⚖️ Louis Cha (Jìnyōng / 金庸): The King of Wuxia or a Heartless Hypocrite?

HEARTLESS IT IS, for an uncrowned king of Hong Kong to let the mother of his four children—a true first-line partner and co-founder who helped build the huge Ming Pao empire from its struggling early days, even selling her own jewellery—live in obscurity after divorce, and ultimately die alone in a hospital, unknown to anyone, forsaken even by her own children.

HYPOCRITE IS ONE who preaches heroism, virtue, and tình nghĩa (loyalty and affection), but treats his former wife—whom he had undoubtedly drawn from or praised while she helped build his empire—so unfeeling, casting her aside once her sacrifice had served its purpose.

To understand the full depth of this betrayal and heartlessness, I have composed a musical tribute titled "朱枚 (Zhu Mei) - The Forsaken Soul", capturing the quiet tragedy behind the grand mythos of wuxia:

O 朱枚, 朱枚, the other day I came across your picture,

A forgotten figure you were in the world of 武侠 literature.

Co-founder of 明報, now looking so grim in your sickbed,

No family, no friends, no one beside you...

How is it that you landed in such a state?

Once a queen, now a ghost in your own old age.

You, who held the fire for every great novel,

The living soul of 黃蓉, the grace of 小龍女.

When you left, no more 武侠 works were written.

Can it be otherwise, when you were the source of inspiration.

The empire keeps on thriving,

but its once founding heart

had been forsaken.

Where are they now,

your family, coworkers and friends,

and those who live with 明報 wealth crowned?

To leave you to die in silence,

in a cold hospital room,

with not a single friend,

not a single blood kin about!

Alas, 朱枚, once so beautiful, so hard-working,

Staying up long nights, building stone by stone, that great empire.

Now it stands tall—a golden cage of vanity,

While you, ...you lie alone,

all alone

in the cold shadow

of grieving memory.

O 朱枚, 朱枚, …

– Vuong Thanh (王青) – the Multicultural Lyrical Scholar-Poet
From Water–Moon World
October 18, 2026