Chapter Fifty-Six: The Significance of Guo Jing's Role

"Wow—," exclaimed Big-Bearded Zhang, "so many masters gathered in one place? Looks like I came to the right person. If these people recognize your talent, you must truly have real skills!"

He immediately abandoned his earlier ambiguous attitude, becoming much more enthusiastic in an instant.

Liu Qingshan shook his head with a sigh. "Of course I’d love to join your crew, Director Zhang. Unfortunately, I made a prior commitment and in just two months I’ll have to head to Hong Kong."

Big-Bearded Zhang waved his hand dismissively. "More than two months? That’s more than enough! And don’t talk about just joining as an assistant—'The Return of the Condor Heroes' crew can sign you right now as the Chief Martial Arts Director! In fact, you won’t just be the action choreographer; you’ll have authority equal to mine as director!"

Every martial arts choreographer in film and television has their own unique style, just like drama directors, each expressing themselves through different means.

Rather than factions, it's better described as each martial artist's personal pursuit and creative vision for action cinema.

Big-Bearded Zhang’s offer to let Liu Qingshan share part of his director’s authority was a clear gesture of goodwill and an attempt to win him over.

"Forgive my directness, but you've never actually seen my true abilities. Are you really prepared to trust me with such responsibility?" Liu Qingshan pressed, not wanting to let the matter go unaddressed.

"Hua has spoken highly of you more than once! He says your fight choreography is both authentic and elegant, with distinctive moves—grand and masterful, truly reminiscent of a great martial arts master. I’ve always dreamed of wuxia since I was young, even wanted to study martial arts as a child. Many foreign action directors today prefer to break out of rigid routines, letting fighters react with raw authenticity. It makes the fights more real—sometimes dangerous, yes, but it draws the audience in completely, making them empathize with the characters. So I value Hua’s recommendation highly!"

"Director Zhang may not hold any official martial arts credentials, but when it comes to making action scenes spectacular, none can speak with more authority than him. And before you arrived, he even called Yanping for his opinion and got the same glowing review!"

Perhaps prompted by some subtle hint, Liang Guanghua interjected to support the point.

Yanping referred to Zhu Yanping, who played Di Chun; in fact, Liu Qingshan’s relationship with him was even closer on the set of 'Detective Dee'.

"I don’t think two months is nearly enough to choreograph all the fights for dozens of episodes. If the crew needs me, I’ll come, but as for Chief Martial Arts Director—let’s leave that. I’m happy to contribute to the action choreography, though!"

In wuxia productions, the Chief Martial Arts Director is practically a co-director.

Liu Qingshan’s reluctance wasn’t only due to time constraints; he’d never intended to make choreography his primary career and had always focused solely on acting.

There was also a tinge of disappointment at not being invited to act—though he thought he’d kept that well hidden.

Who could have guessed that Big-Bearded Zhang was such a shrewd judge of people? He immediately guessed as much.

"I’ll call you Shan, then!" Big-Bearded Zhang said with a smile. "I have a new idea. Originally, I wanted Wang Luoyong to play Guo Jing. Although the role isn’t a leading one, Guo Jing is undeniably the mightiest martial artist in 'The Return of the Condor Heroes.'"

He raised a hand to prevent Liu Qingshan from interrupting.

"Who plays whom is my concern; just let me explain my reasoning. Why is Guo Jing number one? After decades of training the complete Nine Yin Manual, he’s mastered ambidextrous combat. He’s immune to poison from drinking the treasured snake’s blood, wields the legendary Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, possesses orthodox Quanzhen internal skills, and in battle, could face the likes of Golden Wheel Monk and Xiaoxiangzi without losing ground. His archery could assassinate any expert, and his Cloud Ladder lightness skill is unparalleled—all at his martial prime in his fifties."

Seeing Liu Qingshan hesitate, he smiled. "At your age, you might not suit a man in his fifties in a modern drama, but in a wuxia series, it’s no problem—a beard and you’ll be more than convincing. Most importantly, I’ve heard about your lightness skills—they’ll let us bring Guo Jing’s legendary feats to life!"

"He’s not just light on his feet—the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms will come alive in your hands!" Liang Guanghua’s words made Big-Bearded Zhang even more enthusiastic. After sizing Liu Qingshan up, he slapped his thigh.

"It’s settled! I’ll tell Wang Luoyong myself—we’re great friends. If he misses this role, I’ll make it up to him in the future!"

Liu Qingshan was genuinely tempted. Guo Jing, though no longer the protagonist in this series, was a linchpin character.

‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’ is the bridge between past and future works. With the end of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' and the beginning of this new chapter, Jin Yong added fresh elements in his character design.

The struggles of Guo Jing’s youth forged his middle-aged self. As the saying goes: “The true hero serves the nation and its people.”

Guo Jing, throughout his life, stayed true to his ideals, using all his strength to pursue his own vision of chivalry—the real way of the hero.

In both the martial world and real life, after seeing so many who talk of righteousness and virtue but are selfish hypocrites at heart, can one not admire Guo Jing’s pure and honest spirit?

After seeing so many kind-hearted, supremely skilled knights who could have defended the nation yet chose seclusion instead, should we not admire Guo Jing, who, in the defense of Xiangyang, sacrificed himself and his family for his country?

In a sense, this series gives perfect closure to Guo Jing’s wisdom and simplicity, his humble greatness, and plants a deep seed of patriotism and compassion as the main theme of the story.

Though not the protagonist, he remains a naturally noble, sincere, courageous, generous, and upright hero—an immortal presence in Jin Yong’s wuxia universe.

One must admit, this is a role that will forever be etched in memory, radiating the glory of a true hero—worthy of the world’s admiration.

Even if audiences don’t remember Guo Jing as vividly in 'The Return of the Condor Heroes', as a martial artist, Liu Qingshan would consider himself fortunate to portray him.

Yet he still felt uneasy. Wang Luoyong, known as the “Number One Chinese Star on Broadway,” was a veteran actor of great talent and integrity.

To take his role, whether for personal or professional reasons, made Liu Qingshan feel deeply uncomfortable.

"I’ll arrange for you two to meet," said Big-Bearded Zhang confidently. "Luoyong is an understanding and reasonable man. Besides, he knows I want to create a wuxia masterpiece that will become a classic for generations!"

Big-Bearded Zhang’s resolute tone, however, only made Liu Qingshan’s doubts grow.

He could do justice to Guo Jing, but the problem was the lead actor—a man obsessed with appearances—had also been chosen.

Liu Qingshan could almost picture the awkward, forced posturing that would result, perhaps creating the most unconvincingly slick Yang Guo in history.

He knew his prejudices stemmed from his first impression of Huang Yiming—perhaps he was being too harsh?

Suppressing these complicated personal feelings, he still had to try: "Director Zhang, will less than two months really be enough to shoot all of Guo Jing’s scenes? Isn’t that a bit too rushed?"

Big-Bearded Zhang shot him a look. "That’s all to accommodate you! In short, the whole crew will adjust to your schedule. Can’t you leave us something genuine in return?"

"You’re a wise man, Director, and I’m not a fool either. My choreography relies heavily on the Thirty-Six Techniques of Flowing Fist. If needed, I can bring a few people from my previous crew—once my part is done, they can continue the work, ensuring the action remains consistent and doesn’t fall off later!"

He was thinking of Ma Shengli, Qiu Xingguang, Zhang Chengzhi, Wu San, and Liao Xin—among the first to learn the Thirty-Six Techniques.

Their martial arts foundation may not have improved by leaps and bounds, but for action choreography, they were already quite accomplished.