Hong Kong-based kung fu novelist Jin Yong (金庸), whose knight-errant novels are devoured by Chinese readers around the world, is scheduled to come to Taipei next Friday, mainly to receive an honorary doctorate from a local university, a publishing source said yesterday.
The 83-year-old Jin Yong will receive an honorary doctorate by National Chengchi University (NCCU) in recognition of his outstanding long-term contribution to Chinese-language writing and literature, as well as his assiduous attitude toward learning.
Jin Yong will be one of three people to be awarded honorary doctorates in an event marking NCCU's 80th anniversary. The other two are Cloud Gate Dance Theater founder Lin Hwai-min (
Jin Yong, whose real name is Louis Liang-yung Cha (查良鏞), entered the Diplomacy Department of the Central Academy of Political Science in 1944 in China.
Shanghai-born Jin Yong -- Hong Kong's most eminent man of letters -- has written 15 best-selling martial arts novels, most of which have been adapted for film and television.
The soft-spoken Chinese writer is renowned not only as the author of 15 kung fu novels but as a veteran reporter, publisher and political commentator. He founded Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper and its sister publications.
A man of letters who is also an expert in law, history and Buddhism, Jin Yong received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University in 2005. He applied to attend the history institute of Cambridge the same year, with David McMullen as his mentor.
Jin Yong is scheduled to receive his master's degree from Cambridge May 12 before heading to Taiwan for the NCCU honorary doctorate.
His 15 novels, written between 1955 and 1972, are considered more than just kung fu stories. Their pages burst with fantastic knight-errant tales of heroic swordsmen and beautiful heroines, intermingling romance, tragedy and comedy with Chinese and religious values.
Universities around the Chinese-speaking world have formed Jin Yong fan clubs, sponsored seminars or opened classes on his classic novels.
Chinese readers can immerse themselves in their cultural heritage by appreciating the language, calligraphy, arts, music, traditional costumes, cuisine and martial arts that they read about in the novels. Traditional Chinese culture, fantasy and history form the colorful backdrops for his works.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern