'Paper Swordsmen is by far the best treatment in a Western language of a long-neglected topic in Chinese popular culture. Primal notions of bravery, health, cultivation, skill, justice, loyalty, and romantic love are at the core of martial arts fiction. In the modern context of Jin Yong's Hong Kong, issues of foreign incursion, cultural rootedness, nationalism, and a sometimes-flawed 'national character' also come to the fore. Hamm weaves these strands together and sets them perceptively into their Hong Kong/Guangdong context as well as the larger Chinese cultural world' - Perry Link, Princeton University 'Hamm's book is comprehensive and meticulous, touching on a wide range of issues, from generic studies to the question of canon, from readers' responses to media marketing tactics, and from national allegory to political manoeuvering. He asks intelligent questions and answers them from theoretically stimulating perspectives' - David Der-wei Wang, Harvard University The martial arts novel is one of the most distinctive and widely-read forms of modern Chinese fiction. In Paper Swordsmen, John Christopher Hamm offers the first in-depth English-language study of this fascinating and influential genre, focusing on the work of its undisputed 20th century master, Jin Yong. Through close readings of Jin Yong's recognised masterpieces, Hamm shows how these works combine a rich literary tradition with an extraordinary narrative artistry and an evolving appreciation of the political and cultural aspects of contemporary Chinese experience.

235 x 160mm

328pp

(For this item please quote stock ID 23835)

Related Subject Areas:

Action/Adventure Lit      Literary studies