Side Story of the Flying Fox

Side Story of the Flying Fox

Contents

Side Story of the Flying Fox (simplified: 飞狐外传, traditional: 飛狐外傳, pinyin: Fēi Hú Wàizhuàn), also known as the Young Flying Fox, is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in Hong Kong’s Wuxia and History1 magazine from 1960 to 1961.

The novel is a prequel to Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain and tells the origin story of its protagonist Hu Fei. At 439,000 Chinese characters in length, it is substantially longer than its sequel.

Like his other works, Jin Yong revised the novel in 1975 as the Second Edition and made a second revision 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 literally means supplementary story of the flying fox. The novel is a prequel to Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain that provides additional accounts of the Flying Fox beyond the main narrative.

Some translations use The Young Flying Fox to allude to the novel being about the protagonist’s youth. However, this fail to capture the specific meaning of 外傳 (wàizhuàn) in Chinese literary tradition. In classical Chinese literature, it refers to supplementary or alternate accounts that expand on characters or events from a main text. This tradition dates back to works like the Zuo Zhuan,2 which provided expanded commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals.3

Side Story of Flying Fox better captures both the supplementary nature of the novel and its relationship to the original novel.

Plot

Background

The story is set in China during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor4 of the Qing dynasty.5 The novel details the early life and adventures of Hu Fei, serving as a prequel to explain how he became the hero known as the Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain.

Summary

The story begins with young Hu Fei and his guardian Ping Asi seeking shelter from rain at Shang Family Castle. There they encounter Ma Xingkong, who runs the Feima Armed Escort, along with his apprentice Xu Zheng and daughter Ma Chunhua. The convoy is robbed while at the castle.

Complications arise when Miao Renfeng arrives seeking his runaway wife Nan Lan, who has eloped with Tian Guinong. Ma Xingkong stays at the castle to recover from injuries, while Hu Fei and Ping Asi remain as servants. The young castle master Shang Baozhen falls in love with Ma Chunhua, but his mother Lady Shang has darker motives—she aims to use the marriage to exact revenge for her husband’s death at the hands of Hu Fei’s father.

When Hu Fei’s identity is discovered, Lady Shang attempts to kill him. During his captivity and torture, Ma Chunhua pleads with Shang Baozhen to spare him. The situation becomes more complex when Fuk’anggan, a Manchu noble,6 arrives at the castle and becomes infatuated with Ma Chunhua. They begin a secret affair, even as Ma Chunhua’s father dies in an iron hall fire set by Lady Shang.

During this crisis, Hu Fei meets Zhao Banshan of the Red Flower Society, who helps him escape and teaches him martial arts. They become sworn brothers. Years later, a more skilled Hu Fei encounters Feng Tiannan, a brutal tyrant in Foshan.7 While pursuing Feng to avenge his victims, Hu Fei meets Yuan Ziyi, a mysterious young woman who repeatedly prevents him from killing Feng.

Later, Miao Renfeng is blinded by poison through Tian Guinong’s schemes. Despite suspecting Miao of killing his father, Hu Fei seeks help from Cheng Lingsu, a young apprentice of the deceased Venom King. Cheng falls in love with Hu Fei while helping cure Miao’s eyes. When Miao regains his sight, he reveals that he accidentally killed Hu Fei’s father. Though heartbroken, Hu Fei accepts Cheng as his sworn sister and they continue travelling together.

The story culminates in a martial arts tournament organised by Fuk’anggan to create discord among martial artists. During this event, Yuan Ziyi reveals she is Feng Tiannan’s illegitimate daughter seeking revenge for her mother. When Feng is killed, she takes Buddhist vows and departs. Cheng Lingsu sacrifices her life to save Hu Fei from poison, and he buries her beside his parents’ graves.

Themes

Complicated loyalties

The novel explores how characters navigate conflicting obligations and relationships. This is exemplified by Hu Fei’s complex relationship with Miao Renfeng, whom he suspects of killing his father but still helps when Miao is blinded.

Love and sacrifice

Multiple love stories interweave through the narrative, each ending tragically. Cheng Lingsu’s unrequited love leads to her ultimate sacrifice, while Yuan Ziyi’s obligations prevent her from pursuing her feelings for Hu Fei.

Justice and revenge

The story examines the costs and complications of seeking justice, particularly through Hu Fei’s pursuit of Feng Tiannan and Yuan Ziyi’s conflicted desire to avenge her mother.

Family legacy

The novel explores how family histories and past conflicts affect the present generation, seen through the various interconnected family feuds and relationships.

Cast

See more: Side Story of the Flying Fox characters

Protagonists

  • Hu Fei (胡飞 — Hú Fěi) — son of the legendary hero Hu Yidao
  • Cheng Lingsu (程灵素 — Chéng Língsù) — A skilled herbalist who sacrifices her life for Hu Fei
  • Yuan Ziyi (袁紫衣 — Yuán Zǐyī) — A skilled martial artist torn between vengeance and love
  • Miao Renfeng (苗人凤 — Miáo Rénfèng) — A renowned martial artist with a complex connection to Hu Fei’s past
  • Ping Asi (平阿四 — Píng Āsì) — Hu Fei’s loyal guardian who saved him as an infant

Important characters

  • Ma Chunhua (苗若兰 — Miáo Ruòlán) — Daughter of Ma Xingkong who becomes entangled with Fuk’anggan
  • Fuk’anggan (福康安 — Fúkāng’ān) — A powerful Manchu noble with dark motives
  • Lady Shang (上官铁心 — Shàngguān Tiěxīn) — The vengeful matriarch of Shang Family Castle
  • Feng Tiannan (凤天南 — Fèng Tiānnán) — A brutal tyrant and Yuan Ziyi’s father
  • Zhao Banshan (赵半山 — Zhào Bànshān) — A leader of the Red Flower Society who becomes Hu Fei’s sworn brother

Martial arts abilities

The novel features several distinctive martial arts techniques:

  • Hu Family Saber (胡家刀法) — A powerful technique passed down through Hu Fei’s family
  • Hundred Victories Divine Fist (百勝神拳) — Ma Xingkong’s signature technique
  • Eight Trigram Palm (八卦掌) — A sophisticated martial art using the eight trigrams
  • King of Venoms techniques (毒手王拳) — Various poison and medicine-related skills
  • Divine Hand Toad Stance (蟾蜍神掌) — Stone Wanchen’s signature technique

Behind the scenes

Jin Yong wrote this novel in response to readers’ interest in Hu Fei’s background after reading Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain. The serialisation in Wuxia and History magazine helped establish Jin Yong’s reputation for complex character development and intricate plotting.

The novel was written to meet the needs of Ming Pao’s new martial arts magazine, Wuxia and History. Its serialized format required chapters of about 8,000 characters that was much longer than the typical newspaper serializations that run between 1,000 to 1,400 characters. This affected the novel’s pacing and structure, though Jin Yong later revised it to remove these serialization traces and tightened the plot.

Adaptations

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

Film

Television series

The television adaptations of the novel combine this novel with Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain into a single story. See the article on Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain.

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.8 The production starred Ray Chan9 as Hu Fei, Zhu Manzi10 as Miao Ruolan, and Fu Qing-wai[^fuqingwei] as Miao Renfeng.

Chinese National Radio (CNR) ran a radio drama from 12 April 2021 every day at 21:31 PM.

Legacy

Side Story of the Flying Fox demonstrates Jin Yong’s skill in crafting prequels that enhance rather than diminish the original story. The novel deepens readers’ understanding of Hu Fei’s character while maintaining its own dramatic tension despite readers knowing the protagonist’s ultimate fate.

Translation

Follow the archive routes

See also

Footnotes

  1. 武侠与历史 — Wǔxiá Yǔ Lìshǐ. A magazine under Ming Pao that published wuxia stories.. ↩

  2. 左傳 — Zuǒ Zhuàn. An commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals covering the period from 722 to 468 BCE, attributed to Zuo Qiuming. See Wikipedia. ↩

  3. 春秋 — Chūnqiū. The official chronicle of the State of Lu covering events from 722 to 481 BCE. One of the Five Classics. ↩

  4. 干隆 — 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. 满族 — Mǎnzú. A Tungusic ethnic group native to Manchuria. See Wikipedia. ↩

  7. 佛山 — Fóshān. A city in Guangdong province. See Wikipedia. ↩

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

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

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

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