Bilibili kept pushing the Li Yapeng version of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer at me. In a fit of pique I spent a whole day and night finishing the book, then watched some related material.
Saying Lin Pingzhi is the protagonist is not an exaggeration at all: a young master of a wealthy family, starting with a chivalrous heart, ending by mastering the Evil-Repelling Sword Art and avenging his great grievance.
Looking through the whole book, what fundamentally twisted Lin Pingzhi’s heart was NOT his family’s massacre. As the saying goes, a gentleman’s revenge is not too late after ten years. Today I, Lin Pingzhi, cannot beat Mu Tuozi or Yu Canghai — but as long as I practice the sword diligently, one day I can take revenge. The real cause was Yue Buqun — the master he once trusted most — actually had his eye on the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual from the very beginning. Taking him as a disciple and marrying his daughter to him were all for the sword manual. This Yue Buqun, of all people, is nicknamed “Gentleman Sword” — the most hypocritical hypocrite in the whole book is him. When Lin Pingzhi first became his disciple, he surely carried a sincere heart, believing that learning from Yue Buqun he could defeat his enemies honorably. But when Lin Pingzhi truly realized he was a hypocrite, his worldview collapsed. The person Lin Pingzhi trusted so much turned into an out-and-out villain: framing Linghu Chong for stealing the manual, and after getting the manual even planning to kill him — if it were me I’d break down too.
I think Lin Pingzhi is the flesh-and-blood person of this book; Linghu Chong is more like someone who stepped in dog shit luck and jumped out of the fray. Of course he is indeed a good man with a chivalrous heart, but his luck is simply too good: first the Dugu Nine Swords, then the Star-Absorbing Art, plus an excellent girlfriend like Yingying. If this man’s luck were the slightest bit worse, I’d worry he wouldn’t live to the finale. He seems to be the protagonist, yet many conflict points have nothing to do with him — you could swap in another person at every important plot point and it would make no difference at all. He’s like a male Mary Sue.
Even a person like Lin Pingzhi had the unwavering-to-death love of his junior sister: “Pingzhi definitely didn’t kill me on purpose. Promise me you’ll take good care of him.” I’m also jealous that Linghu Chong found a girlfriend like Yingying, but the reality is: the junior sister he always wanted never belonged to him for a moment after Lin Pingzhi appeared. Some people and things simply cannot be obtained by luck. When the junior sister said sorry to him, it wasn’t at all an apology for not loving him — it was for her earlier misunderstanding and suspicion that this senior brother had stolen the sword manual.
There must be people like Lin Pingzhi in our lives too, living a whole life on the faith of revenge. Yet there’s nothing wrong with that. Even if we cannot help him, standing by coolly like Linghu Chong is fine — just never exploit him again like Yue Buqun. I’ve never thought his values were crooked; what’s crooked is the world.
The CCTV version’s Lin Pingzhi is acted so well. When his great revenge was accomplished, I cheered for him too. And at the end on Mount Hua, saying “Yue Buqun, you’re not a man” — that expression and bearing, moving amid the tragedy.
Most of us don’t have that kind of opportunity and luck — a bit of a pity, but at least we won’t be dragged into all kinds of jianghu where we can’t help ourselves. I don’t like Guo Jing; he doesn’t seem like a human being, more like an ideal and a spirit. People with plain happiness are worth envying — happy about each small daily achievement, chasing fame and profit but within their means.
In university, the only course where I ever got a full mark was “Guided Reading of Classical Chinese Novels”. If you’ve read this far, let me advertise: I suggest you also read:
Reading Reflections on The Peony Lantern Story
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