Created by Jin Yong Romantic interest(s) Liu Ying Creator Jin Yong | Gender Male Organisations Quanzhen Sect Children Unnamed Son | |
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Nickname(s) "Old Imp" (老頑童),
"Central Imp" (中頑童) Sworn siblings Wang Chongyang,
Guo Jing Appearances The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes Similar Hung Chi, Huang Yaoshi, Guo Jing, Ouyang Feng, Huang Rong | ||
Zhou Botong is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes and its sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, both of which are written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). He is nicknamed "Old Imp" (老頑童) in the first novel and becomes the "Central Imp" (中頑童) of the Five Greats at the end of the second novel to replace "Central Divine" Wang Chongyang. His most notable trait is his childish and mischievous personality. He enjoys playing pranks and games like an immature child, and constantly seeks fun and entertainment even at an old age.
Contents
- The Legend of the Condor Heroes
- Conflict with Huang Yaoshi
- Meeting Guo Jing
- The Return of the Condor Heroes
- Martial arts and skills
- References
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Zhou Botong is the junior of Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen Sect. He is the most senior of all Quanzhen members after Wang Chongyang's death. However, Zhou Botong neither accepts any apprentices nor remains in Quanzhen most of the time. Instead, he roams the jianghu to derive entertainment from anything of interest to him, including fights and toys. Despite so, he still maintains respect for Wang Chongyang and abides by Quanzhen's rules.
Zhou Botong had a romantic affair with Duan Zhixing's concubine, Liu Ying, but broke up with her after heeding his senior's advice. However, Liu Ying was already pregnant with his child and gave birth to a son later. The infant was mortally wounded by a masked assailant (later revealed to be Qiu Qianren) and died from his injuries. Duan Zhixing, who had the ability to save the boy, refused to do so. Zhou Botong was unaware that he had a son until he meets Liu Ying (renamed to Yinggu) several years later.
Conflict with Huang Yaoshi
After Wang Chongyang's death, Zhou Botong followed the former's dying wish and concealed the coveted Nine Yin Manual. He met Huang Yaoshi and his wife, Feng Heng, along the way. Huang Yaoshi tricked Zhou Botong into allowing his wife to read the manual after winning Zhou by cheating in a game of stone-throwing. Zhou Botong let Feng Heng read the second volume of the book and she memorised the text after reading it once.
Feng Heng lied to Zhou Botong that the manual was actually a copy of a book of childish rites and claimed that she knew the text by heart. She recited it verbatim to him without looking. Zhou Botong believed her and destroyed the second volume of the manual in anger before leaving. Some time later, Zhou Botong realised that he had been fooled so he returned to Peach Blossom Island to confront Huang Yaoshi and demand an explanation. Feng Heng had died recently after giving birth to Huang Yaoshi's daughter, and Huang Yaoshi was still feeling sore. The two of them had a heated quarrel, in which Zhou Botong taunted Huang Yaoshi by saying that he could now practise martial arts better without distraction from his wife. Huang Yaoshi turned furious and fought with Zhou Botong but neither of them was able to defeat his opponent. Huang Yaoshi then sealed off all exit routes from the island so Zhou Botong was effectively imprisoned on the island for the next 15 years. Zhou Botong found a cave and settled there.
Meeting Guo Jing
15 years later, Guo Jing sets foot on the island and meets Zhou Botong. They become sworn brothers even though Zhou Botong is older than Guo Jing by at least 40 years. He tells Guo Jing stories about the Nine Yin Manual and his conflict with Huang Yaoshi. He still has the first volume of the manual with him so he lets Guo Jing learn the skills as he had been forbidden by Wang Chongyang to practise the skills in the book. Guo Jing memorises the text. 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 but leaves halfway when Yinggu appears and tells him to kill Qiu Qianren to avenge their son.
The Return of the Condor Heroes
Zhou Botong makes some brief appearances in the sequel. He accepted Yelü Qi as his secret apprentice and imparted some of his skills to him. 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'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 Yinggu and Duan Zhixing (now known as Reverend Yideng) again with Yang Guo's help. He forgives Qiu Qianren for his misdeeds and Qiu dies in peace. Zhou Botong also participates briefly in defending the city of Xiangyang from Mongol invaders.