53 replies to this topic

[Mok]

To me, Qiao/Xiao Feng is one of his most tragic characters. *cry*

[sima old bandit]

Given that Ding ChunQiu was a disciple of TianShan (天山), he might not have been an ethnic Han.

In the TVB 90s series he says he is from Shandong province when questioned on why he is interefering in the central plains wulin affairs. Not sure if this is in the novel though.

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I though Murong Bu was a bigger villain. Ding was by comparison just an opportunist with dellusions of grandeur.

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My absolute favourite is Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre. There is just so much excitement in it, you barely have a chance to catch your breath. The characterisation is so good and the emotions are so high you can totally feel it. I also like the way that some villains are not always 100% bad but have some redeeming features. I always felt disappointed that Zhang Wuji was so indecisive and hurt so many girls. The latest revision made my heart sink when at the end he has still not decided who he loves most. Want to kick him in the balls.

My other favourites are Return of the Condor Heroes, Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils & State of Divinity.

The problem with Jin Yong novels is that all other wuxia novels & series seem like utter dog poo by comparison.

[snowybeagle]

The problem with Jin Yong novels is that all other wuxia novels & series seem like utter dog poo by comparison.

Hear, hear.
But Liang Yüsheng's is not too bad, from what I've read so far.
It definitely lacked the depth of historical background compared to Jin Yong's though.

[ahbian]

Hear, hear.
But Liang Yüsheng's is not too bad, from what I've read so far.
It definitely lacked the depth of historical background compared to Jin Yong's though.

yup, liang's novels are good too, at least l like them better than gu long's in general. his style is more 'traditional chinese' and jin yong has more western elements. experts had commented jin yong is a better story teller but liang is a better scholar.

some of huang yi's books are quite readable like <xun qin ji> and <da tang>, but they are very long.

btw, i didn't vote in the poll cuz i don't have an absolute fav. some i like better than others, like 笑傲江湖, 鹿鼎記, 倚天屠龙记, 连城诀, 侠客行 but it really depends on the mood i'm in and on how long since i last read the novel.

[Mok]

btw i do have a question about Tian Long Ba Bu that has bugged me for a long time. perhaps you guys could answer it?

Duan Yu, the son of Prince Duan Zhengchun and second-in-line to the throne of Dali, had many half-sisters as a result of his father's many affairs, and falls in love with one whose name I can only remember as "Yan".

Later in the story (and I'm only quoting the latest TV serial version starring Hu Jin and Jimmy Lin) Yu's mother said that according to the laws of Dali, he could actually marry Yan.

Is that true or am I totally mistaken?

TIA.

[Mok]

I'm digging through my second series of Liang Yusheng which I borrowed from the library. He seems to favour women in terms of the amount of them he writes about, more so than Jin Yong or Gu Long.

His prose is not too abrupt like Gu Long's or erudite as Jin Yong, and is accessible to the lay reader like me. A nice combo for a person of my reading ability (in Chinese).

[snowybeagle]

Duan Yu, the son of Prince Duan Zhengchun and second-in-line to the throne of Dali, had many half-sisters as a result of his father's many affairs, and falls in love with one whose name I can only remember as "Yan".
Later in the story (and I'm only quoting the latest TV serial version starring Hu Jin and Jimmy Lin) Yu's mother said that according to the laws of Dali, he could actually marry Yan.

Why had the script writers done this time?
I don't recall anything about the laws of Da Li (大理) being involved with Duan Yü being able to marry Wang Yüyan in the novel.

I had not watched television for more than a year now except when I'm at someone else's house, so I don't know about the TV serial.

As revealed in the novel, Duan Yü (段誉) was NOT the son of Duan Zhengchun (段正淳) with Dao Baifeng (刀白凤). Angered by her husband's numerous affairs, Dao Baifeng gave herself to Duan Yanqing (段延庆). Duan Yanqing was suffering from serious injuries and dragged himself to a temple where he saw a woman shrouded in white light, mistook her for the Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin and begged for her to save him.

Wang Yuyan (王语嫣) was the daughter of Duan Zhengchun and Madam Wang (actual name not revealed, IIRC).

Since Duan Zhengchun and Duan Yanqing were (first) cousins, and there is no relations between Madam Wang and Dao Baifeng (hopefully!), Duan Yü and Wang Yüyan were (second) cousins and could marry according to most customs.

(It was said that Duan Yanqing was originally the rightful heir to the throne who went missing and hence the throne went to Duan Zhengming, brother to Duan Zhengchun. By the time Duan Yanqing resurfaced, he had become so twisted in the mind and was refused the throne. Nonetheless, Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun continued to feel uneasy about it, and Duan Yü revealed as Duan Yanqing's son was like a blessing because they could return the throne to the rightful descendant.)

[lobster]

Actually according to neo-confucians, since Duan Yu and all of Duan Zhengchun's daughters shared the same surname and had a common ancestor, they were considered brother and sisters and could not marry (同姓不婚), but Dao Baifeng said that in Dali the rules were not as strict so he could marry them.

[Mok]

Hey thanks, snowybeagle, for the info. It never pays to watch the serial before you read the novel, doesn't it?

So this is the "family tree"?

Duan Yanqing
+ =Duan Yu
Dao Baifeng

Duan Zhengming

Duan Zhengchun
+ =Wang Yuyan
Mdm Wang

But the other girls--A-chu, A-zi, Mu Wanqing, A-bi? , they were all Duan Yu's half-sisters right?

Poor Mu Wanqing, to fall in love with her half-brother of all people.

Btw Duan Zhengchun is a real Don Juan/Casanova. It's a sad waste of poetic justice that all of his illegitimate kids were girls. If it were boys I have a feeling Duan Yu's life wouldn't be so easy anymore.

[lobster]

Hey thanks, snowybeagle, for the info. It never pays to watch the serial before you read the novel, doesn't it?

So this is the "family tree"?

Duan Yanqing
        +          =Duan Yu
Dao Baifeng

Duan Zhengming

Duan Zhengchun
          +              =Wang Yuyan
Mdm Wang

But the other girls--A-chu, A-zi, Mu Wanqing, A-bi? , they were all Duan Yu's half-sisters right?

Poor Mu Wanqing, to fall in love with her half-brother of all people.

Btw Duan Zhengchun is a real Don Juan/Casanova. It's a sad waste of poetic justice that all of his illegitimate kids were girls. If it were boys I have a feeling Duan Yu's life wouldn't be so easy anymore.

They all thought they were Duan Yu's half sisters, until Duan Yu discovered that his father was Duan Yanqing. So in the end he is not related to any of those girls.

[AhMan]

Nowadays i am too lazy to read wuxia novels. I prefer to watch TV series, but not Jinyong novels based series because I am disgusted at the recently made versions. Totally distorting the story and too much special effects. The actors and actresses were not beautiful either.
It is wrong to make movies based on Jinyong novels in realistic style. The stories are mostly made up and they are romatic. I still prefer the HK versions to the mainland Chinese versions, particularly SheDiao YingXiong Zhuan.

[snowybeagle]

They all thought they were Duan Yu's half sisters, until Duan Yu discovered that his father was Duan Yanqing.  So in the end he is not related to any of those girls.

He was, as a second cousin or cousin-once-removed.

[lobster]

He was, as a second cousin or cousin-once-removed.

Hmm, I should say "marryable" according to "Dali laws".

[ahbian]

Nowadays i am too lazy to read wuxia novels. I prefer to watch TV series, but not Jinyong novels based series because I am disgusted at the recently made versions. Totally distorting the story and too much special effects. The actors and actresses were not beautiful either.
It is wrong to make movies based on Jinyong novels in realistic style. The stories are mostly made up and they are romatic. I still prefer the HK versions to the mainland Chinese versions, particularly SheDiao YingXiong Zhuan.

i heard the mainland version of shediao is actually the closest version to the novel. i haven't watched it myself though.

i agree that it would be hard to accurately adapt jin yong novels to the big screen simply cuz its impossible to fit in all the details into 1 movie. having said that i quite liked the 1st xiao ao jiang hu movie by tsui hark.