π Ni Kuang: The Visionary Writer Who Defied Censorship and Inspired Generations
π¬ "Raw & Real: GenZ Conversations with Kathryn
In this episode Kathryn discusses Ni Kuang. She is a student journalist with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services. This article was self edited.
π§ listen to Kathrynβs backstory here - she discusses her motivation & research as well.
Kathryn also wrote a short 2 min read article about Ni Kuang with a summary infographic.
Hong Kong literary giant Ni Kuang (εͺε‘) was an author and screenwriter of science fiction and martial arts stories. His works heavily satirize the Chinese Communist Party, leading to bans in China. Nonetheless, many Chinese netizens were inspired by his work, and mourned his death in 2022.
Born in 1935 in Shanghai, Ni dreamed of a better China. While working as a guard in Inner Mongolia, his outspokenness led to a prison sentence for being accused of damaging public property, so he fled to Hong Kong as a political refugee in 1957.
His first story, 'Buried Aliveβ, reflects his feelings of living in China. Since then, Ni became a prolific writer, penning over 300 books and 400 film scripts. He used aliens in his sci-fi to explore utopian ideals and ensure justice prevailed.
Ni spent 14 years in San Francisco with his wife (1992-2006). The Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed in 1984, agreeing to return Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997. He joined the diaspora and migrated to the US, feeling it would be safer. During his time in the US, he raised awareness in the local community, although his main contributions were made before his arrival. He wrote the plot for the Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury (1972), as well as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), which inspired the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan.
Ni has proven to have prophetic insight. His sci-fi novel Chasing the Dragon (1983) ends with a haunting line, βOn the surface, the big city looks the same as before, but once the original purpose of the city has disappeared, it becomes a dead city.β This eerily mirrored Hong Kong's post-2019 protests and the 2020 National Security Law, a stark reminder of his work's enduring relevance.
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