A folk hero struggles to survive

IN Chinese martial arts literature, Hsia (俠) is similar to Western folk heroes like Robin Hood or Zorro, who represent rebels that use their unique fighting skills to defeat villains and uphold justice. Chang Bei-hai's (張北海) recently released Hsia Yin (俠隱) is no exception.

It is the story of kung-fu fighter Lee Tian-jan (李天然), who sneaks through the back streets of Beijing seeking vengeance for the murders of his master and beloved fiancee. But Hsia Yin is also a story that runs counter to tradition.

Local critic Lee Hsih-shue (李奭學) describes this book as a martial arts tale that defies the traditions of the genre. (打著武俠反武俠). "Master Chang Bei-hai seldom fights, but when he fights, it is a first and last strike," wrote Lee in a recent review.

Hsia Yin is set in the 1930s, a modern time when people use guns and laws to deal with evil. The protagonist, Lee, is a US educated English editor for a newspaper whose character is far from invincible.

In the autumn of 1936, Lee returns to Beijing to take the life of murderer Chu Chien-lung (朱潛龍), who is also an associate of Japanese militarists. But modern laws and the morals of his contemporary-minded Western friends, who constantly remind Lee that "times have changed," thwart Lee's long journey of revenge. Even Lee's traditional method for avenging his master -- a fight to the death, replete with kung fu extravaganza -- is put in doubt by the use of modern weapons. "I like to put my hero of the martial arts tradition in the 20th century to see how he can survive," said author Chang Bei-hai.

To some degree, the story is a cross-genre fiction, because it reduces the prominence of excessive supernatural kung-fu scenes in which characters fly across rooftops, kicking and hacking at each other using kung fu or swords. Instead Chang spends more time describing the people, landscapes and social climate of 1930s Beijing, especially the characteristic lanes of the city."Another theme of my story is about the bygone good old days. I wanted to say the good old days of the city had gone along with the decline of Hsia," Chang said. He thinks the 1930s were the best time for modern Beijing -- the golden decade. It was between a time of war and turmoil, right after the Nationalist government had finished its northern expedition, unified China and moved the capital to Nanjing, and right before major confrontations with Japan began. "It was the only time when Beijing escaped its role as the country's political center, and revealed only its prosperity. It was a paradise for the rich and the aristocrats and a peaceful and orderly world for the poor," Chang said.

The book is full of intimate scenes intended to bring readers into the heart of everyday life in the city. The detail is rich enough to nearly smell every meal Lee Tian-jan eats in the lanes: scrambled eggs with tomato, stir-fried lamb, spring onion nan, herb tofu. Readers will also hear the gossip circulating about old-time celebrities from the tabloid newspaper Lee works for. There's also romance for the hero, in between his confrontations with enemies and spies from both Japan and China.

Hsia Yin is perhaps one of the few martial arts novels that tries to demystify the genre and communicate with the Western world. Chang surrounds Lee with Western friends to build a dialogue between the shadowy, traditional world of kung fu and the modern world in which Lee must live. In doing so, the folk hero is eventually lost to modern day society and his decline -- the decline of Hsia -- echoes with the loss of the "good old days."