Kwan Tak-hing (27 June 1905 – 28 June 1996) was a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

martial artist and actor best known for his portrayal of

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

Wong Fei-hung Wong Fei-hung (born Wong Sek-cheung with the courtesy name Tat-wun; 19 August 1847 – 17 April 1925) was a Chinese martial artist, physician, and folk hero. Though he was considered an expert in the Hung Ga style of Chinese martial arts, his r ...

in at least 77 films, between the 1940s and the 1980s. No one else in cinema history has portrayed the same person as many times. In total he made over 130 films. He was elected in 1955 as the chairman of the

Chinese Artist Association of Hong Kong Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

. He was awarded the MBE (Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

) in 1982.

History

Kwan was born in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1905. He was the second child in the family. His father died of a disease at a young age. To supplement his family's income, as a boy, Kwan worked as a cowherd. When he was 12, he began work in construction. At the age of 13, he worked as a waiter in a restaurant in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

before joining a

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of ...

troupe under Cheng Hsin-pei. In 1928 at the age of 23, he married Chan Yat-chor (), the daughter of the actor known only by his nickname of "Bind-Legged Champ" (), and they had a son David Kwan Hon-chuen (). His film debut was in ''The Singing Lovers'' (aka ''Romance of the Songsters''), made in the US for the Grandview Studios and only the second Cantonese-language

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

ever made. His first starring roles came two years later in ''Song of the Yesterday'' (aka ''Yesterday's Song'') and ''Song of Sadness'' (both 1935). Kwan's first martial arts film was ''Knight of the Whip'' (1936). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was in a troupe of patriotic entertainers and had a price put on his head by the Japanese. The first film in which he starred as

was the ''Story of Huang Feihong part 1'' (1949) directed by Wu Pang and produced by the Yong Yao Film Company. The film included

Shih Kien Shek Wing-cheung (1 January 1913 – 3 June 2009), better known by his stage name Shih Kien, Sek Kin, Sek Gin or Shek Kin (), was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. Shih is best known for playing antagonists and villains in several early Hon ...

as the villain and Li Lan, the very first winner of the

Miss Hong Kong Pageant Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. Regulations Recruitment All participants ...

, and the first of many winners who would become famous actresses in

). This partnership was a huge success and spawned many sequels, exploring many ideas and situations used in later action films. In 1956, a total of 25 Wong Fei-hung films were released. Kwan worked on films with two of the students of

Lam Sai-wing Lam Sai-wing (1860 – 1943) was a Hung Gar martial artist. He was a student of the Chinese martial artist, acupuncturist, and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. "Since my young years till now, for 50 years, I have been learnin ...

(himself a student of the real Wong Fei-hung). First, Leong Wing-hang, who worked as action director on Wong Fei-hung films as well as other Kwan vehicles including ''The Five Heroes' Deadly Spears'' (1951). Later he worked with Lau Cham, father of

Lau Kar-leung Lau Kar-leung (; born 28 July 1934 – 25 June 2013) was a Hongkongers, Hong Kong Martial art, martial artist, filmmaker, Stage combat, fight choreographer and actor. He is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw ...

and

Lau Kar-wing Lau Kar-wing (born 1944) is a martial artist, Hong Kong film director, action choreographer and actor. Background Born in the Xinhui District of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China, Lau Kar-wing was the fourth child of Lau Cham (), a martial arts mas ...

. The Wong Fei-hung sequence of films ended in 1970 and Kwan went into semi-retirement. During this period, Kwan opened a martial arts school and a number of herbal centres, whose branded soup and an ointment for bruises were well known in Hong Kong.Logan, Bey. Commentary to the Hong Kong Legends edition of ''The Magnificent Butcher'' In 1974, Golden Harvest revived the role, pairing Kwan with

Sammo Hung Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a figh ...

in ''The Skyhawk''. Other films followed in which Kwan played his most familiar role – ''

Magnificent Butcher ''The Magnificent Butcher'' () is a 1979 Hong Kong Martial arts film, martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Sammo Hung, Kwan Tak-hing, Yuen Biao, and Wei Pai. The film is based on the story of Lam Sai-wing, one of t ...

'' (1979), ''Magnificent Kick'' (1980), and '' Dreadnaught'' (1981).

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

also aired a 13-part television series featuring Kwan as Wong Fei-hung in 1976. By this time, he was in his 70s and although he was doubled for the more athletic scenes, he still demonstrated remarkable fitness and suppleness. Kwan received an honorary MBE for his charitable work and contribution to the entertainment industry, in 1984. On 5 November 1984, Kwan married his second wife Kwan Yut-chur in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, whom he first met whilst travelling in the US, whilst raising money for the Chinese war effort. To the Chinese, Kwan embodied

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

virtues and patriarchal authority, and he is thought to have modelled his speeches on those of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

.Hunt, Leon. (2003). ''Kung Fu Cult Masters'' Wallflower Press Kwan appeared in cameo roles in ''

The Family Strikes Back ''The Family Strikes Back'' is a 1986 Hong Kong action comedy film produced, directed by and starring Dean Shek. The film focuses on a mad scientist who orders his assistants to kidnap victims for use in his experiments. When a martial artist ...

'' and ''

Aces Go Places 4 ''Aces Go Places IV'' is a 1986 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Ringo Lam and starring Samuel Hui, Karl Maka, Sylvia Chang and Sally Yeh. It is the fourth film in the ''Aces Go Places'' film series. Plot Cast * Samuel Hui as King ...

'' (both 1986). His final film appearance was in the 1994 family comedy film '' It's a Wonderful Life!'', at the age of 89, some 61 years after his acting career began. He died on the day after his 91st birthday of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. In Bey Logan's audio commentary for the film ''The Magnificent Butcher'', he states that though there is a grave marker to Kwan Tak-hing in

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

territory, his ashes were already taken to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to rest with those of his second wife.

Action style

Kwan was originally a practitioner of the Opera Martial Arts of Masters Sun Pak/Cheng Hsin-pei and Len Yuen-hang and the White Crane and Hung Gar martial art of Fok Hung. Throughout his life he made friends with famous martial arts exponents and cross trained extensively. Training in Wong Fei-hung's style of Hung Gar came from Leung Wing-hang and Lau Jam, both students of the famous Lam Sai-wing. His weapons speciality included the use of the bullwhip and the pole. Kwan was also known for his skills in the

lion dance Lion dance ( zh, s=舞狮, t=舞獅, p=wǔshī, c=, first=t) is a form of traditional dance in Culture of China, Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a Asiatic lion, lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good l ...

and

Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely Visual arts, visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held ...

Legacy

Although modern martial arts films often feature a lot of violence, at the end of ''The Magnificent Butcher'', Kwan's Wong Fei-hung saves the main villain (played by Lee Hoi-san) from being killed by Butcher Wing (Sammo Hung). This reflected Wong Fei-hung's portrayal in the original films, wherein he would defeat the villain but then heal him. Kwan became so associated with the mature Wong Fei-hung that other filmmakers would only portray the character as a younger person, including

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

playing Wong as a young man in ''

Drunken Master ''Drunken Master'' (), also known as ''Drunken Master The Beginning'', is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping and produced and co-written by Ng See-yuen. The film features much of the same crew as Yuen's '' ...

'' (1978), and

Yuen Woo-ping Yuen Woo-ping (; alias: Yuen Wo-ping; born 1945) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Stage combat, martial arts choreographer and film director who worked in Hong Kong action cinema and later Hollywood films. He is one of the inductees on the Avenue ...

depicting Wong as a child (played by actress Angie Tsang) in '' Iron Monkey'' (1993). When

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean Martial arts, martial artist and actor. With a Jet Li filmography, film career spanning more than forty years, Li is re ...

portrayed Wong in the ''Once Upon a Time in China'' series, many Chinese viewers felt he was too young.

Filmography

*'' The Guangzhou Adventure of the Fearless'' (1947) *'' One-Eye Dragon Strange Hero'' (1947) *'' Bloody Cloth'' (1948) *'' Fishing Village in the War'' (1948) *'' A Sword to Save a Country'' (1949) *'' A Woman's Heart is Never Mended'' (1949) *'' The Lady Protector and the Knight with the Whip'' (1949) *''Story of Huang Feihong'' (Part 1) (1949) *''Story of Huang Feihong'' (Part 2) (1949) *'' Xue Rengui's Bloody Battle at Liu Village'' (1950) *'' The Story of Huang Feihung Part 3: Battle by Liuhua Bridge'' (1950) *'' The Story of Huang Feihong Part 4: Death of Liang Huan'' (1950) *''Story of Huang Feihong'' (Part 5) (1951) *'' The Silver World of Stardom'' (1951) *'' The Five Heroes' Deadly Spears'' (1951) *''

The Brave Archer ''The Brave Archer'', also known as ''Kungfu Warlord'', is a 1977 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. The film was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh, starring Alexande ...

How Huang Feihong Saved the Lovelorn Monk from the Ancient Monastery How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidman ...

'' (1956) *'' The Life of Zuo Song'' (1956) *'' Chang E's Flight to the Moon'' (1956) *'' The White Crane Heroes'' (1956) *'' General Kwan Seduced by Diaochan Under Moonlight'' (1956) *'' Ne-Zha's Adventures in the East Sea'' (1957) *'' Devil's Sword'' (1957) *'' Huang Feihong's Fight at Henan'' (1957) *'' Huang Feihong's Three Battles with the Unruly Girl'' (1957) *'' How Huang Feihong Spied on Black Dragon Hill at Night'' (1957) *'' How the Boxer from Nanhai Stole the Dappled Horse at Night'' (1957) *'' Huang Feihong's Battle with the Lion King'' (1957) *'' Huang Feihong and the Battle of Saddle Hill'' (1957) *'' The War between Chu and Han'' (1957) *'' How Huang Feihong Smashed the Flying Dagger Gang'' (1957) *'' The Flag Which Conquered 7 Provinces'' (1957) *'' How Huang Feihong Fought a Bloody Battle in the Spinster's Home'' (1957) *'' World of Fist'' (1957) *'' Knife in Fish-gut'' (1957) *'' Huang Feihu's Rebellion'' (1957) *'' Ne Zha's Adventures in the Heavenly Palace'' (1957) *'' Fifteen Strings of Coins'' (1957) *'' General Guan Escorts His Brother's Wife on a 1,000 Mile Journey'' (1957) *''Huang Feihong's Rival for a Pearl'' (1957) *''Huang Feihong's Story: Five Devils against Two Dragons'' (1958) *''Huang Feihu's Rebellion'' (2nd sequel) (1958) *''Lest We Forget (1958 film), Lest We Forget'' (1958) *''Fan Lihua Bears a Son in the Golden-Light Militia'' (1958) *''How Xue Gang Smashed the Temple'' (1958) *''Huang Feihong's Fierce Battle'' (1958) *''How Huang Feihong Erases the Golden Bell Trap'' (1958) *''Huanf Feihong Seizes the Bride at Xiguan'' (1958) *''How Huang Feihong Stormed Phoenix Hill'' (1958) *''Massacre of the Innocents'' (1958) *'' Huang Feihong's Battle with the Bullies in the Boxing Ring'' (1958) *'' Huang Feihong's Victory at Ma Village'' (1958) *'' Huang Feihong Gets Rid of the Three Rascals'' (1958) *'' How Huang Feihong Used an Iron-Fowl Against the Eagle'' (1958) *'' Huang Feihohng Saves the Kidnapped Liang Kuan'' (1958) *'' The Flying Prince'' (1958) *'' Three Attempts to Steal the Cup of the Nine Dragons'' (1959) *'' The Rascal He on Fire'' (1959) *'' Huang Feihong on Rainbow Bridge'' (1959) *'' Shattering the Copper Net Array'' (1959) *'' Seven Heroes Spy on Chongxiao Bower'' (1959) *'' King Kong's Adventures in the Heavely Palace'' (1959) *'' How Wen Tianxiang Thrice Tricked Grand Sire Wen'' (1959) *'' White Lady's Reincarnation'' (1959) *'' Huang Feihong Trapped in the Hell'' (1959) *'' How Huang Feihong Defeated the Tiger on the Opera Stage'' (1959) *'' Huang Feihong's Combat in the Boxing Ring'' (1960) *'' How Na Zha Rescued His Mother from the Snake Mountain'' (1960) *'' Huang Feihong's Battle with the Gorilla'' (1960) *'' The Strange Hero Conquered the Dragon'' (1960) *'' Two Orphans Conquered the Dragon at Tianshan'' (1960) *'' Tao Lung Fighting against Fin Kum Kong'' (1960) *'' How Huang Feihong Smashed the Five Tigers'' (1961) *'' The Invincible Iron Fan'' (1961) *'' Killing of the Villains'' (1961) *'' Huang Feihong Meeting the Heroes with the Tiger Paw'' (1967) (also writer) *'' Huang Feihong: The Incredible Success in Canton'' (1968) *'' Huang Feihong: The Invincible 'Lion Dancer''' (1968) *'' Huang Feihong: The Eight Bandits'' (1968) *''The Magic Whip'' (1968) *'' Huang Feihong: The Duel Against the Black Rascal'' (1968) *'' Huang Feihong: Duel for the Championship'' (1968) *'' Huang Feihong: The Duel for the 'Sha-yu-qing''' (1969) *'' Huang Feihong: The Conqueror of the 'Sam-hong Gang''' (1969) *'' Huang Feihong's Combat with the Five Wolves'' (1969) *'' Huang Feihong in Sulphur Valley'' (1969) *'' Huang Fei Hong: Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation'' (1970) *''The Skyhawk'' (1974) *''

'' (1979) *'' The Magnificent Kick'' (1980) *'' Dreadnaught'' (1981) *''

'' (1986) *''

'' (1986) *'' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1994) *'' Cinema of Vengeance'' (1994 UK documentary) - Himself - Interviewee

References

External links