There are roughly the following kinds at the beginning of Gu Long's novels.
The first category is people who write about scenery, such as the ruthless sword of passionate swordsman. At the beginning of the book, it says that it snows in Wan Li. In the snowstorm, a carriage came. In the carriage, sat a lonely hero. The man coughed while drinking, pale and exhausted. When the bottle is empty, carve a woman with a knife. This vivid description shows profound meaning. Ruthless snow shows the inner realm of the characters, and the lonely and painful ideological activities of the protagonist are shown through drinking and carving women. In a few strokes, the image of a lonely knight-errant Li Xunhuan jumped from the page.
The second is the suspended form. The first chapter of Heroes Don't Cry is "A Box". An ordinary and silent man brought an old box. That box looks nothing strange, but it is a world-class weapon. The author neither pointed out the identity of the person nor explained the mystery of the box, but the reader was attracted by a suspense as soon as he picked up the book.
The third kind is character sketch. Lu Xiaofeng has written four outstanding masters before shooting. Grandma Xiong, who sells sugar-fried chestnuts, is ruthless, and the honest monk is too honest. Ximen Chuixue is eccentric, skillful in fencing, blind and unpredictable. There is no doubt that as soon as these four people appear, readers will know that there is a good show.
The fourth type is the Qifeng protruding type, such as the white jade tiger. On the wedding day, Zhao Wuji, the son of martial arts master Zhao Jian, was suddenly killed, and Shangguan Blade, the master of Three Temples, mysteriously disappeared. This episode also brings readers into a confusing story.
The beginning of Gu Long's novels is really distinctive. But some people are not satisfied, because the author has neither explained the background of the times nor seen what historical dynasty the story took place in. But in my opinion, this shortcoming can also be said to be an advantage, because it is fictional writing, which is more in line with the artistic conception of "adult fairy tales"
The ending of Gu Long's novels is also different from traditional martial arts novels. For example, he wrote "White Tiger", which only wrote that the mystery of "White Tiger" was uncovered, and there was no follow-up article. How did it end? Let the reader imagine for himself. This is also a clever way of writing. Another example is the legend of heroes with a banner at the end. I don't know whether the hero Tie Tang Zhong is dead or alive. But readers are not disappointed when they read this, because the author has made such a summary: "But in any case, this iron-blooded boy, if born, will live vigorously no matter where he lives;" When you die, you die as a ghost. "Will this conclusion make readers regret it?" Seven Weapons does have an ending. Every story has a conclusion when it is closed, and it also contains the philosophy of flash. The author tells readers a simple and profound truth: the most powerful weapons are not the longevity sword, peacock feathers, overlord guns and fists ... but people's confidence, honesty, smile and sense of justice ... in short, people are greater than any weapons. Because weapons are dead and people are alive, the best weapons can only show unparalleled power in the hands of the smartest people.
At the beginning and end of Gu Long's novels, we can seriously consider three issues.
First, Gu Long put forward the requirement of "innovation, change and breakthrough" in his novels, which was well reflected in his novels. He successfully broke through the structure of the old martial arts novels, and made great efforts to develop the new martial arts novels in art, so that the tired martial arts novels entered a new realm. The language is new, the writing is new and the structure is new. At this point, he deserves to be another master who changed the style of martial arts novels after Jin Yong.
Secondly, Gu Long is a modern writer. He knows how to create suspense and draws on some advantages of western novels.
His beginning and ending can not only capture the reader's psychology, but also leave room for the reader's imagination. Get rid of the stereotype that some of China's traditional novels start with a detailed historical background, tell the story of the characters and end with a happy ending.
Third, there is no framework in Gu Long's later novels. Every time he creates a novel, he always writes a novel and changes it. Although it cannot be said that his department is successful, he is making unremitting efforts in the direction of success. Just because there were Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong before, he didn't follow the tradition. What is valuable about him is that in order to make martial arts novels have more readers, he constantly strives for innovation, change and breakthrough.
I think, any style, any theme, not because of the success of predecessors, future generations should be willing to follow suit and stop exploring. On the contrary, a truly creative writer always tries to create a new style on the basis of predecessors. The ancient prose movement of Han Liu in Tang Dynasty changed the prose of Tang Dynasty, but Ouyang Xiu did not lose the courage to change because of Han Liu's model prose. It was under Ouyang Xiu's personal practice that the prose in the Song Dynasty changed and created a unique artistic realm of the prose in the Song Dynasty. There is no doubt that Gu Long is also such an accomplished literary reformer. He is an outstanding martial arts novelist who created a new style after Jin Yong.
From Flaubert to Mo Bosang to Chekhov, from Pingjiang to Gong, from Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong to Gu Long, it shows that Chinese and foreign novels have a gradual development process. This is true of pure literature, and so is popular literature.
Gu Long wrote in the preface: "I really hope that a new martial arts novelist will surpass himself." I think writers who are interested in writing martial arts novels will never let Gu Long's last wish fail.
When reading a book, I often say, "Different people have different opinions." Because readers' qualities, preferences and tastes are very different, the evaluation of the same book will be very different.
And the love of the same book, everyone's favorite angle and degree are often inconsistent. As far as Gu Long's novels are concerned, some people appreciate the humor of language, while others appreciate the wit of dialogue. However, I once did a small survey. The reason why "Gu Long's novel craze" spread from Taiwan Province Province to Southeast Asia, and then entered the mainland, was mainly due to the bizarre conception and ups and downs of the plot.
Reading Gu Long's novels is like falling into a fog. Reading Lu Xiaofeng, Chu Liuxiang, and the ruthless sword of passionate swordsman, I walked all the way, with obstacles, accidents, mountains and rivers, and finally, things changed. Obviously an ordinary person, but the result is a first-class master; He is a kind gentleman, but he is a wicked devil. Fools are smart, wise men fall for it, there is a murderer behind the murderer, and there are traps in the trap, which makes people dazzled and dazzled, so that readers all admire Gu Long's wisdom, originality and originality.
Don't say Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang, don't say the ruthless sword of passionate swordsman and the eagle flying in September, just take the seven weapons as an example, which makes people dumbfounded and admire. Seven kinds of weapons have written seven stories, which are seven unexpected stories. In jasper knife, Duan Yu went to Zhu Bao Villa to celebrate her birthday, in order to be the son-in-law of Zhu Kuan, the owner of the villa, but met the story of Qinglong Club on the way. The beauty he saved as a weak woman was actually the bait set by Qinglong Club, and the girl who saved him was Zhu Zhu, the eye of Zhu Kuan. This is one of the accidents. Duan Yu thought the murderer was molten iron, and later he thought it was Taoist Gu. Finally, the real murderer is Taoist Gu's wife. This is the second accident. From the perspective of peacock feathers, Koryo was originally one of the five assassins. They wanted to kill Baili Changqing, but when they did, Koryo wanted to save Baili Changqing, which was an accident. But Koryo was about to start working when he was stopped again, which was another accident. Although peacock feathers are invincible in the world, people's self-confidence is even more valuable. Even more amazing is the sword of eternal life. Fang Yuxiang, regarded by Bai Yujing as a good friend, is a villain on the surface, while the gentle woman Bai Yujing loves is the devil wears Prada in Qinglong Club. There is a master behind the master, and there is a trap in the trap. It seems that the winner lost in a big mess, as if he were dead but dead again. Gu Long's wonderful flower pen completely blinded the readers.
Some people say that Gu Long's martial arts novels are mysterious. I think this derogatory term at least contains an artistic feature of Gu Long's novels. How much interest is there in martial arts novels if only real swords and guns are written and only pure martial arts contests are written? Who is interested in reading one book after another? I think the mystery in the plot is worthy of recognition as long as it is done skillfully. On the one hand, it can make the plot unpredictable, on the other hand, it can set suspense. China's classical novels and pingtan pay attention to "imprisonment", and the so-called "imprisonment" also leaves suspense, which makes people want to stop.
Of course, the unexpected in Gu Long's novels not only contributes to the development of the plot, but also shapes the characters. In the case of seven weapons parting hook, it was an accident that Di Qinglin and Wan bought a horse in anger. Di Qinglin won, but he gave a BMW. Then he immediately secretly killed Wan, which was another accident. These two accidents coincide with Di Qinglin's insidious character, because no one will doubt that the murderer is Di Qinglin who sent the BMW. Look at the flowers of Qinglong Club. Grandpa four asked Xiaoqing to accompany Di Qinglin to drink. This enchanting woman poisoned Di Qinglin's wine, and Di Qinglin was unprepared and swallowed it in one gulp. It seems that Grandpa Hua won this chess game, but Di Qinglin didn't die. Not only did he not die, but he also killed Xiaoqing and Grandpa Hua. Di Qinglin is good at camouflage and cunning, which is completely exposed. Di Qinglin later competed with Zheng Yang. He could have let Zheng Yang die in the institution he established, but he gave up and fought Zheng Yang again. As far as Di Qinglin's martial arts is concerned, he is a shoo-in, but Yang Zheng cut his arm with a parting hook, and then hit him backhand. In the end, Di Qinglin failed. The accident in this accident vividly depicts the sinister and arrogant complex character of the negative image of Di Qinglin, and at the same time reveals the inevitable outcome of the perpetrators.
It can be seen that the unexpected in Gu Long's excellent works is completely in line with the development of things. Whether it is whimsy or confusing plot, the writer's focus is still on writing people, in order to better highlight the character. Because of this, although there are many doubts along the way, it is thrilling and bizarre, but after hiding, it gives readers enough aftertaste. On the other hand, if the bizarre plot pursued by the writer violates the logic of character development and story development, then this strangeness becomes a "flying pen" and enters the evil road of shaking one's head and making things up, which not only fails to increase the readability and artistic appeal of the work, but exposes the author's shallowness, vulgarity and ugliness.
This is the boundary between Gu Long's novels and those martial arts novels with low style and poor content.
The hesitation in the plot of Gu Long's novels is also the concrete embodiment of the writer's ingenious conception. It is the ingenious conception that leads to the ups and downs of the plot, thus highlighting the characters and themes. This is Gu Long's unique artistic style and one of the reasons why his novels are popular.
From this point of view, Gu Long's later creation of Seven Swords really shows that he has become one of his most famous and brilliant masterpieces, and this reputation is by no means a hollow reputation.
After reading many of Gu Long's novels, we can naturally find similarities in his novels.
The first is the similarity of story ideas. There are villains behind the wicked, and there is a shady behind the shady; First, the martial arts master with superior martial arts was murdered by unknown means, which led to a series of suspicious traces, so the number one hero BLACKPINK appeared. With his wit and courage, the truth finally came out and the wicked were reported. It's quite new to read one or two of these stories, and reading ten or eight gives readers "foresight".
The second is the similarity of plot arrangement. Gu Long's novels are confusing and the plot arrangement is painstaking, which is certainly worthy of recognition, but due to the pursuit of bizarre twists and turns, the same plot in several books is inevitably the same.
Several cases in Lu Xiaofeng are quite beautiful at first glance, but they feel "deja vu" on closer inspection.
Location. As for the Prodigal Son and Lost Soul, there are also "crashes" in the plot. Similar traces can be found in the horror scenes written in Blood Parrot, Love of Famous Sword and Beauty of Two Arrows.
The third is the similarity of characters. Gu Long created Lu Xiaofeng, Chu Liuxiang, Tie, and other artistic models with their own personalities, which should be said to be successful. However, the protagonists in his works also have similar personalities, such as informality, drinking like a dog, extraordinary wit and superb martial arts. For example, Fang Wei in "The Eagle on the Earth", who is not afraid of difficulties, always maintains an optimistic and cheerful personality and is humorous and free and easy in any difficult situation. Fang Wei can also be found in Gu You's other works. For another example, in terms of personality hobbies, Gu Long wrote that many heroes are alcoholics who can't leave the things in the cup for a moment, which is somewhat similar.
Fourth, the themes of the works are similar. Gu long likes to write strange things. He praises friendship but despises love, opposes tradition and despises ethics. He eulogized the greatness of men's strength, eulogized the chivalry of America in the past, resisted injustice and went forward bravely. For a word "righteousness", he can give up everything, even his life. In a word, Gu Long shows the light and lashes the darkness through "emotion" and "righteousness". Although this writing intention is expressed in different words, it is basically the same.
The similarity of Gu Long's novels can also be classified as the pattern of Gu Long's novels.
A writer has a pattern, okay? I think there is a good side and a bad side. Readers who have read Gu Long's novels often know that it was written by Gu Long without looking at the signature of the work, which can clearly show that:
Gu Long is a writer with a unique style. His novels have formed their own distinctive features from language to style, from characters to story structure. A writer without characteristics is not a real writer. Gu Long deserves this.
However, some people think that there is a pattern in Gu Long's novels, which is the end of his creative life. This is not unreasonable. Art is more valuable than innovation. A truly great writer often changes his original style and constantly pursues new things. Only in this way can an artistic life remain youthful forever.
These two views have their own correct side, but they are by no means irreconcilable. In my opinion, the pattern of Gu Long's novels was gradually formed after ten years' efforts. If we read Absurd and Lonely Star, and then read Lu Xiaofeng and The Legend of Chu Liuxiang, we will find that there is a big gap between them. This only shows that Gu Long is really pursuing a new style. When we read his later works Seven Swords, Happy Hero and Tianya Yueming Dao, we will feel that the author's writing style is innovative. This tells us that the pattern of Gu Long's novels is between change and invariability. It is precisely because he constantly removes the artistic roughness in his works that his works gradually mature. Because he is constantly seeking innovation, change and breakthrough, his works have vitality. Of course, Gu Long's efforts to seek change were not completely successful. At least in the eyes of some readers, his novels Happy Hero and Tianya Yueming Island have changed from novel style to prose style. This change made Gu Long lose a large number of enthusiastic readers who admired him.
After all, the pattern of Gu Long's novels has made a new breakthrough after Jin Yong, the greatest success of the new martial arts novels. Although, on the whole, Gu Long's literary achievements did not surpass Jin Yong's, Gu Long provided readers with new things with his unique style, giving people a refreshing feeling from artistic methods to ideological content. The appearance of Gu Long's novels broke the conclusion that the new martial arts novels other than Jin Yong were considered unreadable by some critics.
This undoubtedly makes the ancient dragon occupy an important position in the history of China's martial arts novels.
I don't think it's surprising that some people criticize Gu Long's novel mode. Just as some people accuse Qiong Yao's novels of having too many similarities. Imagine that a writer has created dozens of novels with similar themes, whether it is Gu Long or Qiong Yao, the similarities in their novels are inevitable. This phenomenon can be traced back to ancient China, where Lu You and Bai Juyi were both prolific poets. Because they have written a lot, it is inevitable that high-quality products are mixed with inferior products and are criticized. On the contrary, the poet Rainbow left only six poems, and there were almost no derogatory words in his comments on Wang Zhihuan. I wonder, did Wang Zhihuan really surpass Lu You and Bai Juyi in artistic achievements? The reason is that no prolific writer or poet can guarantee that his works are excellent, and the artistic achievements of Lu You and Bai Juyi are naturally above those of Wang Zhihuan. It is also necessary for us to give a fair and appropriate evaluation to popular novelists like Gu Long and Qiong Yao.