"The Truth Behind Barbara Yung’s Casting as Huang Rong"
There’s a widely circulated story online claiming that Barbara Yung (翁美玲) was personally chosen by Jin Yong to play the role of Huang Rong. According to the tale, she supposedly appeared in full costume holding a willow branch, did a somersault in front of Jin Yong, and said, “The daughter of the Master of Peach Blossom Island greets Hero Jin.” Jin Yong was allegedly so impressed that he replaced the originally chosen actress, Liu Hongfang, and cast Barbara Yung instead.
But in reality, this is all just a rumor.
These claims originate from the biographical novel "A Boatless Sea of Love" (情海无舟) by mainland Chinese writer Li Jian (pen name: Li Qingbao). They are entirely fictional, made up by the author. The book’s title comes from a fortune slip Yung received at a temple during a trip to Singapore for a performance. The slip read: “A boatless sea of love, fate ends at eighteen.”
In truth, Barbara Yung had never even met Jin Yong before filming The Legend of the Condor Heroes. It wasn’t until after filming wrapped up that Jin Yong met with the cast once, and Yung even mistook him for the famous painter Zhang Daqian.
At the time, Jin Yong was preoccupied with major affairs and had no involvement whatsoever in the casting process. TVB invited him to visit after filming ended, and only then did he make time to show up. The year before, in 1981, Jin Yong had visited mainland China and was personally received by the country’s top leader. Upon returning, he compiled a record of their conversation and published it in the newspapers, which attracted widespread attention and led to a series of interviews and meetings.
In 1982, when TVB began casting for the drama, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China. Before heading to Beijing, she made a special detour to Hong Kong to meet Jin Yong, hoping to gain his support in the upcoming negotiations over Hong Kong's return. However, Jin Yong declined.
Shortly after, Jin Yong joined the Preparatory Committee for drafting the Basic Law and served as the head of the political structure group. He was so busy working on matters related to Hong Kong’s return that he had no time to get involved in TVB’s casting.
Barbara Yung was chosen to play Huang Rong purely on her own merits. She stood out from thousands of candidates and was ultimately selected from a final group of six actresses (Sze Ma-Yin, Barbara Yung, Liu Hongfang, Leung Wan-Yui, Lai Yin-San, and Han Siu-Hung). Her casting had absolutely nothing to do with Jin Yong—it simply came down to how perfectly her image and temperament matched the character of Huang Rong.
For more information see: 1982 The search for Huang Rong (寻找黄蓉)
source: 翁美玲饰演黄蓉的真相
翁美玲饰演黄蓉的真相
网上都传说翁美玲是金庸钦点的黄蓉，说当时她一身古装，手里拿着一根柳枝，一个跟头翻到金庸面前，说“桃花岛主之女拜见金大侠“，金庸对她印象深刻，因此换下了原本选定的刘红芳，让翁美玲出演黄蓉。其实都是谣言。
这些说法出自内地作家李剑（又名李青葆）的传记小说《情海无舟》，都是作者杜撰的。书名来自翁美玲到新加坡演出的间隙，到庙里求的一支姻缘签，签文为“情海无舟，缘尽十八“。
事实上翁美玲在拍完《射雕》之前根本没见过金庸，直到这部剧拍完，金庸才来和所有演员见了一次面，而翁美玲误以为他是张大千。
金庸当时在忙大事，根本没时间理会这些，TVB在剧杀青后力邀，金庸才抽出时间来了一趟。前一年（1981年）金庸刚刚访问了大陆，被总设计师单独接见，回去之后就把谈话纪录整理成册，发表在报纸上，受到了各方关注，采访会谈不断。
1982年，TVB开始选角的时候，撒切尔夫人访华。在去北京之前，铁娘子特意绕道香港见了金庸，希望他能在即将举行的香港回归谈判上支持英国，但被金庸拒绝了。
随后金庸就加入了基本法起草委员会筹备工作，并担任政体小组的组长，每天为香港的回归工作忙得脚不沾地，根本没有时间去参与TVB的选角工作。
翁美玲能选上黄蓉，完全靠她自己。从上千人里脱颖而出，又从最终选定的六个人（司马燕、翁美玲、刘红芳、梁韵蕊、黎燕珊、韩小红）里胜出，和金庸毫无关系，只能说她本人的形象气质太适配黄蓉这个角色了。
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