How exactly is Jin Yong's story different from other martial arts stories?
In fact, we read martial arts stories just to use the perspective of the protagonist in the book to experience happy revenge, to experience those experiences we can't have, just because the protagonist has the blessing of the "protagonist's aura", so the beauty of the world is always intertwined with them.
And this is the special feature of Jin Yong's story, and the supporting characters he wrote can also have a particularly wonderful life, which makes us as ordinary people have a sense of substitution.
(Stills of Guo Jing, Zhou Botong, Hong Qigong)
For example, in "The Condor Heroes", it is clear that Guo Jing and Yang Guo are the protagonists, but when it comes to the third Huashan sword discussion, it is the "old urchin" Zhou Botong who is the supporting role, such a setting is unexpected, but what is the reason?
First, the third Huashan sword discussion
If you read "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" first, and then "The Condor Heroes", you will definitely look forward to the third Huashan sword discussion at the end of the book, because the previous two Huashan sword discussions were the dialogues of absolute masters, but they did not make the reader happy.
(Old three absolute stills)
For example, when Huashan discussed the sword for the first time, the original Five Absolute War took seven days and seven nights, but the problem is that Jin Yong did not present this plot, but only mentioned it by Zhou Botong's mouth.
And the second time Huashan on the sword and the heroes started fighting, it was difficult to satisfy readers because the number of participants was too small.
When the plot develops to the end of "The Condor Heroes", the group of heroes once again gathers in Huashan, this time the number of top masters is the highest of three times, seeing that a wonderful duel is about to begin, especially when there are two protagonists at the same time, it really makes people look forward to how Jin Yong will arrange the winning and losing relationship between them.
As a result, Jin Yong chose not to take the usual path, directly turning this competition into a literary fight, and the group of heroes did not have the heart to start a fight, and decided to choose a new generation of five masters in the middle of conversation and laughter.
This is understandable, the rivers and lakes have never been fighting and killing, but human affection, at this time, the group of heroes is already a family, and it is inevitable to hurt the harmony, but Guo Jing and Yang Guo are stronger and weaker, it is difficult to conclude, but this is not the point, the point is why the person who won the championship is Zhou Botong?
(Guo Jing stills)
Of course, the book is not without reasons, such as Huang Yaoshi said: "Old urchin, old urchin, you are really amazing, I Huang Lao Xie is indifferent to 'name', Master Yi Lantern regards 'name' as illusory, only you, but your heart is empty, you don't have a 'name' idea, but you are higher than us." Eastern Evil, West Madness, Southern Monk, Northern Xia, Middle Urchin, among the five, you are the first! ”
But who said that indifference to fame and fortune can be the first of the five? This statement seems to lack the slightest bit of persuasiveness.
Jin Yong gave Zhou Botong the identity of the head of the five peerless, and there may be other reasons, such as the historical prototype of this character, and this matter has to start with another grandmaster-level figure.
Second, the masters who appeared in later generations
At the end of "The Condor Heroes", Jin Yong arranged for Master Jueyuan of the Shaolin Sect to appear with his little apprentice Zhang Junbao, and those who are familiar with the original work know that Zhang Junbao is the later Zhang Sanfeng.
However, if you only know this character through the TV series "Legend of Relying on the Sky and Slaying the Dragon", you probably don't know that he still has a master-apprentice relationship with Yang Guo, and Yang Guo passed him a few tricks to make him suddenly open, but just those few moves are not enough to make him a later generation of grandmasters.
(Yang Guo stills)
After Zhang Sanfeng later escaped from the Shaolin Temple with Guo Xiang, he received a part of the Jiuyang Divine Gong taught by Master Jueyuan before his death, and then created the Emei Jiuyang Gong and Wudang Jiuyang Gong respectively, but this was still not enough for him to reach later heights.
What really achieved Zhang Sanfeng's martial arts status was that Taiji Divine Skill, but how did he create this move? Is it just your own imagination?
Of course not, Zhang Sanfeng may have also worshiped a master, and that person is the Fire Dragon Real Man.
There is a description in the "Sanfeng Quanshu - Mr. Sanfeng This Biography Wang Xiling Respectful Narrative": "During the Yuan Yanyou period, Zhang Sanfeng was sixty-seven years old, entered the final Nanshan cultivation, worshipped the fire dragon real person as a teacher, and obtained the will of the golden pill. After four years of mountain dwelling, the effect is silent. Those who hear the Tao, must use both law and money, travel in life, and be very good, empty of sacks, do not feel tears, fire dragons are strange, enter the reason, is to pass on the secret of dansa pointing, ordered to go out of the mountain to cultivate. ”
So the person who really transformed Zhang Sanfeng's martial arts was his last master, the Fire Dragon Zhenren, but who is this master?
Very simple, there are two pieces of information here, one is who created Tai Chi, and the other is "Ultimate South Mountain", combining these two information, the answer can naturally only point to one person - Zhou Botong.
Third, Zhou Botong's other identity
As said in the "Sanfeng Quanshu - Mr. Sanfeng This Biography of Wang Xiling", Zhang Sanfeng later went to Ultimate Nanshan to worship the teacher, but the Quanzhen Sect has almost fallen apart, who will stay in Chongyang Palace? Naturally, there were only disciples who were originally from the Quanzhen Sect.
The later plot may be that Zhou Bo is tired of the idle days in the Valley of Hundred Flowers, so he re-emerged from the rivers and lakes, returned to Ultimate South Mountain, and wanted to make the Quanzhen Sect rise again, he assumed the name Fire Dragon Zhenren, and then met Zhang Sanfeng who came to worship the teacher, he also had a relationship with Zhang Sanfeng back then, seeing that Yang Guo that kid passed him a few tricks, at this time he was competitive, and naturally agreed to Zhang Sanfeng's worship of the teacher, and then passed on his Taiji divine skill to Zhang Sanfeng.
You may have to ask, where did Zhou Botong get the Taiji Divine Skill?
In fact, Jin Yong has already laid the foreshadowing in the book, and he showed the prototype of Taiji Shengong in the Mongolian military camp.
The book says: "The plate flew flat against the table, and when it hit a plate of roast lamb, the plate of lamb flew towards the old man, and the beef plate circled around the table a few times and stopped." It turns out that he is making a 'Tai Chi Force', like a Tai Chi diagram, repeating itself and continuously, and if a plate is thrown in the open space, the plate will go around in circles. ”
(Zhang Sanfeng stills)
You see, at this time, Zhang Sanfeng was still following Master Jueyuan in the Shaolin Temple, but Zhou Botong had already realized the true meaning of Tai Chi, as a Taoist senior, it was reasonable for this divine skill to be created by him and then passed into Zhang Sanfeng's hands.
The truth came out, it turned out that Zhou Botong's other identity was the Fire Dragon Real Man, he was Zhang Sanfeng's master, perhaps because of this, Jin Yong would arrange for Zhou Botong to suppress the two protagonists of Guo Jing and Yang Guo and become the first of the five peerless condors.
This is the interesting thing about Jin Yong's story, even the setting of the supporting characters in the book is quite exquisite, if you don't understand a little historical background, you may not be able to read the Easter eggs buried in the story by Jin Yong.