The vast majority of smart people and brave and powerful people are aggressive. The usual moral standards divide them into two categories: those who work for the welfare of most people (including the country and society) are good people; It is bad people who only pay attention to their own power, status and material desires and harm others. The size of a good person or a bad person depends on the number and degree of their interests or damage. In most political periods, bad people are in power, so people constantly want to take their place; Some people want to reform; There is another kind of people who have no hope for reform and don't want to go along with the organizational system. Their choice is to quit the whirlpool of struggle and be immune to it. So there have always been authorities, rebels, reformers and hermits. China's traditional idea is to encourage people to "be an official if they are eager to learn" and "know what they can't do" like Confucius, but he also has a high opinion of hermits and thinks they are lofty. Hermits have no positive contribution to society, but their behavior is completely different from those who struggle for power and profit, which provides another example. China people are morally tolerant, so long as they don't harm others, they are good people. There are many hermits in The Analects: Chen Mingmen, Chu, Chang Ju, He Cha, Zhang, Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yuzhong, Yi, Shao Lian and so on. Confucius respects all of them, although he disagrees with their style.

Confucius divided hermits into three categories: like Boyi and Shu Qi, they did not give up their will or sacrifice their dignity ("they did not lose their will and disgrace themselves"); Like Liu Xiahui and Shao Lian, their will and dignity have been sacrificed, but their words and deeds are reasonable ("it is shameful to lose will, but it is just a mistake"); Like Yu Zhong and the mantle, he fled the world, lived in seclusion, called a spade a spade, did not do bad things, and did not participate in politics ("Speaking in seclusion, revealing himself, wasting power in China"). Confucius spoke highly of them and obviously thought that hermits also had a positive side.

To participate in political activities, you have to give up your will and dignity, which is helpless. As a judge, Liu Xiahui was dismissed three times and was advised to go abroad. Liu Xiahui insisted on justice and replied, "What's wrong with doing things in an upright way? Why do you go to your parents' country when you are working for others? " (The Analects of Confucius) The key lies in "serving the people" (obeying the will of the chief) and "straightness" or "uselessness". Going into politics for the benefit of the public must be for the people; Adhere to principles, serve the public, regardless of personal fame and fortune. Although they have to obey the orders of their superiors, they can also be said to be "hermits"-as for hermits in the general sense, the basic requirement is to seek the liberation and freedom of personality without serving others.

I write martial arts novels to write about human nature, just like most novels. At the time of writing the legendary swordsman, the power struggle during the Cultural Revolution was in full swing. The establishment and the rebel side struggle for power and profit by all means, and the humbleness of human nature is condensed. I write a social commentary for Ming Pao every day, and my strong aversion to political dirty behavior is naturally reflected in writing a martial arts novel every day. This novel does not mean to allude to the Cultural Revolution, but tries to describe some common phenomena in China's political life for more than 3,000 years through some characters in the book. An innuendo novel is of little significance, and the political situation will change soon. Only by depicting human nature can it have long-term value. Desperately seizing power is the basic trend of political life at home and abroad. It has been like this for thousands of years, and I am afraid it will be like this for thousands of years to come. Ren Woxing, Dong Fangbubai, Yue Buqun, Zuo Lengchan, these people, in my imagination, are mainly not martial arts experts, but political figures. Xiang Wentian, master, Taoist, teacher Ding Xian, Mr. Mo Da, Mu and others are also political figures. This kind of various figures, every dynasty, I believe there are other countries, enterprises, schools, various groups.

The slogan "Thousands of generations, unify the rivers and lakes" was written in the book in the 1960s. Ren Woxing is corrupt because he holds power, which is a universal human phenomenon. These are not supplements or adaptations after the completion of this book. Interestingly, when the Gang of Four came to power to change the national anthem of China people, the changed lyrics even included the word "forever".

When the legendary swordsman was serialized in Ming Pao, there were 2/kloc-0 Chinese newspapers, Vietnamese newspapers and French newspapers in Saigon. In the debates of the Nanyue National Congress, lawmakers often accuse the other party of being "Yue Buqun" (hypocrite) or "Left Chill" (person trying to establish hegemony). Probably because of the political turmoil in South Vietnam at that time, most people were particularly interested in political struggle.

Ling Huchong was a born hermit who was not interested in power. Ren Yingying is also a "hermit". She has the power to kill Jianghu heroes, but she prefers to live in a secluded alley in Luoyang and entertain herself with harps. In her life, she only pays attention to personal freedom and the expansion of personality. The only thing that matters is love. This girl is shy, but in love, she is active. When Ling Huchong's love is tightly wrapped around Yue Lingshan, he can't be free. Only when he was on the road outside the green tent, he was in a carriage with Yingying, and his infatuation with Yue Lingshan finally vanished, did he get spiritual relief. At the end of the book, Yingying reached out and buckled Ling Huchong's wrist and sighed, "I never thought that Ren Yingying would be locked up with a big monkey for life and never be separated again." Yingying's love is complete, she is satisfied, but Ling Huchong's freedom is locked. Perhaps, only in Yilin's unrequited love, his personality is rarely restrained.

In this world, complete freedom is impossible. Getting rid of all desires and realizing them completely is the highest state of nirvana pursued by Buddhists, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. People who are keen on politics and power, driven by their inner desire for power, can't help doing many things against their conscience. In fact, they are very poor.

In China's traditional art, the pursuit of individuality liberation has always been the most prominent theme, regardless of poetry, prose, opera and painting. The more turbulent the times are and the more miserable people's lives are, the more prominent this theme is.

"People can't help themselves in the Jianghu", and retirement is not easy. Liu Zhengfeng pursues artistic freedom, attaches importance to friendship that never goes against his will, and wants to wash his hands of it. The four friends of Meizhuang hope to remain anonymous in Gushan and enjoy the fun of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. None of them can do it because the power struggle (politics) is not allowed to die. Politics exists in any organization. Mr. Wang Meng said that he cried when he read the book Wash Your Hands in the Golden Basin. I believe this is the reason.

Guo Jing, a great soldier who gave his life for the disaster and knew what he could not do, should have greater moral affirmation. Ling Huchong is not a great warrior, but a hermit who pursues freedom and personality liberation like Tao Qian. The wind is clear and the gas is positive, and you are disheartened and feel ashamed and depressed. Ling Huchong was born free. On the Blackwood Cliff, no matter whether Yang Lianting or Ren Woxing is in power, anyone who smiles casually will be killed, and arrogance is even more important. The legendary swordsman's freedom is the goal pursued by Ling Huchong and others.

Because I want to write about some common figures and common phenomena in political life, this book has no historical background, which means that similar scenes can happen in any dynasty and any group.

1May 980

Many literary critics in the mainland commented that it was inhuman for Mrs. Zhong to learn that her husband was despicable and disheartened and committed suicide. She didn't have to kill herself. Others think that it is unreasonable for Xiao Feng to commit suicide, and it is also unreasonable for him to hit Aru. Of course, Russian writer Tolstoy's Anna karenin doesn't need to commit suicide. Everyone has different values about life. Some people use modern people's utilitarian mind to replace martial arts figures, while others use "Wei Xiaobao values" to comment on Feng Xiao and Ning Zhongze. That is to say, some people think that it is "stupid" for Shi Kefa and Wen Tianxiang not to surrender and Yue Fei not to obey. Some people in Hong Kong have commented that it is "foolish loyalty" that more than a dozen descendants of the She family have been guarding Yuan Chonghuan's tomb. Of course, some people regard Dong Cunrui and Lei Feng as "unreasonable troubles". It is reasonable to treat historical figures, such as bad emperors, treacherous court officials, corrupt officials and despicable people, with "bourgeois motives".

Some commentators asked: Is it possible for Dong Fangbubai to engage in homosexuality since the palace? Since the palace is not a necessary condition or an inevitable development of homosexuality. Male homosexuality is a historical fact. It is very common in the armies of Greece, Rome and India, and there are many underground cultural relics excavated. Today, if you visit the historical site of Pompeii, Italy, you can see it. There are also many ancient pagodas in eastern India. British historian Gibbon said in the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that all but one of the original 14 emperors in the Roman Empire were masculine, or both men and women were happy. China is more common. The allusions of Longyang, Peach Splitting and Broken Sleeves are historical facts, such as Dong Xian and Deng Tong, but it is inevitable that Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is a saint. Sexual habits have always been obscure, and whether homosexuality is legal is not stipulated by general law. Today, some European and American countries stipulate that two men can formally get married. Homosexuals who pretend to be women often like to dress up as women, which is a sexual addiction. Whether in the palace or not, some people are gay first and then have sex-change surgery. There have been eunuchs in Egyptian and China palaces for thousands of years. They have no male sexual characteristics, but they may not necessarily become female roles.

The book has been revised several times, but the plot has not changed much.

May 2003

Related version

For the old version, the ten elders of the magic Sect died of wind and sword; The wind was clear and young, and later he lived in a cave on the cliff in Guo Si. When Yue Lingshan rescued Lin Pingzhi from the Qingcheng School, there was a plot of "drinking poisonous wine"; Qu Feiyan is not dead; Gu Tao has a detailed description of the Six Immortals, while the new version describes the appearance of the Six Immortals as "horse face"; The old version describes the heart of Yue Buqun more, but it is also more complicated, so it is not as good as the new version. Mr. Momo, the "Xiaoxiang Night Rain" of Hengshan School, died tragically in Huashan Cave in the chapter "Gathering Warriors". He was hacked to death by all the blind people, but the new version brought him back to life. On the wedding day of Ling Huchong and Ren Yingying, he played his only song "Phoenix Begging for Phoenix" with Hu Qin in a happy atmosphere. Some names are very different, such as Sunflower Lane, Sun Moon Shinto, and Chaoyang Shinto. Most of the names are just changed by a surname.