The Flying Guillotine

[bloodstar]

Not entirely related to wuxia fiction but i'm sure most of you have heard about this fearsome weapon:

"The Flying Guillotine" - the weapon is flung through the air and lands on the target, completely covering the victim's head. The assailant then pulls an attached chain, activating three blades that slice through the target's neck. The guillotine then sails back with the quarry's head secured inside.

There had been an old movie made about the flying guillotine but has this unconventional weapon ever appeared in Jin Yong or Gu Long (or any other wuxia authors) novels?

A note on the side: just saw a documentary on National Geographic featuring fearsome ancient chinese weapons and the flying guillotine is ranked number One. There are no actual historical records of the weapon but they made a working model of it and it actually works. They hired acrobats to test the model out and it is physically possible to somersault over someone and loop the guillotine over his head. Quite interesting.

[HuangYushi]

The flying guillotine or 血滴子 (xue di zi / xue3 di1 zi3) was supposedly used during Yongzheng's administration, but then, like National Geographic has found, there is no historical documentation about it.

Anyways, the flying guillotine appeared in Jin Yong's Book and the Sword, in Chapter 19.

[bloodstar]

According to the documentary, it was rumoured that Yong Zheng had a band of assassins who were trained in using the flying guillotine and he used them to remove his enemies secretly. One of the victims was his own brother who was found in his own room headless, slumped over his study table.

[Felix]

In the Wong Jing screwed up DOMD 2000, I think the weapon was used in the series.

[Suet Seung]

It was used in several Qing Dynasty tv series that I've seen.

[Guo Xiang]

It was used in Liang Yusheng's 'Three Heroines' novel, which took place during the Kangxi-Yongzheng era.

[Ken Cheng]

The closest thing I can think of in the Jin Yong canon is the Golden Wheel Monk's flying wheels, and that isn't really the same thing. In ROCH, I don't think the Golden Wheel Monk ever used his wheels to take off anybody's head.

That movie starring Jimmy Wang Yu as the One-Armed Boxer fighting the Flying Guillotine Monk is a classic, though. It's one of my favorite Shaw Brothers' martial arts films of the 1970s, and even in the West it's regarded as a cult classic.

[Tom]

did aobai's lackeys use this weapon or is it just the 2000's version of domd very inaccurate?

[Suet Seung]

did aobai's lackeys use this weapon or is it just the 2000's version of domd very inaccurate?

DOMD2000 and accuracy? How can accuracy be associated with DOMD2000?

[kyss of the sword]

it was a sort of assisnation weapon. it had circular blades inside and outside that could kill. it was thrown attached to a chain and if it fell over the head it could decapitae the whole head or the puter blades could slash the thoart and other parts of the body , even if it misses. it was supposed to be used by an special imperial 'death' squad, paticularily for assisnating members of the nobilty. it required great hand strenght to be used, it was one of several 'weapons' invented during china's history.