Sha Tongtian

Sha Tongtian

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Sha Tongtian (simplified: 沙通天, traditional: 沙通天, pinyin: Shā Tōngtiān, jyutping: saa1 tung1 tin1), known as the Dragon King of Devil’s Gate (鬼门龙王), was a renowned martial artist who held sway over the Yellow River. He was the shifu of the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River, the senior of Hou Tonghai, and one of the jianghu fighters retained by Wanyan Honglie, the Jin Prince Zhao.

Biography

The Yellow River

Sha Tongtian’s martial arts far exceeded those of his junior Hou Tonghai, but he was hot-tempered and flew into rages while teaching, so that his four disciples, the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River, learnt less than two or three tenths of what he knew. He was an old friend of Peng Lianhu, and the two had long helped each other and worked together at robbery. He spoke of the Yellow River Guild as his own, and Wang Chuyi of the Quanzhen Order addressed him with respect as a senior of the wulin.

At Prince Zhao’s Estate

When the Four Ghosts failed to get the better of the young Guo Jing in Mongolia and lost face before Wanyan Honglie, Sha Tongtian beat them savagely. He then sent Hou Tonghai to seize Guo Jing, but Hou was made a fool of by Huang Rong. At a banquet in Zhongdu, Sha Tongtian lost his temper and grabbed at Guo Jing in front of the other guests. Wang Chuyi shielded the boy, and Sha’s five-fingered grab snapped the back of a chair. The two were trading palm blows when Ouyang Ke parted them. At the same feast he showed off by flicking melon seeds into a snowdrift some three zhang away so that they spelt out characters, beginning 黄河九曲, “the Nine Bends of the Yellow River”.

Inside Prince Zhao’s Estate, he caught Huang Rong by both wrists, then let her go when she taunted him for a grown man bullying a girl. He blocked the door to make her name her shifu, and was tricked into letting her slip away.

Clashes with Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Chuji

Sha Tongtian joined Ouyang Ke, Liang Ziweng and Peng Lianhu in the fight against Mei Chaofeng, and then against the six surviving Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan. Soon afterwards he fought Qiu Chuji bare-handed and came off worse: Qiu brushed his bald crown with five fingers and left five red welts. He then drew the iron oar from his back and struck with the move Su Qin Carrying the Jian on His Back. He had worked with the oar for decades, killing tigers with it on land and great serpents in the water, and Qiu could not wrest it from him.

The search for Wumu’s Testament

With Wanyan Honglie’s party, Sha Tongtian sailed south to steal Wumu’s Art of War, and met Ouyang Feng on the voyage. When Zhou Botong hurled Venerable Lingzhi at the prince, Sha used Shifting Forms Changing Positions to block him, and the two struck each other to the deck. In the imperial palace at Lin’an, where the book was thought to lie behind a waterfall, he went through the falls first, relying on his skill in the water, and was driven back out by Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Afterwards, at the inn in Niu Family Village, he broke up a fight by seizing Yin Zhiping and Lu Guanying by the wrist.

Loss of an arm

At the Iron Spear Temple in Jiaxing, Yang Kang, poisoned and raving, clawed Sha Tongtian’s arm. Peng Lianhu, who knew poisons, saw that Sha had been poisoned too and at once cut off half of the arm with his dao. When Hou Tonghai rushed at Peng, Sha stopped him, shouting that Peng had done it for his good.

Capture on Mount Hua

By the time of the second Huashan Sword Summit, the wound had healed. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Lingzhi and Hou Tonghai barred Qiu Chuji’s way up Mount Hua, and all four were sealed by Zhou Botong’s acupoint strikes. On Huang Rong’s advice Zhou pricked them with Peng’s own poisoned ring and gave the antidote to Qiu Chuji, who was to take them to the Chongyang Palace on the Zhongnan Mountains and hold them there for twenty years.

Later years

According to The Return of the Condor Heroes, the four tried several times to escape the Chongyang Palace. After Peng Lianhu, Hou Tonghai and Lingzhi killed guards during the third attempt, the Quanzhen Daoists broke their legs and blinded those three; Sha Tongtian, who had taken no life, kept his sight. They finally got away in the confusion when Mongol warriors burnt the palace, and lived quietly for more than ten years in a remote village in Jiangnan. There they waylaid Ke Zhen’e, and at a later meeting in the Iron Spear Temple Yang Guo made them apologise to Ke and sent them away.

Personality & traits

Physical appearance

Sha Tongtian had a gleaming bald head without a single hair, bloodshot eyes and bulging eyeballs.

Character traits

He was violent-tempered and quick to lose face and fly into a rage, but proud of his standing: when Huang Rong accused him of a grown man bullying a girl, he let her go. He was loyal to his junior Hou Tonghai, repeatedly rushing to his rescue in a fight.

Martial arts abilities

Sha Tongtian’s martial arts were deep and his grip formidable; his five-fingered grab tore through wood as if it were rotten. His hidden-weapon aim was exact, as his melon-seed characters showed. He was famed for his skill in water, which is reflected in his nickname. Ouyang Ke’s martial arts were reckoned no lower than those of Ma Yu, Wang Chuyi and Sha Tongtian.

Shifting Forms Changing Positions

Shifting Forms Changing Positions (移形换位 — Yíxíng Huànwèi) let him appear in a doorway without bending his knees or taking a step, and he used it to block opponents and shield Wanyan Honglie.

Iron oar

He carried a heavy iron oar (铁桨 — Tiějiǎng) on his back and fought Qiu Chuji and Ma Yu with it, using moves such as Su Qin Carrying the Jian on His Back (苏秦背剑 — Sū Qín Bèi Jiàn).

Relationships

Disciples

His disciples were the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River: Shen Qinggang, Wu Qinglie, Ma Qingxiong and Qian Qingjian.

Hou Tonghai

Hou Tonghai, the Three-Headed Dragon, was his junior. Sha scolded him constantly but defended him in every fight.

Peng Lianhu

Peng Lianhu was his long-standing friend and partner, and it was Peng who saved his life by cutting off his poisoned arm.

Behind the scenes

Portrayals

Sha Tongtian has been portrayed by various actors in adaptations of The Legend of the Condor Heroes:

Television Series

  • 1983 series — Chen Dike as Sha Tongtian
  • 1988 series — Portrayal emphasizing the character’s martial arts abilities and leadership
  • 1994 series — Chen Dike as Sha Tongtian
  • 2003 series — Portrayal emphasizing the character’s strategic thinking and organisational abilities
  • 2008 series — Modern interpretation bringing contemporary sensibilities to the character
  • 2017 series — Portrayal emphasizing the character’s martial arts mastery and villainous nature
  • 2024 series — Interpretation exploring the character’s complex motivations and relationships

Return of the Condor Heroes

Most adaptations emphasize Sha Tongtian’s martial arts abilities, his leadership of the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River, and his role as one of Wanyan Honglie’s most dangerous agents, while showcasing the complex political and military dynamics that define his character.

See also

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