If you've watched many of the Shaw Brothers martial arts films during the 1970s or read a number of Gu Long's martial arts novels, it's easy to get the impression that the Mo Dong Sect was an "evil" sect...always a thorn in the side of the "orthodox", "heroic" Shaolin Temple (which is always depicted in a positive light in said Shaw Brothers movies). In Gu Long's LUK SIU FUNG novels, the Mo Dong Sect is a downright sinister force...its leader the Wooden Taoist (Lo Do Ba Tze - Old Sabre Tyrant) among the most nefarious villains that Luk Siu Fung and his allies ever faced.
And yet in HEAVEN SWORD AND DRAGON SABRE, Jin Yong portrayed the Mo Dong Sect as the only truly noble sect of the Six Orthodox Sects. Founder Cheung 3 Fung was the ideal martial arts sage - wise, skilled, and compassionate. His seven disciples were each gallant and noble knights, courageous and dedicated to justice. In a story of hypocrites and frauds, Mo Dong Sect in HSDS stood like a lone pillar of the xia ideal.
Generally speaking, however, which version of Mo Dong prevails in wuxia fiction: the sinister one of Gu Long and the Shaw Brothers movies, or the noble and gallant one of HSDS?