Book of the year 2024: 射鵰英雄傳 by 金庸

[lordsuso]

I just finished chapter 10. This is the end of volume 1 but as I suspected the story doesn't really come to a resting point, so I'll move straight into volume 2. Btw the book was originally published between 1 January 1957 – 19 May 1959, so the original readers followed the story for 2+ years!

 

So far I am loving the book, it is remarkable how he manages to tell different stories that take place at different space-time planes and yet it's not confusing to read and he ties them together nicely. There are only two things that I could nitpick, but don't really bother me. One is that there are too many characters. Every clan has 5+ masters or generals, and for the most part they have clear personalities, but some of them are hard to tell apart. The other one is that the action scenes are too detailed. Some fights like 

Spoiler

Huangrong vs the masters hired by Jin

are really fun, but I found others like 

Spoiler

the 比武招亲

to be lengthy and boring.

 

CHAPTERS 6-10 VOCAB

Spoiler

proper nouns
西辽    西遼    xīliáo    Western Liao, Khitan kingdom of central Asia 1132-1218
成吉思汗    成吉思汗    chéngjísīhán    Genghis Khan (1162-1227), founder and ruler of the Mongol Empire
李广    李廣    lǐguǎng    Li Guang (-119 BC), Han dynasty general, nicknamed Flying General 飛將軍|飞将军 and much feared by the Xiongnu 匈奴
大宛    大宛    dàyuān    ancient state of central Asia
汾酒    汾酒    fénjiǔ    Fenjiu (sorghum-based Chinese liquor)
昆仑    崑崙    kūnlún    Kunlun (Karakorum) mountain range in Xinjiang

 

other words
焉知    焉知    yānzhī    (literary) how is one to know?
极目    極目    jímù    (literary) to look as far as the eye can see
险诈    險詐    xiǎnzhà    sinister and deceitful
静修    靜修    jìngxiū    contemplation; meditation
歉仄    歉仄    qiànzè    (literary) apologetic; sorry; regretful
炫技    炫技    xuànjì    to show off one's skills; to put on a dazzling display of one's talents
妖孽    妖孽    yāoniè    evildoer
急智    急智    jízhì    quick witted; able to think fast in an emergency
跨上    跨上    kuàshàng    to mount (a horse, bike, flight of stairs, rickshaw etc)
煽惑    煽惑    shānhuò    to incitate; to agitate
斫    斫·斲·斵    zhuó    to chop; to hack; to carve wood; to chop; to carve wood
涩滞    澀滯    sèzhì    (literary) not smooth; obscure
拟合    擬合    nǐhé    to fit (data to a model); a (close) fit
抵数    抵數    dǐshù    to make up the number; to serve as a stopgap
犒    犒    kào    to reward or comfort with presents of food, drink etc
旁骛    旁騖    pángwù    to be inattentive; to be distracted by sth
健旺    健旺    jiànwàng    robust; healthy; vigorous; energetic
赘婿    贅婿    zhuìxù    son-in-law living at wife's parent's house
脚色    腳色    jiǎosè    role; part · type of role (in traditional Chinese drama) · variant of 角色[juésè]
邀击    邀擊    yāojī    to intercept; to waylay; to ambush
投契    投契    tóuqì    to get along well (with sb); congenial; to speculate (on financial markets)
左近    左近    zuǒjìn    nearby
荡秋千    盪鞦韆    dàngqiūqiān    to swing (on a swing)
少说    少說    shǎoshuō    (coll.) at least
罗汉拳    羅漢拳    luóhànquán    luohan quan; arhat boxing (kungfu style)
戒刀    戒刀    jièdāo    Buddhist monk's knife (not used for killing)
见谅    見諒    jiànliàng    please forgive me
下阴    下陰    xiàyīn    the genitals
家数    家數    jiāshù    the distinctive style and techniques handed down from master to apprentice within a particular school
肉瘤    肉瘤    ròuliú    wart; sarcoma; superfluous; useless
兼之    兼之    jiānzhī    (literary) furthermore; besides; in addition; moreover
纳罕    納罕    nàhǎn    bewildered; amazed
名帖    名帖    míngtiě    name card; business card
不忿    不忿    bùfèn    unsatisfied; unconvinced; indignant
打秋风    打秋風    dǎqiūfēng    (dialect) to sponge on sb; to impose on another's hospitality or generosity · variant of 打抽豐|打抽丰[dǎchōufēng]
酒筵    酒筵    jiǔyán    feast; banquet
罔顾    罔顧    wǎnggù    (literary) ignoring; in defiance of
扁舟    扁舟    piānzhōu    small boat; skiff
世子    世子    shìzǐ    crown prince; heir of a noble house
切责    切責    qièzé    to blame; to reprimand
吹胡子    吹鬍子    chuīhúzi    形容发怒。
权谋    權謀    quánmóu    trickery; tactics
哑谜    啞謎    yǎmí    puzzle; mystery
冶艳    冶艷    yěyàn    bewitching; beautiful
端的    端的    duāndì    really; after all; details; particulars
劈头    劈頭    pītóu    straight away; right off the bat; right on the head; right in the face
知交    知交    zhījiāo    intimate friend
掮    掮    qián    to carry on the shoulder

 

[Lu]

Wow you're fast, I'm on chapter 6. Funny about the fights, I'm realising I like the plotting & scheming and stupid misunderstanding bits actually better than I like the fights. The fights are spectacular, but perhaps I'm too invested in the outcome and there are only a few possible outcomes in each case (fewer if the heroes of the story are on one side of it).

[honglam]

On 4/9/2024 at 5:29 PM, lordsuso said:

汾酒    汾酒    fénjiǔ    Fenjiu (sorghum-based Chinese liquor)

Well, sorghum is a widely used raw material in brewing, so I think "a famous brand of sorghum-based Chinese liquor" would be more exact.

On 4/9/2024 at 5:29 PM, lordsuso said:

拟合    擬合    nǐhé    to fit (data to a model); a (close) fit

I doubt if this word would show up in 金庸's book. The given explanation is a term of modern mathematics and computer science. It's quite strange that such concept would appear in legendary stories. Where did it show up?

On 4/9/2024 at 5:29 PM, lordsuso said:

赘婿    贅婿    zhuìxù    son-in-law living at wife's parent's house

Well, in Chinese context, "赘婿" means that the offspring of the couple would be given the wife's family name as well.

On 4/9/2024 at 5:29 PM, lordsuso said:

肉瘤    肉瘤    ròuliú    wart; sarcoma; superfluous; useless

Wart and sarcoma tend to be medical terms. 肉瘤 can describe any lumps on one's body.

[lordsuso]

Thank you @honglam for the clarifications as always. Here is the context for 拟合, it's a combat scene, I think it loosely corresponds to the definition, as I understand 郭靖 doesn't need to match as precisely the attacks of his opponent:

 

那人枪法已渐见涩滞。郭靖把「南山刀法」使发了，已不用顾盼拟合，信手而应，纵横前后。

 

On 4/9/2024 at 2:20 PM, honglam said:

the couple would be given the wife's family name as well

that makes more sense I didn't understand what was the big deal

 

@Lu yes that's what happens to me as well, I want to see how the fight ends and don't always have the patience to read about the details. If I remember right chapters 6-7 are a bit slow, but then... I gasped out loud a couple of times, I won't say more haha.

[Woodford]

I'm currently on Chapter 10, and I hope to be finished with Book 1 towards the end of this week! I wasn't planning on reading all 4 books back-to-back, though I have indeed heard the rumors that Book 1 ends on a cliff hanger. The English translation of the book is sold as 4 separate stories under 4 separate titles, and a lot of English readers complain that the ending is unsatisfactory. At any rate, I think I'll have to finish all 4 books at some point. Other reviewers complain that the English translation destroys the subtleties/nuances of the Chinese version, so I'm really happy for the privilege of reading the original Chinese version.

I agree that the fights can be a bit boring and tedious, and the story sags a bit around chapter 6/7. But then the author brings out one crazy plot twist after another. 

 

Spoiler

For instance, the revelation that Huangrong is actually a girl, that Yan Kang is actually Yang Kang, and that the father who set up the 比武招亲 is actually Yan Kang's surviving father. All the different plot lines are brought together so wonderfully. Huangrong's contests with the Kungfu team allied with the Jin (sorry; I'm mentally blanking on the name) were also really amusing. Especially when she had a contest where it was agreed that the winner would push the loser out of a circle, and that if both contestants were outside of the circle (a tie), Huangrong would win. Then she simply stepped out of the circle, said, "You didn't push me out," and also, "If you step out of the circle to chase me, then you lose." Okay, that's funny. Also, while all the chaos is happening in the royal courtyard, the pharmacist guy is chasing Guo Jing and trying to suck his blood, because Guo Jing killed his pet snake and accidentally drank the valuable snake blood.

It was actually around chapter 7, I thought, where things got mildly confusing. I was starting to lose track of who was who, who was allied with whom, who was angry with whom (and why), etc. While some of the Kungfu masters have identifiable characteristics that make them easy to remember, others don't. I don't waste too much energy trying to remember them all, and I guess the story, on the whole, is simple enough to follow easily.

My experience with this book reversed a lot of my expectations:

I thought it would be impossible to read and horrendously literary (it isn't).
I thought it would be filled with ancient poetry and song lyrics, which cause me a lot of pain (it isn't).
I thought the multiple plot lines and bewildering cast of characters would cause the story to be impossible to follow (that was not the case; I found Lu Yao's "Ordinary World" to be worse).

I thought the story would require a lot of historical context/knowledge to understand (as it turns out, not really).

I have heard the language in these books is semi-classical, and out of curiosity, I've opened up my copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber" to see if I can begin to understand it, after all my experience reading these historical/literary books. And, surprisingly, it seems readable to me now! But maybe that's a challenge for later.
 

[honglam]

On 4/9/2024 at 9:23 PM, lordsuso said:

Thank you @honglam for the clarifications as always. Here is the context for 拟合, it's a combat scene, I think it loosely corresponds to the definition, as I understand 郭靖 doesn't need to match as precisely the attacks of his opponent:

 

那人枪法已渐见涩滞。郭靖把「南山刀法」使发了，已不用顾盼拟合，信手而应，纵横前后。

It does loosely correspond to the definition. Yet I felt like this word(顾盼拟合) could be interpreted as "to look around, plan for the next step and do so", which is actually a word by word translation.

[Woodford]

Just finished Book 1, and I think I'll take a break from the series! Chapter 10 has the most abrupt ending of any chapter I've read so far. Just stops right in the middle of the action. Really bizarre. I was told there would be a cliff hanger, but...it's not really a cliff hanger. It just suddenly stops.

[lordsuso]

@Woodford yes it doesn't work as an ending at all, I also want to take a break so I'll report back whenever I find the closest natural breakpoint. I really liked that last fight though, 

Spoiler

one thing is for sure: you can't underestimate disabled characters in this book haha blind and paraplegic? no problem

 

 

 

[杰娃娃]

I'll be starting chapter 8 today. It's very exciting, but I'll agree with previous sentiments that fight scenes are my least favourite section.

 

I think I would like to get to chapter 20 before taking a break, after reading what everyone has said about the ending of chapter 10.

[lordsuso]

If anybody else wants to take a break after the first volume, I strongly recommend you read until a bit past the halfway point of chapter 11 to have some sort of closure (you'll recognize it when you get there). I am going to take a couple of weeks off to restore my 内功.

[Lu]

I have put this book aside for a bit, I have some other texts that I have to read and it turns out I can only process so much Chinese reading in a day. I'll pick it back up when the work-reading is done.

 

I don't remember now which chapter I was at, but I was thinking how I am already at chapter x and the famous love interest hasn't even shown up yet! And the next thing that happens is the love interest showing up. That was fun.

[lordsuso]

I have a question regarding the poems in this book, maybe someone can help me out. Here is an example:

 

放船千里凌波去，略为吴山留顾。云屯水府，涛随神女，九江东注。北客翩然，壮心偏感，年华将暮。念伊蒿旧隐，巢由故友，南柯梦，遽如许！

 

Is this classical chinese? Or is it vernacular? Is vernacular poetry even a thing?

[lordsuso]

I don't want to discourage others from starting book 2, but I haven't really enjoyed the first half, luckily things seem to be picking up again.

 

There's one wuxia trope that this book has made me realize (I have seen it in other books/tvshows as well): the characters keep running into each other for no apparent reason other than moving the story forward. It's almost comical at times, they just happen to show up all at once in the same location.

[杰娃娃]

I'm up to Chapter 14 and have been finding it a bit of a drag recently. I've been lacking motivation to read and I've been reading other stuff instead.

 

For some of the authors I've read multiple books by, going back to their writing is like wearing a pair of old slippers, but not with Jin Yong. I feel like I need to get used to his writing all over again after only a short break.

[Lu]

I'm back on the wagon, just finished chapter 8. I see what you folks mean that there are more and more characters showing up and it's hard to keep track. Since I took a long break right after seven or eight new people were introduced, I didn't even try to figure out who is who again and just stepped right back into the story. So far that has worked well. I think it helps that this was originally a serial, with people reading it over an even longer period than I am doing, so Jin Yong is not shy in every once in a while reminding the reader (me, yay) who is who and what they did and why they are Enemies/sworn brothers/whatever.

 

I happened to see a memorial set of stamps with famous Jin Yong characters on them, including Guo Jing and his love interest in this story, just before the love interest showed up in this book, so I knew that

Spoiler

黄蓉 was a girl as soon as the little beggar kid was introduced with that name. It was fun seeing Guo Jing all slack-jawed though. And I'm curious about Huang Rong's backstory, which I'm sure I'll learn more about.

 

[杰娃娃]

I'm tapping out (for now at least).

 

I'm disappointed because I was really excited to read this, but I have just been finding it to be such a slog, and I really don't look forward to reading.

 

Last year I read only Chinese books for a year, but have recently started reading in English again too. Perhaps I still need to work out a better way of balancing the two as I haven't been enjoying reading Chinese recently (not sure how much is down to not liking this book or enjoying the English books I'm reading).

 

Anyway, I'll check in on this thread occasionally and if everyone says it gets better later on then I might consider continuing,

[lordsuso]

I intend to keep going, but am definitely taking more breaks in book 2 than in book 1 (but I am also busier right now).

 

The English translation of book 2 has better reviews than book 1, which I guess is mostly due to people not liking book 1 dropping the series, but from my experience book 1 was way better, there was a clear objective, whereas book 2 honestly reads like filler at times.

 

On 6/29/2024 at 8:57 AM, 杰娃娃 said:

Perhaps I still need to work out a better way of balancing the two

This is something I've been thinking about lately, because I also want to go back to reading in English but I am not very good at following multiple books at once.

[Lu]

On 6/29/2024 at 8:57 AM, 杰娃娃 said:

Last year I read only Chinese books for a year, but have recently started reading in English again too. Perhaps I still need to work out a better way of balancing the two

I find that I can diligently read a Chinese book (or more than one) for four to six weeks or so, reading an hour a day, making a lot of progress, and then I snap and dive into the first Dutch or English book that comes to hand. OR I read a little Chinese every day, or several days a week, and something in Dutch or English concurrently, and then the progress is slower but I can maintain it a lot longer.

[honglam]

On 5/11/2024 at 5:50 PM, lordsuso said:

Is vernacular poetry even a thing?

In fact the classification of poetry is a separated and complicated topic in Chinese literature studies. Meanwhile, concerning the rhythm and the rimes, the language used for poetry is somehow different from general Classical Chinese or modern vernacular Chinese. Allusions and quotations are great barriers as well since they require a great knowledge of Classical Chinese philosophy, astrology, mythology, legends and history to understand.

As for the very given poem, it's a 詞 in genre. The author is 朱敦儒, a poet of 南宋 with celebrity. At the time of this poem, the army of song was continuously defeated by 金國 and 中原(an area including the political and economical center of 宋) was occupied by 金國. Thus many people from 中原 fled to the Southeastern area of China to avoid being involved in the war. This is the background of this poet. The given content is only the first half of this 詞. The whole 詞 is:

放船千里凌波去，畧爲吳山留顧。雲屯水府，濤隨神女，九江東注。北客翩然，壯心偏感，年華將暮。念伊嵩舊隱，巢由故友，南柯夢，遽如許！

回首妖氛未掃，問人間，英雄何處？奇謀報國，可憐無用，塵昏白羽。鐵鎖橫江，錦帆衝浪，孫郎良苦！但愁敲桂棹，悲吟梁父，淚流如雨。

[honglam]

On 5/11/2024 at 5:50 PM, lordsuso said:

放船千里凌波去，略为吴山留顾。云屯水府，涛随神女，九江东注。北客翩然，壮心偏感，年华将暮。念伊蒿旧隐，巢由故友，南柯梦，遽如许！

And here's a basic explanation of this poem:

放船sail a boat千里thousands of miles凌波across the wave去go，畧briefly爲for(indicating the aims)吳山the scenery(as in 山川) of Wu area留stay顧look around

Sailing a boat across the wave for thousands of miles I went, only briefly could I stay and look around for the scenery of Wu(to enjoy the scenery).

This sentence states the background of this poem. The poet was on a boat to the southeastern region(i.d. 吳) to escape and hardly could he stay calm and enjoy the picturesque scenery around him.

 

雲Clouds屯accumulate水府the god of rain，濤wave隨follows神女the goddess，九江many rivers東注flow east into the sea

Clouds accumulate around the god of rain(i.d. it's going to rain), the waves follow the goddess(here is a allusion. 神女 stands for 巫山神女, who metamorphose into clouds in the morning and rain in the evening. To put it simple, this sentence means the waves are surging), Many river(a common phenomenon in Classics, in which 九 means many rather than nine) flow east into the sea.

This sentence is a description of the picturesque scenery of 吳. For the poet coming from 中原, such scenery is absolutely something he'd never seen before.

 

北客Guest from north翩然quickly，壯心a heart full of ambition偏but感feel，年華the age將暮will come to an end like the sunset。念think of伊River Yi嵩Mount Song舊previous隱seclusion，巢Chao Fu由Xu You故old友friend，南柯夢a fond dream，遽just如like許this！

As a guest from north I went quickly(to the south), my heart is full of ambition but I feel my life is coming to an end (before I could fulfill my ambition to serve my country). I remember the time of seclusion at River伊 and Mount嵩, remember my old friend just like 巢父 and 許由(both are hermit in the history). A fond dream is just like this!

This sentence states the mood of the poet, which forms a contrast with the former sentence. The scenery around is picturesque and beautiful, but the poet's mood is distressed. He feels old and annoyed of no opportunity to fulfill his ambition. When people feel old, they would look back upon their old days. Both 伊水 and 嵩山 are in 中原. Now these memories of previous days occurs to him, but he doesn't have an opportunity to experience a life like that again (since these areas are now occupied by 金).

 

回首look behind妖氛the atmosphere of monsters(i.d. the invaders from 金國)未掃be not defeated，問ask人間this world，英雄hereo何處where？奇謀wonderful strategies報國serve my country，可憐wretched無用not being used，塵dirts昏stain白羽white feather(諸葛亮, a legendary militarists and statesman who often held a fan made of white feather in his hand. here the poet compared him self to 諸葛亮, implying that himself is a good militarist and statesman like 諸葛亮)。

Looking behind, the invaders are not yet defeated. Thus I ask this world: "where are the heroes?" I have wonderful strategies to serve my country, yet so wretched am I not being elected by the emperor, and my fan of white feather has already been stained by dust and dirt!

This sentence used the allusion of 諸葛亮(famous statesman of 季漢) to express his suffering of not getting the attention by the emperor and not being able to fulfill his ambition.

 

鐵鎖Iron chains橫across江river，錦帆Warships衝浪surf on the wave，孫郎The king Sun Hao良quite苦Tragic！

Iron chains form a blockade across the river. However, warships still surfed on the wave(and defeated 吳 of 三國). The king 孫皓 was so tragic!

The metaphor of the 吳 of 三國 was frequently used in literatures of 南宋, since the situation and the region of occupation of 南宋 and 吳 was quite similar. This sentence state the story of 晉 ended the occupation of 吳. At that time, the king of 吳, 孫皓, is a famous tyrant.

 

但Only愁anxiety敲hit桂棹oars，悲sadly吟chant梁父the poet of Liangfu，淚tear流flow如like雨rain。

I could only hit the oars with anxiety, chant the poet of Liangfu with sadness, my tear flows like rain.

------

It is really hard to explain a Chinese poet in English, regarding that I should explain the allusions and quotations among this poet as well(actually for students attend to middle schools in China, many allusions and quotations here are not quite difficult since they are partly cultural common senses). Though I could not say I explained this poet very clearly. I hope you could find this understandable.