Customer Reviews

Paper Swordsmen: Jin Yong and the Modern Chinese Martial Arts Novel

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Prof. Hamm has researched the history of the genre to a depth that has not even occurred to other scholars. The chapter "Local Heroes," especially, is a revelation, outlining the history in Triad foundational mythology, oral folklore and pulp fiction of the supposedly historical tales of the South Shaolin Temple, the meat and potatoes of every Shaw Brothers fan. The Jin Yong chapters suggest that the genre has a long history of struggling to escape from itself and retire from the dog eat dog life in Jiang-Hu. Also highly readable, which is a nice bonus.

This is an excellent and engrossing study of wuxia author Jin Yong. It not only discusses the theme of the Jin Yong's wuxia novels but also traces the history of wuxia, it's rise and impact in Hong Kong and China. For those who have interest in wuxia, this is a rare but valuable English language look at the world of Jin Yong.

Good background information on chinese wuxia genre and some martial arts history too.