What killed Dook Goo Kau Bai?

[Ken Cheng]

Yeung Gor surmised that by the time he arrived for the first time at the Tomb of Swords, Dook Goo Kau Bai had likely been dead for around seventy years. I surmise that Dook Goo Kau Bai died in middle age...likely during his fifties. I do not believe that he lived to be a very old man like Cheung 3 Fung.

So what killed him? Given his martial arts supremacy, we can rule out a violent death (unless self-inflicted, but I find this unlikely). Accident is highly unlikely too because accidents happen to clumsy people, but c'mon...this is Dook Goo Kau Bai: it would be lame as hell and utterly implausible that he slipped and broke his neck while getting into a bathtub.

What does that leave us with? Disease...the # 1 killer of people in predmodern times (probably today too, but much more so in the past). I'm ruling out heart attack or stroke because those are ailments that usually result from sitting on one's a$$ all day just pigging out and doing nothing. With his constant martial arts exercise and tremendous inner power (which could clear any blood vessels), dying of any kind of cardio-pulmonary ailment doesn't seem to be in the cards for Dook Goo Kau Bai.

So that leaves us with infectious diseases and cancer. The poll lists some of the likely suspects.

[Western Eccentric]

Covid-19 maybe😶😶😶😶

[Stance]

Covid-19 maybe😶😶😶😶

The big condor was hungry and pecked him to death.

[FeilongZ]

Yeung Gor surmised that by the time he arrived for the first time at the Tomb of Swords, Dook Goo Kau Bai had likely been dead for around seventy years. I surmise that Dook Goo Kau Bai died in middle age...likely during his fifties. I do not believe that he lived to be a very old man like Cheung 3 Fung.

So what killed him? Given his martial arts supremacy, we can rule out a violent death (unless self-inflicted, but I find this unlikely). Accident is highly unlikely too because accidents happen to clumsy people, but c'mon...this is Dook Goo Kau Bai: it would be lame as hell and utterly implausible that he slipped and broke his neck while getting into a bathtub.

What does that leave us with? Disease...the # 1 killer of people in predmodern times (probably today too, but much more so in the past). I'm ruling out heart attack or stroke because those are ailments that usually result from sitting on one's a$$ all day just pigging out and doing nothing. With his constant martial arts exercise and tremendous inner power (which could clear any blood vessels), dying of any kind of cardio-pulmonary ailment doesn't seem to be in the cards for Dook Goo Kau Bai.

So that leaves us with infectious diseases and cancer. The poll lists some of the likely suspects.

The agony of begging for a defeat is the major why Dugu passed away probably in his early 50s.

After he went into seclusion, a combination of inactivity, boredom, and the feeling of unsatisfication of not finding a worthy opponent since his 30s have brought the demonic swordsman into deep depression shortly after he retired from the world.

Depresssion probably lead to a heart attack or stroke which killed him in his early 50s.

I wonder where was his bones after he passed away. Did nature took its course and his bones slowly deteriorated over time or the Divine Condor got hungry and fed on his body, just a thought

[Western Eccentric]

What a shame a "demon" die due illness..

[Stance]

The agony of begging for a defeat is the major why Dugu passed away probably in his early 50s.

After he went into seclusion, a combination of inactivity, boredom, and the feeling of unsatisfication of not finding a worthy opponent since his 30s have brought the demonic swordsman into deep depression shortly after he retired from the world.

Depresssion probably lead to a heart attack or stroke which killed him in his early 50s.

I wonder where was his bones after he passed away. Did nature took its course and his bones slowly deteriorated over time or the Divine Condor got hungry and fed on his body, just a thought

Hmm I think depression can kill the ordinary person, but for these great masters, I think their mind are strong enough to not go down this spiralling path?

For example, Feng Qing Yang went into seclusion after finding out he was tricked and alot of his Sword factions members had died. He would have been depressed from the setback, but managed to survive to an old age.

Dagger Lee also lived most of his life depressed, but didn't end up dying at a young age.

Interesting question as to where his grave was? YG never saw it and somehow FQY managed to get his hands on a copy of DG9J. Was a copy in his grave and FQY dug it up and found it?

[Athena]

In the wuxia universe (especially the Jin Yong universe), martial arts grand masters don’t really die young. Although, I don’t think that Dugu would have lived to be 115 years old like Zhang Sanfeng, he should be able to live well into his 70s.

We don’t know how old Guo Xiang and Lin Chaoying were when they died. Lin Chaoying probably early 60s or mid-60s. Guo Xiang only became a Buddhist nun at the age of 40, and then started to found the Emei School. Emei became the one of the four main orthodox martial arts schools in a relative short period time. So, I think Guo Xiang had to be around for another 20 years to 30 years to study Buddhism, develop her martial arts into a comprehensive Emei style and teach disciple(s). All of those three tasks require time.

In DGSD, Xiao Feng was a bit surprised to hear that Murong Bo died at the age of 60-something. He found that illogical, as someone with the martial arts level of Murong Bo dying at 60-something is a bit uncommon. However, this was a bit of foreshadowing of Jin Yong.

There are lots of other examples: Qiu Chuji was still alive post 16 years ROCH; although he was severely ill and we know that at the beginning of HSDS, the writer stated that Qiu Chuji had passed away for some time. He lived to be around the age of late 80s to early 90s similar to Huang Yaoshi, Yideng and Qiu Qianren. He had at best 1/3 of the internal energy as the old Greats.

In our reality, the life expectancy of someone in medieval times was not high. However, in the wuxia world, a person with martial arts usually gets to live to a quite old age. I mean Ke Zhen’E was alive. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Hou Tonghai and Lingzhi were still alive. Those four were imprisoned for years at the Chongyang Temple, had one of their legs broken and lost their eyesight (expect Sha Tongtian). They were suffering from rheumatism, but they were still alive. Their liviing conditions were probably harsher than Dugu, and they don't even have a fraction of Dugu's internal energy which is in wuxia universe instrumental to staying alive.

I just don’t see someone like Dugu Qiubai dying just between 40 to 50 years old.

[Western Eccentric]

In the wuxia universe (especially the Jin Yong universe), martial arts grand masters don’t really die young. Although, I don’t think that Dugu would have lived to be 115 years old like Zhang Sanfeng, but he should be able to live well into his 70s.

We don’t know how old Guo Xiang and Lin Chaoying were when they died. Lin Chaoying probably early 60s or mid-60s. Guo Xiang only became a Buddhist nun at the age of 40, and then started to found the Emei School. Emei became the one of the four main orthodox martial arts schools in a relative short period time. So, I think Guo Xiang had to be around for another 20 years to 30 years to study Buddhism, develop her martial arts into a comprehensive Emei style and teach disciple(s). All of those three tasks require time.

In DGSD, Xiao Feng was a bit surprised to hear that Murong Bo died at the age of 60-something. He found that illogical, as someone with the martial arts level of Murong Bo dying at 60-something is a bit uncommon. However, this was a bit of foreshadowing of Jin Yong.

There are lots of other examples: Qiu Chuji was still alive post 16 years ROCH; although he was severely ill and we know that at the beginning of HSDS, the writer stated that Qiu Chuji had passed away for some time. He lived to be around the age of late 80s to early 90s similar to Huang Yaoshi, Yideng and Qiu Qianren. He had at best 1/3 of the internal energy as the old Greats.
In our reality, the life expectancy of someone in medieval times was not high. However, in the wuxia world, a person with martial arts usually gets to live to a quite old age. I mean Ke Zhen’E was alive. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Hou Tonghai and Lingzhi were still alive. Those four were imprisoned for years at the Chongyang Temple, had one of their legs broken and lost their eyesight (expect Sha Tongtian). They were suffering from rheumatism, but they were still alive. Their liviing conditions were probably harsher than Dugu, and they don't even have a fraction of Dugu's internal energy which is in wuxia universe instrumental to staying alive.

I just don’t see someone like Dugu Qiubai dying just between 40 to 50 years old.

Well QCJ only come second in terms of internal aspect among QZ Masters after Ma Yu so he couldn't have 1/3 of Greats internal probably only around 1/4 or even 1/5 of Greats internal..

[Ken Cheng]

Well QCJ only come second in terms of internal aspect among QZ Masters after Ma Yu so he couldn't have 1/3 of Greats internal probably only around 1/4 or even 1/5 of Greats internal..

Taoists, of course, sought longevity through meditation. Yau Chui Gei was historically known as the "Eternal Spring Taoist," and Genghis Khan himself consulted Taoist Reverend Yau for an immortality elixir near the end of the Khan's life (an event depicted in LOCH). Yau Chui Gei told the Khan that no such elixir existed, but that meditation might help longevity. The Khan was very impressed that the Taoist didn't try to BS him, but told him the straight truth. Whereas in LOCH and ROCH, the Cheun Jen Sect became enemies of the Mongol regime, in actual history, the Yuan Dynasty granted the Cheun Jen Sect tax-exemption status because the founder Temujin so respected Taoist Reverend Yau.

[Western Eccentric]

Taoists, of course, sought longevity through meditation. Yau Chui Gei was historically known as the "Eternal Spring Taoist," and Genghis Khan himself consulted Taoist Reverend Yau for an immortality elixir near the end of the Khan's life (an event depicted in LOCH). Yau Chui Gei told the Khan that no such elixir existed, but that meditation might help longevity. The Khan was very impressed that the Taoist didn't try to BS him, but told him the straight truth. Whereas in LOCH and ROCH, the Cheun Jen Sect became enemies of the Mongol regime, in actual history, the Yuan Dynasty granted the Cheun Jen Sect tax-exemption status because the founder Temujin so respected Taoist Reverend Yau.

But I doubt people like QCJ have 1/3 of Greats internal since each of Du Monks which much better than QCJ only have 1/3 of Wuji strength..

[Ken Cheng]

But I doubt people like QCJ have 1/3 of Greats internal since each of Du Monks which much better than QCJ only have 1/3 of Wuji strength..

Well, you're discussing him as a wulin fighter and how strong he is vs. whomever. I'm discussing how Taoist meditation extended his longevity. Two different things.

[Athena]

West Eccentric..... that is not the point. The point is that he lived long. I don't care if Qiu Chuji has only 1/100th of the internal energy of the old Greats. He lived long and prosper. Hence, most martial artists in the Jin Yong universe including Dugu Qiubai probably did not die between 40 to 50 if they didn't fire deviate or get killed in combat.

I swear sometimes some of you get so hung up with the martial arts ranking list that you think it is canon, which it isn't.

[Western Eccentric]

West Eccentric..... that is not the point. The point is that he lived long. I don't care if Qiu Chuji has only 1/100th of the internal energy of the old Greats. He lived long and prosper. Hence, most martial artists in the Jin Yong universe including Dugu Qiubai probably did not die between 40 to 50 if they didn't fire deviate or get killed in combat.

I swear sometimes some of you get so hung up with the martial arts ranking list that you think it is canon, which it isn't.

Nevermind but I never think QCJ have 1/3 of Greats strength like you said before..

[Western Eccentric]

Well, you're discussing him as a wulin fighter and how strong he is vs. whomever. I'm discussing how Taoist meditation extended his longevity. Two different things.

So longevity not relate with Internal I mean the longer he live the higher he get his internal..

[Athena]

I don't know how much internal energy Qiu Chuji had. I was just randomly throwing out a number. He could have 1 percent out of 100 or 23.3 out of 100 of a Great. Does that matter to this discussion?

To be fair, I did write 'AT BEST'.

So, you do think that Dugu Qiubai kicked the bucket between 40 to 50?

[Ken Cheng]

So longevity not relate with Internal I mean the longer he live the higher he get his internal..

For longevity, I don't think sheer quantity is as important as orthodoxy and stability. Kau Mor Tze, for example: vast quantities of inner power, but I wouldn't be surprised if he checked out of natural causes by the time he was sixty due to the improper ways he acquired it. Inner power training done improperly probably does more harm than good in terms of health and longevity, even if it delivers in terms of martial arts ability.

The Cheun Jen Sect inner power was famous for its orthodoxy and stability: as long as you did it properly, it wasn't likely to cause the user any harm. Many other inner power systems deliver great gains in terms of quantity, but they are unstable and the hazards and costs are rather high.

[Ken Cheng]

I don't know how much internal energy Qiu Chuji had. I was just randomly throwing out a number. He could have 1 percent out of 100 or 23.3 out of 100 of a Great. Does that matter to this discussion?

To be fair, I did write 'AT BEST'.

So, you do think that Dugu Qiubai kicked the bucket between 40 to 50?

He seemed to acquire his great abilities and attainments very early in life, reaching peaks in his teens and twenties that other masters wouldn't reach until at least middle age.

While it's not a certain or universal phenomenon, it's often observed that those who accomplish greatly at an early age also burn out at an early age. Dook Goo Kau Bai rose so quickly and phenomenally in his youth that perhaps the cost came at the other end of his life.

[Stance]

I don't know how much internal energy Qiu Chuji had. I was just randomly throwing out a number. He could have 1 percent out of 100 or 23.3 out of 100 of a Great. Does that matter to this discussion?

To be fair, I did write 'AT BEST'.

So, you do think that Dugu Qiubai kicked the bucket between 40 to 50?

Even if i lived a depressing life with no real exercise. I think I'll still make it beyond 50.

[Western Eccentric]

For longevity, I don't think sheer quantity is as important as orthodoxy and stability. Kau Mor Tze, for example: vast quantities of inner power, but I wouldn't be surprised if he checked out of natural causes by the time he was sixty due to the improper ways he acquired it. Inner power training done improperly probably does more harm than good in terms of health and longevity, even if it delivers in terms of martial arts ability.

The Cheun Jen Sect inner power was famous for its orthodoxy and stability: as long as you did it properly, it wasn't likely to cause the user any harm. Many other inner power systems deliver great gains in terms of quantity, but they are unstable and the hazards and costs are rather high.

If DGQB die "young" (perhaps but unlikely) due his unorthodox neigong method did you think YG also die young too since they have similarity in strength/neigong type..

[Ken Cheng]

If DGQB die "young" (perhaps but unlikely) due his unorthodox neigong method did you think YG also die young too since they have similarity in strength/neigong type..

Hard to say...but perhaps that is the reason we never hear from him again after ROCH. It is a possible explanation why he was a no-show at the final Battle of Seung Yeung when his uncle, aunt, and allies could have used his help, and why he also never reappeared in Gwok Seung's life. It's almost better to think of him as being prematurely dead than willfully neglectful.