| Ancient Tomb Sect | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 古墓派 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 古墓派 | ||||||||||
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The Ancient Tomb Sect is a fictional martial arts sect in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes. It plays a significant role in the character development of the protagonists, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü.[1] It was named after its home base, the Ancient Tomb (古墓) at Mount Zhongnan (終南山).[1]
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The sect was founded by Lin Chaoying during the Song Dynasty and shares a long history with its neighbour Quanzhen Sect, based in Chongyang Palace (重陽宮) on Mount Zhongnan.[1] The Ancient Tomb was built by Quanzhen's founder Wang Chongyang.[1] Although it is called a tomb, it was actually used to store supplies and weapons in preparation for war against invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty. The tomb is also filled with various traps and hidden rooms and serves as a hideout for the Han Chinese defenders of Song.
Wang Chongyang attempted to rally an army of volunteers to defend their homeland from the Jin invaders but failed. He was upset by his failure and retreated to live a reclusive life inside the tomb, calling himself a "living dead" man (活死人). As such the Ancient Tomb is also called the "Tomb of the Living Dead" (活死人墓). Wang's lover Lin Chaoying felt that his talent would go to waste if he continued to be a hermit, so she tricked him into leaving the tomb and both of them roamed the jianghu together. However Wang was still very concerned about his native land and he treated Lin coldly. Lin thought that Wang looked down on her and so she challenged him to a fight on Mount Zhongnan. Lin defeated Wang by trickery and won the Ancient Tomb as her prize. She moved into the tomb and had never left since then.[1]
Lin hated Wang for not appreciating her love for him and she spent her time innovating and developing new martial arts techniques to counter those of Quanzhen's.[1] She created the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra (玉女心經), which proves to be the bane of Quanzhen martial arts as its movements seem to oppose all Quanzhen styles. However, it is later discovered that the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra actually complements Quanzhen's swordplay and covers its flaws.[1]
Lin Chaoying had a maid, who became her martial arts student. The sect got its name from its home base since Lin did not give it a name and jianghu pugilists could only refer to it as the "Ancient Tomb Sect". The maid later accepted Xiaolongnü and Li Mochou as her disciples. Li was banished from the sect for betraying her master and she continued to roam the jianghu as a vicious killer. Xiaolongnu's master died after being injured by Ouyang Feng. The sect only becomes known to the wulin (martial artists' community) after Li Mochou became a notorious villain. Xiaolongnü later accepts Yang Guo as her disciple and Yang becomes the first male member of the sect.[1] In the sequel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Yang and Xiaolongnü have a female descendant, known as the Yellow Dress Maiden, who uses the Nine Yin Manual's skills to defeat Zhou Zhiruo.[2]
The Swordplay of Jade Maiden (玉女素心劍法) was created from the Jade Maiden Heart Manual (玉女心經), invented by Lin Chaoying. It is one of the traditional martial arts of the sect. Xiaolongnü was taught this beautiful form of swordplay by her teacher. Seemingly reflecting Lin's grudge against Wang Chongyang, its moves are the nemesis of Quanzhen swordplay as they seek to attack the latter's weak points. This gives any student of the Ancient Tomb Sect an edge over Quanzhen. However Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü eventually discover that when the two types of swordplay are coordinated together by a pair of lovers, they make the couple formidable as each protects the other flawlessly. This reflects the true feelings of the respective founders of the sects towards each other. Apparently Lin hated Wang, but actually she loved him and became his partner. After learning the Technique of Ambidexterity (雙手互搏) from Zhou Botong, Xiaolongnü is able to perform the two swordplays with both hands at overwhelming speed.
The Fist of Beauties (美女拳法) is a graceful, elegant and seemingly harmless technique but is actually quite deadly. Its styles and moves are named after ancient Chinese beauties.
The Palm of Infinity Web (天羅地網式) is a swift defensive technique and was one of Lin Chaoying's secret skills. It involves moving the palms in a strange pattern and formation, seemingly creating an invisible web, which can confuse an enemy and halt any advances. Yang learns this technique from Xiaolongnü by catching sparrows in mid flight.
The Ancient Tomb Sect's qinggong is among the fastest in the jianghu and said to be the best.