Chapter 8 Chapter Seven: The Founding of Ming Pao

Since joining Hangzhou "Southeast Daily" in 1946, Jin Yong has worked in the newspaper industry for more than ten years, and is almost familiar with all aspects of newspaper editing. Since 1955, his martial arts novels have been serialized in "New Evening News" and "Hong Kong Commercial Daily", which are popular with readers.According to a survey by Hong Kong Commercial Daily, his novels have 30,000 readers.At that time, piracy was common in Hong Kong, and his serial martial arts novels published thousands of characters every day, and in seven days, someone pirated the single edition. The speed caught Sanyu Books, which was originally scheduled to be published as a collection, by surprise.At this time, he and Shen Baoxin, an old classmate who had been separated for many years and was running a printing business, unexpectedly reunited in Hong Kong. Shen suggested that instead of pirated brochures for others, it is better to print, distribute and make money by yourself.As soon as they said it, they decided to co-found a ten-day magazine "Wild Horse" that published martial arts novels.

In 1938, they were in Lishui Bihu. They were classmates since the third grade of junior high school. Jin Yong was the prefect, and Shen Baoxin liked to play basketball.In the archives of Zhejiang Provincial Temporary United Middle School, the list of military training in November of the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937) records: Shen Baoxinqiu, grade one, eighteen years old, Wu Xingren Jin Yong recalled: "The two of us were classmates in junior high school and high school. Mr. Shen Baoxin was a few years older than me, so we didn't know each other very well at that time. He was a big friend, and I was a child. Later, we met in Hong Kong, and the old classmates met. Naturally, they are very affectionate, and we will see each other often in the future.”

Wu Xing is Huzhou, Zhejiang. Shen studied agriculture at Zhejiang University. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he worked in China Post and the Bank of the Savings and Remittance Bureau, accumulating experience in banking and financial work. He came to Hong Kong in 1946 and worked in a printing factory for nine years.He speaks Cantonese with a Jiangsu-Zhejiang accent. Those who know him well say that he is "an easy-going and loyal person" with good interpersonal relationships, loves friends, and understands business management. At the beginning of 1959, they registered Yema Publishing House, planning to launch a ten-day magazine, mainly publishing martial arts novels, and took "Yema" as the title from "Zhuangzi·Xiaoyaoyou".

In March of that year, during the preparation of "Wild Horse", they rented an office in Manson Building on Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, with only four desks.They invited Pan Yuesheng, editor of Great Wall Pictorial, to be the editor.At this time, the newspaper vendor suggested that instead of running a ten-day or half-monthly magazine, it is better to simply run a daily newspaper and publish it every day, which is easier to make money.After some hesitation, Jin Yong decided to run a daily newspaper. "Wild Horse" didn't quite resemble the title of a newspaper. Following the example of "Cheng Bao" and taking single characters was very successful. He also thought of a single-character registration. He said that he also meant to be clever. After some deliberation, he decided to name it "Ming Pao" and use "Yang Ma" as a supplement (named "Yang Ma Novels").Regarding the registration, he later said: "The word "Ming" in "Ming Pao" is taken from the meaning of "clear reason", "distinguish right from wrong", "clearly inspect the autumn hair", "clear mirror hanging high", "clear and bright", "bright and aboveboard", "smart people do not do dark things." Waiting for ideas.” They asked Wang Zhibo, a calligrapher and director of production of International Film Maoye Co., Ltd., to inscribe the registration, which is still in use today.Jin Yong did not know that there were at least six "Ming Pao" in the history of Chinese newspaper industry. Shanghai in 1911, 1922, and 1931, Beijing in 1925, 1945, and Suzhou in 1932 successively published Ming Pao. newspaper.

Cha Chuanshi (the eldest daughter of Cha Liangyong) and Shen Baoxin "Ming Pao" initially invested 30,000 Hong Kong dollars by Jin Yong, and Shen Baoxin contributed 20,000 Hong Kong dollars.The 50,000 yuan was spent in three or four months, and Jin Yong invested another 50,000 yuan, making a total of 80,000 yuan. Guo Weiwen, an old colleague of "Ta Kung Pao" and the director of the advertising department, once contributed 1,500 yuan, holding a small share. In 1961, Fei Yimin, the president of "Ta Kung Pao", asked Guo to withdraw the shares, and Jin Yong returned the principal and interest to Guo. "Ming Pao" has only two shareholders since then, with Jin Yong accounting for 80% and Shen accounting for 20%.

May 20, 1959 was a day that Jin Yong will never forget. On this day, Ming Pao officially launched its publication.The inaugural issue marked: Hong Kong retails for a penny of Hong Kong dollars, and was printed by Shen Baoxin.The launch words written by him advertise "fairness, kindness, liveliness, and beauty": "Ming Pao" is a newspaper for fans and a newspaper for readers. ...It is a newspaper for readers, because our purpose of running a newspaper is not to promote anything, nor to advertise any products. We just hope to make a delicate, vivid and healthy little newspaper for those who love exquisite , Lively, healthy things are loved by people.

Our credo is "fairness, kindness, liveliness and beauty".We are determined to be your sweet, bosom friend, to tell you stories, to tell jokes, to discuss issues, and sometimes, to give you some gentle advice. He was 36 years old this year, and it was his eleventh year in the south to Hong Kong. He embarked on an unpredictable entrepreneurial journey. "Ming Pao" printed 8,000 copies on the first day, but they were not sold out. At the lowest point, it dropped to 6,100 copies, and it only started to recover after four months of publication.Jin Yong said that publishing "Ming Pao" was mainly a business consideration. At that time, everyone thought it was a risky career. Old colleagues and old friends all said behind their backs: "Xiao Cha must go bankrupt this time!" But I thought, anyway, I don’t have much family property, so it’s not a big deal even if “the family goes bankrupt”.

"Ming Pao" was just a four-page newspaper at the beginning, and it was a veritable "tabloid". The front page published social features, the second page was a supplement, and novels were also published, and the third page was the highlight, serializing Jin Yong and others. For my martial arts novels, the fourth edition contains essays, sketches, comics, etc., and there is no news.He chose to run such a tabloid, perhaps because when he first arrived in Hong Kong, he found that the newspaper reading taste of Hong Kong people was "funny and annoying". Ma Tingdong, a colleague of "Ta Kung Pao", mentioned at dinner one day that a friend in Hong Kong said: "Although your newspaper is not as good as others in some places, it once published a piece of news that other newspapers did not have." : "A centipede more than a foot long was found in Kowloon that time, and only your newspaper has it." Eleven years later, Jin Yong may have forgotten this incident, but he is familiar with the newspaper reading taste of Hong Kong people, and he caters to it intentionally or unintentionally. them.

Soon, "Ming Pao" moved to the second room on the fifth floor of the Central Entertainment Building. It was the businessman's office during the day and their editorial department at night. Every morning when they left, they had to clean up.Two months later, they moved to the fourth floor of No. 239 Des Voeux Road Central, Central.There were only three employees in the earliest days. Jin Yong was the president and editor-in-chief, and was also the editor-in-chief, responsible for the work of the editorial department. The only editor for the screws in the whole machine is Pan Yuesheng.Later, the proofreader Dai Maosheng and the office assistant Ye Yun (formerly known as Ye Hanhui) were invited, and the poet He Da was a short-term editor of the fourth edition.Due to the shortage of manpower, Jin Yong's wife Zhu Mei ran Hong Kong news in "Ming Pao" and became the earliest female reporter of "Ming Pao".

After all, running a newspaper is not like writing martial arts novels. A new newspaper has no background and abundant funds. It is by no means an easy task to gain a firm foothold in Hong Kong, where there are many newspapers and periodicals.Some people said, "It won't last long"; some people asserted, "It will definitely go bankrupt within a year or two"! In 1959, although Hong Kong's economy was not yet prosperous, the competition in the newspaper industry was already fierce enough.As far as daily newspapers are concerned, in addition to Ta Kung Pao, the leftists also include Wen Wei Po, which was founded in September 1948, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, which was founded in October 1952, and Jing Bao (formerly known as Star Daily) which was founded in 1955. , renamed in 1957).Among those pro-KMT are the "Hong Kong Times", which was founded in 1949, and the old-fashioned "Commercial Daily".In addition, most newspapers are in the middle, such as "Huaqiao Daily" founded in June 1925, "Sing Tao Daily" founded in August 1938, "Sing Pao" founded in May 1939, and so on.There are also English-language daily newspapers such as the South China Morning Post, which are also center-left or center-right.Different backgrounds, left, center and right are distinct.In the 1950s alone, there were 85 new newspapers, with an average of 8.5 new newspapers a year. Most of them were Chinese newspapers, but very few newspapers survived for more than ten years. Only Ming Pao, Xin Bao, and Jing Bao" and so on are few.

Jin Yong, who has worked quietly in the newspaper industry for more than ten years, has his own considerations. One of the reasons why he left Ta Kung Pao was that it was too leftist, and he would not take this path; Inevitable choice. "In terms of political orientation, we are neither particularly close to the Communist Party nor the Kuomintang. Instead, we make correct reports based on facts and make fair judgments and comments based on reason." On June 6, "Ming Pao" published its eighteenth issue, and changed it to a folio, the front page was changed to international news and editorials, the second page was the "Silver Lily" supplement, and the third page was the "Wild Horse" novel supplement. The fourth page is Hong Kong news (from the twenty-ninth issue, international news is changed to the fourth page, Hong Kong news is placed on the front page, and editorials are sometimes published on the fourth page).On the same day, he put forward the ideal of "fairness and kindness" in the editorial of "Our Position" and stopped mentioning "beautiful" and "lively": We stated in our "Introduction" that we stand for "justice and goodness".These five words can be said to be our position. We value human dignity, and advocate that everyone should enjoy the rights he deserves, and that everyone should live a life free from fear, oppression and abuse. We hope that the world will be peaceful, and that there will be love and harmony between countries and people.We hope that the world's economy will prosper and trade will develop. We also hope that Hong Kong's market will flourish, industry and commerce will develop, and more people will be employed. We hope that the living conditions of Hong Kong residents will continue to improve. This is the earliest issue of "Ming Pao" that exists in the "Ming Pao" reference room.It is said that Jin Yong was willing to pay a high price of 200,000 yuan to buy the first issue of "Ming Pao", but there was no result.However, some people in the film industry collected the original "Ming Pao". In order to shorten the distance with readers, "Ming Pao" opened a special page "Friends of Ming Pao" on July 1, more than 40 days after its publication, published letters from readers and their replies, and invited doctors, legal, and psychologists. Experts on social issues answer readers' questions.The "To the Readers" published that day stated that it should become a place where readers and editors, readers and readers communicate with each other and exchange emotions. Jin Yong has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao" after it turned left, trying to be impartial and neutral in the changing times.Hong Kong just provides such a free space. Geographically speaking, it is only a tiny place, but it is a typical free port in the world, where the forces of the left, center and right all have the opportunity to speak. Hong Kong is a place where political struggles are very sharp. On the one hand, it is because it is a completely open society with all kinds of political forces.As far as "Ming Pao" is concerned, we are not necessarily better than other newspapers in other respects!However, we have achieved one thing, that is, we are truly independent, and we will absolutely resist any force that wants to influence us.This kind of attitude and position may not be noticed by readers in the short term, but in the long run, readers will understand that we are truly objective, independent and fair... He constantly reiterated Ming Pao's position of "neither left nor right, absolutely neutral." "The former Ta Kung Pao reflected the thoughts of intellectuals at that time, and it was indeed a model for Ming Pao, but Ming Pao has no political background." . In 1947, he stepped into the door of Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao", and the old "Ta Kung Pao"'s valuable principles of "not party, not blind" deeply influenced him. "I learned many technical problems from Ta Kung Pao. "Ta Kung Pao" itself has a tradition of what words can be used and what words cannot be used... I joined "Ta Kung Pao" and admired "Ta Kung Pao" at that time. The party does not sell, commenting on events is very fair and completely reported. Newspapers should not distort the facts, they should tell the truth, and if it is difficult to tell, you can not tell it.” It is difficult to catch up with the former sages, and sometimes there are regrets that you can't draw a tiger, but your efforts are always in this direction."It is in this special land of Hong Kong that Jin Yong inherited the unfulfilled ideals of the old "Ta Kung Pao". The success of "Ming Pao" can vaguely see some shadows of the old "Ta Kung Pao", such as insisting on not accepting any economic support, He said, "In this case, we can be impartial without any scruples, and we will get the support of the largest number of readers." On October 16, 1959, the neutral "Circular Daily" resumed publication. Jin Yong published an editorial in "Ming Pao", saying, "The newspapers in Hong Kong are either left or right, and the only one who is truly neutral is "Ming Pao". No one responded, and I felt very lonely and self-admired." On February 17, 1960, he said in an editorial, "This newspaper has always advocated making money through harmony, neither opposing the Kuomintang nor the Communist Party, and neither scolding the United States nor the Soviet Union." On May 20, he said in the editorial "Anniversary Speech of the Newspaper", "In politics, we strive to be neutral, and we will never give any unfair favoritism to the left or the right."He would like to talk about "tolerance is greatness, without desires is strength", in fact, he had to wait until June 1962 when the supplement "Free Talk" was born, and in January 1966, "Ming Pao Monthly" also took this as the editorial policy. As a "Ming Pao" report. In 1980, when he hired Dong Qiao as the editor-in-chief of "Ming Pao Monthly", he reminded in the letter of appointment that he must "follow Ming Pao's consistent policy of neutrality, objectivity, respect for facts, and fair commentary to carry out editorial work." Be impartial, cherish the traditions of the Chinese nation culturally, and maintain a tolerant spirit of accommodating various theories academically.” Dong Qiao, who has been the editor-in-chief of Ming Pao Monthly for seven years and Ming Pao for eight years, said: “ Although I have no right to judge whether I have fulfilled the reminder given to me by Mr. Cha, I have never lightly forgotten the weight and true meaning of those few words." When Ming Pao was founded, its positioning was not very clear, and the overriding priority was survival.At that time, big middle-ground newspapers such as Overseas Chinese Daily and Sing Tao Daily were relatively high-level, far away from the requirements and reading interests of ordinary readers, and Ming Pao, without the support of big capital, could not take such a risk.Jin Yong is also unwilling to accept the vulgar and pornographic lines of tabloids such as "Transcendence", "Rattlesnake" and "Rattlesnake". Novels, erotic novels, serious editorials, Hong Kong social news and international news, the earliest readers were mainly ordinary citizens. Many people criticized "Ming Pao" for its vacillating newspaper format and its double-sidedness. If it continues like this, it will close sooner or later.For the survival of "Ming Pao", Jin Yong and Shen Baoxin racked their brains.In addition to constantly writing martial arts novels and editorials, Jin Yong is also responsible for the editorial work of the newspaper, digging out and recruiting talents in many ways to increase the attractiveness of the newspaper.Shen worked hard on early publication, distribution, and advertisements, and often got up in the middle of the night to go to the printing workshop to pass cigarettes to the workers. From 1959 to 1962, these three years were the most difficult initial period for "Ming Pao". I would like to persuade you to run a newspaper." He was worried about the future of the newspaper. The old staff of Ming Pao recalled: "Mr. Cha was really miserable at that time. He was tired from work in the afternoon and ordered a cup of coffee. He also drank it with Mrs. Cha (Zhu Mei)." At that time, "Ming Pao" was in Central, and Jin Yong's family was in Tsim Sha Tsui. He had to cross the sea to get home. There were two kinds of ferries, one was the Star Ferry, and the other was the electric boat commonly known as "hua la hua la".When I get off work late at night or early in the morning, the Star Ferry has already stopped sailing, so I have to take the electric boat to cross the sea. Each time I have to wait for six people to set off, and the fare is relatively cheap.If you arrive immediately, the charter fee will be three yuan.The couple would rather wait by the chilly wind in the middle of the night than charter a boat across the sea. The hardships of those years can be imagined.Coffee and the ferry are just two of the usual stories.At that time, Jin Yong relied on his old classmate Shen Baoxin. Although Jin Yong was the major shareholder, in the eyes of the old employees, the power of the two shareholders was equal, and there was even a saying that Jin Yong was afraid of Shen.Jin Yong was entertaining guests at home, and if Shen hadn't arrived, he wouldn't dare to start the banquet.Pan Yuesheng remembers: "When I was in Des Voeux Road Middle, the future of Ming Pao was still very uncertain. One day at five or six o'clock in the evening, everyone was very tired from work. Cha Liangyong said that we should go to 'tram river tour', so we started from the Sit around to Causeway Bay terminus, and then sit back. At that time Cha Leung-yung said that running a newspaper is very hard, I hope everyone can run "Ming Pao" well, take "Ming Pao" as their own business, and never break up." "Ming Pao" began its serialization on the first day of publication, with large illustrations.The number of words increased from the fifth period, from 1,000 to 1,200 words per day, and another 400 words on the second day.At that time, it was still serialized in the "New Evening News", and Jin Yong had to write two serials every day. The serialization of his martial arts novels is the signature of "Ming Pao", attracting a group of followers. On July 3, shortly after the serialization of "Sculpture of the Gods", "Friends of Ming Pao" published a letter from reader Lai Hui and a detailed reply from Jin Yong. He said, "What can be said so far is that the protagonist is Yang Guo, not Guo Jing ...But Guo Jing will be a very important supporting role." On September 27, the "Sculpture of the Gods" was not published in the newspaper, so the editor had to explain that the author was sick and suspended for one day.The next day it was still not published, and he had to explain again: "Mr. Jin Yong is unwell, and readers are sending letters and calls. The novel will be published in the newspaper tomorrow. Please read it if you are a fan of the Condor." The editor also said that the editorial department received many calls in the past two days, and readers I personally sent a letter, or asked about the symptoms of the disease, or asked if "Shen Diao" could be published today. I told Jin Yong the news yesterday. , I hope readers will wait patiently for another day.It can be seen that this serialization is important to Ming Pao. It is not accidental that "Sculpture of the Gods" has become popular among Hong Kong citizens. Jin Yong's martial arts novels have been serialized in "New Evening News" and "Hong Kong Commercial Daily". Many people buy his martial arts novels just to read them. "Ming Pao". "Ming Pao" miraculously survived because his martial arts novels attracted a group of regular readers. It is not too much to say that "Ming Pao" was supported by his martial arts novels.His old friend Ni Kuang said: "Ming Pao's survival depends entirely on Jin Yong's martial arts novels." Novels must have readers!" Shen Xicheng, who was still a middle school student at the time, would buy a copy of "Ming Pao" at the newsstand every day when he went to school, and when he got on the bus, if there was an empty seat, he would open the page with "Sculpture of God" , Read it carefully, thousands of words every day, and it takes less than five minutes to read it, which is not very satisfying.His classmates either played football or talked about the characters in Jin Yong's martial arts novels after school. Their favorite characters were Zhou Botong and Hong Qigong, and they even nicknamed the round-faced Chinese teacher "Old Urchin". Unexpectedly The teacher didn't think it was disobedient, but discussed this character with them.Film actor Mai Ling was obsessed with "Sculpture of God", rented it six times, read it at night and lost weight.Reader Hu Junyu just entered middle school, and the first time he read "Ming Pao" was to catch up with Jin Yong's martial arts novels. However, a newspaper cannot be established solely by martial arts novels, and the prospect of "Ming Pao" is still unclear. For this reason, Jin Yong tried his best to change "Ming Pao" from a purely supplementary newspaper to a newspaper that focuses on Hong Kong news. Supplement content is also constantly enriched and enriched. The two or three years of serialization of "Sculpture of the Gods" was the most difficult period for "Ming Pao".He said that in almost every story, there are scenes of hard work with several colleagues. Unable to afford a full-time telegraph translator and editor, a reporter from another newspaper found time to help for a few hours. When "Ming Pao" was still in preparation, "Jing Pao" reporter Lei Weipo was already collecting information to write a headline feature.Not long after, "Ming Pao" expanded from eight pages to four pages. Lei Weipo was recruited by Jin Yong with a high salary of 400 yuan per month. At that time, he and Shen Baoxin only received the same monthly salary.Lei became the director of the interview department and became the only reporter of "Ming Pao". He created a "star column" in a prominent position on the front page, writing about the life and love affairs of film and television stars under the pseudonym "Liu Mingying". At that time, Long Guoyun was outstanding in running social news in the "Red and Green Daily", and was secretly invited to help. From the summer of 1960, he used the pseudonym "Chen Fei" to write "Ming Pao" news about Hong Kong, the inside story of major cases, soft Lace, the pen name was given by Lei Weipo.The manuscript fee is 1000 characters and 10 yuan, and you can eat 20 bowls of the famous "beef brisket powder".On September 1, 1961, Long was transferred to Ming Pao. The headlines on the front page of "Ming Pao" are almost all novelty-hunting social news, mainly about murder, adultery, women's sex, etc., with a large font size and eye-catching headlines, attracting attention in an exaggerated form—— Naked woman in pajamas miraculously dies Girl's unrequited love became crazy and she swallowed Dettol and died Naked men and women having sex in pornographic caves were killed by explosives on time Love Swallows a Rattlesnake and the Man Beside a Beautiful Girl Passes Out On top of these titles, there are often poems such as "the flowers and plants in the world are too hasty" and "the color of the morning when the evening goes away" as eyebrow titles.The supplement "Silver Lily" is also full of columns such as "Sex Life of Female Stars" and "Sexual Crimes". In order to increase readers, "Ming Pao" also launched activities such as crossword puzzles with prizes, delivery of newspapers first and fees later.They try to cater to the citizens everywhere, and their style is not high.Cha Liangyong's editorials were intermittent, generally only a few hundred words long, and did not attract much attention. After the first year, although the circulation of "Ming Pao" increased by 124%, it was only a supplementary newspaper.Jin Yong said in the "Comments on the Anniversary of the Founding of the Publication" that readers include overseas students from Britain, the United States, Germany, and Canada, professors, lawyers, business tycoons, celebrities, employees, and young readers.He believes that there are two reasons, one is to strive for neutrality in politics, and the other is to appeal to both refined and popular tastes in terms of content. In addition, the "Wild Horse Novels" page has at most seven martial arts novels serialized at the same time, which makes readers overwhelmed. It fictionalizes the love between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnv who "promise each other in life and death", and repeatedly lingers on the first half of Yuan Haowen's "Touching Fish" (also known as "Maipitang"): Ask the world, what is love, and teach life and death.Flying guests from all over the world, the old wings are cold and hot.Joy is fun, parting is bitter, and there are even more idiotic children.You should have something to say, ten thousand miles of layer clouds, thousands of mountains and evening snow, who is the only shadow for? The desolate, empty, sad and moving half poems run through the whole book like the theme song, setting the tone of the tragedy.The pure and innocent little dragon girl was raped by Yin Zhiping, and Yang Guo had an arm cut off by Guo Fu. When the little dragon girl jumped off the cliff and left behind a mysterious sixteen-year agreement, maybe the novel should end here abruptly.In order to cater to the needs of readers, the author can't stop, but can only write on, writing an ending where lovers get married, so as not to lose readers.They are all serialized in newspapers targeting ordinary citizens, and most of the readers have a primary and secondary education level. Attracting readers with popular novels, maintaining and developing a new newspaper, did not start with Ming Pao in the history of the Chinese newspaper industry. Cheng Shewo founded the "World Evening News" in Beijing in 1924. Zhang Henshui wrote five or six hundred words every day. It has been serialized for five years and has written millions of words, attracting a large number of regular readers. "World Journal" was founded in 1925. Zhang Henshui's daily 700-word to thousands of words was serialized for a total of 2196 days, which lasted for seven years.Zhang Henshui's novels were all the rage because of the twists and turns of the story, and appealed to both refined and popular tastes. Even the old commercial newspaper "News" with a large circulation in Shanghai invited him to serialize "Laughing Marriage". . It provides a life-and-death love utopia that is often unattainable in the world.The separation and reunion of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnv seems to be due to God's will, but in fact it is determined by their personalities.The novel ends with a happy ending, which is obviously a failure from a literary point of view.Ni Kuang, an old friend of Jin Yong's, explained the mystery: "When Jin Yong was writing, the comedy ended, which can definitely be forgiven, because it was the period when "Ming Pao" was first established, and "Sculpture of God" was serialized in the newspaper. If Xiaolongnv suddenly No, Yang Guo is desolate, depressed, celibate, and lonely in the world. I'm afraid that readers will never read "Ming Pao" again." In Hong Kong, a highly commercialized society, Jin Yongzhi wrote martial arts novels to promote newspapers, business The motivation is far greater than the literary impulse. First of all, it is entertaining, it must be good-looking, and it must give ordinary men and women the pleasure of reading.Of course, in the process of writing, his literary talent, historical and cultural accomplishment, and his familiar Jiangnan scenery are first-rate in his pen, which makes his works far different from ordinary popular books. Those difficult days were like Yang Guo's long years waiting for the little dragon girl.The sixteen-year agreement has finally come—seeing the sun slowly setting, Yang Guo's heart also kept sinking with the sun.When half of the sun was covered by the top of the mountain, he yelled and rushed up the peak.Standing on a high place, I saw the round face of the sun was heavy and complete, and my heart was slightly widened. As long as the sun does not set, the seventh day of March will not be over. But even though he climbed the highest mountain, the sun finally fell into the ground.Standing quietly on the top of the mountain, looking around the vast expanse, but feel the cold engulfing the body, the twilight is coming... Jin Yong said that when Yang Guo couldn't wait for the little dragon girl and the sun went down, he cried aloud. "Ming Pao" did not have a firm foothold, so they prepared to publish their first subsidiary publication "Martial Arts and History". On December 16, 1959, the front page of "Ming Pao" announced: Jin Yong's new novel "Flying Soldiers" will be published in the "Martial Arts and History" fiction magazine to be published soon.Jin Yong fans pay close attention! Until 1961, "Flying Soldiers" was serialized in "Martial Arts and History", with each issue of 8,000 words.Unlike newspaper serials with each paragraph ranging from 1,000 to 1,400 characters, Jin Yong usually writes a paragraph in seven days and finishes it overnight, starting at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night and ending at seven or eight o'clock the next morning.This is the "prequel" of the novel, trying to create a hero who "cannot be moved by wealth, cannot be moved by poverty, and cannot be subdued by might" and at the same time "not moved by beauty, sorrow, and face" .The reason why Hu Fei didn't let Feng Tiannan go was because of Zhong Ahsi's family of four. Hu Fei had never met them before and had no friendship with them. This is the perfect hero in Jin Yong's heart.In terms of characterization, this work is actually not successful, but the villain Tian Guinong, although not much ink, has written the dark and treacherous side of his character.Among the three women in the book, Yuan Ziyi is too abrupt, unreasonable, and illogical, and they are all made up for the plot.Ma Chunhua is also a bit baffled, but the ordinary-looking Cheng Lingsu is portrayed plainly and with aura, which is more in line with the reality of human nature.She is a closed disciple of the "King of Poisonous Hands and Medicine", with a kind heart, she would rather choose to die and let the one she loves live, "beyond life and death, and in the most affection, surpass love". "Martial Arts and History" is a weekly magazine published every Friday. It is positioned as a "fiction magazine". In addition to serializing Jin Yong's novels, it also serializes long works by Gu Long and others, as well as some short martial arts stories.At that time, "Ming Pao" was still struggling hard, relying entirely on this weekly martial arts novel to make money and supplement it. On June 1, 1962, "Ming Pao" published an advertisement "Reading martial arts novels is for entertainment and can enhance the cultivation of Chinese culture", introducing that "Martial Arts and History" not only published long martial arts and historical novels, but also other content.For example, the cover of the 82nd issue is the famous painting of the Song Dynasty "Wen Ji Returning to Han" and her "Poetry of Sadness and Indignation", the 83rd issue is the cover of Qin Shihuang, which contains Du Mu's "Ode to the Palace of Efang", and the 84th issue is the famous painting of the Song Dynasty "Tengwang Pavilion " is the cover, and there is Wang Bo's "Preface to the Pavilion of the King of Teng", which is matched with historical stories, famous paintings, and famous poems, all of which are explained in detail or translated in vernacular. "Readers can improve their Chinese culture while reading novels for entertainment. It is especially suitable for parents to buy as gifts for young children. The whole book is clean and healthy, and there is absolutely no pornographic text." It was serialized for 774 days. On July 6, 1961, another full-length martial arts novel by Jin Yong began to be serialized in Ming Pao.At that time, "Sculpture of the Gods" was still finishing, and it was not over until July 8, and the two novels were published on the same page.He combined this work with the "Shooting the Condors Trilogy".He thinks that the protagonists of "The Condor Shooting Trilogy" have completely different personalities: Guo Jingcheng is simple and honest, Yang Guo is affectionate and wild, but Zhang Wuji's personality is more complicated and weak.He is less heroic, and although he has advantages in his personality, he also has many disadvantages. Perhaps, he is more similar to us ordinary people.Yang Guo is absolutely proactive.Guo Jing was very firm in the big joints, and Huang Rong needed to push the small things.Zhang Wuji's life is always influenced by others, dominated by the environment, unable to break free from the shackles. In fact, no matter Guo Jing or Zhang Wuji, some shadows of Jin Yong himself can be seen in their characters.Zhang Wuji cannot be a political leader, and has no interest in governing the country. "Perhaps, Jin Yong himself is not a political leader—he always thinks about how to retire and carefree, and he never forgets the expectations of history for the character of scholars." Zhou Zhiruo, Zhao Min, Yin Li, and Xiao Zhao all like Zhang Wuji, but he doesn't know which one he likes.The five of them were once in a lonely boat on the sea, the night was quiet and the moon was bright—— The five people were relatively silent, each thinking about their own concerns, the waves were lightly paddling the boat, only to feel that the breeze and the moon would last forever, and the sorrows of life would also be like this, never ending.Suddenly, a very soft and ethereal singing sounded over the sea: "At the end of the day, you can't escape that day. It takes a hundred years, but seventy people are rare. The years are rushing, and the water is flowing." It was Yin Li who Singing a ditty in a low voice in sleep. ... Yin Li sang these few little songs, and then sang again, but this time the singing voice was indescribably strange, completely different from the middle-earth tunes, carefully distinguishing the singing voice, the meaning of the words was also sung by Xiao Zhao The same as: "Come like flowing water and pass like wind, I don't know where it comes and where it ends!" She sang these two songs over and over again, singing lower and lower, and finally the singing disappeared without a trace with the sound of water and wind. .Everyone thinks that life and death are impermanent, that a person floats into the world, like a river, without knowing where it came from, no matter how heroic you are, in the end you will inevitably die, floated out of the world, and like a breeze, you don't know where it blows. This song echoes the following song throughout the book: Burn my remnant body, the blazing holy fire.There is no joy in life, and no pain in death.Eliminate evil for good, only for light.Joy and sorrow, all return to dust.Pity me the world, there are so many sorrows! Jin Yong had a soft spot for the word "Ming", and made up a "Mingjiao" that called the wind and rain.During the meeting of the "Mingjiao" group of heroes in Butterfly Valley, this song was swaying, and the singing sound scratched people, echoing endlessly... Since then, Jin Yong has become more and more aware that there is no absolute standard for the so-called good people and bad people, and people are not divided into two, good and bad. It has become more and more obvious from this work. Evil people also have a good side, and good people also have a bad side, but the proportion is relatively small. ... It is difficult to make a judgment on good and evil, likes and dislikes, and sometimes it is impossible to clearly distinguish them.Life is not necessarily "good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil". Good and evil cannot be seen at a glance. The heads of the Emei School Jue Shitai and Zhou Zhiruo, the head of the Huashan School Xian Yutong, the head of the Kunlun School He Taichong, good can be evil, and the golden lion king Xie Xun, there is good in evil.People are not "good" or "bad" because of differences in sects, status, etc. The distinction between good and evil in the martial arts world, disputes between different nations, and results based on standards other than human nature are often inconsistent with reality. There is a huge gap. The "decent" Miejue Shitai can kill people without blinking an eye in the name of justice and other unquestionable, even the most beloved apprentice Ji Xiaofu, just because she fell in love with the "evil school" Yang Xiao and refused to follow orders to kill him .Jin Yong, who left the leftist camp and started his own business in Hong Kong, has a deeper and deeper experience of this.Old friend Liang Yusheng disagrees with this: Since it is "human nature" that has "common evils", and since it is "people do not do themselves for themselves, heaven and earth destroy", it is no wonder that good and evil are not distinguished, and right and wrong are confused.In the novel, Jin Yong focuses on portraying the "evil" of decent characters, such as the vicious and cruel head of Emei who killed innocent people indiscriminately, He Taichong, the head of Kunlun with despicable character, and even Zhang Sanfeng, the "sacred monk" of Shaolin Temple, came to meet them. When exchanging the "Nine Suns Manual", deceitful means were also used.The "evil" of decentness is brought into full play when "six factions besiege Guangmingding".In short, I want to give readers an impression that there is evil in the good, and there is good in the evil. Regardless of the good or the evil, there are evil and selfish elements in human nature. 1961 was still a difficult year for "Ming Pao". Jin Yong continued to launch an offensive of martial arts novels, and serialized two martial arts novels at the same time. On May 1st, it started to be serialized in "Ming Pao", and it was on the same page as the schedule. On that day, "Sculpture of the Gods" had been serialized for 709 days. By May 28th, the "Sculpture of Gods" had not ended yet. The story of the story is very simple. The famous and unpredictable "Four Heroes of Taiyue" are nothing but idiots who are strong on the outside but not worthy of the name. Xiaoyaozi is ridiculous.刀法”只有彼此回护、心心相印才能发挥出威力……全篇围绕争夺刻有重大秘密的鸳鸯刀而展开，谜底揭开，不过是“仁者无敌”四个字而已。 当年10月，开始与同时连载，安排在另一副刊版面，到11月结束。这是金庸1960年为电影公司创作的一个剧本，围绕着高昌古国一张蛊惑人心的迷宫地图展开，在血腥的拼杀和无情的阴谋、赤裸的欲望下，伴随着“或缠绵诱人，或辛酸感人，或凄惨动人”的爱情故事—— 一个偶然的机会，李文秀的父母得到这张神秘地图，因此惨遭同门杀害。通灵的白马闻到水草的气息，冒着漫天风沙将昏倒在马背上的李文秀驮到哈萨克人居住的草原。美丽的草原，善良的老人（实际上是一个为躲避师父追杀而易容的青年），使她渐渐淡忘不幸的惨剧，她学会了哈萨克语，在恬静的牧歌中开始新的生活。哈萨克青年苏普的出现却打破了她止水般的心灵，爱恨情仇，又在草原上演绎成一出悲剧…… “如果你深深爱着的人，却深深地爱上了别人，有什么法子？”李文秀回答不了，《可兰经》也回答不了。即使得到了宝藏又能怎么样？她带着无数的问号，带着无尽的痛苦回到中原。 《明报》同时连载金庸的两篇武侠小说，就是想紧紧抓住他的“死党”读者。表面寡言木讷的他内心却很坚韧，这一个性类似他笔下的郭靖。为了报纸的生存，他不辞辛劳，一手写社评，一手写小说，常常同时连载两部作品，几乎成了“写稿机器”。这是《明报》最艰难的时期，也是他一生最艰难的时期。他所心仪的汤因比在《历史研究》中提出“挑战与应对”，一种文明如此，人生又何尝不是如此。他和沈宝新及其他《明报》同人愣是将一张几乎没有什么前途的小报苦苦支撑了下来。 《明报》内容有所丰富，人手也增加了。1960年，发行量增至13600多份。自1961年1月起，《明报》又请权威的马评家简而清（简老八）、简而和兄弟主编马经专栏（以后又请狗评家汪昆以“识途老狗”的笔名写狗经），以迎合市民的口味。体育专栏也请体育界消息最灵通的马兆华主持。 7月16日，他发表社评《本报进行加强国际新闻》说： 从明天起，逐步加强国际新闻，严格遵守公正无私、不左不右的立场，拥护中国人的利益，香港人的利益。 明报虽为小报，但博大有容，不害怕、不拒绝任何方面的意见。本报本身的评论，则以“预见和分析”为两大目标。 1961年，《明报》日销量上升到22000多份，与《超然报》等小报相比，发行量也不算太低，虽然离大报的目标还非常遥远。这年5月20日《明报》两周年时，查良镛写下《忠心耿耿，报答“死党”》社评，回顾两年来的艰辛和欢喜，又一次坚定了两年前立下的宗旨，决心公正无私、努力不懈地为读者服务。台风袭港，报纸发行量和平时完全一样，一份不少，靠的就是“死党”，有的人即使当天不上街，第二天也要补买。发行部经常做的业务之一是补报纸，有读者到日本或英国旅行，少看了三个星期，要求补齐。 香港报界有一句老话“挨得就得”。如果说《明报》是金庸的武侠小说支撑起来的，诚然没有错，最初的三年，武侠小说、马经、电影消息以及他短小的评论，对香港新闻的详尽报道，都算是特色。被誉为“铜笔铁算盘”的沈宝新也在不断摸索、改变报纸的经营手法，拉拢广告客户。他说自己是“顶硬上”，印刷、发行、广告一脚踢，第一年有过每天工作十八到二十小时的纪录。过去的一年，《明报》的日发行量增加了9650份左右，广告收入也增加了（虽不及发行的增加速度），总收入也相应增加，全部用在改进报纸的内容上。查良镛在社评中说：“我们当然不是永远不赚钱，而是：忠心耿耿／报答'死党'／报纸办好／来日方长。”他知道，《明报》的时代还没有到来。

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