Novel between Jin Yong and Me--In Memory of Jin Yong (Part 1)

On October 30, major social media were flooded with news: Mr. Jin Yong, a literary giant of a generation, passed away. In the past two days, many people have left messages to express their condolences to Mr. I have read through most of your works and like them very much. Whether they are the original works or the adapted films and TV series, they have had a profound impact on me. Now that my husband is traveling to the west, I want to tell the story between me and his novel.

Mr. Jin Yong composed the fourteen novels he wrote into a couplet based on the first letter of the book title: The flying snow shoots the white deer in the sky, and the laughing book hero relies on the blue Yuan. There is also a film called "Yue Nv Sword". The first time I came into contact with Jin Yong's work was Huang Haibing's version of the TV series "The Book of Swords and Enmities". At the same time, "The Book of Swords and Enmities" was also the first martial arts novel written by Jin Yong. At that time, I was probably more interested in movies and TV series. It wasn't until I went to college that I systematically read Jin Yong's works with a lot of time, from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to "The Eight Parts of the Dragon", from "The Legend of the Flying Fox" to "The Legend of Liancheng", from "Swordsman" to "Swordsman". "Jianghu" to "The Deer and the Cauldron", in just one year, I have read most of Jin Yong's works, and I am completely immersed in the martial arts world that my husband created for us.

The first thing I read was "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" because I like the character Guo Jing very much. Guo Jing was the first perfect hero created by Mr. Jin Yong, and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" established Jin Yong's status as a master of martial arts novels. Although, before this, Jin Yong had already written "Book and Sword Enmity" and "Blue Blood". The two works "Sword" created two heroes, Chen Jialuo and Yuan Chengzhi, but Chen Jialuo had obvious character weaknesses. As for Yuan Chengzhi, Jin Yong later said that the protagonists of "Blue Blood Sword" were actually Yuan Chonghuan and "Golden Snake Prince" Xia Xueyi. But Guo Jing is completely different. He is one of the most successful characters created by Jin Yong in his early days. In Guo Jing, Jin Yong's Confucian political ideals of joining the world are entrusted, and he can benefit the world with greatness. "The great chivalrous person serves the country and the people." Therefore, the fate of Guo Jing and Huang Rong in the second half of their lives was closely linked to Xiangyang, and they eventually died together with Xiangyang.

?I watched the Condor Trilogy in succession. But I want to put the last two parts aside first, and talk about the other protagonist first, because he is somewhat similar to Guo Jing, and he is also one of the successful characters created by Jin Yong in his early years. He is the character in "Snow Mountain Flying Fox" and "Flying Fox Story" The male protagonist—Hu Fei. Hu Fei is also a representative figure of Confucianism who actively engages in the world. He is heroic, chivalrous and righteous, punishing rape and eradicating evil, but his fate is playing tricks on him. The villain he wanted to kill was actually the father of the woman he loved, but the woman who truly loved him died trying to save him. It can be said that Cheng Lingsu's willingness to die to save Hu Fei is one of the most heart-wrenching and painful plots in Jin Yong's novels. In "Flying Fox in the Snow Mountain", Jin Yong leaves readers with an open ending, which makes people imagine endlessly!

Now let’s talk about the last two parts of the Condor Trilogy, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of Heaven and the Dragon Slayer". At this time, Jin Yong's creation has entered a relatively stable stage, and the pure personal heroism in the early days has gradually disappeared. So we see that Yang Guo and Zhang Wuji are no longer willing to sacrifice themselves for the country and nation like Guo Jing. They are more Like an ordinary person with special skills. Even if we look at "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" from the perspective of a romance novel, it is also a very successful work. The love between Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu has become an enviable example for many people. But it is precisely this pair of gods and gods that seems to be the most imperfect couple in Jin Yong's novels. Yang Guo broke his arm and Xiao Longnu was defiled. Perhaps it is this imperfection that makes them a perfect match. Yang Guo was not as indecisive as Zhang Wuji, nor was he like Linghu Chong who always had the place of junior sister in his heart. Yang Guo always only had his aunt in his heart. Actually, I didn't like the character Yang Guo at first, but if you read carefully about the hardships he went through, you will definitely like this character.

The experiences of Yang Guo and Guo Jing were different. Although Guo Jing also suffered along the way, there were always guardians around him. He had his mother in the Mongolian desert, the Seven Monsters of Jiangnan when he first entered the world, and then he met Huang Rong. From then on, the two of them almost never met again. They have never been separated. From now on, his life is more like cheating. Top figures such as Hong Qigong, Zhou Botong, Huang Yaoshi and Master Yideng are all guarding Guo Jing's growth. But Yang Guo was different. The only people who were really good to him were his aunt and Uncle Guo. Whenever he saw the light, darkness followed. He has experienced too many hardships, but he still sticks to his original intention, so when facing Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang, he can only treat him as brother and sister. Once he meets Yang Guo, he will make mistakes for life, and that is true!

If Guo Jing was born to "serve the country and the people" and Yang Guo lived for Xiao Longnu, then can you tell me what Zhang Wuji's life goal is? Drive out the Mongolian Tatars? He was knocked down by Zhu Yuanzhang's little scheme, for love? In the end, he didn't know whether to choose Zhao Min or Zhou Zhiruo? Yang Guo is known as the "Condor Hero", but Zhang Wuji is really just an ordinary person. When he first got involved in love, he was plotted by Zhu Jiuzhen. Facing the four beauties, he had no choice. In the end, Yin Li gave up on his own and Xiao Zhaoyuan left for Persia, but he was still wandering between Zhao Min and Zhou Zhiruo. Isn't this the way all living beings are today, indecisive and worried about gains and losses? In fact, I think the relationship between men is more prominent in "The Legend of Heaven and Dragon Sword", the friendship between the Seven Heroes of Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng treating Zhang Cuishan like a beloved son, and Zhang Wuji fighting three Shaolin monks to save Xie Xun. These all diluted Zhang Wuji's image. . As the last part of the Condor Trilogy, Jin Yong also gradually realized that Confucian personal heroes often cannot solve everything. The retreat of Yang Guo and Zhang Wuji has some shadows of Taoist inaction.

After the Condor Trilogy, Jin Yong created a grand masterpiece "The Eight Parts of the Dragon". This is my favorite Jin Yong work. It has many characters and intricate plots, but it contains profound Buddhist principles. Xiao Feng, Duan Yu and Xu Zhu represent the spirit of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism respectively. Regarding "Dragon Babu", I have written a special article to explain the characters in it, so I won't go into it here for the time being.

Up to this point, Jin Yong's works mainly emphasize the spirit of chivalry. Whether it is Guo Jing, Hu Fei, Xiao Feng, Yang Guo, Zhang Wuji, and Duan Yu, they are all admirable and fascinating heroic figures. However, in several of Jin Yong's later works, there was a clear reversal. A famous and upright person who presented himself in a positive image is no longer so upright. How Jin Yong wrote about the dark side of human nature, and even began to reflect on the spirit of chivalry, I will break it down next time.