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In Praise of Jin Yong

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Sheryl WuDunn

"[Cha] is virtually a one-man literary movement, more a genre than an author, his thirty-six volumes of chivalry and romance mesmerizing both Chinese peasants and foreign academics alike."

Gareth Powell

"Utterly fascinating. For me, kung fu always used to be Bruce Lee and Enter the Dragon, which were amusing but unbelievable. The Book and Sword makes it more alive, more possible and, yes, more relevant."

Marcel Theroux

"His dense, immersive world inspires the kind of adoration bestowed on those created by writers like Western worldbuilders such as J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling and George R. R. Martin."

Felix Wong

"I am deeply saddened by the death of Mr. Cha. I have had the privilege of taking on the roles of "Guo Jing" and "Qiao Feng," which allowed me to reach a high point in my acting career. I can honestly say that 'Without Jin Yong, there would be no Felix Wong.' I hope Mr. Cha has had a smooth journey, and he will always be missed.

shotswerefired's rating:

7.9

Andy Lau

“Teacher Jin Yong is an outstandingly talented person in the world of wuxia novels. It was fate that gave me the opportunity to play his character Yang Guo. When I first established Teamwork Motion Pictures and produced the film Saviour of the Soul 九一神雕俠侶, it was Teacher Jin Yong who allowed me to use that film title. I have always been concerned about his health. His passing is definitely a huge loss to the wuxia world. I miss him! I wish his path to the heavens is smooth, and my condolences to his family.”

John Minford

"I think if what you want is a really entertaining story with lots of action, and lots of humour and lots of local colour, if you want to read something that will completely carry you away into another world in which you can continue to dream and have fantasies, then read one of Jin Yong's novels because that's what they're like. They're very old-fashioned in that sense. People don't write books like that anymore, you know, these are real old-fashioned, historical, romance novels. Just like the French writer Dumas who wrote the Three Musketeers."

Anna Holmwood

"There’s a lot in Jin Yong’s work that gives it potential in English. The essential moral universe of the characters, the importance of right and wrong, justice and pride, the flawed nature of all heroes—none of this is culturally specific. Readers, especially of epic fantasies or historical novels, love to enter a richly conveyed "fictional world" with plenty of specificities and are not put off by new vocabulary, concepts or names. Jin Yong’s writing is very "Chinese", but a lot of the elements are also very particular to his way of building an imaginative cosmos in which his characters operate. I also think English readers will find it exciting to read a Chinese take on the Mongols."

“Many have considered Jin Yong’s world too foreign;, too Chinese for an English-speaking readership; impossible to translate. And yet this story of love, loyalty, honour and the power of the individual against successive corrupt governments and invading forces is as universal as any story could hope to be. The greatest loss that can occur in translation can only come from not translating it at all.”

4.1

Deng Xiaoping

During their first meeting: “We’re already old friends. I’ve read your novels.”

6.8

Adam Cheng

"When I heard news of Mr. Cha’s departure, I was deeply saddened by it. He was an admired elder in my heart. I am also very honoured to have played a part in two works of his. I have met Mr. Cha before, he is generous to people, and he is cultured. He will always be in my heart! He has created countless memorable characters."

“You can call them works of historical fiction, but they’re more than that. You will be so absorbed in his writings that you believe those kung fu adventures actually happened in history.”

Joe Tak-Chung Ma

“I’ve read some of his works. They’re all very classic. I’m saddened to know that I won’t be able to see his new works appear. Nonetheless, his old works have already become classics. Many years ago, I played a part as Huang Yaoshi’s disciple in TVB’s The Legend of the Condor Heroes, though I did not have a lot of screen time. I’ve once said that it was one of my biggest regrets for not being able to play one of Jin Yong’s heroes in my acting career. Hopefully I’ll get to in the future.”

Kiu Wai Miu

“The entire world knows about how classic Mr. Jin Yong’s novels are. I don’t need to elaborate on that. There is a reason why his works get adapted to TV and film over and over again. His works have touched so many people. I’ve played two of his characters before, and playing Huang Yaoshi is by far my favourite. He is cool, a little bit dark, but also very heroic.”

Ming-Chuen Wang

On his death:

"Of course I was alarmed by it and felt great pity. I knew that he was getting on and needed to recuperate. I just heard the news today and I am very saddened by it. He is a very talented man and has made significant contributions towards literature on the whole. He also runs newspapers. I feel honoured to have played some of the characters that he wrote during my career. I think he is awesome. He has never been to many of the places that existed in his novels, but he writes as though he saw them first hand and in person. His works have left an even deeper mark on Chinese people all over the world. ”

Albert Yeung Hing On

"I think he held true to his own beliefs in his writing. He'd stay up very late and wouldn't go home until the newspaper was printed. He was very capable, hard-working and very disciplined. I believe this is why he succeeded."

"What is the Return of the Condor Heroes about? It's a love story. The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre? It is a detective story. What about Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils? It is a story about human nature. The Smiling Proud Wanderer is a story about politics. The Deer and the Cauldron tells the story of legends. So we cannot just summarise Cha's novels as wuxia novels. Wuxia is only the cover."

"It wrote about life's ups and downs and all kinds of rivalry and love. Typically, one wouldn't go through all these in real life. But through his novels he told us what life is about."

Chip Tsao

"An elder who is worth remembering and a person of noble character. His knowledge is amazing."

"I rather enjoyed The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. It was a breakthrough novel at the time and very dark. This was the point where we got to see politics thoroughly injected into the world of wuxia."

Kuang Ni

"Jin Yong's novels are number one under the heavens. None are his equal, before or since."

"He is my living encyclopedia. Whenever I find something I don't understand, and am disinclined to search for the answer myself, I will ask him. He knows (virtually) everything."

8.6

Aamir Khan

“I am very saddened to hear the sad news of Mr. Louis Cha passing away. His book The Deer and the Cauldron gave me a lot of joy. I read it just a few months back. I wish I could have met him. He has given so much joy to so many generations. I am his big fan. I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to his family. May he rest in peace.”

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Louis Cha Jing-yong GBM OBE (Chinese: 查良鏞; Sidney Lau: Cha4 Leung4 Yung4; 6 February 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (金庸), was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") 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 (not including an unknown number of pirated copies). 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 writer.

Jin Yong is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".

The asteroid 10930 Jinyong (1998 CR2) is named after him.