Hong Qigong

Hong Qigong (洪七公) is a fictional character in Jinyong's "wuxia" novels, appearing in both "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and its sequel "The Return of the Condor Heroes". He was best known for being the leader of the Beggars' Sect (丐帮), and possessing the powerful martial arts technique "Xianglong Shi Ba Zhang" ("18 Dragon-Subduing Palms", 降龍十八掌). With the Beggars' Sect primarily based in northern China, he earned the nickname "Northern Beggar" (北丐), and ranked among the Top Five Supreme Martial Artists (五绝) in the novel. Unlike the other four supreme martial artists, Hong Qigong was very lazy. He rarely ever passed whole sets of his skills to others, but would teach a stance or two to anyone he found worthy, such as when he taught a fraction of his skills (Xiao Yao Quan) to Mu Nianci. He only took Guo Jing and Huang Rong as true disciples.

He was also known as the "Nine-fingered Divine Beggar" (九指神丐), after severing one of his fingers as a reminder of once delaying to save a righteous man's who is also his master and previous leader of the Beggars' Sect life because of his appetite.

Hong Qigong was known for his culinary skills and appreciation of fine food.

Biography

* Nickname: Northern Beggar(北丐)
* Gender: Male
* Major Martial Arts Disciples : Guo Jing and Huang Rong

Hong Qigong's Martial Arts

Xianglong Shiba Zhang ("18 Dragon-Subduing Palms") (降龍十八掌/降龙十八掌)

# 亢龍有悔 / 亢龙有悔 Proud Dragon Repents
# 飛龍在天 / 飞龙在天 Flying Dragon in the Sky
# 龍戰於野 / 龙战于野 Dragon Fights in Plains
# 潛龍勿用 / 潜龙勿用 Hidden Dragon Waits Prudently
# 利涉大川 / 利涉大川 Successfully Cross the River
# 鴻漸於陸 / 鸿渐于陆 Swan Lands Gradually
# 突如其來 / 突如其来 Sudden Attack
# 震驚百里 / 震惊百里 Stun All within a Hundred Miles
# 或躍在淵 / 或跃在渊 Ascend or Retreat to Depths
# 神龍擺尾 / 神龙摆尾 Divine Dragon Swings Tail
# 見龍在田 / 见龙在田 Dragon Reveals Self in Fields
# 雙龍取水 / 双龙取水 Twin Dragons Draw Water
# 魚躍於淵 / 鱼跃于渊 Fish Jumps from Depths
# 時乘六龍 / 时乘六龙 Opportunely Riding the Six Dragons
# 密雲不雨 / 密云不雨 Cloudy Sky without Rain
# 損則有孚 / 损则有孚 Destruction Earns Trust
# 履霜冰至 / 履霜冰至 Treading on Frost Hints Blizzard
# 羝羊觸藩 / 羝羊触藩 Goat's Horns Trapped in Hedge

The famous and fearsomely powerful martial art of the Beggars' Sect. It was created using the principles from the "Book of Changes". He taught the full set of martial arts to Guo Jing. It is mentioned in the novel that this technique is the single most powerful waijia or external style martial art in the world, being unmatched in its sheer power.

Dog-Beating Stick Technique (打狗棒法)

# 惡狗攔路 / 恶狗拦路 Fierce Dog Blocks Path
# 棒打雙犬 / 棒打双犬 Whack Two Dogs with Stick
# 斜打狗背 / 斜打狗背 Obliquely Whack Dog's Back
# 撥狗朝天 / 拨够朝天 Flip Dog Face-up
# 獒口奪仗 / 獒口夺仗 Retrieve Weapon from Mastiff's Mouth
# 棒打狗頭 / 棒打狗头 Whack Dog's Head with Stick
# 反戳狗臀 / 反戳狗臀 Reverse-jab Dog's Bottom
# 棒挑癩犬 / 棒挑癞犬 Lift Mangy Dog with Stick
# 壓扁狗背 / 压扁狗背 Squash Dog's Back
# 天下無狗 / 天下无狗 All Dogs Vanquished

A set of thirty-six staff techniques, this skill set is proof of leadership of the Beggars' Sect. It was taught to Hong Qigong (洪七公) by the eighteenth Beggars' Sect Chief. Hong Qigong passed the full set to Huang Rong when he appointed her as the next leader. He taught the external forms to Yang Guo for his proxy duel with Ouyang Feng.

Fists of the Free (逍遙拳)

A set of fist techniques created by himself when he was young, Xiao Yao Quan is described to be a martial art that is swift and carefree, but has little power. This skill was taught to Mu Nianci.

Roles

The Return of the Condor Heroes

In his advanced age he left the affairs of his sect to his successors and travelled the world in search of culinary delights. On Mt. Hua he met Yang Guo and was impressed by the young man's integrity. Together they met Yang Guo's adopted father, the insane Western Venom, Ouyang Feng, one of the five greats. The two old rivals fought each other for four days, and only Yang Guo's timely interruptions with food kept things from escalating too far. Eventually the old animosity proved too much, and the two Champions matched their internal energies directly for a full day, coming to another standstill.

Exhausted, both fighters were too proud to back down, each claiming that he still had many techniques left to defeat the other. For three days, they used Yang Guo as their proxy, each instructing him in their respective skills and making the budding martial artist demonstrate the technique to his opponent. Thus Hong Qigong would teach Yang Guo a stance from his Dog Beating Stick and Ouyang Feng would teach Yang Guo to counter with his own staff art. Hong Qigong seemed to have won this odd duel when he unleashed his final Dog Beating Stick stance: No Dogs Under Heaven.

Eventually Hong Qigong was defeated by Ouyang Feng, who spent a night to think of a counter move. Upon seeing his ultimate technique countered, Hong Qigong laughed uproariously and embraced his enemy in defeat, calling Ouyang Feng by his true name. The two had been the most bitter of foes for their entire lives; with this final duel, they embraced one another, laughing, and died. He was then buried side by side on Mt. Hua by Yang Guo. It was observed by Yang Guo that Hong Qigong would have won the duel as in real combat, Ouyang Feng would not have had the time to ponder and create a counter.

ee also

* Condor Trilogy
* List of characters in Condor Trilogy