Jin Yong has passed away at the age of 94.
It is often said that for these elderly masters, whether they are scientists or literary figures, they generally produce very little in their later years. From a purely rational perspective, one might feel that "since they are gone, they are gone, and there seems to be no loss." However, the reality is that the passing of a master always brings a sense of sorrowful shock, making us feel as though another era has slipped away. It was so with Stephen Hawking, and it is so with Jin Yong.
For Old Mr. Jin, it is the passing of an era of Wuxia (martial arts and chivalry); it is the passing of a Jianghu (the martial arts world).
Flying snow shoots white deer across the sky,
Laughing book hero leans on the green phoenix.
This couplet describes 14 of Jin Yong’s works, which, together with Sword of the Yue Maiden, constitute his 15 martial arts novels. With these 15 novels, Jin Yong depicted vivid and lifelike worlds of the Jianghu. No, to call it just a Jianghu seems too small; after reading these 15 works, you feel as though he has described the entirety of China’s thousands of years of history and its entire society.
I am not a die-hard Jin Yong fan. I only officially began reading Jin Yong’s works during my undergraduate years. Although I had watched TV series like The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes during middle and high school, I didn’t know who Jin Yong was at the time because I didn’t care about the original author back then. Later, I felt the TV series weren’t satisfying enough, so I turned to the novels to supplement the plot, and from there, I was hooked. Generally speaking, my story with Jin Yong’s works can be summarized as follows:
I have read all 15 of Jin Yong’s novels in their entirety; I have read several of them several times; I have read several chapters of several of them dozens of times; I have read several specific chapters of several of them hundreds of times; and now, when I am bored and looking to pass the time, I still flip through these works from time to time.
What has Jin Yong brought to me? I believe it is a sense of depth and accumulation. What Jin Yong tells is both martial arts and history; it is both the Jianghu and its grievances and loves. If you savor it slowly, you will feel a surge of passion, and you will also find it profoundly meaningful. Perhaps you experience something in life and suddenly remember a similar plot or a similar feeling from one of Jin Yong’s works. The study of Jin Yong’s works has already become a specialized research field known as "Jinology" (Jin Xue).
Of course, there are many more deeds associated with Jin Yong. Literature is by no means his only contribution to humanity; one can find his other achievements through a quick search. Jin Yong is a recognized great man, and Asteroid 10930 was named after him. Now that he has departed from us, perhaps he has simply boarded Asteroid 10930 to continue his soaring journey.
"Life is just making a big scene, and then leaving quietly." — Jin Yong
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