In the 50s of the last century, the streets and alleys of Hong Kong were swept by a wave of chasing martial arts novels.
At that time, most of the topics that citizens talked about after tea and dinner were related to martial arts novels, and middle school students were the main readers of martial arts novels, and their pocket money had to be saved to buy newspapers and rental books. Even Jin Yongfan, who is familiar with the staff of the newspaper office, has to make a special trip to the typesetting room of the newspaper office, even if the text is upside down, you have to have a sneak peek.
This wave of craze later swept through the whole of China and even the world. And Jin Yong, who was born in Haining, Zhejiang, may never have thought that he would go to Hong Kong and set off this martial arts craze on his own.
In 1946, Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" decided to openly recruit three translators, and as soon as the recruitment advertisement came out, as many as 109 applicants, including Jin Yong. Ta Kung Pao plans to select 10 outstanding candidates to participate in the written test, and the test questions on that day are: one telegram and one editorial, which will be translated into Chinese. Jin Yong was the first to hand in the paper in only 65 minutes, followed by an oral examination immediately. Due to Jin Yong's excellent results in the written and oral examinations, he was soon admitted to Ta Kung Pao and ranked first in the list of admitted candidates.
Jin Yong in his youth
In 1948, the Hong Kong edition of Ta Kung Pao was republished. Due to the lack of manpower and the urgent need for a translator, Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" appointed a translator surnamed Li, but the translator surnamed Li had just been newly married at that time, and after seeking Jin Yong's opinion, the newspaper temporarily sent Jin Yong to work in the Hong Kong branch.
Unexpectedly, this is more than 70 years, and it is a completely different life.
In 1948, 24-year-old Jin Yong went to Hong Kong alone. After taking off from Shanghai, I found that I didn't have a penny of Hong Kong dollars on me. Fortunately, Pan Gongbi, the president of Hong Kong's "National Daily" who was sitting next to him, borrowed 10 Hong Kong dollars from him, so that he could take a boat across the sea and take a taxi after arriving in Hong Kong. Jin Yong, who had just arrived in Hong Kong, couldn't speak a word of Cantonese, got into a white-plate car, and said that he was going to a restaurant, but the driver took him to the police station.
At first, Jin Yong didn't like Hong Kong, and when he first arrived in Hong Kong, he said: "It's a bit like being in the countryside." But it soon changed: "But the average Hong Kong person is honest, straightforward, confident, and reliable, and I quickly liked them." ”
Jin Yong spent most of his life here, getting married, having children, writing novels, and founding newspapers, forming an indissoluble bond with Hong Kong.
Later, Jin Yong couldn't help but sigh at the miracle of fate, he said: "It's just a little bit close, you may not be able to come to Hong Kong, and the fate of life may be completely different." ”
Hennessy Road in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, is Jin Yong's first stop in Hong Kong. This is the former branch of Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong.
Jin Yong, who was transferred to the Hong Kong branch of Ta Kung Pao, became the strongest "worker" and started his career as a newspaper man in Hong Kong. In addition to being an editor, he also worked as a translator and journalist, and regularly published articles on diplomacy and international law in the newspaper.
Group photo of the basketball team of Ta Kung Pao
In 1952, he moved to the newly founded New Evening News as an editor. In the "New Evening News", Jin Yong began to write a column "Fulan Movie Talk" under the pseudonym of "Yao Fulan" (a homonym for the English "your friend"), and he also wrote film reviews under the pseudonym "Lin Huan", which was published in the "Afternoon Tea" column of the "New Evening News".
It was also in the "New Evening News" that Jin Yong met the editors-in-chief Luo Fu and Chen Wentong. With this, his life began a subversive turn.
Jin Yong is playing chess with Liang Yusheng
Since the opening of Hong Kong in 1842, there was no sign of improvement in law and order until the mid-20th century. In 1953, Wu Gongyi, the head of Taijiquan in Hong Kong, and Master Chen Kefu, the master of White Crane Boxing, competed in martial arts, which became an important cultural event among the people.
Luo Fu, editor-in-chief of the "New Evening News", was inspired and decided to open a column of "Essays on Sanjianlou", and invited Chen Wentong and Jin Yong, who can edit and write, to come out. Chen Wentong wrote his first martial arts novel "Dragon and Tiger Fighting Jinghua" under the pen name Liang Yusheng, while Jin Yong wrote his first martial arts novel "Book of Swords and Enmity" under the pen name Jin Yong.
It was an instant hit, and the sales of "New Evening News" doubled for a while, and Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong also became famous, thus forming the beginning of folk political literature based on the Hong Kong left. Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng are also known as "Taishan Beidou in the martial arts novel world".
It is not an exaggeration to use the popular term "volume king" to describe Jin Yong. Starting from "Book of Swords and Enmity", Jin Yong has been working all year round, and on the second day after the end of "Blue Blood Sword", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has been serialized in the newspaper, and "Condor Shooting" has not yet ended, and the new work "Snow Mountain Flying Fox" has been published in the "New Evening News". In 17 years, 15 novels were serialized, all of which were popular, and readers all over the world, becoming the most influential martial arts novel writer of the twentieth century.
In 1958, Hong Kong's first film company specializing in martial arts films put "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", which was also serialized in Hong Kong Commercial Daily, on the big screen. This is the first time that Jin Yong's works have been adapted into film and television dramas.
Since then, a total of about 50 Jin Yong movies have been born in Hong Kong, and the time span is nearly 40 years.
In 1960, the crew of Jin Yong's "Condor Heroes" took a group photo with Xie Xian, Nan Hong, and Liang Suqin
Behind the "Jin Yong fever" is not only the public's love for martial arts novels, but also the display of deep feelings for Chinese culture. In his works, he publicized the goodness and beauty of human nature, and spared no effort to criticize the suppression of human nature by reason under the constraints of tradition, and praised the personality and emotions after liberation.
Most of us are more familiar with his identity as a novelist "Jin Yong". But in fact, Jin Yong himself said that running a newspaper is really a desperate life, but writing a novel is just a game.
On May 20, 1959, 35-year-old Jin Yong and his middle school classmate Shen Baoxin jointly founded "Ming Pao" appeared in Hong Kong. As the founder of Ming Pao Group and the identity of Hong Kong newspaper tycoon "Cha Liangyong", it is also the focus of his life's work. Later, he founded Ming Pao Monthly, Ming Pao Weekly and Ming Pao Evening News, and Southeast Asia Weekly and Shin Ming Daily in Singapore.
Jin Yong in the office of Ming Pao in 1989
The inaugural issue of Ming Pao
"Writing novels with one hand and commentaries with the other", Jin Yong relied on a pen to support the great cause of "Ming Pao", and there was no one to come.
In the political arena, Jin Yong has also distinguished himself, having served as a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Committee and contributed to Hong Kong's political development. He has served as a member of the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the head of the Political System Sub-Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Basic Law Advisory Committee.
In 2000, Jin Yong was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest honour under the Honours and Awards System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
The reason why he won the highest honor in Hong Kong is not only because of his literary achievements, but also because of his social, cultural, political and other contributions and influence. Behind his multifaceted identity is his endless wisdom and deep sense of responsibility.
Today, Hong Kong is the world's third largest financial center and a place where Chinese and Western cultures blend. Here, ancient Chinese traditions and modern Western civilization intersect, giving birth to a unique cultural atmosphere.
In the 50s of the 20th century, Hong Kong's uniqueness created by its geographical, demographic and cultural changes gave birth to the emergence and popularity of Mr. Jin Yong's works, bursting out with a shining light that continues to this day.
"The dream of a literati and a chivalrous man through the ages. The martial arts rivers and lakes built by Mr. Jin Yong are the feelings of the family and the country for the country and the people, the heroes and heroes who take care of each other with sincerity and sincerity, and the ultimate concept of righteousness and benefit of "sacrificing their lives for righteousness......
Behind it, it carries people's yearning and pursuit of justice, courage, loyalty and other beautiful qualities, and is rooted in the core of China's excellent traditional culture. Today, we can still draw strength from Jin Yong and motivate ourselves to keep moving forward.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mr. Jin Yong's birth, Hong Kong has set off another Jin Yong craze.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum has a permanent Jin Yong Pavilion
Hong Kong Heritage Museum Special Exhibition "The Great Man of Chivalry: Jin Yong's Centenary - Ren Zhe Sculpture Exhibition"
On the 28th of this month, the Hong Kong Palace Museum will launch a forum to commemorate the centenary of Jin Yong's birth.
This Sunday, we will see you in Hong Kong.
Source: Huashan Lunjian Xifeng Wine