Author : Jin Yong

In every chinese community around the globe, the novels of Jin Yong are read and cherished. Everyone, from street vendors to university professors, from teenagers to senior citizens, hungrily devours his rich sagas. He can claim hundreds of millions of readers- too many in fact to count. His works reflect the true essence of the Chinese spirit.

 His Novels

Jin Yong’s novels portray sweeping dramas of people who are ready to fight for a just cause, driven by the conviction that not to do so is cowardice. Justice to them is more important than life itself. They fight evil and injustice, placing their lives on the line for their principles.They are heros among the people.

The protagonists of Jin Yong’s novels are men of soild principles and women of strong resolve struggling together as comrades towards a common ideal. He describes his creations or characters ” I want to depict people who endure the most difficult circumstances with an invincible spirit and wage a valiant struggle to triumph over all obstacles.

A character in one of Jin Yong novel: Shu Jian En Chou Lu says ” the courageous are clear in their loyalties.” In other words, they are loyal to their benefactors and relentless in bringing justice anyone who would dare harm those whom they are indebted.This is a description of an impassioned person of action, a person whom the good will befriend and the corrupt will hesitate to meddle with.

 His Life

Jin Yong real name is Louis Cha , was born in China’s Zhejiang Province in 1924. Jin Yong has profound respect for his grandfather , Cha WenQing, who was a provincial governor towards the end of Qing Dynasty.Resentment against the incursions into China by the western powers and the suffering it was causing the Chinese people in the province ran high, and a group of protesters set fire to a Christian church in a place called Danyang in Jiangsu Province. To them, the church and clergy were nothing but agents of the foreign powers. The leader of the uprising was about to be executed, but Governor Cha helped the man to escape. Then he resigned from his post, taking full responsibility. He was prepared to give his very life to save the Chinese people. The inner strength of the Cha family shaped Jin Yong’s Life as well.

Though his grades were always top of the class, he was expelled twice from school.The first time is when he is seventeen whereby he wrote a satiric piece on an abusive head teacher in the school’s newspaper. The other students cheered, but he was expelled. The second he was expelled was when he was twenty. Wanting to become an diplomat, he entered the Central School of Government , where again he was at the head of his class. But he soon become angered at the violent wat in which students from Kuomintang harassed other students. He appealed to the university authorties for justice and instead of receiving it, he was expelled for stirring up trouble.

Later, he moved to Hong Kong, where he founded a newspaper, Ming Pao. There, too, he continued to find himself in the line of fire. In one of the conversations, he remarked: Because i have always stick with my beliefs, i have been subject to death threats and forced to bear the pressure of living in constant danger, But, ” what is right is right and what is evil is evil. I have been given in to pressure that goes against truth and justice. I always tell myself ,” Even if you are afraid, you must never beat a cowardly retreat when danger approaches, lest you be ridiculed by the heros of your own novels.”

Jin Yong says ” one determined person has the strength of a hundred.”

Reading Makes You Strong

SGI President Ikeda and Soka Gakkai high school division chiefs Hidenobu Kimura (young men’s chief) and Kazue Igeta (young women’s chief), representing the high school division members on the perspective of reading.

reading.pdf

DROP EVERYTHING AND READ ( DEAR )

The National Library Board will be launching its D.E.A.R promotion once again from 1 Nov 2007 to 31 Jan 2008.

During the D.E.A.R promotion, we encourage you to Double Up on Your Reading – basic members can borrow up to 8 items* and premium members up to 16 items*.

* 21 days for books, 14 days for AV materials and magazines.

Apple Tree

 This story is shared in one of the Fd Meeting:

Apple Tree
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by… the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday.One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.”The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”"Sorry, but I don’t have money… but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.”The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me” the tree said.”I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”"Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.”So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said.”I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you… ” the tree said.”I don’t have teeth to bite” the boy replied. “No more trunk for you to climb on”"I am too old for that now” the boy said.”I really can’t give you anything … the only thing left is my dying roots” the tree said with tears.”I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied.”Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit down with me and rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad… When we grow up, we leave them… only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble.No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy.You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that’s how all of us are treating our parent.

Recommend Good Books That You Have Read !

Hi readers , do recommend on any good books that you have read on the comment tagline. An additional short book review or impression will be excellant.

Feedback of First Session of Lord of The Rings

1) Let us know your impression you have for the first session of the reading club?

2) Recommend books that you want the Reading Club to share.

Feel free to pen down your thoughts on the comment tag.

Lord of The Rings – Hai Lee Sharing

Hai Lee’s Favourite Quote:

Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. “I said I’d carry him, if it broke my back,” he muttered, “and I will!” “Come, Mr Frodo!” he cried. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well.”

Excepts based on some of the themes Hai Lee shared :  

Friendship and Comradeship

What is friendship? True friendship implies a relationship where you empathize with your friends when they’re suffering and encourage them not to lose heart, and where they, in turn, empathize with you when you’re in the same situation and try to cheer you up. A friendship with those qualities flows as beautifully as a pure, fresh stream  

Fighting evil

Only by struggling against the extremes of evil can we live a life of extreme good. That effort will help us create a self that can transcend any obstacle or difficulty with ease and dignity. 

Each person’s uniqueness

Buddhism teaches the principle of cherry, plum, peach and damson, that all things have a unique beauty and mission. Every person has a singular mission, his or her individuality and way of life.  

Mission

A life lived without purpose or value, the kind in which one doesn’t know the reason why one was born, is joyless and lacklustre. To just live, eat and die without any real sense of purpose surely represents a life pervaded by the world of Animality. On the other hand, to do, create or contribute something that benefits others, society and ourselves and to dedicate ourselves as long as we live to that challenge – that is a life of true satisfaction, a life of value. It is a humanistic and lofty way to live. 

There may be times when life seems gloomy and dull. When we feel stuck in some situation or another, when we are negative toward everything, when we feel lost and bewildered, not sure which way to turn. At such times we must transform our passive mind-sets and determine, “I will proceed along this path”, “I will pursue my mission today.” When we do so, a genuine springtime arrives in our hearts and flowers start to blossom.

Leader

A leader doesn’t have to be anyone special, just a person who values and respects all people equally. A leader who is not one of the people will not be able to understand their hearts. A person bereft of simple humanity will not understand others’ feelings. No matter how high their positions, leaders have to remain of the people.

Feel free to discuss/ share any thoughts in the comment tagline.

12 Oct – Launch Of Reading Club

On the 12 Oct 2007, some 20 book enthusiasts turned up at SYC for the first reading club meeting. Our guest speaker for the night was Mr Chua Hai Lee who shared with us his love of reading and the buddhist lessons that could be learnt from them.The first book that we shared was Lord of the Rings.

Though the audiences were new but still views were shared and opinions were expressed. After about an hour of bookland adventure, we ended on a good note and probably a date for the next session.

As time is short for every session, this blog is created as a platform to continue where we have left off. Feel free to comment on the books and make this an interesting and enriching blog for everyone!