Was Hung 7 Gung biased in favor of the Dirty Beggars over the Clean Beggars?

[Ken Cheng]

At least during North Beggar Hung 7 Gung's tenure as Beggar's Union Chief, the Beggar's Union was divided into two clans - the Dirty Beggars and the Clean Beggars. Although Hung 7 Gung endeavored to treat both clans fairly, did he actually have a bias in favor of the Dirty Beggars? All throughout his appearances in LOCH and ROCH, Hung 7 Gung adopted only the rag clothing and street lifestyle of the Dirty Beggars; he never wore ordinary clothing or lived in an ordinary house like the Clean Beggars. This was despite his own rule that the Beggar's Union Chief had to divide his/her time each month up equally between the Clean and Dirty clans.

[Tom]

H7G stayed a dirty beggar but his successor HR stayed clean. So I guess it balances off.

[Ken Cheng]

H7G stayed a dirty beggar but his successor HR stayed clean. So I guess it balances off.

Oddly enough, the next two Beggar's Union Chiefs also seemed to alternate in that manner. I doubt that Lo Yau Gerk ever bothered to clean up and hang out with the Clean Beggars, and it's unlikely that Yeh Lut Chai ever did any slumming with the Dirty Beggars.

So Hung 7 Gung's original rule was in tatters by the time of ROCH, and it didn't seem like he had been great about following his own rule in this matter either.

[Tom]

Did the Clean Beggars exist in HSDS? Was Chen Youliang a clean beggar?

[Ken Cheng]

Did the Clean Beggars exist in HSDS? Was Chen Youliang a clean beggar?

That, I don't know. HSDS '86 depicted Chan Yau Leung and Union Chief Shih For Lung as wearing ordinary clothing, and Chief Shih seemed to have lived in an ordinary household. There was no explicit mention of distinct Dirty and Clean clans within the Beggar's Union in HSDS.

[dewyloony123]

Found the relevant portions in the (translation of the) novel so you can analyze that on top of the adaptations:

Electing the new Clan Leader was the Beggar Clan’s number one priority. The Beggar Clan’s prosperity or decline, its success or failure, for the most part depended on the Clan Leader’s virtue and capability. In the past the seventeenth Clan Leader, Qian Bangzhu, was dim and spiritless; his martial art skill was high, but he handled matters improperly. The Clean Clothes Faction and the Dirty Clothes Faction had endless fights; hence the Beggar Clan power suffered a large decline. When Hong Qigong assumed the Clan Leader position he forcefully suppressed the internal strife between these two factions. The Beggar Clan once again arose to become a strong organization within the Jianghu.

and

Actually the Beggar Clan was divided into the Clean and Dirty Clothes Factions. Other than wearing clothes full of patches, the Clean Clothes members led an ordinary life just like common people. These people were originally Jianghu’s warriors who either admired the Beggar Clan’s chivalrous deeds that they joined the Clan, or was in good term with a Beggar Clan disciple; they were by no means beggars. The Dirty Clothes Faction members actually begged for a living; they observed a strict commandment: they could not use money to buy things, they must not eat on the same table
with outsiders, they must not fight with people who did not know martial art. Each faction held their own principles and the dispute between two factions continued.

Hong Qigong was a fair leader; he would wear clean clothes the first year, and dirty clothes the next; year after year he treated the Clean and Dirty Clothes Factions equally. Begging was the Dirty Clothes Faction’s true color; but Hong Qigong loved to eat and drink, begging for spoiled soup and cold rice to alleviate his hunger proved too much for him, therefore, he could not strictly observe the discipline of the Dirty Clothes Faction.

Among the four elders, Lu Youjiao was the one earned his esteem most. If not for Lu Youjiao’s hot temper, which spoiled several important business of the Clan, Hong Qigong would early on assign him to be his successor as the Clan Leader. In this general assembly in Yuezhou the Clean Clothes Faction was worried because speaking about morality, martial art and popularity, Lu Youjiao had eight, nine out of ten chance of being the candidate for the next Clan Leader. Moreover, although the Clean Clothes Faction had three out of four elders, the Dirty Clothes Faction disciples held the majority within the Beggar Clan.

The three elders of the Clean Clothes Faction had pondered deeply on various ways to handle this matter, but remembering Hong Qigong’s prestige nobody dared to act rashly. Afterwards they saw Yang Kang arrive at Yuezhou with the bamboo stick in his hand, and they also heard that Hong Qigong was dead. Although they were genuinely grieved, they also saw this as a good opportunity to gain power over the Dirty Clothes Faction. That was the reason they agreed to support Yang Kang.

Actually fully respectful yet cautious they had attempted to scout Qigong’s order earlier; but Yang Kang was sly, he was afraid they might have a change of heart, so he was not willing to divulge anything until he announced it at the general assembly. The three elders of the Clean Clothes Faction knew they did not have any chance of becoming a clan leader, yet they were not disappointed as long as Lu Youjia was not elected either. They were willing to support this decision wholeheartedly; they thought Yang Kang was young, it would not be difficult to influence him later. Moreover, his clothes were magnificent, his choice of cuisine exquisite, he would in no way show favoritism toward the Dirty Clothes Faction. Thereupon three people looked at each other and nodded their heads.

(from http://spcnet.tv/forums/showpost.php...7&postcount=54 )