On March 15, 2024, the sixth day of the second lunar month, which marks the centenary of the late martial arts novel guru Jin Yong (Cha Liangyong), two commemorative exhibitions, “The Great Hero – Jin Yong Centennial Memorial and the Prosperous Gathering of the Jianghu,” and “The Great Hero – Jin Yong Centennial Memorial and Ren Zhe Sculpture Exhibition,” were held in full swing to pay tribute to Mr. Jin Yong. Through a series of cross-border cooperation, culture, art, and creativity were integrated Exciting educational activities will be held one after another to create a unique local cultural experience.
Jin Yong (Cha Liangyong)
Jin Yong, originally named Zha Liangyong, was born in 1924 and passed away in 2018. He is one of the most influential writers in the history of modern Chinese literature. He is one of the most famous martial arts fiction writers in 20th century China and is also known as the “master of martial arts fiction”.
Jin Yong’s novels are renowned for their rich imagination, exciting plots, and unique writing style. He has created a large number of martial arts novels, including classic works such as “The Legend of the Condor Heroes,” “”The Legend of Heaven and the Dragon Slayer”,” “The Eight Parts of the Dragon,” and “SIN TIAUW ENG HIONG,” which have been widely translated into multiple languages and have had a profound impact in China and other countries.
The Great Hero of Xia – Commemoration of Jin Yong’s Centenary Birthday
The Great Hero – Jin Yong Centennial Memorial – Jianghu Prosperity
“The Great Hero – Jin Yong’s Centenary Birthday Commemoration – Jianghu Prosperity” will be held from March 15 to July 2, 2024 at Edinburgh Square in Central, with free admission for the public. Ten sculptures depicting the characters of Jin Yong, created by sculptor Ren Zhe, including Xiao Longnu, Yang Guo, Maiden of Extinction, Zhou Botong, Hu Fei, Fan Yao, Wan Yan Honglie, King of Golden Wheel Dharma, Genghis Khan, and Guo Jing, will be exhibited here. The venue also features yurts inspired by “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”, providing passengers with an immersive experience through multilingual voice navigation and augmented reality (AR) technology; Multiple check-in slots that recreate novel scene arrangements and classic clothing styles not only evoke collective memories, but also allow for taking photos as a memento. In addition, Edinburgh Square will regularly hold cultural and interactive experiences such as reading sharing sessions, concerts, painting workshops, etc., to attract tourists and citizens to participate and deepen the public’s understanding of Jin Yong’s novels, Chinese literature, and Chinese culture.
Ren Zhe Sculpture Exhibition in Jin Yong Centennial Memorial
The Ren Zhe Sculpture Exhibition in commemoration of Jin Yong’s centenary will open on March 15, 2024 at the Hong Kong Museum of Culture in Sha Tin. It will be officially open for visitors from March 16 to October 7, 2024, and the public can enter for free. The Hong Kong Museum of Culture will exhibit 22 classic character sculptures created by sculptor Ren Zhe, including Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Ouyang Feng, Wang Chongyang, Hong Qigong, Yan Deng, Huang Yaoshi in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”, Dongfang Bubai in “The Smiling and Proud Jianghu”, Ren Woxing, Linghu Chong, Ren Yingying, Feng Qingyang, and Zhang Wuji in “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber” The Four Great Dharma Kings – Golden Haired Lion King, Purple Shirted Dragon King, White Eyebrow Eagle King, and Blue Winged Bat King, as well as Xiao Feng, Xu Zhu, and Duan Yu in “The Eight Sections of the Heavenly Dragon”. Precious artist sculpture manuscripts will also be exhibited on site, providing an immersive experience and special lectures.
Special Experience for Tourists
There is also a cold jade bed set up in the venue for the healing sleep of the small dragon girls in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”. Coupled with VR reality technology, visitors lying on the bed will have a smoke spraying effect on the screen, creating a cold feeling on the cold jade bed; And Peach Blossom Island also uses AR technology to create the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams array in the book, making the citizens feel trapped on the island. In addition, the famous “Eagle Brother” from the TV version of “The Legend of Condor Heroes” by Andy Lau and Chen Yulian has also been exhibited at the exhibition, allowing citizens to take photos with this giant “Eagle Brother” that carries collective memories.
Event curator Fang Yuanming stated that the outlook for Jin Yong’s sculpture this time is from an artistic perspective. Through the sculpture of artist Ren Zhe, the characters in the book are presented to the public, and contemporary art is used to inherit Jin Yong’s chivalrous spirit. Through modern imagination, the ancient martial arts world depicted by Jin Yong is rethought.
The sculpture in the exhibition was created by Ren Zhe over a period of 4 years, and the textual description in the exhibition is his design manuscript, which includes many calligraphy works by Jin Yong and presents the characters in the form of scrolls.
The Event and Significance of “The Great Hero of Xia – Commemoration of Jin Yong Centennial Memorial”
This exciting martial arts journey starts from Mr. Cha Liangyong’s “home” – Hong Kong. Various activities will gather the community, and public art events covering different communities in Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories will attract tourists from home and abroad, promote the local economy, and then export and promote to different countries and regions, showcasing the immortal classic of “the great hero of chivalry” to the world and telling the story of Hong Kong well.
During his speech, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Li Jiachao, stated that Hong Kong is the birthplace of Jin Yong’s martial arts novels and has become a cultural brand in Hong Kong. “Born in Hong Kong, prosperous in the world,” it reflects Hong Kong’s inclusiveness and the cradle of different cultures. Li Jiachao hopes that Jin Yong’s chivalrous spirit and patriotism can be deeply rooted in Hong Kong, encouraging everyone to care about national affairs and serve the country and the people. He also hopes that the Jin Yong commemoration event can attract global Jin Yong fans to Hong Kong, become a global event, and once again lead the “Jin Yong fever” internationally.
The opening ceremony of the “Great Heroes – Centennial Commemoration of Jin Yong’s Birthday” event was held at Edinburgh Square in Central, Hong Kong, China. A series of museum and public art exhibition activities were grandly launched for six months, and linked with Hong Kong International Airport, tourism and cultural landmarks, leading the world’s “heroes” to revisit martial arts classics, paying tribute to Mr. Jin Yong’s immortal century, allowing the public to revisit classics and experience martial arts sentiments.
