Zhou Botong
Zhou Botong (simplified Chinese: 周伯通; traditional Chinese: 周伯通; pinyin: Zhōu Bó Tōng; Jyutping: Zau1 Baak3 Tung1) is a fictional character from Wuxia novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes of the Condor Trilogy by Louis Cha.
Zhou Botong is one of the most humorous characters in the trilogy and also one of the best pugilists in the Wulin. His most notable trait is his childish and mischievous personality. He enjoys playing pranks and games with others like an immature toddler and constantly seeks fun and entertainment, even at an old age. As such, he always adds a comic relief and light-hearted element to the novels. He is nicknamed "Old Imp" (老頑童) and becomes one of the Five Greats at the end of the second novel as the "Central Imp" (中頑童), replacing his deceased elder disciple brother "Central Divine" Wang Chongyang.
Roles
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Zhou Botong is the younger disciple brother of Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen Sect. He is technically the most senior of all Quanzhen disciples after the death of Wang. Zhou does not have any disciples and does not remain in Quanzhen most of the time. Instead, he roams the Jianghu to derive entertainment from anything of interest to him, which include fights and toys. However, he still maintains the utmost respect for Wang Chongyang and abides by the rules of Quanzhen.
Zhou Botong has a love affair with Liu Ying, the concubine of Duan Zhixing, the ruler of the Kingdom of Dali but he does not know how to manage their relationship well. He heeds Wang Chongyang's advice and breaks up with her. However, Liu Ying is already pregnant with Zhou Botong's child then and she gives birth to a son later. The infant is mortally wounded by Qiu Qianren and dies from the injuries after Duan Zhixing, who has the ability to save the child, refuses to do so. Zhou Botong is unaware that he has a child until he meets Liu Ying (later known as Ying Gu) several years later.
Conflict with Huang Yaoshi
After the death of Wang Chongyang in 1208, Zhou Botong adheres to Wang's dying wish and proceeds to conceal the highly-coveted martial arts manual Nine Yin Manual from all pugilists. He meets "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi and Huang's wife Feng Heng along the way. Huang tricks Zhou into allowing his wife to read the manual once after winning Zhou by cheating in a game of stone-throwing. Zhou lets Feng Heng read the second volume of the manual and she memorises the text after browsing through once.
Feng Heng lies to Zhou that the manual is actually a copy of a book of childish rites, claiming that she knows the text by heart, and she recites the manual fluently to Zhou without glancing at it. Zhou Botong believes her and he destroys the second volume of the manual in anger before leaving. Some time later, Zhou Botong realises that he had been fooled and he returns to Peach Blossom Island to confront Huang and demand an explanation. Feng Heng had died recently after giving birth to Huang's daughter Huang Rong and Huang Yaoshi is still in a foul mood. The two of them have a heated argument in which Zhou Botong retorts angrily, saying that Huang Yaoshi can now practise martial arts better without distraction from his wife. Huang Yaoshi is furious and he fights with Zhou Botong. Neither of them is able to defeat the other and Huang Yaoshi seals off all exits from the island. Zhou Botong is stranded, or rather, imprisoned, on the island for the next 15 years. Zhou finds a cave and settles there.
Meeting Guo Jing
In 1223, Guo Jing set foot on the island and meets Zhou Botong. Zhou befriends Guo Jing and they become sworn brothers although Zhou is older than Guo Jing by at least four decades. Zhou Botong tells Guo Jing stories about the Nine Yin Manual and his conflict with Huang Yaoshi. Zhou Botong still has the first volume of the manual with him and he decides to let Guo Jing learn the skills. Zhou had been forbidden by Wang Chongyang to practise the skills in the manual. Guo Jing memorises the text in the manual and Zhou Botong also teaches him the "Seventy-Two Styles Vacant Fist" (七十二路空明拳) and the "Technique of Ambidexterity" (雙手互搏).
Zhou Botong finally settles his feud with Huang Yaoshi with the help of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. He leaves the island with them and follows them on their adventures on the mainland. He participates in the second martial arts contest held on Mount Hua in 1225 but leaves halfway when Ying Gu appears, telling him to avenge their son's death by killing Qiu Qianren.
The Return of the Condor Heroes
Zhou Botong makes some brief appearances in the sequel novel. He secretly accepts Yelü Qi as his student and imparts some of his skills to Yelü Qi. Yang Guo notices that Yelü's skills resemble those of Quanzhen Sect's. He also teaches Xiaolongnü the "Technique of Ambidexterity" when both of them are trapped in a cave by Jinlun Guoshi. In return, Xiaolongnü teaches him how to use the Jade Bees and helps to cure him after he is poisoned by Jinlun Guoshi's ice spiders.
Zhou Botong then lives alone for a few years in the Hundred Blossoms Valley where he spends his time keeping bees as his pets and practising how to control and direct them with the skill he learnt from Xiaolongnü. He meets Ying Gu and Duan Zhixing (now known as Reverend Yi Deng) again with Yang Guo's help. He forgives Qiu Qianren for his misdeeds and Qiu dies in peace. Zhou Botong also participates briefly in the defence of Xiangyang from the Mongolian invaders.
Zhou Botong's skills and martial arts
Seventy-Two Styles Vacant Fist (七十二路空明拳)
Zhou Botong creates this skill when he is trapped on Peach Blossom Island by Huang Yaoshi. This fist technique is the epitome of all internal martial arts mentioned in the novel. It is unmatched in subtlety and yet equal to the famous "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms" in power and ingenuity of style. He teaches Guo Jing the skill.
Technique of Ambidexterity (雙手互搏)
Zhou Botong creates this skill when he is trapped on Peach Blossom Island by Huang Yaoshi. He is bored and decides to "fight with himself" to keep himself occupied. Thus, he uses a different set of martial arts technique for each hand and fights the other hand. This makes him seem as though he is watching a fight between two opponents. However, although this technique is useful as it enables him to take on more opponents simultaneously during fights, it does not necessarily increase his inner energy or martial arts prowess. He teaches Guo Jing and Xiaolongnü the skill.
Jade Bees
Zhou Botong is trapped in a cave together with Xiaolongnü by Jinlun Guoshi. Jinlun Guoshi uses his poisonous creatures to attack them without entering the cave personally. Zhou Botong is poisoned after being stung by Jinlun's icy spiders. Xiaolongnü uses her Jade Bees to cure Zhou Botong, as the Jade Bees' poison helps to neutralise the icy spider's venom. Zhou Botong is fascinated and he asks Xiaolongnü to teach him how to use the bees in return for teaching her the "Technique of Ambidexterity". Zhou Botong learns how to direct the bees to attack enemies and keeps bees as pets when he stays in Hundred Blossoms Valley.
Shark riding
Zhou Botong is lost while traveling on the sea aboard Wanyan Honglie's ship. He has a wager with "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng and challenges Ouyang to kill all the sharks in the sea. Ouyang Feng uses his venom to poison and kill all the sharks. Zhou Botong falls into the water and presumed to be dead. Several days later, he returns to the ship riding on a shark in the waves. He finds shark-riding an extremely fun sport and claims that Ouyang Feng has lost the wager, since Ouyang fails to kill the last shark (the one he is riding).
Film and TV adaptations
List of actors who played Zhou Botong
Lau Siu-Man (1958)
Leung Sing Por (1960)
Chun Wong (1976, 1983)
Philip Kwok (1977-1978, 1981)
Long Guanwu (1988)
Wayne Lai (1992, 1994-1995)
Carina Lau (1993)
Liu Kai-Chi (1993)
Mak Ho Wai (1998)
Zhao Liang (2003, 2006)
Li Yu (2008)
Translation of "Zhou Botong"
Japanese: 周伯通, Thai: จิวแป๊ะทง, Vietnamese: Chu Bá Thông, Chinese: 周伯通.
|
