Text/Rokushen Leilei
One
Recently, I was asked a tricky and interesting question:
I watched the drama "Three-Body Problem" and liked Shi Qiang very much, and I want to ask: Why didn't Jin Yong write a character like Shi Qiang?
Don't say, it really made me think about it for a long time.
Today I intend to answer professionally and objectively.
I think the reason why I am asked such a question is very simple, it is the recent hit of the high-scoring drama Tencent version of "The Three-Body Problem".
The actors are also powerful, so that the characters such as Wang Miao, Shi Qiang, and Ye Wenjie in it are out of the circle.
Ten years ago, investors and entrepreneurs loved to talk about these names. And recently, even the uncles and aunts in the family group are actually saying: Isn't this Shi Qiang Liu Bei, isn't this Ye Wenjie Su Mingyu's mother...
A sci-fi drama out of the circle to this extent, makes me, a Jin Yong fan, very envious.
If you don't blow it or black, let's talk about the question of "why didn't Jin Yong write Shi Qiang".
I will always be rational, objective and thought-provoking.
Two
Strictly speaking, there is nothing wrong with this problem. Jin Yong's novels really do not have characters like Shi Qiang.
Some martial arts fans may disagree and will give various negative examples. But I can say responsibly that they are not the same as Shi Qiang.
What kind of character is Shi Qiang? Ruffian, ruthless, decisive, righteous, down-to-earth, smart, and sober in the brain.
He is a powerful figure at the bottom, who has fought in the army and struggled countless times on the death line, and has cultivated his skills and brains.
This person is stable when he encounters big things, and he is also open-minded, and he has a bit of a ruffian feeling.
Objectively speaking, Shi Qiang in the drama "The Three-Body Problem" is quite similar to the one in the original work, but it is actually slightly different. This is understandable. Here is only the image of Shi Qiang in the play
Jin Yong wrote many warriors, is there such a very similar character? And it didn't.
Because Jin Yong's hero has an "impossible" triangle:
1. Grassroots 2. Powerful means 3. A sense of justice
These three characteristics possessed by Shi Qiang are precisely incomparable in Jin Yong's writing.
Three
Just give a few examples and you will understand.
To say that Jin Yong, who is stronger in temperament, is the kind of ruffian, mixed and chivalrous, and is not afraid of heaven and earth, such as Xia Xueyi, Fan Yao, and Xiang Wentian.
For example, Xiang Qiantian is actually very strong in temperament.
Nicknamed "Laozi of the Heavenly King", he has an amazing art industry. Speaking is also unexpected, and can convince you to explain crooked reasoning.
Ling Hu Chong asked if he never lied to people? He said: "If you want to deceive people, pick a big thing and deceive the earth." For a small character like the Songwen Daoist, Lao Tzu is really not rare to lie to him. ”
Isn't it very strong?
However, Xiang Wentian and Fan Yao are not grassroots, they are actually the top of the rivers and lakes, and all of them are martial arts tycoons.
This is the so-called "impossible triangle".
To talk about the grassroots with powerful means, Jin Yong also has it. Qi Yuankai and Fengji are all ruthless characters. But they often lack a sense of justice.
And what about the bottom and a sense of justice? Then there is no means.
Like Mao XVIII. Compared with Shi Qiang, he is afraid that his IQ is a hundred Pan Han worse.
If you let Brother Mao Eighteen deal with the trisolarans, then don't make a drama, it is estimated that the earth has already explained.
Four
In other words, how did Jin Yong's "impossible triangle" come about? How did Shi Qiang not be born?
Space is limited, so I will only talk about a few reasons. This is not a matter of Jin Yong and Liu Cixin's style, but the different rivers and lakes written by the two people.
Wuxia rivers and lakes are basically a jungle society, what obeys rules and disciplines, five lectures and four beauty is basically decorations, the key is to rely on martial arts and wrists.
But those who have powerful means and brains naturally have the status of quacks and lakes, and it is impossible to be grassroots.
Ruthless characters like Fan Yao and Xiang Wentian will be buried in which sect? Don't you just mix with any elders and deputy sect leaders?
However, the society that Shi Qiang worked hard is different, it is a modern society, paying attention to a sense of order and proportion, and the binding force of rules is very strong.
A person with ability alone may not be able to make a fortune and become a great official. Doesn't Shi Qiang still owe a mortgage?
He himself complained to Wang Miao: I am not likable, I can't get mixed up. He is destined to be a stewed and busy life.
And although this person has a sense of justice, he always does not play cards according to the routine, does not follow the rules, and occasionally carries a punishment.
In peacetime, if you have to promote him, it is really a little difficult to lead, right?
This is why "The Three-Body Problem" has Shi Qiang, Jin Yong has no Shi Qiang, people are the same people, different are rivers and lakes.
Can you rely on the author?
Five
Speaking of which, the second question comes again:
Why do I see Shi Qiang in the play, but I always feel that I have a feeling of being a "jianghu person" and feel very martial arts?
How can he be very chivalrous when he talks and does things?
Here comes the standard problem of "chivalry":
What kind of person is called "Xia"? Is it chivalry to be brave and do good?
Why is the person Jin Yong writing called Xia? Why does Shi Qiang in the play also feel very quacks and heroes?
A few criteria are briefly summarized.
"Xia" is more or less doing things beyond his own duty.
Doing good deeds within the scope of one's job can also be great and great, but it is not called "walking". In a sense, only "nosy" is called a walker.
Note that there is no distinction between high and low here, just to clarify a concept.
In Jin Yong's writing, Guo Jing and Yue Fei heroically resisted foreign enemies and fought hard. Guo Jing is "Guo Daxia", while Yue Fei can be called a big hero, but it is not suitable to be defined as "Xia". If you say "Yue Daxia", it will be a little strange.
Because Yue Fei's resistance to gold is for the general's job, not called "nosy"; Guo Jing, however, is a grass people, and he is also a cloth-clothed guest secretary in Xiangyang, and he came to lead troops to resist the enemy, completely beyond his duty.
So even Kublai Khan asked Guo Jing curiously: Uncle Guo, why are you wading into this muddy water and doing something right?
And what about Shi Qiang?
Some of the things he does are within his own position, and his duties require him to investigate and solve cases.
This is of course very remarkable, but if it is just that, it is not called "chivalry".
The reason why you feel that he is "chivalrous" is because he does some things that go beyond his job.
For example, his relationship with Wang Miao in the play. Wang Miao was counted down, and Shi Qiang also put a countdown sign on his back, saying that we both live and die together.
This is beyond the job of doing so. What professional code requires him to die with the person he works with? Nope!
He is bloody, righteous, and chivalrous.
There is a detail in the play, although it is small, I still feel very touched when I see it.
Wang Miao asked Shi Qiang, why are you following me? Shi Qiang said, I am really afraid that you will die.
The meaning here is twofold. You can hear the part of the duty—my job, which makes me worry that something is wrong with you.
But beyond that, you can hear the human, bloody part: Dude, I'm afraid you're dead.
And the subtext is, if you're in danger, I'll strike.
This is the emotional world of "Xia": pull out the knife to help, no why, just afraid that you will die.
Six
Finally, I want to say that the thing "Xia" is not unusual, in fact, all nationalities and cultures probably have it.
However, Jin Yong's heroes, or oriental, Chinese heroes, are different.
In two words, it is a strong concept of "tianxia".
This is unique in our culture, and the world rises and falls, and it is the responsibility of the husband. This responsibility is not relieved because of whether your status is noble or low. You have to have the world in mind, even if you're a grassroots.
Guo Jing said: "Guo's blood is sprinkled for tens of millions of people in Shenzhou. "This is the so-called world.
If this is put into the mouth of an ancient Western background warrior story, even an Eastern Japanese swordsman, it will be a bit inconsistent, because the other party's culture does not have this strong concept of "tianxia".
However, when China's Guo Jing said this, you will feel very natural and logical.
In the "Three-Body Problem" play, "Tianxia" has become another word, called civilization.
Here, to protect the world is to defend civilization.
It includes defending people, defending all the marks that these people have lived, thought, struggled with, and pursued.
Including human language, art, thought, memory... Everything cannot be erased.
In this sense, Guo Jing, who stood at the head of Xiangyang City in the thirteenth century, and Shi Qiang in the twenty-first century actually had similar responsibilities.
Protect the world in your heart, or in other words, defend your own civilization.
Martial arts and science fiction, there is no need to distinguish between high and low, let alone whether a certain kind of person is written and a certain character is filmed.
It just reminds us that no matter how the form changes, whether the protagonist plays the "Eighteen Palms of the Dragon" or what kind of nano flying blade, in fact, what our audience has liked for so many years is the same kind of person.
Eating stewed people, thinking about the world, the key is also special to carry clearly.
-Finish-
