Book description
THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD.
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ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST FANTASY NOVELS OF ALL TIME.
"Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a…
Why read it?
2 authors picked A Hero Born as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Jin Yong is the greatest of martial arts novelists. Like Charles Dickens, he serialized his novels in a newspaper, though unlike Dickens, he owned the Hong Kong newspaper that carried his series. But Jin Yong’s popularity might even have outstripped that of Dickens, with his tales of heroism and swordsmanship selling over 100 million copies.
I like to tell myself that I read this book to better understand the Chinese imagination. But who am I kidding? The first in the Legend of the Condors series is just a great story, and Anna Holmwood's new translations bring it to life.
From Karl's list on books that take me back to china.
Jin Yong’s characters move in the gritty village lanes or wander China’s remote mountains, seeking vengeance, escaping persecution, forming alliances. The launch of a martial arts series, A Hero Born was first serialized in a Hong Kong newspaper in the 1950s and is about a young hero who ends up in the Mongol camp of the future Genghis Khan. It’s a thrilling read and proved an immediate sensation, spawning movies, video games, comic books, etc. Holmgren’s new translation offers a window into the gallant world of martial men and women who will fight to the death to defend their honor.…
From Laurie's list on entering the world of imperial China.
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