One of the most widely read 20th-century writers, Jin Yong enjoys enormous popularity in the Chinese-speaking world with the panoramic fictional universes he created through his novels. He modernized and elevated the wuxia genre to a new height by blending in poetry, history and fantasy, and his epic novels inspired countless film, television and video game adaptations. His creations have been compared to J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. By the time of his death in 2018, he was the best-selling Chinese author with over 100 million copies of his books sold worldwide.
The Renwen Society presents a lecture on July 9 on the literary giant by Prof. Chen Hong, a scholar on Jin Yong, with whom he had also maintained a close personal friendship. At the lecture, Prof. Chen will explore Jin Yong’s place in Chinese literature, unique features of his novels as well as his interactions and exchanges with the master.
A Distinguished Professor at Nankai University, Chen Hong had previously served as its Executive Vice President and is currently acting as the Deputy Director of the University Academic Committee and Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute. Prof. Chen has published numerous books on traditional Chinese culture, classical Chinese literature, history of Chinese literary criticism, and literature and religion. His major publications include History of Chinese Literature, History of Chinese Fiction, Chinese Culture: An Introduction, A Guide to the Four Major Chinese Classics, and Lectures on Chinese Classics.
金庸是当代通俗小说的大师级人物。斯人虽逝，作品不朽。金庸小说在海内外的学界、民间有着广泛的影响力，并潜在影响着文艺的方方面面，同时他的武侠小说作为一种文化现象也是学界评论的文化热点。金庸的作品之所以轶越群伦，所具有的丰厚文化底蕴是一个重要的原因。
华美人文学会特邀金庸研究专家、南开大学陈洪教授于美东时间7月9日晚8时至9时半（北京时间上午8时至9时半）做“挑灯看剑说金庸”专题讲座，介绍金庸的生平、著作以及讨论金庸的文学地位、金庸小说的六大法宝以及金庸小说中武侠文学的传统血脉。陈教授也将分析他与金庸先生的友情故事。
主讲人陈洪，南开大学“南开讲席教授”，国家级教学名师，入选 “国家高层次人才特殊支持计划领军人才”；原南开大学常务副校长，现任校学术委员会副主任、南开大学跨文化交流研究院院长；曾任教育部中文专业教学指导委员会主任、教育部学科发展与专业设置专家委员会副主任、教育部文化素质教育指导委员会副主任，天津市文联主席。现兼任复旦大学古代文学研究中心学术委员会主任、重庆国学院学术委员会主任、人民大学国学院学术委员等；担任《文学遗产》、《天津社会科学》等报刊编委，《文学与文化》杂志主编。
主要研究范围包括中华传统文化、中国古典文学、中国文学理论批评史、文学与宗教等诸多方面，著作主要有《中国小说理论史》《金圣叹传》《四大名著导读》《亦侠亦盗说水浒》《西游新说十三讲》《红楼内外看稗田》《结缘：文学与宗教》《中国小说通史》《中国文学发展史》《中国文化导论》《周易与人生智慧》《国学讲演录》等。