Chen Wentong (5 April 1924 – 22 January 2009), better known by his pen name Liang Yusheng, was a Chinese-born Australian novelist best known for being a pioneer of the "new school" of the wuxia genre in the 20th century. Along with Jin Yong and Gu Long, he was one of the best known wuxia writers in the later half of the 20th century. Throughout his career, he published a total of 35 wuxia novels – the more notable ones include Baifa Monü Zhuan, Yunhai Yugong Yuan, Qijian Xia Tianshan and Pingzong Xiaying Lu – and some have been adapted into films and television series, including The Bride with White Hair (1993) and Seven Swords (2005).

Chen Wentong
Born(1924-04-05)5 April 1924
Mengshan County, Guangxi Province, Republic of China
Died22 January 2009(2009-01-22) (aged 84)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Pen nameLiang Yusheng
OccupationNovelist
NationalityChinese
CitizenshipAustralia
GenreWuxia
Notable workssee below
Chinese name
Chinese梁羽生
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiáng Yǔshēng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLoeng4 Jyu5-sang1
Chen Wentong
Traditional Chinese陳文統
Simplified Chinese陈文统
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChén Wéntǒng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingCan4 Man4-tung2

Pen name

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Chen's given name "Wentong" means "literary tradition". He chose Liang as the surname of his pen name to remind himself that he was inheriting the literary tradition of his ancestors in the same way the Chen dynasty (557–589) succeeded the Liang dynasty (502–557) during the Northern and Southern dynasties period (420–589).[1] He chose "Yusheng" as the given name of his pen name to pay homage to Gong Baiyu, one of his favourite wuxia writers and sources of influence, because "Yusheng" means "born from (Gong Bai)yu".[2]

Early life

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Chen was born in 1924 in a scholarly family in Tunzhi Village, Wenyu Town, Mengshan County, Guangxi Province, China. He was well-versed in ancient Chinese classics and duilian and could recite the Three Hundred Tang Poems by the age of eight. While he was attending Guilin High School in Guilin, he enjoyed writing poems.

Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Chen left Guilin and returned to Mengshan County. During this time, he met two scholars from the neighbouring Guangdong Province who had taken shelter in Mengshan County, and studied history and literature under their tutelage: Jian Youwen, who specialised in the history of the Taiping Rebellion; and Rao Zongyi, who was well read in poetry, humanities, art and the history of Dunhuang.

After the war ended, Chen attended Lingnan University in Guangzhou and graduated in 1948, majoring in international economics.

Career in Hong Kong

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In 1949, Chen moved to Hong Kong and, through a recommendation from Lingnan University, became an assistant editor for the newspaper Ta Kung Pao. He was subsequently promoted to editor and also became a member of the newspaper's editorial executive committee. Towards the end of 1950, he was reassigned to New Evening Post, the evening edition of Ta Kung Pao.[3]

On 17 January 1954, two martial arts masters – Chan Hak-fu of the White Crane School and Wu Kung-i of the Tai Chi School – challenged each other to a lei tai match in Macau and attracted much attention in Hong Kong. Luo Fu, the chief editor of New Evening Post, wanted to take advantage of the sensationalism surrounding the lei tai match, so he asked Chen to write a wuxia story based on the match and publish it as a serial in the newspaper. This became Chen's debut wuxia novel – Longhu Dou Jinghua – and marked the start of a "new school" in the wuxia genre.[2] During this time, he met Jin Yong, who was also working at New Evening Post and writing wuxia novels.

From 1954 to 1983, Chen wrote a total of 35 wuxia novels, of which most were originally published as serials in newspapers. Among his works, Baifa Monü Zhuan, Yunhai Yugong Yuan, Qijian Xia Tianshan and Pingzong Xiaying Lu are some of the better known ones and have been adapted into films and television series, including The Bride with White Hair (1993) and Seven Swords (2005). Besides wuxia novels, Chen also wrote columns, critiques and essays under different pen names, including "Liang Hueru" and "Fong Yuning".

Retirement and death

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Chen migrated to Australia with his family in 1987.[4] At the time, he was a member of the China Writers Association and had been offered the position of honorary president of the Yinglian Society of China (YSC) in Shenzhen.[3] He converted to Christianity in September 1994.[5]

On 30 November 2004, Chen received an honorary Doctor of Arts from his alma mater, Lingnan University, which has moved to Hong Kong, for his contributions to the development of literature.[6]

In December 2006, while attending an event in Hong Kong to celebrate Cosmos Books Ltd.'s 30th anniversary, Chen suffered a stroke.[3] After that, he returned to Australia and spent his time recuperating at the Bernard Chan Nursing Home in Burwood, New South Wales. On 22 January 2009, he died of natural causes at the age of 84 in Sydney.[4][7] Among those who wrote tributes to Chen were his mentor Rao Zongyi, his former boss Luo Fu, fellow wuxia writer Jin Yong, and professor Chan Yiu-nam.[1]

Writing style

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Chen's novels always open with a poem – indicating his interest in poetry. The protagonists of his novels also tend to be multi-talented, versatile, and well-read. Besides that, he incorporates elements of Chinese history in his novels – a style also adopted by fellow wuxia writer Jin Yong. However, unlike Jin Yong and other wuxia writers, he does not regard the Shaolin and Wudang schools as the major orthodox schools in the jianghu (martial artists' community). Instead, he makes the Mount Heaven School (Tianshan School) the leading school in the jianghu, particularly in the Tianshan series of novels set in the Ming and Qing dynasties.[8]

Works

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Title Published Historical setting Connection to other works
Nüdi Qiying Zhuan
女帝奇英傳
1961–1962 c. late 7th century
(Wu Zhou dynasty / Tang dynasty)
Datang Youxia Zhuan
大唐游俠傳
1963–1964 c. 8th century
(Tang dynasty)
The first part of the Datang trilogy.
Longfeng Baochai Yuan
龍鳳寶釵緣
1964–1966 c. 8th century
(Tang dynasty)
The second part of the Datang trilogy.
Huijian Xinmo
慧劍心魔
1966–1968 c. 8th century
(Tang dynasty)
The third part of the Datang trilogy.
Wulin Tianjiao
武林天驕
1978–1982 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The first part of the Tianjiao series.
Feifeng Qianlong
飛鳳潛龍
1966 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The second part of the Tianjiao series.
Kuangxia Tianjiao Monü
狂俠·天驕·魔女
1964–1968 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The third part of the Tianjiao series.
Hanhai Xiongfeng
瀚海雄風
1968–1970 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The fourth part of the Tianjiao series.
Mingdi Fengyun Lu
鳴鏑風雲錄
1968–1972 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The fifth part of the Tianjiao series.
Fengyun Leidian
風雲雷電
1970–1972 c. 13th century
(Song dynasty)
The sixth part of the Tianjiao series.
Huanjian Qiqing Lu
還劍奇情錄
1959–1960 c. 14th century
(Ming dynasty)
The first part of the Pingzong series.
Pingzong Xiaying Lu
萍蹤俠影錄
1959–1960 c. 15th century
(Ming dynasty)
The second part of the Pingzong series.
Sanhua Nüxia
散花女俠
1960–1961 c. 15th century
(Ming dynasty)
The third part of the Pingzong series.
Lianjian Fengyun Lu
聯劍風雲錄
1961–1962 c. 15th century
(Ming dynasty)
The fourth part of the Pingzong series.
Guangling Jian
廣陵劍
1972–1976 c. 15th century
(Ming dynasty)
The fifth part of the Pingzong series.
Wulin Sanjue
武林三絕
1972–1976 c. 15th century
(Ming dynasty)
Wudang Yijian
武當一劍
1980–1983 c. 17th century
(Ming dynasty)
Baifa Monü Zhuan
白髮魔女傳
1957–1958 c. 17th century
(Ming dynasty)
The first part of the Tianshan series.
Saiwai Qixia Zhuan
塞外奇俠傳
1956–1957 c. 17th century
(Qing dynasty)
The second part of the Tianshan series.
Qijian Xia Tianshan
七劍下天山
1956–1957 c. 17th century
(Qing dynasty)
The third part of the Tianshan series.
Jianghu San Nüxia
江湖三女俠
1957–1958 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The fourth part of the Tianshan series.
Bingpo Hanguang Jian
冰魄寒光劍
1962 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The fifth part of the Tianshan series.
Bingchuan Tiannü Zhuan
冰川天女傳
1959–1960 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The sixth part of the Tianshan series.
Yunhai Yugong Yuan
雲海玉弓緣
1961–1963 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The seventh part of the Tianshan series.
Binghe Xijian Lu
冰河洗劍錄
1963–1965 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The eighth part of the Tianshan series.
Fenglei Zhen Jiuzhou
風雷震九州
1965–1967 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The ninth part of the Tianshan series.
Xiagu Danxin
俠骨丹心
1967–1969 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The tenth part of the Tianshan series.
Jianwang Chensi
劍網塵絲
1976–1980 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
A companion piece to Huanjian Lingqi.
Huanjian Lingqi
幻劍靈旗
1980–1981 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
A companion piece to Jianwang Chensi.
Youjian Jianghu
遊劍江湖
1969–1972 c. 18th century
(Qing dynasty)
The first part of the Muye Liuxing tetralogy.
Muye Liuxing
牧野流星
1972–1975 c. 19th century
(Qing dynasty)
The second part of the Muye Liuxing tetralogy.
Tanzhi Jinglei
彈指驚雷
1977–1981 c. 19th century
(Qing dynasty)
The third part of the Muye Liuxing tetralogy.
Juesai Chuanfeng Lu
絕塞傳烽錄
1975–1978 c. 19th century
(Qing dynasty)
The fourth part of the Muye Liuxing tetralogy.
Caomang Longshe Zhuan
草莽龍蛇傳
1954–1955 c. 19th century
(Qing dynasty)
Longhu Dou Jinghua
龍虎鬥京華
1954 c. 19th century
(Qing dynasty)

Adaptations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b He, Yuhuai (2010). He's Still Alive: A Glimpse of the Australian Chinese Literary Circles (in Chinese). Taiwan: Showwe Information. p. 160. ISBN 9789862215845.
  2. ^ a b Huang, Zhongming (19 May 2015). "Liang Yusheng's debut". wenpeipo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Liu, Xiaojing (26 January 2009). "Wuxia novelist Liang Yusheng dies in Sydney on 22 January". Sohu News (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Seven Swords novelist dies". Straits Times. Singapore. 28 January 2009. p. C7.
  5. ^ Tong, Xinyuan (12 September 2013). "Three male writers who became Christians: Bo Yang, Ni Huang and Liang Yusheng". Christian Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Press release: Lingnan University awards honorary doctorates to four". Lingnan University Hong Kong. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. ^ Martial arts novelist Liang Yusheng dies. Danwei. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  8. ^ 梁羽生 (Liang Yusheng). Chinese Wusia Knight Errant. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
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