Zuo Lengchan (simplified: 左冷禅, traditional: 左冷禪, pinyin: Zuǒ Lěngchán, jyutping: zo2 laang5 sim4) was the ambitious and ruthless leader of the Songshan School and Alliance Leader of the Five Mountains Sword Schools. He was one of the ten strongest masters among the so-called orthodox schools and one of the most powerful martial artists in Jin Yong’s novels. Known as a “true villain” in contrast to Yue Buqun’s “false gentleman,” Zuo Lengchan was driven by an unrelenting ambition to unify the Five Mountains Sword Schools and eliminate the Sun Moon Order, establishing himself as the supreme leader of the martial arts world.
Biography
Reorganising Songshan Swordplay
Zuo Lengchan was a major contributor to reorganising the “Seventeen Paths of Songshan Swordplay.” After the Five Mountains Sword Schools’ two battles with the Sun Moon Order’s Ten Elders on Mount Hua, many masters from the five schools perished, and numerous refined sword techniques were lost with them. Zuo Lengchan gathered the surviving elders of his school and recorded all the sword techniques they remembered, regardless of quality, compiling them into a sword manual. Over several decades, he refined and improved the techniques, removing moves that were insufficiently fierce or lacked grandeur, perfecting the seventeen paths of Songshan swordplay. Although he did not create new sword paths, he was considered a great contributor to reorganising Songshan swordplay.
Schemes against the other schools
Zuo Lengchan’s ultimate goal was to unify the Five Mountains Sword Schools and eliminate the Sun Moon Order, becoming the supreme leader of the martial arts world. To achieve this, he employed various schemes against the other four schools:
Against Hengshan School: He used Liu Zhengfeng’s association with Qu Yang, a Sun Moon Order elder, as an excuse to massacre Liu Zhengfeng’s entire family as a warning. At the Five Mountains unification conference, he also used Mo Da’s killing of “Great Songyang Hand” Fei Bin to coerce Mo Da into no longer opposing the unification plan.
Against Huashan School: He planted Lao Denuo as a spy within the Huashan School and used remnants of the Sword Faction to pressure Yue Buqun to step down, though this failed. Later, he arranged for over a dozen skilled fighters to ambush the Huashan School at Medicine King Temple and sent experts to Fuzhou to steal the Evil-Warding Sword Manual from Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan, but both attempts were thwarted by Linghu Chong.
Against Hengshan School: He arranged for his subordinates to disguise themselves as Sun Moon Order members and attack the Hengshan Three Dings, killing Dingjing Shitai. However, Dingxian and Dingyi Shitai were saved by Linghu Chong’s timely intervention. Later, he sent experts in the name of the Five Mountains Alliance Leader to prevent Linghu Chong from succeeding as Hengshan School leader, but was unable to act because Fangzheng Master, Chongxu Taoist, Sun Moon Order members, and Ren Yingying were present.
Against Taishan School: He bribed Yuji and other elders senior to Tianmen Taoist with beautiful women, gold, and jewels. At the Five Mountains unification conference, he used words to force Tianmen to step down and secretly sent Qinghai Yixiao to kill him with an unusual technique.
The three battles at Shaolin
At the three battles in Shaolin Temple, Ren Woxing named Zuo Lengchan as “the first person I least admire,” regarding him as an unmitigated true villain. Ren Woxing believed that Zuo Lengchan had no originality in martial arts. When Ren Woxing and others came to Shaolin Temple to rescue Ren Yingying, Zuo Lengchan fought with Ren Woxing. Having previously lost to Ren Woxing’s Star Absorbing Technique, Zuo Lengchan had trained hard in Cold Ice True Qi, and during this battle, he used strategy to defeat Ren Woxing.
Defeat and death
Zuo Lengchan intended to unify the Five Mountains Sword Schools. Although three school leaders (Taishan School leader Tianmen Taoist, Hengshan School leader Mo Da, and Hengshan School leader Linghu Chong) all opposed unification, he still used threats and inducements to gather the five schools for a competition on Mount Song. However, he had practised a fake Evil-Warding Swordplay that Yue Buqun had deliberately allowed Lao Denuo to steal, and ultimately lost to Yue Buqun, who used the true Evil-Warding Swordplay. His eyes were pierced and blinded.
After the Five Mountains unification, Zuo Lengchan again sent Lao Denuo, who successfully recruited Lin Pingzhi, who had learned the Evil-Warding Swordplay. Later, Zuo Lengchan and Lin Pingzhi set a trap, driving fifteen blind masters in the secret cave behind the Cliff of Reflection on Mount Hua to slaughter the masters of the Five Mountains Sword Schools. Finally, he fought with Linghu Chong and died by his sword.
Personality & traits
Zuo Lengchan was described as a “true villain” in contrast to Yue Buqun’s “false gentleman.” He was ambitious, ruthless, and willing to use any means necessary to achieve his goals. His methods were brutal and merciless—when massacring Liu Zhengfeng’s family, he did not even spare innocent children, killing without restraint, reaching a state of madness.
However, compared to Yue Buqun, Zuo Lengchan lacked patience and the ability to deceive and mislead people. Therefore, from his first appearance, those with clear eyes could see his true villainous nature. Jin Yong wrote in the afterword that when Laughing in the Wind was serialised in Ming Pao, twenty-one Chinese, Vietnamese, and French newspapers in Saigon simultaneously serialised it. During debates in the South Vietnamese National Assembly, members often accused each other of being “Yue Buqun” (false gentleman) or “Zuo Lengchan” (one attempting to establish hegemony), demonstrating Jin Yong’s positioning of Zuo Lengchan’s character.
Despite his villainy, Zuo Lengchan maintained a certain political demeanour. After losing to Yue Buqun in the competition for Five Mountains School leader, he did not let Songshan School disciples fight with Huashan School members, but instead withdrew on his own, at least maintaining temporary stability for the Five Mountains Sword Schools at that time.
Martial arts abilities
Cold Ice True Qi
Zuo Lengchan’s signature internal energy technique was Cold Ice True Qi (寒冰真气), an extremely yin and cold internal force. He developed this technique specifically to counter Ren Woxing’s Star Absorbing Technique, as Ren Woxing could not absorb this cold energy without suffering severe internal injuries.
Great Songyang Divine Palm
The Great Songyang Divine Palm (大嵩阳神掌) was a palm technique characterised by wide, open movements with extraordinary momentum and astonishing palm power.
Songshan Swordplay
Zuo Lengchan had reorganised and perfected the Seventeen Paths of Songshan Swordplay, making it flawless. His sword skills were said to be no less impressive than his palm techniques.
Relationships
Zuo Lengchan’s relationship with Ren Woxing was one of mutual enmity. Ren Woxing regarded Zuo Lengchan as the person he least admired, while Zuo Lengchan saw Ren Woxing as a major obstacle to his plans for unification.
His relationship with Yue Buqun was one of mutual scheming. Both sought to unify the Five Mountains Sword Schools, but Yue Buqun’s methods were more subtle and deceptive, ultimately allowing him to defeat Zuo Lengchan.
Zuo Lengchan had several disciples, including Shi Dengda, Di Xiu, and Lao Denuo, whom he used as spies and tools in his schemes.
Behind the scenes
Zuo Lengchan represents the archetype of the “true villain” who openly pursues power through ruthless means, in contrast to the “false gentleman” who hides ambition behind a mask of virtue. His character demonstrates that while such villains may be easier to identify, they can still cause tremendous harm through their single-minded pursuit of power.
Literary significance
Zuo Lengchan serves as a political allegory for those who attempt to establish hegemony through force and manipulation. His character shows that even powerful and skilled leaders can fall when they underestimate their opponents and rely too heavily on brute force rather than subtle strategy.
Portrayals
Zuo Lengchan has been portrayed in various adaptations of Laughing in the Wind:
Laughing in the Wind
- 1990 film – Yuen Wah
- 1996 series – Chan Hung Lit
- 2001 series – Tu Men
- 2013 series – Hu Dong
- 2018 series – Zheng Hao
See also
- Laughing in the Wind characters
- Yue Buqun – Zuo Lengchan’s rival
- Songshan School – Zuo Lengchan’s faction
- Five Mountains Sword Schools – The alliance Zuo Lengchan led
External links
- Zuo Lengchan (Chinese) on Chinese Wikipedia