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Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain

Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain

Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain (simplified: 雪山飞狐, traditional: 雪山飛狐, pinyin: Xuěshān Fēihú, Syut3 Saan1 Fei1 Wu4), also known as the Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain is the twelfth wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in Hong Kong’s New Evening Post1 from 9 February to 18 June 1959.

The novel is one of Jin Yong’s shortest works at 130,359 Chinese characters. Unlike his other novels which use poetic phrases or couplets for chapter titles, Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain simply uses numbered chapters.

The novel is unique among Jin Yong’s works for its innovative narrative structure, employing frame narrative and multiple narrators to tell a story that spans a single day but encompasses over a century of history through flashbacks. It is also one of Jin Yong’s shortest works at just 10 chapters and was later followed by a prequel, Side Story of the Flying Fox, in 1960.

Like his other works, Jin Yong revised the novel when it was published as a book in 1975 as the Second Edition. A second revision was published in early 2003 as the Third Edition.

Spoiler alert Wuxia Wiki articles aim to provide encyclopaedic information and will inevitably contain spoilers. Jump to the translation if you prefer to avoid spoilers.

Title translation

The title is literally flying fox of the snowy mountain. The official English translation of the novel uses Foxy Volant of the Snowy Mountain, which Jin Yong references in the Afterword.

The term “fox volant” is a more archaic and, while volant indicates a flying mammal, it loses the dynamic sense of flight that “flying fox” conveys.

It comes from Hu Fei’s nickname as the Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain that he acquired due to his exceptional martial arts skills. “Flying” describes his incredible qinggong2 abilities, while “fox” is homonym of his surname Hu.

Plot

Background

The story takes place in China’s Changbai Mountains3 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor4 of the Qing dynasty.5 The events unfold on a single day—the 15th day of the third month in the 45th year of Qianlong’s reign (19 April 1780).

Summary

The narrative begins when Tao Baishui and his son unearth a treasure chest in the snowy mountains. This discovery draws various martial artists seeking to claim it, including Master Xiong Yuanxian of the Pingtong Armed Escort, Ruan Shizhong and Cao Yunqi of the Northern Branch of the Tianlong School, and Yin Ji of the Southern Branch.

During their struggle, a mysterious monk named Baoshu overpowers them and forces them to travel to a manor atop Jade Brush Peak. The manor’s owner, Du Ximun, has invited these martial artists to help him confront an enemy known as Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain, Hu Fei.

Through various characters’ narratives, we learn that the treasure chest contains a precious saber connected to Li Zicheng,6 the rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty.7 The saber’s history involves four bodyguards of Li Zicheng—Hu, Miao, Tian, and Fan—whose descendants have been locked in a deadly feud due to a misunderstanding that has persisted for generations.

The story reaches its climax when Hu Fei arrives at the peak and meets Miao Ruolan, daughter of the formidable martial artist Miao Renfeng. Despite their families’ history, they fall in love. However, their romance is complicated when Miao Renfeng challenges Hu Fei to a duel, mistakenly believing that Hu has dishonored his daughter.

The novel ends with a deliberate cliffhanger as Hu Fei and Miao Renfeng find themselves stranded on a crumbling cliff. Hu Fei has an opportunity to defeat Miao Renfeng but hesitates, knowing the man could become his father-in-law. The author leaves the conclusion to the reader’s imagination.

Themes

Family and vengeance

The novel explores how misunderstandings and vengeance can perpetuate cycles of violence across generations. The feud between the four families illustrates the destructive nature of revenge and the importance of truth and reconciliation.

Love versus duty

Through Hu Fei’s relationship with Miao Ruolan and his conflict with her father, the novel examines the tension between personal desires and familial obligations.

Truth and perspective

The novel’s multiple narrators present different versions of past events, highlighting how truth can be subjective and how misunderstandings can have far-reaching consequences.

Historical legacy

The story connects personal conflicts to broader historical events, particularly through the legacy of Li Zicheng’s rebellion and its impact on later generations.

Cast

See more: Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain characters

Main characters

  • Hu Fei (胡斐 – Hú Fěi) – The protagonist, son of Hu Yidao, known as “Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain”
  • Miao Ruolan (苗若蘭 – Miáo Ruòlán) – Daughter of Miao Renfeng who falls in love with Hu Fei
  • Hu Yidao (胡一刀 – Hú Yīdāo) the Black-faced Divine – A legendary hero from Liaodong8
  • Miao Renfeng (苗人鳳 – Miáo Rénfèng) the Golden-faced Buddha – A powerful martial artist

Important characters

  • Tian Guinong (田歸農 – Tián Guīnóng) – A scheming martial artist who caused Hu Yidao’s death
  • Ping Asi (平阿四 – Píng Āsì) – A humble man who rescued and raised Hu Fei
  • Nan Lan (南蘭 – Nán Lán) – Miao Renfeng’s wife and Miao Ruolan’s mother
  • Baoshu (寶樹 – Bǎoshù) – A mysterious monk with complex connections to the story
  • Du Ximun (杜希孟 – Dù Xī Mèng) – Owner of the manor on Jade Brush Peak

Martial arts

The novel features several distinctive martial arts techniques:

  • Hu Family Saber Technique (胡家刀法) – A powerful saber technique developed by the Hu family
  • Wall-climbing Gecko Technique (壁虎游墙功) – A qinggong skill used for scaling walls
  • Spring Silkworm Palm (春蚕掌法) – A defensive technique with extremely short-range attacks
  • Dharma Sword Technique (达摩剑法) – A Shaolin sword style focusing on either pure attack or pure defense

Behind the scenes

In the revised afterword, Jin Yong addressed speculation that he had drawn inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon, clarifying that he had not. He noted that similar narrative devices had been used in classical works like One Thousand and One Nights and Stories to Instruct the World.9

Adaptations

Film

Web film

  • The Hidden Fox (2022) by iQiyi production starring Zhao Huawei and Chen Yusi

Television series

Most adaptations combine this novel with Side Story of the Flying Fox into a single story. See the article on Side Story of the Flying Fox.

Radio

The 1981 Hong Kong’s RTHK ran a radio drama for 15 episodes from 8 June to 26 June from Monday to Fridays during the “Jin Yong wuxia world” segment.

It was directed by Stephen Shin.10 The production starred Ray Chan11 as Hu Fei, Zhu Manzi12 as Miao Ruolan, and Fu Qing-wai[^fuqingwei] as Miao Renfeng.

Video games

Hu Fei appears as a playable character in the 2008 PC fighting game Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation.

Manhua

Jonesky13 released Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain, produced by Fung Wan creator Ma Wing-shing,14 illustrated by Leung Wai-ka and Wong Shui-bun.

In 2018, a manhua adaptation was released on Tencent Comics platform.

Legacy

Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain stands as one of Jin Yong’s most innovative works in terms of narrative structure. Its use of multiple narrators and frame narrative influenced later wuxia fiction and demonstrated the genre’s potential for sophisticated storytelling techniques.

The novel’s deliberate cliffhanger ending was also unusual for its time and has sparked decades of discussion among readers about the characters’ fates. This ambiguous conclusion challenged conventions of wuxia fiction and has been cited as an example of the genre’s potential for complex storytelling.

Translations

The official English translation by Olivia Mok15 was published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press in 1993, with a second edition released in 1996. This was the first Jin Yong novel to be translated into English.

See also

Footnotes

  1. 新晚報 – Xīn Wǎnbào. A Hong Kong evening newspaper affiliated with Ta Kung Pao. See Wikipedia. ↩

  2. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Literally lightness skill. The ability to move with superhuman agility, and weightlessness through qi redistribution to leap over trees and roofs, and skip over water. See Wikipedia. ↩

  3. 長白山 – Chángbái Shān. A major mountain range in northeastern China. See Wikipedia. ↩

  4. 乾隆 – Qiánlóng. The sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty who reigned from 1711 to 1799. See Wikipedia. ↩

  5. 清 – Qīng. A dynasty ruled by the Manchu people from 1644 to 1912. See Wikipedia. ↩

  6. 李自成 – Lǐ Zìchéng. A Chinese rebel leader who led a peasant revolt that overthrew the Ming dynasty. See Wikipedia. ↩

  7. 明 – Míng. A dynasty that ruled China from 1368 to 1644. See Wikipedia. ↩

  8. 遼東 – Liáodōng. A historical region in northeast China. See Wikipedia. ↩

  9. 喻世明言 – Yù Shì Míng Yán. A collection of vernacular short stories compiled by Feng Menglong during the Ming dynasty, also known as Stories Old and New. See Wikipedia. ↩

  10. 冼杞然 – Xiǎn Qǐrán. A radio drama director at RTHK. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

  11. 陳偉匡 – Chén Wěikuāng. A voice actor who played Hu Fei. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

  12. 朱曼子 – Zhū Màn Zǐ. A voice actress who played Miao Ruolan. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

  13. 天下出版 – Tiānxià Chūbǎn. A Hong Kong publishing house founded by Ma Wing-shing. See Wikipedia. ↩

  14. 馬榮成 – Mǎ Róngchéng. A Hong Kong comic artist and creator of Fung Wan. See Wikipedia. ↩

  15. 莫錦屏 – Mò Jǐnpíng ↩