To Read 金庸

However hard it is to learn Chinese, and whatever bad memories I have of my time struggling with it, there is still one reason why I’d ever consider going back to “finish” my Chinese studies. To read the novels of Jin Yong (金庸).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinyong

Jin Yong authored some of the most popular Wu Xia novels in history. What is Wu Xia? Think “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. In fact, that movie was adapted from a series of Wu Xia novels written by Wang Dulu. These are tales of bandits, monks, heroes, generals, emperors, and of course, kung fu masters. In many ways, if you substitute kung fu with socery or magic, and change the setting a little, you get Western fantasy. So you can think of Jin Yong as the Chinese Tolkien. But while not everybody in America has heard of Tolkien (at least, not before the movies came out), *everybody* in the Chinese speaking world has heard of Jin Yong. His books are incredibly popular, permeating through all levels of society. Even if people have never actually read his books, they’ve at least been exposed to the multitude of comics, video games, movies, and TV serial adaptations. It seems like every 7-8 years, they remake each of Jin Yong’s series with the newest generation of actors.

As I understand it, most of Jin Yong’s stories are set in the same “universe”, across a large span of time that also happens to coincide with actual Chinese history. In many ways, they are historical novels with a fantastical kung fu bent. Characters often meet and interact with actual historical people, or are motivated by historical events. Sadly, that's also one of the reasons why I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully appreciate these novels.

Imagine reading a book where a main character meets and interacts with Richard and Saladin during the time of the Crusades. How much more interesting would that book be if you have at least more than a passing knowledge of these two men? It's one of the reasons why a book like The DaVinci Code has captured so many people's imaginations. The author cleverly took what we already knew about Da Vinci, the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and the Catholic Church, and wove a nice story around it to the point where in the end, it was difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. I can’t imagine how long it would take me to similarly infuse myself with a lifetime’s worth of Chinese culture and history in the same way I can draw upon Western history.

From a literary standpoint, I’ve been told many times that Jin Yong novels have plots compelling enough to attract the masses, yet are written in a style sophisticated enough to please literary critics. It’s in this respect that I wish I could read Chinese well enough to appreciate Jin Yong beyond just his storylines. But again, it is a hugely daunting task to become that good in Chinese… for all the reasons mentioned here.

It’s not just Jin Yong’s novels that I want to read. Themes from classics such as “Journey to the West” (if you’ve ever heard of the Monkey King, you too have been touched by this book), or “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” are so woven into the Chinese cultural fabric that you almost have to read these books, or at least know the main characters and stories before you can completely grasp all the subtleties of communicating at a high level with a Chinese person. For example, you or I might easily toss out a passing reference to Romeo and Juliet to describe forbidden love, or see the phrase “opening Pandora’s box” and know it’s about unleashing troubles never to be contained again. By the same token, talking heads on political talk shows in Taiwan might draw parallels to Romance of the Three Kingdoms (a book that’s practically a manual for political intrigue, military strategy/tactics, and general skullduggery) that would otherwise go completely over your head if you had not read the book. What chance do I have of ever getting to that level of mastery?