From Paper To Camera

Jin Yong's (Louis Cha) martial arts novels have been largely adapted into television and film works since its appearance decades ago. Since the 1990s, in particular, with the advance of television and film technologies, Jin's novels have gone through a third wave of adaptation popularity, in which his epic novel "the Swordsman" is the hottest pick.The case study will base on different versions of Jin's "the Swordsman", its television and film adaptations from the 1990s made by both Hong Kong and Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong film trilogy in the early 1990s, TV series by TVB in 1996, as well as TV series by CCTV in 2000.First of all, the last 5 decades of 20^th century have witnessed a great leap in media technologies, when Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland experienced the complex historical transition. The paper will approach the background and characteristics of Jin's novel, based on the case of "the Swordsman", including its novel creation, publication and printing details, in an attempt to study its association with modern media technologies and communications, a complete contrast to usual print medium.Secondly, in analyzing different screen adaptations, the paper will elaborate on the finding that text is modified through different media adaptations; different art forms have different creative systems, operations and expressions. In particular, different media appear to have dissimilar description of so-called "Jianghu Society", full-ranged expressions of chivalry, and distinct Kung Fu shooting angles. Meanwhile, different cultural background and ideology in different regions also result in different understanding of Jin's novels as well as further influences in its screen adaptations. Nevertheless, the sprit and theme of Jin's novels are largely revered and preserved in all media forms, as in the typical case of "the Swordsman."Finally, from the supplemental perspective, the paper will find that Jin's novels have been circulated through modern communications, thus formed its unique frequent digital communication/receiving pattern. Though the text and visional languages have strayed away from the original, while the literature of martial arts has evolved vigorously through time. It is the contemporary cultural transition and the distinction of Jin's novel plus modern communication pattern that establish his exclusive position in screen adaptations.In conclusion, adopting the mythology of cultural study, the paper will probe the usually overlooked details of publication, printing and circulation in the original novel serials. As to the perspective of screen adaptations, the paper not only analyze narrative themes, but also elaborate on how technical elements like shooting angles, framing, stunts and special effects affect literary adaptations.