Yang Guo

Yang Guo, courtesy name Gaizhi, is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong (Louis Cha).

Birth and heritage

Yang was born to Yang Kang and Mu Nianci. He traces his lineage to Yang Zaixing (楊再興), a Song general who participated in the Jin–Song war against the Jin Empire. His father is the antagonist in the first novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and was notorious for having committed several acts of depravity.

Yang's birth was briefly mentioned at the end of the first novel. His mother met Guo Jing and Huang Rong shortly after giving birth to him. Guo Jing, who was Yang Kang's sworn brother, hoped that Yang Kang's child will not follow in his father's footsteps. He named the baby boy "Guo" (過), which means "wrong" or "fault", and gave him a courtesy name "Gaizhi" (改之), which means "to correct". Guo Jing hopes that Yang Guo would redeem his family's honour, which had been tarnished by Yang Kang's past actions, and promised Mu Nianci that he will teach Yang Guo martial arts when the boy becomes older.