The Sword and the Book of Jin Yong

Author: Ai Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-31
Features: The most precious spirit in Jin Yong's creation is his opposition to the "formulaic" plots, "stereotypical" characters, and "clichéd" language in storytelling. From his first work The Book and the Sword to his last The Deer and the Cauldron, Jin Yong has constantly broken away from existing patterns, constantly transcending himself, and in the struggle between "originality" and "formulaic," he has always expanded the territory of "originality" while pushing "formulaic" to a minimum. He is known as the "master compiler of the fundamental types of Chinese folk literature," and his novels are hailed as the "paradigm of a successful transformation of popular literature," the "most outstanding works of martial arts fiction," and an "important testament and model of Chinese civilization in the 20th century." Jin Yong is regarded as the "third best-selling author in the world." His novels have been reprinted over a thousand times on average, with total sales exceeding one billion. He and his novels are considered the "pride of Chinese culture" | "the pride of Chinese literature," a "quietly unfolding literary revolution," "both vulgar and elegant, both true and fantastical," "a literary model that provides a sense of national identity in the crisis of cultural identity," one of the "most outstanding works of Chinese-language literature in the 20th century," a "paradigm of the transformation of literary concepts, novel forms, and functions in 20th-century Chinese literature," a "true encyclopaedia of Chinese culture," and "unprecedented literary works" that represent the "direction of the development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature." He is the "fourth most influential literary master of the 20th century," an "author admired by generations," the "successor to Dream of the Red Chamber," and is seen as "transcending the distinction between refined and popular," the "success of using elite culture to reform popular literature," and a "unique contribution to 20th-century Chinese literature." He is described as "flourishing and untamed," yet also as the "remnant of feudal traditional culture," with his works labeled as "premium cultural fast food," "lacking intellectual challenge," "shoddily fabricated depictions of the Chinese people," and "fundamentally like opium, leading people to weakness in excitement." His appointment as a professor and doctoral supervisor at the College of Humanities, Zhejiang University, is seen as "marrying fame," "full of symptoms," "unqualified to be a university professor," "not qualified to be an associate professor in the history department," "ousted," "full of errors in historical and political knowledge," and "pursuing fame with relentless effort." The characters in his works are concerned only with "fiefdom feuds," indifferent to the oppression of common people by strongmen and tyrants. The concept of "chivalry" is abandoned, as are the concepts of "law," "economy," and the spirit of "never betraying loyalty and righteousness." The spirit of "standing up against injustice and helping the oppressed" is absent. Sometimes, his depictions of martial arts are overly fantastical and absurd; his portrayals of chivalry fail to distinguish right from wrong; and his portrayals of love disregard propriety and ethics. He is seen as an "advocate of power and violence" and someone who "misguides the younger generation."
The reasons to read this book: He writes martial arts novels, with Chinese forms and an inherent essence called "chivalry." He does not advocate adopting European writing styles at the expense of the vital elements of traditional Chinese culture. In his martial arts novels, he manifests his fundamental attitude toward life—"indifference"—seeing everything with a detached perspective. He believes that one's happiness should be measured by their aspirations rather than their actual achievements. With his 36 novels and over 10 million words, he has achieved the status of "wherever there are descendants of the Yellow and Yangtze races, there is Jin Yong."
Recommended for the following groups:
- Scholars or enthusiasts of the history of Chinese fiction
- Scholars or enthusiasts of the history of modern Chinese literature
- Scholars or opponents of "Jin Studies"
- Scholars or opponents of "Chivalry Thinking"
- "Jin Fans" or "Anti-Jin Fans"
- College and university students