Mount Hua Sect

The Mount Hua Sect, also known as the Huashan Sect, is a fictional martial arts sect mentioned in several works of wuxia fiction. It is commonly featured as one of the leading orthodox sects in the wulin (martial artists' community). It is named after the place where it is based, Mount Hua. The sect appears in three of Jin Yong's novels.

Mount Hua Sect
Traditional Chinese華山派
Simplified Chinese华山派

There is a real-life Mount Hua Sect but it has nothing to do with martial arts. It is a religious sect and is one of the branches of the Taoist Quanzhen School. It was founded in the Song dynasty by Hao Datong, one of the "Seven Immortals of Quanzhen", who also appears as a character in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy.[1] However, in wuxia fiction, these two sects do not appear to have any connection at all.

History

The origin of the sect is unknown. In The Smiling, Proud Wanderer the sect's leader Yue Buqun is the 13th generation leader.[2] The Mount Hua Sect is part of the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance and Yue Buqun becomes the alliance's chief after defeating his predecessor, Zuo Lengshan of the Mount Song Sect.[2] Yue Buqun and his wife Ning Zhongze are among the top ten martial arts experts from orthodox sects. The novel's protagonist Linghu Chong is Yue Buqun's eldest apprentice. In the novel, the Mount Hua Sect is inferior to only three sects, namely Shaolin, Wudang and the Sun Moon Holy Cult.[2]

In Sword Stained with Royal Blood, set near the end of the Ming dynasty, the protagonist Yuan Chengzhi is a member of the Mount Hua Sect. His teacher Mu Renqing is the sect's leader and is reputed to be the best living swordsman in the jianghu during that time. The Mount Hua Sect is one of the Four Great Sword Sects (四大劍派) alongside Emei, Kunlun and Diancang.[3]

In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, set in the Yuan dynasty, the Mount Hua Sect is briefly mentioned to be one of the six leading orthodox sects in the wulin (martial artists' community).[4] Its leader is the morally bankrupt Xianyu Tong.[4]

Skills and martial arts

In The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect mainly comprise swordplay techniques and inner energy cultivation skills. The sect is split into the Sword and Qi factions, which focus on swordplay techniques and inner energy cultivation respectively.[2] The division is caused by an internal conflict arising from a dispute over the Sunflower Manual by the founders of the factions.[2] The Qi faction seized control of leadership of the sect and forced the Sword faction into exile. Since then, the Qi faction, headed by Yue Buqun, has been teaching his apprentices inner energy skills and other forms of martial arts while placing little focus on swordplay, for which the Mount Hua Sect is better known in the wulin (martial artists' community) for.[2]

Linghu Chong becomes famous after he learns the Nine Swords of Dugu from the Sword faction elder Feng Qingyang.[2] Linghu's generation sees the revival of the Sword faction. In Sword Stained with Royal Blood, Mu Renqing is highly revered in the wulin for his outstanding swordplay techniques, as his nickname "Divine Sword Immortal Ape" (神劍仙猿) suggests.[3] Yuan Chengzhi inherits Mu Renqing's swordplay skills, while Mu's other two students, Huang Zhen and Gui Xinshu, specialise in unarmed combat martial arts.[3]

List of skills and martial arts
Note: Although the skills listed here are entirely fictional, some may be based on actual martial arts.
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See also

Notes
  1. Cha, Louis. The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射鵰英雄傳). Ming Pao, 1957.
  2. Cha, Louis. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (笑傲江湖). Ming Pao, 1967.
  3. Cha, Louis. Sword Stained with Royal Blood (碧血劍). Ming Pao, 1956.
  4. Cha, Louis. The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龍記). Ming Pao, 1961.
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