Hong Kong martial arts novelist Huang Yi passed away on April 5th at the age of 65. Huang Yi, originally named Huang Zuqiang, was born in Hong Kong in 1952. He graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he specialized in traditional Chinese painting. In 1989, he quit his high-paying job and secluded himself on Lantau Island to focus on writing. Since the 1990s, while martial arts novels were in a decline, Huang Yi broke through the situation of "no martial arts after Jin Yong" and created three new genres: fantasy ("Interstellar Drifter"), time travel ("The Qin Chronicles"), and unconventional heroes ("The Legend of the Double Dragons of the Great Tang Dynasty"). He was hailed as the "new martial arts master." Huang Yi's two favorite martial arts masters were Jin Yong and Sima Ling. He was particularly influenced by Sima Ling's ability to depict relationships between people. Huang Yi's inspiration for writing martial arts novels came from his grandfather, who often rented martial arts novels for him to read. However, Huang Yi initially wrote science fiction novels before writing martial arts novels. His works often included plots of time travel and were bold and imaginative. At first, Huang Yi's martial arts novels were considered to have "no market," so they were not published for a long time. People in the publishing industry suggested that he rewrite science fiction novels. He created his first science fiction work, "The Moon Demon," in just one week, and from then on, he couldn't stop writing. Huang Yi subsequently wrote works such as "The Mystery of God" and "The Lake Sacrifice." By combining science fiction with martial arts, he created the genres of fantasy, time travel, and unconventional heroes, establishing the "new martial arts" genre. Since 1997, Huang Yi's novels have been published in mainland China. In 2012, after a five-year hiatus, Huang Yi returned with a new fantasy work called "The Sun and the Moon in the Sky" and officially authorized the online copyright to a website. The printed version of the book was released by Hunan People's Publishing House at the fastest speed, setting a record for the publication of Huang Yi's novels in mainland China. In the "2012 7th China Writers Rich List," Huang Yi topped the list with an annual royalty income of 2.4 million yuan, ranking 22nd, and won the "2012 7th China Writers Rich List Annual Martial Arts Master" award. Huang Yi's writing style has had a great influence on contemporary online novels, especially the popular genre of fantasy novels. Many online literature authors have a similar writing style to Huang Yi, and several of Huang Yi's novels have been adapted into online games, which are popular among young people. Many readers felt sad upon hearing the news of Huang Yi's passing. They said that among the five great contemporary martial arts masters, "Jin Gu Liang Wen Huang," only Jin Yong and Wen Ruian remain.
Yesterday, while scrolling through Weibo, I suddenly heard the news of Mr. Huang Yi's passing. At first, I didn't want to believe that this was true. Huang Yi's stories were imaginative and highly creative. It can be said that he is the founding father of various online literature genres. This is not an exaggeration at all. I have read "The Qin Chronicles" and "The Legend of the Double Dragons of the Great Tang Dynasty" when I was studying. It felt like opening the door to a new world, realizing that martial arts could be written in such a way. It was an extraordinary martial arts world. Among the five great martial arts masters, Jin Gu Liang Wen Huang, only the long-retired Jin Yong and Wen Ruian remain.