Jin Yong: Chinese culture and kung fu

[Dirt]

The way Jin Yong blends Chinese Culture with his martial arts have always been fascinating to me. Here are a few that I've come up with:

WCY was a Neidan practitioner of Taoism. This meant he concentrated more on meditation as a way towards immortality versus the Waidan practitioners who believed in Immortal Elixers. This is represented by WCY's greatest art: Xian Tian Gong which is an internal, not an external art

ZSF followed in WCY's footsteps and was also a Neidan Taoist practitioner. I believe that's why Jin Yong was so adamant about having WCY lose a drinking contest with the Confucianist/Taoist/Buddhist monk to create 9 Yang and make the Neidan (9 yin was very similar to XTG) link between WCY and ZSF. I also think the Confucianist/Taoist/Buddhist thing is nod towards the rise of Neo-Confucianism during the Song Dynasty.

Kuai Hua Bao Dian represented the speed at which Eunuchs achieved power. Historically, unless you were born a noble, there was only 2 ways to achieve power: 1) Scholar Gentry exams or 2) Cut off your "treasure" and become a Eunuch. The first can require a lifetime of hard work and time. The latter is just one quick chop of the knife. The fact that we never see a woman using this martial art is because women doesn't have anything to chop off. The most representative of the martial art itself to the culture is in the emphasis on speed in KHBD to fight.

Are there any others you guys can think of?

[Trien Chieu]

Historically, unless you were born a noble, there was only 2 ways to achieve power: 1) Scholar Gentry exams or 2) Cut off your "treasure" and become a Eunuch. The first can require a lifetime of hard work and time. The latter is just one quick chop of the knife. The fact that we never see a woman using this martial art is because women doesn't have anything to chop off. The most representative of the martial art itself to the culture is in the emphasis on speed in KHBD to fight.

Are there any others you guys can think of?

There is another way.
Join the martial art sect and become a professional martial artist. I think most men were force to become a eunuch either sold by their parents or force by the corrupted officers. Not many of them willing to make such sacrifice just to enter the forbidden city. As for the women, if they are beautiful, I am sure most of them would want to enter the forbidden city to become a concubine or maid as they don't have to make such huge sacrifice like the men do. However, I believe most of them will regret about it afterward as they learn how cruel life can be in the forbidden city. A life full of traps and sometimes the king is old and ugly. If they know the truth about the forbidden city, I believe most of them would not want to enter as there are plenty of young and handsome men around. Why would they want to fight for an emperor, sometimes even older than their own father, they don't love?

[Dirt]

There is another way.
Join the martial art sect and become a professional martial artist. I think most men were force to become a eunuch either sold by their parents or force by the corrupted officers. Not many of them willing to make such sacrifice just to enter the forbidden city. As for the women, if they are beautiful, I am sure most of them would want to enter the forbidden city to become a concubine or maid as they don't have to make such huge sacrifice like the men do. However, I believe most of them will regret about it afterward as they learn how cruel life can be in the forbidden city. A life full of traps and sometimes the king is old and ugly. If they know the truth about the forbidden city, I believe most of them would not want to enter as there are plenty of young and handsome men around. Why would they want to fight for an emperor, sometimes even older than their own father, they don't love?

Thank you for your thoughts, however, which martial arts does this relate to?

[Ren Ying Ying]

Kuai Hua Bao Dian represented the speed at which Eunuchs achieved power. Historically, unless you were born a noble, there was only 2 ways to achieve power: 1) Scholar Gentry exams or 2) Cut off your "treasure" and become a Eunuch. The first can require a lifetime of hard work and time. The latter is just one quick chop of the knife. The fact that we never see a woman using this martial art is because women doesn't have anything to chop off. The most representative of the martial art itself to the culture is in the emphasis on speed in KHBD to fight.

Are there any others you guys can think of?

Actually, the 2nd way probably takes just as much hard work...with the prospect being even more grim. Not everyone who becomes an enunch gains power. those kids usually enter as the bottom level scrub and if they were lucky, get to work their way up in rank. most of them just spend a lifetime in pure servitude and can only kiss other folk's feet...