The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 14

The great barrier of ritual propriety.

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The feast at Lu Village was laid out anew, fresh cups and plates arranged across the hall. Yang Guo¹ had endured a lifetime of grievances, suffering countless humiliations and slights. Only today had he finally held his head high, having rendered great service to the jianghu of the Central Plains² and earned the newfound respect of all present. His pride was boundless. What filled him with even greater joy was this: after long months of yearning, he was at last reunited with Xiaolongnü,³ all past misunderstandings dissolved, their affections now in perfect harmony.

Xiaolongnü saw the joy suffusing Yang Guo’s features and knew that beyond the relief of their lovesickness, he was also elated at having driven off Jinlun Guoshi⁴ and his disciples. She too was exceedingly happy. Huang Rong⁵ had grown quite fond of her, holding her hand and asking after her welfare, insisting she sit beside her at the table. Xiaolongnü saw that Yang Guo was seated between Guo Jing⁶ and the Diancang Fisherman,⁷ far away from her, and quickly beckoned: “Guoer,⁸ come sit beside me.” But Yang Guo understood the distinction between men and women. In the first rush of their reunion he had briefly forgotten himself and revealed his true feelings, but now, under the gaze of so many eyes, to display such intimacy again seemed improper. Hearing her call, he could not help but flush, and though he smiled faintly, he did not go over.

Xiaolongnü called again, “Guoer, why won’t you come?” Yang Guo said, “I am fine sitting here. Uncle Guo is speaking with me.” Xiaolongnü’s fine brows drew together slightly. “I want you to sit beside me,” she said. Seeing the displeasure in her expression, Yang Guo’s heart gave a sudden lurch. That look of tender reproach, for this, he would gladly be ground to dust. Once, simply because Lu Wushuang’s⁹ scowl had borne a faint resemblance to Xiaolongnü’s, he had fought off her enemies and escorted her a thousand li.¹⁰ Now that the real person stood before him, how could he offer the slightest resistance? He rose at once and walked to her seat.

Huang Rong observed the expressions of the two and grew faintly suspicious. She promptly ordered a seat arranged and asked Yang Guo, “Guoer, who taught you this martial arts of yours?” Yang Guo pointed at Xiaolongnü. “She is my teacher, Auntie Guo. How can you not believe me?” Huang Rong had always known him to be crafty, but seeing Xiaolongnü’s utterly artless and innocent manner, she judged that this girl could not possibly lie. She turned to ask her: “Little Sister, did you teach him his martial arts?” Xiaolongnü was rather proud. “Yes,” she said. “Do you think I taught him well?” Only then did Huang Rong believe it. “Extremely well! Little Sister, who was your teacher?” Xiaolongnü said, “My teacher has already passed away.” As she spoke, her eyes reddened and grief welled up in her heart. Her teacher had originally trained her to suppress the seven emotions and six desires,¹¹ but now that her love for Yang Guo had awakened, the deep feelings hidden in her heart were gradually seeping out.

Huang Rong asked further: “May I ask your esteemed teacher’s honoured name?” Xiaolongnü shook her head. “I do not know. Teacher was just Teacher.” Huang Rong assumed she was unwilling to say, it was common enough in the jianghu for people to keep their lineage private, and pressed no further. In truth, Xiaolongnü’s teacher had been Lin Chaoying’s¹² personal maidservant, known only by a servant’s diminutive name, even she herself did not know her own surname.

At this point, the great heroes of every martial school came forward one after another to offer toasts to Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Xiaolongnü, and Yang Guo, celebrating their victory over the Golden Wheel National Preceptor. Guo Fu,¹³ who had always commanded respect wherever she went alongside her parents, now found herself utterly eclipsed. Apart from the Wu brothers¹⁴ continuing their customary attentions, not a single person paid her any notice. Frustrated and sullen, she said, “Elder Brother Wu, Younger Brother Wu, let us stop drinking and go play outside.” Wu Dunru¹⁵ and Wu Xiuwen¹⁶ agreed in unison. The three rose and were about to leave the hall when they heard Guo Jing call out: “Fu’er, come here.” Guo Fu turned to see that her father had moved to sit at her mother’s table and was beckoning to her with a beaming smile. She approached and called, “Father, Mother.” She leaned against Huang Rong.

Guo Jing said to Huang Rong with a smile, “At first you worried that Guoer’s character was flawed, and you feared his martial arts were too weak to match Fu’er. Surely now you have nothing more to say? He has rendered such great service to the heroes of the Central Plains. Never mind that he has committed no fault, even if he had been somewhat rash and done something wrong, his merits would still outweigh his errors.” Huang Rong nodded and smiled. “This time my judgement was mistaken. Guoer is excellent in both character and martial arts, and I am truly delighted as well.”

Hearing that his wife had agreed to their daughter’s marriage, Guo Jing was overjoyed. He said to Xiaolongnü, “Miss Long, your disciple’s late father and I were sworn brothers in years past.¹⁷ The Yang and Guo families have been close for generations. I have but one daughter, and her looks and martial arts are passable enough…” True to his straightforward nature, he spoke whatever was on his mind. Huang Rong interjected with a laugh, “Oh dear, with all this boasting of yours, are you not afraid Miss Long will laugh at us?”

Guo Jing gave a hearty laugh and continued, “It is my wish to betroth my daughter to your worthy disciple. Both his parents have passed away, so this matter must be decided by you, Miss Long. Taking advantage of this gathering of heroes, let us add joy upon joy, shall we invite two elders of high virtue and standing to serve as matchmakers and settle the engagement?” In those times, marriages were arranged by the parents’ command and the matchmaker’s word. The man and woman themselves had little say in the matter. It was for this reason that, years ago, Guo Jing’s father Guo Xiaotian¹⁸ and Yang Guo’s grandfather Yang Tiexin¹⁹ had betrothed their children before they were even born.

Having spoken these words, Guo Jing gazed at Yang Guo and his daughter with a beaming smile, fully confident that Xiaolongnü would happily bring this fine match to fruition. Guo Fu had long since blushed crimson and hidden her face against her mother’s bosom. She felt something was not right, yet dared not say a word.

Xiaolongnü’s expression shifted slightly. Before she could reply, Yang Guo had already risen to his feet and bowed deeply to Guo Jing and Huang Rong. “Uncle Guo, Auntie Guo, the great kindness you have shown in raising me, and the affection you now extend, are debts I could never repay even if my body were ground to powder. But your nephew comes from a humble family, and his character is base and low. I am utterly unworthy of your noble daughter.”

Guo Jing had assumed that with his own and his wife’s fame spanning the land, and their daughter being a first-rate talent in both beauty and martial arts, Yang Guo would be overjoyed at receiving this proposal in person. He never expected a flat refusal. For a moment he was stunned, but then it occurred to him that the boy must simply be young and bashful, demurring out of shyness. He laughed heartily and said, “Guoer, we are not strangers. This is a matter of lifelong importance, there is no need to be embarrassed.” Yang Guo bowed again, lowering himself until his hands touched the ground. “Uncle Guo, Auntie Guo, if you have any task to command of me, your nephew would go through fire and boiling water without hesitation. But this command of marriage, I truly dare not obey.” Seeing the gravity in his expression, Guo Jing was greatly bewildered. He looked to his wife, hoping she would clarify matters.

Huang Rong silently reproached her husband for his directness, blurting out the proposal before the entire assembly without first sounding things out, only to slam headlong into a wall. She had observed the expressions exchanged between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü and could see a deep, lingering affection there, but the two had clearly acknowledged themselves as teacher and disciple. Could it be that they had acted contrary to all propriety and committed some perverse, immoral act? This, however, was difficult to believe. She thought to herself that although Yang Guo might not be a gentleman of the highest order, surely he would not behave so recklessly. The people of the Song dynasty²⁰ placed the utmost importance on ritual and law. The hierarchy of respect between teacher and disciple was regarded as equal to that between ruler and subject, between father and son, it could not, under any circumstances, be violated. According to the “Three Bonds and Five Constants,”²¹ the ruler guides the subject, the father guides the son, and the husband guides the wife. A teacher was equivalent to a father, hence the compound term shifu,²² “teacher-father.” For a teacher to marry a disciple, or a disciple to marry a teacher, was equivalent to incest between father and daughter, or between mother and son. People of that era could not even conceive of such a thing.²³

Huang Rong had her suspicions, but the matter was so grave that she dared not yet believe them. She asked Yang Guo, “Guoer, is Miss Long truly your teacher?” Yang Guo said, “Yes!” Huang Rong asked further: “You have kowtowed and performed the full ceremony of discipleship?” Yang Guo said, “Yes.” As he answered Huang Rong, his eyes remained fixed on Xiaolongnü, his face radiant with tenderness and joy, brimming with deep love and intimate affection. Even if Huang Rong had not been extraordinarily perceptive, any bystander could have seen that the relationship between these two was anything but an ordinary teacher-disciple bond.

Guo Jing, however, still did not grasp his wife’s intent. He thought, He already said Miss Long is his teacher, and their martial arts are clearly of the same school, what could be false about that? I bring up our daughter’s marriage, and Ronger starts asking about their lineage? Well, he first entered the Quanzhen Order²⁴ and later switched to another teacher. Though that violates the rules of the jianghu, it is not impossible to resolve.

Seeing the expressions of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, Huang Rong was secretly alarmed. She cast a meaningful glance at her husband and said, “Fu’er is still young. Why rush her marriage? Today the heroes are gathered, we should be discussing matters of national importance. These private family affairs, let us set them aside for now.” Guo Jing thought this made sense and quickly said, “Quite right, quite right. I nearly let private concerns override public duty. Miss Long, the matter of Guoer and our daughter’s engagement, we can discuss it gradually another day.”

Xiaolongnü shook her head. “I myself wish to marry Guoer and be his wife,” she said. “He will not marry your daughter.”

These two sentences rang out crisp and clear. Several hundred people in the great hall heard every word. Guo Jing started in shock and rose to his feet, unable to believe his own ears, yet seeing her holding Yang Guo’s hand with such intimate familiarity, he could not help but believe. Stammering, he said, “He… he is your dis… disci… disciple, is he not?”

Xiaolongnü had lived long in the underground Ancient Tomb, never seeing sunlight, and her face was consequently bloodless, paler than ordinary folk. But at this moment, her heart brimming with joy, her complexion bloomed like a flower at first opening. Smiling radiantly, she said, “Yes! I taught him martial arts before, but his martial arts are now as strong as mine. He is fond of me in his heart, and I am very fond of him too. Before…” Here her voice dropped low. Though innocent and unspoiled, a young woman’s shyness is inborn. Slowly she continued, “Before… I thought he was not fond of me, that he did not want me to be his wife. I… I was so miserable I thought it would be better to die. But today I have learned that he truly loves me. I… I…” The hundreds of people in the hall sat in utter silence, listening to her pour out the secrets of her heart. Ordinarily, how could a young woman, no matter how full of ardent love, proclaim it so publicly? And how could she confide such things to Guo Jing, a man with no connection to her? But she understood nothing whatsoever of ritual, law, or the ways of the world. She felt these words needed to be spoken to someone, and so she spoke them.

Footnotes

1. 杨过 – Yáng Guò. His name meaning “fault or transgression”; his courtesy name Gaizhi means “to correct it”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 中原 – Zhōngyuán. Central Plains, the historical heartland of Chinese civilisation along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. ↩

3. 小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 金轮国师 – Jīnlún Guóshī. Mongol Empire’s national teacher and martial arts adept. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 黄蓉 – Huáng Róng. Her name meaning “lotus” or “hibiscus”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 郭靖 – Guō Jìng. His name meaning “tranquillity” or “pacification”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 点苍渔隐 – Diǎncāng Yúyǐn. Hermit Fisherman of Diancang; one of Great Master Yideng’s four disciples. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 过儿 – Guò’ér. Affectionate diminutive of Yang Guo’s name, with the diminutive suffix -er indicating affection or familiarity. ↩

9. 陆无双 – Lù Wúshuāng. Her name meaning “peerless” or “without equal”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 metres or a third of a mile. ↩

11. Seven emotions and six desires (七情六欲). Qīqíng Liùyù. In traditional Chinese thought: the seven emotions are joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hate, and desire; the six desires arise from the six senses. Suppressing these was key to the Ancient Tomb School’s cultivation. ↩

12. 林朝英 – Lín Cháoyīng. Her name meaning “facing the hero” or “morning hero”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 郭芙 – Guō Fú. Her name meaning “lotus”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. Wu Brothers. Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文), sons of Wu Santong, disciples of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. ↩

15. 武敦儒 – Wǔ Dūnrú. His name meaning “earnest scholar”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 武修文 – Wǔ Xiūwén. His name meaning “cultivate literature”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 八拜之交 (Bā Bài Zhī Jiāo). “Sworn Brotherhood of Eight Bows.” A solemn oath of brotherhood involving eight prostrations, binding the participants as close as blood brothers. Guo Jing’s father Guo Xiaotian and Yang Guo’s grandfather Yang Tiexin were such sworn brothers, and they had arranged the betrothal of their unborn children. ↩

18. 郭啸天 – Guō Xiàotiān. His name meaning “roaring at heaven”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 杨铁心 – Yáng Tiěxīn. His name meaning “iron heart”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 宋朝 (Sòng Cháo). Song dynasty (960–1279 CE), the period in which The Return of the Condor Heroes is set. Southern Song period (1127–1279) was marked by constant military pressure from northern states, eventually succumbing to the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. ↩

21. 三纲五常 (Sāngāng Wǔcháng). “Three Bonds and Five Constants.” A core Confucian ethical framework. Three Bonds are: ruler over subject, father over son, husband over wife. Five Constants are: benevolence (仁), righteousness (义), propriety (礼), wisdom (智), and trustworthiness (信). ↩

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

23. Author’s Note (1). Jin Yong appended an extended discussion of the historical and cross-cultural dimensions of teacher-student marriage to this chapter. See the author’s note at the end of the translation. ↩

24. Quanzhen Order (全真教). Major Daoist school founded by Wang Chongyang. In Jin Yong’s wuxia universe, it is one of the most powerful martial arts sects, based at the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan. Its seven senior disciples are known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. ↩