Louis Cha receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from organizers of the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards on April 27, 2010. [Photo: CNSphoto]
Prolific Chinese martial-arts novelist Louis Cha, better known as Jin Yong, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from organizers of the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2009, in recognition of his contributions to local culture and arts, China News Service reports.
The awards ceremony was held in Hong Kong on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. The awards came in seven categories. As a result of his huge contribution to Chinese literature, Cha picked up the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.
Cha was born in Zhejiang Province and has spent most of his career in Hong Kong.
Cha's martial-arts stories have a huge following, with countless adaptations for film, television and theater. His works have also appeared as video games. It is estimated that his novels have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, making him the No. 1 best-selling Chinese writer alive today.
Cha also co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and has been a prominent figure in social politics. In recent years, he has also been actively involved in research and teaching.
Besides Cha's Lifetime Achievement Award, the remaining six awards on the night were: Outstanding Contribution in Arts (a new award this year); Best Artist 2008/09; the Award for Young Artist; the Award for Arts Education; the Award for Arts Promotion and the Award for Arts Sponsorship.
