介绍:
In 1983, a TV play named "The Legend of Condor Heroes" was broadcasted by the renowned Hong Kong TV station TVB and soon became a national hit. Set in the Song Dynasty, the story focuses on the two sworn brothers whose distinctive personalities drove them to choose divergent paths in life. Although the props and sets were pretty humble at that time, the gripping plot and outstanding performance of the actors have captivated a whole generation.
The TV series not only elevates its many actors to the status of national idols, but also introduces the general public to the man behind this ingenious screenplay: Cha Liangyong, or commonly known by his pen name, Jin Yong.
"Since my novels are pretty popular, people start to call me Da Xia, the Grand Master in martial art. But in fact, I don't behave as chivalrously as those characters in my novels."
Born in 1924 to a scholar family, Jin Yong has been an avid reader and a rebellious free spirit since an early age. In 1946, he joined Shanghai's news agency Ta Kung Pao as a journalist and moved to its Hong Kong division two years later. Over there, he met and became a close friend with Liang Yusheng, the pioneer in modern Chinese Wuxia literature, who inspired him to serialize his first Wuxia novel: The Book and the Sword.
"For me, writing fictions is pleasant while writing editorials is really painful. It's merely a job."
From 1955 to 1972, Jin Yong has produced a total of 15 pieces, whose timelines stretch from the 6th century BC to the 18th century. Blurring the boundaries between fiction and real history, the writer has created an imaginary Jianghu, a marginalized part of society that follows its own code of conduct and reveres the power of martial arts.
Compared with the oversimplified setting of traditional Wuxia fiction, Jin Yong's Jianghu contains all kinds of denizens, ranging from vagrants, monks, outcasts of the society to intellectuals and the aristocratic class. Instead of being embodiments of good and honor, many of his characters are morally ambiguous. Take the anti-hero epic The Deer and the Cauldron for example, the protagonist Wei Xiaobao is a cunning, lazy, illiterate scamp born in a brothel.
Chen Mo has published 13 volumes of books of analysis on Jin Yong's writings. He elaborates on the uniqueness of Jin Yong's characters.
"Chinese knights are usually portrayed as honorable men who use armed expertise to protect innocent and fight injustice. But in Jin Yong's fictions, everyone differs in personality. We get Mr Perfect, beggars and loners. For example, Zhang Wuji from 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' is a Yes-man whose actions are strongly influenced by the pretty girls he comes in contact with. Yang Guo from 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is a smart guy with a fierce temper. He falls in love with his teacher, which is forbidden by the ethnic code of that time. He fights against the whole society and spends his entire life in seeking the individual free will, which is rarely seen in traditional Chinese culture. "
From his magnum opus The Condor Trilogy to the multi-character epic Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the erudite novelist extensively uses ancient Chinese literature, medicine, geography, mathematics and arts as reference. Meanwhile, the ideologies of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been intermingled together to explore the complexity of humanity and Chinese characteristics.
The poetic depiction of martial arts, in-depth research into human emotions, plus the allegorical touch on reality from Jin Yong's writings have triggered a widespread and almost religious following in Chinese-speaking areas.
According to Chen Mo, the leading figure in Jinology, a study analyzing Jin Yong's masterpieces, those fictions have transcended Wuxia novel as a genre of popular literature to elite literature.
"Where does the magic of Jin Yong fictions come from? His novels are not just the simulations of real history, but the simulation of our society and humanity. He never simply eulogizes our history; instead, he reflects and even criticizes certain elements of our culture. So what he wrote is not typical Wuxia fiction. He is reconstructing this genre. "
Flipping through the pages of Jin Yong's fictions, prudent readers could find traces of ancient Greek tragedies and Shakespearean plays. The novel "Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain" even may remind you about Akira Kurosawa's award-winning film Rashomon.
The unconventional narrative forms, intricate plots and diverse characters inspired nearly 100 TV programs and movies.
As the secretary of Chinese Movie Literature Association, Liu Yi wrote the screenplays of two television adaptations. For him, Jin Yong's writings are an inexhaustible treasury.
"The most remarkable thing about Jin Yong is that every role he wrote is irreplaceable. As a professional scriptwriter, I have rearranged works of many Wuxia novelists, including Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng and Gu Long. In terms of Jin Yong's novels, I don't need to change a lot. Because the original plays are already good enough and the descriptions of different characters are very mature."
Hailed as the mogul of Chinese Wuxia novel, the 91-year-old writer is awarded the Order of the British Empire and the Legion of Honor for his contribution to literature. Although this world renowned wordsmith retired from writing thirty years ago, his fanciful world of the martial arts will still grab the imagination of future generations.
Here is Liu Xiaoqiang, a faithful reader of Jin's work for over twenty years.
"I started to read his novels since junior high. His books possess a certain type of power that could be transformed into an addiction. For some novels, they might be high-end but fail to leave you any impression. As for some, they could be with you the entire life."
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