Childhood and early career
Before becoming the “great hero” of the swordplay novel industry, Kim Dung (real name Tra Luong Dung, 1924 – 2018) had a childhood associated with books. Born into a prestigious family in the 1920s and 1930s, he had access to cultural education from an early age. The passion for martial arts was aroused from the novel “Hoang Giang Nu Hiep”.
Image of the writer in his youth.
His first work was not a martial arts novel but an exam review guidebook “Gifted to those taking the secondary school entrance exam”. This book brought him a decent amount of money, enough to cover college tuition. With outstanding literary talent, Kim Dung is regularly published in newspapers, attracting the attention of many like-minded people. After graduating, he worked at a newspaper and accidentally met his first wife through a letter from a reader.
The marriage was tumultuous
Kim Dung's first wife was Do Tri Phan, the sister of a reader who admired his work. Her beauty captivated Kim Dung. In order to meet her, he often used the excuse of discussing novels with her younger brother. Kim Dung's talent and charm also conquered Do Tri Phan's heart, and the two began dating and then got married.
However, the happiness did not last long when Kim Dung received a transfer order to Hong Kong (China). Not wanting to be separated from his newlywed wife, he took her with him. But because of his busy work, Kim Dung does not have much time to spend with his wife. Feeling lonely, bored and dissatisfied in life, Do Tri Phan decided to return to his hometown and find new love. Kim Dung was “cuckolded” by his wife.
Kim Dung and his first wife.
It was not until he was 74 years old that he publicly announced the reason for the divorce. Many years later, when recalling her first marriage, Kim Dung still had not calmed down and once wrote: “The more beautiful a woman is, the easier it is to deceive others.” Perhaps when writing these lines, he was thinking of his ex-wife.
Career flourished and marriage collapsed for the second time
After her first marriage broke down, Kim Dung devoted all her energy to her writing career. His first martial arts novel “Shu Kiem An Cuu Luc” quickly became a hot topic of discussion and brought his name to the top of the publishing market.
Kim Dung continuously released many novels, bringing his name to the top. As a public figure, he received the admiration of many female fans, who considered him a hero. Among those fans, a female reporter named Chu Mai caught Kim Dung's eye. They quickly got married and had 4 children together (2 boys, 2 girls).
Chu Mai is a smart, beautiful woman and helped Kim Dung a lot during the difficult start-up period when he founded the newspaper “Minh Bao”. She sold her jewelry to support her husband's career. In the early stages, when the newspaper was still in difficulty, she also acted as the newspaper's only reporter. Chu Mai has to take care of things outside and take care of her children when she gets home, which is extremely difficult.
The writer has a successful career but a turbulent life.
However, as his career grew and he became rich, the relationship between Kim Dung and his wife gradually fell apart. He fell in love with movie star Ha Mong. However, Ha Mong was married to a rich businessman and had a very good family life, so she rejected Kim Dung.
Third marriage and family tragedy
After that, Kim Dung met Lam Lac Nghi, a cafe waitress 29 years younger than him, and quickly married her. To get to Lam Lac Nghi, Kim Dung had to pay a large sum of money to Chu Mai for a divorce, and at the same time, Lam Lac Nghi had to agree to have sterilization surgery.
His devoted wife of more than 20 years, Chu Mai, had to live in loneliness and poverty after the divorce. Years later, when she passed away, no relatives were present, but hospital staff helped with the paperwork. This incident caused Kim Dung's eldest son, who always advised his parents not to divorce, to collapse and commit suicide.
Kim Dung passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind classic swordplay works.
All four children of Kim Dung and Chu Mai had a bad fate: the eldest son committed suicide, the second son had a habit of stealing, the eldest daughter was born deaf, the second daughter married a second child. time.
Kim Dung's second son, Tra Truyen Thich, was sent to England to study accounting and worked in this field for more than 10 years. He then took charge of publishing his father's works.
In 2018, writer Kim Dung passed away at the age of 94 after a long battle with illness.
Source: 163
