China News Service, Changsha, April 21 (Xinhua) -- What are the traditional Chinese morals and wisdom of life implied in Jin Yong's novels?
——Interview with young writer Peng Jieming
China News Service reporter Bai Zukai and Deng Xia
"Flying snow shoots white deer in the sky, and the smiling book god leans on the blue duck. From 1955 to 1972, Jin Yong wrote a total of 15 martial arts novels, building a spiritual home called "Jianghu" for Chinese readers around the world.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Jin Yong's birth, "The Reflection of Jianghu: Jin Yong's Martial Arts World and Fable of Life" published by Yuelu Books will meet readers. Recently, Peng Jieming, the author of the book and a young writer, was interviewed by China News Service's "East and West Question" to interpret the character fate and character stories of Jin Yong's martial arts characters, and get a glimpse of China's traditional morality and life wisdom.
The transcript of the interview is summarized below:
China News Service: Jin Yong's martial arts novels are broad and profound, and fully reflect China's traditional ideology and culture. What is the specific embodiment of "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and faith" in Jin Yong's martial arts world in the novel?
Peng Jieming: Jin Yong is a writer who is deeply influenced by Confucianism. He has the feeling of helping the world, and often endows his characters with various virtues, or benevolence, or trustworthiness, or wisdom, and some even have several beauties, which is admirable.
The pen name Jin Yong's martial arts novel Taidou Zha Liangyong. Photo by Hong Shaokui
Benevolence and virtue are one of Jin Yong's most important qualities, and most of his protagonists possess them. For example, Guo Jing is a benevolent man who "serves the country and the people", and his character is shaped according to the definition of a benevolent person in the Analects: "rigid, resolute, wooden, and benevolent"; Xiao Feng and Ling Huchong also have the benevolence of serving the country and the people, helping the world, and not changing their original intentions, and being good to themselves.
Jin Yong's heroes are very trustworthy, and Tian Boguang in "Smiling Proud Jianghu" is a typical example. Such a morally flawed character, in the gambling contract with Ling Hu Chong, was narrowly defeated, even if he was not convinced, he still kept his promise, and worshiped Yilin, whose martial arts were far inferior to his own. It also reflects the complexity and richness of human nature, which is both unexpected and reasonable.
Jin Yong is also good at portraying smart and wise characters, Huang Rong, Cheng Lingsu, and Yang Guo are all extremely smart. Take Yang Guo as an example, he was shrewd since he was a child, and he was always able to adapt to problems, but he fell into confusion due to the mystery of his life experience, and it was not until later that he found the way to salvation under the inspiration of Guo Jing, Master Yideng and others. This also shows that wisdom can be acquired by talent, but wisdom is closely related to a broad mind, rich experience, and a compassionate heart.
China News Service: What are the traditional Chinese morals and wisdom of life implied in Jin Yong's novels?
Peng Jieming: In traditional Chinese morality, "affection" is a key word. There are many classic stories about "love and righteousness" in ancient China, and idioms such as "don't eat Zhou Su", "Bo Ya is out of strings", and "sacrifice life for righteousness" are all derived from love and righteousness stories.
The description of "love and righteousness" in Jin Yong's novel is also very exciting. In Jin Yong's pen, "love and righteousness" is the most important thing. The relationship between master and apprentice does not reduce father and son, Zhang Sanfeng's master and apprentice are like this; the contract of Jinlan is like siblings, and Xie Xun and Zhang Cuishan are like this; bosom friends can trust their lives, Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang are like this; between lovers, death and life are subordinate, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu are like this. "Love" exists not only in the radiant protagonists and heroes, but also in the antagonists and small people. Shang Jianming was not a good man, but after his death, his wife, Mrs. Shang, still loved him, grieving his death, and hated the person who killed him.
《神雕侠侣》剧照。 艾涛 摄
In Jin Yong's works, we can see the influence of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, attaching importance to "love and righteousness" as well as "self"; He writes about "unruly" gentlemen, and also about ordinary people struggling with desire. Taking the "Condor Shooting" trilogy as an example, the three protagonists of Guo Jing, Yang Guo, and Zhang Wuji portrayed by Jin Yong respectively have the gentlemanly style of Confucianism, the hermit morale of Taoism, and the compassion of Buddhism.
Jin Yong writes "commitment" and "forge ahead", and also writes "choice" and "refusal". The "advance and retreat" of life and the "trade-off" are the unspoken teachings that Jin Yong conveys to readers based on traditional Chinese morality and life wisdom.
China News Service: What are the similarities and differences between the chivalrous men in Jin Yong's novels and the superheroes in Western literature?
Peng Jieming: The chivalrous man in Jin Yong's novels and the superheroes in Western literature are both similar and different.
The similarity lies in the fact that they both adopt a classic story model – "Hero's Journey". That is, an ordinary person's life suddenly changes drastically, and he has to embark on another challenging and dangerous path. Along the way, he will meet mentors, meet allies, encounter enemies, endure severe trials through difficulties, gradually grow through ups and downs, and finally return as a hero. There are similarities in the core of the story. There is a classic line in the superhero movie "Spider-Man" "With great power comes great responsibility", which unfolds the core story of "Spider-Man". This is very similar to the story of Guo Jing in Jin Yong's novel "for the country and the people, the great man of chivalry". The core of both stories is that the strong take on more social responsibilities, help the weak, and uphold justice.
The "Great Man of Chivalry - Jin Yong's Centennial Commemoration" event was held in Hong Kong. Photo by Chen Yongnuo
The knights in Jin Yong's novels have different appearances, including "promising" chivalrous warriors such as Guo Jing, Zhang Wuji, and Xiao Feng, who stand up when the country is in danger, and "inaction" chivalrous warriors such as Ling Hu Chong and Di Yun, who are not alienated in the treacherous rivers and lakes and always stick to their original intentions. Most of the superheroes in the West are "promising" exemplary figures, and once they "go out of the mountain", they rarely retire. Jin Yong's chivalrous warriors will not always stand in the center of the rivers and lakes, and often withdraw from the center of power after completing the great task and return to the rivers and lakes. This is also because Jin Yong has both the Confucian feelings of "drowning in the world" and the Taoist feelings of "quiet and self-controlled", so many chivalrous warriors in Jin Yong's novels leave the world with a floating back.
China News Service: You have repeatedly exchanged views with students on the topic of Jin Yong's novels, leading them to taste the various states of life and draw strength from the books. Why do you think young people should read Jin Yong's martial arts?
Peng Jieming: Every generation has its own classics. In general, as long as young people like to read and have the enthusiasm to explore the sea of books, no matter which classic they choose, it is a good thing, but in detail, I do hope to have the opportunity to recommend Jin Yong's novels to them, and I also think that Jin Yong's novels deserve to be seen by more readers.
Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province held a cultural exhibition with the theme of "Jin Yong's "Deer and Ding Ji" version and seal carving. Photo by Jin Peng
Jin Yong's novels have qualities that transcend the times. It not only tells many fascinating stories, but also has the connotation of traditional Chinese culture, shapes a variety of personality models, and writes about various realms of life. The story era of Jin Yong's novel is ancient, the context of the story is "rivers and lakes", and the main story line is grievances and hatreds, which seem to be very far from real life. However, it focuses on the puzzles of the human mind and is instructive for contemporary people who are caught up in the midst of choices and perplexities.
Jin Yong's genius also lies in the fact that he has never deliberately taught the world. In his eyes, the world is colorful, human nature is both good and evil, and life is bittersweet and bitter. He puts his thoughts on life issues such as growth, love, desire, enmity and hatred, family and country, and puts the plot full of interesting stories and characters full of personality, so that readers can share the joys and sorrows with the characters, fall into struggles together, and find their own way together in the midst of all difficulties and dangers in the process of reading.
Good writing never goes out of style, and it allows readers to read as if they were a close friend and see themselves. I believe that Jin Yong's novel is such a work. (ENDS)
Interviewee Profile:
Peng Jieming, pen name Nie Feiqiong, a young writer, doctor of literature from Nanjing University, mainly studies ancient literature, is good at classical poetry writing and interpretation of Jin Yong's works, and has published works such as "Under Fame: The Truth and Phantom of Historical Figures", "Song Ci", "Suiyuan Novel: Haunted", "The Reflection of Jianghu: Jin Yong's Martial Arts World and Life Fable" and other works.
[Editor: Cao Zijian]