Nowadays many people may not read martial novels, but they may hear or watch some famous adaptions of them on TV. Why are those martial novels so fanscinating? Why are the plots so interesting that people couldn't resist them? Do the characters in the novels much characterized that make people feel vivid as if we saw them in our life? Or do people just want to read romantic stories about those vagrants'? I'm curious about it. I also enjoy reading martial novels and watching the adaptations of them. To me, martial novels are a way to train imagination, learn how to write stories and keep historical record.
In reality, most people don't have those special martial skills like moving lightly without leaving footprints. But in martial novels, it's possible. When I read those books, I can use my imagination to imagine what will happen next. I paint series of colorful scenes of the main plots in my mind. I can even see those characters fight, argue or set traps for their enemies or companions. I would also imagine their appearance and their special skills. When they are in danger, I would become nervous as if I were the one in danger. After I finished reading, I sometimes got quite tired because of my excitement for the characters' adventure or mourning for the characters' death. Each martial novel means not just a book but an adventure to me.
In martial novels, authors wouldn't tell stories in a direct way. They'll use hints to foreshadow later developments. Every incident is linked together, so I'll get the whole story first when I read martial novels. Then I'll read them again and again to find those hints. By doing this, I gradually know that those hints in stories are important because hints are key to determine whether martial novels are good or not. In addition, I would pick up the good sentences from books. It's useful for me when I try to write a new story. I would also try to learn how authors describe scenes or characters. In fact, martial novels are my first teacher to teach me writing in an informal way.
The backgrounds of most martial novels are set in ancient times. So I could get much information about the populace's life, which was seldom emphasized in history record. Moreover, those entertainments, customs and social values could also be preserved in it. Take Jin Yong's martial novels for example. Although his works are about the vagrants and their love story, there are still some ancient entertainments in his works, like storytelling in teahouses or the cultural things, like dialects of different places. Folktales or poems written by famous poets are also preserved in it. For this reason, I get not only the stories but the historical values when I read it.
Lots of people love to read martial novels for different reasons. Some people read them for the exciting plots or the its interesting characters; some read them just for killing times. At first, I read martial novels to kill time, but I changed after I read them again and again. I found the values of reading martial novels such as learning some techniques for writing a good novel or the historical background. Martial novels are not just the products of imagination, but also vivid history record for people with imagination.
