Gu Long (7 June 1938 – 21 September 1985), was a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. A graduate ofCheng Kung Senior High School andTamkang University, Xiong is best known for writingwuxia novels and serials, which includeJuedai Shuangjiao,Xiaoli Feidao Series,Chu Liuxiang Series,Lu Xiaofeng Series andThe Eleventh Son. Some of these works have been adapted into films and television series for numerous times. In the 1980s, he started his own film studio, Bao Sian (寶龍),[1] to produce film adaptations of his works.
Xiong was born on 7 June 1938 in Hong Kong[2] but his registered identity stated that he was born in 1941.[citation needed] Hisancestral home was inNanchang,Jiangxi Province, China, and he lived inHankou in his childhood. He moved toTaipei,Taiwan in 1952 with his parents, who divorced in 1956. With help from his friends and using the money he earned from part-time work to fund his education, Xiong graduated from the Foreign Language Department ofTamkang University.
Xiong worked at the United States Army Advisory in Taipei.
In 1960, Xiong published his firstwuxia novel,Cangqiong Shenjian (蒼穹神劍), under thepen name "Gu Long". From 1960 to 1961, Xiong published eight novels but did not achieve the results he desired. He moved toRuifang District (inNew Taipei City) and lived there for three years, after which he changed his perspective and adopted a new writing style. Between 1967 and the late 1970s, he rose to prominence in the genre of modern wuxia fiction for his works. As the sole representative of excellence in the wuxia genre from Taiwan for an entire decade, Xiong was named along withJin Yong andLiang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".
While Xiong was still in university, Xiong lived with a dance hostess, Zheng Yuexia (鄭月霞), and had a son, Zheng Xiaolong (鄭小龍), with her. However, he started a relationship later with another dance hostess, Ye Xue (葉雪), who also bore him a son, Ye Yikuan (葉怡寬). Shortly after that, he met a senior middle school graduate, Mei Baozhu (梅寶珠), who became his first legal spouse and bore him his third son, Xiong Zhengda (熊正達). His extramarital affairs caused him to break up with Mei eventually.
In the later part of his life, Xiong suffered from depression and the quality of his works declined rapidly. He had to employghostwriters to co-write many of his later works because of his ailing health.
On 21 September 1985, Xiong died at the age of 48. Xiong's death was caused by illness wrought by alcoholism – namelycirrhosis and esophageal hemorrhage.[1] His friends brought him 48 bottles ofXO Cognac at his funeral.
Xiong was said to be influenced not only by wuxia fiction, but also by the works ofErnest Hemingway,Jack London,John Steinbeck andFriedrich Nietzsche. His novels are usually made up of short sentences and paragraphs, and mostly dialogues between characters – like a play script.
In contrast with Xiong, other writers such asJin Yong andLiang Yusheng took an alternative route in writing wuxia fiction by incorporating Chinese history, culture and philosophical ideas in their works. Xiong initially intended to follow them but changed his decision after exposure to works such as theJames Bond series andThe Godfather novels. The influence of these works, which relied on the idiosyncrasies of human life, razor-sharp wit, poetic philosophies, mysterious plots and spine-tingling thrills to achieve success, enabled Xiong to come up with a unique way of writing.
