(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- Zha Liangyong (Cantonese Cha Leung–yung) writing under the pseudonym Jin Yong (Cantonese Gem Yung) and whose English name was Louis Cha. a literary luminary and acclaimed author of swashbuckling swordsman novels, died today at the age of 94, Hong Kong's Apple Daily reported.

Born in Haining City, Zhejiang Province, Louis Cha moved to Hong Kong in 1948. He wrote 15 novels reminiscent of the works of Alexandre Dumas and J.R.R. Tolkien in his life, such as Legends of the Condor Heroes and The Duke of Mount Deer. He was hailed as one of the great talents of Hong Kong. He founded the Chinese-language daily Ming Pao in Hong Kong in 1959 and won the You Bring Charm to the World Award in 2008.

His novels are popular among Chinese and with readers in places with large verseas Chinese communities. Vietnamese parliamentarians famously used the names of characters in his books as epithets to attack their opponents in the 1970s.

A new English translation of Cha's Legends of the Condor Heroes trilogy by Anna Holmwood appearing this year is winning the late wordsmith a new generation of devotees outside of his traditional circle of fans.

Editor: Ben Armour