The Utopian and Dystopian Imagination in Jin Yong''s Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre

• Main Authors: Hui-Ling Lin, 林蕙玲
• Other Authors: Kuei-Fen Chiu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5332d9

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 台灣文學與跨國文化研究所 === 106 === The Utopian and Dystopian Imagination in Jin Yong''s Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre Abstract Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre was one of Jin Yong’s novels that started to become matured in his martial arts work series. It represents a turning point in Jin Yong’s career. Before that, the images of the male protagonists in Jin Yong’s novels are more single-sided and positive. Compared to those protagonists in Jin’s early novels,all characters in Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, no matter main actors or supporting roles, are more complicated. A vicious traitor might come from a honorable clan﹐anda wicked religious sect could save the whole nation and its people. After the publication of this book, Jin Yong continued to write some other masterpieces, such as The Semi-Gods and the Semi-Devils, The Smiling and Proud Wanderer, The Deer and the Cauldron. It can be argued that Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre actually holds the linchpin position connecting Jin Yong’s early and later novels. This thesis is divided into four chapters; Chapter I “Introduction” delves into the context of development of Taiwan’s Martial Arts Novels, and shows how he promoted the popular martial art literature to the level of classical literature. Chapter II compares the Utopia thinking and writings in East and West, and then depicts the Utopian images expressed in the text of Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. Chapter III goes further to discuss the Dystopian imagination revealed in Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. Chapter IV concludes that although the popularity of martial arts novels in Taiwan has declined, Jin Yong’s works still wield huge influence through various media. This conclusion also explains why the thesis adopts the two concepts of Utopia and Dystopia as its analytical framework and expresses the hope that there would be more studies of Jin Yong’s Novels to enrich the Jin Studies.