Many people have read Louis Cha Leung­yung’s novels. Unluckily, Louis Cha Leung­yung, 94, an influential Chinese novelist, and better known under the pen name Jin Yong, died on October 30, 2018 in Hong Kong. Cha is well-­known for his martial arts (武术) or wuxia novels.

Over 300 million copies of his works have been sold in the Chinese-speaking world. While few of his books have been translated into English, Cha is one of the world-famous Chinese writers, with fans across China. His stories have been in television shows, films, comic books, and video games. The first part of his most popular series, Legends of the Condor Heroes, was published in English earlier in 2018. Born in Haining, Zhejiang Province, Cha graduated from the Law School of Soochow University in 1948.

In 1955, Cha published his first wuxia novel The Book and the Sword under his pen name Jin Yong. He wrote 15 popular wuxia novels, and finished his last novel The Deer and the Cauldron in 1972.

Cha also founded Hong Kong’s major Chinese-­language newspaper Ming Pao in 1959, and served as its editor­-in-­chief (总编辑) until 1989.

Cha also served on the Basic Law Drafting Committee from 1985 to 1989. He made some of the greatest contributions to Chinese culture and Hong Kong’s media development.

Hong Kong science fiction novelist Ni Kuang called Cha’s novels “the best in the world and of all time” and said Cha’s works would live on forever.

Hong Kong Screenwriters’ (编剧) Guild President John Chong Ching said Cha was “China’s Shakespeare”.