One of the gatekeepers of the Demon Catalogue is Gu Long

Gu Long (1938-1985), whose real name was Xiong Yaohua, was a martial arts novelist. Born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, he was born in Hong Kong in 1938 and lived in Hankou, Hubei Province when he was a child. He graduated from Chenggong High School in Taipei City and graduated from the English Department of the Evening Department of Tamkang English College (now Tamkang University) (did not graduate).

Due to the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Hung Yiu-wah moved to Hong Kong with his family and studied at the Tak Seng Church Primary School. In 1950, he crossed the ocean and settled in Taiwan. He first studied in the junior high school of the High School Affiliated to Taiwan Normal University (now the High School Affiliated to Taiwan Normal University).

According to Zhu Bangfu of the same class 37 at the time, Xiong Yaohua was in class 35 at the time and liked Gu Xfeng, who was in class 37, so he later took the pen name Gu Long.

In the fall of 1954, he was admitted to Chenggong Middle School (high school). Xiong Yaohua wrote a large number of poems during this time, contributing to the Blue Star Poetry Magazine, Successful Youth, etc.

However, in the second year of high school, his father abandoned his wife and children for no reason, and soon Xiong Yaohua also ran away from home, lived alone in Pucheng Street, and joined the gangs of other provinces, the Four Seas Gang (gangsters, righteousness in those days, but now there is none).

In his sophomore year of high school (1955), Xiong Yaohua published the novel "From the North to the South" in Chenguang Magazine, and in 1957, he entered Tamkang English College (the predecessor of Tamkang University) and studied English in the night department, and dropped out of school the following year.

In order to make a living, he began to write martial arts novels. From 1960 to 1963, Gu Long was in the germination stage, and published more than ten novels such as "The Legend of the Lone Star" and "Flower Bell".

At this time, Taiwan's martial arts circles respected the three musketeers Wo Longsheng, Sima Ling, and Zhuge Qingyun, and Gu Long deliberately befriended them. He also ghostwrote several works for them.

The most important friends, Brother Niu (Li Feimeng), Sister-in-law Niu (Feng Nani, a senior sister of Gulong Middle School and junior college), and brothers such as Zou Lang and Hu Zhengqun also take care of Gulong.

Since 1963, his first wife, Zheng Yuexia, began to live with Gu Long in Ruifang Town, Taipei County. Gu Long, who felt the warmth of his family, successively published six novels, including "Lover's Arrow", "The Legend of the Banner Heroes", "Huanhua Washing Sword Record", "Famous Sword Romance", "Martial Arts History" and "Peerless Double Pride".

In 1967, he published "The Legend of Iron Blood" (that is, the Legend of Chu Liuxiang), which integrates martial arts, literature, detective, reasoning, and fables. The above works are close to or more than one million words, and the texture has also been significantly improved, which can be regarded as the vigorous stage of creation.

Published from 1964 to 1966, "Huanhua Washes the Sword Record" draws lessons from Japanese novels such as Miyamoto Musashi, exploring martial arts (Tiandao) and opening up a new path of martial arts.

"The History of Martial Arts" established the "prodigal" flavor of Gulong's martial arts novels. It strengthens the modernity of "Famous Sword Romance". "The Peerless Twins" has an obvious allegorical tendency. It is a long-form martial arts comedy that has been well received.

Incidentally, the well-known Hong Kong writer Ni Kuang invited Ming Pao to write "The Peerless Double Pride", and since then he has been inseparable from Gu Long.

From 1968 to 1969, "Amorous Swordsman Ruthless Sword" opened the mature stage of Gu Long's creation. "Amorous Swordsman Ruthless Sword", "Xiao Shiyi Lang", "Meteor, Butterfly, Sword", "Happy Hero", "Big Man", "Lu Xiaofeng" series, "Seven Weapons" series, "The End of the World, Bright Moon, Knife", "The Sword of the Third Young Master", "White Jade Tiger", "Blue Blood Washing Silver Gun" and "Heroes Without Tears" and other works have been widely welcomed by readers.

Among them, "Lu Xiaofeng" is the chief master of the martial arts world, Jin Yong, who personally invited the manuscript for his Ming Pao after sealing the pen. It has the meaning of being passed down from generation to generation.

In addition, "The End of the World, Bright Moon, Knife" is more avant-garde because of its concept. Cut in half by the China Times. In 1976, Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers used "Shooting Stars, Butterflies, Swords" and this book as the basis to create another peak of martial arts films, and also created the era of Gu Long's films. The China Times later invited Gu Long to write an article. So there was "Blue Blood Washing Silver Gun".

Gulong's creative philosophy is "seeking innovation and change", not bound by tradition, and melting Chinese and foreign classics into one furnace. From the middle to the end of his creation, he continued to break through himself, saying many times that "martial arts novels have come to change".

Chinese and foreign forgers, such as Wang Dulu: The Crane-Iron Pentalogy, "The Crane Shocking Kunlun", "The Sword and the Golden Hairpin", "The Pearls of the Sword Qi", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2001 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), "Iron Riding in a Silver Vase" and "The Call of the Wild" are integrated into "The Amorous Swordsman Ruthless Sword".

Another example is Steinbeck's "Pizza Flat" that inspired "Happy Heroes", and "The Godfather" and the Japanese manga "Tape Wolf" incorporated "Shooting Stars, Butterflies, Swords". He also infiltrated the syntax of prose and new poems into his novels, writing novels such as "The End of the World, the Bright Moon, and the Knife".

It was not until 1979 that "Heroes Without Tears" and "Legend of the New Moon" were completed, and it went into decline, with a sharp decline in creation and ghostwriting rampant. Gu Long has exhausted his talents, and he has not published any important works in his career.

As early as 1969, Gu Long wrote the script "Xiao Shiyi Lang" for director Xu Zenghong, which is also the first martial arts masterpiece with a script and then a novel. However, when the film was released in the early 70s, it was not noticed.

In 1976, Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers launched "Meteor, Butterfly, Sword", "The End of the World, Bright Moon, Knife", which caused a sensation in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Take the Hong Kong drama "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" starring Zheng Shaoqiu in the 70s as an example, a whirlwind of martial arts blew in Taiwan, and the grand occasion was unprecedented, "the city is full of people competing for Chu Liuxiang".

Therefore, Gu Long has been involved in the film and drama career since the late 70s, often cooperating with his friend Ni Kuang and director Chu Yuan, and has produced dozens of famous works, and even founded Baolong Film Company in 1980. This helps to stimulate and innovate the text of the novel, but it also distracts the focus.

Many of Gu Long's novels are highly favored by directors and have been adapted into TV and movies, including "Chu Liuxiang", "Amorous Swordsman Ruthless Sword", "Peerless Double Pride", "Lu Xiaofeng" and so on. In the Shaw Brothers era, Chu Yuan photographed the most ancient dragon works.

Gu Long has been addicted to sex and alcohol since he was young, and he has become even more unrestrained when he has developed. In 1977, he contracted liver disease, and his health gradually declined.

At the end of 1980, he was cut by Chen Wenhe, a filmmaker at the adjacent table, and director Ye Qinghui at a banquet at Yinsong Pavilion in Beitou, lost 2000cc of blood, and was transfused with blood with hepatitis, and suffered from hepatitis.

Since then, his health has deteriorated, and the size of the "big head and fat man" has been seriously reduced, and he is judged to be like two people. The failure of his marriage and the failure of his film investment also caused him to suffer from alcohol and his obsession with alcohol, which led to problems with his internal health from 1982 to 84.

In 1985, he suffered massive bleeding from esophageal vein vein caused by cirrhosis of the liver, and died at 6 p.m. at the age of 47. At the funeral, friends Wang Yu, Lin Qingxuan and others put 48 bottles of XO wine in his coffin to accompany the funeral.

Qiao Qi wrote a couplet for him: "Xiao Li's flying knife is a perfect sound, and Chu Liuxiang is not seen in the world."

Gu Long had many affairs during his lifetime, because of the evasion of military service, and did not have an identity card, he lived with Zheng Yuexia when he was young, gave birth to his eldest son Zheng Xiaolong, and married ceremoniously according to the civil law of the Republic of China at that time, so this period of public ceremonies and more than two witnesses is a valid marriage, but the desertion issue caused Zheng Xiaolong to obtain a household registration from his mother's surname, but Zheng later became a policeman, and was once Ma Ying-jeou's personal bodyguard.

Later, he became obsessed with the Chinese-Japanese mixed-race dancer Ye Xue, Ye Xue is also his wife (also unregistered), and has a son, Ye Yikuan.

In 1976, he remarried with a fake identity card, and the object was the young Mei Baozhu. Baolong Film Company is taken from the name of the couple. However, Gu Long valued friendship over his wife and children, and was not good at managing his marriage, and ended in divorce a few years later. There are countless late girlfriends.

Gu Long's disciple Ding Qing said, "Because Gu Daxia is lonely, he pursues novelty, so his marriage cannot last long. Gu Daxia is a prodigal son by nature. (To be continued......)