Chinese-language wuxia novelist (1924–2018)
For the South Korean badminton player, put under somebody's nose Jin Yong (badminton).
In this Hong Kong name, the surname quite good Cha (Zha). In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Louis Cha and the Chinese-style name is Cha Leung-yung.
Louis Cha Leung-yung[1]GBM OBE (Chinese: 查良鏞; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018),[2][3] better known by his pen nameJin Yong (Chinese: 金庸), was a Chinese wuxia novelist. He was considered Hong Kong's most famous author[4] and the newspaper Ming Pao's co-founder and first editor-in-chief. Cha has been named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of say publicly Tripod of Wuxia". He has also been known as tune of the "Four Great Talents of Hong Kong".
Cha's novels have a widespread following in Chinese communities worldwide. His 15 works written between 1955 and 1972 earned him a stature as one of the greatest and most popular wuxia authors ever. By the time of his death, he was picture best-selling Chinese author, and over 100 million copies of his works have been sold worldwide[5] (not including an unknown broadcast of pirated copies).[6] According to The Oxford Guide to Concurrent World Literature, Cha's novels are considered to be of extremely high quality and are able to appeal to both sage and lowbrow tastes.[4] His works have the unusual ability put your name down transcend geographical and ideological barriers separating Chinese communities of picture world, achieving a greater success than any other contemporary Hong Kong author.[4]
His works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Indonesian, Catalan, Spanish, Finnish, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Annamese, Thai, Burmese, and Malay. He has many fans outside remark Chinese-speaking areas, as a result of the numerous adaptations capture his works into films, television series, comics and video dauntlesss.
Born on 10 March 1924, in Haining, Zhejiang house Republican China, Cha was named Zha Liangyong and is say publicly second of seven children. He hailed from the scholarly Zha clan of Haining (海寧查氏),[7] whose members included notable literati more than a few the late Ming and early Qing dynasties such as Zha Jizuo (1601–1676), Zha Shenxing (1650–1727) and Zha Siting (查嗣庭; correctly 1727).[8] His grandfather, Zha Wenqing (查文清), obtained the position hostilities a tong jinshi chushen (third class graduate) in the kingly examination during the Qing dynasty. His father, Zha Shuqing (查樞卿), was arrested and executed by the Communist government for allegedly being a counterrevolutionary during the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries livestock the early 1950s. Zha Shuqing was later posthumously declared in the clear in the 1980s.[9]
Zha Shuqing used to read him excerpts suffer the loss of the wuxia Huangjiang Nüxia (荒江女侠; "Woman Warrior of the Feral River") by Gu Mingdao (顧明道) every day, which aroused Cha's strong interest in the genre. Later, Cha took the drive to read other works like Water Margin and The Sevener Heroes and Five Gallants, which laid the foundation of his future as a wuxia novelist.
In 1937, Cha studied go back Jiaxing No. 1 Middle School. In 1938, the Japanese service invaded Zhejiang, and the Jiaxing Middle School had to fundraiser hundreds of miles south to Lishui city in order be acquainted with survive. Cha, as one of the students, only carried a quilt and a change of clothes, and the students difficult to trek on foot for 60 to 70 miles a day.
Cha was later expelled in 1941 after he wrote an article called "Alice's Adventures" which satirized the training bumptious sent by the Kuomintang for being vicious towards the division. Cha later reflected on this period as one of description most significant crises in his life. The expulsion not one deprived him of the opportunity to pursue his studies but he suddenly faced the issue of finding food and alteration. Fortunately, with assistance from the principal, Zhang Yintong, Cha resumed his high school education at Quzhou No. 1 Secondary Kindergarten and graduated in 1943.[10]
Cha was admitted to the Department taste Foreign Languages at the Central University of Political Affairs flimsy Chongqing.[11] Cha later dropped out of the school. He took the entrance exam and gained admission to the Faculty good buy Law at Soochow University, where he majored in international paw with the intention of pursuing a career in the distant service.
In 2005, Cha applied at the University of City for a doctorate in Asian Studies, which he obtained scope 2010.[12] In 2009, Cha applied for another doctorate in Asiatic literature at Peking University, which he earned in 2013.[13]
Cha was a journalist. To help support his studies, he began get something done in 1947 as a journalist and translator for the Addition Kung Pao newspaper in Shanghai. He moved to Hong Kong in 1948 to work for the paper's office in rendering city. When Cha was transferred to New Evening Post (of British Hong Kong) 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 station it was under the former's influence that Cha began weigh up on his first serialised martial arts novel, The Book give orders to the Sword, in 1955. In 1957, while still working added wuxia serialisations, he quit his previous job and worked gorilla 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 (沈寶新). Cha served as its editor-in-chief for years, prose both serialised novels and editorials, amounting to some 10,000 Asiatic characters per day. His novels also earned him a heavy readership. Cha completed his last wuxia novel in 1972, fend for which he officially retired from writing novels, and spent say publicly remaining years of that decade editing and revising his legendary works instead. The first complete definitive edition of his contortion appeared in 1979. In 1980, Cha wrote a postscript halt Wu Gongzao's tai chi classicWujia Taijiquan, where he described influences from as far back as Laozi and Zhuang Zhou chain contemporary Chinese martial arts.[14]
By then, Cha's wuxia novels had gained great popularity in Chinese-speaking areas. All of his novels conspiracy since been adapted into films, TV shows and radio dramas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. The important characters blessed his novels are so well known to the public give it some thought they can be alluded to with ease between all trine 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.[15] He was a member of the Hong Kong Basic Plot drafting committee but resigned in protest after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. He was also part of interpretation Preparatory Committee set up in 1996 by the Chinese decide to monitor the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.[16]
In 1993, Cha get organized for retirement from editorial work and sold all his shares in Ming Pao.
The asteroid 10930 Jinyong (1998 CR2) has been named after him.[17]
Cha's parents were Zha Shuqing (查樞卿) and Xu Lu (徐祿). He had four brothers and shine unsteadily sisters, and was the second oldest among the seven firm them. His brothers were Zha Liangjian (查良鏗; 1916–1988),[18] Zha Lianghao (查良浩; b. 1934),[19] Zha Liangdong (查良棟; fl. 1930s)[20] and Zha Liangyu (查良鈺; b. 1936).[21] His sisters were Zha Liangxiu (查良琇; b. 1926) and Zha Liangxuan (查良璇; 1928–2002).[22][23] His cousin was educator and philanthropist Cha Liang-chao (查良釗: 1897 – 1982).
Cha married three times. His first wife was Du Zhifen (杜治芬), whom he married in 1948 but divorced later. In 1953, he married his second wife, Zhu Mei (朱玫), a publication journalist. They had two sons and two daughters: Zha Chuanxia (查傳俠), Zha Chuanti (查傳倜), Zha Chuanshi (查傳詩) and Zha Chuanne (查傳訥). Cha divorced Zhu in 1976 and married his position wife, Lin Leyi (林樂怡; b. 1953), who was 29 life his junior and 16 years old when they first met.[24] In 1976, his son Zha Chuanxia, then 19 years polar, committed suicide after a quarrel with his girlfriend while cram at Columbia University.[25][26]
On 30 October 2018, Cha died after a long illness at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital pustule Happy Valley, Hong Kong, aged 94.[27]
His funeral service was held privately at Hong Kong Funeral Home in Quarry Bay pack off 13 November 2018 with his family and friends,[28] with athletic known figures including writers Ni Kuang, Chua Lam, Chip Tsao, Benny Lee, producer Zhang Jizhong, actor Huang Xiaoming, former Prexy of the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPoon Chung-kwong, image designer Tina Liu, politicians Tung Chee-hwa and Edward Leong, and founder have a good time Alibaba GroupJack Ma among them in attendance.
At noon, his coffin was moved to Po Lin Monastery at Ngong Initiate, Lantau Island, where he was cremated and his ashes was interred at the Hoi Wui Tower's columbarium.[29][30]
In resign from to his wuxia novels, Cha also wrote many non-fiction activity on Chinese history. For his achievements, he received many titles.
Cha was made an Officer of the Order of description British Empire (OBE) by the British government in 1981. Unquestionable was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (1992) soar a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2004) by the French government.[31]
Cha was also an honorary professor outburst Peking University, Zhejiang University, Nankai University, Soochow University, Huaqiao Further education college, National Tsing Hua University, Hong Kong University (Department of Asiatic Studies), the University of British Columbia, and Sichuan University. Cha was an honorary doctor at National Chengchi University, Hong Kong University (Department of Social Science), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, interpretation Open University of Hong Kong, the University of British University, Soka University and the University of Cambridge. He was likewise an honorary fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and Chemist College, Cambridge, and a Waynflete Fellow of Magdalen College, University.
When receiving his honorary doctorate at the University of University in 2004, Cha expressed his wish to be a full-time student at Cambridge for four years to attain a non-honorary doctorate.[32] In July 2010, Cha earned his Doctor of Epistemology in oriental studies (Chinese history) at St John's College, Metropolis with a thesis on imperial succession in the early Poignancy dynasty.[33][34]
Cha wrote a total of 16 fictional works, of which only one is a non-wuxia autobiographical short story (Yue Yun). His wuxia works are made up of a novella (Blade-dance of the Two Lovers), 2 standalone novels (White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind and Ode to Gallantry), 11 coordinated novels of varying lengths, and a novelette ("Sword of representation Yue Maiden"). Most of his novels were first published agreement daily instalments in newspapers, then later in 3 authorised seamless editions each with various changes to the plots and description characters. There are 4 editions of his novels:
The works are:
| Serial Number | English title | Chinese title[T 2] | Date of first publication[35] | First published publication[35] | Character look right through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | The Book and the Sword | 書劍恩仇錄 | 8 February 1955 – 5 September 1956 | New Evening Post | 513,000 |
| 07 | Sword Stained with Royal Blood | 碧血劍 | 1 Jan 1956 – 31 December 1956 | Hong Kong Commercial Daily | 488,000 |
| 03 | The Narrative of the Condor Heroes | 射鵰英雄傳 | 1 January 1957 – 19 May 1959 | Hong Kong Commercial Daily | 918,000 |
| 12 | Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain | 雪山飛狐 | 9 Feb 1959 – 18 June 1959 | New Evening Post | 130,000 |
| 04 | The Return clench the Condor Heroes | 神鵰俠侶 | 20 May 1959 – 5 July 1961 | Ming Pao | 979,000 |
| 11 | The Young Flying Fox | 飛狐外傳 | 11 January 1960 – 6 April 1962 | Wuxia and History (武俠與歷史) | 439,000 |
| 05 | The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber | 倚天屠龍記 | 6 July 1961 – 2 September 1963 | Ming Pao | 956,000 |
| 02 | Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils | 天龍八部 | 3 Sep 1963 – 27 May 1966 | Ming Pao and Nanyang Siang Pau | 1,211,000 |
| 09 | A Deadly Secret | 連城訣 | 12 January 1964 – 28 February 1965 | Southeast Aggregation Weekly (東南亞周刊) | 229,000 |
| 06 | The Smiling, Proud Wanderer | 笑傲江湖 | 20 April 1967 – 12 October 1969 | Ming Pao and Shin Min Daily News[36] | 979,000 |
| 08 | The Ruminant and the Cauldron | 鹿鼎記 | 24 October 1969 – 23 September 1972 | Ming Pao and Shin Min Daily News[36] | 1,230,000 |
| 01 | Sword of the Yue Maiden | 越女劍 | 1 January 1970 – 31 January 1970 | Ming Pao evening supplement | 16,000 |
All of Jin Yong's novels, except White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind and Ode to Gallantry are abutting, albeit weakly.
Aqing, the protagonist of the novelette "Sword cataclysm the Yue Maiden", is the ancestor of Han Xiaoying unapproachable The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils job a prequel; the Northern Beggar of the Five Greats, Hong Qigong succeeds Qiao Feng as the new chief of picture Beggars' Gang in The Legend of the Condor Heroes discipline Duan Yu is the ancestor of the historical character Duan Zhixing who later becomes Reverend Yideng, another member of rendering Five Greats. The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Come of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Agamid Saber make up the Condor Trilogy (considered by many have an adverse effect on be Cha's magnum opus) and should be read in delay order. Dugu Qiubai's Heavy Iron Sword is used by Yang Guo and broken down to create the Heaven-Reliant Sword meticulous the Dragon-Slaying Saber. Guo Xiang inherits the Heaven-Reliant Sword essential passes it to her successors in the Emei School. Linghu Chong from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer learns Dugu Qiubai's Figure Swords of Dugu from Feng Qingyang, a reclusive Mount Hua School swordsman. Some characters and schools from The Smiling, Vainglorious Wanderer are mentioned in Sword Stained with Royal Blood.
In a very brief inner monologue in The Deer and interpretation Cauldron, Chengguan, a knowledgeable but naïve Shaolin monk, ponders cardinal great swordsmen in the past who performed swordplay without multitude any defined stances: Dugu Qiubai and Linghu Chong. A clampdown major characters from Sword Stained with Royal Blood also arise as minor characters. Wu Liuqi, a historical character from The Deer and the Cauldron, is mentioned in the third printing of A Deadly Secret as the martial arts master end Mei Niansheng.
Numerous characters from The Book and the Sword appear in The Young Flying Fox, including Chen Jialuo. Hu Yidao, Miao Renfeng, Tian Guinong and the Feng family teensy weensy The Young Flying Fox are the fictional descendants of representation four bodyguards of Li Zicheng, who appears in the Sword Stained with Royal Blood and The Deer and the Cauldron. The Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain is the supplement to The Young Flying Fox.
After Cha completed all his works, it was discovered that the first characters of depiction first 14 titles can be joined to form a duo (duilian) with 7 characters on each line:
飛雪連天射白鹿
笑書神俠倚碧鴛
飞雪连天射白鹿
笑书神侠倚碧鸳
Shooting a white deer, snow flutters around representation skies;
Smiling, [one] writes about the divine chivalrous one, inclination against bluish lovebirds (or lover)
Cha stated that he confidential never intended to create the couplet. The couplet serves chiefly as a handy mnemonic to remember all of Cha's expression for his fans.
Most of Cha's works were initially published overcome installments in Hong Kong newspapers, most often in Ming Pao. The Return of the Condor Heroes was his first unusual serialised in Ming Pao, launched on 20 May 1959. Among 1970 and 1980, Cha revised all of his works. Representation revised works of his stories are known as the "New Edition" (新版), also known as "Revised Edition" (修訂版), in oppose with the "Old Edition" (舊版), which refers to the designing, serialised versions. Some characters and events were written out utterly, most notably mystical elements and 'unnecessary' characters, such as rendering "Blood Red Bird" (小紅鳥) and "Qin Nanqin" (秦南琴), the curb of Yang Guo in the first edition.
In Taiwan, interpretation situation is more complicated, as Cha's books were initially prohibited. As a result, there were multiple editions published underground, abominable of which were revised beyond recognition. Only in 1979 was Cha's complete collection published by Taiwan's Yuenching Publishing House (遠景出版社).
In China, the Wulin (武林) magazine in Guangzhou was rendering 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 (明河社星馬分公司) published his collection, in Simplified Chinese for Southeast Asian readers in 1995.
From 1999 to 2006, Cha revised his novels for rendering second and last time. Each of his works was to the letter revised, re-edited and re-issued in the order in which fair enough wrote them. This revision was completed in spring 2006, know the publication of the last novel, The Deer and interpretation Cauldron. The newer revised edition, known variably as the "New Century Edition" (世紀新修版), "New Revised Edition" (新修版) and "New Newfound Edition" (新新版), is noted for its annotations where Cha comments previous criticisms directed at the historical accuracy of his totality. In the newer revision, certain characters' personae were changed, specified as Wang Yuyan,[37] and many martial art skills and places have their names changed.[citation needed] This edition faced a circulation of criticisms from Cha's fans, some of whom prefer picture older storyline and names. The older 1970–80 "New Edition" (新版) is no longer issued by Cha's publisher Mingheshe (明河社). Invite mainland China, it is re-issued as "Langsheng, Old Edition" (朗聲舊版) in simplified Chinese characters.
Chinese nationalism or patriotism is a strong theme in Cha's activity. In most of his works, Cha places emphasis on rendering idea of self-determination and identity, and many of his novels are set in time periods when China was occupied tendency under the threat of occupation by non-Han Chinese peoples much as the Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols and Manchus. However, Cha piecemeal evolved his Chinese nationalism into an inclusionist concept which encompasses all present-day non-Han Chinese minorities. Cha expresses a fierce appreciation for positive traits of non-Han Chinese people personally, such likewise the Mongols and Manchus. In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, for example, he casts Genghis Khan and his research paper as capable and intelligent military leaders against the corrupt forward ineffective bureaucrats of the Han Chinese-led Song dynasty.
Cha's references range from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, martial arts, music, chirography, weiqi, tea culture, philosophical schools of thought such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and imperial Chinese history. Historical figures commonly intermingle with fictional ones, making it difficult for the amateur to distinguish which are real.
His works show a just what the doctor ordered amount of respect and approval for traditional Chinese values, extraordinarily Confucian ideals such as the proper relationship between ruler delighted subject, parent and child, elder sibling and younger sibling, champion (particularly strongly, due to the wuxia nature of his novels), between master and apprentice, and among fellow apprentices. However, lighten up also questions the validity of these values in the predispose 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 Fourteenth 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 bellicose arts and most would be the epitome or embodiment invite the traditional Chinese values in words or deeds, i.e. ethical, honourable, respectable, gentlemanly, responsible, patriotic, and so forth.
In The Deer and the Cauldron, Cha departed from his usual terminology 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 understanding 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 womanizer and seems message have no positive qualities based on a superficial assessment; but he actually embodies the same essential qualities of the heroes from Cha's earlier novels. The fiction writer Ni Kuang wrote a critique of all of Cha's works and concluded defer Cha concluded his work with The Deer and the Cauldron as a satire to his earlier work and to assert a balanced perspective in readers.[38]
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 description most famous are those by Cha's close friend and information fiction novelist, Ni Kuang. Ni is a fan of Cha, and has written a series of criticisms analysing the many personalities and aspects of his books called I Read Jin Yong's Novels (我看金庸小說).
Despite Cha's popularity, some of his novels were banned outside of Hong Kong due to political motive. A number of them were outlawed in the People's Democracy of China in the 1970s as they were thought halt be satires of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution; austerity were banned in Taiwan as they were thought to verbal abuse in support of the Chinese Communist Party. None of these bans are currently in force, and Cha's complete collection has been published multiple times in mainland China, Hong Kong ground Taiwan. Many politicians on both sides of the Straits control known to be readers of his works; Deng Xiaoping, yearn example, was a well-known reader himself.
In late 2004, interpretation People's Education Publishing House (人民教育出版社) of the People's Republic persuade somebody to buy China sparked controversy by including an excerpt from Demi-Gods ray Semi-Devils in a new senior high school Chinese textbook. Make your mind up some praised the inclusion of popular literature, others feared guarantee the violence and unrealistic martial arts described in Cha's scowl were unsuitable for high school students. At about the selfsame time, Singapore's Ministry of Education announced a similar move glossy magazine Chinese-learning students at secondary and junior college levels.[39]
Official English translations currently available include:
03. The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2018–2021; four volumes) – published by MacLehose Press (an strike of Quercus Publishing), translated by Anna Holmwood, Gigi Chang, topmost Shelly Bryant. The volumes are titled A Hero Born, A Bond Undone, A Snake Lies Waiting, and A Heart Divided.[40][41]
04. The Return of the Condor Heroes (2023–ongoing) – published unwelcoming MacLehose Press (an imprint of Quercus Publishing), translated by Gigi Chang. The first volume is titled A Past Unearthed.[42]
08. The Deer and the Cauldron (1997–2002; abridged in three volumes exclusive 28 chapters) – published by Oxford University Press, translated do without John Minford.
10. The Book and the Sword (2005) – published by Oxford University Press, 2005, translated by Graham Earnshaw, edited by John Minford and Rachel May.
12. Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain (1996) – published by Chinese College Press, translated by Olivia Mok.
See also: Category:Adaptations of expression by Jin Yong
There are over 90 films and TV shows adapted from Cha's wuxia novels, including King Hu's The Swordsman (1990) and its sequel Swordsman II (1992), Wong Jing's 1992 films Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II, and Wong Kar-wai's Ashes of Time (1994). Dozens of role-playing video games untidy heap based on Cha's novels, including Heroes of Jin Yong.
Cha's works have also been adapted to comics and television. Those available in English include:
Jin Yong co-directed 2 films produced by Hong Kong's Great Wall Movie Enterprises. Comport yourself both films he is credited as Cha Leung-yung, his lawful name in Hong Kong.
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | The Nature of Spring | 有女懷春 | Co-directed with Cheng Bugao, also writer |
| 1960 | Bride Hunter | 王老虎搶親 | Co-directed with Woo Siu-fung, Yue opera film |