— Women Who Live for Love
Abstract: In Jin Yong's depiction of the martial arts world, there are countless successful male figures who dominate and look down upon their peers. However, women are also a major part of the world. Ignoring other descriptions, Jin Yong mainly writes about various kinds of "love animals" in the martial arts world, who live for love.
Keywords: Jin Yong, female characters, love, love animals, fairy, enchantress, witch, devoted woman, pure woman.
Jin Yong, originally named Cha Liangyong, is a contemporary famous writer, journalist, entrepreneur, political commentator, social activist, one of the main drafters of the 'Hong Kong Basic Law', recipient of Hong Kong's 'Grand Bauhinia Medal', and the richest Chinese writer. Jin Yong is the most outstanding representative writer of the new school of wuxia fiction, universally hailed as the unparalleled master and 'Mount Tai北斗' of wuxia fiction history, and some fans respectfully call him 'Great Master Jin' or 'Great Master Cha'.
Jin Yong's wuxia novels can be read as wuxia novels, but they can also be read as romance novels. It seems that wuxia and romance have little to do with each other, and treating Jin Yong's novels as romance novels might seem ridiculous and even absurd. However, this is not the case. Although Jin Yong's novels are not as "professionally romantic" as Qiong Yao's novels, the romantic plots and stories in Jin Yong's works are by no means inferior to Qiong Yao's. Moreover, the strangeness, twists, beauty, truth, and depth of his romances surpass those of ordinary romance writers.
As Hua Luogeng said, wuxia novels are like adult fairy tales. Compared to other literary genres, wuxia novels are typically written by men for men. In this unique fairy tale world dominated by males, male figures undoubtedly become the main objects of description. Jin Yong's wuxia novels are no exception. Among his twelve long novels, two medium-length novels, and one short story, except for 'The Sword of Yue Maiden' and 'Horse Cries West Wind,' the protagonists are all male, and the depth and thickness of female characters cannot match that of male characters. However, in Jin Yong's works, we cannot deny that besides the successfully portrayed male images, there are many female characters that leave an indelible impression on us.
Women in the world come in all sorts, each with their own unique charm. There are usually unforgettable women in each of Jin Yong's novels. The stunningly beautiful Princess Xiang Xiang, the capricious Princess Jian Ning, the gentle and kind Zhu Zhu, the cunning and ruthless Zhou Zhiruo, the clever and quirky Huang Rong... These charming women all add color to the protagonists in Jin Yong's works.
A recurring love pattern in Jin Yong's novels is the one-man-many-women, star-studded model. It is often said that women are born for love, and under the pen of Jin Yong, the "master of writing emotions," many women truly live for love.
1. Heavenly Fairies
Jin Yong endows the women in his novels with youth, beauty, intelligence, and kindness; they are "love animals" with a tendency towards "divinity." Their pure natures highlight the corruption of the male world. "Fairies" represent the first type of female character in Jin Yong's novels. These women are extraordinarily beautiful, almost beyond human description. Among the myriad beauties in Jin Yong's works, Princess Xiang Xiang, Wang Yu Yan, Xiao Long Nu, and Chen Yuan Yuan are perfect representatives of these "fairies."
2. Enchantresses
Jin Yong's novels feature many beauties, but not all of them are gentle and virtuous ladies. Some are incredibly beautiful yet mysterious, proud and capricious, making people both love and hate, respect and fear them. These women make some righteous gentlemen unable to resist, so defenders of morality naturally give them a collective name - "enchantresses."
3. Witches
If enchantresses evoke feelings of cuteness and pity, then a group of cruel and venomous women in Jin Yong's novels can be called "witches." For reasons of love, power, or desire, these women display devilish cruelty, ultimately meeting tragic ends.
4. Devoted Women
In Jin Yong's novels, most women are "love animals," generally placing love above all else. In the pursuit of love, countless devoted men and women emerge. The fourth type of female image in Jin Yong's novels are the "devoted women" who are obsessed with love.
5. Pure Women
In the complex martial arts world, some people lose themselves for power and desire, turning pure hearts into dirty ones. However, in Jin Yong's novels, most women remain unaffected by external influences. They are not disturbed by power, only loving their loved ones innocently. These women, unaffected by worldly concerns, can be called "pure women."
Love is a timeless theme of humanity. Jin Yong's novels depict deeply touching love stories, infusing the sword-fighting world with tenderness. In these intricate love stories filled with passion and hatred, female characters play central roles. In these stories, love is their everything, and they exhibit different behaviors in love, forming diverse personalities. These women, with distinct styles and personalities, may be adorable, detestable, pitiable, or tragic. Regardless, they add indispensable colors to Jin Yong's martial arts world. Five different types of women, five remarkable lives!