A Strange Man of the Republic

The Republic of China is an era of shifting fortunes, when extraordinary talents emerge one after another. In these turbulent times, the world of martial arts is vast and restless. As the saying goes, “The heroes of our age rise amid the storms, and the extraordinary figures of the Republic come like the Big Dipper.” But who are these seven? There is a Taoist priest who cries, “In prosperous times, Buddhist temples thrive on incense, while Taoists hide away to cultivate in the mountains. In troubled times, the Bodhisattvas turn a blind eye, so the Old Lord shoulders his sword and saves the world.” With nothing but a sword and a brush, he rights the wrongs of the world. There is a monk with a wooden fish and a bronze mirror, round-bellied, who says, “Amitabha. What the hell are you talking about up there?” There is a ferryman who carries the lost souls of the world across the dark waters. There is a master who unites the unorthodox arts and schemes of the land, seeking to achieve the greatest undertaking in three hundred years and stir up some trouble. There is a Gu master, unrivaled in the Miao frontier. There is a graceful, round-faced young man who plunges into a sea of flowers and declares, “If a young man never dares to be wild, he has wasted his time in this world.” And last but not least, there is a humble carpenter. These seven are the key figures at the heart of this tale, the extraordinary people of the Republic of China.