East Heretic Wong Yerk See - eccentric, but not a graceless host?

[Ken Cheng]

East Heretic Wong Yerk See was known as an individual who did not suffer fools lightly. If you didn't meet his standards, he wouldn't think much of being rude to you...or even beating the tar out of you if it suited his mood. That said, when people came to visit him at his home on Peach Blossom Island, he didn't seem to be a graceless host...even to people he didn't particularly like.

When West Poison Au Yeung Fung came with Au Yeung Hak to ask for Wong Yung's hand in marriage to Hak, Wong Yerk See was a cordial host to Au Yeung Fung despite suspecting the other Great's motives and not liking him much on a personal level either. This, however, is easily written off as Wong Yerk See showing respect for a fellow Great.

What really strikes me as being interesting, however, is how Wong Yerk See treated the Gong Nam 6 Freaks and the Cheun Jen 6 Disciples when they came to Peach Blossom Island. Wong Yerk See never had much of a liking for the Freaks, and the Cheun Jen Disciples were there to kill him for what they believed to be his role in the death of their martial brother, Tam Chui Deun. Naturally, Wong Yerk See didn't want to see them, but instead of driving them away from the island, Wong Yerk See asked Sor Goo to receive them at his house as guests and serve them dinner.

In other words, despite the rudeness of not personally greeting his unwelcome visitors, Wong Yerk See was (uncharacteristically) being a pretty gracious host: generally, you don't invite people whom you don't like and who are looking to fight with you for dinner at your house. And yet, that's exactly what Wong Yerk See ordered Sor Goo to do (she didn't accomplish this task, obviously).

So despite Wong Yerk See's sometimes abrasive and antisocial character, was he a surprisingly gracious host to visitors to Peach Blossom Island?

[viktle19]

The old world had laws of hospitality...once someone came to your home as a guest, you had the obligation to shelter, feed and defend them if need be.

Apparently, even he had to follow this rule...

[Ken Cheng]

The old world had laws of hospitality...once someone came to your home as a guest, you had the obligation to shelter, feed and defend them if need be.

Apparently, even he had to follow this rule...

I know this to be true of ancient Greece, but I had no idea that a similar custom also applied to medieval China.

Learn something new every day.

Of all people, though, I'd have expected Wong Yerk See to part with this custom if it didn't suit him. He is known for that, after all.

[viktle19]

Or, maybe people were expecting him to smack the Freaks and Taoists around....so he didn't.

[Aventinus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVnArp9ZE0#t=0m3s