| T: | 獨孤求敗 |
| S: | 独孤求败 |
| P: | Dúgū Qiúbaì |
| J: | Duk6-gu1 Kau4-baai6 |
| L: | Loner seeking a defeat |
Dugu Qiubai is a fictional character who is mentioned by name in three wuxia novels by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). He does not appear directly in any of the novels because he lived in an era long before the events of the novels took place. Nicknamed "Sword Devil" to reflect his prowess in and devotion to the practice of swordplay, he attains the philosophical level of "swordsmanship without a sword", which means that he uses swordplay techniques in combat without the physical existence of a sword.
Dugu Qiubai's family name Dugu (literally "alone") suggests that he was ethnically Xianbei; his given name "Qiubai" literally means "seek defeat". His full name thus roughly translates to "A Loner Who Seeks Defeat", representing his status as an invincible swordsman haunted by solitude, as no one can defeat or equal him in swordplay.
Created by Dugu Qiubai, the Nine Swords of Dugu are nine independent sword stances created to overpower all sorts of weapons, including swords, sabers, spears, clubs, staffs, whips and arrows, as well as barehanded attacks. This swordplay has nine stances, each of which is designed to counter a particular style of martial arts. The mastery of all nine forms allows the swordsman to counter a wide range of moves, including those involving the use of weapons. The first core element of the swordplay is speed. The swordsman is trained to quickly predict and identify the weaknesses in the moves executed by an opponent, and then attack those weak points. The second core element of the swordplay is its formless nature and adaptability. Unlike typical martial arts styles described in wuxia stories, the moves of the Nine Swords of Dugu do not follow any fixed sequence or pattern. As such, it is impossible for an opponent to predict and counter correspondingly the moves of the swordplay. The key to mastering the swordplay is to understand the two core elements instead of rigidly memorising all the stances. Once the swordsman has grasped the essence of the swordplay, he can use it in endless forms and variations, hence the swordplay has no fixed sequence or pattern. During combat, the less the swordsman remembers, the less restricted he is by the original stances. He is thus able to customise and adapt the swordplay accordingly.
The nine stances are:
Dugu Qiubai's final resting place is known as the Tomb of Swords. In The Return of the Condor Heroes the Condor leads Yang Guo to the Tomb, where Yang Guo reads a statement which Dugu Qiubai carved in stone:
Yang Guo also read this at the Tomb of Swords: