summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2008-06-01 12:33 am
summercomfort) wrote2008-06-01 12:33 am
My Jinyong reviews
A friend asked me to suggest Jinyong novels to her students. This is what I wrote to her. Maybe it's helpful for others, too? I've ordered them by length and in general appeal, but it really depends on the reader.
The Short Ones
Jinyong has two novellas and one short story: 鸳鸯刀, 白马啸西风 and 越女剑.
I like 越女剑 more because it's historical and it's got love in it and fighting between countries and a hint of the fantastic, and the ending lingers a bit in your head. Plus it's short.
白马啸西风 is not bad, either. It's a depressing story about a Han girl living in Mongolian tribes. It's about not fitting in, and alienation, and of course, a secret treasure. Stars teenage girl.
鸳鸯刀 is stupid.
The Novel Ones
1) Ode to Gallantry - S: 侠客行
-- Really, you can't go too wrong when the main character is called "Bastard". I think of this as Jinyong's Shakespearean Comedy. The entire premise is based on mistaken identity, and people are generally very solemnly silly in this novel.
2) A Deadly Secret - S: 连城诀
-- I call it Jinyong's Count of Monte Cristo. Young bumbling man framed for murder and imprisoned (for much the same reason as Edmund Dantes). Finds a martial arts mentor, escapes via similar manner, tries to seek revenge but is stopped by ex-love, etc. Only, he's not the brightest and gets mistaken for being an evil Tibetan monk. It's really about the greed in man's base human nature, the masks people wear, and that maybe, simplicity/ignorance is bliss.
3) Other Tales of the Flying Fox - S: 飞狐外传
-- This is a prequel to 雪山飞狐. The theme is heroism, so you get more of a traditional chivalrous hero. The main character goes from early teens to early 20s, so one of those books that would really appeal to teenagers. The main character sticks to and fights for his ideals. Plus he's a smart brat.
The Book and the Sword - S: 书剑恩仇录
-- Nationalistic story. JinYong's first one. In a way, it's a "let's throw in all the traditional Martial Arts tropes/locations!" In the sense that there's palace intrigue, dramatic landscapes, heir to immense power, monk temple, crossdressing, etc etc. Rather heavy-handed on the Han-nationalism, too. That said, it's a solid martial arts novel with no serious flaws and quite a few interesting characters. I don't like the main character because he's emo.
Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain - 雪山飞狐
-- Interesting narrative style -- after the intro, it's "a bunch of people stuck on a mountain telling stories" thing. So the stories cover 4 generations, but everything happens in one day. Really, it's all about revenge and duty. And the ending SUCKS. So bad that it mars the entire book.
Sword Stained with Royal Blood - 碧血剑
-- The woman in this story is a jealous bitch, and no one in this novel knows how to have fun. Too serious.
The Epic Ones:
1)Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - T: 天龍八部 S: 天龙八部
-- The Buddhist novel. I mean, the title is even Buddhist. There's 3 main characters, and two of them are very buddhist and very dorky. The third one kicks ass in that "save the world" humanism sort of way. Monks come in and out of the story, but they play a key role in the tone of the book.
2) The Deer and the Cauldron - T: 鹿鼎記 S: 鹿鼎记
-- Is this even a martial arts novel? As Jinyong's final novel, martial arts is mostly incidental to the plot. The main character is a brothel kid who lies and cheats into adventures. It's awesome in that Jinyong manages to insert a teenage punk into major moments of Chinese history. He was aide to Emperor Kangxi. He lead the charge on Russia, and then negotiated the peace treaty. He helped catch Wu Sangui and started the reclamation of Taiwan. He also chases massive tail.
3) The Legend of the Condor Heroes - T: 射鵰英雄傳 S: 射雕英雄传
-- The patriotic one with lots of theatre tropes -- starts with a storyteller, includes a fight with music, and the "let's hide behind this place and happen to witness important events" type thing. The novel that made Jinyong famous. Features Genghis Khan from his Temujin days. Like "Shu Jian....", it's a solid one with interesting characters. I like it for the Mongol stuff and the explanation of Chinese advanced math
The Return of the Condor Heroes - T: 神鵰俠侶 S: 神雕侠侣
-- The romance one with a smart angsty main character and a hot girl. Perfect for teens. I mean, they lose arms for each other, they die for each other, etc etc. Very pure love triumphing over impossible odds type book. The unofficial tagline is, "问世间情为何物，直教生死相许？" This is the one that has generated to Chinese comics, 1 anime, and a bajillion other interpretations.
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer - 笑傲江湖
-- The 江湖 politics novel. People in here Plot. And sometimes castrate themselves to practice greater martial arts that end up warping their mind. Whereas 连城决 is everyone running around for treasure (except for the dumb protagonist), 笑傲江湖 is everyone running around for Power (except for the gallant protagonist). Teenagers tend to like the main character for his devil-may-care attitude and his mad drinking skills. I don't.
Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre - T: 倚天屠龍記 S: 倚天屠龙记
-- The main character doesn't appear until a quarter of the way through, but maybe that's okay because he's not that interesting. His one defining trait is that he tries real hard. As in, he's real nice, and he doesn't like that his parents' two sides ("good" and "evil") want to kill each other.
Well, hope that helps a bit...? For reference, I loved 神雕侠侣 as a teen, and then loved 鹿鼎记as a history major, and then I really liked 天龙八部.
The Short Ones
Jinyong has two novellas and one short story: 鸳鸯刀, 白马啸西风 and 越女剑.
I like 越女剑 more because it's historical and it's got love in it and fighting between countries and a hint of the fantastic, and the ending lingers a bit in your head. Plus it's short.
白马啸西风 is not bad, either. It's a depressing story about a Han girl living in Mongolian tribes. It's about not fitting in, and alienation, and of course, a secret treasure. Stars teenage girl.
鸳鸯刀 is stupid.
The Novel Ones
1) Ode to Gallantry - S: 侠客行
-- Really, you can't go too wrong when the main character is called "Bastard". I think of this as Jinyong's Shakespearean Comedy. The entire premise is based on mistaken identity, and people are generally very solemnly silly in this novel.
2) A Deadly Secret - S: 连城诀
-- I call it Jinyong's Count of Monte Cristo. Young bumbling man framed for murder and imprisoned (for much the same reason as Edmund Dantes). Finds a martial arts mentor, escapes via similar manner, tries to seek revenge but is stopped by ex-love, etc. Only, he's not the brightest and gets mistaken for being an evil Tibetan monk. It's really about the greed in man's base human nature, the masks people wear, and that maybe, simplicity/ignorance is bliss.
3) Other Tales of the Flying Fox - S: 飞狐外传
-- This is a prequel to 雪山飞狐. The theme is heroism, so you get more of a traditional chivalrous hero. The main character goes from early teens to early 20s, so one of those books that would really appeal to teenagers. The main character sticks to and fights for his ideals. Plus he's a smart brat.
The Book and the Sword - S: 书剑恩仇录
-- Nationalistic story. JinYong's first one. In a way, it's a "let's throw in all the traditional Martial Arts tropes/locations!" In the sense that there's palace intrigue, dramatic landscapes, heir to immense power, monk temple, crossdressing, etc etc. Rather heavy-handed on the Han-nationalism, too. That said, it's a solid martial arts novel with no serious flaws and quite a few interesting characters. I don't like the main character because he's emo.
Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain - 雪山飞狐
-- Interesting narrative style -- after the intro, it's "a bunch of people stuck on a mountain telling stories" thing. So the stories cover 4 generations, but everything happens in one day. Really, it's all about revenge and duty. And the ending SUCKS. So bad that it mars the entire book.
Sword Stained with Royal Blood - 碧血剑
-- The woman in this story is a jealous bitch, and no one in this novel knows how to have fun. Too serious.
The Epic Ones:
1)Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - T: 天龍八部 S: 天龙八部
-- The Buddhist novel. I mean, the title is even Buddhist. There's 3 main characters, and two of them are very buddhist and very dorky. The third one kicks ass in that "save the world" humanism sort of way. Monks come in and out of the story, but they play a key role in the tone of the book.
2) The Deer and the Cauldron - T: 鹿鼎記 S: 鹿鼎记
-- Is this even a martial arts novel? As Jinyong's final novel, martial arts is mostly incidental to the plot. The main character is a brothel kid who lies and cheats into adventures. It's awesome in that Jinyong manages to insert a teenage punk into major moments of Chinese history. He was aide to Emperor Kangxi. He lead the charge on Russia, and then negotiated the peace treaty. He helped catch Wu Sangui and started the reclamation of Taiwan. He also chases massive tail.
3) The Legend of the Condor Heroes - T: 射鵰英雄傳 S: 射雕英雄传
-- The patriotic one with lots of theatre tropes -- starts with a storyteller, includes a fight with music, and the "let's hide behind this place and happen to witness important events" type thing. The novel that made Jinyong famous. Features Genghis Khan from his Temujin days. Like "Shu Jian....", it's a solid one with interesting characters. I like it for the Mongol stuff and the explanation of Chinese advanced math
The Return of the Condor Heroes - T: 神鵰俠侶 S: 神雕侠侣
-- The romance one with a smart angsty main character and a hot girl. Perfect for teens. I mean, they lose arms for each other, they die for each other, etc etc. Very pure love triumphing over impossible odds type book. The unofficial tagline is, "问世间情为何物，直教生死相许？" This is the one that has generated to Chinese comics, 1 anime, and a bajillion other interpretations.
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer - 笑傲江湖
-- The 江湖 politics novel. People in here Plot. And sometimes castrate themselves to practice greater martial arts that end up warping their mind. Whereas 连城决 is everyone running around for treasure (except for the dumb protagonist), 笑傲江湖 is everyone running around for Power (except for the gallant protagonist). Teenagers tend to like the main character for his devil-may-care attitude and his mad drinking skills. I don't.
Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre - T: 倚天屠龍記 S: 倚天屠龙记
-- The main character doesn't appear until a quarter of the way through, but maybe that's okay because he's not that interesting. His one defining trait is that he tries real hard. As in, he's real nice, and he doesn't like that his parents' two sides ("good" and "evil") want to kill each other.
Well, hope that helps a bit...? For reference, I loved 神雕侠侣 as a teen, and then loved 鹿鼎记as a history major, and then I really liked 天龙八部.
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Do you know if any others have made english translations yet?
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http://wuxiapedia.com/novels/jin_yong
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I can't believe you remember each and all of those books, much less enough to write reviews and synopses of them.
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天龙太悲.即悲情又悲壮.满是英雄折腰,塞上牛羊空许约. 感受到了凄厉，壮怀，反而没悟到书中的禅意。。。
笑傲的主角在我看来是金老最成功的男主角。可爱，风趣，潇洒。此书情节精彩，吸引人。是成人童话型的小说。
书剑是最传统不过的武侠风格了。反清复明，儿女情长，优柔寡断的男主角，悲剧的收场。故事从从大漠到长城都很生动。可以说是武侠标本。
but still: 煮酒论英雄 pt 2? when are you coming back to d.c.?
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我真的不喜欢令狐冲！他太自我陶醉了。I can't handle someone who's so consciously "潇洒". I mean, he means it when he says self-sacrificial things, but I find him shallow.
书剑的确不错，不过觉得有些地方节奏匆忙了一点。而且太爱国主义了，把乾隆和清朝官府写的一败涂地。我把它排得那么低，是因为我觉得其他的更有特色。
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