玉簫劍法). Huang Yaoshi also teaches Yang Guo how to employ his strong inner energy to his advantage.
Dugu Qiubai
In a dramatic and tragic twist of events, Guo Jing's daughter Guo Fu attacks Yang Guo in anger over a misunderstanding and slices off his right arm. Yang is weakened and delirious from losing too much blood from the wound, but he manages to stagger away and subsequently saved by the Condor. The Condor is once a companion of Dugu Qiubai, a great swordsman who lived long ago and whose swordplay skills were unparalleled in the Jianghu. Dugu's name "Qiubai" literally meant "to beg for defeat", indicating that he had never been defeated before.
The Condor helps Yang Guo recover from his wound and leads him to the items left behind by Dugu Qiubai. Yang Guo inherits Dugu Qiubai's Heavy Iron Sword (玄鐵重劍) and learns Dugu's swordplay techniques from the Condor. Dugu's swordplay skills are advantageous to the handicapped Yang Guo as they focus on great strength rather than fancy swordplay moves. Yang Guo trains with the Condor and overcomes his handicap to wield the Heavy Iron Sword with one arm.
Yang Guo confronts a group of pugilists on Mount Zhongnan later and defeats them easily using the Heavy Iron Sword. His enemies are unable to withstand the heavy weight of his sword. After his separation from Xiaolongnü again, he returns to join the Condor and continues with his training for another seven long years. By then, Yang Guo had become the greatest swordsman of his age and few can match him.
Melancholic Palms
Yang Guo is deeply saddened after being separated from his wife Xiaolongnü after their brief reunion. He has to wait for 16 years before they meet each other again. His agony and misery spurs him to create a new set of palm techniques, known as the "Melancholic Palms" (黯然銷魂掌), which incorporates elements of all the martial arts and skills he had learnt in his lifetime. The palm techniques are based on Yang Guo's emotions, as the more dejected he feels, the greater the power of the skill.
Yang Guo spars with Huang Yaoshi and "Old Imp" Zhou Botong using his Melancholic Palms and they are impressed. Huang praises Yang, commenting that Yang's new palm techniques can rival his son-in-law's "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms". Zhou Botong even goes down on his knees to beg Yang Guo to teach him the Melancholic Palms. However, due to Zhou's fundamentally mischievous and cheerful nature, Zhou is unable to grasp the essence of the palm technique and hence unable to master it.
Film and TV adaptations
- List of actors who played Yang Guo
- Patrick Tse (1960)
- Law Lok Lam (1976)
- Alexander Fu Sheng (1982)
- Leslie Cheung (1983)
- Meng Fei (1984)
- Andy Lau (1983, 1991-1992)
- Louis Koo (1995)
- Christopher Lee (1998)
- Richie Ren (1998)
- Huang Xiaoming (2006)
Notes and references
- ^ a.k.a. Louis Cha
- ^ See the timeline of events.
See also
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