The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 151 Arrogance Comes to the Door
"Liancheng Jue" is a work of Jin Yong's middle and late period. At that time, Jin Yong had already finished writing the Condor Trilogy, and his control over the rhythm of the novel was already very proficient. In this era when martial arts novels are still in the ignorant period, it is naturally a cross-level one. of crushing.

Xu Zhonglin was greatly surprised after watching "Linked City". Xu Zhonglin didn't think her writing level was that bad before, but after comparing it with "Linked City", she instantly understood her weaknesses.

After reading the newspaper, Xu Zhonglin couldn't forget it. She went back and lay in bed still thinking about the plot of the book.

After tossing and turning all night, Xu Zhonglin finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Since I have such a talent, why not work with the author of "City Linking", and I will definitely be able to write a shocking book!"

He originally went south to sit in a restaurant to relieve boredom, but suddenly he had something he wanted to do, so without saying anything, he went to his employer to take half a month's leave, and then packed his bags and headed north to Fuzhou.

Xu Zhonglin is a talented writer, and her first novel shocked the world, but Xu Zhonglin also knows her shortcomings.

The writing level of "The Romance of the Gods" is quite average, incomparable to the exquisite descriptions of "Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". Moreover, those who have read the original text will know that Xu Zhonglin's writing style is quite routine. Basically, he just finds a reason for the gods to start fighting with each other. , beating the young ones to the old ones.

Xu Zhonglin's real ability lies in his unbridled imagination. Many gods and ghosts in "The Romance of the Gods" have distinctive appearances, magic weapons, skills, etc.

According to later generations, Xu Zhonglin was a writer who was very good at setting backgrounds and characters, but his writing skills were only a little better than those of vernacular writers like Chu Renhuo.

Xu Zhonglin also knew what her abilities were. After reading "The Legend of Liancheng", she knew that her writing skills were incomparable to the author of "The Legend of Liancheng", so she wanted to cooperate with him.

Wang Wenlong did not use Wang Jianyang's pen name when he wrote "The Secret of Liancheng" and "Strange People in the World". Instead, he added the name of "Master of the Hidden Sword Tower".

Xu Zhonglin came all the way to Fuzhou and didn't know who the "master of the Hidden Sword Tower" was, so she could only ask about the location of "Xun Bao".

When she learned that the "Xun Bao" was actually a newspaper run by the Yamen, Xu Zhonglin did not dare to break into the public affairs. After thinking about it for a while, she decided to go to Wang Wenlong, the editor-in-chief of the "Xun Bao".

Wang Wenlong was writing the new manuscript of "Liancheng Jue" in his house in Liwenfang. Suddenly he heard someone shouting outside: "Bao and your master have learned that someone has sent a manuscript to his "Xun Bao"!"

Wang Wenlong frowned slightly. As the "Xunbao" became more and more popular in the past few days, there was an endless stream of literati who came to make friends. This time, I don't know who the literati came from, but they actually shouted directly at the gate.

Not long after, Xu Zhonglin was invited into the study by Wang Wenlong.

Wang Wenlong frowned and looked at the visitor: "I, Mr. Wang Wenlong, the editor-in-chief of "Xun Bao", what do you want to see me for?"

Xu Zhonglin saw Yili and said carelessly: "I have an excellent novel that will be published in your newspaper."

Wang Wenlong nodded and said, "Have you brought Mr.'s manuscript?"

"I don't have the manuscript yet, but I already have the outline in my mind. I'm going to work with the author of "City Linking" to write it now."

Looking at the old god, Xu Zhonglin asked him for the author of "Liancheng Jue". He only said that he would never tell the story unless the owner of the Hidden Sword Tower was in person. Wang Wenlong could only reply with a wry smile: "I am the author of "Liancheng Jue". The Master of Hidden Sword Tower is one of my pen names."

Xu Zhonglin looked Wang Wenlong up and down in surprise. He knew that Wang Wenlong's status would not allow him to lie about such things, but the next moment he gave it away in excitement.

"It turns out that "Liancheng Jue" was written by Mr. Jianyang! Disrespectful!"

Wang Wenlong said: "Can you tell me the outline now?" Xu Zhonglin nodded: "I want to write a story about the sword fairy. I can attach the three mountains and five mountains to the outgoing sect, and then put the heroes of each sect together to compete..."

The more Wang Wenlong listened, the more speechless he became. He thought it was some incredible innovation. Isn't this the way of old-school martial arts novels?

But after thinking about it, I found that this view seems to be quite new at this time.

The development of Chinese martial arts novels has a clear line.

The earliest short stories originating from a single character are legendary stories such as "The Biography of the Bearded Guest" and "33 Swordsmen".

Later, writers gradually connected the legendary stories together, and the "Water Margin" with a single character's story as the core appeared.

But there is still a problem in "Water Margin", that is, martial arts novels need characters to fight to be lively, but in stories like "Water Margin" characters will not fight for no reason.

As a result, writers of martial arts novels developed further and came up with plots of fighting.

In the ring, the martial arts figures finally had a chance to fight reasonably.

This idea was considered trendy at this time, but for Wang Wenlong, who knew the history of martial arts development, there was really nothing new to say.

Xu Zhonglin was frothing at the mouth, and Wang Wenlong directly interrupted him and said: "I probably understand, it's just like the way in "The Romance of the Gods", where the younger one comes and the older one comes, the two gods start fighting, and then a series of God, everyone is having a great time, right?"

Xu Zhonglin didn't feel dissatisfied when Wang Wenlong interrupted her. After thinking about it, she nodded and said: "The older one comes after beating the younger one. This metaphor is quite appropriate."

Wang Wenlong smiled and shook his head: "Actually, I have a better idea. Isn't the story of the arena just for the knights to fight? Why not directly incorporate the legend of the public case and let a group of knights be bad guys with strong martial arts skills? Isn't it more attractive for another group of knights to help an upright official solve a case than for them to fight in the ring for no reason?"

What Wang Wenlong is talking about is the development of martial arts novels in the next period. The most typical representative of the Qing Dynasty martial arts novels is "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness" which tells the story of Bao Gong.

Based on the Bao Gong case, Nan Xia Zhan Zhao, Chao Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and others are good knights who help good officials, while the Five Rats and various underworld figures are bad knights.

In addition to martial arts, the struggle between the two sides also incorporates the conflict between good and evil, which naturally arouses the readers' emotions more than the back-and-forth fighting between two gangs of characters who have nothing to do with the readers.

Xu Zhonglin's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she thought for a long time: "That's the reason. Mr. Jianyang, why don't we cooperate and write this novel!"

Wang Wenlong declined politely and said: "I don't have time to write at the moment."

Xu Zhonglin felt quite sorry when she heard this: "My husband is very busy with his work, so he will definitely not have time to arrange it, so I will have to write it myself. I just don't write novels for a long time and I'm afraid I will get rusty."

Wang Wenlong became interested after hearing this and asked quickly: "Sir, have you ever written novels?"

Seeing Xu Zhonglin nodding, Wang Wenlong asked directly: "Sir, are you interested in staying in our Xundao newspaper as an editor?"

(End of this chapter)