Birth name Zha Liangyong, also known as Louis Cha Leung-Yung, he was born in Haining, Zhejiang Province. Jin was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages, Chongqing Central University of Political Studies in 1944, and transferred to the Faculty of Law at Soochow University in Shanghai in 1946, where he majored in international law. Following China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he started his career in journalism, working for the  Southeast Daily  in Hangzhou and for  Ta Kung Pao  in Shanghai in 1946. In 1949, he started to work for  Ta Kung Pao 's Hong Kong office as a translator and editor. In 1959, he co-founded  Ming Pao  with Shen Baoxin in Hong Kong, serving as editor-in-chief for both  Ming Pao  and  Ming Pao Monthly , as well as president and editor-in-chief of  Ming Pao Evening News . He mainly wrote editorials for the newspaper.

From 1955 to 1972, he penned a total of 15  wuxia  novels, starting from  The Book and the Sword  and ending with  The Deer and the Cauldron , after which he officially retired from his career as a writer. His fascinating works feature an abundance of unexpected ups and downs, chivalry, touching love stories, and fascinating martial arts tricks. His works have been adapted into films, TV series, radio dramas, and plays, many of them available in English, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Malay, Korean, and other languages, making him highly influential among today's younger generations. Jin Yong was active in politics and academia, and was a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Drafting Committee. He received many honorary titles, including honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Hong Kong (1986), honorary professor at Peking University (1994), and honorary academician at the University of Cambridge (1996).