RoCH: Fandom and the nostalgic return

Sand a Camacho RoCH: Fandom and he nos algic e u n So i s a s wi h looking back, i s a s wi h a e u n. susan pui san lok’s (b. 1972) RoCH (Re u n o he Condo He oes) Fans & Legends began wi h a wish o he London-bo n a is o look back a he Chinese ances y; o ela e o a cul u e ha , simul aneously, was and wasn’ he own. To make his e u n she ook no o his o y books, o o unp ac ised adi ions and cus oms, bu ins ead looked o wha had always connec ed he – and he Chinese diaspo a – o hei pas and o each o he : he ele ision adap a ions o Jin Yong’s wuxia 1. The e a e many names a p ojec can ake: i can begin wi h i s in luencing oo s, i s concep ual basis, and i can be modi ied as he wo k is adap ed o assumes di e en shapes – o li es. RoCH Fans & Legends ook i s name om wo elemen s: he i le o one o Yong’s mos popula no els – Re u n o he Condo He oes; and he an communi y ha su ounds i , ha a den ly discusses and is inspi ed by i , and ans o ms i in o RoCH. Fandom is key o RoCH, as i is key o lok’s p ojec , as i is key in unde s anding he wo k. Bu le us con inue wi h he 1 The simples ansla ion o wuxia – wi h wu deno ing ma ial o mili a y ene gies, and xia meaning a he oic o chi al ous indi idual – is as a gen e o li e a u e ha p ima ily ocuses on he ales o ma ial a he oes in ancien China ( o whom he closes Wes e n app oxima ion would be ha o he ‘e an knigh ’). Ha ing began in li e a u e, wuxia came none heless o encapsula e, om he ea ly 20 h cen u y, ilm and ele ision gen es. Sand a Camacho, RCH: Fandom and he nos algic e u n 140 issue o names o a momen . O iginally w i en in adi ional Chinese, and published in se ialised o m om 20 May 1959 o 5 July 1961 in he Hong Kong newspape Ming Pao (also owned by Jin Yong – bu we will come o ha ), Re u n o he Condo He oes is he second pa o Yong’s The Condo T ilogy. Wi h no au ho ised ansla ion o he no el in English, i was only wi h he publica ion o olumes 9-12 o he 36- olume Collec ed Wo ks o Jin Yong (1975-1981) in 1976 ha an o icial English i le was eleased: The Gian Eagle and I s Companion. So how did RoCH come o exis ? I is an explana ion ha can only be ound in an o ums; and senio membe bliss exp esses i mos eloquen ly: LOCH and ROCH came abou om he TV Se ials ha mos o us g ew up wa ching and ha e ing ained in ou minds. Legend o he Condo He oes came i s , and is a somewha ee in e p e a ion o he name Eagle Shoo ing He oes S o y. Then, since he nex one was he sequel, hey p obably jus go lazy and called i Re u n o he Condo He oes 2. So i was no he au ho ha p oduced he name ha has come o de ine e en he o iginal ex , i was he an communi y and hei app op ia ion, no o he book, bu o he ele ision adap a ions. And i is h ough app op ia ion – o he no el, o he ele ision and ilmic adap a ions, o he an ansla ions and hei c ea i e p oduc ion, and o a collec i e a chi e – ha lok’s p ojec has come o exis . Lok’s RoCH Fans & Legends began as an elemen o a la ge p ojec – Ou Ances o s – and had i s i s public display as RoCH Fans in ea ly 2013, as pa o The Global A chi e exhibi ion in Hanmi Galle y, London 3. He e i occupied he o h lou o he 2 ‘How did he i les LOCH and ROCH come abou since i ’s no o iginal?’, <h p://www.spcne . / o ums/show h ead.php/11419-How-did- he- i les-LOCH-and-ROCH-come-abou -since-i -s-no - o iginal#.V ID5VIqK2w> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 3 The exhibi ion was cu a ed by Ma qua d Smi h, in collabo a ion wi h Emma B asó and Nina P i edi, and an om he 24 h o Janua y o he 9 h o Feb ua y 2013. Besides susan pui san lok, i ea u ed he wo ks o Young-In Hong (b.1972), Shezad Dawood (b.1974), and Tom Co by (b.1966) and Ga in Baily (b.1971). M. SMITH, ‘A Mino Ju idical Dis u bance in he Global A chi e’, A s o y is always bo n wice 141 galle y: p in ou s o Google Image sea ch esul s co e ed he walls om op o bo om; a ele ision se played exce p s om he 1983 Hong Kong ele ision adap a ion – sub i led wi h an ansla ions; mul iple ansla ions o he wo k’s i le we e w i en on a wall (almos as i hei we e pa o an enchan men ha needed o be cas o hese he oes o inally e u n); colou ul o igami condo s we e placed in a ci cle on he loo ; and a wing o a condo was d awn in black ma ke on he window, aming he building in on . I is his i s i e a ion o he p ojec , and he issues i aises – on au ho ship, on an communi ies and diaspo a, on nos algia, on he a chi e – ha will be analysed h oughou his essay 4. Bu pe haps we should begin a he o igins; pe haps we should begin wi h Jin Yong, wi h Hong Kong and wi h displacemen . Jin Yong: F om Hong Kong o he Wo ld In 1948, be o e he came o be known by his pen name – Jin Yong –, Louis Cha (Zha Liangyong) eloca ed o Hong Kong o assis in he es ablishmen o he local edi ion o Shanghai’s newspape Dagong bao 5. No long a e , in 1949, he People’s Republic o China was ounded and Louis Cha, as many o he Chinese na ionals, chose o emain in he B i ish colony. In he yea s ha ollowed hey we e joined by housands o o he s, wi h Hong Kong’s popula ion g owing om 1.600.000 in la e-1946 o o e 2.300.000 in he sp ing o 1950 6. A numbe o hese people – MaHKUsc ip : Jou nal o Fine A Resea ch, 1 (1): 9, pp. 1-9, <DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.5334/mj a .1> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 4 Since his i s exhibi ion, elemen s o he p ojec ha e been published as pa o a special edi ion on he subjec o he a chi e o he Jou nal o Visual Cul u e – S. PUI SAN LOK, RoCH Fans and Legends (En ies), «Jou nal o Visual Cul u e», Decembe 2013, 12, pp.364-374. The p ojec has also been ecen ly de eloped in o RoCH Fans & Legends o an exhibi ion a De by QUAD (De by, UK) (19 Sep embe – 15 No embe 2015). 5 Bo n in 1924 in Haining, Zhejiang, o a amily o schola s, Louis Cha ini ia ed his ca ee as a jou nalis in 1945 o Dongnan ibao in Hangzhou. Du ing his i s decade in Hong Kong Yong also collabo a ed in ilm e iews and edi o ials, sc eenplay w i ing, and ilm di ec ion. 6 J. CHRISTOPHER HAMM, Pape Swo dsmen: Jin Yong and he Mode n Chinese Ma ial A s No el, Honolulu: Uni e si y o Hawai’i P ess, 2005, p.43. Sand a Camacho, RCH: Fandom and he nos algic e u n 142 susan pui san lok’s amily included – con inued hei jou ney o se le in o he coun ies – such as Taiwan, Aus alia, Canada, he US, and he UK 7. In hei displacemen , hese indi iduals could be seen h ough he lens o he exiled, bu pe haps a di e en e minology migh be be e sui ed: Exile sugges s pining o home; diaspo a sugges s ne wo ks among compa io s. Exile may be soli a y, bu diaspo a is always collec i e. Diaspo a sugges s eal o imagined ela ionships among sca e ed ellows, whose sense o communi y is sus ained by o ms o communica ion and con ac such as kinship, pilg image, ade, a el, and sha ed cul u e (language, i ual, sc ip u e, o p in and elec onic media) 8. These ne wo ked communi ies migh no ha e been pining o home, bu hey con inued o es ablish ela ionships be ween hemsel es, and wi h hei o igins. Pa o wha allowed hem o do so was hei sha ed cul u al alues – Jin Yong ic ion included. Pe haps, as lok men ions, «aspi a ions o se le and e u n may no be con adic o y, and nos algia may be unde s ood in mo e complex e ms han a backwa d gaze»9. Pe haps Yong’s wo ks we e pa icula ly appealing o hese communi ies – e en i hey we e ini ially consumed h ough he ele ision adap a ions – because hey o e ed a my hical ep esen a ion o China: «nos algia wea s a dis inc ly u opian ace, a ace ha u ns owa ds a u u e-pas , a pas which has only ideological eali y» 10. Jin Yong’s s o ies we e cen ed on noble ac ions, an as ical igh scenes, impossible omances, momen s o con lic om 7 In he 1950s he UK was a pa icula ly popula des ina ion, as i allowed Commonweal h ci izens ee access o se le. 8 J. DURHAM PETERS, ‘Nomadism, Diaspo a, Exile: The S akes o Mobili y wi hin he Wes e n Canon.’ in House, Exile, Homeland: Film, Media and he Poli ics o Place. ed. H. NAFICY, London: Rou ledge, 1999, pp. 17-41, p. 20. 9 M. SMITH, S. PUI SAN LOK, Jou neys, Documen ing, Indexing, A chi es, and P ac ice-Based Resea ch: A Con e sa ion wi h Susan pui san lok, «A Jou nal», Vol. 65, No. 4 (Win e , 2006), pp. 18-35, p.35. 10 S. STEWART, On Longing: Na a i es o he Minia u e, he Gigan ic, he Sou eni , he Collec ion, Du ham: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 1984, p.23. A s o y is always bo n wice 143 Chinese his o y 11, and he oes ha s a as ou side s un il he momen hey p o e hemsel es wo hy o belonging o he communi y 12. These we e «lonely, homeless, a he less [he oes], ceaselessly wande ing on an endless jou ney» 13. They a elled a wo ld ha was always jus on he ma gin o socie y, he wo ld o jianghu – he wo ld o Ri e s and Lakes. Pe haps he nos algia ha was el was no o he place ha had had o be abandoned, bu o a place ha had ne e been. S ill, as widesp ead as Jin Yong’s wo ks we e, his la ges eade ship con inued o be based in Hong Kong. On 1 Janua y 1957, he i s ins almen o wha would come o be known as Legends o he Condo He oes was published in he Hong Kong newspape Xianggang shangbao. By hen Yong, ha ing w i en wo p e ious se ialised no els, was s a ing o be an acknowledged wuxia w i e 14. None heless, he success LoCH ga ne ed su passed all p eceding accomplishmen s and enabled Yong o es ablish his own newspape : Ming Pao. Ming Pao w as la un c h e d wi h h e i s i n s a lm e n o RoCH in May 1959. Wi h a ocus on ic ion, wi y edi o ials, and a posi ioning ha was simul aneously na ionalis ic and c i ical o he policies o he Chinese Communis Pa y, he newspape soon made a name o i sel . I became di icul o disen angle he popula i y 11 Many o he no els a e se a pe iods when China was unde a ack, o a isk o being occupied, by o eign powe s. The Condo T ilogy, o ins ance, begins du ing he Ju chen In asion o China (a ound 1127 AD) and he es ablishmen o he Jin Empi e. I con inues, h ough he sequels, o he Mongol In asion o ea ly 1200s and he ounda ion, and subsequen all, o he Yuan Dynas y (c. 1271 AD - c. 1368 AD). 12 Again, he e a e ans ha a e ex emely a icula e in hei iews as o he popula i y o Jin Yong’s no els. On analysing Guo Jing, he main cha ac e o LoCH, Owbjhx men ions: «Guo Jing a icula es a ypical ‘diaspo a an asy’ o being a o eign-bo n pe son who e u ns o he mo he land, ge s o e his s a us as a hal - o eign ‘cul u al e a d’ (which GJ’s so-called dumbness is eally jus a me apho o ), and is e en ually coun ed among he mos local o his coun ymen - a an asy which is su ely deeply appealing o many o he pos e s he e.» in ‘Jin Yong’s depic ion o he Juchen Jin Empi e in LOCH’, <h p://www.spcne . / o ums/show h ead.php/5785-Jin-Yong- s-depic ion-o - he-Juchen-Jin-Empi e-in-LOCH#.V H k1IqK2w> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 13 A. HUSS, J. LIU (ed.), The Jin Yong Phenomenon: Chinese Ma ial A s Fic ion and Mode n Chinese Li e a y His o y, New Yo k: Camb ia P ess, p.11. 14 The Book and he Swo d was published in Hong Kong’s The New E ening Pos be ween 8 Feb ua y 1955 and 5 Sep embe 1956, and Swo d S ained wi h Royal Blood was se ialised in Hong Kong Comme cial Daily be ween 1 Janua y 1956 and 31 Decembe 1956. Sand a Camacho, RCH: Fandom and he nos algic e u n 144 o Yong’s wo ks o ic ion om he popula i y – and espec abili y – o his newspape . I on he one hand ans pu chased he pape o he se ialised no els, eading he poli ically con o e sial edi o ials almos as an ex a, on he o he hand eade s looking o a poin o iew ha challenged ha o he le and o he People’s Republic o China we e ne e heless exposed o Yong’s ic ion – and o i s nos algic ecalling o a Chinese spi i , o an admi able Chinese pas . Wi h an impossible lo e s o y be ween wo membe s o dis inc ma ial a s sec s a he cen e o i s plo 15, RoCH ans o med an es ablished w i e in o a sensa ion. Reade s began analysing and discussing Jin Yong’s s o ies o such an ex en ha a name was e en gi en o his s udy: Jinology. Yong con inued o w i e and publish new ales (15 in o al) un il he ea ly 1970s, a which poin – a a ime when ilm and ele ision adap a ions o his wo k we e inc easingly widesp ead 16 – he s opped and s a ed o e ise – and ew i e – e e y single one o his wo ks ins ead. In No embe 1998 a h ee-day con e ence on he schola ly s udy o Yong as a mas e no elis was held in Taipei. Amongs i s p incipal sponso s we e wo o he publishing houses ha ca ied Yong’s wo ks. And as mul iple adap a ions ( om comic books and illus a ed no els o ele ision se ies and ilms) we e p omo ed o launched du ing his week, he con e ence became, o he mos pa , a ma ke ing coup. The di e ence be ween buying he book and TV show sound ack bundle o a book o con e sa ions be ween he au ho and Japanese philosophe Daisaku Ikeda became e y much diminished 17. I was all pa o 15 The male lead, Yang Guo, is a ebellious o phan who is aken by his a he ’s swo n b o he (Guo Jing – he leading cha ac e in Legend o he Condo He oes) o a my hic ma ial a s communi y in Peach Blossom Island. A e unning away, he mee s Xiaolongnü, a disciple o he Ancien Tomb (an all- emale ma ial a s sec ), sa ing he om an a ack by Taois p ies s. Xiaolongnü akes Yang Guo as a s uden , which hinde s hei omance, as ma ial a s laws o bid ela ionships be ween mas e and pupil. 16 Fo he RoCH p ojec susan pui san lok has ca alogued o e 90 adap a ions on The Condo T ilogy, many o which s a ed being made only one o wo yea s a e he ini ial publica ions o he se ies. S. PUI SAN LOK, Adap a ions, <h ps://susanpuisanlok.wo dp ess.com/ och- ans/adap a ions-2> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 17 J. CHRISTOPHER HAMM, Pape Swo dsmen: Jin Yong and he Mode n Chinese Ma ial A s No el, p.116. A s o y is always bo n wice 145 one wo k. Yong’s oeu e became no a simple se ies o books; i u ned in o a hyb idised piece composed by he w i en ex , he ilmic and ele ision adap a ions, and he an con ibu ions. Such migh no be e y di e en om he handling o popula books in he Wes – Hollywood adap a ions end o be agg essi ely ma ke ed and a e, a imes, endo sed by he au ho i sel 18. Wha is imp essi e in Yong is he scale o i ; i is he numbe o wo ks de i ing om he o iginal ex s – a p esen he e a e well o e 100 ilm and ele ision adap a ions alone – bu i is also he easy inco po a ion Yong makes o hese wo ks in o his own no els. I is unusual o a w i e o e ise any o his wo ks and emo e inconsis encies de ec ed by ans; i is e en mo e unusual o cha ac e s popula in ele ision adap a ions o suddenly gain mo e p ominence in he book; bu o an au ho o make such e isions on all o his books no once bu wice, ha is some hing ha has possibly no been wi nessed many imes be o e 19. Bu why has he done so? In an a emp o ma ke his wo ks once again? Gi en he popula i y o he books is ma ke ing e en a necessi y? Pe haps i goes back o how he no els came o be in he i s place. Se ialised s o ies a e no no el – Cha les Dickens and Alexand e Dumas published se ials in he 19 h cen u y –, and hey end o acili a e he con ac be ween eade and au ho . Fans we e as quick o w i e in wi h sugges ions on A hu Conan Doyle’s She lock Holmes as hey a e in e iewing he la es ele ision adap a ion o RoCH. The di e ence is ha Yong owned he newspape ha was publishing his wo ks, and by ha ing ull con ol o Ming Pao he had ull con ol o he dis ibu ion o his s o ies. «One p ominen s a egy [was] an insis ence on he popula i y o Jin Yong’s wo k, cas no as me e sel -celeb a ion bu as an ex ension o he newspape ’s o e all populis s ance, an exp ession o solida i y be ween he pape and i s eade s» 20. This 18 J. COLLINS, B ing on he Books o E e ybody, Du ham: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2010, p.151. 19 Jin Yong published he i s ound o e isions du ing he 1970s and 1980s. Be ween 1999 and 2006 Yong wo ked on a second e ision o all his wo ks, which is known o ans as he ‘Thi d Edi ion’. 20 J. CHRISTOPHER HAMM, Pape Swo dsmen: Jin Yong and he Mode n Chinese Ma ial A s No el, p.171. Sand a Camacho, RCH: Fandom and he nos algic e u n 146 solida i y came h ough pa icula ly in he p ominence gi en o an le e s. By publishing and esponding o co espondence, Jin Yong cul i a ed a dedica ed an-base ha came o eel as i hey we e pa icipan s in he de elopmen o he s o y: W i e in, le me know wha you hink, and maybe you will be su p ised wi h wha you ind in he nex ins almen . Fans ook o his call; hey w o e in. Howe e , hey also s a ed w i ing o hemsel es, hey began o o ganise discussion g oups and communi ies. And he Chinese diaspo a de eloped a RoCH communi y o i s own, al hough one i s bo n ou o he ele ision adap a ions. Fandom and a Mu able A chi e In a ele ision sc een, placed o one side o he galle y oom, susan pui san lok p esen ed iewe s wi h clips o he 1983 Hong Kong adap a ion o RoCH. They did no o m a speci ic episode, a he hey o e ed glimpses o a na a i e. They s ood o he iewe as a poin o con ac o his my hical China, jus as hey had o lok in he childhood: The Condo T ilogy a i ed a ou doo s ep ... Boo leg ideos in plas ic bags, deli e ed o ou home, ia a local ne wo k o i s gene a ion Chinese immig an s who main ained egula connec ions wi h Hong Kong. So hese ideos we e being lown o shipped o e weekly and we would ge ou weekly ixes o he la es popula Hong Kong d ama 21. I was hese ideos, o ma ial a s and wuxia, ha «allowed hose o Chinese o igins in o he pa s o he wo ld ... o imagine hei cul u al he i age and ela ion o China» 22. I was h ough hese cinema ic his o ies ha membe s o hese communi ies 21 Anima e P ojec s – ‘In e iew wi h susan pui san lok’, <h p://anima ep ojec sa chi e.o g/ in e iews/in e iew_wi h_susan_pui_san_lok> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 22 K. SZETO, The Ma ial A s Cinema o he Chinese Diaspo a: Ang Lee, John Woo, and Jackie Chan in Hollywood, Ca bondale: Sou he n Illinois Uni e si y P ess, 2011, p.18. A s o y is always bo n wice 147 con inued o es ablish bonds; con inued o ac i ely discuss he la es episodes (almos as i hey we e gossiping abou common acquain ances); and con inued o deba e wha eally ma e ed: wha has happened o ou a ou i e cha ac e . In many ways such deba es migh ha e o e old hose ha would be held yea s la e in online o ums. Pe haps he e a e ways in which he online communi y migh be compa able o a diaspo ic communi y. «[F]andom ga he s a li e, communal audience o s o ies, and ans ha e adap ed and adop ed e e y mode o communica ion» 23. Such li e communica ion migh be es ablished in he physical p esence o ano he , o , as we ind in online o ums, in a i ual p esence. The u h is ha o mos ans i doesn’ eally ma e how he wo ks a e being discussed as long as he e is a chance o discuss hem. A guably, his absence o physicali y migh ac ually p omo e a kind o andom ha is inhe en ly nos algic. The i ual communi y begins o s and in o an idealised g oup o people, wi h ans longing o he ime hey a e able o spend wi hin i . Fo ans don’ jus w i e o commen on a ou i e scenes o exp ess hei app ecia ion o he au ho . They imme se hemsel es in o e e y ins an o he no els and adap a ions: hey b eak down he igh cho eog aphies, hey ha e hea ed deba es on he bes leading man 24, hey e ise he e isions and sugges new changes 25, hey e en collabo a e in he ansla ion o 500- page books 26. A communal p ocess ha has gi en nume ous eade s access o wo ks ha would o he wise ha e been beyond hei each. The no ion o a collec i e in elligence 27 – o he con ibu ion o mul iple indi idual in e p e a ions o o m a uni – is a s ong 23 F. COPPA, ‘W i ing Bodies in Space’ in K. HELLEKSON and K. BUSSE (ed.), The Fan Fic ion S udies Reade , Iowa: Uni e si y o Iowa P ess, 2014, pp. 218-237, p.232. 24 ‘Bes RoCH adap a ion?’, <h p://www.spcne . / o ums/show h ead.php/13012-Bes -ROCH- adap a ion#.V Cd VIqK2w> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 25 ‘Thi d Edi ion Changes’, <h p://www.spcne . / o ums/show h ead.php/12038-Thi d-edi ion- changes#.V CgBFIqK2y> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 26 ‘RoCH T ansla ion...8 onwa ds’, <h p://www.spcne . / o ums/show h ead.php/763-ROCH- T ansla ion-8-onwa ds#.V Cgd1IqK2w> [accessed 12 Feb ua y 2017] 27 H. JENKINS, Con e gence Cul u e: Whe e Old and New Media Collide, NY: New Yo k Uni e si y P ess, 2006, p.4.