Story Idea: The Bronze Man
I honestly can't remember where I first saw one, but I've always been fascinated by Chinese medical statues colloquially known as "bronze men" (dongren, 銅人). They have been used as visual aids for centuries to teach young doctors where important acupuncture points are located on the head, torso, and appendages. They were originally made of bronze (hence the name), but modern models are usually made from fiberglass.
I was thinking about the subject the other day and an idea came to mind: what if a traveling doctor was a bronze man? His tattooed body would be the visual aid. And further more: what if he was a super strong martial artist with a nigh-invulnerable, bronze-like body? This would mean that even experts in pressure point attacks would have problems falling him. (This would be frustrating for them considering that normally vulnerable targets would be visible due to the tattoos: "That's the right spot. Why isn't the attack working?") And further still: what if he was being chased by baddies wanting to learn the secret of his impregnable hide? Perhaps an evil nobleman wants to make an invulnerable army to aid him in usurping the throne. Our hero's pursuers wouldn't be able to hurt him physically, though, so they would play on his sense of empathy by threatening the lives of people around him. But since the story would take place during a time of great political turmoil, the Bronze Man would have to travel the land treating the sick and injured, while also avoiding traps set for him by the nobleman's henchmen. This format thus lends itself to an episodic nature.
The secret of his adamantine skin and strength could be revealed in a series of flashbacks. This might include selective breeding, intense physical and spiritual training and body conditioning from a young age, regular baths in medicinal substances, and perhaps daily (but not perpetual) ingestion of some mystery elixir. (And as I type this, I imagine prolonged longevity might also be a byproduct of the process. This would be a good or bad thing depending on the Bonze Man's mentality.) These flashbacks would also reveal that his tattoos were applied before he attained his final nigh-invulnerable body.
This idea was inspired by tough or even nigh-invulnerable characters from wuxia fiction and kung fu movies. Examples include the eponymous characters from The 18 Bronzemen of Shaolin Temple (少林寺十八銅人; a.k.a. The 18 Bronzemen, 1975) [1] and Bak Mei (白眉) from Hung Man-ding (Hong Wending) Thrice Defeats the White Lotus Clan (洪文定三破白蓮教; a.k.a. Clan of the White Lotus or Fists of the White Lotus, 1980). [2]
Notes:
1) Cantonese: Siu lam chi sap baat tung yan; Mandarin: Shaolin si shiba tongren
2) Cantonese: Hung Man-ding saam por baklin gaau; Mandarin: Hong Wending san po bailian jiao
