Chapter 2 Heung Kong Entrepreneurship

During the war, many people were displaced and homeless. After Jin Yong left Zhejiang, he lived in a classmate's house in western Hunan for a period of time.That place is the hometown of Mr. Shen Congwen, and it is also the world of fantasy beauty described in his novel.The Miao people there loved to sing folk songs. It was winter, and Jin Yong sat around the yellow fire with them, singing and eating roasted sweet potatoes.Jin Yong, who loves music, took out a pencil in the firelight, spread a piece of paper on his knee, and recorded these songs one by one.In a short period of time, I memorized three thick volumes, with a total of more than a thousand songs.

Although the landscape and singing are beautiful, they are just passers-by after all. Soon, Jin Yong arrived in Chongqing, the capital at that time, and was admitted to Chengchi University, majoring in international law.At that time, the whole country was suffering from the humiliation of being bullied by other races. Most of the educated young people were radical nationalists, dissatisfied with the weakness and corruption of the Kuomintang government at that time. Jin Yong once recalled: "I was studying in Chongqing during the Anti-Japanese War. At that time, the Kuomintang government always wanted to seek peace from Japan. Some imperial professors often publicized the idea that 'Yue Fei doesn't understand politics, and Qin Hui can take care of the overall situation'. Tao Xisheng once (He came to Chongqing for activities under the order of the enemy and the puppet) He went to the school to give a speech, and he promoted this theory in a tone. Some of our classmates were very angry. Before his second speech, he wrote 'green mountains and white bones' on the blackboard, implying that "Qingshan is honored to bury his loyal bones, and Baitie is innocent to cast his ministers". He knew it well after seeing it, so he didn't bring up this topic again."

The complicated political situation in Chongqing during the Anti-Japanese War sharpened Jin Yong's temperament, exercised his observation ability, and made him form a unique spiritual quality.He finally offended the school because he was dissatisfied with the so-called "professional students" in the school (in fact, they were small secret agents of the Kuomintang) and was ordered to drop out of school. Jin Yong found a job in the reading group of the Central Library.Jin Yong's collection of books in his own home is very rich, and he has immersed himself in them since he was a child, and cultivated a strong classical cultural accomplishment and foundation.In the central library, when he was bored, he happened to read a kind of pastime book, that is, ancient Chinese martial arts novels.The superb martial arts and the surreal plot scenes made Jin Yong temporarily forget the troubles and pains in the world.Maybe he didn't have the idea of ​​writing martial arts at that time, but this kind of extensive reading has planted a seed, and once the time is right, this seed will take root and grow vigorously.Of course, this is a story.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he returned to Zhejiang and first went to Haining to visit relatives.After the turmoil, the relatives meet each other, and they are very emotional. However, the warmth of his hometown can't keep a young heart. The outside world has just unfolded, and the end of the war has brought new hope. He is eager to find the place that really belongs to him.Soon he went to Hangzhou and became a reporter for "Southeast Daily". Since then, he has been inseparable from journalism in his life.In the busy life of interviewing, Jin Yong has come into contact with the various hardships of the people, and also saw that it takes a difficult journey to rebuild their homes on the ruins of the war.A few months later, he went to Shanghai to study international law at Soochow University Law School.

Soochow University is a well-known institution of higher learning, founded in Suzhou, and has produced many outstanding figures, such as scientist Zhu Kezhen and so on.In addition, Sir Yang Tieliang, chief prosecutor of the Hong Kong government, and Zhao Congyan, founder of Huaguang Shipping Group, also graduated from Soochow University Law School with Jin Yong.During his studies, Jin Yong worked part-time as a translator in Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" to subsidize his living. In China at that time, the struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party reached a fever pitch, and a full-scale civil war had begun.The Chinese who had just been liberated from the iron heels of the Japanese invaders once again suffered from the suffering of war.Everything is uncertain, everything is unpredictable, this is the so-called "troubled times".There is too much helplessness in the ups and downs of fate, and the rules are completely broken.The individual is small, and the future, career, etc. are just beautiful fantasies, and it is a blessing to be able to survive.

Jin Yong should have been a lawyer or a judge.But in such a turbulent era, the law has long lost its binding force and authority.The corruption of the Kuomintang government is beyond control, and the people's hearts are in turmoil, while the Communist Party's army is advancing southward.No one can predict what China will look like in the future, and all social norms are changing.No matter what major you study, the first thing is to survive, and that era does not need professionals. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, Jin Yong graduated from law school hastily.It is impossible to be a lawyer. Looking at the chaotic situation, he is worried about his future and it is very difficult to find a job.At this time, Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" published an advertisement to recruit two telecom translators across the country.At that time, more than 3,000 people signed up.After repeated examinations and screenings, Jin Yong became one of the two lucky ones.Since then, he has entered the newspaper industry.

Jin Yong may not have imagined at that time that he would become the boss of a major newspaper and become a newspaper tycoon in the future.However, Jin Yong once told reporters: He liked the style of "Ta Kung Pao" at that time very much, which was unique; he also liked journalism very much, and the ideal newspaper was "Ta Kung Pao" at that time. Soon, "Ta Kung Pao" was going to be published in Hong Kong, and Jin Yong was sent to Hong Kong.This Jiangnan talent, a scholar, started to create his own career in the unfamiliar Lingnan with a wonderful pen. Just as Ni Kuang said, Jin Yong conquered the world with his bare hands.

The great changes in 1949 rewrote Chinese history.The Kuomintang fled to Taiwan and defended an island alone.The Communist Party on the mainland built a new China with incomparable enthusiasm. An unprecedented stability and good hope infected most Chinese people, including many intellectuals.This great change has also rewritten the fate of many individuals.Either sinking or rising, or sad or happy, looking back after many years, there is nothing to comment except emotion. Jin Yong did not leave any words, we can guess his mood at that time, confused or excited?However, his personal fate is more or less related to this great change in history, as well as his novels and his newspaper career.If you don't understand the vicissitudes of modern Chinese history, you can't appreciate the ups and downs.However, from some of his essays in the 1950s, it can still be seen that Jin Yong was more identified with the mainland side, and his strong national sentiments were revealed everywhere between the lines.

In the early 1950s, under the pseudonym "Lin Huan", Jin Yong set up "Afternoon Tea Room" in the supplement of "New Evening News", mainly writing film reviews.These articles are now hard to find, "but those who have read them all say that the writing is euphemistic and clear-minded, and it is a momentary dazzle" (Ni Kuangyu) As a result of writing film reviews, he has more contact with the television industry.He has worked as a screenwriter and as a director of two films.The first script he wrote was "Peerless Beauty", starring the famous actor Xia Meng, which won the Gold Medal Award of the Beijing Ministry of Culture.It is said that when Jin Yong returned to Shanghai more than 30 years later, the film "Peerless Beauty" was entertained locally, and the words "produced by Great Wall Film Company" and "screenwriter Cha Liangyong" appeared on the screen.In addition, there are "A Girl in Huaichun", "Wang Huo Robs a Marriage", "The Sound of the Piano at Midnight", etc., the first two of which were directed by him.

If all goes well, Jin Yong is likely to be a great director.However, the policy of Great Wall Film Company puts more emphasis on the significance of social education and stricter restrictions on films. Jin Yong felt that it was difficult to develop his own creative ideas, especially when several scripts he wrote failed to pass the review, he had the intention to quit.But to set up a film studio by ourselves requires a huge amount of money, so I thought of running a newspaper and magazine, which is relatively cheap and can realize my ideal. A series of magazines and newspapers such as "Ming Pao" began to be born in this way.

In the early 1950s, Jin Yong wanted to be a diplomat.At that time, he published articles on diplomacy and international relations, which were appreciated by Mei Jiu'ao, an authority on Chinese international law.And because of his work at Ta Kung Pao, he had a relationship with Qiao Guanhua.Qiao Guanhua served as the secretary of Zhou Enlai, China's first foreign minister after liberation. After repeated introductions, Jin Yong came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.Qiao Guanhua told him that talents like him were needed, but because he came from the landlord class, he had to be trained at Renmin University to write an autobiography before he could work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Jin Yong thought over and over again, and felt that his objective situation was not suitable for this job, so he gave up the idea of ​​being a diplomat and returned to "Ta Kung Pao".Therefore, someone said: "If it were not for Cha Liangyong's decision, maybe he must be a staff member of Xinhua News Agency or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today." However, there is another possibility, that is, he will definitely have bad luck in the "anti-rightist" and "Cultural Revolution", which is almost certain.Moreover, what is even more certain is that we will definitely not see today's Jin Yong's martial arts novels. Life is full of choices, and often a single thought can change everything.Looking back later, I can't help but wonder: what would have happened if it hadn't been like this back then?In fact, whatever should be done, a rose must grow into a rose, and a pine must grow into a pine.Assumptions are fun, even nice, but pointless.