Fans should rest assured of Jin Yong Library's protection and application

The cover to the Biography of Jin Yong Photo: IC Top: The author page for Jin Yong's audio books on audio streaming platform Qingting FM

Authorities in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province said on Sunday that they have always attached great importance to protection of the city's cultural inheritance. The comments came after a netizen's recent call for the preservation of the Jin Yong Library in Jiaxing. As the library is of special cultural significance, the city is right in taking a prudent attitude to handling this issue. 

The netizen had written a message on his WeChat account asking the Jiaxing authorities not to demolish the library. His message that the library "was about to be bulldozed" immediately incurred widespread concern and heated discussions online.  

Right after that, the Jiaxing departments concerned announced through a post on Weibo that they were being "very careful" about the building, and prudent deliberations are taking place about "whether to leave or remove it." 

Jin Yong was a well-known writer of novels in the wuxia martial arts genre. Born in Zhejiang Province, he wrote dozens of books, many of which were adapted into films and TV dramas that were popular in China and abroad. Jin had millions of readers around the globe and he won the World Chinese Lifelong Achievements Award in 2008.  

The Jin Yong Library at Jiaxing University was built thanks to his own donation of HK$3 million ($382,224). The construction started in 1992 and finished in 1994. Covering an area of more than 2,300 square meters, the structure was designed in a mixture of southern Chinese residential and modern architecture. At its inauguration ceremony, Jin donated a further HK$200,000 to purchase books for the library, and in 2003 the 80-year-old writer came to give a lecture to the students of Jiaxing University at the library. 

In 2021, Jiaxing's cultural relic protection department said it would try to protect the library and its cultural resources, although a staff member said that the library is not under official protection as it is not an item of historical architecture. The city government has held several meetings to discuss its preservation. 

During the municipal two sessions earlier in 2023, political advisors proposed that the Jin Yong Library should be protected and rezoned to ensure its architecture can be integrated into the renovation of the area. In addition, further cultural resources should be delved to strengthen the research on Jin Yong's literature and build his cultural brand. 

According to an official in Jiaxing, since the Jin Yong Library is located in the north of the Yuexiu Campus of Jiaxing University, which was to be relocated, it was possible that the library might have also been included in the firstplan. The netizen's article was issued on World Book and Copyright Day, so it stirred up a sensation in the public opinion. 

However, it ran counter to the facts. After a professor sent a message on his Moments of WeChat calling for preserving the Jin Yong Library in early March, he had immediately extended this message to the Jiaxing cultural departments concerned. And it was more than ten days ago that they had decided to preserve the library. As Jiaxing is a famous historical and cultural city, the local government has always paid attention to cultural protection.

As the official Weibo message stressed, the Jin Yong Library has special cultural value, is an irreplaceable architecture of special cultural value. Right now  the authorities are optimizing its protection to better leverage its historical and cultural functions. At present, it will continue to solicit and listen to the opinions from all walks of life. Therefore, no matter what decision Jiaxing makes, Jin Yong's fans should rest assured about the status of the building.