Huang Shang (simplified: 黄裳, traditional: 黄裳, pinyin: Huáng Shāng, jyutping: wong4 soeng1) was a Song Dynasty scholar and official who created the Nine Yin Manual, a powerful martial arts texts. Originally a civil official tasked with compiling the Wanshou Daozang,1 he inadvertently became a martial arts master and authored the legendary manual that would influence generations of martial artists.
Biography
Early life and career
Huang Shang was born in 1044 in Fujian during the Song Dynasty. He was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations at the age of 38 in 1082, becoming a civil official. By 1094, the 50-year-old Huang Shang was serving as the prefect of Fuzhou.
Compilation of the Wanshou Daozang
In 1111, at the age of 67, Huang Shang was commissioned by Emperor Huizong to compile and oversee the printing of the Wanshou Daozang,1 a comprehensive collection of Daoist texts totaling 5,481 volumes. Fearing that any errors in the text would result in his execution, Huang Shang meticulously proofread every character, spending four years on the task and reviewing approximately 270,000 characters per week.
Through this intensive study of Daoist texts, Huang Shang inadvertently mastered profound martial arts principles. He became a self-taught martial arts expert, developing both internal and external techniques without formal instruction.
Conflict with the Ming Cult
In 1120, when Huang Shang was 76 years old, Emperor Huizong ordered him to lead troops to suppress the Ming Cult (明教), which had recently spread to China. The Ming Cult followers, many of whom were skilled martial artists, fought fiercely and defeated the imperial forces. Huang Shang, frustrated by the defeats, personally challenged the Ming Cult’s martial artists and killed several of their leaders and envoys.
However, some of those he killed were disciples of orthodox martial arts schools. Their teachers, fellow disciples, and allies from various sects banded together to seek revenge, accusing Huang Shang of violating martial arts customs. When Huang Shang explained that he was a government official unfamiliar with martial arts rules, they refused to believe he had no teacher.
The great revenge and exile
The martial artists attacked Huang Shang, and though he killed several of them with his unorthodox techniques, he was outnumbered and wounded. He barely escaped, but his enemies took revenge by slaughtering his entire family. Huang Shang fled to a remote wilderness and went into hiding.
For decades, Huang Shang studied the martial arts techniques of his enemies, analyzing each move and developing counter-techniques. He eventually mastered methods to defeat all their styles and emerged from seclusion to seek revenge, only to discover that most of his enemies had already died of old age. The few survivors he found were elderly and dying.
Creation of the Nine Yin Manual
Realizing that his decades of research should not be lost, Huang Shang compiled his knowledge into the Nine Yin Manual in 1164. This legendary text contained the most comprehensive collection of martial arts techniques ever assembled, including methods to counter virtually every known fighting style. He hid the manual in a secret location, where it would remain hidden for decades before being rediscovered and becoming the most sought-after martial arts text in the jianghu.
Personality and traits
Huang Shang was characterized by his exceptional dedication to scholarship and meticulous attention to detail. His fear of making errors in the Wanshou Daozang drove him to study the texts with unprecedented thoroughness, ultimately leading to his mastery of martial arts. He was a man of great patience and perseverance, spending decades in isolation to perfect his techniques and seek revenge.
Despite his scholarly background, Huang Shang possessed a strong sense of justice and was willing to take personal risks to achieve his goals. His transformation from a civil official to a martial arts master demonstrated his adaptability and determination.
Martial arts abilities
Huang Shang’s martial arts abilities were entirely self-taught, developed through his intensive study of Daoist texts. His techniques were described as “strange and unorthodox,” as they were based on Daoist principles rather than traditional martial arts teachings. He became a formidable fighter capable of defeating multiple opponents simultaneously.
His most significant contribution to martial arts was the creation of the Nine Yin Manual, which contained comprehensive techniques to counter virtually every known fighting style. The manual included both internal and external techniques, making it the most complete martial arts text ever compiled.
Relationships
Huang Shang’s relationships were primarily defined by his conflicts with the jianghu. His initial encounter with orthodox martial artists led to a lifelong enmity that drove him to develop counter-techniques for their styles. His family was killed by his enemies, leaving him with no close personal relationships.
His legacy was carried forward through the Nine Yin Manual, which influenced countless martial artists who studied its contents, including Wang Chongyang, Ouyang Feng, and Guo Jing.
Behind the scenes
Huang Shang appears in The Legend of the Condor Heroes as a legendary figure whose story is recounted by Zhou Botong to Guo Jing. While he never appears directly in the novel, his creation of the Nine Yin Manual serves as the foundation for much of the story’s martial arts conflicts and character development.
The character is based on the historical Huang Shang, a Song Dynasty scholar who was indeed commissioned to compile the Wanshou Daozang. Jin Yong’s fictionalisation of this historical figure creates a compelling origin story for one of the most important martial arts texts in his wuxia universe.
See also
- The Legend of the Condor Heroes characters
- Nine Yin Manual – His creation
- Wang Chongyang – The winner of his manual
- Ouyang Feng – A seeker of his manual
- Guo Jing – A student of his manual
- Zhou Botong – The guardian of his manual
- Huang Yaoshi – A seeker of his manual
- Song Dynasty – His era
External links
- The Legend of the Condor Heroes on Wikipedia
- Huang Shang (Chinese) on Chinese Wikipedia
- Huang Shang (Chinese) on Baidu Baike