Louis Cha or Cha Leung-yung (查良鏞, Pinyin: Zhā Liángyōng), known to most by his penname Jinyong (金庸) or Kam-yung - created by splitting the last character of his name - is one of the most influential Chinese-language novelists. He is widely regarded as the finest Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") writer.
Born in mainland China, he is the founder of the popular Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao. He has published fifteen novels (mostly in wuxia style), most of which first appeared on his newspaper. His style, which contains some European elements, is widely derivated from the classic style.
His Chinese martial arts novels have earned great popularity in Chinese-speaking areas. Every single of his novels has been rewritten into films, episodes on TV and radio. Characters in his novels are well-known to the public. Jinology (金庸學) is used to term the study of his works.
Cha rewrote the Chinese wuxia genre by adding history and popular culture to a previously formulaic genre. His novels are marked by strong characterizations and plot, and are classified as the "new school (xīnpài) wuxia", as opposed to the fanciful "old school" (jiùpài).
Some of his novels used to be banned in the People's Republic of China as they were thought to be a mockery of Mao Zedong, others were banned in the Republic of China as they were thought to be in support of the Chinese Communist Party, and some were banned by both Chinese governments. The popularity of his novels is not restricted to either China, Taiwan or Hong Kong.
He was also one of the writers who drafted the Hong Kong Basic Law.
List of Novels: