Abstract: Jin Yong's novels are all the rage and have been repeatedly used as the theme of film and television works in recent years. In a sense, Jin Yong's novels are no longer simple martial arts novels. But readers are more interested in and fascinated by the chivalrous stories and heroes written by Jin Yong. This paper intends to analyze the chivalrous spirit and chivalrous characters in Jin Yong's novels, hoping to interpret Jin Yong's novels from another angle.
Keywords: novel analysis Jin Yong's chivalrous spirit and culture research
It seems difficult to explain the essence of Jin Yong's novels with simple "martial arts novels". From street reading to classic texts of literary studies, the transformation of Jin Yong's novels from vulgarity to elegance is not only related to the relaxation of reading standards for people or the public, but also related to the cultural connotation contained in Jin Yong's novels themselves. Chen Mo's book Jin Yong's Novels and China Culture discusses in detail the natural relationship between Jin Yong's novels and China culture from two parts: the theory of cultural knowledge and the theory of cultural spirit. 1 In fact, the cultural connotation contained in Jin Yong's novels is not limited to the traditional culture of China, but also includes the traditions of western culture, such as plot conception, the use of westernized language, the use of film techniques, and the shaping and depiction of characters, which are closely related to western culture.
Of course, as a writer in China, Jin Yong's works are rooted in the traditional culture of China. Jin Yong's fifteen novels are all set in ancient China, and most of the characters are chivalrous people in the Jianghu, and their themes are chivalrous stories spread on this basis. Therefore, chivalry is the spiritual motif of Jin Yong's novels.
According to my personal understanding, the word "Xia" should be divided into two parts: "Xia" and "Yi". Chivalrous culture is the most unique part of China culture, which can better reflect the essence of China culture. In ancient China, the understanding of "chivalry" was quite different. Han Fei believes that "Confucianism violates the law by writing, while chivalrous people use force to prohibit it"; Sima Qian disagreed. He said that "saving people in Ecuador is not enough to help others, and there are benevolent people". He filmed "The Legend of the Ranger" to sing praises for the chivalrous man; Li Bai's "Chivalrous Journey" also gave a high evaluation to the chivalrous man, saying that "even if the chivalrous man dies, he is not ashamed of the world." "Righteousness" is one of the basic arguments of Confucianism. In the eyes of China people, "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faithfulness, loyalty and filial piety", if a person is loyal and kind, he must be a person of great faith, and if he is immoral, he must be a person without loyalty. Wei Xiaobao put it more clearly: "If a person doesn't talk about loyalty, he might as well die."
Jin Yong's novels can be said to be very successful, which brilliantly show and explain the chivalrous concept in the depths of China people's spirit. Of course, it is not surprising that his novels are widely circulated. China's traditional novels have been permeated with chivalrous spirit for a long time. In the Song Dynasty, this novel had a story about chivalry. The Water Margin among the four classical novels can be said to be the achievement of this chivalrous tradition. Martial arts novels in the true sense can be traced back to Nie Yinniang, a character in tang legends, and a case-solving novel in the Qing Dynasty, which also has the shadow of martial arts novels to some extent. Modern times witnessed the vigorous development of martial arts novels, such as Fairy at Pingjiang and Princess Huanzhu. Up to the modern Jin Yong, Gu Long and Liang Yusheng, the martial arts novels are prosperous and spectacular. Of course, the views on martial arts novels can be said to be mixed, and the criticism of orthodox scholars is endless, but ordinary people don't care so much. They like chivalrous stories and they like chivalrous heroes. In ancient times, people's lives were extremely painful, corrupt officials and witches did whatever they wanted, and the people were helpless, so they hoped that there would be heroes who upheld justice and helped the poor. From the perspective of western psychology, there is a kind of "heroic complex" in human hearts, or "on-the-spot complex", and the source of western literature is "heroic epic". Many readers, when reading martial arts novels, will show the phenomenon of modernity and fantasize that they are heroes in the book, so as to obtain the self-satisfaction of "hero complex".
In Jin Yong's novels, chivalry is reinterpreted, which can be seen from the following aspects:
First, Jin Yong's fourteen martial arts novels have created many images. Chivalry can be said to be the focus of shaping. According to Mr. Jin Yong's own point of view: "The difference between a knight-errant and a hero is that a knight-errant can sacrifice himself for justice, society and country regardless of personal interests. One thing about chivalrous people is that they can ignore their own interests for the benefit of others. " (Press: According to the recording of the author's interview with Mr. Jin Yong) Guo Jing in The Legend of the Condor Heroes is the "real chivalrous man" and "loyalty to the country, friends and love" that have been on the lips of various research articles. This is the inconvenient principle of Guo Jing's life. In The Condor Heroes, he helped to defend Xiangyang against Mongolian invasion. It can be said that he is practicing what he called "serving the country for the people and being a great man". At this time, Guo Jing has actually gone beyond the framework of the general rivers and lakes, completely linking the rise and fall of the country and the sufferings of the people with himself, so everyone in the rivers and lakes is called Guo Jing "Guo Daxia", not because of his martial arts, but because he is a country. Lu Youjiao's martial arts in The Condor Heroes is not first-class, but everyone calls him "Old Xia Lu" because he leads beggars to fight against Mongols. In Jin Yong's view, the key to becoming a knight-errant is not his martial arts or status, but whether he has made any contribution to the country and the people, or what he has done for justice and others. Thus, compared with the chivalrous man in traditional culture, Jin Yong endowed him with more sense of responsibility and justice. There is a saying in Li Bai's "Chivalrous Rider": "Three cups of promises are too light for five mountains". Ancient chivalrous men can lay down their lives to repay their kindness. Like Jing Ke, Zhuan Xu and Nie Zheng, they are not so much chivalrous as tools of political forces, in order to repay each other and realize their own values. Jing Ke, for example, never thought that killing the king of Qin could save the people of the world. As the saying goes, "a scholar dies for a bosom friend."
Throughout Jin Yong's 15 martial arts novels, from Chen Jialuo in Love and Hate with the Sword to Chen Jinnan in Duke of Lushan, everyone who can be called a chivalrous man has been desperate for the country, others and justice: Chen Jialuo is the leader of the anti-Qing organization, and he does not hesitate to abandon his beloved woman in order to fight against the Qing Dynasty and regain his sight; Yuan Chengzhi, the son of Yuan Chonghuan, an anti-Qing general, was named Chengzhi. What he did, of course, was that his son inherited his father's career. Pei Hu was forced to death by the bully Feng Tiannan, and pursued the murderer for thousands of miles, not afraid of life and death; Qiao Feng committed suicide in order to stop the war in Song and Liao countries and save the people from the war. Chen Jinnan devoted his life to the recovery of Daming. Jin Yong made an epic description of the above examples in his novels and fully affirmed them. Zhao Banshan in The Legend of Flying Fox put it well: "We learn martial arts, and our kung fu is naturally high, but as long as our hearts are aboveboard and our actions are worthy of heaven and earth, then people with high martial arts are of course good, and those with low martial arts are generally respected." In a more popular way, this sentence seems to be understood as "it is better to go home to sell sweet potatoes than to practice martial arts for the people", and it can also be said that it is the most basic requirement for "chivalry" in Jin Yong's novels.
Second, the corresponding to "chivalry" is "righteousness". If "chivalry" is the flesh and blood of Jin Yong's novels, then "righteousness" is the soul of "chivalry" and the most human side of Jin Yong's novels. Around "righteousness", Jin Yong's novels show us the story of heroism and dry clouds. The loyalty of Hu Yidao in Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain and the mutual appreciation of the hero Miao Renfeng: the loyalty of Qiu Chuji, Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin in The Legend of the Condor Heroes: In the legendary swordsman, Liu Zhengfeng, the master of orthodox religion, became sworn to Qin Xiao, the patriarch of magic religion; Until Wei Xiaobao in Duke of Lushan went back and forth between Kangxi and Heaven and Earth Society, he never did anything wrong on either side. Gangs and societies are often described in martial arts novels. One of the fundamental principles of their assembly is loyalty. They drank blood and worshipped Guan Yu, not born on the same day in the same year, but died on the same day in the same year. Betraying a friend is despicable. In Jin Yong's view, an important connotation of "righteousness" is that heroes treat each other with sincerity, appreciate each other's commitment and live up to others. Jin Yong wrote in Wei Xiaobao: "The loyalty of China people is an important factor for the survival and development of the Chinese nation. Attaching importance to friendship is of course a good thing. . . . . . A group of people are harmonious, United and caring for each other. When the environment changes, they try to adapt in a reasonable way. Such a group is naturally invincible against others and will last for a long time. " ④
Of course, the "righteousness" in Jin Yong's novels is naturally different from that of ordinary buddies. Old-school novels blindly emphasize unprincipled loyalty in Jianghu, which is not seen in Jin Yong's novels. Because all loyalty must have a premise-"justice", which is related to or based on justice. Sometimes, in order to maintain justice, it is inevitable and obligatory to "put the righteousness above the family". In The Condor Heroes, Yang Guo tried to kill Guo Jing many times without knowing the truth about killing his father, but he immediately gave up the idea of revenge after learning of his father Yang Kang's bad behavior. In "Eternal Dragon Slayer", Song Qingshu killed martial uncle Mo Shenggu, and his father, Song Yuanqiao, finally put righteousness above family loyalty and achieved the kindness of other disciples.
It is from the word "righteousness" that "chivalry" and "righteousness" in Jin Yong's novels are organically and completely linked. Justice is the intersection of chivalry and the place where * * * passes. In his speech at Peking University, Jin Yong said: "I think the definition of chivalry can be said to be' selfless, draw a sword to help each other'. Chivalrous people uphold justice and fight injustice." ⑤ As mentioned above, the basic requirement of "chivalry" is to serve others, society and country, and "righteousness" is based on everything. Therefore, in Jin Yong's novels, the traditional concept of chivalry has been given a new connotation, which has sublimated it to the glorious height of human spirit and made this chivalrous spirit more moral and positive. Coupled with Jin Yong's wonderful pen, it is not boring to read, but sincere and touching.
Above, we analyzed the chivalrous spirit in Jin Yong's novels from the perspective of spiritual connotation. Below, let's look at how the chivalrous spirit is embodied from specific characters.
Jin Yong wrote in the postscript of The Legend of Flying Fox: "Among the many male characters I have written, Pei Hu, Qiao Feng, Yang Guo, Guo Jing and Ling Huchong are my favorites." In fact, this is also a few chivalrous images that Jin Yong focused on shaping. Next, I will analyze Guo Jing and Pei Hu.
Let's start with Guo Jing. This is the character created by Jin Yong in his three novels: Legend of the Condor Heroes, Heroes of the Condor Heroes, and The Dragon Slayer by Eternal Adversity. Some people call him a hero "too perfect to be true". Guo Jing's life has been filled with hatred for his home country. Jin Yong said in the postscript of "Eternal Dragon Slayer": "Guo Jing grasped the Datong Festival very firmly." As long as it is a major principle concerning the national justice and the survival of the country, he is never vague. He grew up in Mongolia and had deep feelings for Mongolians, including becoming sworn friends with Tuo Lei, getting engaged to Hua Zheng, and going west for Genghis Khan. However, when Mongolia overthrew the State of Jin and wanted to annex the Song Dynasty, he resolutely helped the generals of the Song Dynasty to resist the Mongolian invasion. In "The Condor Heroes", he and Huang Rong * * * are guarding Xiangyang and doing their best; In "Eternal Dragon Slayer", Xiangyang City was broken, and both of them committed suicide. Until now, Guo Jing's "hero" image has finally taken shape. His sentence: "For the country and the people, great men are chivalrous men" is cited as a classic, and he himself is practicing this sentence. He said to Yang Guo, "It is our duty to practice martial arts and help others, but we are just a nobody. So the Jianghu calls me Guo Daxia because you respect me for the country and the people, and you are desperate for Xiangyang. . . . . . "⑦ With Guo Jing's martial arts, it is absolutely no problem to protect himself on the day of breaking the city, but in the end he chose to commit suicide, which is also fulfilling his motto. For the country, for the people, at the expense of their own, this is our previous discussion of the connotation of "chivalrous" point of view. Guo Jing was like this when he was heading for disaster, so he was worthy of the so-called "Guo Daxia" by Jianghu people. In the legendary swordsman's postscript, Jin Yong commented: "For a hero like Guo Jing who gave his life to disaster and knew what he could not do, there should be greater moral affirmation." ⑧
Chivalry should also have the character of benevolence and righteousness, which is more obvious in Guo Jing. There is such a detail in The Legend of the Condor Heroes that Guo Jing and Huang Rong are healing in the secret room of Niujia Village. In order not to let people know, Huang Rong wanted to kill the silly aunt and kept his mouth shut. The book says, "Huang Rong took two steps outward. Looking back, Guo Jing's eyes have a little suspicious. I thought the murderous look on his face was seen by him, and I thought: It doesn't matter if I kill the silly aunt, jing elder brother is fine. Come on, let's take this big risk. . . . "⑨
From Huang Rong's psychological activities, it shows Guo Jing's consistent principle of being a man: "The bad guys can forgive, and the good guys can never kill by mistake." Chivalrous men can only benefit themselves, but not others. Silly aunt is just an ordinary village girl who killed her for her safety. Guo Jing couldn't kill her head, and such examples abound in novels.
For Ouyang Feng and Guo Jing's repeated rescues, he turned against each other, but at the end of the crisis, he was rescued. Hong Qigong put it well: "Is it the chivalrous way of our generation to take advantage of people's danger?" Guo Jing inherited this sentence from Hong Qigong all his life. Finally, at the end of the novel, he successfully captured Ouyang Feng. "The way of loyalty and forgiveness lies in loving people and blaming yourself with the heart of blaming others", which is the Confucian view. No wonder some research articles call Guo Jing a "scholar and chivalrous man".
It can be said that Guo Jing embodies Jin Yong's ideal of "chivalry" and the chivalrous spirit. In later novels, Jin Yong's chivalrous image gradually entered the realm of inaction. Except that Qiao Feng in Eight Dragons can be compared with Guo Jing, the chivalrous interpretation can't surpass the image of Guo Jing. Yang Guo is full of evil spirits; Zhang Wuji lacks chivalry; Ling Huchong pays attention to personality; Hu Fei is chivalrous, but lacks the consciousness of serving the country and the people. Look carefully, Jin Xiaoyong %C