Hao Datong

Hao Datong

Contents

Hao Datong (simplified: 郝大通, traditional: 郝大通, pinyin: Hǎo Dàtōng, jyutping: hou2 daai6 tung4), known by his Daoist name Guangningzi (广宁子 — Guǎngníngzǐ), was the sixth of the Seven Zis of Quanzhen, the disciples of Wang Chongyang who led the Quanzhen Order after his death.

Biography

Early life and discipleship

Before he left the world, Hao Datong had been the richest man in Ninghai Prefecture in Shandong. He made a deep study of the Yijing and passed his time telling fortunes. He later became Wang Chongyang’s disciple at the Cave of Smoke and Mist. Wang Chongyang took off his own robe, tore off both its sleeves and gave it to him, saying, “勿患无袖，汝当自成” (“Do not fret that you have no sleeves. You must complete yourself.”). Xiu (袖, sleeve) sounds like shou (授, to impart): how much a shifu1 imparts matters less than one’s own awakening. In gratitude, Hao Datong wore sleeveless Daoist robes ever after. He was tall and stout, with something of the look of an official.

Niu Family Village

When the Seven Zis gathered near Lin’an to meet Huang Yaoshi, Hao Datong, Tan Chuduan and Liu Chuxuan waited outside Niu Family Village while the others went in. The three went after their martial uncle Zhou Botong, who was being chased by Ouyang Feng. Hao Datong lost sight of them after seven or eight li and searched for a day and a night without success. Returning at midnight, he reported that he had met the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan at Zhou Wang Temple, just back from Peach Blossom Island, where they had gone to keep an appointment with Huang Yaoshi but found him away.

That night the seven formed the Big Dipper Formation, with Hao Datong in the Kaiyang position of the handle, against Mei Chaofeng, who kicked at his and Ma Yu’s wrists. When Huang Yaoshi joined the fight, he slipped behind Hao Datong and kicked him head over heels. Before the night was out, Ouyang Feng had mortally wounded Tan Chuduan.

Misty Rain Pavilion

At the Misty Rain Pavilion in Jiaxing, the six surviving Zis fought Huang Yaoshi again in the Big Dipper Formation, with Ke Zhen’e taking Tan Chuduan’s place and Yin Zhiping guarding him. Hao Datong, Sun Buer, Ke Zhen’e and Yin Zhiping were the weaker fighters, and the formation had to fall back whenever one of them gave ground. Huang Yaoshi kicked Hao Datong head over heels, snatched up his jian and drove it at his chest, but Liu Chuxuan parried and Huang Yaoshi spared him.

When Ouyang Feng later pressed the formation with his snake staff, Hao Datong was struck across the leg. As fog rose over the lake, he was the first to cry out at the approaching snakes. When government troops closed in, he and Liu Chuxuan set out to cut their way through them, but were met by a hail of arrows.

In The Return of the Condor Heroes

In The Return of the Condor Heroes, Hao Datong’s martial arts were described as roughly equal to those of Huo Dou and Daerba.

Personality & traits

Hao Datong honoured his shifu’s gift by wearing sleeveless robes for the rest of his life. Among the Seven Zis he was counted one of the weaker fighters.

Martial arts abilities

Big Dipper Formation

Hao Datong held the Kaiyang position in the Big Dipper Formation (天罡北斗阵 — Tiāngāng Běidǒu Zhèn), forming the handle of the Dipper with Wang Chuyi (Yuheng) and Sun Buer (Yaoguang). In the formation, Tianji and Kaiyang struck from the flanks.

Weapons

He fought with a jian and with his palms.

Relationships

Wang Chongyang

Wang Chongyang was his shifu, who accepted him at the Cave of Smoke and Mist and gave him the sleeveless robe.

The Seven Zis

His fellow disciples were Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi and Sun Buer. He was the sixth disciple, junior to all but Sun Buer.

Behind the scenes

The historical Hao Datong (1140—1213) was one of the seven disciples of Wang Chongyang. The novel’s appendix on the Quanzhen Order quotes Xu Yan’s Yuan-dynasty stele inscription: Hao Datong, courtesy name Taigu, styled Guangningzi, a man of Ninghai, studied the Yijing, told fortunes rather than seek office, and was given the sleeveless robe by Wang Chongyang at the Cave of Smoke and Mist. It also cites the legend of his sitting under the Zhaozhou Bridge while children stacked a stone pagoda on his head, the subject of his portrait in the Liexian Quanzhuan. In history he is regarded as the founder of the Huashan branch of Quanzhen Daoism; the novel does not mention this.

Portrayals

Hao Datong has appeared in various television and film adaptations of Jin Yong’s novels:

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

The Return of the Condor Heroes

See also

Footnotes

  1. 师父 — shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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