Looking at the entire martial arts novel industry, there seems to be no series that can be compared with the "Condor Trilogy", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", and "The Legend of the Sky and the Dragon" are all classics.
However, for Jin Yong, in fact, the series of "Condor Trilogy" still has room for expansion, whether it is forward or backward, there are too many stories to extend, but for the author, what is more curious is undoubtedly the stories that happened before the start of the main plot of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
Why didn't Jin Yong create a "Prequel to the Condor Shooting" to write down those unexplained plots? What concerns did he have?
1. A unified world view
Even fans who claim to be "senior Jin Yong fans" may not know that Jin Yong's second book change, which is the so-called "new revised version", has opened up the worldview between the various works, even if the stories of each work are still independent, but there are already inextricable connections.
(Let Me Go Stills)
For example, in the newly revised version of "Smiling Proud Jianghu", Ren Wuxing mentioned that the star-absorbing Dafa he used was derived from the line of Emperor Duan in the Northern Song Dynasty, and from the Northern Shengong of the Xiaoyao School, and the Emperor Duan mentioned here is naturally Duan Yu.
Another example is in "The Legend of the Deer and Ding", the monk Chengguan mentioned that there was a Linghu Chong hero in the previous dynasty whose swordsmanship reached the realm of winning without moves.
And "Dragon Babu" is more closely related to the "Condor Trilogy".
For example, when talking about the martial arts inheritance of the beggar gang in "Heaven and Dragon Slayer", it was mentioned that such a paragraph: "The beggar gang's divine skill 'Eighteen Palms of the Dragon' was originally twenty-eight palms in the Northern Song Dynasty, when the gang leader Xiao Feng's martial arts were world-famous, but he was expelled from the gang because of the identity of the Khitans. By the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, although he succeeded to the throne Yelu Qide's father-in-law Guo Jing, he taught and learned everything. ”
You see, based on the plot of the newly revised version, Jin Yong's story is almost equivalent to an alternative epic, all of which are connected together.
Because of this, the period from the end of "Dragon Babu" to the beginning of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" actually has a lot of plots worth elaborating.
Second, a story worth unfolding
Of course, since it is "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", it is natural that it has to revolve around the mystery related to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
And one of the most curious is undoubtedly "the first Huashan sword", about the sword, Jin Yong just borrowed Zhou Botong's mouth to pass by, the book only said: "At that time, it was at the end of the cold winter, Huashan was at the top, and the snow covered the mountain." The five of them talked about it, competed in their hands, and compared it for seven days and seven nights in the heavy snow, and the four people of the East Evil, the West Poison, the Southern Emperor, and the Northern Beggars finally worshiped my senior brother Wang Chongyang's martial arts are the first in the world. ”
（洪七公、一灯、黄药师剧照）
Is it a wheel battle, or a big brawl? At least in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", there are no duels between masters that lasted for seven days and seven nights, what is the process of this epic war? It is really intriguing.
In addition, the "Nine Yin True Scripture" is a martial arts treasure that all martial arts heroes yearn for, and the story of its creator, Huang Shang, a civil official in the Northern Song Dynasty, is also desirable.
Regarding that master, Jin Yong also mentioned his deeds through the mouth of Zhou Botong, saying that he led the army to conquer the Ming Sect, but returned defeated, and even his own family members were killed, and he only devoted himself to Xi martial arts for forty years, and then created the "Nine Yin True Scripture".
In "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", Yang Guo entered a mysterious sword shrine under the guidance of Brother Eagle and witnessed the heroic deeds of a senior master.
The book only says: "For more than 30 years, I have killed all the enemies and traitors, defeated all the heroes and heroes, and there is no resistance in the world, and there is nothing to do, but to live in seclusion in the deep valley and take the eagle as a friend." Woohoo, I can't get an opponent in my life, and I'm embarrassed to be lonely. ”
Yang Guo speculated that this sword demon should have been active sixty or seventy years ago, so he should also have an intersection with the heroes of the former Condor Era, which masters did he defeat?
(Zhang Sanfeng stills)
Undoubtedly, these stories are enough to support a "Prequel to the Condor Shooting", and with the existence of these characters that readers are already familiar with, why should Jin Yong worry that such a work will not be a blockbuster? Even for the purpose of "consumer feelings", he has every reason to write such a work, so what are his concerns?
The answer may have something to do with an adversary.
3. The whitewashed devil
As mentioned earlier, the plot of Huang Shang's conquest of Mingjiao took place in the pre-Condor era, and to write the story of Huang Shang, you have to mention another master, that person is the leader of Mingjiao at this time, that is, Fang La.
Jin Yong mentioned the name of Fang La in "Heaven and Dragon Slayer", and Zhang Sanfeng said: "The rules of the people in the Demon Sect are extremely strict, and they abstain from eating meat and fish, which has been the case since the Tang Dynasty. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fang La, the great leader of the Ming Sect, started an incident in eastern Zhejiang, and the officials and people called it 'the Demon Sect of Eating Vegetables' at that time. Eating food and serving the demon king are the two major laws of the Demon Sect, which have been passed down for hundreds of years. ”
(Zhang Wuji stills)
Zhang Sanfeng mentioned that Mingjiao is a demon sect, but is Fang La really a demon?
At least Zhang Wuji doesn't think so, he commented on Sect Leader Fang in this way: "The doctrine of my religion is to do good and eliminate evil, all beings are equal, if there is gold and silver property, it must be used to help the poor, and my sect does not drink meat and wine, and worships Mingzun." Mingzun is the god of fire, that is, the god of goodness. It is only because the corrupt officials and corrupt officials of the previous dynasties oppressed our religion, and the brothers in the sect were not angry, and they often got into trouble. ”
Obviously, Jin Yong's Fang La is different from Fang La in "Water Margin", but he has become the leader of the righteous army to save the world and help people, and he is a decent image.
In fact, when Jin Yong talked about Huang Shang's expedition to Mingjiao, he also mentioned such a sentence: "The officers and soldiers led by Huang Shang were defeated. He was not angry in his heart, and personally went to challenge the masters of the Ming Sect, and killed a few Dharma kings and messengers in one go. How do you know that among the people he killed, a few of them were disciples of famous families in the martial arts, so their uncles, uncles, brothers, brothers, sisters, sisters, aunts, godsons, and godmothers came out one by one, and made appointments with many good people from other factions to embarrass him and scold him for not acting according to the rules of martial arts. ”
(Fang La's stills)
Mingjiao is in trouble, support from all directions, so it seems that the reputation of Mingjiao back then was not bad at all, it was not an evil sect at all, and Fang La was not a demon.
Therefore, Fang La was completely whitewashed in this plot, which is undoubtedly difficult for readers who have read "Water Margin" to accept, perhaps this is the reason why Jin Yong did not create "The Prequel to the Condor".