From June 5438 to October 2005 10, the TV series Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man (hereinafter referred to as "The Sword") adapted from the game of the same name was broadcast in three places across the Taiwan Strait, and created the myth of viewing in that year, which set off a wave of "The Sword" and achieved a win-win situation for the TV drama industry and the game industry. Today, xianjian has gone through more than ten years, and its popularity has risen instead of falling. The "ten-year contract" of the characters in the play aroused the collective nostalgia of the audience and once became a hot topic of online discussion. With the popularity of American TV series, Korean wave and new and old TV series have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, we can't help but ask, what is the artistic charm of "Fairy Sword" through time and space?
As the first TV series adapted from a video game in China, Xianjian strives for perfection in scenery, props, costume design and special effects. Beautiful characters, wonderful story lines and aesthetic visual effects form the aesthetic surface of Xianjian. The key to its success, that is, the soul of the work, should be the tragic tone and tragic implication full of sadness and fatalism throughout the whole play. As Chernyshevski said, "Tragedy is always great ... Tragedy is human suffering or destruction-it excites and shocks us and fills us with horror and pity" [Chernyshevski. On Sublime and Tragedy [C] Chernyshevski Literature: The Middle Volume. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 1979], compared with other aesthetic forms, the emotional experience of tragedy is related to the deep thinking of human destiny. Any work of art is bound to permeate the creator's thinking about life. The creator of "Fairy Sword" inherits the theme of "destiny" in the original work, and through the characters' persistent struggle against nature, society and their own destiny and their inevitable tragic ending, shows the essential strength of human beings as the subject of practice, and places their yearning for justice, peace and love, which makes the whole play shine with philosophical colors and the brilliance of human nature.
First, from the past to the future-the starting point and end point of fate
The story of Xian Jian takes place in a virtual space-time, which is different from the traditional martial arts drama or historical drama. The virtual world constructed in "Fairy Sword" is based on the traditional legend that China Pangu created man, and at the same time contains modern factors such as western philosophy and human nature. It can be said to be a surreal work between myth and history, tradition and modernity. The development of the story has a clear dual framework. Such a binary opposition structure highlights the core opposition between fate and man-made. "Destiny" can be said to be a tragic theme throughout. The relationship between man and nature has always been the motif that literary works at home and abroad are keen to explore. The natural universe is vast and mysterious, and human beings live in it, feel the changes of heaven and earth, and feel that there are some inevitable fates, so they have a "fatalistic" world view. People attribute all the uncontrollable unknowable factors that are opposed to and conflict with themselves to "fate". Facing the mercy of fate, whether it is blind obedience or resistance, it constitutes a survival situation; Failure to resist fate has formed a tragic experience. Most of the ancient Greek tragedies involved the theme of "fate". Prometheus was crucified on the cliff to save mankind, but Oedipus tried his best to fight against the predicament, but he could never get out of the cage of fate. Heroes inevitably lead to failure or death in the struggle with nature or society, so they are called "fate tragedy". As a tragic theme, "fate" has since risen to the aesthetic level and established the basic connotation of tragedy as an aesthetic form.
The tragic conflict in "Fairy Sword" is carried out on two levels, one is the opposition and struggle between the tragic characters and their own destiny, and the other is the struggle between the just and kind side and the evil forces. The two main lines are both external and internal, which establish the internal logic of plot development in the mode of binary opposition, and these conflicts show the tragic beauty of desolation and desolation. At the beginning of the TV series, Li Xiaoyao, the protagonist, went to Xianling Island to seek medicine in order to save her sick aunt, and met Zhao Linger, the princess of Nanzhao who lived in seclusion on the island. The wheel of fate turned. At this time, they didn't know that they were heading for a doomed ending step by step, and everything had already planted deep seeds ten years ago. The beginning of fate is that Li Xiaoyao returned to rescue Zhao Linger in distress ten years ago and sent him to an imaginary safety zone, trying to change the trajectory of fate and avoid all subsequent sufferings and sacrifices; The end of fate is that everything goes back to the original point, and all kinds of efforts are in vain. From the past to the future, in fact, it was he who turned the wheel of fate, walked out of Xanadu with Shine and began his life in exile. As representatives of justice and kindness, Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Linger fought many wars with friends they met on their way back to China, as well as Yue Bai, a representative of evil forces, and many Christians he led. They are kind, upright and brave, and firmly believe that through United and unyielding struggle, evil can be defeated in exchange for peace. However, the strength gap between the opposing sides is too great. Yue Bai not only has many blind believers, but also uses the weakness of Nanzhao King to control the people of the whole country. He relied on powerful magic to set one trap after another, blocking the power of justice again and again, and even inevitably bleeding. The best result achieved at a great cost is only mutual destruction with the enemy. However, as a villain, despite Yue Bai's infinite magic, he can't escape from the palm of fate, and he can't change the world that he thinks is loveless and should disappear. The "sword of Damocles" of fate hangs over everyone's head, as if all kinds of personal efforts and struggles are aimed at realizing the arrangement of fate and heading for the doomed ending. This sense of helplessness runs through, laying the tragic tone of the whole play and forming a unique sad and deep artistic style.
In order to deeply understand the fatalism theme of Xianjian, we have to mention the "Tao" that appears many times in the play. "Tao", as one of the important categories of China's traditional philosophy, is similar to the "fate" discussed in ancient Greek tragedies. It has mysterious characteristics and is a metaphysical concept. Although "Tao can be Tao, it is extraordinary" [see the first chapter of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, Wired Bookstore, September 2007. 】, but "Fairy Sword" vividly interprets the understanding of "Tao" through many vivid stories and the experiences and feelings of the characters in the play. The love between Lin, the mother of Nuwa, and Yin Ruozhuo, who later became a great swordsman, can be said to be the way of great love in the same strain. They are not married in the secular sense, but put aside their personal desires and complete their mission with love for each other. Even if letting go will be painful, even if the outcome is doomed to be tragic, as long as it is a choice that conforms to the Tao, you should do it. Everyone has his own way, that is, his own unique destiny, which is irreversible and insurmountable, otherwise he will be punished. The love between Ming Jiang, a disciple of Shushan, and the fox demon, is precisely because they don't agree with each other's way, which has brought great disaster to Shushan, and they themselves have fallen into a tragic ending, and their souls are suffering from eternal pain in the locked demon tower. The story of Jiu Jian Xian Mo highlights the contradiction between dream and reality, love and love disillusionment. At the same time, it also involves what is Tao, the conflict between eternal Tao (rationality) and human nature. The cultural background of the legend of the sword and the chivalrous man [J]. Heilongjiang Social Sciences, 2007( 1). ]
Second, what I can't go back to is the past-the pain and enlightenment of growing up.
Drawing lessons from the narrative techniques of video games, the narrative of Sword can be said to be a kind of "gamification" narrative, that is, telling the story with absurd plots, relaxed and humorous language dialogues and weird characters of ghosts and gods [Huang Yanping. A Study on TV Adaptation of Computer Games —— Taking Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man as an Example 20010/0000000005 The deep narrative structure is the binary opposition mode between man and nature, society and self-existence, and the surface narrative is the plot sequence with the growth of characters as the main line. Similar to "breaking through the barrier" and "upgrading" in the game, the characters in the play set foot on the Jianghu road to exorcise the sword shadow in order to complete their personal mission, and realized the transformation of their roles through various hardships.
In the emotional world constructed by Xian Jian, the fate of the protagonist Li Xiaoyao is undoubtedly a tragedy. For love, he failed to give Linger a lifetime of happiness, nor did he keep his promise to the moon, such as "walking with the wind and rain"; For the sake of friendship, he helplessly watched Jinyuan escape into the magic road and shed tears at the tomb of nine sages. No matter how high his martial arts are, and how many friends he has, he is empty in the end. From a cynical teenager to a chivalrous man who helps others, it is difficult for Top Gun to keep a few friends for a few cents. The world of mortals is eager to see it, but they can't find his home anymore. This is just Li Xiaoyao's own helplessness and lament. The heroine Zhao Linger is also a tragic figure. She is simple and beautiful, but she is extremely determined and transparent. Nu Wa's descendant status doomed her to undertake the mission of saving the whole life. Because of her responsibility, she can't follow her heart and think of others everywhere. Finally, she had to endure the pain and give up her feelings. Yueru, Xiaoyao and Anu can do what they want happily, but she bears a heavy burden. She quickly grew from an innocent girl to a goddess who helped the world. Nu Wa's descendant, Princess Nanzhao, brought her a gorgeous and useless aura, but locked her youth, her love and everything ... Ten years of seclusion in Fairy Island was the happiest time in her life, but it was also a world she could never go back to. Aristotle's tragedy theory holds that the tragic hero should be a "noble person, a better person than the average person", and "suffered an undeserved misfortune" because of his ignorance of things and his wrong behavior [Aristotle's Poetics]. Luo Niansheng's translation. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 1962: 38. ], which eventually led to tragedy. Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Linger, lovers with a childlike innocence, are adhering to the concept of "love" at every fork of fate, making choices from the perspective of each other and others, but they can't avoid bad luck again and again, which can't help but arouse the audience's "pity" and empathy. At the end of the story, the happy mode that China audiences are familiar with and used to accepting is changed, and the death of Zhao Linger is colorful: a large piece of land covered with blood, Linger lying in his lover's arms is still smiling; For the whole world, she is not afraid to choose death. In order not to give her lover the pain of loneliness, she persisted in living, and made a final fight with her fate with her last breath ... The story ended here, but it also pushed the tragic atmosphere of the whole play to a climax, leaving the audience with infinite sighs and thoughts.
In addition to the protagonist, Xianjian also created many supporting roles with distinctive personality and fullness. Lin Yueru, a unruly and headstrong Miss Lin Jiabao, changed her overbearing style after meeting Li Xiaoyao, regardless of fame and fortune, followed him up the mountain and into the sea, wandering the rivers and lakes until she gave her precious life in the Lock Demon Tower. She was born of love and died of love. This is her destiny. Liu Jinyuan is a handsome, generous and knowledgeable scholar. He is devoted to everything, loyal to love and friends. In order to defeat evil, he chose a more bitter way of struggle, ventured into the enemy's interior and obtained valuable information at the expense of himself. Anu, a girl from Nanzhao who yearns for peace and is lively and lovely, is naughty and willful because of the lack of her father's image when she grows up. It was not until she was used by Yue Bai and made a big mistake that she understood and fulfilled it. Tang Yu, an orphan raised by her adoptive father, is hardworking and filial, but she is always suppressed and can't be affirmed by her adoptive father. Love Anu, but I can't get a gentle response. He has experienced success and failure; Feel the sweetness of love and the bitterness of lovelorn; He is constantly trying to find himself, which is the only way to grow up. In the world of xianjian, no one is always happy, everyone has his tragic place, but everyone is happy, because they cherish each other and strive for the same ideal and belief. Their actions shine with the brilliance of human nature, their sacrifices are glorious, and their fate is the fate of heroes.
Third, there must be a trace in everything-the sadness and strength of the ending.
Mr. Lu Xun said: Tragedy destroys valuable things in life for people to see [Lu Xun. Re-discussion on the collapse of Leifeng Tower. Complete Works of Lu Xun (Volume I) [M]. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 198 1. ]. Since it is destruction, why should we appreciate it? Since it is destruction, how can there be beauty? Aristotle believes that tragedy "cultivates this emotion by arousing pity and fear", and that "pity is caused by a person who has suffered bad luck that he should not have suffered, and fear is caused by a person similar to us" [Aristotle. Poetics [M]. Luo Niansheng translation. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 1962: 38. Tragedy causes pity and fear, which purifies and balances these harmful feelings suppressed in people's hearts, thus obtaining a harmless pleasure. Tragedy, as an aesthetic form, always affirms the value of life existence through the negative experience of life existence. It reveals the limitations of human beings in the face of nature, society and their own destiny, makes people face up to the negative aspects of life and society and realize the seriousness of life and society, and then reveals the lofty spirit of human beings through the tragic characters' self-knowledge of invincible struggle practice, so that people can gain affirmation and confidence in their own strength and have a good pleasure. Tragic aesthetics has thus completed the psychological model from pain to pleasure and then to beauty.
Tragic endings always emphasize "sadness to the end" Those who believe in justice or truth, goodness and beauty are bound to fail, die and destroy. But the significance of tragedy lies in that it not only shows the existence of conflict and destruction, but also shows resistance and struggle, which is the most fundamental reason why tragedy has become an aesthetic form. We appreciate tragedy not because we like to watch people suffer, but because of pity. Compassion comes from love, and love can bring happiness. Oedipus deceived himself, but his integrity, wisdom, strong will and heroic behavior in the process of fighting against fate turned into a flame of thought, which shone on the road of future generations for a long time; Hamlet finally chose to die with the enemy, but his question of "to be or not to be" was still deafening; Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, but explained the true meaning of tragic spirit with his passion for life. Although these tragic heroes have not found the truth and the correct life path, their unremitting exploration of the truth and the correct life path shows a touching and lofty beauty.
From this, we think that the tragic beauty of the Fairy Sword can be found in two aspects: first, the characters in the play are brave and fearless in the conflict and struggle with their own destiny, and know the tragic beauty that they can't do; First, for the sake of peace and love, the tragic hero insists on fighting against ideals and evil forces and is not afraid of the noble beauty of bloodshed and sacrifice. A few touching love stories, a few couples looking for relatives and a lot of where you will go, maybe the tragic ending will be remembered by us, but what can really be printed in the bottom of my heart is the persistence and regret for love explained in "The Sword". Life is to prove the traces of love; Kill, is to praise, before the magnificent collapse; Fire, a greater life after burning. At the end of the TV series, Tang Yu and Anu become a pair of soul mates, remembering the vitality of the earth with sincere love, and the flying wings reflect the brilliance of the sun, indicating the eternal life of justice and truth.