Introduction to Huang Yi

When martial arts novels, the popular literature that was once popular in the Chinese world, have faded from the peak of blooming to gradually dimming; when all kinds of Strong media and popular culture dominate the market, and martial arts novels that have lost their halo have become a vulnerable group in the reading field. However, there are still countless readers who are obsessed with the unique charm of martial arts and hope that its heyday will come again; there are also many authors who burn their literary talent and enthusiasm and constantly inject new blood into martial arts novels. Huang Yi is a martial arts creation who constantly opens up new territory for martial arts and creates infinite possibilities.

Huang Yi, whose real name is Huang Zuqiang, graduated from the Art Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During his studies, he specialized in traditional Chinese painting and was awarded the Weng Lingyu Art Award. After winning the award, he served as the Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, responsible for promoting local art and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. In 1989, he resigned from his high-paying job and lived in seclusion in the mountains of an outlying island, a place where wind and water gather, and he concentrated on his creation. By the 1990s, his unique martial arts works quickly took Hong Kong and Taiwan by storm.

Since his first work "Shattered Void", which explores martial arts and the way of heaven, Huang Yi has been immersed in the world of martial arts creation. The subsequent "The Rain and the Clouds", which was set against the chaotic world of the early Ming Dynasty, was not only a long work that established its important position, but also constructed a moving and unique martial arts world, which has become popular among countless martial arts readers. Immediately afterwards, he continued to innovate, eager to inject new elements into traditional martial arts, and created "Xunqin Ji", which combines history, science fiction, war, and strategy, and once again became a masterpiece that martial arts fans are eager to see. The Legend of Two Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, which is still being serialized to this day and has reached more than 20 volumes, explores the impermanence of heaven, the ultimate in martial arts and the true appearance of life through the chaotic times of the late Sui Dynasty, and continues to expand the territory of martial arts and his own creation. Tu! Became the standard-bearer of martial arts novels in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1990s!

Under the trend that martial arts novels have been in a slump for a long time, and the martial arts market has been mostly divided up by sound, light and image media such as movies, TV, comics, etc. , why Huang Yi's martial arts novels can win the favor of readers and record sales of millions of copies in Taiwan and Hong Kong. With the increasingly weak writing patience of modern young readers, he has written three consecutive novels with more than two million words. It has a huge readership?

Just as Huang Yi described the works of his two favorite martial arts masters - Jin Yong and Sima Ling: "The writing styles of both of them are mature and flawless" Realm, full of charm. Jin Yong's descriptions of characters are vivid and vivid on the paper; Sima Ling's depiction of human nature is penetrating, bold and direct, with profound philosophical insights, and they are everywhere. They each create a self-justifying and flesh-and-blood martial arts world! And Huang also has a deep understanding of his own works. The requirements and presentation are consistent with and prove this point.

Since the decline of the "new school" martial arts, many authors are still working hard, hoping to absorb foreign techniques, innovate the pattern, or make it more modern and more secularly acceptable, trying to Paving the way for martial arts and injecting new blood. However, the general trend is that more exciting and dazzling popular products are gradually gaining the upper hand; the results of hard work are not obvious, and there are only a few winners. Some of them place too much emphasis on the innovation of writing techniques and are out of touch with the reading habits of the public; some of them are too secular, or contain a lot of modern language, and the flavor is completely lost, or they are too vulgar and become a gag, which is extremely inferior. How to strike a balance between innovation and popularization, while maintaining the original taste and showing the unique style of Chinese martial arts has always been a topic faced by today's martial arts creators.

Huang Yi’s works give readers a very modern feeling. The vivid text and lively rhythm make the plot appear like scenes of dynamic scenes, which appear in the readers' minds, making people feel as if they are immersed in the scene. But what gives these novels the soul is the most Chinese philosophy and traditional culture. His knowledge is extremely broad, and he has conducted in-depth research on art, astronomy, history, metaphysics, astrology, and the Five Elements. He has also studied the Book of Changes, Buddhism, and various schools of thought, which enabled him to develop innovative themes and texts. , still can not violate the traditional spirit of Chinese martial arts.

Regarding the all-encompassing content in the book, Huang Yi modestly claims that he is just a diligent reader. Through interviews, we can understand his innovative ideas on martial arts and the irreplaceable role of martial arts novels in his heart. Status: Or it can be said that martial arts is Chinese science fiction. Like Western science fiction, she is free from any restraints and reaches far and wide, imagining the mysteries of life. After combining with various ancient Chinese sciences, she creates a self-justifying and moving world.

There, we can gallop in the beautiful and profound Chinese culture, explore the science of alchemy, immortality, meridian theory, poetry, poetry, chess, calligraphy and painting, and religious philosophy, and let our imagination create unconstrained ideas and deep thoughts. , combined with history and human emotions, creates the unique fantasy reality of martial arts novels, pursuing a realm that is difficult to obtain in any other literary genre. ?This exactly shows his attitude towards martial arts creation.

Throughout Huang Yi’s works, we can find that he is constantly exploring the possibilities hidden in martial arts literature. Regarding the pursuit of martial arts, the basic element of martial arts, he elevated it to the status of "Tao", greatly expanding the possibilities of martial arts. To obtain this kind of power, you must go through the process of pursuing martial arts. You must not only fight against the enemy, but also defeat yourself, constantly test your maximum limit, and then use martial arts to get a glimpse of the Tao! Huang Yi believes:? Any technical thing All can be sublimated to the realm of Tao, including the cook of "Xie Niu", it is precisely the skill that advances to the Tao. The so-called "things and things are one Tai Chi", everything has a deeper layer of Yiyi waiting to be discovered. ?Martial arts to him is a possibility for human beings to transcend their own fantasies. It has eternal and moving beauty. If it stops at skills, it will only belong to the lower class.

In the novel, the exploration and breakthrough of the principles of martial arts are better than the gorgeous and mysterious moves and techniques. He also embodied the concept of "no move to win, but a move to win" in another form; the momentum and mental power beyond sharp weapons and skills can penetrate the space and directly explore the enemy's mind, disrupt his mind, destroy his will, and more Above all flesh and blood encounters. Huang Yi gives concrete power to the invisible spiritual momentum, which is undoubtedly a profound criticism and irony compared to today's world that values ??materiality over spirituality.

The brilliance and true appearance of life are also the themes that are most frequently explored and focused on in his novels. Huang Yi is very talented in character portrayal. Whether he is a hero as soon as he appears, or he works hard to climb up from a young age; whether he is a protagonist, a supporting role, a decent person, or a villain, they all have their own value and charm. , are all facing the same giant web woven by fate. Everyone is eager to break through the constraints and live out their own life.

What is the greatest possibility of life under the twists and turns of the world and fate? This must be a difficult problem that no one can have a clear answer to. However, Huang Yi believes that through martial arts novels, life can be made bright and bright, and the face of life can be purified from the known troubles and unknown fate. ?In the battle between masters, the difference between life and death is only a thin line, the spirit and potential are raised to the limit, and life reaches the most intense state. That is a unique artistic conception that can only be expressed through Chinese martial arts novels. ?Only when swords are facing each other will life reveal its true face. ?And through Huang Yi's words, you may be able to discover that life also has this possibility!

?History is often the background element that makes many martial arts novels more vivid and exciting. In Huang Yi's works In his novels, readers are often amazed by his profound understanding of historical culture and social background and his skillful use of his ability to reproduce historical scenes in detail and vividly, while at the same time allowing characters to flexibly shuttle between rigid and fixed historical facts. For him: "History is the ultimate way to make martial arts novels real. It's like a chessboard. What the author has to do is how to put the chess pieces on it and then play a wonderful chess game." However, this is of course a very personal opinion, and moving martial arts novels can appear in any form. But for me, martial arts novels that are divorced from history, especially long novels, lose their God-given connection with the culture and art of that era. ?Such a view is also fully reflected in his "Looking for Qin" and "The Legend of Two Dragons of the Tang Dynasty", two works of great historical beauty and tension. Of course, many martial arts fans prefer fighting moves. Huang Yi's unique fighting aesthetics is even more outstanding and highly praised. He is very good at handling the interactive relationship between the two sides of the battle, and combined with his spirit and momentum, the "qi machine pull" and the growth and decline of the enemy and ourselves, combined with his spirit and momentum, fully reveal the subtleties of the confrontation. And after the fight, it was even more thrilling and vivid. In addition, Huang Yi's description of "group battles" is even more unique. Group battle scenes described in other martial arts works often suffer from the disadvantages of being divided and incoherent and fighting independently.

However, he is able to cleverly construct an atmosphere that is both end-to-end and powerful, as well as a close interactive relationship that affects the whole body. In his works "Broken Void", the "Battle of Jingyan Palace", and "The Rain and the Clouds". ?Blood Battle in Flower Street?, etc., are all majestic, tragic and exciting group battles, which are very exciting!

Some people may think that the heyday of martial arts has passed, and the glory will never come again! But some people continue to think Work hard and open up new territories for martial arts! In any case, reaching another peak in martial arts novels cannot be achieved overnight or with the efforts of a few people. In addition to the need for creators to have more rapid imagination, broader perspectives and more breakthrough artistic expressions, more importantly, they also need the support of readers so that martial arts can have a market for survival and opportunities for continuation.

What do you think of the conditions and future prospects of good martial arts novels? Huang Yi replied: I think I am not qualified enough to set what conditions a good martial arts novel should have. Any martial arts novel that can make me read without sleep or food is what I consider to be a good martial arts novel. And the fascinating methods are countless, just waiting for those who are interested to discover them. From this perspective, martial arts novels should have unlimited prospects. ?

Huang Yi is the author who strives to provide infinite possibilities and vitality in martial arts novels, and his readers also take half of the credit. Just like the heroes in Huang Yi's works - "Only those who can excel with love can excel with swords", only those who have deep feelings for martial arts can write good works and have martial arts that will never be absent. people. I would like to use this famous saying as a footnote for Huang Yi and his readers.