Wen Fangshi (simplified: 温方施, traditional: 溫方施, pinyin: Wēn Fāngshī, jyutping: wan1 fong1 si1) was the fourth of the Five Wen Elders (温家五老 — Wēnjiā Wǔlǎo) of the Wen family (温家) in Sword Stained with Royal Blood. He was known for his Hell Yin Wind Roar (鬼狱阴风吼 — Guǐyù Yīnfēng Hǒu) technique and his flying knife techniques, and was described as tall and thin. He killed his niece Wen Yi (温仪) with a throwing knife and was eventually defeated by Yuan Chengzhi (袁承志), who disabled his martial arts.
Biography
Role in the Wen family
Wen Fangshi was the fourth of five brothers who formed the Five Wen Elders, a powerful martial arts family based in Shiliang (石梁). He was described as tall and thin (身形高瘦 — Shēnxíng Gāoshòu) and worked with his four brothers to maintain the family’s power and influence in the jianghu.
The Wen family was known for its ruthless methods and was feared by many in the jianghu. They operated from Wen Family Fort (温家堡 — Wēnjiābǎo) and were skilled in various martial arts techniques, most notably the Five Elements Formation (五行阵 — Wǔxíng Zhèn), which required all five brothers to work together.
In the Five Elements Formation, Wen Fangshi occupied the “Li Fire” (离火 — Lí Huǒ) position, representing the fire element in the formation. This position was crucial to the formation’s coordination and power.
Conflict with Xia Xueyi
The Wen family’s conflict with Xia Xueyi (夏雪宜), the Golden Serpent Gentleman (金蛇郎君), began when Wen Fanglu (温方禄), a member of the Wen family, murdered Xia Xueyi’s entire family. Xia Xueyi vowed revenge and, after obtaining the Golden Snake Sword and mastering powerful techniques, began a campaign of revenge against the Wen family, killing forty members over two years.
During this time, Xia Xueyi proved to be far superior to any individual member of the Wen family in martial arts. The Five Wen Elders, including Wen Fangshi, were unable to match him individually and lived in constant fear of his attacks.
Capture of Xia Xueyi
When Xia Xueyi fell in love with Wen Yi, Wen Fangshan’s daughter, and returned to visit her, the Five Wen Elders saw an opportunity to capture him. They secretly added a special poison called “Immortal Intoxication Honey” (醉仙蜜 — Zuìxiān Mì) to the lotus seed soup that Wen Yi prepared for Xia Xueyi, which paralysed him completely.
With Xia Xueyi unable to use his martial arts, Wen Fangshi and his brothers used the Five Elements Formation to defeat him. They then severed the tendons in his hands and feet, rendering him a cripple without any martial arts abilities, and forced him to lead them to the treasure.
Killing of Wen Yi
Wen Fangshi’s most infamous act was killing his own niece, Wen Yi, with a throwing knife. After Wen Yi learnt of Xia Xueyi’s death when Yuan Chengzhi and Xia Qingqing (夏青青) discovered his remains, Wen Fangshi struck her with a throwing knife, killing her.
This act demonstrated the extreme cruelty of the Wen family, as Wen Fangshi was willing to kill his own niece, showing that family relationships meant nothing compared to the family’s goals and vendettas. Wen Yi’s death added another layer of tragedy to the complex relationship between the Wen family and Xia Xueyi’s legacy.
Encounter with Yuan Chengzhi
When Yuan Chengzhi came to the Wen family fortress, Wen Fangshi and his brothers attempted to use the Five Elements Formation against him. However, Yuan Chengzhi, who had learnt techniques from Xia Xueyi’s manual specifically designed to counter the formation, was able to break it using a jade hairpin (玉簪 — yùzān).
Wen Fangshi also participated in the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation (五行八卦阵 — Wǔxíng Bāguà Zhèn), an enhanced version of the formation that incorporated Eight Trigrams variations. However, the Five Wen Elders had not fully mastered this enhanced formation, and Yuan Chengzhi was able to exploit its weaknesses, exposing the formation’s flaws.
Defeat and disabling
Yuan Chengzhi was able to identify Wen Fangshi’s martial arts weaknesses and struck his acupoints (穴道 — xuédào) with heavy techniques (重手法 — zhòngshǒufǎ), disabling Wen Fangshi’s martial arts completely. This defeat marked the end of Wen Fangshi’s ability to fight, as his martial arts were permanently disabled.
This defeat served as a form of poetic justice, as Wen Fangshi, who had used his flying knives to kill his own niece, was himself disabled by someone who had inherited the techniques of the man Wen Fangshi had helped to capture and cripple.
Martial arts
Five Elements Formation
Wen Fangshi, along with his four brothers, mastered the Five Elements Formation (五行阵 — Wǔxíng Zhèn), a powerful formation technique that required all five brothers to coordinate their movements and attacks. The formation was based on the Five Elements theory, and Wen Fangshi occupied the “Li Fire” position, representing the fire element.
The Five Wen Elders also attempted to enhance the formation by incorporating Eight Trigrams variations, creating the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation. However, they had not fully mastered this enhanced version, and it contained weaknesses that Yuan Chengzhi was able to exploit.
Hell Yin Wind Roar
Wen Fangshi’s signature technique was the Hell Yin Wind Roar (鬼狱阴风吼 — Guǐyù Yīnfēng Hǒu), a sound-based technique that used high-frequency sound waves to intimidate and disturb opponents’ mental states. This technique was designed to create psychological pressure and disrupt opponents’ concentration during combat.
Flying knife technique
Wen Fangshi was skilled in using flying knives (飞刀 — Fēidāo) as his weapons. He used twenty-four specially made flying knives, each with a hollow handle (刀柄凿空 — dāobǐng záokōng) that created sound effects when thrown. This design combined physical attack with psychological intimidation, as the sound created by the hollow handles enhanced the knives’ intimidating effect.
Wen Fangshi’s flying knife technique was his primary method of attack, and he used it effectively in combat. However, his overreliance on this technique and the psychological intimidation it created also made it predictable, allowing skilled opponents like Yuan Chengzhi to identify and exploit its weaknesses.
Relationships
Family
- Wen Fangda — Wen Fangshi’s eldest brother and leader of the Wen family
- Wen Fangyi — Wen Fangshi’s second brother
- Wen Fangshan — Wen Fangshi’s third brother and father of Wen Yi
- Wen Fangwu — Wen Fangshi’s fifth brother
- Wen Yi — Wen Fangshi’s niece, whom he killed with a throwing knife
- Xia Qingqing — Wen Fangshi’s great-niece, daughter of Wen Yi and Xia Xueyi
Enemies
- Xia Xueyi — The Golden Serpent Gentleman, who sought revenge against the Wen family and was captured and crippled by the Five Wen Elders
- Yuan Chengzhi — The protagonist who broke the Five Elements Formation and disabled Wen Fangshi’s martial arts
Legacy
Wen Fangshi’s legacy is one of extreme cruelty and hypocrisy. His killing of his own niece, combined with his “bright and upright” appearance but vicious true nature, made him a classic example of a false gentleman. His eventual defeat and disabling by Yuan Chengzhi served as a powerful reminder that those who commit cruel acts, especially against their own family, may eventually face consequences for their actions.
His story also highlights the theme of family versus individual morality in the novel. Despite being an uncle who should have protected his niece, Wen Fangshi chose to kill her, demonstrating the destructive nature of blind family loyalty when it conflicts with moral principles. His actions showed that the Wen family’s code of honour was based on cruelty and self-interest rather than genuine family values.
Wen Fangshi’s flying knife technique, with its hollow handles creating sound effects, also demonstrated Jin Yong’s attention to detail in martial arts design, showing how weapons could be designed not just for physical effectiveness but also for psychological impact. However, this same focus on psychological intimidation also made his technique predictable, demonstrating that even well-designed techniques have weaknesses that can be exploited by skilled opponents.
Behind the scenes
Representing extreme cruelty
Wen Fangshi represented the extreme cruelty of the Wen family. His killing of his own niece, Wen Yi, demonstrated that the family was willing to sacrifice even their own members for their goals and vendettas. Despite having a “bright and upright” (光明磊落 — guāngmíng lěiluò) appearance, Wen Fangshi’s true nature was vicious and ruthless, making him a classic example of a false gentleman (伪君子 — wěijūnzǐ).
Contributing to the tragic story
Wen Fangshi’s actions contributed significantly to the tragic story of Xia Xueyi and Wen Yi. By participating in the plot to capture Xia Xueyi using Wen Yi as bait, and later killing Wen Yi with his throwing knife, he demonstrated the family’s complete disregard for personal relationships and moral principles.
Demonstrating the consequences of cruelty
Wen Fangshi’s eventual defeat and disabling by Yuan Chengzhi served as a form of poetic justice. After using his flying knives to kill his own niece, he was himself disabled by someone who had inherited the techniques of the man Wen Fangshi had helped to capture and cripple, demonstrating that those who commit cruel acts may eventually face consequences for their actions.