Ancient Tomb Sect

The Ancient Tomb Sect is a fictional martial arts sect in the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. It plays a significant role in the early development of the protagonists, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. It was named after its base, the Ancient Tomb (古墓) in Mount Zhongnan.

History

The sect was founded by Lin Chaoying during the Song dynasty and shares a long history with its neighbour, the Quanzhen Sect, which is based in Chongyang Palace (重陽宮) on Mount Zhongnan. The Ancient Tomb was built by Quanzhen's founder, Wang Chongyang. Although it is called a tomb, it was actually used to store supplies and weapons in preparation for war against invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin Empire. The tomb is also filled with various traps and hidden rooms and serves as a hideout for the Han Chinese defenders of the Song Empire.

Wang Chongyang attempted to rally an army of volunteers to defend their homeland from the Jin invaders but failed. He was upset by his failure and retreated to live a reclusive life inside the tomb, calling himself a "living dead" man (活死人). As such the Ancient Tomb is also called the "Tomb of the Living Dead" (活死人墓). Wang's lover, Lin Chaoying, felt that his talent would go to waste if he continued to be a hermit, so she tricked him into leaving the tomb and both of them roamed the jianghu together. However, Wang was still very concerned about his native land and he treated Lin coldly. Lin thought that Wang looked down on her and so she challenged him to a fight on Mount Zhongnan. Lin defeated Wang by trickery and won the Ancient Tomb as her prize. She moved into the tomb and had never left since then.