Jin Yong


Louis Cha Leung-yung , better known by his pen name Jin Yong, pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer.
His wuxia novels have a widespread following in Chinese communities worldwide. His 15 works written between 1955 and 1972 earned him a reputation as one of the greatest and most popular wuxia writers ever. By the time of his death he was the best-selling Chinese author, and over 100 million copies of his works have been sold worldwide. According to The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature, Jin Yong's novels are considered to be of very high quality and are able to appeal to both highbrow and lowbrow tastes. His works have the unusual ability to transcend geographical and ideological barriers separating Chinese communities of the world, achieving a greater success than any other contemporary Hong Kong writer.
His works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian. He has many fans outside of Chinese-speaking areas, as a result of the numerous adaptations of his works into films, television series, comics and video games.
The asteroid 10930 Jinyong is named after him.
Jin Yong is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".

Early life

Cha was born Zha Liangyong in Haining, Zhejiang in Republican China, the second of seven children. He hailed from the scholarly Zha clan of Haining, whose members included notable literati of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties such as Zha Jizuo, Zha Shenxing and Zha Siting. His grandfather, Zha Wenqing, obtained the position of a tong jinshi chushen in the imperial examination during the Qing dynasty. His father, Zha Shuqing, was arrested and executed by the Communist government for allegedly being a counterrevolutionary during the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries in the early 1950s. Zha Shuqing was later posthumously declared innocent in the 1980s.
Cha was an avid reader of literature from an early age, especially wuxia and classical fiction. He was once expelled from his high school for openly criticising the Nationalist government as autocratic. He studied at in 1937 but was expelled in 1941. He continued his high school education at Quzhou No. 1 Secondary School and graduated in 1943.

Education

Cha was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages at the Central University of Political Affairs in Chongqing. Cha later dropped out of the school. He took the entrance exam and gained admission to the Faculty of Law at Soochow University, where he majored in international law with the intention of pursuing a career in the foreign service.
In 2005, Cha applied at Cambridge University for a doctorate in Asian Studies, which he obtained in 2010. In 2009, Cha applied for another doctorate in Chinese literature at Peking University, which he earned in 2013.

Career

Cha was a journalist. When Cha was transferred to New Evening Post as Deputy Editor, he met Chen Wentong, who wrote his first wuxia novel under the pseudonym "Liang Yusheng" in 1953. Chen and Cha became good friends and it was under the former's influence that Cha began work on his first serialised martial arts novel, The Book and the Sword, in 1955. In 1957, while still working on wuxia serialisations, he quit his previous job and worked as a scenarist-director and scriptwriter at Great Wall Movie Enterprises Ltd and Phoenix Film Company.
In 1959, Cha co-founded the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao with his high school classmate Shen Baoxin. Cha served as its editor-in-chief for years, writing both serialised novels and editorials, amounting to some 10,000 Chinese characters per day. His novels also earned him a large readership. Cha completed his last wuxia novel in 1972, after which he officially retired from writing novels, and spent the remaining years of that decade editing and revising his literary works instead. The first complete definitive edition of his works appeared in 1979. In 1980, Cha wrote a postscript to Wu Gongzao's taiji classic Wu Jia Taijiquan, where he described influences from as far back as Laozi and Zhuangzi on contemporary Chinese martial arts.
By then, Cha's wuxia novels had gained great popularity in Chinese-speaking areas. All of his novels have since been adapted into films, TV shows and radio dramas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. The important characters in his novels are so well known to the public that they can be alluded to with ease between all three regions.
In the late 1970s, Cha was involved in Hong Kong politics. After Deng Xiaoping, a Jin Yong fan, came to power and initiated the reform and opening-up process, Cha became the first non-Communist Hong Konger to meet with Deng. He was a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law drafting committee but resigned in protest after the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989. He was also part of the Preparatory Committee set up in 1996 by the Chinese government to monitor the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.
In 1993, Cha prepared for retirement from editorial work and sold all his shares in Ming Pao.

Personal life

Cha's parents were Zha Shuqing and Xu Lu. He had four brothers and two sisters, and was the second oldest among the seven of them. His brothers were Zha Liangjian, Zha Lianghao, Zha Liangdong and Zha Liangyu. His sisters were Zha Liangxiu and Zha Liangxuan.
Cha married three times. His first wife was Du Zhifen, whom he married in 1948 but divorced later. In 1953, he married his second wife, Zhu Mei, a newspaper journalist. They had two sons and two daughters: Zha Chuanxia, Zha Chuanti, Zha Chuanshi and Zha Chuanne. Cha divorced Zhu in 1976 and married his third wife, Lin Leyi, who was 29 years his junior and 16 years old when they married. In 1976, his son Zha Chuanxia, then 19 years old, committed suicide after a quarrel with his girlfriend while studying at Columbia University.

Death

On 30 October 2018, Cha died after a long illness at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, aged 94.
His funeral service was held privately at Hong Kong Funeral Home in Quarry Bay in 13 November 2018 with his family and friends, with well known figures including writers Ni Kuang, Chua Lam, Chip Tsao, Benny Lee, producer Zhang Jizhong, actor Huang Xiaoming, former President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Poon Chung-kwong, image designer Tina Liu, politicians Tung Chee-hwa and Edward Leong, and founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma among them in attendance.
At noon, his coffin was moved to Po Lin Monastery at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, where he was cremated and his ashes was interred at the Hoi Wui Tower’s columbarium.

Decorations and conferments

In addition to his wuxia novels, Cha also wrote many non-fiction works on Chinese history. For his achievements, he received many honours.
Cha was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the British government in 1981. He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Cha was also an honorary professor at Peking University, Zhejiang University, Nankai University, Soochow University, Huaqiao University, National Tsing Hua University, Hong Kong University, the University of British Columbia, and Sichuan University. Cha was an honorary doctor at National Chengchi University, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Open University of Hong Kong, the University of British Columbia, Soka University and the University of Cambridge. He was also an honorary fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and Robinson College, Cambridge, and a Waynflete Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
When receiving his honorary doctorate at the University of Cambridge in 2004, Cha expressed his wish to be a full-time student at Cambridge for four years to attain a non-honorary doctorate. In July 2010, Cha earned his Doctor of Philosophy in oriental studies at St John's College, Cambridge with a thesis on imperial succession in the early Tang dynasty.

Novels

Cha wrote a total of 15 fictional works, of which one is a short story and the other 14 are novels and novellas of varying lengths. Most of his novels were first published in daily instalments in newspapers, then later in book editions. The novels are:
English titleChinese titleDate of first publicationFirst published publicationCharacter count
The Book and the Sword書劍恩仇錄 – New Evening Post
Sword Stained with Royal Blood碧血劍 – Hong Kong Commercial Daily
The Legend of the Condor Heroes射鵰英雄傳 – Hong Kong Commercial Daily
Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain雪山飛狐 – New Evening Post
The Return of the Condor Heroes神鵰俠侶 – Ming Pao
The Young Flying Fox飛狐外傳 – Wuxia and History
White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind白馬嘯西風 – Ming Pao
Blade-dance of the Two Lovers鴛鴦刀 – Ming Pao
The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber倚天屠龍記 – Ming Pao
A Deadly Secret連城訣 – Southeast Asia Weekly
Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils天龍八部 – Ming Pao and Nanyang Siang Pau
Ode to Gallantry俠客行 – Ming Pao
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer笑傲江湖 – Ming Pao
The Deer and the Cauldron鹿鼎記 – Ming Pao
Sword of the Yue Maiden越女劍 – Ming Pao evening supplement

Of these, the long novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber make up the Condor Trilogy and should be read in that order. The novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils can also be somehow seen as a prequel story to the Condor Trilogy. The novella Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain and its prequel novel The Young Flying Fox are companion works with the same protagonist, and numerous characters from The Book and the Sword appear in The Young Flying Fox. A few major characters from Sword Stained with Royal Blood also appear in Cha's final novel The Deer and the Cauldron as minor characters, and some characters and sects from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer are mentioned in Sword Stained with Royal Blood.

Couplet

After Cha completed all his works, it was discovered that the first characters of the first 14 titles can be joined together to form a couplet with 7 characters on each line:
;Traditional Chinese:
飛雪連天射白鹿
笑書神俠倚碧鴛
;Simplified Chinese:
飞雪连天射白鹿
笑书神侠倚碧鸳
;Loose translation:
Shooting a white deer, snow flutters around the skies;
Smiling, writes about the divine chivalrous one,
leaning against bluish lovebirds
Cha stated that he had never intended to create the couplet. The couplet serves primarily as a handy mnemonic to remember all of Cha's works for his fans.
Most of Cha's works were initially published in instalments in Hong Kong newspapers, most often in Ming Pao. The Return of the Condor Heroes was his first novel serialised in Ming Pao, launched on 20 May 1959. Between 1970 and 1980, Cha revised all of his works. The revised works of his stories are known as the "New Edition", also known as "Revised Edition", in contrast with the "Old Edition", which refers to the original, serialised versions. Some characters and events were written out completely, most notably mystical elements and 'unnecessary' characters, such as the "Blood Red Bird" and "Qin Nanqin", the mother of Yang Guo in the first edition.
In Taiwan, the situation is more complicated, as Cha's books were initially banned. As a result, there were multiple editions published underground, some of which were revised beyond recognition. Only in 1979 was Cha's complete collection published by Taiwan's Yuenching Publishing House.
In China, the Wulin magazine in Guangzhou was the first to officially publish Cha's works, starting from 1980. Cha's complete collection in Simplified Chinese was published by Beijing's SDX Joint Publishing in 1994. Meanwhile, Mingheshe Singapore-Malaysia published his collection, in Simplified Chinese for Southeast Asian readers in 1995.
From 1999 to 2006, Cha revised his novels for the second and last time. Each of his works was carefully revised, re-edited and re-issued in the order in which he wrote them. This revision was completed in spring 2006, with the publication of the last novel, The Deer and the Cauldron. The newer revised edition, known variably as the "New Century Edition", "New Revised Edition" and "New New Edition", is noted for its annotations where Cha answers previous criticisms directed at the historical accuracy of his works. In the newer revision, certain characters' personae were changed, such as Wang Yuyan, and many martial art skills and places have their names changed. This edition faced a number of criticisms from Cha's fans, some of whom prefer the older storyline and names. The older 1970–80 "New Edition" is no longer issued by Cha's publisher Mingheshe. In mainland China, it is re-issued as "Langsheng, Old Edition" in simplified Chinese characters format.

Patriotism, jianghu and development of heroism

or patriotism is a strong theme in Cha's works. In most of his works, Cha places emphasis on the idea of self-determination and identity, and many of his novels are set in time periods when China was occupied or under the threat of occupation by non-Han Chinese peoples such as the Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols and Manchus. However, Cha gradually evolved his Chinese nationalism into an inclusionist concept which encompasses all present-day non-Han Chinese minorities. Cha expresses a fierce admiration for positive traits of non-Han Chinese people personally, such as the Mongols and Manchus. In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, for example, he casts Genghis Khan and his sons as capable and intelligent military leaders against the corrupt and ineffective bureaucrats of the Han Chinese-led Song dynasty.
Cha's references range from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, martial arts, music, calligraphy, weiqi, tea culture, philosophical schools of thought such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and imperial Chinese history. Historical figures often intermingle with fictional ones, making it difficult for the layperson to distinguish which are real.
His works show a great amount of respect and approval for traditional Chinese values, especially Confucian ideals such as the proper relationship between ruler and subject, parent and child, elder sibling and younger sibling, and, between master and apprentice, and among fellow apprentices. However, he also questions the validity of these values in the face of a modern society, such as ostracism experienced by his two main characters – Yang Guo's romantic relationship with his teacher Xiaolongnü in The Return of the Condor Heroes. Cha also places a great amount of emphasis on traditional values such as face and honour.
In all but his 14th work, The Deer and the Cauldron, the protagonists or heroes are explored meticulously through their relationships with their teachers, their immediate kin and relatives, and with their suitors or spouses. In each, the heroes have attained the zenith in martial arts and most would be the epitome or embodiment of the traditional Chinese values in words or deeds, i.e. virtuous, honourable, respectable, gentlemanly, responsible, patriotic, and so forth.
In The Deer and the Cauldron, Cha departed from his usual writing style, creating in its main protagonist Wei Xiaobao an antihero who is greedy, lazy, and utterly disdainful of traditional rules of propriety. Cha intentionally created an anticlimax and an antihero possessing none of the desirable traditional values and no knowledge of any form of martial arts, and dependent upon a protective vest made of alloy to absorb full-frontal attack when in trouble and a dagger that can cut through anything. Wei is a street urchin and womanising weasel, with no admirable qualities whatsoever. The fiction writer Ni Kuang wrote a connected critique of all of Cha's works and concluded that Cha concluded his work with The Deer and the Cauldron as a satire to his earlier work and to restore a balanced perspective in readers.

Criticisms

The study of Cha's works has spun off a specific area of study and discussion: Jinology. For years, readers and critics have written works discussing, debating and analysing his fictional world of martial arts; among the most famous are those by Cha's close friend and science fiction novelist, Ni Kuang. Ni is a fan of Cha, and has written a series of criticisms analysing the various personalities and aspects of his books called I Read Jin Yong's Novels.
Despite Cha's popularity, some of his novels were banned outside of Hong Kong due to political reasons. A number of them were outlawed in the People's Republic of China in the 1970s as they were thought to be satires of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution; others were banned in the Republic of China as they were thought to be in support of the Communist Party of China. None of these bans are currently in force, and Cha's complete collection has been published multiple times in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Many politicians on both sides of the Straits are known to be readers of his works; Deng Xiaoping, for example, was a well-known reader himself.
In late 2004, the People's Education Publishing House of the People's Republic of China sparked controversy by including an excerpt from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils in a new senior high school Chinese textbook. While some praised the inclusion of popular literature, others feared that the violence and unrealistic martial arts described in Cha's works were unsuitable for high school students. At about the same time, Singapore's Ministry of Education announced a similar move for Chinese-learning students at secondary and junior college levels.

Timeline

Translations of Cha's works

Official English translations currently available include:
Other works available in English include:
There are over 90 films and TV shows adapted from Cha's wuxia novels, including King Hu's The Swordsman and its sequel Swordsman II, Wong Jing's 1992 films Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II, and Wong Kar-wai's Ashes of Time. Dozens of role-playing video games are based on Cha's novels, a notable example of which is Heroes of Jin Yong, which was based on the major characters and events in Cha's novels.

As film director

Jin Yong co-directed 2 films produced by Hong Kong's Great Wall Movie Enterprises. In both films he is credited as Cha Jing-yong, his official name in Hong Kong.
YearEnglish titleChinese titleNotes
1958The Nature of Spring有女懷春Co-directed with Cheng Bugao, also writer
1960Bride Hunter王老虎搶親Co-directed with Woo Siu-fung, Yue opera film