A writer’s life
March 10, 1924 –
Born in Haining, Zhejiang province, as the second of seven children and into a family with a noted literary pedigree dating back to the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties.
1943
— Graduates from Quzhou No 1 Secondary School, having immersed himself in classic works of wuxia and fiction.
1947
— After studying at the Law School of Soochow University, joins Shanghai’s Ta Kung Pao newspaper as a journalist and translator.
1948
— Moves to Hong Kong to work for the Ta Kung Pao group. Finds himself alongside writer Chen Wentong (The Romance of the White Haired Maiden) who encourages Cha to explore his own literary ambitions.
1955
— Serialization and publication of his first martial arts novel, The Book and the Sword, which follows the efforts of a secret sect of 15 heroes as they look to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing empire.
1959
— Thanks to the runaway success of The Book and the Sword and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1957), Cha co-founds Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper with former high school classmate Shen Baoxin.
May 20, 1959
— Ming Pao begins the serialization of The Return of the Condor Heroes — the middle book of Cha’s wildly successful and hugely influential trilogy that follows threads of political intrigue and war in ancient China.
1960 to 1972
— Completes a further nine novels, ending with The Deer and the Cauldron, which for the first time puts an anti-hero (the sly Wei Xiaobao) at the center of Cha’s tale as he rises through society against the odds. In all, Cha’s 14 published novels would go on to sell more than 100 million copies.
1979
– First complete collected works released.
1981
– Meets late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, an avid fan of the author’s work.
1996
— Joins the Preparatory Committee set up by the central government to monitor Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in 1997.
July 2010
— Cha completes doctor of philosophy in Oriental studies (Chinese history) at St. John’s College, Cambridge.
February 2018
— First of the 12-volume English translations of the Condor trilogy, A Hero Born, is published.