Laughing in the Wind Afterword (3rd Edition)
Translation by Jenxi Seow
When Jin Yong revised the Laughing in the Wind from the original newspaper serialisation for print, he wrote this afterword for the novel, also known as the Second Edition. He extended it when he revised the novel for the Third Edition.
The vast majority of wise, talented individuals and strong, courageous people are proactive.
Common moral standards usually classify them into two categories: those who strive for the benefit of the majority, including the nation and society, are considered good people, while those who only focus on their own power, status, and material desires, harming others in the process, are considered bad people.
How good or bad they are depends on the number of people they affect, and the extent of the harm or benefit caused.
In politics, bad people are the ones in power most of the time, thus there are always people who want to replace them, and those who seek reforms.
Then, there are those who see no hope in reforms and prefer not to be associated with the ruling faction’s corruption. The last group chooses to withdraw from the turbulent struggle and maintain their integrity.
Thus, there have always been those in power, the rebels, the reformers, and the recluses.
Traditional Chinese values encourage people to “learn and become distinguished in public service,”1 and emulate Confucius2 in “knowing it is impossible, and yet do it anyway.”3
However, recluses are also held in high regard for being virtuous. Recluses may not make active contributions to society, but their behaviour is distinctly different from power-hungry individuals, setting an alternative example.
Chinese moral standards are rather lenient. As long as one does not harm others, they are considered good people.
The Analects4 records many recluses, such as Chenmen,5 Chu Kuang Jie Yu,6 Chang Ju,7 Jie Ni,8 Hediao Zhangren,9 Bo Yi,10 Shu Qi,11 Yu Zhong,12 Yi Yi,13 Zhu Zhang,14 Liuxia Hui,15 and Shao Lian,16 among others. Confucius respected them all, even though he disagreed with their behaviours.17
Confucius divided recluses into three categories.
Those like Bo Yi and Shu Qi, who never gave up their resolve and did not sacrifice their dignity—“they did not lower their aspirations or disgrace themselves.”
Those like Liuxia Hui and Shao Lian, who sacrificed some of their resolve and dignity, but conducted themselves in a sensible and appropriate manner—“they lowered their aspirations and disgraced themselves, but their words were ethical and their actions were thoughtful.”
And those like Yu Zhong and Yi Yi, who retreated from the world, spoke freely, avoided wrongdoing, and refrained from politics—“living in seclusion, speaking openly, maintaining personal virtue, and forsaking political power.”
Confucius spoke highly of all of them, indicating that even recluses had a positive side.
Participating in political activities often requires sacrificing some of one’s resolve and dignity. It is inevitable.
Liuxia Hui was a judge dismissed from his position thrice and his family advised him to leave the country. He firmly upheld justice, replying, “To follow the righteous path in serving people,18 won’t one face adversity thrice wherever one goes? To deviate from the path—and make a temporary compromise—in serving people,19 why should one leave one’s homeland?”
The key point of the Analects lies in serving the people—obeying one’s superiors—and whether one takes action in the right path or deviates to adapt with compromises. Engaging in politics for public interest means having to follow orders.
Upholding one’s principles while serving the public without pursuing personal fame and wealth requires obeying orders from superiors, but it can also be considered a form of recluse. As for the recluse in the general sense, the basic requirement is to seek personal liberation and freedom without having to serve others.
In writing wuxia novels, my goal is to explore human nature, as is the case with most novels. During the years I spent writing Laughing in the Wind, the Cultural Revolution20 in China was in full swing. Those in authority and the rebels fought for power using all means possible, and human depravity was on prominent display.
I wrote daily editorial columns for the Ming Pao21 newspaper, and my strong aversion to the corrupt actions in politics was naturally reflected in my daily martial arts novel writing.
This novel is not intended as a direct commentary on the Cultural Revolution, but rather attempts to portray various common phenomena in Chinese political life over the past three thousand years. Satirical novels have limited significance as political situations change quickly—only the portrayal of human nature holds long-term value.
The relentless pursuit of power at all costs is a fundamental aspect of political life both past and present, not only in China but also worldwide. This has been the case for thousands of years in the past, and it is likely to remain so for thousands of years to come.
When I conceived characters like Ren Woxing,22 Dongfang Bubai,23 Yue Buqun,24 and Zuo Lengchan,25 I envisioned them primarily as political figures rather than martial arts experts.
Lin Pingzhi,26 Xiang Wentian,27 Master Fangzheng,28 Daoist Master Chongxu,29 Abbess Dingxian,30 Mister Mo Da,31 Yu Canghai,32 Mu Gaofeng,33 and others were also political figures. These various types of characters exist in every era, and I believe they can be found in other countries as well, within large and small businesses, schools, and various organisations.
“Unifying the jianghu34 for eternal glory”35 is a slogan written in serialisation during the 1960s. The corruption of Ren Woxing from wielding great power is a common aspect of human nature. These were not added or modified after the book had been completed.
Interestingly, when the Gang of Four36 seized power and altered the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China, they actually included the phrase “eternal glory”37 in the lyrics.
During the serialisation of Laughing in the Wind in Ming Pao, twenty-one Chinese, Vietnamese, and French newspapers in Saigon serialised it at the same time. During debates in the South Vietnamese National Assembly, it was common for lawmakers to accuse each other of being Yue Buqun (hypocrites) or Zuo Lengchan (attempting to establish hegemony).
It was probably due to the turbulent political situation in South Vietnam at that time that the general public took a particular interest in political struggles.
Linghu Chong38 is a natural recluse uninterested in power. Yingying39 is also a recluse who held the power to decide the life and death of jianghu heroes, but chose to live in the seclusion of a shabby alley in Luoyang40 where she indulged in playing the guqin41 and xiao.42 In her life, she only values personal freedom and the expression of her personality. The only thing important to her is love. This lass is very shy and reserved, but she is the one to take the initiative when it comes to love.
When Linghu Chong is emotionally entangled with Yue Lingshan,43 he feels trapped. It is only when he is on the main road outside the black gauze tent and travelling with Yingying in the carriage that his infatuation with Yue Lingshan finally disappears. Only then does he achieve spiritual liberation.
At the end of the book, Yingying reaches out and grabs Linghu Chong’s wrist, and saying with a sigh, “I never thought that I, Ren Yingying, would end up spending my whole life bound to a big monkey and never to part again.”
Yingying’s love has been fulfilled, and she is content, but Linghu Chong’s freedom is once again restricted. Perhaps, only in Yilin’s44 unrequited love did his personality experience minimal restraint.
Complete freedom in life is fundamentally unattainable. To be liberated from all desires and attain enlightenment is the highest state pursued in Buddhism, known as Nirvana,45 which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Those who are passionate about politics and power are driven by their desire for influence. They find themselves compelled by circumstances beyond their control, doing many things that betray their own conscience. This is rather pitiable.
In traditional Chinese art, whether it be poetry, prose, drama, or painting, the pursuit of individual freedom has always been the most prominent theme.The more turbulent the times, the more suffering people endure, the more prominent this theme becomes.
As the saying goes, “One is bound by circumstances when in the jianghu.”46 Withdrawing from the jianghu is no easy matter. Liu Zhengfeng47 pursues artistic freedom, values friendship that resonates deeply with his heart, and wishes to wash his hands of his past life.48 The Four Friends of Plum Manor49 wish to live incognito in solitude to enjoying the pleasures of guqin, weiqi, calligraphy, and painting.
However, they are unable to achieve their dreams and ultimately sacrifice their lives, because as the power struggles (politics) do not allow them to. Politics exists within any group or organisation. Wang Meng50 said that when he read the scene of Liu Zhengfeng golden basin handwashing ceremony, he was moved to tears. I believe this was the reason.
There should be greater moral affirmation for a great xia like Guo Jing,51 who willingly faces danger and undertakes seemingly impossible tasks. Linghu Chong is not a great xia, but a recluse like Tao Qian52 who pursues freedom and self-liberation.
Feng Qingyang53 retreats into seclusion due to feeling disillusioned, despair, shame, and dejection. Linghu Chong, however, is naturally unrestrained and unbridled.
On Blackwood Cliff,54 whether it was Yang Lianting55 or Ren Woxing who held supreme power, a mere laugh from others could lead to fatal consequences, and arrogance was even more intolerable. The carefree and unrestrained spirit of The Smiling, Proudly Wanderer is the goal pursued by characters like Linghu Chong.
Since the book aims to depict universal characters and common phenomena in political life, it does not have a historical background. This implies that similar situations can occur in any era and within any group.
May 1980
Some mainland literary critics commented: After Yue Buqun’s wife Ning Zhongze56 learns of her husband’s despicable and vile nature, her disillusionment and despair lead her to suicide. They find this irrational and against human nature, and argue that she need not have taken her own life.
Some people also believe that Xiao Feng’s57 suicide and his striking of Azhu are not logical. Of course, Russian author Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina58 did not have to commit suicide either. Everyone values life differently. Some project the utilitarian mindset of modern people onto wuxia characters, while others judge Xiao Feng and Ning Zhongze with the Wei Xiaobao59 value system.
This is akin to some considering Shi Kefa60 and Wen Tianxiang’s61 refusal to surrender, and Yue Fei’s62 disobedience as utterly foolish.
In Hong Kong, some people have commented on the She clan descendants63 in Beijing, who have guarded Yuan Chonghuan’s64 tomb for over ten generations, as foolish loyalty. Of course, there are also those who regard Dong Cunrui65 and Lei Feng66 as irrationally sentimental. Viewing historical figures through the lens of mercenary motives only deems tyrants, treacherous officials, corrupt bureaucrats, and despicable characters as reasonable.
A critic inquired, “Is it possible that Dongfang Bubai engaged in homosexuality after castration?”
Castration is neither a necessary condition nor an inevitable development for homosexuality. Male homosexuality is a historical fact, widely present in the armies of Greece, Rome, and India. Numerous artefacts unearthed attest to this, and such evidence can be seen today by visiting the ancient ruins in Pompeii, Italy, or in the ancient towers of eastern India.
British historian Gibbon67 stated in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that among the first fourteen emperors of the Roman Empire, thirteen were fond of men, or were bisexual.
In China, it was even more widespread, with idioms like “the passion of Long Yang,”68 “the sharing of a peach,”69 and “the cutting off of a sleeve”70 indicating such relationships. Historical figures like Dong Xian71 and Deng Tong72 are also factual examples, and even Emperor Wen of Han,73 a wise ruler, was not exempt.
Sexual habits have always been private matters, and laws generally do not stipulate the legality of homosexuality. Today, several Western countries have made it legal for two men to marry officially.
Homosexual individuals who identify as female often enjoy dressing in women’s clothing. This is a sexual preference and has nothing to do with whether one has undergone castration. Then there are those who first identify as homosexual before undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Eunuchs have existed for thousands of years in the courts of Egypt and China.74 They lacked male sexual characteristics but did not necessarily adopting feminine traits.75
This book has been revised several times, with very few changes to the plot.
May 2003