Why did Kim Dung consider Truong Tam Phong the number one martial arts figure?

In a 1994 newspaper interview, writer Kim Dung was asked: "Who is the person with the highest martial arts skills in your novels?" Then, Kim Dung immediately answered: "That person is Truong Tam Phong. Truong Chan Nhan's martial arts were unmatched a thousand years ago, and no one will be able to surpass him in a thousand years." So why does Kim Dung favor Truong Tam Phong so much?

Kim Dung wanted to build a martial arts monument and convey his martial arts philosophy.

Kim Dung admires the real-life philosophy of Truong Tam Phong.

Zhang Sanfeng (Zhang Junbao) is a real historical figure from the late Yuan Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty. He is the founder of the Wudang sect as well as the two martial arts "Taijiquan" and "Taijisheng". According to legends and stories about him, Zhang Junbao is the master of Chinese martial arts of all time. Even the founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, invited him to serve him 5 or 7 times.

However, Truong Tam Phong was a hermit, a true "martial arts master", not interested in fame or fortune, not needing to compete with anyone, practicing chivalry to help others. Instead of helping Minh Thai To, he preferred the life of a wandering immortal.

Because he liked Zhang Sanfeng's way of life, in his novels, Jin Yong allowed Zhang Zhenren to reach the highest level of martial arts and live to 200 years old. In Jin Yong's novels, Zhang Sanfeng appeared at the end of The Return of the Condor Heroes, at that time he was known as Zhang Junbao - a disciple of Shaolin Temple's Grandmaster Jueyuan. However, it was not until The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber that this character left an impression on readers.

Writer Kim Dung really admired the way of life of Truong Tam Phong in real life.

As a famous figure in the martial arts world, Truong Tam Phong's life and career were portrayed on screen with the participation of many big names in the Chinese entertainment industry. Although they share the same natural talent for martial arts, the image of the greatest master portrayed by the actors exudes a completely different temperament and demeanor.

Appearing in the 2009 version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber , Truong Tam Phong was now a famous character, a senior that the whole martial arts world had to respect. All of those qualities were successfully portrayed by the veteran Chinese screen actor - Vu Thua Hue and won the affection of many audiences. However, he passed away in 2015, leaving many regrets for fans of Kim Dung's martial arts novels.

In 2019, the new version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber received mixed reviews from the audience. In addition to the main cast, Vuong Duc Thuan received a lot of attention when playing the classic Truong Tam Phong. The 83-year-old actor's appearance was considered very suitable for this role because he did not need makeup, his demeanor was true to the original in Kim Dung's martial arts novel.

The actor once shared that despite his old age, he still swings on cables and performs all the fighting scenes in the work without a stunt double. Every day, he is busy with filming, attending events, giving speeches, filming commercials, etc.

Martial arts star Donnie Yen plays Zhang Sanfeng.

In 2022, the 2022 film version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber directed by Wong Jing was completed in 3 years with a budget of up to 28.6 million USD. The producer expects the film to reach a box office revenue of more than 300 million USD when it is released. In which, the character Truong Tam Phong is played by martial arts star Donnie Yen. Although this version only appears as a guest, it still impresses the audience with a series of action scenes.

His martial arts talent is unmatched.

Zhang Sanfeng first appeared in the novel The Return of the Condor Heroes when he was only 14 years old, at that time he followed and assisted Grand Master Jue Yuan in Shaolin Temple. And his image ended in the book The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. He had the chance to receive 5-6 levels of Nine Yang Divine Skill from Grand Master Jue Yuan, helping his internal strength to increase day by day. Later, when he was old, Zhang Sanfeng also created the martial arts Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Sword based on the principle of using stillness to control movement, using softness to overcome hardness.

If put on the "scale" for comparison, there are 3 people who can be compared with Truong Tam Phong in Kim Dung's swordplay, that is Vo Danh Than Tang in Thien long bat bo , Doc Co Cau Bai who appeared indirectly in Than dieu dai hien and Tieu ngao giang ho and Vuong Trung Duong in Anh hung xa dieu and Than dieu dai hien.

Like Truong Tam Phong, all three have martial arts that have reached a certain level, and are unrivaled in the stories they appear in. Vo Danh Than Tang can control the strongest characters in the story, but his martial arts come from 40 years of burying himself in the Tang Kinh Cac, and he himself has not created any new martial arts. Vuong Trung Duong was taught by Thanh Hu Dao Truong. Vuong Trung Duong himself has not created any martial arts that are famous in the world.

As for the sword demon Doc Co Cau Bai, it is difficult to determine the origin of martial arts, so we will not discuss the aspect of martial arts creation for comparison. However, in terms of enlightenment, this character is far inferior to Truong Tam Phong. Specifically, this is a person who considers himself unrivaled in the world.

In terms of martial arts talent, writer Kim Dung admitted that no one can compare to Truong Chan Nhan. The late writer said: " Truong Tam Phong is proficient in martial arts in the world, practicing both softness and hardness, yin and yang, creating the martial arts of Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Sword, using softness to control hardness, understanding the principles of heaven and earth."

Zhang Sanfeng did not really consider martial arts as something to compete and fight for “the world’s number one”. He also created martial arts that used softness to overcome hardness. That was also the highest level of martial arts that Jin Yong wanted to convey.

(Source: Zing News)

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