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Post by siuyiu on Jul 11, 2018 16:01:38 GMT
yenchin since we're on the subject of complex titles, do any of the others pack such a punch? now i'm curious!
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Post by yenchin on Jul 16, 2018 5:53:15 GMT
yenchin since we're on the subject of complex titles, do any of the others pack such a punch? now i'm curious! The other titles aren't that heavy. Usually using the characters' nicknames, location or era, theme of the novel, main plot...etc which are not quite hard to understand. There are some novels, however, such as Binghe Xijian Lu (冰河洗劍錄), Muye Liuxing (牧野流星), Heroism and Loyalty (俠骨丹心), Wind and Thunder Shake the Earth (風雷震九州), Flickering Finger, Frightening Thunder (彈指驚雷) in which Liang seems to simply sum up (usually in the last chapter) the main characters' stories with a poem or song, with the title mentioned in it. Funny how these are all post-Jade Bow Connection novels LOL.
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Post by siuyiu on Jul 16, 2018 16:17:37 GMT
thanks, yenchin! haha, not surprising about the later titles--after successfully coming up with such a complex title as Yun Hai, it wouldn't be satisfying to go back to the typical ones of the past! too bad he never found another title that was comparable!
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Post by reinafu on Jul 16, 2018 18:01:18 GMT
Yes, thank you very much for these explanations ! If only I were born Chinese, I would be able to read ALL these wuxia books that are mentioned in this forum...with 72h per day, it would surely be possible !! !!))
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Post by kyc on Sept 15, 2018 7:26:18 GMT
Just read two short Liang Yusheng novels. He's fast becoming (perhaps) my favorite wuxia writer.
He have two things in spades: grace and balance. His plots aren't as addictive as JY's, but as they do not rely so much on plot, the characters appear more realistic.
The two novels I read were Huanjian Qiqing Lu (還劍奇情錄)and Bingpo Hanguang Jian (冰魄寒光劍). Both are contained in one volume. The first ends in tragedy, the second has a beautiful heroine who is a Nepalese princess.
Right now I'm reading Caomang Longshe Zhuan (草莽龍蛇傳), another short novel. Three chapters into the book, it remains as riveting as ever.
Two qualities attracted me to Liang Yusheng. The first is his realistic, beautiful descriptions of strong female characters. Mind you, of the three novels I've read, none of the girls are quiet, self-pitying doormats. They are almost all stronger personalities than the usual JY "I must sacrifice myself completely for love" girls. Unlike someone predicted, I have no problems with them at all.
The second is his graceful, balanced prose. He writes so effortlessly well. The words aren't very difficult (around JY level), but there is a charm to it. The poetry he quotes and writes are indescribably beautiful.
Even his male characters are more xiaosa (瀟灑) than JY's. Which made me wonder why he is always playing second fiddle to this friend?
Is it because JY's characters are more tragic/subscribe more to the usual wuxia tropes (male meeting great fighters and learning martial arts bit by bit)?
Anyway, I'm on cloud nine because Liang Yusheng wrote so many wuxia novels!
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Post by siuyiu on Sept 15, 2018 16:50:49 GMT
kyc i agree: LYS's style has better flow than JY's. this is not meant to put a damper on your enthusiasm, but as you read his longer novels, you'll find that LYS's writing isn't without its faults and pitfalls. for one thing, he often has a tendency for weak endings--the story gets complicated and epic, and tying things up just doesn't work out that well. he's also prone to introducing a huge cast of characters... and then forgets about them. but don't let his weaknesses deter you from inhaling all his novels. i know for one thing that yenchin will be thrilled to have someone to talk to about LYS's works--the rest of us aren't so well-versed. i haven't read enough of LYS's works to really critique it, but the above-mentioned are comments that many have made about his writing.
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Post by reinafu on Sept 15, 2018 19:54:07 GMT
I was convinced that this author was a woman for some reason and discovered that he was a man by reading your post, kyc, thanks for your thoughts !
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Post by kyc on Sept 16, 2018 1:37:26 GMT
reinafu, sadly wuxia fiction tends to be dominated by male writers. The only female wuxia novelist I know of is Zheng Feng (penname of Chen Yu-hui). She's a modern writer from Taiwan who writes like Jin Yong, but I haven't yet approached her works... will do in maybe a couple of months.
siuyu, thanks for your "warning". So I can presume that LYS's shorter novels are maybe less flawed/better than his longer works? It does put a damper on my enthusiasm, but I suppose in a good way. (It's kind of odd to have a dream last night that I was a character from a LYS novel. Never happened with JY before!)
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Post by siuyiu on Sept 16, 2018 1:45:16 GMT
siuyu, thanks for your "warning". So I can presume that LYS's shorter novels are maybe less flawed/better than his longer works? It does put a damper on my enthusiasm, but I suppose in a good way. (It's kind of odd to have a dream last night that I was a character from a LYS novel. Never happened with JY before!) sorry about that! his stories are still worth the effort of exploration, i promise! and LOL, reality and fantasy have already started blending for you! did you figure out what your story arc was? did it involve a romance?
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Post by kyc on Sept 16, 2018 2:46:19 GMT
siuyu, thanks for your "warning". So I can presume that LYS's shorter novels are maybe less flawed/better than his longer works? It does put a damper on my enthusiasm, but I suppose in a good way. (It's kind of odd to have a dream last night that I was a character from a LYS novel. Never happened with JY before!) sorry about that! his stories are still worth the effort of exploration, i promise! and LOL, reality and fantasy have already started blending for you! did you figure out what your story arc was? did it involve a romance? No, no, no romance involved at all... or I would have remembered the dream more vividly! The first part was when I was a character from a LYS novel, there was a lot of kung fu fighting and I couldn't remember much else. In the second part LYS suddenly became my lecturer/tutor and I panicked because I didn't do the homework! He was ticking the class off and picking on students when I woke up... like most dreams it makes no sense. Moral of the lesson: Do your homework diligently... or else it will haunt you for many many years after your school life is over...
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Post by siuyiu on Sept 16, 2018 3:02:38 GMT
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Post by kyc on Sept 18, 2018 11:26:37 GMT
Back after finishing two more short novels of LYS. I shall share my feelings regarding them below:
1. Caomang Longshe Zhuan (草莽龍蛇傳): This is a good and fairly short novel, LYS's second. It feels a bit like a companion volume to his first (many explanations about his first book Longhu Dou Jinghua 龍虎鬥京華). It is set towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. The protagonist is quite amusing; however, unlike a JY novel, the book loses him for many chapters focusing on other characters and by the time he is back, his martial arts is even better. This novel follows something like JY's The Book and the Sword in that there's no one single protagonist that it constantly follows; in these respects it resembles Pingjiang Buxiao Sheng too. The parts with the main protagonist is the best, I feel, the rest of the novel does tend to feel like it "fills in" on Longhu Dou Jinghua. The structure suffers a little as a result; it is slightly chaotic at times.
The novel is pro-Han, anti-Manchu and pro-Yihetuan, aka the Boxers, which were xenophobic and anti-foreigners. Some foreigners might not feel comfortable reading it, but its descriptions of the Qing conquerors and the Boxers are typical of LYS's early novels.
2. Saiwai Qixia Zhuan (塞外奇俠傳): The title translates something like "The Legend of the Strange Chivalric Hero beyond the Pass". I have mixed feelings about this novel, LYS's third, which is also the shortest of the four I've read so far. This was the first LYS I've ever read years ago, and I now revisit it. It is most atypical of the four LYS novels - I suspect its style - very modern, direct and fast paced - doesn't fit the novel that well. Its modern use of language is fine, but the book is so fast-paced it seems rushed - before I knew it the book was over. LYS fits in quite a lot of plot within its relatively short length, but the story ends in a cliffhanger - to be continued in Seven Swords Coming down Tianshan (七劍下天山).
My feeling is that there's a really good story behind SWQXZ but LYS didn't exploit it to the full. He didn't explain many of the characters' motivations and psychology well enough, unlike in the three previous works I've read. I was left wanting more and asking questions. Nevertheless, the poetry at the end of the novel is quite enough to tempt many to read the book. This novel is part of the Tianshan trilogy (Seven Swords, The Bride with White Hair).
The reason why I had read SWQXZ years ago was because of a Singaporean wuxia TV production which I quite like (塞外奇俠, Legend of the White Hair Brides). The screenwriters actually changed a bit of the storyline but fleshed out on the motivations and psychology, which made it more memorable - at least the plot was more detailed. The TV series was focused on Yang Yuncong, Nalan Minghui and Hamaya, but was adapted not solely from SWQXZ but also parts of the other two parts of the trilogy.
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Post by kyc on Sept 24, 2018 15:21:32 GMT
I have to curse. My national libraries hold plenty of LYS novels, except his two most famous, Seven Swords down Tianshan (七劍下天山) and The Bride with White Hair (白髮魔女傳). Probably previous readers borrowed them thanks to the movie adaptations and the library board did not consider it important to replace the tattered copies. So no copies of these two novels are held in national libraries. What the %#$! ... Given the fact they are BY FAR the most popular of his novels, must I wait one year before I could get hold of a copy... Can't wait so long... would most probably purchase a copy of each... A Mid-autumn day rant.
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Post by siuyiu on Sept 25, 2018 0:31:10 GMT
kyc that sucks! if you don't mind reading e-versions of wuxia novels, both seven swords and the bride are available via: here and here. obviously, it's always a good idea to own. if you are curious about other authors and their works, the main site is here.
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Post by kyc on Sept 25, 2018 1:58:22 GMT
kyc that sucks! if you don't mind reading e-versions of wuxia novels, both seven swords and the bride are available via: here and here. obviously, it's always a good idea to own. if you are curious about other authors and their works, the main site is here. Siuyiu, I don't think that I can avoid buying the books! I won't read e-books if I can avoid them, and I hope these novels deserve their reputation. I will read Haodoo books for rare novels, but I think I shall buy them. Thanks for the links anyway!
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