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A review by wbharper
A Heart Divided by Jin Yong
5.0
I have just finished this hefty tome, the last in a quartet that translates Jin Yong’s Legend of the Condor Heroes wuxia (martial arts, chivalry) epic. Jin Yong - the pen name of Louis Cha Leung-yung - is one of the great wuxia writers, with his status in the Chinese world being approximately comparable to that of J.R.R. Tolkien in English-speaking lands. I’m not going to recount much of his life here but it was an interesting one - he was born in Zhejiang into an intellectual family, migrated to Hong Kong in the 1950s (his father was executed by the communist government), followed a distinguished career as a writer and newspaper editor, was married three times, and earned a doctorate in Chinese history at Cambridge University after retiring. His books are phenomenally popular and have been adapted into many TV series, video games, and other media. The best short description that I can use to describe my experience of reading this quartet as a neophyte to the genre is that it is like a really good kung fu movie, but in print form. But these books also have an unusual ability to touch on deeper social and political issues, and none more than the final one.
Jin Yong’s immersion in and encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese history and culture is displayed on every page, and there is simply too much to comment upon here. The idea of the wulin and jianghu is intriguing - a sort of parallel, mythic world that only occasionally intersects with the real one. It has its own traditions, customs, and hierarchies. I was reminded of Arthurian legend, which takes place in a similar not-quite-real world with characters motivated by martial skill and honor. This final book in the series, though, is something of a departure in that it more clearly intersects with the major political events of the time - mainly, Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Jin (Jurchen) and Khwarezm Empires. Here, the book’s protagonist (something of a good-natured but slow-witted cipher, if a kung fu savant) Guo Jing’s story reaches its denouement as he must finally deal with his conflicting obligations and desires - filial love and gratitude to the Great Khan (despite a distaste for the awesome destruction of the Mongol conquests), and his romantic love for Lotus Huang and willingness to carry on his father’s legacy as a Song Chinese patriot. Even the story of Reverend Sole Light, the former King Duan and a one of the five kung fu “Greats”, is a parable on the misuse of power in both a personal and political sense, and eventual atonement. Overall, however, if it is about anything it is about heroism, and how to be a hero - is it about personal achievement and skill? Patriotism? A concern for one’s fellow people? Or staying true to one’s personal obligations, and what do you do if these are in conflict?
Jin Yong was a Chinese patriot, and this and his other novels take place in historical periods where there was invasion or strife in China. That said, his admiration for outsiders (certainly the Mongols, who foster Guo Jing, if not the Jurchens) shines through as well. Likewise, Confucian ideals (family relations, the master-apprentice relationship, the need for a harmonious, hierarchically structured society) are reflected through his work, but a character like Apothecary Huang (the “Old Heretic”), who is presented as scorning traditional values and behavior, is not presented negatively per se - and these bonds and relationships, so crucial to east Asian culture, are (to a certain extent) challenged and examined. So, there is an interesting tension there - though whether it is obscured or emphasized through the translation I am not qualified to judge.
Of course, this translation, the first into English, cannot substitute for the original. But the series translators readily convey the epic sweep of the saga and its colorful characters. They carefully spell out the range of kung fu moves in every fight; they are meticulous in drawing out each character’s thought processes and motivations. No doubt these passages are much more concise in the Chinese version, and this takes some getting used to. However, I was quickly carried into this vivid and heroic world. Yes, it’s light entertainment - but of such quality that I cannot wait until this same translation team makes their way back to the world of the Condor Heroes with The Return of the Condor Heroes.
Jin Yong’s immersion in and encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese history and culture is displayed on every page, and there is simply too much to comment upon here. The idea of the wulin and jianghu is intriguing - a sort of parallel, mythic world that only occasionally intersects with the real one. It has its own traditions, customs, and hierarchies. I was reminded of Arthurian legend, which takes place in a similar not-quite-real world with characters motivated by martial skill and honor. This final book in the series, though, is something of a departure in that it more clearly intersects with the major political events of the time - mainly, Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Jin (Jurchen) and Khwarezm Empires. Here, the book’s protagonist (something of a good-natured but slow-witted cipher, if a kung fu savant) Guo Jing’s story reaches its denouement as he must finally deal with his conflicting obligations and desires - filial love and gratitude to the Great Khan (despite a distaste for the awesome destruction of the Mongol conquests), and his romantic love for Lotus Huang and willingness to carry on his father’s legacy as a Song Chinese patriot. Even the story of Reverend Sole Light, the former King Duan and a one of the five kung fu “Greats”, is a parable on the misuse of power in both a personal and political sense, and eventual atonement. Overall, however, if it is about anything it is about heroism, and how to be a hero - is it about personal achievement and skill? Patriotism? A concern for one’s fellow people? Or staying true to one’s personal obligations, and what do you do if these are in conflict?
Jin Yong was a Chinese patriot, and this and his other novels take place in historical periods where there was invasion or strife in China. That said, his admiration for outsiders (certainly the Mongols, who foster Guo Jing, if not the Jurchens) shines through as well. Likewise, Confucian ideals (family relations, the master-apprentice relationship, the need for a harmonious, hierarchically structured society) are reflected through his work, but a character like Apothecary Huang (the “Old Heretic”), who is presented as scorning traditional values and behavior, is not presented negatively per se - and these bonds and relationships, so crucial to east Asian culture, are (to a certain extent) challenged and examined. So, there is an interesting tension there - though whether it is obscured or emphasized through the translation I am not qualified to judge.
Of course, this translation, the first into English, cannot substitute for the original. But the series translators readily convey the epic sweep of the saga and its colorful characters. They carefully spell out the range of kung fu moves in every fight; they are meticulous in drawing out each character’s thought processes and motivations. No doubt these passages are much more concise in the Chinese version, and this takes some getting used to. However, I was quickly carried into this vivid and heroic world. Yes, it’s light entertainment - but of such quality that I cannot wait until this same translation team makes their way back to the world of the Condor Heroes with The Return of the Condor Heroes.