The life legends of the four masters of new martial arts novels

Since the 1950s, martial arts novels have entered a golden age, with the emergence of new martial arts novels based on four famous novelists such as Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng, Gu Long, and Wen Ruian. Representative works include Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", Gu Long's "Lu Xiaofeng Series", Liang Yusheng's "Tianshan Qixia Series" and rising star Wen Ruian's "Four Famous Catchers Series", etc. Their works have pushed my country's martial arts novels to a new level , so Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng, Gu Long, Wen Ruian and others are known as the four masters of new martial arts novels.

Perhaps only in the writings of popular literature researchers and cultural historians, 1954 more than half a century ago is often mentioned. That year, Wu Gongyi, the leader of the Hong Kong Tai Chi sect, and Chen Kefu, the leader of the White Crane sect, competed in the Macau ring, causing a sensation in Hong Kong and Macau. Liang Yusheng, the 30-year-old editor of Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao", has a swaying heart and wind in his writing. His first martial arts novel "Dragon and Tiger Fighting Beijing" began to be serialized in "New Evening News" and became an instant success. This young man named Chen Wentong set the trend and became the founder of the new school of martial arts novels.

Liang Yusheng, whose real name is Chen Wentong, was born in Mengshan County, Guangxi in 1924. During the war years, young Liang Yusheng had the world at heart and was admitted to Lingnan University in 1945. He first studied chemistry and later transferred to the Department of Economics. "During the Anti-Japanese War, everyone had to study science and engineering in order to save the country. I originally wanted to study mathematics, but Lingnan did not have a mathematics department. Then I wanted to study literature, but the teacher said, there is nothing you can learn in university with your level. . "In this way, I learned the skills of managing the world. Liang Yusheng never expected that he would still be accompanied by pen and ink throughout his life.

In 1949, Chen Xujing, the president of Lingnan University, introduced Liang Yusheng, who had just graduated, to work at Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong. This was the only newspaper where Liang Yusheng worked until his retirement. At first, he worked as a translator in a newspaper, and later as a supplement editor and writer. He disliked fame and never sought a high position in his life. His former colleague Jin Yong later founded Ming Pao, which became famous at home and abroad. Although they are both masters of martial arts novels, Liang Yusheng is much more low-key in comparison.

Liang Yusheng’s first martial arts novel was serialized in another newspaper, the New Evening News. In 1954, two groups of Hong Kong boxers competed in Macau, and the media made a big deal about it. In order to find another way and expand its influence, the editor-in-chief of "New Evening News" Luo Fu asked Liang Yusheng to write a novel about martial arts. Liang Yusheng refused at first. At that time, he was just writing a column for the New Evening News and had no intention of writing a novel. Unexpectedly, the editor-in-chief took advantage of his good relationship with Liang Yusheng and directly published the news in the newspaper that "Liang Yusheng's martial arts novel will be published in the newspaper tomorrow". He even stipulated the general plot: "Written about famous Tai Chi masters and martial arts masters from various schools. The story of the struggle for supremacy includes plots such as the revenge of a famous martial arts master, the love between Jianghu and Jianghu children, and finally a big fight in Beijing. The story is extremely tense and I hope readers will pay attention." Liang Yusheng had to write quickly. So there was "Dragon and Tiger Fighting Beijing", which is known as "the first part of the new martial arts style".

This novel was serialized for more than half a year and attracted readers' enthusiasm. Liang Yusheng's creation of martial arts novels was out of control. Masterpieces such as "The Footprint", "The Legend of the White-haired Witch" and "Seven Swordsmen" were released one after another. Movies adapted from the novels also had a huge impact in the 1960s. This time, "driving a duck to the shelves" actually "drove out" the originator of a generation of martial arts.

In the 30 years from 1954 to 1984, Liang Yusheng wrote 35 novels, containing over ten million words. In the 1960s and 1970s, the martial arts novels of Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong both constituted wonders in the Chinese literary world. Both of them had a large number of readers, and they were indistinguishable. Although this kind of competition in the literary world is just a rumor, it also triggered a public case - in 1966, Luo Fu, who was still the editor-in-chief of the New Evening News, invited Liang Yusheng to write an article "A Comprehensive Theory of Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng", signed "Tong Shuozhi" published. In this article, Liang Yusheng talked about the differences between himself and Jin Yong: Liang Yusheng was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese culture and could be regarded as a "celebrity"; Jin Yong was a "foreign talent" who was deeply influenced by Western literature and art. He concluded that "it is also necessary to open up a trend." , Liang Yusheng, the one who carried it forward is Jin Yong." This comparison is said to be very objective, but under the political background of the time, commenting on Jin Yong required courage and even entailed considerable risks. Liang Yusheng's article triggered a fierce confrontation between the left and right factions and caused a stir. This led to the rumor that "Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong had a feud".

In fact, both men have publicly stated that they are very good friends.

"Jin Yong wrote better than me." Liang Yusheng said, "It's just that I wrote earlier than him. Literature should always be better than the previous." As for the difference in writing, it is actually unclear. . Liang Yusheng believed that he was better at writing romantic celebrities, while Jin Yong was better at writing villains. "The four evil men are each more exciting than the last." He himself yearns for the life of Xianyun Yehe, preferring to read and play chess every day and watch the changes in the world. In June 1986, Liang Yusheng retired and moved to Sydney in 1987. In September 1994, 70-year-old Liang Yusheng was baptized in Sydney and officially became a Christian. Religious belief gave him insight into world affairs and peace of mind.

He has created hundreds of characters, and when it comes to his favorites, they are Zhang Danfeng and Jin Shiyi: "Zhang Danfeng is close to Confucianism, while Jin Shiyi prefers Taoism." Confucianism and Taoism are interdependent, both in the world and in the world. This may be the way Liang Yusheng lives his life.

On January 22, 2009, Liang Yusheng, a master of martial arts novels, passed away. This reminds people of a sentence he once mentioned in many novels, "Old dreams come to an end again, and this heart is like water that only flows eastward."

Although Liang Yusheng is the originator of new martial arts, Jin Yong is a master-level figure in Chinese martial arts. His novels involve all levels of Chinese civilization, fully displaying the traditional culture of a huge country. . Therefore, some people say that there are so many martial arts authors in the world, and the sky is filled with stars, but Jin Yong is the only one who is the greatest martial arts writer, and the stars surround the moon.

In February 1924, Jin Yong was born into a wealthy family in Yuanhua Town, Haining County, Zhejiang. His original name was Cha Liangyong. Haining was originally affiliated to Hangzhou Prefecture and is a small coastal county in Zhejiang Province. In 1948, Jin Yong was twenty-four years old and graduated from law school. Seeing the chaotic situation, he was worried about his future and found it very difficult to find a job. At this time, Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" published an advertisement to recruit two telecommunications translators across the country. At that time, more than 3,000 people signed up. As a result, Jin Yong was admitted.

Soon, "Ta Kung Pao" was to be published in Hong Kong, and Jin Yong was sent to Hong Kong. As soon as Jin Yong came to Hong Kong, he began to make a name for himself. At that time, due to the liberation of the mainland, many materials left in Hong Kong were seized by the British. Jin Yong was very angry. Based on his knowledge of international law, he wrote a long article "On the Property Rights of the Chinese People Abroad from the Perspective of International Law", which was divided into two parts. It was published in "Ta Kung Pao" and caused quite a sensation. It also attracted the attention of the famous justice. Under his recommendation, the hopeful Jin Yong came to Beijing and met Qiao Guanhua, hoping to realize his dream of becoming a diplomat. But what hit Jin Yong deeply was that because his family was a landlord, he couldn't be a diplomat. He could only come here to take advantage of the situation and return in despair!

The newspaper was very dissatisfied with Jin Yong's "job-hopping" behavior and fired him. His wife was also dissatisfied with his idea of ??going to the mainland, so she divorced him. After many twists and turns, the lonely Jin Yong came to the newly founded Served as supplement editor of "New Evening News". He began writing film reviews and writing screenplays at the same time.

Although Jin Yong's screenwriting was unintentional, he achieved numerous results. "The Beauty" and "Orchid Flower" were not only adapted into movies, but also received warm welcome. In the outstanding film selection activities from 1949 to 1955, "The Beauty" won the Honorary Award for Excellent Film, and Jin Yong won a gold medal for screenwriting.

In addition to scripts, Jin Yong also liked playing chess at the time, and his best partner was the famous martial arts novelist Liang Yusheng. The two often talked about martial arts novels together. At that time, Liang Yusheng was constantly receiving requests for manuscripts for his martial arts novels, so he persuaded Jin Yong to write martial arts novels. It happened that "Hong Kong Commercial Daily" was in urgent need of serializing martial arts novels, and the editor asked for manuscripts. Jin Yong rushed into battle, but from then on he achieved his own immortal achievements!

It was 1955. When Jin Yong was imagining his debut novel, Jin Yong thought of his hometown Haining and the most popular storybook about Qianlong's origin there. Why not use this as a prototype? Thus, "The Book of Swords and Enemies" was born. At first, when it was serialized in the "Hong Kong Commercial Daily", it did not attract much attention. But as the story develops, the unique characters, unique language, and exciting plot sweep away the dull atmosphere of old martial arts novels, attracting more and more readers. "Hong Kong Commercial Daily" suddenly became "Luoyang paper expensive".

"Book, Sword, Enmity and Enmity" was serialized one article a day, and Jin Yong basically wrote one article every day, from 1955 to 1956.

Although it took a long time and was written very late, the latecomers caught up and were as sharp as Liang Yusheng. The master of new martial arts novels, Jin Yong, was born!

The next "Blue Blood Sword" and "Snowy Mountain Flying Fox" caused a sensation in the whole city, and everyone had a copy. When "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was published, it was even more shocking. In 1957, if there were people who read novels but did not read "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", it would be a joke. "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" established Jin Yong's status as a master of martial arts novels. It is recognized by everyone and has become popular among countless readers.

From then on, he couldn't stop, and he did not withdraw from the "martial arts" until the 1970s. President Jin Yong wrote fourteen 36-volume long and short martial arts novels, which are arranged in chronological order as follows: "Books" "Sword Enmity Record", "Blue Blood Sword", "Snow Mountain Flying Fox", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "Flying Fox Gaiden", "White Horse Roaring in the West Wind", "Yuanyang Knife", "Liancheng Jue", "Yi Tian Slaying the Dragon" and "The Eight Parts of the Dragon" ” “Xia Ke Xing”, “The Swordsman” and “The Deer and the Cauldron”.

Compared with Gu Long and Wen Ruian, Jin Yong's martial arts novels may not be numerous. But it should be noted that when Jin Yong wrote these novels, it was when he founded Ming Pao. The complicated affairs were enough for ordinary people to cope with. Jin Yong was able to write novels with one hand and editorials with the other hand, in addition to running newspapers, for nearly twenty years. He writes novels in the afternoons and editorials in the evenings, and both his novels and editorials are first-rate.

Jin Yong once linked the first words of his fourteen works into a couplet: The flying snow shoots the white deer in the sky, and the laughing book hero relies on the blue Yuan. It can be seen that the titles of his books have been carefully considered and not just randomly placed. After he put down the pen, he spent about ten years revising and polishing it. His serious attitude towards creation can be compared with that of any great litterateur.

Jin Yong used his own life to create. He did not repeat his predecessors, nor did he repeat himself.

Cologne’s lifelong pursuit of wine, sex, and literature go hand in hand. He once said frankly that in my life I only love wine and women, and everything else can be regarded as dirt. He ate wine and took pleasure in women. In the end, he really resorted to bed treatment, sitting up to drink, lying down to pick up girls, and he also spent considerable energy and effort on writing. In this way, a man made of iron will be crushed, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

Gu Long’s original name is Xiong Yaohua, his ancestral home is Jiangxi and he was born in Hong Kong in 1936. Gu Long grew up in a broken family. His heart is as lonely as a prodigal son. At the same time, he loves himself as a hero and respects himself as a chivalrous man. He pursues the romance of sleeping in a mountain village with a beautiful woman and wine. His cohabitant when he was a student was *** Zheng Lili, and their son was Taiwanese judo master Zheng Xiaolong. The two broke up three years later, and he fell in love with *** Ye Xue and gave birth to another son. Soon, Mei Baozhu, an elegant and simple high school student, became his first official wife and gave birth to his third son. Although Mei Baozhu was as tender as water, she still couldn't lock Gu Longren's heart in Jianghu, and the two eventually broke up due to personality differences. His second wife was Yu Xiuling, who stayed with Gu Long until the end of his life.

Gu Long originally wrote purely literary novels. In 1956, he published his first novel, "From the North to the South", which was published in two parts in the "Morning Light" magazine edited by Mr. Wu Kaixuan. His entry into the world of chivalry began in 1960. Due to the influence of fashion, the advice of friends, and financial pressure, he published his debut chivalry novel "Sword of the Sky" under the name "Gu Long". The format is a traditional battle review, and the content is: "Making things up".

In the two years of 1960 and 1961, he published 8 more works. Then he lived in seclusion in Fangzhen for three years, devoted himself to enlightenment, seeking innovation and change. Although his imagination was too strange, even almost absurd, it soon became Reach new heights. In 1964, Gu Long published "Huanhua Xijianlu" ("Heroes of Jianghai"), which was a milestone in his martial arts novels and marked the beginning of his original style. He started from Japan's Yoshikawa Eiji, mainland China's Huanzhu Louzhu, Hong Kong He absorbed nutrients from Jin Yong and wrote some works that followed the "right path", laying the foundation for his success in the near future.

In 1967, Gu Long published "The Legend of Iron Blood" ("The Legend of Chu Liuxiang"), which marked the maturity of his personality and characteristics, and the emergence of a very "good-looking" Gu Long. From then to the end of the 1970s, his dozens of novels enabled him to complete the great cause of the "new school" martial arts, dominate Taiwan's martial arts world for ten years, and stand on a foothold with Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng.

People say that cologne is a cologne created by fine wine. Cologne is famous for his drinking.

In the early days, he lived in Fang Town, a suburb of Taipei. Every time he received royalties, he would buy a few bottles of good wine and a stack of new books, and return to the countryside to live the life of a hermit. After becoming famous, his wine cabinet was full of fine wines, and he tried his best to collect wines that were not available on the market. When he drank, his bowl would be drained as soon as he raised his head, and he enjoyed himself. Once, five people drank 28 bottles of brandy. He usually drank freely. The only time he didn't drink was when he sat on the ground and used the blackboard as a table to write.

Gu Long's thoughts surged due to wine, and he created the wine-loving heroes Chu Liuxiang, Lu Xiaofeng, Li Xunhuan, and Shen Lang, which brought him to the pinnacle of the art of martial arts novels. At the same time, he consumed himself with alcohol. He was sent to the hospital because of alcohol. Leave the hospital, drink again, and then go to the hospital. Then he suffered cirrhosis of the liver, enlarged spleen, and stomach bleeding due to alcohol poisoning, which led to Gu Long's untimely death. On September 21, 1985, Gu Long died of illness in Taiwan at the age of 48.

There are 68 martial arts novels by Gu Long in one book, but "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" can be divided into three parts, and "The Sentimental Swordsman: The Ruthless Sword" can be divided into two parts, so they can also be counted as 71 parts.

Gu Long is both brilliant and melancholy. When he bought a two-story mansion in Taipei, the famous literary figure Chen Dinggong wrote a couplet for him, cleverly embedding his and Baozhu’s names* ** Middle: The ancient dragon chants the sword in autumn, the treasure curtain rolls with pearls and condenses the makeup at dawn; the treasure pearl rings in spring, and the ancient Taoist Dragon Sword Night Essay.

What a scene it was at that time. In his later years, the illness made him worse than death. He said: "If a person has died five times and then come back to life, what else can he not look away from?" Perhaps because he has looked away, he can go on leisurely. , and what is left to the readers is nothing more than Qiao Qi’s tragic and tragic elegiac couplet: Xiao Li’s flying knife became a dead ring, and Chu Liuxiang was no longer seen in the world.

In the mid-1980s, the "martial arts craze" gradually faded away. Jin Yong closed his sword, Liang Yusheng stopped writing, Gu Long passed away, and the three famous martial arts masters withdrew from the martial arts, although there were some martial arts novelists in Taiwan and Hong Kong who were supporting the situation. , but the impact is not significant. The vigorous world of martial arts seems to have entered the bleak autumn season. At this moment, a newcomer suddenly appeared in the publishing world of Hong Kong and Taiwan, namely the Malaysian-Chinese writer Wen Ruian.

Wen Ruian was born on New Year's Day in 1954 in a small town with only a few hundred people in Perak, Malaysia, so he often called himself a "country boy" with a smile. Wen Ruian, a country boy, is an out-and-out child prodigy. He wrote his first novel "The Legend of Dragon and Tiger" when he was 9 years old. Based on the classmates around him, he divided everyone into two factions, good and evil, and they fought fiercely. . When he was 16 years old, he wrote another short story "The Chase", which was the prototype of the later "Four Famous Catchers" series of novels. More than 30 years have passed, and "Four Famous Catchers" and many of Wen Ruian's novel series have not yet reached their endings, which makes many readers anxious. Some people even say that if you like Jin Yong, you need to have a long life, because he will spend 10 years revising his works, and the changes are quite large, so readers have to compare them before and after; but if you like Wen Ruian, you need to live a long life, and God knows how to see the ending in the year of the monkey and the horse and the moon.

Speaking of Jin Yong, Wen Ruian said that he was "standing on the shoulders of giants." "Jin Yong's greatest contribution is to tell everyone that martial arts novels are also literature." Wen Ruian spoke quickly and loudly, making no secret of his admiration for Jin Yong. At the same time, he also emphasized that his advantage is his youth: "I am 30 years younger than Jin Yong." Therefore, he will have a better understanding of what young people are thinking and what tastes readers prefer in this era of fast-food reading.

Since 1970, Wen Ruian has published dazzling novels: "Four Famous Catchers" series, "White Clothes Fang Zhenmei" series, "Seven Bandits" series, "Speaking of Heroes, Who is the Hero" series , "The Wonderful Heroes of China" series, "The Gods of Commoner" series... In addition to these seemingly "normal" works, Wen Ruian's uniqueness is also reflected in some novels that can surprise people just by looking at their titles: "Will I Kill You" and "Friend, have you ever died?" "Brother, let me borrow my head" "Please? Please please? Please please" "Please lend me my wife" "The monk who fell in love with her" "She who fell in love with the monk"... Wen Ruian believed that he "tried "Creations of all literary genres on earth", so it is known as the "super new school" and has the potential to overwhelm the "new school of martial arts".

Such "arrogant pride" may be related to the rough experience in his youth. In the 1970s, Wen Rui'ien chaired the "Shenzhou Poetry Society" in Taiwan. He discussed current affairs and literature, often gathering four to five hundred people, and his influence spread throughout Taiwan.

The Taiwan authorities felt uneasy, so they suddenly arrested Wen Ruian in 1980 and declared him guilty of "rebellion." He was once sentenced to death. Wen Ruian was tortured in prison, but fortunately he was later released due to the active rescue efforts of the cultural circles at home and abroad. After surviving the catastrophe, Wen Ruian realized that life was short and things were impermanent. From then on, he focused on happiness and wandered around the world. While he was working hard to accumulate capital, he once only slept 3 hours a day; while he was happy with his grudges, was suave, and had countless beauties around him.

Today, his company has 12 branches across the Taiwan Strait and three places, mainly producing magazines and operating restaurants. Wen Rui'ien has also opened 17 columns in newspapers and periodicals in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, plus four or five martial arts novels every year, and his creative output is astonishing. "I hope that I can live a burning, vigorous and direct life." Wen Ruian said, "The most important thing is to live happily and try our best to make myself and the people around me happy."

When success comes, At the age where he knows his destiny, Wen Ruian has his own philosophy on the gains and losses in life: "My study room is called Zhiyu Zhai, and my bedroom is called Zhizhi Zhai." To explain, in terms of artistic pursuit, we must Never be satisfied; as for the enjoyment of life and material desires, you should know how to "be content with what you have". "It took me so long to write "Speaking of Heroes, Who Are the Heroes", but now I no longer want to be a martyr or a hero." Wen Ruian said. This can be regarded as a kind of life wisdom with ease.

The legend of life