Mount Hua Sect
| Mount Hua Sect | |||
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| Traditional Chinese | 華山派 | ||
| Simplified Chinese | 华山派 | ||
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The Mount Hua Sect, also known as the Huashan Sect, is a fictional martial arts sect mentioned in several works of wuxia fiction. It is commonly featured as one of the leading orthodox sects in the wulin (martial artists' community). It is named after the place where it is based, Mount Hua. The sect appears in three of Jin Yong's novels.
There exists a real-life Mount Hua Sect, but it has scarcely any association with martial arts.[a] It is a religious sect and is one of the branches of the Taoist Quanzhen School.[citation needed] It was founded in the Song dynasty by Hao Datong, one of the "Seven Immortals of Quanzhen", who also appears as a character in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy.[1] However, in wuxia fiction, these two sects do not appear to have any connection at all.
History[]
The origin of the sect is unknown.[citation needed]
In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, set in the Yuan dynasty, the Mount Hua Sect is briefly mentioned to be one of the six leading orthodox sects in the jianghu.[2] Its leader is the morally bankrupt Xianyu Tong.[2]
In The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, the sect's leader Yue Buqun is the sect's 13th-generation leader.[3] The Mount Hua Sect is part of the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance and Yue Buqun becomes the alliance's chief after defeating his predecessor, Zuo Lengshan of the Mount Song Sect.[3] The novel's protagonist, Linghu Chong, is Yue Buqun's most senior apprentice. In the novel, the Mount Hua Sect is inferior to only three sects: Shaolin, Wudang and the Sun Moon Holy Cult.[3]
In Sword Stained with Royal Blood, set near the end of the Ming dynasty, the protagonist, Yuan Chengzhi, is a member of the Mount Hua Sect. His master, Mu Renqing, is the sect's leader and is reputed to be the best living swordsman in the jianghu (martial artists' community) at that time. The Mount Hua Sect is one of the Four Great Sword Sects alongside Emei, Kunlun and Diancang.[4]
Skills and martial arts[]
In The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect mainly comprise swordplay techniques and inner energy cultivation skills. The sect is split into the Sword and Qi factions, which focus on swordplay techniques and inner energy cultivation respectively.[3] The division is caused by an internal conflict arising from a dispute over the Sunflower Manual by the founders of the factions.[3] The Qi faction seized control of leadership of the sect and forced the Sword faction into exile. Since then, the Qi faction, headed by Yue Buqun, has been teaching the sect's members inner energy skills and other forms of martial arts while placing little focus on swordplay, for which the Mount Hua Sect is better known in the jianghu (martial artists' community).[3]
Linghu Chong becomes famous after he learns the Nine Swords of Dugu from the Sword faction elder Feng Qingyang.[3] Linghu Chong's generation sees the revival of the Sword faction. In Sword Stained with Royal Blood, Mu Renqing is highly revered in the jianghu for his outstanding swordplay techniques, as his nickname "Divine Sword Immortal Ape" suggests.[4] Yuan Chengzhi inherits Mu Renqing's swordplay skills, while Mu Renqing's two other apprentices, Huang Zhen and Gui Xinshu, specialise in unarmed combat martial arts.[4]
List of skills and martial arts[]
- Note: Although the skills listed here are entirely fictional, some may be based on or named after actual martial arts.
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See also[]
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ Cha, Louis. The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射鵰英雄傳). Ming Pao, 1957.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cha, Louis. The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Ming Pao, 1961.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Cha, Louis. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Ming Pao, 1967.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Cha, Louis. Sword Stained with Royal Blood. Ming Pao, 1956.
External links[]
- Organizations in Wuxia fiction