"The Tolkien of Chinese literature" is a marketing phrase produced by the English publisher, and while I totally understand the impetus, I don't think it's quite accurate. Tolkien melded multiple cultural traditions (the Icelandic Eddas, Anglo-Saxon literature, and rural English life) to create an original world that was at once strange and familiar to his readers. Jin Yong wrote stories based in Chinese history, with an extra layer of magic, spirituality, and kick-ass martial arts.
By analogy, it would be like he'd produced a really, really good retelling of the Arthurian legends. It's an impressive achievement, but not quite on the same creative level as Tolkien.
Full disclosure: I agented the English translation to a US publisher (from the UK publisher).
By analogy, it would be like he'd produced a really, really good retelling of the Arthurian legends. It's an impressive achievement, but not quite on the same creative level as Tolkien.
Full disclosure: I agented the English translation to a US publisher (from the UK publisher).