Dongfang Bubai

Dongfang Bubai
Wuxia character
Created byJin Yong
In-universe information
GenderMale
AffiliationSun Moon Holy Cult
Fighting styleSunflower Manual style
WeaponNeedles
Significant otherYang Lianting
Dongfang Bubai
Traditional Chinese東方不敗
Simplified Chinese东方不败
Literal meaningInvincible East
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDōngfāng Bùbaì
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingDung1-fong1 Bat1-baai6
Needles are Dongfang Bubai's main weapons.
The flying needles used by Dongfang Bubai, typically with red strings attached.

Dongfang Bubai, literally "Invincible East", is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong. He is the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult (日月神教), an "unorthodox" martial arts school. In his quest to dominate the wulin (martial artists' community), he castrated himself to fulfil the prerequisite for learning the skills in a martial arts manual known as the Sunflower Manual (葵花寶典), and became a formidable martial artist after mastering those skills. His castration and supreme prowess in martial arts make him one of the most memorable characters in Jin Yong's wuxia universe even though he appears in only one chapter of the novel. His name has also become virtually synonymous with homosexuality and LGBT sexual orientations in Chinese popular culture.[1]

  1. ^ Leung, Helen Hok-Sze (2012). Zhang, Yingjin (ed.). Homosexuality and Queer Aesthetics in Chinese Cinema. Wiley-Blackwell Companions to National Cinemas. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 518–534. ISBN 978-1-444-33029-8.