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Post by kyc on Nov 19, 2020 12:02:10 GMT
kyc hahaha, i meant mastery ironically, of course. if possible, try to pace yourself. you will overlook stylistic and subtle details if your mindset is to devour as many as possible. I actually need more discipline in reading. Have been saying I would read all of Jin Yong's works for years. So now I'm taking a more disciplinary approach, hopefully can finish my last JY, The Deer and the Cauldron, by next year. Thank you admin and siuyiu, I'm doing fine. Now at Chapter 28 of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. I hope to read two chapters per day and finish the book in a week's time. The story just gets more and more exciting, although Zhang Wuji is probably invincible by now.
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Post by soengyee on Nov 19, 2020 16:56:20 GMT
kyc hahaha, i meant mastery ironically, of course. if possible, try to pace yourself. you will overlook stylistic and subtle details if your mindset is to devour as many as possible. I actually need more discipline in reading. Had been saying I would read all of Jin Yong's works for years. So now I'm taking a more disciplinary approach, hopefully can finish my last JY, The Deer and the Cauldron, by next year. Thank you admin and siuyiu, I'm doing fine. Now at Chapter 28 of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. I hope to read two chapters per day and finish the book in a week's time. The story just gets more and more exciting, although Zhang Wuji is probably invincible by now. I tried to read The Deer and the Cauldron but it is simply too long, I had to skim through the entire thing and got bits and pieces got enough to make comparisons to TV adaptions. When the novels are too long I tend to skip a lot because I no longer have the patience the younger me once had. lol Thank god they invented the fast forward button on dvd players as well because I find myself dozing off if I try to watch an entire TV series anymore. I didn't finish the entire novel of "Heaven Sword" but I found the TVB 1986 version to be more accurate than the other TV adaptions, although they went a creative approach on a few things as well (handling Little Spider for example). And in Jin Yong novels the men do tend to be invincible by the middle and latter half of the story, yet the women not so much so. It is a trend I notice in his novels, the guys tend to find the powerful secret and missing manuals (i.e. Guo Jing, Yang Guo, Duan Yu, etc.) but why can't a woman find one for a change I wonder?
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Post by kyc on Nov 23, 2020 8:21:49 GMT
I didn't finish the entire novel of "Heaven Sword" but I found the TVB 1986 version to be more accurate than the other TV adaptions, although they went a creative approach on a few things as well (handling Little Spider for example). And in Jin Yong novels the men do tend to be invincible by the middle and latter half of the story, yet the women not so much so. It is a trend I notice in his novels, the guys tend to find the powerful secret and missing manuals (i.e. Guo Jing, Yang Guo, Duan Yu, etc.) but why can't a woman find one for a change I wonder? I will definitely finish The Deer and the Cauldron to complete my reading of all JY novels. Many have said it is JY's best novel and I would like to know if it really is so. The TVB 1986 Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is one of the TV series that I actually watched. It was to follow this series that I started reading parts of the novel. Tony Leung is the best Zhang Wuji to me, because he plays his indecisiveness to perfection. None of the other Zhang Wujis are as well played, IMHO. (Although I do find Ady An's Zhao Min quite pretty.) JY only has one female lead in all his wuxia fiction and that is in White Horse Neighing in the West. And Li Wenxiu isn't that great in kungfu either. For powerful and independent female heroines, you must turn to Liang Yusheng...
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Post by kyc on Dec 12, 2020 16:01:29 GMT
Just finished Liang Yusheng's The Empress Regnant and the Wondrous Heroes (《女帝奇英傳》), It's a good novel, though perhaps not the level of The White-Haired Demoness, The Wanderer's Chronicles or Yunhai Yugong Yuan. The ending is tragic and affecting. Feminists will love this book, because LYS presents a revisionist portrayal of Wu Zetian (武則天), China's first and only Empress Regnant. She is not wicked as depicted by Confucianist historians, but an astute ruler who really cares about her people. Even the hero, Li Yi (李逸),is poorer in kungfu than the female lead, Wu Xuanshuang (武玄霜). And Shangguan Wan'er (上官婉兒), a historical figure, makes an appealing secondary character. (Her tomb was just discovered last year by archaeologists.)
If the novel is a little weak, it's because the plotting at times is so-so. It's not a particularly long novel. I do feel that Li Yi is not as memorable or charismatic a hero as Zhang Danfeng or Jin Shiyi, just decent. But since the ending is tragic, his final fate still affecting.
All in all, a good novel more on the second-tier level (alongside Lianjian Fengyun Lu/The Upheavals of the Sword Alliance for example), but perhaps not one of LYS's masterpieces.
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Post by Admin on Dec 15, 2020 3:52:42 GMT
Just finished Liang Yusheng's The Empress Regnant and the Wondrous Heroes (《女帝奇英傳》), It's a good novel, though perhaps not the level of The White-Haired Demoness, The Wanderer's Chronicles or Yunhai Yugong Yuan. The ending is tragic and affecting. Feminists will love this book, because LYS presents a revisionist portrayal of Wu Zetian (武則天), China's first and only female Empress Regnant. She is not wicked as depicted by Confucianist historians, but an astute ruler who really cares about her people. Even the hero, Li Yi (李逸),is poorer in kungfu than the female lead, Wu Xuanshuang (武玄霜). And Shangguan Wan'er (上官婉兒), a historical figure, makes an appealing secondary character. (Her tomb was just discovered last year by archaeologists.) If the novel is a little weak, it's because the plotting at times is so-so. It's not a particularly long novel. I do feel that Li Yi is not as memorable or charismatic a hero as Zhang Danfeng or Jin Shiyi, just decent. But since the ending is tragic, his final fate still affecting. All in all, a good novel more on the second-tier level (alongside Lianjian Fengyun Lu/The Upheavals of the Sword Alliance for example), but perhaps not one of LYS's masterpieces. Gosh, you're so fast! I personally like The Empress Regnant and the Wondrous Heroes if it compares to Yunhai Yugong Yuan. Of course, Li Yi can't be compared to Jin Shiyi. And Wu Xuanshuang can't be compared to Li Shengnan. I would say that actually, this novel has no particular main lead. Who is the main lead in this series actually? Wu Xuanshuang, or Li Yi? But I guess that's LYS's style. I guess I like this novel since there are so many memorable scenes in the novel. One of the most memorable is the part when Li Yi's wife died while she's clutching Li Yi's hand tightly. It's as tragic as Li Shengnan's death in Jin Shiyi's embrace. Anyway, here are the links of the archaeological finding of Shangguan Wan-er: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2418543/Tomb-Chinas-woman-prime-minister-The-life-lovers-politician-served-female-emperor.htmlwww.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24059286
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Post by atumiwa on Jan 2, 2021 4:43:32 GMT
do you know Tang Clan in LYS' appeared on how many novels?
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Post by kyc on Jan 12, 2021 11:18:31 GMT
do you know Tang Clan in LYS' appeared on how many novels? I only heard of the Tang Clan mentioned by name in the LYS novels. I can't remember where though. EDIT: Someone in Zhihu answered this question. 梁羽生的笔下也有唐门,比如在龙虎斗京华里的唐万川,其后江湖三女侠里也有其他唐门人物出场。(The Tang Clan appeared in LYS's first novel in Tang Wanchuan, and also in The Three Heroines of the Martial Arts World (Jianghu San Nvxia).
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Post by kyc on Jan 12, 2021 11:36:05 GMT
I finished yet another LYS novel, Rinsing Swords in a Glacial River (《冰河洗劍錄》, Binghe Xijian Lu). It's the sequel to Yunhai Yugong Yuan. The title is a bit strange but means giving up violence and preventing bloodshed and warfare.
The hero of the piece is Jiang Haitian (江海天), who's the son of Jiang Nan (江南), the chatterbox study attendant of Chen Tianyu (they later became sworn brothers). Jiang Haitian is the disciple of Jin Shiyi. Unlike his father, he's more mature and less chatty, more like Jin Yong's Shi Potian, a good-natured boy with good temper.
Jiang Haitian isn't of course as charismatic as his shifu Jin Shiyi, and the story revolves around his adventures and relationships with four girls. In the end, he chooses the disciple of Gu Zhihua (who turns out to be the princess of a Central Asian state). But the ending is what interests most people, since Jin Shiyi becomes attached with Gu Zhihua again. A lot of people don't like the "happy ending", since in YHYGY, Jin Shiyi parted with Gu Zhihua because of Li Shengnan, who died and was accepted as his deceased wife. Even LYS didn't like this ending. He complained that BHXJL is a bit silly with a happy ending, which makes no sense after the tragic YHYGY (when Jin Shiyi realizes Li Shangnan was his true love). Nonetheless, Jin Shiyi ends up with Gu Zhihua and they later have a son, who appears in Xiagu Danxin (Chivalric Bones and Crimson Heart).
Do I like this ending? Like LYS, I feel this is a fairly well-written, second-tier novel which isn't as good as YHYGY, but pleasant enough. Jiang Haitian is a sensible boy, and sensible boys don't make charismatic heroes. I don't like the happy ending much too, but since its sequels follow BHXJL, Liang Yusheng fans have to tolerate the appearance of Gu Zhihua's son.
In short, a good novel worth reading, but not especially striking within LYS's oeuvre.
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Post by yenchin on Jan 18, 2021 8:15:15 GMT
This is also the novel where Tang Jiayuan debuts. Most of the discussion on him revolves around the part where he mysteriously ages extremely slower than JHT in later novels.
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Post by kyc on Feb 23, 2021 7:53:43 GMT
OK, another LYS novel read during Chinese New Year. This time, it's Legend of the Wandering Heroes of Great Tang (《大唐遊俠傳》).
This novel is a diamond in the rough--more tightly structured than the Mount Heaven series, and not encumbered by any links with a previous novel. It takes place during the An Lushan Rebellion in the later years of Tang Xuanzong's reign. After Tang Xuanzong's retirement, his son who succeeds him as Tang Emperor quells the rebellion after much warfare.
Its most interesting trait is that it features many characters from the Tang chuanqi (傳奇) tales. Fighters like Mo Le (Kunlun Slave), Red Thread (Hongxian), Nie Yinniang, Kongkong'er, Jingjing'er all appear. The most successful characters are probably Mo Le and Kongkong'er. Yang Guifei and Li Bai are also depicted in the book--there is an extended chapter with Yang Guifei's forced suicide by hanging. Yang Guifei is a bad woman here. The main villain is uncouth and wicked An Lushan, the foreign rebel.
This novel is most like JY's The Book and the Sword and The Sword Stained with Royal Blood, very much a political wuxia novel. There are parts which are more formulaic (love triangles and love rectangles which aren't that intriguing). On the whole though, it's exciting to read backstories of chuanqi characters.
There is a sequel, Longfeng Baochai Yuan (《龍鳳寶釵緣》"The Romance of the Dragon and Phoenix Hairpins"). It's about the romance between Duan Keye (段克邪) and Red Thread (紅線), and is followed by Huixin Jianmo (《慧心劍魔》 "Wise Heart/Mind, Sword Demon"), making up a trilogy.
I recommend this novel wholeheartedly. I enjoyed most of it very much, although it's not perfect.
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Post by atumiwa on Mar 2, 2021 8:39:06 GMT
Wulin Sanjue (武林三絕) is linked with the Tianshan Series, with characters who are either descendants or trace their martial arts lineage to Song Dynasty Series characters. It was serialized, but for some reasons wasn't collected and published as a novel. It's kind of a pity because as mentioned it links the Tianshan and Song Dynasty Series like a spiritual crossover, and these Song descendants are never seen again in the Tianshan Series (due to this series being written between 1972-1976, after most of the Tianshan novels were written.) Wudang Yijian (武當一劍) on the other hand is independent. yenchin, if you dont mind, could you give 1 or 2 examples a thing in Wulin Sanjue that linked or related to Tianshan series or Song Dynasty series? one of my friend who read all tianshan series but not Wulin Sanjue (because the translation is not available here) is curious
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Post by yenchin on Mar 23, 2021 1:12:59 GMT
yenchin , if you dont mind, could you give 1 or 2 examples a thing in Wulin Sanjue that linked or related to Tianshan series or Song Dynasty series? one of my friend who read all tianshan series but not Wulin Sanjue (because the translation is not available here) is curious Ok, the novel is set between 聯劍風雲錄 and 廣陵劍 The main characters which are Mt. Heaven based: Huo Tianyun (霍天雲), adopted son of Huo Tiandu and Ling Yunfeng Feng Mingyu (風鳴玉), daughter of Ling Yunfeng's disciple. Zhou Jianqin (周劍琴), daughter of Zhou Shanmin (周山民) Characters of Song Dynasty series Shangguan Yingjie (上官英傑), disciple from the Pride of Wulin (武林天驕) lineage. His shifu and martial brother are descendants of the Pride. Gu Lingzhu (谷靈珠), disciple from the Demoness of Penglai (蓬萊魔女) lineage. Hua Yufeng (華玉峰), descenant of the Wild Hero/Proud Laughing One over Heaven and Earth (狂俠/笑傲乾坤) Interesting issue(s) of the novel: It describes the death of Ling Yunfeng. Huo Tianyun marries Feng Mingyu. Huo Tiandu actually passes down his position of Headmaster to Huo Tianyun. These issues creating like...a whole load of contradictions to the Mt. Heaven series? It can be rationalized by Huo and Feng suffering from some early death or some other reason resulting in the lineage continued by Master Huiming, though.
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Post by atumiwa on Apr 21, 2021 14:55:21 GMT
i just watched Wudang Yijian (the first sword of wudang) drama, Zhang Sanfeng was mentioned, dont know how faithful the drama to novel, but he is not the founder of Wudang sect here
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Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2021 2:55:43 GMT
i just watched Wudang Yijian (the first sword of wudang) drama, Zhang Sanfeng was mentioned, dont know how faithful the drama to novel, but he is not the founder of Wudang sect here Ha...I also just watched Wudang Yi Jian last night I would say it's pretty good. To answer your confusion : Wudang Sect was not found by Zhang Sanfeng. He's a taoist priest, and a real swordsman. Perhaps that's why he's fictionalized as the founder of Wudang Sect - as Wudang is the largest taoist centre in China. And there's no such thing called as Wudang Sect. Although the Wudang Taoist Temple complex in Wudang is real, but there's no Wudang Sect in real.
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Post by atumiwa on Apr 22, 2021 11:45:15 GMT
so who invented Taiji?
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