Pilgrim vs. Martial Arts Man
[Exploring the World of Jin Yong’s Martial Arts] 3 Associations between Life and Faith in Jin Yong’s Martial Arts Novels
"Life" is naturally "internal strength",
"Life" and "service" are moves.
Daily devotions, meditation, prayer and Bible reading,
It is practicing internal strength;The same goes for pursuing the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit.
Given the popularity of Jin Yong's martial arts novels, it is no exaggeration to call them "one of the pop culture indicators of the contemporary Chinese world."
When you think of pop culture, what do you think of? —Heavy metal music with a bunch of demons dancing around? A nasty porn site? Violent and bloody computer games? A Hollywood movie where fists and pillows fly together? Or a rap song or a pop song with dirty language?
So, we ask: What is your response to the deep soul cry behind pop culture?
A showdown between ancient and modern cultures—"Popular" may not necessarily be "vulgar"
In fact, "popular" is not necessarily the same as "vulgar". Compared with other modern martial arts novels that deliberately exaggerate erotic elements and strong New Age thoughts, Jin Yong's graceful, reasonable and sentimental martial arts works can be said to be a breath of fresh air.
My colleague, a writer based in the United States, raised a series of questions worth pondering in her "Christians and Popular Culture" class -
1. Questions about popular culture:
1. What are the concerns or issues in popular culture?
2. What is popular culture’s interpretation of life?
3. What values or beliefs does popular culture hold?
4. What are the lifestyles and practices provided by popular culture?
2. Questions to ask about belief traditions:
1. What are the responses of faith traditions to the questions raised by popular culture?
2. Are important issues of concern within faith traditions ignored by popular culture?
3. Do the core values and stories of faith traditions overlap with the concerns of popular culture?
4. How should our faith traditions be interpreted in different situations and backgrounds?
3. Questions to ask about the dialogue between the two parties:
1. What true and constructive illustrations of the human condition does popular culture offer?
2. What obvious values in popular culture are good and sound?
3. What insights does popular culture provide into the practice of faith traditions?
4. Are there pop culture questions that have not been well explored within faith traditions?
If we replace the word "popular culture" in all the above questions with "Jin Yong's novels", then we will have something to think about and talk about.
For example, for the first set of questions, we can answer: "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" describes the pain of troubled times and the desire of all living beings for heroes; "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" describes the painful, tangled and exciting world of love; "The Legend of Heaven and Dragon Sword" is It writes about the complexity of human nature and the generous friendship between men; "Xia Ke Xing" writes about the various distortions of human nature under the pressure of survival; "The Swordsman" writes about the tragedy of human nature in China's two thousand years of political history, similar to "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". "Water Margin"; "The Eight Parts of the Dragon" writes a reflection on life that "all sentient beings are evil, and no one is unjust", similar to "A Dream of Red Mansions"; "The Deer and the Cauldron" explores the national character of the Chinese, similar to "Journey to the West" and "The Scholars" ", "Jin Ping Mei".
All in all, Jin Yong’s writings are by no means just following the formulas in ordinary martial arts novels: “The bad guys are extremely vicious and unreasonable and beat the good guys → The good guys can’t bear it anymore and fight up against the bad guys → The bad guys recruit their friends and beat the good guys even worse → The good guys find the secret, Practice your special skills and finally defeat the bad guys completely. "It's that simple.
Regarding the second set of questions, Pastor Chen Zuocai's "Martial Arts Life - Religious Sentiments in Jin Yong's Novels" (Breakthrough, Hong Kong, 1990); "Martial Arts Life - Humanity in Jin Yong's Novels" (Universe Light, Taipei, 1991); "Martial Arts Life" "Spiritual Cultivation - The Soul in Jin Yong's Writings" (Breakthrough, Hong Kong, 1997) has already explained its essence and will not be repeated in this article.
As for the answers to the third set of questions, let’s leave it to the following six associations to explore one by one. Due to space limitations, this issue first publishes the first two associations—views on church and spiritual life from Jin Yong’s martial arts novels.
Lenovo 1: View of the church - "People are in the world", still want to dominate?
BMWs are making fast knives, looking up to the sky and roaring, the sky is full of sunset, knights in rivers and lakes are drinking horses by the Yellow River... However, where is the "Jianghu"?
The term "Jianghu" originally refers to the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, which are relatively remote compared to the Yellow River Basin, the birthplace of Chinese culture. It means running away from the court and temple in the political storm circle, staying away from the hustle and bustle of the world, retreating into the grass, and not coming out of the world. Things to do, farm and read freely.
Later, "jianghu" was extended to the sphere of civilian influence opposite to "official government". After martial arts novels became popular, "jianghu" (or "martial arts") became a world of warriors with numerous sects, confrontation between good and evil, and a complete set of game rules and special language. But no matter how you say it, the meaning of "being in the opposition" and "escaping from traditional social norms" still exists.
However, in Jin Yong's martial arts world, in addition to the endless fighting between the decent and evil factions, even the decent factions will engage in conspiracy, bloodthirsty and cruelty, and do everything possible to "who will command the martial arts." The series of fierce struggles between Zuo Lengchan and Yue Buqun in "The Swordsman" is the most typical example. We can say this:The "imperial court" in the arena is more "imperial court" than the real "imperial court".
Doesn’t the church also claim to be separate from the world? However, you and I know very well: how many people usually talk about justice and kindness, but never show mercy when fighting for power and gain; how many people appear to be pious and humble, but deep down they are good at fabricating accusations and spreading rumors to stir up trouble. What is even more deplorable is that we often quote scriptures or use spiritual slogans to rationalize our bad words and deeds. Could it be easy for you and me to become "Yue Buqun" (hypocrite) in the church if we are not careful? someone said,The "world" in the church is more "worldly" than the real "world". This statement is true!
The writer Nan Fan once heard an advertisement on the radio: The day of the Huashan Sword Competition is coming soon, and Miss Huang Rong cannot attend the meeting because she has many pimples on her face. When she was complaining to her boyfriend Guo Jing, the kind-hearted nine-fingered beggar Hong Qigong expressed his willingness to teach her a trick - recommending a certain ointment manufactured by a certain pharmaceutical company.
Obviously, ordinary readers who don't want to know more about it think that "Huashan Sword Discussion" is a carnival in the martial arts world, where handsome men and beautiful women compete in costumes to attend the meeting. As everyone knows, the "Huashan Sword Discussion" mentioned three times in "The Condor" and "The Divine Condor", each time more than 20 years apart, seems to be the "highest level of martial arts" where the world's top martial arts masters confirm their martial arts and compete with each other. "Club", it looks graceful and peaceful on the surface, but underneath it is a dangerous arena where life is on the line and one fights to the death. What the winner gets in exchange is the false reputation of "the best in the world in martial arts" and endless challenges. Is it possible that in the church world, celebrities and famous pastors should compete so fiercely overtly and covertly?
But if there are counterfeit products, there must be "genuine products"; if there are knockoffs, there must be original versions. The purest "original" is of course Jesus Christ, "...who was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15). In a sense, the church is like a hospital. The more patients it has, the more it shows that the hospital is truly capable. We must not say that the hospital is not good because of the intractable diseases of its patients. Who is the chief doctor in this hospital? Of course it's called"Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick...I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:12-13)of Jesus Christ.
▲Every "Huashan Swordsmanship" held more than 20 years apart is graceful and peaceful on the surface, but underneath it is a dangerous arena where life is on the line and the fight is fought to the death.
Lenovo 2: Spiritual outlook - internal and external skills complement each other
In Jin Yong's martial arts novels, each sect must first teach its disciples a set of corresponding "internal skills" before teaching "external skills" (moves) such as swordsmanship, sword skills, spear skills, boxing skills, footwork, palm skills, fingering skills, etc. .
Take the sword for example. "Sword Technique" refers to moves; "Sword Technique" refers to the inner strength and mental methods designed for this sword technique and supporting chain repair. Usually, the moves are easier to learn, while the internal skills, unless there is a magic pill or a chance encounter, all rely on breathing, exhaling, regulating the breath, practicing hard and accumulating for many years, until "opening up the Ren and Du meridians" can be achieved.
According to friends who practice qi, the human meridians (the channels through which internal energy circulates) are divided into two major systems. The two systems are not connected to each other due to gaps between the upper and lower jaws in the mouth. Therefore, the so-called "opening up the Ren and Du meridians" means connecting the two internal circulation pathways of internal energy, which is equivalent to turning on a high-voltage power source, allowing the whole body to circulate unimpeded and the energy to move freely. It can even form a "Vajra body-protecting magical power", which is extremely powerful. Mo Zhi can control it.
Some of the most famous martial arts secret manuals in Jin Yong's works, such as "Nine Yin Manual", "Nine Yang Manual", "Sunflower Manual", etc., all contain internal and external techniques. In short, the purpose of practicing internal strength is to accumulate the "genuine energy" in the body so that it can be channeled when fighting the enemy and produce the highest degree of explosive power. This is of course a novelist's statement, and there is no scientific proof.
Why is it not enough to learn how to use weapons, fists and feet? Because if you only know the moves, it won't hurt when you hit someone, and it won't hurt when you hit someone. It has no strength and is just a fancy fist and embroidered leg that is useless. Linghu Chong in "The Swordsman" had a tragic experience after being injured, and the dispute between the "Qi Zong" and "Sword Sect" of the Huashan School in the same book is an example of the debate about internal and external strength.
▲The fierce struggle between Zuo Lengchan and Yue Buqun in "The Swordsman" is the most typical internal struggle among decent factions. If you and I are not careful, can we easily become "Yue Buqun" (hypocrite) in the church?
Of course, just having strong inner strength is not enough. Otherwise, it would be like Zhang Wuji who first mastered the "Nine Yang Manual" internal skills in "The Legend of Heaven and Sword of the Dragon". He stumbled and staggered when facing the enemy. He didn't know how to control his strength and couldn't even touch the corner of the opponent's clothes. Another example is Duan Yu in "The Eight Parts of the Dragon". He learned the Six Meridians Divine Sword Heart Technique in a hurry, and his internal strength was not weak. However, due to his unfamiliarity with the moves, he was sometimes ineffective when strong enemies attacked, which frightened the readers.
However, generally speaking, the general direction of "inside-out" is the mainstream. When one's inner strength develops to a certain level, one's ears and eyesight become sharper, and one can easily see flaws in other people's martial arts. It is easy to make inferences from nature and the movements of birds, animals, insects, and fish. Learning moves or even creating moves of one's own will become a matter of course.
Extended to Christian life, living and service—"Life" is naturally "internal strength", while "living" and "service" are moves. Daily spiritual practice, meditation, prayer, and Bible reading are exercises in cultivating inner strength; so is pursuing the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit.
As for the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, if they can be regarded as a temperament, a kind of The state of the mind is an "internal skill"; if it is regarded as a way of life and a code of conduct, it is a "movement". Being filial to relatives, loving your spouse, loving your children, being sincere to others, speaking the truth in love, etc. are of course "tricks". However, without complementary inner strength, they will only have an appearance, but they will not really move people's hearts. Impact lives.
The author has been teaching calligraphy camps for more than ten years, and often uses internal skills and moves to describe the training and accumulation of calligraphers. The following is the response written by Su Wenbo (my second brother), a classmate of the Penn Literature Camp in the United States in 2003, after class:
I originally thought that my "martial arts" was pretty good, but when I started taking classes, I realized that I was still far behind. There was a lot of homework that needed to be deepened and practiced! Teacher Wen'an emphasized that in order to be a literary person who is in line with God's will, you must first establish a temperament and mentality that are in line with God's will. This is "internal strength." After you have internal strength, you must also learn writing skills. This is "external strength".
Below I will discuss some of the learning and insights I gained from practicing martial arts this time, and discuss them with my brothers and sisters. Please correct me and add to them.
1. Why are writing work (literary work) and martial arts connected together?
Martial arts can kill people, and pens can also kill people. Contempt, sarcasm, and slander written with a pen can sometimes inflict more pain on others than killing with a knife. On the other hand, writing a letter of comfort with language and images may make a person who wants to commit suicide change his mind; writing an emotional and emotional testimony of salvation may give a person who has been wandering a new life.
If a person wants to be good at martial arts, he must practice internal and external skills diligently; if he wants to be a good minister of literature, he must work hard on spirituality and service skills. Fortunately, through the training in the literature camp, we know that there are ways to follow and levels to improve. Moreover, many readers are interested in martial arts novels. This is one of the ways to spread the gospel widely.
2. Who is our ancestor?
He is the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Creator, the Trinity God, and not any other person in the world in the past and present.
3. What is our "Supreme Treasure"?
Bible. All internal skills and moves are completely based on the "Supreme Book" of the Bible.
4. This classic is so thick and has so many explanations. What do we regard as internal strength and mental method?
Fundamental truth. The Apostles' Creed has stated that all our words and thoughts must not deviate from these thoughts. As long as they do not violate the basic truth, any sect or method can complement each other. The purpose is to promote the gospel and unite as one, but cannot be used to divide and fight against each other.
5. I think I have insufficient internal strength. Do I have to wait until I have perfected my internal strength before I can start learning external strength?
As long as you are reborn, saved, and join the disciples of your ancestor, you will already have a rich source of internal strength. Bearing testimonies and writing articles will make us realize that our internal strength is insufficient. Fortunately, the Patriarch not only allows, but also loves us to draw upon His endless power anytime, anywhere. The deeper the internal strength, the more powerful the external strength.
6. How to enhance internal strength?
Chinese expression is the expression of life, and internal strength must have a foundation. The most miraculous effect of Master Su’s original inner strength method is the first three “every” in the “Seven Every Movement”. For example:
"Live a simple and disciplined life every day" and develop good spiritual habits.
"Read at least one good book every month" to expand your thinking.
"Study at least one theology course every quarter or every six months," or systematically lead Bible studies or Sunday school to cultivate your own in-depth understanding of the "supreme classics."
7. How to practice external skills?
No one is born with eighteen martial arts skills and is proficient in them all, so we must diligently follow the last four "every" in the "Seven Every Movement".
"Run and ask frequently every day", have more contact, observe more, and feel more.
"Carry inspiration notes every day" and write down materials for writing anytime and anywhere.
What’s the use of “copying at least one good article every week”? After copying several articles in the writing camp, I discovered the thinking and skills of these good authors through the process of seeing and handling them, and gained a deeper understanding.
"Submit at least one article every month" is a good incentive to practice external skills.
Although the above Qi every exercise is not easy to persevere, and it is difficult to do it completely at once, but I am very grateful to Wen An, the "little master" (my brother who is 11 years younger than me) for taking me into this place where various weapons are displayed and practiced. The "Writing Martial Arts" field of mental Dharma.
The author's associations with life and beliefs in Jin Yong's martial arts works include "Interpersonal View - Cold Moon Sword and Xuyang Sword"; "Inheritance View - Is it really a good idea to wash hands in a golden basin?"; "Holistic View - Everyone has a shield." "The concept of repentance - a true hero can be reformed by knowing his sins" and so on, which are profound, timeless and thought-provoking. Together with the chapters published serially in this magazine, they were compiled and published in a book in May 2011, titled "Enter the Martial Arts and Find the True Heart - An Exploration of the World of Jin Yong's Martial Arts". As for the fourth lecture, it is related to the rare Christian martial arts sketch "Yitian Slaying Demon Record" created by the author in his early years, and the new work "The Heroes of Divine Grace", which was released in April and condensed thirty years of skills and has a very different style. Included in the book.