post #30
Then he said again: " A real kung fu expert only relies on his kung fu skills to defeat the enemy, and in all his actions, he should always be on the righteous path and be willing to help fellow humans, so that his good name will remain for generations. A sabre or a sword is just an external thing, not of our own body. If we obtain it, there's no need to be so happy, and if we lose it, there's no need to be so sad. Therefore, there's no need for you to be so sad like this."
"Craps!" thundered the old man. "Have you never heard of the saying: 'Bu-lim-ci-cun, po-to to-liong, hauw-leng thian-he, boh-kam-put-ciong'? (The most venerable in the martial arts world, the precious Dragon Slaying Sabre, his order to all under heaven, no one dares to disobey)?"
Yu DaiYan laughed: "Of course I have ever heard about it," he replied. "After those words, there are two more sentences which say: 'Ie-thian put-cut, swee-i-ceng-hong?' To my knowldege, these sayings just refer to a big happening in the martial arts world many years ago, and it does not really mean there is a precious sabre named The Dragon Slaying Sabre.."
(Yi-tian means Relying on the Power of Heaven or God. But here in the saying, Yi-tian is the name given to a precious sword. Therefore, Ie-thian put-cut, swe-ie ceng-hong means: If Yi-tian did not appear, what else could match the sabre?)
"What big happening?" asked the old man. "Please tell me."
"That happening was known by almost everyone in the realm of martial arts," explained Yu DaiYan. "It refers to the slaying of the Mongolian Emperor, Hian-cong, by the Condor Hero Yang Guo. From then on, every order by The Condor Hero Yang Guo would never be disobeyed by everyone in the martial world. The "Long" (Dragon) here refers to the Mongolian Emperor and "To-long" means to slay the Emperor. Do you think there is a real dragon in the world?"
The man laughed coldly. "Let me ask you. What weapon was usually used by Hero Yang?" he asked.
DaiYan was a bit startled. "According to my Teacher, Hero Yang had only one arm and usually he did not use any weapon, " he replied. "But that day, when battling against Kim-lun Hoat-ong outside the city of Xiangyang, he used a sword."
"And what weapon did Hero Yang used to kill the Emperor?" asked the old man.
"He used a pebble which he threw towards Emperor Hian-cong and everyone knew this," he replied.
The old man looked glad. "Now," he said. "You said yourself that Hero Yang usually just used his one arm and sometimes he used a sword. And the weapon he used to slay the Emperor was just a pebble. Then, where does this word po-to to-liong (Dragon Slaying Sabre) come from?"
Yu DaiYan was surprised and for some time he could not answer that question. "Ah! I think that was a phrase created without much thought by some martial arts experts," he replied after a while. "Of course people could not say 'The Dragon Slaying Pebble', could they? That would sound strange."
Once again the old man laughed coldly. "You just made it up, your reasoning is not based on truth," he said in a mocking tone. " Let me ask again, what is the meaning of 'Ie-thian put-cut, swe-ie-ceng hong'?" (If Yi-tian did not appear, what else could match the sabre?)
Once again DaiYan could not answer. After thinking for a while, he replied: "Maybe 'Yi-tian' is a person's name. From what I heard, Hero Yang learned kung fu from his wife. So perhaps Mrs. Yang's name was 'Yi-tian', or maybe, it refers to Hero Guo who had defended the city of Xiangyang fiercely with his life."
"Hmph!" the old man grunted. "I have suspected, that you don't know the meanings of that saying. Now listen: 'Dragon Slaying' (Tu-long) is the name of a sabre, namely To-liong-to (The Dragon Slaying Sabre) I am holding now. 'Relying on the Power of Heaven' (Yi-tian) is the name of a sword. The sword is known as Ie-thian-kiam (Power of Heaven Sword). Therefore, the saying means: In the martial world, the most venerable is the Dragon Slaying Sabre. Any order given by the man possessing the sabre will be obeyed by everyone. As long as The Power of Heaven Sword does not appear, the most powerful weapon in the martial world is The Dragon Slaying Sabre itself."