Similarities between HSDS and XAJH

[redfirefly124]

Hi everyone,
I know this may sound absurd, but when I was watching HSDS 03 the other day, I noticed that it was VERY similar to XAJH! Some proof:

In terms of....

CHARACTERS
Linghu Chong-->Zhang Wu Ji, Zhang Cui San
-very powerful kungfu
-are hated because they have connections with the Evil Sect
-are affiliated with "evil" women-Ren Ying Ying, Zhao Min, Yin Su Su

Ren Ying Ying-->Zhao Min, Yin Su Su
-daughter of a powerful leader-Ren Wo Xing, Mongolian general guy, Yin Tian Zheng

Ren Wo Xing-->Yin Tian Zheng
-leaders of powerful but "evil" sects
-daughters with unfavorable romantic choices

Ding Yi-->Mie Jue
-hate or hated the main hero
-crazy old nuns

Yue Ling Shan-->Zhou Zhi Ruo
-the "other girl" that the main hero likes
-stabs the main hero

Yi Lin-->Xiao Zhao
-kind, caring girl that understands the main hero best

Lan Feng Huang-->Yin Li/Zhu'er
-only a small connection-spunky girls that also like the main hero

Xiang Wen Tian-->Yang Xiao
-help the leaders/ex leaders of the Ming/Sun Moon/Evil Sect (they're the same thing; the character ming is composed of two characters-sun and moon)

That's all for now! I'll be posting they're similarities in plot and themes later!
Please post your opinion on what I've identified so far!
~red

[owbjhx]

I know this may sound absurd, but when I was watching HSDS 03 the other day, I noticed that it was VERY similar to XAJH! Some proof:

I've thought about this for a while, and there are indeed a lot of similarities between Xiao Ao Jiang Hu and Yi Tian Tu Long Ji. Certainly, XAJH 'feels' more similar to the Trilogy novels than to TLBB. I see it as Jinyong realising how much of a mess Yi Tian was, and having a 'second try' with many of the same themes and plot elements. So out goes Yi Tian's ridiculous pretensions to epicdom (which burdened the novel with a clumsy structure), and in comes a more focused tale, with a far more human hero and a romantic subplot which isn't as soapy and cloying. Both novels are about the political process.

Besides the stuff you've mentioned, XAJH takes place in a world recognisably similar to that of Yi Tian - which is no coincidence, given that in JY's 'Big Five' novels, the two novels are chronologically consecutive. For the Ming Cult (referred to as "mo jiao") read the Sun-Moon Cult (also referred to as "mo jiao"); for the six mainstream schools attacking the Ming Cult in Chapter 20 of Yi Tian, read the six mainstream schools (minus Huashan) defending against the Sun-Moon Cult in Chapter 40 of XAJH; for the Sword of Heaven's Will and the Dragon-Killing Sword - the 'trophy arts' causing havoc in jianghu - read the Sunflower Manuscript. In XAJH, Kunlun continued to be a bunch of a***holes, as did Huashan (ultimately).

Linghu Chong, a crybaby reminiscent of Yi Tian's Yin Liting, goes through experiences similar to those of Zhang Wuji. His life is complicated by the sins of a father-figure (Yue Buqun vs Xie Xun). He has excessively sentimental feelings, which arise from shared childhood moments, for girls who aren't typical JY women in that they don't make the hero the centre of their lives (Yue Lingshan vs Zhou Zhiruo). He's eventually won over by a self-sacrificing girl from the 'opposition' who also functions as a source of the ruthlessness and clear-headedness he lacks (Ren Yingying vs Zhao Min). He goes through long periods of illness and isolation, coming out the stronger for it; and the novel is partly about his transition from fighter to leader. There's also the trope of betrayal, with allies turning unexpectedly into enemies (Lin Pingzhi/Yue Buqun/etc. vs Zhou Zhiruo/Zhu Yuanzhang/etc.).

Both novels have similar faults - chiefly anticlimactic, rushed endings which suggest that JY was running out of ideas - but admittedly, this particular fault is rather a trademark of JY.

However, I disagree with the Yilin/Xiaozhao parallelism in that neither really understood their respective men as well as did Ren Yingying/Zhao Min. It's true, however, that both were 'innocent'-type girls whose martial institutions both recruited the main hero for leadership positions.

[Ren Ying Ying]

Ding Yi-->Mie Jue
-hate or hated the main hero
-crazy old nuns

i remember ding yi ended up trusting LHC (thus earning him the heng shan leadership)

[shenlong]

Usually people hate similar plots/characters from one author, but I like Jin Yong because of this aspect. Instead of nostalgia, I love the similarities as it usually leads to a non-exisitent twist because I expect the plot to go in the same way it did before, but then it changes.

[shortsight]

...
Ding Yi-->Mie Jue
-hate or hated the main hero
-crazy old nuns
...

i remember ding yi ended up trusting LHC (thus earning him the heng shan leadership)

hating the main hero is probably where the similarity ends. and i think charactder-wise, they are both very different. mie jue is simply a ruthless and evil nun as opposed to ding yi, who is upright but albeit too stereotype.

[redfirefly124]

owbjhx: Wow....great analysis!
Ren Ying Ying: Yup...thats why I said hate/hated.
shenlong: Interesting....
shortsight: Well, Mie Jue's not COMPLETELY evil...she really does care for her students....but ONLY for HER students, and if they betray her, she kills them.....so yeah, I don't like her.

I will post similarities in the plot soon!
~red

[redfirefly124]

Okay, similarities in PLOT.

1. ZWJ and LHC learn very powerful wu gong by accident-->Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi and Xi Xing Da Fa

2. Become associated with the "Evil" sect, and practically all of wulin hates them.

3. argh...brain block, can't think of more right now. Help, owbjhx?