This question has been plaguing countless lovers of martial arts novels. Mr. Jin Yong's world of rivers and lakes is vivid, the plot is wonderful, and the characters are distinct and three-dimensional. However, if you taste it carefully, it is not difficult to find that most of Mr. Jin Yong's martial arts novels are set in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, but the stories of the rivers and lakes in the Tang Dynasty are missing. This is puzzling, because the Tang Dynasty can be described as the golden age of Chinese civilization, with all kinds of civil and martial arts. Isn't this background of the times the most suitable place to write legends of the rivers and lakes? Why did Mr. Jin Yong avoid this era? Is it for some special reason, or is there something hidden that we don't know? Let us find out.
Jin Yong's unique feelings for the Tang Dynasty
Mr. Jin Yong has lived in the countryside of Zhejiang since he was a child, and his ancestors are scholars. His father Zhou Boying is a teacher, his mother is also a teacher, and the family is full of books, Jin Yong has loved reading since he was a child. Especially those classics that record the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty made him even more fascinated.
At that time, Jin Yong's favorite reading was "Old Tang Book" and "New Tang Book". These two masterpieces record the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty in detail, from the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty created by Emperor Taizongwen to the turbulent period of the later feudal towns and the Anshi Rebellion. Jin Yong read it like a madman and knew the history of the Tang Dynasty well.
In addition to history books, Jin Yong also loves Tang poetry. Li Bai's uninhibitedness, Du Fu's nostalgia, and Bai Juyi's freshness and handsomeness all made him fascinated. He even remembered Li Bai's poem "An Neng broke his eyebrows and bent his waist to deal with the powerful, making me unhappy" in his heart and regarded it as a life motto. It can be seen that Jin Yong's love for the culture of the Tang Dynasty.
After growing up, Jin Yong was admitted to the Department of Western Language of Wuhan University, majoring in English. His mentor was the famous scholar Wu Mi, who had studied at Cambridge University for many years. Under the influence of Wu Mi, Jin Yong became more fascinated by the history of the Tang Dynasty, and his graduation thesis was to study the succession system of the prince of the Eastern Palace in the Tang Dynasty. The dissertation was highly praised by his supervisor and laid the foundation for Jin Yong to pursue a doctorate in history at Cambridge University in the future.
After leaving his alma mater, Jin Yong successively worked in Ta Kung Pao and New Evening News. Although he was busy with work, he never gave up studying the history of the Tang Dynasty. During his time in Hong Kong, he often went to the university library to consult materials and learn more about the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that Jin Yong has a unique and deep feeling for the culture of the Tang Dynasty.
The world of martial arts during the Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty can be described as the gestation period of Chinese martial arts culture. In this prosperous era of both culture and martial arts, various martial arts schools began to rise quietly all over the country, martial arts masters came out in large numbers, and chivalrous warriors were all over the rivers and lakes.
The most famous is the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan. As early as the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddhism had a small penetration in Songshan, and in the Tang Dynasty, Shaolin Temple has become the largest jungle in the world. In addition to practicing Buddhism, the monks also specialize in martial arts to exercise their bodies and minds. Shaolin martial arts is based on "inner boxing", paying attention to the dantian, guarding the back of the head, and between movement and stillness, yin and yang. The martial arts of Shaolin Temple are becoming more and more sophisticated, and the masters have sprung up, and their prestige is far and wide.
In addition to Shaolin Temple, another major martial arts town is Emei Mountain in Hebei. The martial arts of the Emei faction are mainly based on the "inner sword", and the swordsmanship is exquisite, which can be called the first in the world. The Emei heroines are not only strong in martial arts, but also versatile, with the elegance of poetry, calligraphy and painting, and chivalrous pride, which can be described as both talented and beautiful.
There is another martial arts force, which is the ranger on the rivers and lakes. They wandered around, acted chivalrous and righteous, and often rebelled against the government. The most famous of these are the bearded man and Li Jing, who are known as the "Three Heroes of Wind and Dust" along with the Red Whisk Girl. The bearded guest was originally a martial arts master, but later was imprisoned for an unjust case, leaving a beard in prison, and since then he has earned the nickname "bearded guest". Li Jing was a general with excellent martial arts skills, and he made great achievements during the Huangchao Uprising. As for the Red Whisk Girl, she is a chivalrous woman, holding a red feather fan, and her skills are extraordinary. The three of them are well-known for their chivalrous deeds on the rivers and lakes.
In addition to these decent martial arts portals, there were also some evil sects during the Tang Dynasty. One of the most famous is the Quanzhen Sect, which advocates the "Inner Dan Technique", cultivating into immortals, and the masters in the sect are good at some evil and ruthless kung fu, such as the "Five Thunder Mantra" and "Fu Wand Method". The Quanzhen Sect is quite powerful in the Songshan area of Henan, and it has conflicts with the Shaolin Temple from time to time.
In general, the martial arts portal of the Tang Dynasty has begun to take shape, with masters and heroes of various factions, and chivalrous warriors all over the rivers and lakes, forming a unique martial arts culture and customs. This laid a rich historical foundation for later generations of martial arts novels.
Jin Yong's heroes of the Tang Dynasty
Although Mr. Jin Yong has not written martial arts novels specifically set in the Tang Dynasty, in his works, there are moments of Tang Dynasty heroes flashing by. These heroic images may only be a passing mention, but they are enough to give us a glimpse of Jin Yong's unique vision of the chivalrous warriors of the Tang Dynasty.
The most famous is the bearded guest in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". This martial arts master was originally a ranger, but he was imprisoned for an unjust case and left a beard in prison, and since then he has earned the nickname "Bearded Guest". In the novel, it is written that the bearded guest "was born in the Tang Dynasty, was strong in martial arts, and was the best player in the world." He, along with Li Jing and the Red Whisk Girl, is known as the "Three Heroes of Wind and Dust", and he is famous for his chivalrous deeds on the rivers and lakes.
Jin Yong's description of the bearded guest is undoubtedly borrowed from Du Guangting's "The Biography of the Bearded Guest" in the Tang Dynasty. However, in Jin Yong's pen, the image of the bearded guest is more heroic and extraordinary. He was not only outstanding in martial arts, but also "honest and straightforward, and never favoritism." He was unjustly imprisoned that year because he insisted on justice and was unwilling to falsify a confession. This chivalrous spirit is Jin Yong's understanding and interpretation of the heroes of the Tang Dynasty.
Another hero of the Tang Dynasty was Li Jing. Li Jingyuan was a general with excellent martial arts skills, and he made great achievements during the Huangchao Uprising. Jin Yong wrote in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" that Li Jing "was born in the Tang Dynasty, has strong martial arts, and is the best player in the world." He is tied with the bearded man as "the first and second master in the world". However, it is a pity that Jin Yong's description of Li Jing stopped there, and he failed to develop too much pen and ink.
The other one is the Red Whisk Girl. She is a chivalrous woman, holding a red feather fan, and her skills are extraordinary. Jin Yong wrote in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" that the Red Whisk Girl "was born in the Tang Dynasty and is the third master in the world". She is known as the "Three Heroes of Wind and Dust" together with the bearded guest and Li Jing, who is a legendary figure in the Tang Dynasty.
From Jin Yong's description of these three Tang Dynasty heroes, we can see his basic assumptions about the chivalrous warriors of the Tang Dynasty. First of all, they are all grandmasters of a generation with strong martial arts, which is enough to be called a martial artist. Secondly, they all have chivalrous hearts, act chivalrous and uphold justice. Again, they are all rangers and heroes, wandering the rivers and lakes, and not being powerful. It can be said that this is Jin Yong's idealized portrayal of the heroic image of the Tang Dynasty.
Of course, in addition to these three, Jin Yong also has other Tang Dynasty heroes, such as the "wire master" Tiejia old man in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". However, their descriptions are more concise, and it is difficult to go through them all. However, from the limited description, we can still see Jin Yong's basic design ideas for the heroes of the Tang Dynasty.
If Jin Yong really writes a martial arts novel set in the Tang Dynasty, I believe he will definitely inject more personality and storyline into these heroes, making their images more vivid and three-dimensional. What a wonderful martial arts masterpiece it would be! It's a pity that all this can only be left as a pity.
The deep reason why Jin Yong avoided the Tang Dynasty
Although Mr. Jin Yong had a unique and deep affection for the culture of the Tang Dynasty, he did not write martial arts novels based on the Tang Dynasty in the end. There must be some deep reasons behind this.
First of all, there are still some blind spots in Jin Yong's understanding of the social life and customs of the Tang Dynasty. He himself once admitted that when writing historical novels, it is necessary to have a thorough grasp of details such as "how to eat, how to dress, how to drive, how to ride a horse, how to structure the house, and how to bed". For the Tang Dynasty, which was too far away from him, it was often difficult to fully grasp these details of life.
Jin Yong devoted his life to the study of social customs in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and lacked in-depth experience of the lifestyle of the Tang Dynasty. He was worried that he would not be able to write about the real life of the Tang people, but would instead give the reader a sense of stiffness and contrivedness. As he himself said, the earlier the dynasty and the farther the age, the more difficult it is to verify.
Secondly, Jin Yong is more than willing to write stories about the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty has left too many classics in this era, such as "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "The Complete Biography of the Tang Dynasty", "Tang Legend", etc., and the legendary stories of the bearded guest, Li Jing, and the Red Whisk Girl have been written vividly and vividly.
Jin Yong knows that his literary talent is limited, and it is difficult to surpass the classic descriptions of these predecessors. He once said that he would definitely not be as good as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by writing the story of the Three Kingdoms, so he finally gave up this plan. For the story of the Tang Dynasty, Jin Yong also has a kinship.
Moreover, Jin Yong also had doubts about certain characteristics of Tang Dynasty society. For example, the Tang Dynasty was a gate lord and scholar society, which was quite different from the squire and landlord society that Jin Yong was familiar with. Jin Yong was worried that when he wrote, he would unconsciously bring in his own life experience, which would make the depiction of Tang Dynasty society skewed.
In addition, Jin Yong also has a lot of criticism about the Tang style in Japanese literature. He argues that the techniques in Japanese bushido novels are far less diverse than those of Chinese martial arts. If you write stories about the Tang Dynasty, you will inevitably be influenced by Japanese literature, which will make the work "daily". This is what Jin Yong does not want to see.
Finally, Jin Yong lacked sufficient motivation and enthusiasm for writing Tang Dynasty stories. In contrast, he prefers to write stories of turbulent times, such as the Song-Mongolian War, the Ming and Qing dynasties, etc., because these troubled times will give birth to more heroes and twists and turns of fate. The Tang Dynasty, a relatively stable and prosperous era, was difficult to inspire his creation.
In general, the underlying reasons for Jin Yong's avoidance of the background of the Tang Dynasty are not only the objective factors of lack of a comprehensive grasp of the social life of the Tang Dynasty, but also the subjective factors of being related to the classic works of his predecessors, as well as the personal reasons of having doubts about certain characteristics of Tang Dynasty society. These combined factors eventually led to Jin Yong's failure to write martial arts novels based on the Tang Dynasty.
The continuation of Jin Yong's martial arts spirit
Although Mr. Jin Yong did not write martial arts novels based on the Tang Dynasty, his chivalrous spirit and heroic spirit of resisting tyranny coincided with the style of the rangers of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that Jin Yong's martial arts spirit is actually a continuation and development of the chivalrous tradition of the Tang Dynasty.
Looking back at those rangers and heroes in the Tang Dynasty, most of them had a backbone, dared to speak out, and even openly confronted the imperial court. For example, the bearded guest was imprisoned for an unjust case, leaving a beard in prison and becoming a "bearded guest". He was originally a generation of martial arts masters, but he was imprisoned because he was unwilling to forge a confession, which shows his chivalrous conduct.
Another example is Li Jing, who was originally a general and made great achievements during the Huangchao Uprising. But later he was degraded for his outspokenness, and eventually became a ranger. The Red Whisk Girl is a chivalrous woman, holding a red feather fan, acting chivalrous and righteous, and is known as the "Three Heroes of Wind and Dust" with the bearded guest and Li Jing.
These Tang Dynasty rangers dared to resist tyranny and uphold justice, which is exactly the portrayal of Jin Yong's characters. For example, Guo Jing, Yang Guo, Zhang Wuji, etc., are all chivalrous images who speak up and resist tyranny. Although they are in troubled times, they never give up on justice and conscience.
In addition to the chivalrous spirit, Jin Yong's martial arts characters also have a unique temperament, which can also be found in the Tang Dynasty rangers. Those rangers in the Tang Dynasty wandered the rivers and lakes, acted chivalrous and righteous, and sang against the government, which was a kind of thorough life in the rivers and lakes.
The same is true of Jin Yong's characters, most of whom wander in the rivers and lakes and live a free life. For example, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are typical Jianghu families, although they have a sectarian foundation, they are also wandering outside all the year round. Yang Guo, Zhang Wuji, etc. are complete prodigal sons.
It can be said that the anti-bone chivalrous spirit and free temperament in Jin Yong's martial arts novels have an intrinsic relationship with the rangers of the Tang Dynasty. Although Jin Yong did not directly write about the Tang Dynasty, his martial arts spirit is a kind of inheritance and development of the chivalrous tradition of the Tang Dynasty.
Of course, Jin Yong's martial arts spirit is not completely copied from the style of the Tang Dynasty rangers, but while absorbing the spirit of the Tang Dynasty, he also integrates his own unique life experience. For example, Jin Yong's characters pay more attention to benevolence, righteousness and morality, and emphasize the inner cultivation of martial arts, which are Jin Yong's own creative ideas.
In general, although Jin Yong's martial arts spirit was not directly written in the context of the Tang Dynasty, it coincided with the style of the Tang Dynasty rangers, and it can be said to be a continuation and development of the Tang Dynasty chivalrous tradition. This kind of spiritual core is an important reason why Jin Yong's martial arts novels are immortal.