Master Qin

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Master Qin (秦师傅)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Sun Family — cooperating martial-arts instructor, not a family member 9
Occupation/Role	Instructor of the Sun Family recruits; martial master
First Appearance	Chapter 5

Background

Master Qin oversees the martial training of thirty-two Sun Family recruits, including Wei Luo and Liu Changle. The recruits are given two months to attain entry into the Folding Waves Fist and qualify as crewmen; failure binds them to three years of servitude under their labor contracts. 5

Though he teaches at the Sun Family residence, Master Qin is not subordinate to the family. His arrangement with them is cooperative, and the Sun Family treats him as an equal due to his martial standing. 9

Appearance

Master Qin is an elderly yet imposing martial artist whose bearing contrasts with his age. 5

• Beard and hair beginning to gray. 5
• Walks with “the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.” 5
• His body turns crimson and his muscles visibly swell when he assumes the Stacked Waves Stance. 5
• Carries a fierce aura while demonstrating martial arts. 5

Personality

Master Qin is blunt, impatient, and highly selective with his instruction. He gives recruits minimal demonstrations, tells them to find the natural feeling of each stance themselves, and leaves weaker students to struggle without intervention. 5 6

He favors natural talent and readily offers hands-on correction to recruits such as Shen Wu, whose aptitude catches his interest. He shows little concern for those who fail his standards, but openly praises exceptional performance. 5 8

His teaching is also practical: he uses food rewards to motivate recruits, emphasizing that martial training requires sufficient meat and nourishment to replenish qi and blood. 6 9

Abilities & Skills

Martial Mastery

Master Qin is a martial master who has crossed all three thresholds of qi and blood, placing him among the fewer than twenty martial artists of comparable level in Pingjiang Town. 9

• Crossing the first qi-and-blood threshold grants strength exceeding five hundred jin; Master Qin has passed the third. 9
• Can shatter bluestone with a casual fist strike. 9
• Broke a wooden stake as thick as a bowl’s mouth with a single Folding Waves Fist strike. 9
• His martial standing allows him to deal with the Sun Family on equal terms. 9

Folding Waves Fist

Master Qin teaches the Folding Waves Fist as the required martial art for Sun Family crewmen. 5 9

• Performs more than a dozen linked stances with fluid, flowing movements. 9
• Demonstrates the complete fist art only once before requiring students to train independently. 9
• Grants ten bowls of Bone-Strengthening Soup each month to the first recruit who reaches entry in the art. 9

Stacked Waves Stance

The Stacked Waves Stance is the foundation of the Folding Waves Fist and a method for tempering qi and blood. 5

• Instructs beginners to prioritize stance training over punching techniques. 5
• Teaches that qi and blood remain the foundation of martial arts regardless of future cultivation. 5
• Advises recruits not to copy his posture mechanically, but to seek the smoothest and most natural stance for themselves. 5
• Uses a violently wobbling platform assessment to determine which trainees have a stable enough foundation to learn boxing. 8

Teaching Method

• Gives recruits two months to attain entry into the Folding Waves Fist and become Sun Family crewmen. 5
• Selects only trainees who can maintain the Stacked Waves Stance on his moving platform for ten breaths to receive fist instruction. 8
• Offers occasional pointers when in the mood, but may disappear for days and leave students to practice alone. 6 9
• Rewards successful assessment candidates with meat rations equivalent to those of established Sun Family sailors. 9
• Uses meager meals for unqualified trainees to reinforce the importance of earning resources through martial progress. 6

Relationships

• Wei Luo — Instructor and trainee. Master Qin initially pays little attention to Wei Luo because of his ordinary aptitude, but notices the improved quality of his Stacked Waves Stance during the assessment. 5 8
• Shen Wu — Favored trainee. Master Qin personally corrects Shen Wu’s stance and praises his sixteen-breath assessment result as unmatched in the courtyard. 5 8
• Sun Family — Cooperative partner. He teaches recruits for the family but retains the freedom to instruct or refuse instruction as he wishes. 9
• Steward Li — Sun Family steward who entrusts the thirty-two new recruits to Master Qin’s training. 5

Story Role

Recruit Training

Master Qin receives the newly registered recruits at the Sun Family residence and establishes their two-month deadline to become crewmen. He introduces the Stacked Waves Stance as the first step toward the Folding Waves Fist. 5

Stance Assessment

After one month of training, he tests the recruits on a mechanically unstable platform. Only five trainees, including Wei Luo, hold their stance for the required ten breaths and advance to fist training. 8

Fist Instruction

Master Qin leads the five successful recruits to the fist-practice area, grants them meat rations, and demonstrates the Folding Waves Fist once. He offers Bone-Strengthening Soup as an incentive for the first person to gain entry into the art. 9

Notable Quotes

“Qi and blood are the foundation of martial arts. No matter how high your cultivation becomes in the future, never neglect your fist stances.” 5

“Practice the fist art as you see fit. We’ll talk again once you’ve gained entry.” 9