The following is a list of characters from the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong.
Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance Mount Hua Sect
Linghu Chong () is the happy-go-lucky protagonist. An orphan, he was raised and trained by Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze as their first apprentice. He learns the Nine Swords of Dugu from Feng Qingyang and becomes a formidable swordsman. His sudden improvement in swordsmanship causes his master to suspect him of having stolen and learnt the Bixie Swordplay Manual. Even after his expulsion from Mount Hua, he remains loyal and respectful towards his former master. However, they ultimately become enemies after Yue Buqun reveals his true colours. Linghu Chong eventually retires from the jianghu to lead a peaceful life with Ren Yingying. His character generally has good-natured interaction with various people from almost any walk of life without prejudice. Though he loses his qi and is in a significantly incapacitated state for much of the story, his intuitive creative grasp of sword art, plus the techniques of Dugu, allows him to either defeat, or earn the admiration of, many more-experienced masters who challenge him. Yue Su () and Cai Zifeng () were two Mount Hua swordsmen who became rivals and respectively founded the Qi and Sword factions. See also their connections to the Sunflower Manual.
Qi faction Yue Buqun () is the Mount Hua Sect's leader. Although he is nicknamed "Gentleman Sword" () for his gentlemanly conduct, he gradually reveals his true personality – a bigoted, narcissistic and power-hungry hypocrite. He lusts for the Bixie Swordplay Manual and plots an elaborate scheme to seize it, after which he castrates himself to fulfil the prerequisite for learning the skill. He is also secretly jealous of Linghu Chong, refusing to accept the fact that his apprentice has surpassed him. He is incidentally killed by Yilin during the final battle with Linghu Chong while attempting to trap and kill his rivals inside a cave on Mount Hua. Ning Zhongze (), nicknamed "Heroine Ning" (), is Yue Buqun's chivalrous and kindly wife. She regards Linghu Chong as a son and is also the only person who believes his innocence in the theft of the Bixie Swordplay Manual. She loses her will to live after seeing her husband reveal his true colours and learning of her daughter's death, and eventually commits suicide out of shame at her husband's actions. Yue Lingshan () is Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze's daughter, and Linghu Chong's first romantic interest. She falls in love with Lin Pingzhi later and marries him. However, she eventually learns that she is actually a pawn in a power struggle between her husband and her father. Lin Pingzhi kills her after she refuses to follow him to join Zuo Lengchan in taking revenge against Yue Buqun. Before dying, she makes Linghu Chong promise to spare her husband's life. Lin Pingzhi () is Lin Zhennan's son and the sole survivor of the Lin family. Yue Buqun saves him, takes him as an apprentice, and arranges for a marriage between him and Yue Lingshan. Driven by hatred and resentment after discovering Yue Buqun's ulterior motives, he becomes increasingly vicious and brutally kills his family's murderers in revenge, but is blinded by Mu Gaofeng. He is eventually defeated and permanently disabled by Linghu Chong, who imprisons him in an underground dungeon so that he can neither harm others nor be harmed by others. Lao Denuo () is Yue Buqun's second apprentice who is actually a spy sent by Zuo Lengchan to steal the Violet Mist Divine Skill manual from Yue Buqun. He murders Lu Dayou and attempts to push the blame to Linghu Chong. After Zuo Lengchan's death, he attempts to learn the Bixie Swordplay on his own but fails and ends up losing all his neigong. During Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying's wedding, Ren reveals that the Sun Moon Holy Cult has captured and forced Lao Denuo to live among monkeys. Liang Fa () is Yue Buqun's third apprentice. He is killed by Mount Song members. Shi Daizi () is Yue Buqun's fourth apprentice. Gao Genming () is Yue Buqun's fifth apprentice. Lu Dayou () is Yue Buqun's sixth apprentice who is known for his monkey-like behaviour and affinity with primates. A close friend of Linghu Chong, he is murdered by Lao Denuo, who attempts to push the blame to Linghu Chong. Tao Jun () is Yue Buqun's seventh apprentice. Ying Bailuo () is Yue Buqun's eighth apprentice. After he witnesses his master trying to harm Lin Pingzhi, his master kills him outside the Lin residence in Fuzhou. Shu Qi () is the youngest of Yue Buqun's apprentices.
Sword faction Feng Qingyang () is an elderly Mount Hua swordsman. During the sect's internal conflict, he was lured away by the Qi faction, who used the opportunity to defeat and force the Sword faction into exile. Feeling disgraced for being deceived, he leaves the sect and leads a reclusive life in a secluded area on Mount Hua. He meets Linghu Chong by chance and teaches him the Nine Swords of Dugu as he is very impressed with Linghu Chong's good character and intelligence. His name is derived from a poem in the Classic of Poetry.野有蔓草、零露漙兮。有美一人、清揚婉兮。邂逅相遇、適我願兮。野有蔓草、零露瀼瀼。有美一人、婉如清揚。邂逅相遇、與子偕臧。Ye You Man Cao, Book of Poetry. https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/ye-you-man-cao Feng Buping () is the leader-in-exile of the Sword faction. Zuo Lengchan instigates him to return to Mount Hua to challenge Yue Buqun for the leadership position of their sect. He is defeated by Linghu Chong and forced back into exile. Cheng Buyou () is Feng Buping's junior. He is torn into four pieces by the "Six Immortals of the Peach Valley". Cong Buqi () is Feng Buping's junior. He is defeated by Linghu Chong.
Mount Song Sect Zuo Lengchan () is the Mount Song Sect's ambitious and ruthless leader. He practises a skill which allows him to freeze his neigong to sub-zero temperature and increase its power tremendously. He had sent Lao Denuo to infiltrate Mount Hua and steal the Bixie Swordplay Manual from Yue Buqun; Lao Denuo steals a fake copy of the manual for him and he practises the skill without knowing it is fake. After that, he calls for an assembly of the alliance and attempts to intimidate the other four sects into submitting to him. However, he is defeated and blinded by Yue Buqun, who uses the real Bixie Swordplay against him. After his defeat, he pretends to concede the position of alliance chief to Yue Buqun. Later, he leads his followers to Mount Hua to kill Yue Buqun, who sees through his plan and traps them inside a cave. The trapped swordsmen start killing each other out of paranoia and mistrust; Zuo Lengchan is killed by Linghu Chong during the frenzy. Ding Mian (), Lu Bai (), Fei Bin (), Deng Bagong (), Gao Kexin (), Tang Ying'e (), and Zhong Zhen () are Zuo Lengchan's juniors. Yue Hou () is one of the martial artists who attack Xiang Wentian. Linghu Chong comes to Xiang Wentian's aid and injures Yue Hou. Bu Chen () is killed by Linghu Chong in Fuzhou while attempting to steal the Bixie Swordplay Manual. Sha Tianjiang () is killed by Linghu Chong in Fuzhou. Shi Dengda () is killed by Zuo Lengchan during the alliance assembly. Wan Daping () is Shi Dengda's junior. Di Xiu () is one of Zuo Lengchan's apprentices. He is killed by his master during the alliance assembly.
(North) Mount Heng Sect The "Three Elder Nuns" are the Mount Heng Sect's leaders. Dingjing () is the most senior of the trio but she lets Dingxian take the lead instead. Zuo Lengchan sends his henchmen to ambush her and force her to let her sect be absorbed into the Mount Song Sect. She refuses to capitulate and dies from her wounds before Linghu Chong can save her. Dingxian () is the sect's benevolent and wise leader. After being mortally wounded by a masked Yue Buqun in Shaolin Monastery, she passes the leadership position to Linghu Chong. Dingyi () is the most junior of the trio and the most hot-tempered one. She and Dingxian are murdered by a masked Yue Buqun in Shaolin Monastery. Yilin () is Dingyi's apprentice and the daughter of Bujie and Yapopo. She falls in love with Linghu Chong after he rescues her from Tian Boguang's sexual advances, but has to suppress her feelings because she is forbidden by her vow of celibacy. Her mother tries to force her to marry Linghu Chong but she refuses. Tian Boguang () is a bandit nicknamed "Lone Traveller of Ten Thousand Li" (). Notorious for his lecherous behaviour and for raping many women, he makes sexual advances on Yilin but is stopped by Linghu Chong. Having lost a bet to Linghu Chong, he has to uphold a promise to leave Yilin alone from then on. Later in the novel, Bujie semi-castrates Tian and forces him to be a Buddhist monk, renaming him Buke Bujie (; "Cannot Have No Rules"). He ultimately joins the Mount Heng Sect. Bujie (; "No Rules"), is a Buddhist monk and Yapopo's ex-lover. He and Yapopo have a daughter, Yilin. He attempts to cure Linghu Chong of his internal wounds by injecting two streams of neigong into his body, temporarily saving Linghu's life. Yapopo (; "Mute Granny") was a Buddhist nun who fell in love with Bujie and bore him their daughter, Yilin. She has remained close to her daughter all this time by pretending to be a mute caretaker. Yihe () is the most senior of her generation in the sect. Yiqing () is Yihe's junior who succeeds Linghu Chong as the sect's leader. Yizhi () is Dingjing's apprentice. Yizhen () is Dingjing's apprentice. She delivers medicine to Yue Lingshan in Fuzhou. Yiling () accompanies Yizhen to deliver medicine to Yue Lingshan. Yiguang () is Yilin's senior. Yiwen () is Dingxian's apprentice. Qin Juan () is a secular apprentice of Dingjing. Zheng E () is a secular member of the sect. Aunt Yu () was originally Dingxian's servant who became one of Dingxian's apprentices.
(South) Mount Heng Sect Mo Da () is the mysterious leader of the Mount Heng Sect who is known for playing melancholic tunes on a huqin, where his sword is concealed. His swordsmanship, which follows musical themes, is very fast and unpredictable. Although he is part of the alliance, he disapproves of Zuo Lengchan's overreach and, at one point, disobeys Zuo's order to kill Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang. He sees that Linghu Chong is a decent man and helps him out. At the end of the novel, he is the sole survivor from Mount Heng. Xiang Danian () is Liu Zhengfeng's first apprentice. He is killed by Ding Mian. Mi Weiyi () is Liu Zhengfeng's second apprentice. Fang Qianju () Lu Lianrong ()
Liu Zhengfeng () is Mo Da's junior. He plays the dizi and befriends Qu Yang of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, who shares the same passion for music with him. The duo compose the musical piece "Xiaoao Jianghu" together. He intends to leave the jianghu and invites fellow martial artists to witness his retirement ceremony. During the event, he is confronted by Zuo Lengchan and comes under attack. While fleeing together with Qu Yang, he meets Linghu Chong and passes him the score for "Xiaoao Jianghu". He and Qu Yang then commit suicide by bursting their arteries with their neigong. Madam Liu () is Liu Zhengfeng's wife who is killed by Di Xiu. Young Master Liu () is Liu Zhengfeng's elder son who is killed by Di Xiu. Liu Jing () is Liu Zhengfeng's daughter who is killed by Wan Daping. Liu Qin () is Liu Zhengfeng's younger son.
Mount Tai Sect Tianmen () is the Mount Tai Sect's leader. He is betrayed and overthrown by Yujizi and others, who have been bribed by Zuo Lengchan, during the alliance assembly. He then fights with Qinghai Yixiao and perishes together with him. Yujizi () is a junior of Tianmen's master. He has been bribed by Zuo Lengchan to seize his sect's leadership position from Tianmen. He debates with the "Six Immortals of the Peach Valley" on who should be the alliance's rightful leader, and attempts to fight them but ends up having his limbs torn from his body.