Peking Opera

National Treasure~Peking Opera

Chinese Space Traveller

The Shenzhou-7 spaceship blasts off

Black And White of Wuxia World

Gu Long's WuXia World

I'm a fun of Wuxia novels.in all of the novelists,i most like Gulong.reading his works,i think it is a kind of enjoyer.

Xiong Yaohua(1937-September 21,1985),who wrote under the pen name Gu Long,was a Taiwanese writer of Wuxia novels.He was born in HongKong and moved to Taiwan in 1950.Several of his novels were adapted to film and television,most notably The Eleventh Son which was adapted several times,including a 1971 film adaptation as Shaw Brother's Swordsman and
Enchantress.He began his own movie studio,Bao Sian,to further the adaptation of his novels.

1938

Born in Hong Kong.

Some sources say that he was born in 1936, while others believe that he was born in 1937 in China.

1952

Moved to Taiwan with his parents.

1956

His parents divorced.

Without anyone to care for him, Xiong Yaohua's life lost a measure of stability. After graduating from the Foreign Language Department of the University of Danjiang in Taiwan,with assistance from friends, as well as money earned from part-time work, he found a job in the United States Army Advisory in Taipei.

1956

Published his first pure literary work.

Called "From the North to the South", the work was printed in two installments in Wu Kaixuan's "Daylight" magazine.

1960

Wrote his first wuxia novel, "The Vault of Heaven and the Sword of Divinity".

This novel, written under the pen-name of "Gu Long", came about because of the influence of the times, as well as the encouragement of friends and the pressure of financial need. Although it was meant to be the anti-thesis of traditional works, the content itself was "written carelessly and at random". Consequently, the novel read like an outline.

1960-1961

Published a flurry of eight novels before retreating in solitude to the town of Ruifang for three years.

Novels like "The Fragrant Rain of Swords" , "Broken Gold, Flawed Jade" and "The Strange Moon and the Evil Star" captured readers with bizarre plots, but the stories themselves remained unremarkable because the traditional literary style was still being used. During this time, his attitude towards writing was akin to child's play, starting new stories and casting them aside irresponsibly according to his fancy.

Other works, like "The Sword and the Scholar" and "A Spark of Distraction", had an originality in prose that seemed to indicate an improvement, yet they did not have the ingenuity needed for a breakthrough.

After reading Lu Yu's "Ways of the Young", he decided that a "new style of wuxia fiction" was worth pursuing. He began making a gradual change to his traditional style of writing and soon came up with novels such as "The Legend of the Solitary Star" and "The Sword of Concubine Xiang". Yet, these attempts in taking a new route to wuxia writing did not result in the desired success.

At that time, the wuxia fiction scene in Taiwan was monopolised by the "Three Swordsmen", Wolong Sheng, Zhuge Qingyun and Sima Ling. Gu Long was unwilling, of course, to be their little page (attendant).

After retreating to Ruifang, he focused on understanding the ways of life and sought a new perspective to his work. The results were amazing almost to the point of incredulity, for he quickly gained a reputation that put him on the same footing as the "Three Swordsmen". Together, they were known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" of wuxia fiction.

1964

Completed "The Record of Cleansing Flowers and Swords".

Also known as "The Hero of the Rivers and Seas", this flowing and poetic tale was soon hailed as the best among his early works. During this time, Gu Long drew heavily from the works of three well-known wuxia authors: Japan's Yoshikawa Eiji, China's Huanzhu Louzhu and Hong Kong's Jin Yong.

Taking a cue from Yoshikawa's "Miyamoto Musashi" that talked about "understanding the true essence of life through the way of the sword", he focused on the tension that preceded a duel and finished things off with a single stroke of the sabre. By despatching characters within three strokes and two stances, he never had to write another lengthy battle scene again. This marked his breakthrough in wuxia fiction as well as the dawn of his inimitable "simplified" style.

He also understood the subtleties in the philosophy of "overcoming the sword with swordlessness" that Jin Yong wrote about in "Divine Eagle, Gallant Knight". This took place a whole three years before Jin Yong expanded the description of the philosophy as the peerless skill of "overcoming form with formlessness" in the novel "Smiling Proud Wanderer", where Feng Qingyang instructed Linghu Chong in the "Nine Swords of Dugu".

In addition, Gu Long began doing his best to create an atmosphere of literature and art in his works, using simple yet succinct dialogue to convey a variety of philosophies. In addition, he used many poetic phrases and passages to depict human nature and the philosophies of life.

Unfortunately, "The Record of Cleansing Flowers and Swords" had too many hints that foreshadowed later developments in the story. Unable to tie all these loose ends up, Gu Long eventually produced a work that read like the tiger's head and the snake's tail: a fine start but a poor finish that reduced the artistic value of the book.

1967

Published "The Chronicles of Ironclad Determination", better known as "The Marvellous Tales of Chu Liuxiang".

These stories showcased the individuality and character of Gu Long at his best.

Between 1967 and the end of the 1970s, his novels finally secured him a place in the annals of modern wuxia fiction. As the sole representative of excellence in the genre from Taiwan for an entire decade, he was named along with Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng as the three legs of the tripod of wuxia.

Epiphyllum is blooming~!

Yesterday,the epiphyllum planted at my home was blooming,just for two hours.in order to catch its beautiful process.i waited from lunch time to 12:00 at night,all most for 8 hours!

But the flower is so saintly,it worth people's await~!!!