A Serendipitous Comparison? Jin Yong and J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre, Prosimetrum and Modern Medievalism East and West
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21189334 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jonathan Y H Hui (0000-0002-7103-414X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2-3 |
| Pages | 285-307 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative Critical Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-1854 • E-ISSN: 1750-0109 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/ccs.2021.0407 |
| OpenAlex | W3211981911 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 3 |
In recent years, the legendary Hong Kong author Jin Yong has been referred to in Anglophone media as ‘China's Tolkien’, but the basis for that comparison has been disregarded by Sinologists for valid reasons. However, the very establishment of the comparison, even on questionable grounds, may be a stroke of serendipity. This essay probes the Tolkien-Jin Yong comparison from a literary perspective, arguing that the comparison is often made on the basis of fundamental misconceptions, but that it is nevertheless serendipitously apt for reasons that have remained unexplored. Identifying Jin Yong and Tolkien as influential modern literary medievalists, the essay shifts the Tolkien-Jin Yong comparison from the problematic terrain of genre to the firmer ground of medievalist antiquarianism, with important implications for questions of cultural identity, historical reconstruction and narrative form
Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · China · Literature · Medievalism · Middle Ages · Narrative · Orientalism · Sociology · Visual arts · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |