Swordsmen's Chronicle (Volume 1 and 2) / Complete Novels of Liang Yusheng

Author: Liang Yusheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-03-01
Features: Liang Yusheng's wuxia novels connect the heroic tales following The Story of the Son and Daughter Hero and the old wuxia novels of the Republican era, pioneering a new school of wuxia literature. They also paved the way for Jin Yong and Gu Long's wuxia world. He once described his position in the wuxia genre: "The pioneer of wuxia, Liang Yusheng; the one who brought it to greater heights, Jin Yong." In the 1960s and 1970s, he and Jin Yong together carried the banner of the new school of wuxia novels, earning the reputation of "Jin and Liang, rivals of their time." During their era, Liang Yusheng advocated that "the hero is the embodiment of the wisdom and virtue of the lower laboring classes," grounding heroic actions in justice, dignity, and love for the people, while discarding the tendency of old wuxia novels to focus solely on revenge and bloodlust. Jin Yong further elevated this to "The greatest hero is one who serves the nation and its people."
Liang Yusheng's novels are renowned for their rich historical and literary knowledge, as well as their incorporation of classical poetry and folk sayings. His writing is elegant and filled with a scholarly charm, often weaving poetic verses and folk expressions into the narrative. His storytelling techniques primarily draw from tradition, frequently employing the chapter-based structure of classical novels. The chapter titles are profound in meaning and skillfully balanced, with the plot unfolding in a rhythmically engaging manner. His narrative style also carries a distinct tone of storytelling. The characters in his wuxia novels are deeply moralized, with clear distinctions between heroes and villains. Each of his wuxia works is set against a specific historical backdrop, with plots meticulously crafted and steady in depth. Some critics argue that the flaw in Liang Yusheng's novels lies in their "tedium," though this may stem from his persistent adherence to a "conventional" literary demeanor. Liang himself once said, "I may have also fallen into the trap of being 'weird.' But in my works, 'weird' is not the mainstream—it's not my style."