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Jin Yong must be the most popular writer in China. His Kungfu novels are loved by people from all walks of life.
In Jin Yong's Novels, Dali is undoubtedly an important place. It was the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom from the 8th through 13th centuries. "Yi Yang Finger" and "Magic Six-Finger Sword", which could only be practiced and mastered by the members of royal family of the Nanzhao Kingdom, represent one of the highest achievements of Chinese martial arts.
All members of royal families are not only kungfu masters, but also camellia lovers. They can cultivate the most beautiful and unusual species of camellia flowers in the world. In "Tian Long Ba Bu", readers are fascinated by a lot of vivid depiction of camellia flowers in Dali.
One interesting thing about Jin Yong is that in 1997, more than 20 years after he finished his 14 Kungfu novels, he had his first visit Dali. Why did Jin Yong have such a fascination with Dali, a place he had never been, one will never know. Maybe everything Jin Yong writes about Dali in his novels is real. Why not go and discover it yourself?
Western readers may read Oliver Chang's " Of the popularity of Kungfu novels in China " and visit http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~fangw/jinyong.html to familiarize yourselves with Chinese Kungfu novels. If you get really interested, then read one of Jong Yong's Kungfu novels The book and the sword in English translated by Graham Earnshaw!
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