Awareness of the 9 Yum Jen Ging among wulin during HSDS era?

[Ken Cheng]

Before and during LOCH, the Greats struggled over and suffered because of the 9 Yum Jen Ging for decades, and each of them believed that the 9 Yum Jen Ging contained martial arts skills superior to his own. The 9 Yum Jen Ging, therefore, was notorious throughout wulin during LOCH and ROCH. By the time that ROCH ended, however, none of the Greats, the five most knowledgeable martial artists in the world at the time, had ever heard of the 9 *Yeung* Jen Ging until Gok Yeun the Monk told them about it at the summit of Mt. Hua. The Greats were surprised and amazed that there existed another martial arts manual that could be the 9 Yum Jen Ging's equal or possibly even superior.

One hundred years later, the situation was reversed. Because the 9 Yeung Jen Ging was the backbone of the martial arts of the Mo Dong Sect and the Ngor Mei Sect (and had even been incorporated into the martial arts of Shaolin), and also because the 9 Yeung Jen Ging was the foundation of Cheung Mo Gei's rapid rise to most powerful fighter (by far) of his generation, the 9 Yeung Jen Ging was very well known in the wulin of HSDS. The 9 Yum Jen Ging, on the other hand, had disappeared from wulin a century earlier following the deaths of the ROCH Greats. During HSDS, the only two wulin members outside of the Ngor Mei Sect who definitely knew about the 9 Yum Jen Ging's existence were Cheung 3 Fung (because he had lived in an era when 9 Yum Jen Ging practitioners were still around) and Tse Tsun (no idea how he learned about it, although he seemed to be a very learned individual in general). The rest of wulin, however, seemed ignorant of the 9 Yum Jen Ging's existence until this martial arts methodology reemerged at the end of HSDS.

When the 9 Yum Jen Ging's return to wulin finally became known, however, what was the reaction of wulin in general? Was it more....

1). 9 Yum Jen Ging?! What on earth is that? Don't you mean the 9 *Yeung* Jen Ging? Never heard of any 9 Yum Jen Ging before.

or was it more like...

2). Whoa! The 9 Yum Jen Ging?! I've heard legends that one hundred years ago, Gwok Jing practiced this martial art...but I thought the skill died with him!

[owbjhx]

2). Whoa! The 9 Yum Jen Ging?! I've heard legends that one hundred years ago, Gwok Jing practiced this martial art...but I thought the skill died with him!

I'd say that this is the case.

In 'Yi Tian' Chapter 30, Zhou Zhiruo slips a question to Xie Xun about 9 Yin. At this point, Zhang Wuji remembers hearing about this art from Zhang Sanfeng while at Wudang, and is aware that the art is associated with "Guo Jing, father of E'Mei founding matriarch - the heroine Guo Xiang" and "Yang Guo, the legendary Divine Condor Hero".

In Chapter 38, Lady Yang reveals that ZZR is using 9 Yin White Bone Claw, and some of those listening are described as having heard of this "sinister" art which was "well-known in jianghu a hundred years ago".

Prior to this, in Chapter 27 Miejue appears to know a bit about 9 Yin (from what Fengling told her), including the existence of Huang Rong's 'accelerated' version.

(Note: this is all 2nd edition.)

I do like how 9 Yin (and lots of other residual things from She Diao & Shen Diao - like the useless martial descendents of Yideng) reappears in Yi Tian. Whenever some character (e.g. Chen Youliang), say, namedrops GJ or YG or HR reverentially, you can sort of smile smugly and think to yourself: "What does he know? I was there, man!"

[Ken Cheng]

In 'Yi Tian' Chapter 30, Zhou Zhiruo slips a question to Xie Xun about 9 Yin. At this point, Zhang Wuji remembers hearing about this art from Zhang Sanfeng while at Wudang, and is aware that the art is associated with "Guo Jing, father of E'Mei founding matriarch - the heroine Guo Xiang" and "Yang Guo, the legendary Divine Condor Hero".

I'm not surprised by Cheung Mo Gei's knowledge about this earlier period of wulin history. During his childhood on Ice Fire Island, I'm sure that both Tse Tsun and Cheung Chui San told him many wulin legends and stories.

But I wasn't sure to what extent such knowledge was accessible to wulin in general.

Nothing unusual about Mit Jeut See Tai knowing about the 9 Yum Jen Ging either. I think all Ngor Mei Sect Leaders needed to be privy to that information.

[owbjhx]

I'm not surprised by Cheung Mo Gei's knowledge about this earlier period of wulin history. During his childhood on Ice Fire Island, I'm sure that both Tse Tsun and Cheung Chui San told him many wulin legends and stories.

But I wasn't sure to what extent such knowledge was accessible to wulin in general.

Nothing unusual about Mit Jeut See Tai knowing about the 9 Yum Jen Ging either. I think all Ngor Mei Sect Leaders needed to be privy to that information.

Yep. XX, as you mentioned earlier, is an exceptionally knowledgeable guy. (He's aware, for instance, of the Five Greats.) And yes, the secret knowledge of 9 Yin's whereabouts is arguably the single most important thing passed from one E'Mei leader to the next.

I think the corrosive effect of time on knowledge/judgement of things - whether these things are martial arts, or someone's deeds (e.g. ZZR's crimes) - gets close to what Jinyong was trying to 'say' (if he was trying to 'say' anything) with Yi Tian. The novel begins with Qiu Chuji's misty-eyed eulogy to Xiaolongnu, for instance, but already by Chapter 3 Yu Daiyan's speculations illustrate that knowledge of XLN's particulars may already have been lost in wulin. It's a consistent theme that those who evoke the heroic past frequently do so for very unheroic reasons. And the very last few paragraphs of the 3rd edition describe Zhang Wuji losing his grasp on the moral dimension of past events the more he thinks about them.

[kyss of the sword]

even through 9yang was somewhat famous in HSDS, only one person in shaolin, a few in e-mei(leader and heir) and thewudang disiples practised it, but because these were the top sects, the skill was well known. 9yin had no practioneers, since any one with full or partial knowledge was dead or a mysterious person like lady yang.