Jiuyin Zhenjing | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 九陰真經 | ||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 九阴真经 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | Nine Yin True Classic | ||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Jiǔ Yīn Zhēn Jīng |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Jyutping | Gau2 Jam1 Zan1 Ging1 |
The Jiuyin Zhenjing, also known as the Nine Yin Manual, is a fictional martial arts manual in Jin Yong's Condor Trilogy.
The manual is a compilation of numerous scrolls and ancient scriptures pertaining to psychic powers, healing techniques, martial arts classics and Taoist philosophy. It was compiled by Huang Shang (黃裳) on the commission of Emperor Huizong during the Song Dynasty. Huang's compendium became the first volume of the manual. During the writing process, Huang enriched himself with Taoist knowledge and the principles of inner energy and qi. When combined with Huang's intelligence, the knowledge he acquired during the compilation turned him into a formidable martial artist.
Soon after, the emperor appointed Huang to lead an army to eradicate the Ming Cult, a sect of Persian origin that had been involved in many anti-government activities. The Song army engaged the cult in a fierce battle but failed to capture the enemy's fortress. Huang fought with the cult's best fighters one-on-one and slew every single one of them until he was forced to retreat due to exhaustion. In retaliation, the Ming Cult dispatched the best of its surviving warriors to kill Huang's family.
Huang was enraged and he vowed to destroy the cult. For the next four decades, Huang dedicated himself to experimenting with new techniques to counter those of the Ming Cult's martial arts. As many of the cult's members were affiliated to other sects, Huang had to develop new techniques that were capable of countering the other sects' martial arts as well.
Huang succeeded in accomplishing his herculean task but his enemies had died during those four decades. Huang wrote the second volume of the manual, detailing his experiences and the new techniques he had developed and innovated during his 40 years of research.
The manual was lost for several years after Huang Shang's death. When it reappeared in the jianghu, it induced bloodshed as martial artists competed fiercely with each other to seize possession of the anthology of martial arts. Numerous lives were lost due to the ensuing chaos caused by the obsession with the book. To prevent further spilling of blood, martial artists decided to stage a martial arts contest on Mount Hua to determine who would be the manual's rightful owner. The Five Greats ("Central Divine" Wang Chongyang, "Eastern Heretic" Huang Yaoshi, "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng, "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong and "Southern Emperor" Duan Zhixing) gathered on Mount Hua and agreed that the champion of the contest would gain sole possession of the manual.