Chapter 33 The world of Jin Yong is full of ups and downs

Anyone who loves to read martial arts novels knows Jin Yong. He has written a total of 14 martial arts novels.Someone said: He used the temperament of an intellectual to bring martial arts novels into a new realm.He himself said: Writing martial arts novels is to entertain himself and the public. Beginning in the 1970s, Jin Yong successively deleted and revised these works, and some even rewrote them. Martial arts novels and newspapers are Mr. Cha's two major interests, and he is funny and talkative when we mention these two things to him. Q: What do you think an ideal martial arts novel should be like?

A: This question is difficult to answer.I'm talking about personal hopes and directions. This is true of any novel, not just martial arts novels.Generally, Western novelists focus on three points: one is to focus on describing the background, such as Thomas Hardy's novels; the other is to focus on the plot; the third is to focus on the characters.Chinese classical traditional novels are generally based on characters.For example, after we have read this kind of novel for a long time, we may not remember the story clearly, but we are deeply impressed by the characters in the book, such as Lu Zhishen, Lin Daiyu, and Sun Wukong.

My personal ideal of writing martial arts novels is to create characters.The plots of martial arts novels are very bizarre and long, and it is not easy for readers to remember these plots clearly.I hope that the characters I write can be vivid, they have their own personalities, and readers will be impressed after reading them.At the same time, when I conceived, I also centered on the protagonist. I first thought about the personalities of the main characters. The plot also matched the human nature of the protagonist. What kind of temperament would this have, what kind of things would happen.

Another point is that, of course, martial arts novels are entertaining, but I hope they have some philosophy of life or personal thoughts, and I can express my views on society through novels. Question: You like to write history in martial arts novels. Do you think martial arts novels cannot exist independently of history? A: I have written twelve novels, two or three of which have no historical background at all, like, etc., and most of the others have historical background.The feudal society in ancient China lasted for a long time, and the changes in many dynasties in the past were not great, but very slow.A story takes place in the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty. As long as it is not involved in politics, the background will not change a lot, and the relationship is not very important.Unlike the West, things were completely different in the sixteenth century than in the nineteenth.The historical background I used is not an important part, because the plot of martial arts novels is bizarre, and many things seem impossible to happen. With the historical background, it can increase its credibility.

Another point is that some of the martial arts novels I write have relatively large scenes, and there are often big wars, so there must be a basis for this. Question: You also mentioned just now that your martial arts novels hope to contain some philosophy of life. Mr. Wu Blin once published an article in "China Times Human World" - "Do you want to write martial arts novels too?" ", he said that martial arts novels lack moral evaluation and have too much commercial flavor.Do you think martial arts novels should have moral evaluation, or should they be interesting? Answer: It is very important for martial arts novels to be interesting, otherwise, if readers don’t read it, its purpose will not be achieved.Most of the martial arts novels in Taiwan or Hong Kong are serialized in the newspapers now, and they are not written first before publication. Even if they are written first and then published, they must win the most readers.Even other pure literary works, such as Dickens's works, some of which are serialized in newspapers are also very interesting, and readers' reactions should also be paid attention to.Entertainment and attraction are necessary.

With regard to morality, the author does not necessarily have to advocate a kind of morality or immorality. Generally speaking, it reflects the author's personal values ​​towards society.The protagonist in the book often has to face many choices, and through these choices, the author spreads his moral concepts.I think the same is true for other dramas and movies. For example, the protagonist in the play decides whether to divorce, whether to surrender, etc. When choosing everything, it always represents the choice of the screenwriter or author.Of course, if the author disagrees with the prevailing social concepts at that time, he can also make different choices.In the novel, I also mentioned whether the protagonist can fall in love and marry the master. According to the social concept at that time, teachers and students were not allowed to fall in love and marry, but the modern concept is different.

There are two long-term debates on aesthetics or art theory. One school holds that literature and art have responsibilities to society and must express a kind of value concept; the other school thinks that art is pure art.Social responsibility basically exists, but novels are not as strong as TV broadcasts in this regard, and printed books can give people time for reflection. I personally think that works of art basically belong to the category of beauty, science is related to truth and falsehood, and morality is related to good and evil.The relationship between novels and people is very direct, unlike music or painting, which has an indirect relationship with people. For example, an oil painting or Beethoven's music, you can hardly tell whether it is good or evil.But if there are characters in the novel, there are values ​​or moral concepts.Martial arts novels are very subtle in themselves, and they are also a mass product that needs to reach millions of people. If intentionally or unconsciously spreading a concept that is harmful to the good customs of the entire society, I hope to avoid it.Although it belongs to the category of beauty, in fact it has an influence on people, so the author should consider that martial arts novels are read by tens of thousands of people.

On the other hand, the characters I wrote are not good guys, and the bad guys are quite distinct, and the bad guys also have something to be sympathetic to.I have taken this into account from my life experience, because in this society it is difficult to say who is 100% good or bad. Bad people also have good elements, and good people also have bad elements.Of course, the author hopes that the writers will be true, and readers will inevitably misunderstand, thinking that the author sometimes writes bad guys quite well, and whether he encourages bad guys.I don't think the author thinks that way, what he considers is the question of truth and untruth.He sometimes reflects specific things in society, not to say that what he reflects is what he agrees with.

Question: Are you satisfied that your martial arts novels have been made into movies and TV shows? A: Almost all of my novels have been made into movies, and there are also many TV series.In comparison, TV is easier to shoot, because it shoots dozens or a hundred episodes, which gives us more time to revise, and it is easier to handle technically.Movies are very difficult, because my novels are very long. Every time they adapt them into movies, I always advise them not to shoot all of them, but to choose a few paragraphs and give full play to it.But the screenwriter and director don't seem to think so.Because it usually takes many days to read a novel. In a movie, it is difficult to fully express it in more than an hour. You can only explain the plot of the story roughly, and you can't play the subtleties at all.In particular, there are many characters in martial arts novels, and it is too late for the audience to accept just explaining their identities one by one.

Question: Now TV has a great influence on children, and many people have also talked about the problem of TV violence.The adaptation of martial arts novels into TV series inevitably involves this issue. What is your opinion on this matter? A: Not just TV, but martial arts novels themselves, because many people start reading martial arts novels in their teens.In the past, some people attacked martial arts novels, thinking that children would imitate them after reading them, and went to the mountains to learn Taoism.I think this responsibility should not be borne by martial arts novels (laughing at this point), a kitchen knife can be used to cut vegetables, and it can also be used to kill people.Hong Kong's censorship system for films is the strictest for Cantonese films, slightly more lenient for Mandarin films, and the most lenient for foreign language films.The Hong Kong government has a theory, whether this theory is true or not, they believe that people who watch foreign films have a higher level of knowledge, and people who watch Cantonese films generally have a lower level of knowledge.If there are bad things in a movie, people with a high level of knowledge can distinguish them, and the censorship of movies for people with poorer ability to distinguish will be stricter.When I write a novel, I only think of the readers of the novel, and the screenwriter of TV should think of the influence of TV on the audience.Things described in novels may not necessarily be shown on TV, because people who read novels at least have the ability to read and have received a certain degree of education.If television has a bad influence on viewers.TV should be responsible.Because TV screenwriters should take into account that some of the audience have no ability to distinguish, and fighting should be stopped in moderation.

Question: Many people think that the protagonists in martial arts novels are social dissociations. Mr. Liu Ruoyu said in the article "Xia" that "Xia is born and has nothing to do with personal family background".what you think? A: I think the acquired influence of society is also great.A person's personality is affected by two aspects, one is born genetically, and the other is influenced by education, society and family. The two influence each other, and it is difficult to say which one is greater.I personally believe in Buddhism. Buddhism believes that individual personality is determined by "karma". A person's life is accumulated from ten or eight generations of his previous life. A person's "karma" is the influence of his life.Human beings are very complex and are the sum of various factors. "Xia" has a lot to do with innate and acquired, both of which have influence. Question: Mr. Hou Jian, dean of literature at National Taiwan University, wrote "On Martial Arts Novels" in the "Business Times". Stretches, but only emptiness remains after stretching.What is your opinion on his statement? Answer: "Justice" is necessary in martial arts novels. If justice is not done, readers will find it unsatisfying and the morality will be too bad."Reaching justice" in martial arts novels is like "solving crimes" in detective novels, which is its basis. From the perspective of morality alone, martial arts novels should be more moral. Mr. Hou mentioned "Wang Ran", but there are actually some of them.I feel that it is impossible to live a happy life forever. Even if it is finally fulfilled, the feeling of bewilderment is unavoidable. After all the goals have been achieved, it is still very empty. Question: What do you think are the similarities and differences between Chinese martial arts novels and western detective novels, police novels, and swordsman novels? A: Chinese martial arts novels are much more complicated.I read the novels of Alexandre Dumas and Stevenson. Of course, the stories themselves are complete, but the scenes described are not as big as Chinese martial arts.The story structure of detective novels is simpler, it pays more attention to the plot, and in terms of characters, except for the detective himself who may have some special personalities, the personalities of others are not very important. Question: If today's world is a martial arts novel, what is your opinion?Please look at today's world from the point of view of martial arts novels. Answer: The world of martial arts novels is basically very abnormal. They don't respect the law and use violence to solve problems.Living in the world of martial arts, ordinary people will actually be very painful.Even a chivalrous man or a righteous man must have real skills, and if he is not good at martial arts, he will be defeated (laughs).Martial arts novels seem to be a romantic and beautiful world, but in fact they are a far from ideal society.A society that only talks about violence and does not talk about the law is of course not feasible. It is just a romantic and imaginary world, and it cannot be implemented. Question: Many people become interested in literature from reading martial arts novels, and then engage in literary creation. Some people get inspiration from martial arts novels, such as writing martial arts poems. What advice do you have for these two types of readers? Answer: First: Whether martial arts novels are literature itself is a question that can be discussed.I personally think that martial arts novels are still entertaining, and they are a form of writing popular with the public, so they cannot be regarded as pure literature. There are two schools of literature, classical and romantic. Romantic novels, dramas and poems always indulge the imagination, like to express the impossible and inspire people's imagination.It is natural for some young people to learn to write poetry from reading martial arts novels, because martial arts novels are very romantic and describe a world that is far away from the real society.If his love of literature started from martial arts novels, of course it is also possible, at least he has confidence in romantic literature.Of course, it cannot be limited to this and must continue to develop. Usually the subject matter a writer writes is closely related to his personality, and it is difficult to say whether it is good or not.If he likes to write martial arts poems, let him write them! Chen Yizhen: Mr. Jin Yong, you use the form of martial arts novels to express your own thoughts and views on the world, etc. Why not use other forms?Take, for example, ordinary novels. Jin Yong: There is a reason for this. I have liked martial arts novels since I was a child. This form of martial arts novels may not be considered a very "advanced" literary form today.People often ask me: Why don't I write other literary works?Maybe I can't write, and I can't write well, but these are not necessary.I once mentioned in a short article "The Story of a Storyteller" that I am just a person who loves to listen to stories. I walked to the front desk and told stories myself. Fortunately, some friends thought it was okay. , I can see it, and I am quite satisfied. Jin Hengwei: Most people always have doubts, what is the value of martial arts novels?I feel that Mr. Jin Yong's novels are a fusion of past Chinese chapter novels, romance novels, detective novels, and fighting novels in one furnace.Under such circumstances, should there be a higher evaluation of martial arts novels?Another question is, in this age of flowers and fruits in Chinese culture, do martial arts novels also have a spreading function? Quan Yong: This is a kind of impression when I wrote the martial arts novel.Someone once mentioned that a rich culture is often condensed into novels.I also think that the form of "fiction" in everyone's mind is often Western, not Chinese.However, if it is written by a Chinese, what should be written should be Chinese affairs, Chinese places, and Chinese characters. Naturally, it is all Chinese.As for whether this form is Western or not, that is irrelevant. I personally think that martial arts novels are still recreational works.Even if it is a university professor, if you give him a poorly written "Ming Taizu Biography" or Tang Taizong's story, he still doesn't want to read it.Therefore, the problem is also here. "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" said: "Although the way is small, there are still people who can be seen. If you go far and fear mud, it is because a gentleman does not do it." There are many friends here and they are very enthusiastic. Everyone has their own specialties, and they are proficient in one family.However, sometimes it makes me ashamed. As for another issue, the issue of Chinese culture spreading through martial arts novels.I think: under the circumstances of various obstacles in dissemination, martial arts novels present a vivid historical outlook, and it is true that they can do a little favor and spread some cultural messages.As for how far it can spread, I don't think it can be overestimated, right?In the overseas Chinese area, they feel: "The motherland is unbearable to look back at the moonlight", and it is true that they like to watch martial arts.Whether it is elegant or vulgar, there is a certain mass base that is true, and martial arts novels are the most popular form of fiction.Since it is popular, we should pay attention to it, hoping to use this form to express some real and correct social meaning, and even present some kind of eternal artistic value. Su Nianqiu: Jin Yong and subsequent authors of martial arts novels expressed the Chinese spirit in traditional Chinese martial arts novels in a certain form, so that not only the Chinese themselves could understand it, but also people all over the world could understand it.This is not to restore China's self-confidence blindly and subjectively, but to truly have this spirit in Chinese history, but what we have expressed so far is only part of it.I hope that Mr. Jin Yong and all the rising stars can fully establish China's inherent self-confidence in the continuation and continuation of the literary tradition. Gu Long: Among the Chinese people all over the world, Mr. Jin Yong's influence is unmatched among the friends I know.The thoughtful views in his works have an important position in the history of Chinese novels and ideology.The May 4th era was anti-traditionalism, but those of us who write martial arts novels now want to understand tradition. I hope that the younger generation of readers can learn about Chinese tradition through Mr. Jin Yong. Jin Yong: I think it is what we should work hard to strengthen the spirit and belief of China from the understanding of tradition. When it comes to the proper status of martial arts novels, it is only a form of novels that is still quite popular at present, and it is generally accepted by everyone.We should enrich it and deepen its value. The traditional form of Chinese novels is not only martial arts novels, martial arts is only a kind of chapter novels.In addition to chapter novels, there is also a kind of short story, which is also a traditional literary form; this kind of short story is also an existing literary form. Traditional literary forms are now generally accepted, and in terms of art, traditional dance, drama, music, etc. are also generally valued.Tradition is still a part of the life of Chinese intellectuals.During the May Fourth era, intellectuals believed that Western novels were the most orthodox, rather than chapter novels. In fact, chapter novels are still widely loved by everyone.This shows the status of tradition in the hearts of ordinary people, and this phenomenon deserves everyone to face it squarely. Luo Longzhi: I totally agree with Mr. Jin Yong.The situation in the last years of the Qing Dynasty made the Chinese feel that everything was inferior to others, and that feeling was wrong.After May 4th, everyone imitated the West. Of course, some parts of the Chinese tradition are bad and need to be changed, but the Western style is not what we need!The same goes for literary forms.What kind of literature do the masses need?It is undeniable that traditional martial arts novels are the most popular and generally accepted.I think that after one or two hundred years, Americans will still prefer western martial arts, while Chinese will still prefer martial arts. Jin Hengwei: In the development model of Chinese literature, art generally starts from the folk, and then through the hands of literati, it becomes a work of art, but because of this, it gradually becomes rigid.Martial arts novels come from common people, but those who write martial arts novels still return to common people. It will not become aristocratic literature, but will always be active among the people.This is the most superior point of martial arts novels. Jin Yong: I completely agree with you. If martial arts novels become academic, then martial arts novels will lose their value.The reason why martial arts novels are generally popular is that they have a traditional novel form and content, and their moral values ​​tend to be consistent with those of ordinary people.Although Western novels have a place in literature, the content they describe and the concepts they express cannot be properly accepted by Chinese people, even those who have studied abroad for many years or even those who have lived abroad cannot fully accept them.This is not a question of comparing martial arts novels with Western novels, but a question of acceptance that naturally arises from differences in life, morality, and concepts. The characters I like to write most are those who are indomitable under difficult circumstances, endure humiliation, overcome all difficulties, and continue to struggle.It's not that I deliberately wrote it like this, but I think that indomitable and enduring humiliation are the image of us Chinese.Of course, other novels can also express this image and spirit, but it is undeniable that martial arts novels are a very important part of them. Jin Hengwei: In Western novels, "conflict" is the most described part. In martial arts novels, the conflict is also very strong. May I ask Mr. Jin Yong, do you also like to place the protagonist in such a conflict situation in your novels? ? Jin Yong: Wuxia novels basically describe conflicts, such as the conflict between two forces, the conflict between two ideas, or the conflict between fate and people. "Misunderstanding" is also a kind of conflict.Human society is basically full of conflicts, and many novels and dramas also describe it, but martial arts novels are just more suitable for describing conflicts. Chen Xiaolin: Mr. Jin Yong's martial arts novels certainly describe human greed, human aggression, and human struggle under conflicts, but I also found that there is inadvertently revealed the tolerance that is common in our Chinese agricultural society. This is something I appreciate very much.In many aspects of real life, it has brought me great inspiration.I personally think that most of the works that have been successful in China over the years have attracted everyone's attention because of their success in literary creation.The reason for its success must be both eternal and unchanging factors, as well as environmental factors, especially the former.Eternal value is indelible. Mr. Jin Yong's pursuit of truth and insistence on justice are deeply admirable.This is why Jin Yong is Jin Yong. Jin Hengwei: The most touching thing in Mr. Jin Yong's novels is his grandeur. At the same time, he writes with sympathy for human beings.For example, some characters, he is a villain in the novel, but we seem to think that he is very cute and heart-stirring.As a writer, I think one should have a generous and sympathetic heart like him, so that it is possible to write great works. Quan Yong: "Tolerance" is a very important spirit in the Chinese national character, and it is also a necessary condition for the nation.When I talked about tolerance just now, mine can be said to express this spirit more concentratedly. In other works, I also express this intentionally or unintentionally. Gu Long: One thing about martial arts novels is not easy to be recognized, and even the authors of martial arts novels are rarely aware of it, that is, martial arts novels can integrate various novel genres and novel writing techniques.For example, Mr. Jin Yong's martial arts novels are rich in historical background, which does not even make other outstanding historical novels special.In this novel, Jin Yong used the "Rashomon" style and other techniques of mystery novels, which are also outstanding in general mystery novels.In terms of love, he wrote about the relationship between Xiaolongnv and Yang Guo, which is more touching than ordinary love novels. Jin Hengwei: Just now Mr. Jin Yong said that he can’t write literary novels, but I read a short article you wrote and said: “If detective novels are well written, martial arts novels must also be well written, because the principles of literature are the same From this sentence, if Mr. Jin Yong writes literary novels, I believe it must be a success. Although the evaluation of literature is unavoidably subjective, it is still possible to judge whether the work is good or bad. I hope that people in the future will pay more and more attention to the literary value and social significance of martial arts novels. At the same time, I also hope that after Jin Yong, Through the encouragement of readers and the efforts of writers, a new world of martial arts can be created.