Alexander Dumas and Jin Yong: "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Secret of the City"

The legendary Castle of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I am currently reading "The Count of Monte Cristo". I have a lot of feelings, and I won’t be happy if I don’t vomit. Just write something. The so-called wonderful articles must be appreciated, and the doubts should be analyzed. If there is anything you can't figure out, everyone is willing to give you advice.

When I read the scene in "The Count of Monte Cristo" where Edmond Dantes was framed and thrown into the Chateau d'If, I actually felt a bit familiar after reading it for the first time. I was surprised how I could feel this way. Later, the more I looked at this doubt, the more I became aware of it. When I saw Father Faria imparting knowledge to Edmund and giving him a huge amount of wealth, I suddenly realized it. Suddenly, I remembered Mr. Jin Yong and his "The Battle of the City". There are really too many similarities, so let me briefly talk about my humble opinion.

In terms of content, the similarities between the two are mainly concentrated in the prison section.

Similarity 1: The protagonists were all falsely accused and imprisoned. In "Ji", Edmund is framed by his love rivals Fernand and Danglars, while in "Lian", Di Yun is framed by his love rival Wan Gui.

Similarity 2: Both of them met the noble people in their lives when they were at the lowest point of their lives in prison. Edmund met Father Faria, who taught him knowledge and gave him a treasure; Di Yun met Ding Dian, who taught him the martial arts secret "Shen Zhao Jing" and also gave him a great treasure;

Similarity 3: After being released from prison, he discovered that his girlfriends were all married to his enemies. Tess Meisel became Madame Morcerf and had a son, Albert; Qi Fang became the daughter-in-law of the Wan family and gave birth to a daughter, Kangxicai;

Similarity 4: Two people are released from prison Later, there were acts of revenge. Edmund repaid the Morel family and spent eight years planning his revenge; Di Yun buried Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua together to fulfill his last wish, but his revenge was only a temporary one.

Similarity 5: The equally surprising beggar. Andrea Cavalchetti (also known as Benedetto) came out from the Count's banquet and met the beggar Caderousse outside the Villa Auteuil. It reminded me of Di Yun's appearance in Wanwan in "Lian" The beggar Yan Daping saw at the door of his house. The secret revealed by Caderousse and Yan Daping's "City-linking Sword Technique" are equally surprising.

In addition, both of them also write about the dark side of human nature. In "Basic", Danglars, Fernand, and Villefort, out of greed, hatred and selfishness, did not hesitate to sacrifice innocent people, and their actions were outrageous; in "Lian" it was even more tragic, for the sake of the sword manual and the treasure, The master harms the apprentice, the apprentice harms the master, the father harms the daughter, and the brothers kill each other. It is really unbearable to read. Mr. Ni Kuang said that this is a "bad book". In fact, the book is not bad. Such things often happen in our bodies. It is just that the despicable and ugly side of human nature is too realistically portrayed, and readers are unwilling to admit it.

Personally, I think that in terms of the analysis of human nature, "Legend" is actually better than "The Count of Monte Cristo"; in terms of characterization, Di Yun in "Legend" is a complete character from beginning to end. Silly boy, even the villains Blood Knife Patriarch and Hua Tiezhi are much more outstanding than him. On the other hand, the earl in "Ji" is impressive for his generosity and uprightness, his intellectual demeanor, and his magnanimous bearing. However, this is Di It is incomparable to Yun.

Mr. Jin Yong is a writer I like very much. This time I accidentally discovered the similarities between him and Alexandre Dumas from "The Count of Monte Cristo". I was very excited, but I suffered from the fact that no one could talk to me about it. So, in desperation, I had to seek solace online. This check was not important, and I secretly screamed with shame. Why? It turns out that not only has there been a lot of controversy on the Internet about the similarities between "The Legend of the City" and "The Count of Monte Cristo", but there have also been numerous discussions on Jin Yong and Alexandre Dumas, and Peking University professor Yan Jiayan once gave a special lecture on this. I just lamented that I was so ignorant that I almost made a joke, and I was really ashamed.

I have been watching Mr. Jin Yong’s martial arts since I was a child, from “Shooting a White Deer in the Flying Snow, The Laughing Book of Heroes Leaning on the Blue Yuan”, to adapted film and television works, to “The Critical Biography of Yuan Chonghuan”, “The Critical Biography of Jin Yong”, When it comes to the talk shows that Mr. Jin participated in, he never misses anyone, to the point of obsession. Ordinarily, I know quite a lot about Mr. Jin Yong, but I never imagined that he and Alexandre Dumas would have such a deep connection.

So, stop saying "plagiarism", it's boring.

I learned about Alexandre Dumas from "The Count of Monte Cristo" and even learned about Jin Yong from one aspect, which can not but be said to be an unexpected surprise. I haven’t read many foreign works in the past, and the only one I remember I’ve actually finished reading is Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe.” I only pinched my nose and read a quarter of “Gone with the Wind” before shelving it. Therefore, I am very grateful to "The Count of Monte Cristo" and to Alexandre Dumas, for opening a new window for me, making my life more fulfilling, and I hope to see a wider world and more beautiful scenery.

Read more, read good books, and you will be blessed in life.