The Dream of the Literati and Chivalrous Persons Through the Ages (updated Edition) (full Version with Pictures and Texts)
About This Novel
Counting the Peking University version, this is already the sixth version. This small book was first published by People's Literature Publishing House in 1992, and was published in traditional Chinese by Maitian Publishing House in Taipei in 1995. In 1997, Hebei People's Publishing House included it in the three-volume "History of Chen Pingyuan's Novels", which is the "basic type" of this book. Ten years later, in September 2002, New World Publishing House released a beautifully bound "illustrated collector's edition", which can be regarded as an "improved edition". In the spring and summer of last year, almost at the same time, Peking University Press and Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House approached me, hoping to republish the book. The two parties negotiated and reached the following agreement: "Hundred Flowers" will publish the illustrated version and only accept the first version of the text, which is pleasing to the eye; "Peking University" will also include various appendices, add indexes, and highlight the academic nature. When I talk about "martial arts", apart from this small book, I only have "The Chivalric Mentality of Patriots in the Late Qing Dynasty" in "The Establishment of Modern Chinese Academics", "Martial Arts Novels and Kung Fu Movies" in "Contemporary Chinese Humanities Observation", and "Popular Novels in China" in "Literary History as a Subject". Such achievements in twenty years are really meager. To put it bluntly, I am not loyal enough and I am not professional enough. That is because I do not want to make this my "main job". As for why and how to use "martial arts" to talk about the genre of novels and also to relate to ideology and culture, "Myself and Martial Arts Novels" was originally used as the "Preface" to the humanities edition, and "Me and Research on Martial Arts Novels" was written as the "Postscript" to the New World Edition, plus seven appendices such as "Martial Arts Novels and Chinese Culture", everything that needs to be said has been said, and it would be annoying to go on about it any longer. When asked about my research experience, just one sentence: watching popular novels (martial arts or romance) and genre movies (detective or thriller) may be very enjoyable, but being a research subject is not very fun. I am afraid of lacking theoretical consciousness and blindly retelling charming stories; I am also afraid of being indulged in it, getting carried away, and "over-explaining" when speaking. In such a dialogue between ancient and modern times and communication between literature and history, a sense of proportion is very important. How to handle it depends on the scholar's interest and skill. With my ability, I can only stop here, so I have to say goodbye to those rangers who "draw their swords and look around in confusion" for the time being.
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