China News Service, Beijing, March 10th: How should we commemorate the centenary of Jin Yong’s birth?
——Exclusive interview with Zhang Mengxin, professor at the School of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University
Author Yan Zhang Bin Tong Xiaoyu
March 10 this year marks the centenary of the birth of the famous scholar and writer Jin Yong.
Although Jin Yong has passed away for more than five years, his influence has not faded.
Why are his works so popular in the Chinese-speaking world?
How should Jin Yong be commemorated?
Zhang Mengxin, a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University, once served as the party secretary of the School of Humanities at Zhejiang University and worked with the first dean Jin Yong for 6 years. He recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" on this matter.
Jin Yong (Cha Liangyong).
Photo by Ren Chenming
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: You have worked with Mr. Jin Yong for many years. What impressions did that time leave on you? What kind of "colleague" is he?
On June 28, 2007, Mr. Jin Yong accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Service in Hong Kong.
Photo by Ren Haixia
Zhang Mengxin:
On March 26, 1999, Mr. Jin Yong became the first dean of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University. At that time, there was a lot of discussion about this matter in the society.
There are expectations and there are criticisms.
Some people think that Jin Yong is a martial arts novelist and does not understand university management.
I had just become the party committee secretary of the college at that time, and I was very worried.
After actually becoming a colleague with Mr. Jin Yong, I found that my initial worries were unnecessary.
After working together for 6 years, the impression he left on me can be summarized in three sentences: a dedicated and dedicated dean; an approachable and wise elder; and an amiable and persuasive "senior brother".
The first thing Mr. Jin Yong did after taking office was to set goals for the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University and plan for the characteristics of each department.
In October 1999, he chaired a large-scale seminar on the construction and development of humanities at Zhejiang University, inviting more than 60 well-known domestic experts and scholars to attend the seminar.
This is Jin Yong’s first big move after becoming the dean of the School of Humanities.
This meeting not only provided many valuable and pertinent opinions for the construction and development of the Humanities Department of Zhejiang University, but also further clarified the focus and ideas of future development of the Humanities Department of Zhejiang University, and also enhanced the influence and influence of the Humanities Department of Zhejiang University in the domestic academic community. Reputation.
Zhang Mengxin (left) took a photo with Mr. Jin Yong when Jin Yong was the first dean of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University.
Photo provided by interviewee
Mr. Jin Yong does not hide his personal interests and actively uses his influence and connections to provide resources for the school.
In the spring of 2002, he invited dozens of experts and scholars at home and abroad to hold an international seminar on "The Living Environment and Chinese Culture under New Economic Conditions."
During the three-day conference, experts and scholars gave more than 80 academic reports, which were full and achieved good results.
As dean, Jin Yong not only submitted a paper titled "Global Economy and Humanistic Factors", but also personally edited the conference's collection of papers "Living Environment and Chinese Culture under New Economic Conditions".
Outside of work, Mr. Jin Yong is an approachable elder.
When he became the dean, he was already 75 years old. Although we usually communicate with him on the school's work in a timely manner through phone calls, faxes and emails, he would definitely come to Zhejiang University two or three times a year, lasting ten days and a half.
The happiest thing for him is to meet his "junior brothers and sisters" as a "big brother" and communicate with teachers and students.
On March 6, 2024, in the Yunsong Bookstore located in the West Lake Scenic Area of Hangzhou, the rocking chair that Mr. Jin Yong once sat on is as new as ever.
Photo by Zhang Bin
He often gives lectures on various topics, including martial arts novels and humanistic spirit.
Based on his own experience, he once taught college students that "in addition to having fun, they should spend more time on learning."
He is a veteran newspaperman and has great affection for the journalism discipline. He once wrote an inscription for the journal of the Journalism Department of Zhejiang University: News must be true and rumors must not be spread.
On April 7, 1999, Mr. Jin Yong wrote an inscription for "News and Communication", the journal of the former Department of Journalism of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University: "News must be true, and rumors must not be spread." Photo provided by interviewee
Mr. Jin Yong is a cultural master, but he is very humble.
We asked him to write inscriptions and students asked him to sign autographs. He had no airs and readily agreed. The letter he gave to the students must be: Little friend so-and-so.
Every word of congratulation comes at your fingertips.
Mr. Jin Yong came to be the dean with feelings.
During his six years at Zhejiang University, he did not use any of the salary paid by the school. Instead, he established a Jin Yong Humanities Fund to specifically support poor students.
This is also his chivalrous spirit and courage. Like Guo Jing and Xiao Feng, a great chivalrous person serves the country and the people.
China News Service reporter: Jin Yong once said: "I came to Zhejiang University as the dean of the School of Humanities because I want to promote China's humanistic spirit." In your eyes, what is the connotation of the "humanistic spirit" he advocated?
Zhang Mengxin:
In the 1990s, influenced by Western ideas and the impact of the economic wave, some people would one-sidedly think that European and American countries were advanced in everything, and did not have high recognition of Chinese traditional culture.
In this context, Mr. Jin Yong’s advocacy of humanistic spirit is commendable and is an insight that transcends the times.
The connotation of his humanistic spirit is "people-oriented".
He once said that the purpose of our teaching is to focus on people and pay attention to people's actual life.
Literature and art seek to enrich people's spiritual life and enrich their artistic life; philosophy and history seek to understand the nature and value of human life, understand the past of people and society, and look forward to the future.
In 2022, "Jin Yong Exhibition" will be held in the East Branch of Shanghai Library.
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
In a lecture, he once pointed out that as far as Chinese people are concerned, simply speaking, they must not violate their own conscience, do a career worthy of the country, worthy of their parents, worthy of their relatives and friends, and have relatively correct moral concepts.
You can't always think about yourself and do whatever it takes to get ahead. This is against the humanistic spirit.
Mr. Jin Yong said that when Chinese study and study the humanities, they can actually directly inherit the people-oriented "humanism" of ancient Chinese philosophers without having to learn from Western humanism.
Looking back at Dean Jin Yong's words, I still feel they are full of wisdom.
The ongoing construction of a cultural power requires the formation of strong cultural and discursive self-confidence.
Mr. Jin Yong realized this 25 years ago.
Reporter from China News Service: You once edited the Zhejiang University edition of "College Chinese" and included "Swordsman and Rescue" (excerpt) into the textbook. In your opinion, what are the literary achievements of Jin Yong’s works?
Zhang Mengxin:
When the School of Humanities was established, I received the task of editing the Zhejiang University edition of "College Chinese".
Out of admiration for Mr. Jin Yong, and in order to satisfy the majority of students’ desire to learn Jin Yong’s novels and understand their ideological and artistic qualities, I included “Swordsman and Rescue” (excerpt) in the teaching materials.
When selecting works, I asked Mr. Jin Yong for advice. Among the excerpts from the three novels "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Swordsman", he chose "The Swordsman - Rescue".
"Righteousness" is the soul of Jin Yong's new martial arts novels. This excerpt praises the Wuyue Sword Sect's "connecting with one another" and the chivalrous spirit of drawing swords to help when encountering injustice, embodying the humanistic spirit of Jin Yong's novels.
At the same time, the martial arts fights are exciting and thrilling, and they reveal the personalities of different characters, reflecting the artistic charm and superb narrative and descriptive skills of Jin Yong's novels.
In 2022, the audience visited the "Jin Yong Exhibition" in the East Building of Shanghai Library.
Photo by Wang Gang
The theme of traditional martial arts novels is "gratitude and hatred", but the characters in Jin Yong's works are not only "people with martial arts skills, loyalty, and chivalrous people", but also people who can "defend the family and the country, and be benevolent to the world."
He raised the loyalty of brothers in old martial arts to the ideological level of "the greatest chivalrous person serves the country and the people".
Guo Jing in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" grew up from an ignorant boy to a heroic hero, with the feelings of family and country always by his side; Qiao Feng (Xiao Feng) in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is a Khitan who grew up in the Northern Song Dynasty In the end, for the sake of the peace of the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, he ended his life in front of the two armies.
There is also a lot of knowledge in Jin Yong's novels.
Jin Yong has loved reading since he was a child, and he has done a lot of research on Chinese classical culture.
For example, the moves such as "The Dragon Regrets" and "The Flying Dragon in the Sky" in "Shooting the Condor" come from the "Book of Changes Qian Gua"; in "The Swordsman", the quality of martial arts no longer depends on one move. But in the inner realm of the cultivator, the philosophy of "the invisible is better than the tangible, the invisible is better than the visible, the man and the sword are one" are in the same vein as Laozi's "Tao Te Ching".
It can be said that his works contain rich traditional Chinese culture, such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, astronomy and geography, music, chess, calligraphy and painting, tea, wine, poetry, martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine, etc., which are well integrated in the novel.
Reporter from China News Service: Jin Yong's works have a huge influence in the Chinese world and have many overseas fans. Why do you think it is?
Zhang Mengxin:
The reason may be related to the characteristics of the protagonist in the novel.
The protagonists in Jin Yong's novels all went through hardships and tribulations to achieve success, and they all experienced "the sharp edge of a sword is sharpened."
This kind of perseverance and humiliation is a portrayal of the Chinese people, and it easily resonates with the overseas Chinese community. They all achieved their achievements after several generations of hard work.
This is the precious thing about literary works. Only true feelings can move people.
The charm of the work is also related to the author's vision.
Mr. Jin Yong received a pure Chinese education when he was young, and later lived in Hong Kong for a long time. Hong Kong is connected to the world, which brought him a broad international perspective.
In 2005, the 81-year-old Jin Yong made a special trip to study there to study for a master's degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, which attracted a lot of attention.
In 2010, at the age of 86, he received a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University.
It can be said that Mr. Jin Yong experienced both Eastern and Western cultures, making his language easier to understand in the world.
China News Service reporter: How do you think Jin Yong should be commemorated?
Zhang Mengxin:
Jin Yong’s works have been made into films for more than 60 years. Many of his novels have had more than ten film and television drama versions and have been widely disseminated.
Commemorating Jin Yong is not only to spread his works, but more importantly, to carry forward the idea of "serving the country and the people" conveyed in the works, as well as the characters in the book who are chivalrous, honest and selfless, courageous in righteousness, helping the poor, hate evil as much as enemies, honest and trustworthy, and advocating virtue. Good qualities.
These are the riches of humanistic spirit in Jin Yong's novels.
We must protect the spiritual wealth he left behind, interpret it from all angles, and elucidate the practical significance of Jin Yong's culture and works.
Zhejiang is a rich mine of "Jin Yong culture", and we must pay attention to sorting out Jin Yong's cultural resources. For example, in 1996, Mr. Jin Yong donated the "Yunsong Bookstore" costing tens of millions of yuan by the West Lake to the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government, and its further development must also be put on the agenda. , to systematically create Jin Yong’s cultural relics.
People do not forget Jin Yong and gain nourishment from the spiritual and material wealth he left behind, which is the best memorial to Mr. Jin Yong.
(over)
Interviewee profile:
Zhang Mengxin.
Photo by Zhang Bin
Zhang Mengxin, PhD, professor and doctoral supervisor of Zhejiang University.
He has served successively as deputy secretary of the Party Branch of the Chinese Department of Hangzhou University, secretary of the general branch of the Journalism Department, deputy dean of the School of Journalism and Communication (in charge of work), secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University, and dean of the School of Media and Humanities of Zhejiang University.
He has published and edited more than 40 kinds of monographs, including "History of the Development of Chinese Prose", "Chinese Literature", "Mao Kun Studies", and "College Chinese Classics".
He once served as the vice president of the National University Chinese Research Association, the president of the Zhejiang University Chinese Research Association, the vice president of the Zhejiang Literary Society, and the executive vice president of the Zhejiang Secretarial Society. He is a famous teaching teacher in Zhejiang Province.