Chapter 21 postscript

It is the first novel I wrote.From 1955 to now, more than twenty years have passed. I am from Haining, Zhejiang.The legend of Emperor Qianlong has been heard in his hometown since he was a child.When I was a boy scout, I once camped by the stone pond built by Emperor Qianlong in Haining, and watched the raging tide come in in the middle of the night.So it is only natural that the first novel wrote the story that impressed me the most.But the character Chen Jialuo is my invention.Princess Xiangxiang is not the legendary or historical concubine Xiangxiang either.Princess Xiangxiang is much more beautiful than Concubine Xiang.

Haining belonged to Hangzhou Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty. It was a small coastal county and was only famous for its tides.There was a poetess Zhu Shuzhen in the Song Dynasty.Famous figures in modern times include Wang Guowei, Jiang Baili, Xu Zhimo, etc. Their characters all have some melancholy and tragic undertones, and they all have a bit of untimely stubbornness.Chen Jialuo may also have some shadows of these people.But Haining is not very good at martial arts. Even Jiang Baili, a military expert, can only talk about martial arts and is not good at using martial arts.The most famous warrior in Shanghai in history was Xu Yuan who guarded Suiyang with Zhang Xun in Tang Dynasty.

Historian Meng Sen has done textual research and believes that the legend that Qianlong was a descendant of the Chen family in Haining is unreliable, and the legend that Xiangfei was killed by the empress dowager is also false.His main reason is "incompatible with official history".Historians don't like legends, of course, but people who write fiction do.Furthermore, any legends that are unfavorable to the royal family will definitely not be included in the "official history". Qianlong went all out to build the Haining seawall until it was completed, which benefited the people greatly.I have written him so badly in the book that I sometimes feel a little sorry.His poems are not good, and they didn’t have much relevance at first, but when I was a child, I saw stone carvings of his imperial poems everywhere in Haining and Hangzhou. If you don't satirize him, you won't be able to breathe out.

I have never practiced calligraphy except for tracing red grids in elementary school. The title and signature written on the cover are not worthy of a calligrapher.I also don't know anything about poetry. It wasn't until I revised this book recently that I read Mr. Wang Li's "Chinese Poetry" and my beginners were mediocre.The imitation of Qianlong's poems is fine, but the imitation of Chen Jialuo and Yu Yutong's poems is very childish.Chen Jialuo was originally Xie Yuan in his first work, but he thought that Xie Yuan's poems could not be so bad, so he cut his feet and fit his shoes when revising, and removed his title of Jie Yuan.Although Yu Yutong is only a scholar, his poems should not be at such a novice level.However, he was nicknamed "Golden Flute Scholar", and his fame was a little more flexible and he would not be dismissed.The review of the book is also not well done.The review in the first edition of this book was mediocre at all, and it is only slightly improved now.

This book was originally serialized in newspapers, and later published as a booklet. Now it is reprinted after revision and revision, and almost every sentence has been changed.The third edition was revised again.Readers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas wrote a large number of letters to the author, or wrote articles and book reviews, corrected typos, or raised comments. This is the first novel I wrote in my life. It lacks both experience and cultivation. There are many imitations of predecessors in writing and plot. Now I have deleted or rewritten these imitative passages, but the original work is far from childish. Traces are still unavoidable, at least, that is an independent creation.

When the third edition of this book was revised, I found the full text of the Islamic Koran, and tried to read it devoutly. I hope that what is described in this book does not violate the teachings of Islam, because the author has the meaning of respecting and pious for universal religions.However, the teachings of various religions are profound, and it is not easy for beginners to get started. Each volume of "Jin Yong's Works Collection" is accompanied by colorful illustrations, hoping to let readers (especially readers in foreign countries) get in touch with more Chinese cultural relics and works of art.If you think the novel itself is too boring, then look at the pictures.The seal of "Jin Yong's Works Collection" at the back of the book was made by Mr. Yi Yueshi, a Hong Kong goldsmith.For the publication of this book, friends Shen Baoxin, Wang Rongwen, colleagues Mr. Chen Huasheng, Mr. Xu Xiaodong, Ms. Wu Yufen, Mr. Xu Dai, Ms. Li Jiaying, Ms. Zheng Xianglin, Mr. Jiang Fangnian, etc. have given me a lot of help. I would like to express my gratitude.Mr. Yan Jiayan, Feng Qiyong, and Chen Mo gave a lot of advice, and most of them have been accepted and included in the revised edition. I am very grateful.

First edition in May 1975 July 3rd Edition, 2002