Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Louis Cha 'Jin Yong'
TOPIC
 / people

Louis Cha 'Jin Yong'

Louis Cha 'Jin Yong'
Louis Cha 'Jin Yong'
Hong Kong martial arts novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung, the world’s most popular Chinese writer, died on October 30, 2018, after a long illness. He was 94. In 1955, he published his first martial arts novel, The Book and the Sword, in the New Evening Post, under the pen name Jin Yong. It was an instant success and he went on to write 14 hugely popular martial arts novels, ending with The Deer and the Cauldron in 1972.
Born
10 Mar 1924
Industry
Literature
Job Title
Author
Actress Athena Chu Yan attends the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation ceremony in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2004. While Chu’s iconic role in A Chinese Odyssey defined her early career, she has transcended the “sexy goddess” label with a variety of gritty, diverse roles. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Hong Kong actress Athena Chu escaped the sex symbol trap after early fame

Athena Chu navigated beyond her initial ‘sexy goddess’ image to become an acclaimed, gritty actress and devoted family woman.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Jordan Chan went from Hong Kong bad boy to patriotic family man in China

Trending in China

Explainer | What is ‘dragon vein’ and why China artist, top brand hit over Himalayas fireworks

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How director Ann Hui left her mark on the martial arts and horror genres

Better known for realistic films about social issues, Hong Kong director Ann Hui also dabbled in other genres. Here we look at two stand-outs.

videocam
Eason Chan and Shu Qi in a still from Ann Hui’s ghost tale Visible Secret. The Hong Kong director says her biggest scare came when she started editing her footage. photo: Media Asia Films
Video gaming

Hong Kong author Louis Cha’s works form the basis of China’s next AAA video game

CreateAI is developing a wuxia role-playing game franchise that will feature characters and famous scenes from Cha’s 15 martial arts novels.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Hong Kong star Adam Cheng, from TV heartthrob to stock market jinx

The star of wuxia period dramas and TV shows such as The Greed of Man, actor-singer Adam Cheng has been a popular performer for over 50 years.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong’s complex social problems demand transparent and collective effort

Readers suggest areas for improvement in the city’s governance, light pollution, and the death of a renowned food critic.

A woman sorts out cardboard on a street in Sham Shui Po on September 19, 2023. Photo: Elson Li
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Carman Lee, her interrupted screen career and emergence as fitness icon

Actress got her big break in a Hong Kong TV adaptation of a Louis Cha wuxia novel, shone in a variety of roles, then quit acting.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

‘Could have been 3 movies’: Chang Cheh’s The Brave Archer crams in a lot

Hong Kong filmmaker Chang Cheh wanted to do justice to Louis Cha’s The Legend of the Condor Heroes. But his trilogy is dense and confusing.

videocam
Chinese culture

How martial arts novelists Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng became legends

A century after wuxia novelists Louis Cha and Liang Yusheng were born in 1924, their influence on martial arts culture – from TV series and movies to books and radio – is as big as when they were alive.

Dr Louis Cha Leung-yunk is one of the most talented writers in Hong Kong. His popular martial arts novels are devoured by Chinese people across the world, the social spectrum and all ages. Jin Yong is the pen-name used by Dr Cha. This quietly-spoken, quintessentially Chinese man is renowned not only as the author of fifteen best-selling martial arts novels, written between 1955 and 1972, but also as a publisher, editor and political commentator. He is also the founder of the Ming Pao newspaper and its sister publications. Lately his famous martial arts novels have been translated into English and published. However, Dr Cha admits that Western readers may find his novels hard to appreciate, as the adventures are being so intricately interwoven with Chinese idioms, folklore and culture. 14MAR94
China economy

Opinion | To boost investor enthusiasm for China, start with Hong Kong tycoons

When it comes to China, many international investors take their cue from Hong Kong’s business leaders – like they did 45 years ago.

videocam
4
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Chinese martial arts 101: wushu and kung fu films – 10 FAQs

Martial arts films are heavily linked with Chinese culture, from the Shaolin Temple in China to famous martial artists in history, such as Wong Fei-hung, Fong Sai-yuk and Hong Xiguan.

Hong Kong culture

Letters | Dub TVB’s wuxia classics into English for the world

Readers discuss the value of making English versions of television series based on novels by Jin Yong, the potential for collaboration between Western and Chinese medicine, and China’s tech advancement.

Art

Missing Art Month already? 6 more cultural happenings to catch around Hong Kong

TeamLab has scattered giant light-emitting ovoids from Tamar Park into the harbour, while the Hong Kong Heritage Museum has a sculpture exhibition that brings to life characters from Jin Yong’s novels

Among the art worth catching in Hong Kong this spring, TeamLab: Continuous, at Tamar Park in Admiralty, features some 200 light-emitting ovoids that stand up to five metres tall, both on land and water. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong culture

300,000 people expected at Hong Kong’s Pop Culture Festival celebrating kung fu

More than 20 programmes planned under theme of ‘Arts and Action’, according to secretary for culture and tourism Kevin Yeung.

An actor recreates a scene from the classic Hong Kong film A Better Tomorrow as part of a promotional event for the festival. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong society

Opinion | Forget Instagram spots. What’s Hong Kong doing to nurture the next Jin Yong?

As the government continues to promote Hong Kong as an art and cultural hub in the region, it has much to learn about what truly constitutes art. Jin Yong’s wuxia novels, with their wide appeal, manage to be both escapist entertainment and a vast cultural phenomenon.

videocam
Hong Kong culture

My Take | Hong Kong should cherish its open culture that nurtured Jin Yong

Without Hong Kong’s thriving entertainment industry and open culture, the genius and creativity of the literary giant and his martial arts epics would have no chance to shine.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong culture

Novelist Louis Cha’s characters come to life in Hong Kong sculpture exhibitions

Two-metre-tall statues of characters from the works of Cha, also known as Jin Yong, on display at Edinburgh Place in Central and Heritage Museum in Sha Tin.

A sculpture in one of the Jin Yong exhibitions. Authorities will also put on a number of other events to celebrate the centenary of the famous novelist’s birth. Photo: Eugene Lee
Intellectual property in China

Hong Kong author Louis Cha ‘Jin Yong’ gets posthumous win in copyright lawsuit

The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court ruled that mainland Chinese writer Yang Zhi’s 2002 novel There They Were constituted copyright infringement and unfair competition.

videocam
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Sakra: Donnie Yen plays tragic hero in action-packed Louis Cha adaptation

Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen plays Qiao Feng in Sakra, an action-packed adaptation of Louis Cha’s epic wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

videocam
Tencent

Tencent asserts ‘social value’ of video gaming technologies

Video gaming technologies are making a contribution to areas outside online entertainment, including culture, science and traditional industries, according to Tencent.

Tencent Games, a subsidiary of internet giant Tencent Holdings, held its “Spark 2022” online conference on June 27, 2022. Photo: Shutterstock
Books and literature

Why one of China’s hottest authors listens to people argue on the subway

Ma Boyong, who wrote The Longest Day in Chang’an and The Deception of Antiques, talks about being compared to Jin Yong, mind workouts and his Covid-19-inspired new book.

Chinese author Ma Boyong, famous for historical fiction, is turning his attention to more contemporary topics.
Hong Kong culture

Bruce Lee to Stanley Ho – where are Hong Kong’s dead celebrities buried?

As casino tycoon Ho’s funeral takes place today, we look at where the city’s other most famous faces – including Leslie Cheung, Jin Yong, Anita Mui and more – have been laid to rest

Chinese authors

Review | ‘Chinese Tolkien’ Louis Cha’s second Condor Heroes book out in English

Having entranced generations of Asian readers, with this latest release Western audiences can discover why ‘Jin Yong’ was so revered in Asia; his novel continues the story of Guo Jing, 13th century kung fu fighting hero.

Hong Kong property

Hong Kong no longer the face of Chinese capitalism

The departure of a generation of major business figures in Hong Kong – its original property tycoons – coincides with the arrival of the Chinese model of state capitalism on the global stage. The archetypal Hong Kong tycoon may never return.

Li Ka-shing leaves his home in Deep Water Bay. The tycoon officially retired last year and relinquished managerial control of CK Hutchison, a conglomerate that had its roots in plastic flowers 50 years ago. Photo: Edward Wong

Louis Cha characters to be featured in special set of stamps

The collection will go on general sale to public on December 6 and feature the likes of Guo Jing, Chen Jialuo and Zhang Wuji.

Hongkong Post is to release a set of special stamps featuring “Characters from Jin Yong's Novels”. Photo: Handout.

The life and legacy of Louis Cha ‘Jin Yong’

Zhou Xin talks about the cultural impact of Louis Cha's wuxia novels in mainland China as well as his pivotal role as founder and editor of Ming Pao.

Friends and family pay final respects to literary giant Louis Cha

The legendary writer and publisher was cremated on Tuesday at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. Earlier in the day figures from Hong Kong society attended a private funeral service at Quarry Bay funeral home.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement