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Famous Chinese novelist rewriting epics, again
2002-07-30
HONG KONG - Louis Cha, one of the world's best known Chinese authors, says he is rewriting all 15 of his highly popular novels to iron out the kinks and refine the plots."Readers have written to me about problems with the stories. So I'm fixing them," Cha, 78, told Reuters in a recent interview. Cha's martial arts epics, marketed under the pen name of Jin Yong, have sold millions of copies worldwide. Many of them have made it to the best-sellers' list in Chinese markets and have been adapted into television series and films. Some of his novels have been translated into English, Japanese, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Malay and Korean. "The first piece rewritten this time has already been published," Cha said. The novel, "Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge," is about an underworld gang plotting to overthrow the government during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) in the Qing Dynasty. The protagonist is the gang leader, Chen Jiale, who becomes a Muslim in the latter part of the story. "I've recently studied the Koran and understand it better now. In the new version, Chen Jiale shows better understanding of Koran," Cha said. Cha is a senior research associate at the Institute of Chinese Studies at Oxford University, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at China's Zhejiang University. Cha moved to the then British territory of Hong Kong in 1948 and worked his way up the ranks in the local press. He was at the helm of the local Ming Pao newspaper from 1959 to 1993. "I was always interested in literature. A friend who worked as an editor at a newspaper asked me to join them. So I did." He wrote his martial arts novels between 1955 and 1972 and has already rewritten some of the works twice. The first time he was transferring his work from newspapers to books, which required adaptation. "The second time, I felt they were not well written. So I rewrote them," he said. He said the three rounds of revisions were necessary. "It's not a matter of whether I'm a perfectionist or not." But in a world that seems to be paying more attention to technology than literature, the master of martial arts fiction fears the genre may face extinction. "Now there are few writers even in mainland China and Taiwan," he said. "Hong Kong people are not very interested in culture. Hong Kong people are most interested in making money." While many people of his age have long since retired, Cha is preparing another major project -- chronicling Chinese history. "I don't have enough knowledge. I'm studying the history of China myself. I want to write a book about Chinese history that is easily comprehensible even to youths," he said. (Reuters)
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