Fourth Edition

[Foolworm]

While browsing through the third editions thread, I noticed one post mentioned some mention of a fourth edition in the works. I therefore did a bit of digging, and eventually unearthed an article from Ming Pao (since deleted):

查大俠再修訂作品 歷來第4次 金庸盼各方指教
(明報)9月29日 星期一 05:05
【明報專訊】作家查良鏞（金庸 ）宣布，決定對《金庸作品集》作第4次修訂。今年84歲的金庸，本月16日出席「2008浙江 海寧 金庸小說國際學術研討會」開幕儀式時表示，他希望能聽到來自各方的批評、指教，好讓自己「虛心 受教」。

曾指七女共事韋小寶不符人性

金庸於1999年為其作品展開第3次修訂，至2006年中完成，當中改動包括黃藥師與徒弟梅超 風發生了一段 師生戀，以及周芷若要求張無忌與趙敏不得成婚等等（見表）。當年修訂工作完成後，曾有記者問金 庸，「新修版 還有什麼不滿意的部分？」金庸當時回答說，他本想將《神鵰俠侶 》中的公孫谷主，寫成像黃藥師一樣「有仙氣」的世外高人，可惜寫壞了，現在也沒想到好的改法。 還有《笑傲江 湖》中的風清揚，該有更多故事可發展。

此外，對《鹿鼎記》中七女共事一夫的結局，金庸也覺得不符合人性，認為「不夠愛」韋小寶的阿珂 、方怡、蘇荃 ，甚至是打打罵罵的建寧公主，都應該「跑了才對」。不過，因為金庸當時一心專注於碩士論文的歷 史研究之中， 恐怕「改下去沒完沒了」，所以決定「暫時放她們一馬」。而在2006年12月，金庸已完成劍橋 大學碩士論文〈初唐皇位繼承制度〉，應該可以更專注於修訂作品。

文學界意見不一 「幻想空間被改很殘忍」

對於這次修訂，文學界有支持也有反對。中新網引述台灣 遠流出版公司王榮文董事長表示，一個作者願意修改他的作品，是一件很特別的事情，認為讀者可從 中「看到作家 30歲的思想、50歲的思想、80歲的思想」。

然而，台灣師範大學國文系教授林保淳則稱，他和很多金庸研究者都持反對態度。

他認為，金庸小說從1980年開始定版，到現在2008年，已有28年歷史了，很多讀者對金庸 文本已有一個 非常固定的認知。「我們在讀他的小說時，是將生命的熱情、理想、願望都投注到他所構造的空間當 中，現在這個 空間改了，我們找不到原來的東西，是很殘忍的。」

他又指出，作品不可能十全十美，留一點遺憾在人間，給後人去討論，這是文學的樂趣，作者不應剝 奪讀者這種樂 趣。「《水滸傳》沒有問題嗎？把缺陷放諸天地，讓它自然存在，不也是一種美感嗎？我想以後會流 傳兩個版本。 修訂前、修訂後都會流傳下去。」


A translation of the relevant parts:

Editing His Works for the Fourth Time, Jin Yong seeks Advice and Pointers

(Ming Pao) 9 September (2008) Monday 05:05

Author Louis Cha (pen name: Jin Yong), 84, has announced a fourth edition of his works. He expressed his intent to 'humbly' seek advice and pointers from others in a speech made in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Jin Yong International Conference held in Haining, Zhejiang on the 16th of this month.

From 1999 to 2006, Jin Yong worked on a third edition of his works. Revisions made included the addition of a student-teacher romance between Mei Chaofeng and Huang Yaoshi, and Zhou Zhiruo's wish for Zhang Wuji not to marry Zhao Min. After the revisions were completed, reporters asked him: "Is there anything you remain unsatisfied with in the new editions?" At the time, Jin Yong revealed that he had intended to re-imagine Valley Master Gong-Sun of <Shen Diao Xia Lv> as an otherworldly, 'godlike' master in the vein of Huang Yaoshi, but could not find a way to rewrite the character in a redeeming fashion. Another contention was the character of Feng QingYang of <Xiao Ao Jiang Hu>, whose story he felt could have been expanded upon.

In addition, Jin Yong found the '7 wives sharing a husband' scenario that was the ending of <Lu Ding Ji> "unreasonable", reckoning that A He, Fang Yi, Su Quan or even the shrewish Princess Jian Ning did not love Wei Xiaobao enough, and should have deserted him long ago. However, Jin Yong was conducting historical research for his doctoral thesis at the time; afraid that the revisions would spiral out of control, he decided to let the matter rest. In December 2006, Jin Yong completed his doctoral thesis at Cambridge, <Royal Succession Patterns in Early Tang>, and should now have the time to edit his works.

The rest is opinions and reactions to the announcement and subsequently not translated.

Basically, is there any more information on Jin Yong's plans for a fourth edition? I would say Ming Pao is a pretty reliable source, so I won't doubt the article's authenticity. However, there has been no mention of any new editions since - hence my question.

[PJ]

It's interesting information. Can the article be verified as written by Ming Pao (as opposed to someone posting it online attributing it to Ming Pao) ?

[Foolworm]

Like I said, the article was actually on the official website, but has since been deleted. Since I can't actually prove it, I'll leave this:

http://www.cns.hk:89/ga/zmrs/news/20.../1389581.shtml
金庸書院落戶浙江海寧 金庸:改50次才是好小說

This is the crucial sentence:
他說：“魯迅說好的小說要修改五十次。我非常欣賞他的這句話。我的小說才修改了三次。在座的朋友的意見都非 常寶貴，我都會記下來，等到下次修改的時候用上去。”

He (Jin Yong) said: "Lu Xun once mentioned that good stories are revised fifty times. I admire that statement. My works have only been revised three times. The feedback from my fellow attendees have been very valuable; I will record it all for use in the next revision."

This statement can be found on many articles reporting on the conference. It also mentions his wife's 3 big NOs: No photos, autographs or interviews.

Edit: Alright, I found a repost of the China News version of the first article.
http://www.sd.xinhuanet.com/book/200...t_14565604.htm
If nothing else, the title should be clear.

I think the most illuminating statement on his works is this:
如果时间允许的话，最好每十年就做一次修改。当然经典的故事情节不会改，但文字方面会润色得更 好一些
If time permits, one revision every 10 years would be optimal. Even though the main storyline would not change, the wording could be made better.

This statement was made in his acceptance speech for the Chinese Luminary Awards in 2009.