The other day I ran across an article, reported by Nangong Yan 南宮雁, from February 2, 1986 in Singapore’s Shin Min Daily News 新明日报 that reports on what eight different authors in Taiwan were planning to do for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Four of them were wuxia authors, so I translated their entries below:
Qin Hong
This Year He’s Going to Cut Back
Qin Hong—professional authors are also feeling the effect of the recession.
Those who know Qin Hong knows he has a “saying”—to collect stamps from each country.
Qin Hong is a punctucal “on the clock” wuxia author. In the morning he writes, in the afternoon he plays weiqi or goes hiking, and in the evening he watches videotapes.
Every year, Qin Hong travels overseas for the New Year. This year, Qin Hong says he won’t be taking a long trip. He lists three reasons: one is that his wife insists on taking a bus tour; two is that his oldest son just went to university; and three is that the pay for submitting manuscripts has gone down. Although he’s not struggling financially, with the economy in a slump, he’s going to cut back on spending.
Wolong Sheng
Earnestly Observing Tradition
Wolong Sheng—originally from Henan Province, China, has spent the last 30 new years in Taiwan. He says that his children still love playing with firecrackers as always and that the New Year red packet money is still the customary highlight.
Even though he hasn’t written in months, “Wolong Sheng Classics” continue to appear on the Taiwan screens one after another. He hopes for a new year, new scene. With Jin Yong retired, Ni Kuang changing professions, and Gu Long passed on, he knows that wuxia readers’ expectations are all the more demanding.
Murong Mei
The Years are Difficult, But We Must Get Through Them
Murong Mei—the years are difficult, but we must get through them. Unlike many writers, wuxia author Murong Mei has always lived in the countryside of Longtan, Taoyuan.
He says that he spends the New Year pretty much the same as any other day.
Normally, he just writes, all through the night. On New Year’s Eve he has to go to bed early, and only on the New Year’s morning does he laze about in bed in order to avoid the string of people coming by, cupping hand over fist with their “Greetings”.
Murong Mei doesn’t know what all the fuss is about just because another year has passed.
Therefore, every New Year he will buy a few more bottles of rice wine, stack some books, magazines, and newspapers on his bed, shut his door, turn on the lights, listen to the firecrackers, and read while drinking wine, on a mental journey to places new and old, far and wide.
Zhuge Qingyun
Hopes to Get Paid Soon
Zhuge Qingyun—the super heavyweight wuxia author, lives on the same Xinhai Road in Taipei as Chu T’ien-wen, only he lives farther outside the city.
As the New Year approaches and the season changes, Zhuge Qingyun feels at once rueful and ashamed.
He rues the fact that “manuscript craftsmen” don’t get any time off, and he’s ashamed that after writing for thirty years, he still has to get up every morning and put in more overtime, otherwise he won’t be able to face his wonderful wife frowning for the “seven bare necessities”.
Born on the mainland, he has a special taste for cured meat and New Year cakes, but he has his hopes set this new year on receiving word early about his payment for manuscripts submitted to publishers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.
