Mare Nostrum (Upper and Lower)

Author: Liang Yusheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Liang Yusheng's martial arts novels connect the heroic tales that followed The Story of the Sons and Daughters of Heroism and the old martial arts novels of the Republican era, pioneering a new school of martial arts literature. They also paved the way for Jin Yong and Gu Long's unparalleled world. He once evaluated his own position in the martial arts novel genre: "The pioneer of the trend is Liang Yusheng; the one who brought it to its full glory is Jin Yong." In the 1960s and 1970s, he and Jin Yong together carried the banner of the new school of martial arts novels, earning the reputation of "Jin and Liang, rivals of their time." During their concurrent era, he advocated that "the hero is the embodiment of the wisdom and virtue of the lower-class laboring people," grounding heroic actions in justice, dignity, and love for the people, while discarding the tendency of old martial arts novels to focus solely on revenge and bloodlust. Jin Yong further elevated this to "serving the nation and its people—this is the true essence of a hero." 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 brims with a scholarly air, often interspersing his stories with poetic verses and colloquial expressions. His narrative 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 plot developments carrying a rhythmic and harmonious flow. His storytelling also retains a distinct tone of a storyteller. The characters in his martial arts novels are deeply moralized, with clear distinctions between heroes and villains. Each of his works is set against a specific historical backdrop, with plots meticulously crafted and steady in density. Some argue that the flaw in Liang Yusheng's novels lies in their "tedium," though the reason may stem from his persistent adherence to a "conventional" scholarly demeanor. Liang himself once said: "Perhaps I have also suffered from the fault of being 'far-fetched.' But in my works, 'far-fetched' is not the mainstream—it is not my style."