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The Swordsman (1990 Film)
''The Swordsman'', also known as ''Swordsman'', is a 1990 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film. King Hu was credited as the director but allegedly left the project midway, and the film was completed by a team led by producer Tsui Hark. The film is loosely adapted from Louis Cha's novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer''. The film was followed by two sequels: ''Swordsman II'' (1992) and '' The East Is Red'' (1993). Plot The story is set in 16th-century China during the Ming dynasty. Gu Jinfu, a eunuch from the spy agency Eastern Depot, leads a team to retrieve the Sunflower Manual, a martial arts manual stolen from the imperial palace. They track down and attack the thief, Lin Zhennan. Around this time, Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan, members of the Mount Hua Sect, encounter Lin Zhennan and save him. Before succumbing to his wounds, Lin Zhennan tells them to tell his son, Lin Pingzhi, where he had hidden the manual. While making their way to rendezvous with their Mount Hua Sect fellows, Lingh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Hu
Hu Jinquan (29 April 1932 – 14 January 1997), better known as King Hu, was a Chinese film director and actor based in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is best known for directing various ''wuxia'' films in the 1960s and 1970s, which brought Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films ''Come Drink with Me'' (1966), ''Dragon Inn'' (1967), and ''A Touch of Zen'' (1970–1971) inaugurated a new generation of ''wuxia'' films in the late 1960s. Apart from being a film director, Hu was also a screenwriter and set designer. Early life Hu was born in Beijing to a well-established family originating from Handan, Hebei. His grandfather was the governor of Henan in the late Qing Dynasty. His father had studied in Japan and was the owner of the local coal mine. His uncle was a high ranking official in the Republican government. Several of his brothers held high positions in the Communist government. Hu grew up in Beijing as a child. He emigrated to Hong Kong in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Workshop
Film Workshop Co. Ltd. (), is a Hong Kong production company and film distributor. It was founded in April 1984 by producer/director Tsui Hark and his now ex-wife, Nansun Shi. Already a director with box office hits, Tsui wanted to create a workshop where the foremost filmmakers could work on films with artistic merit, and at the same time, films that could be commercially rewarding for the financiers behind his projects. The company has not produced a film since 2017. Films In 1984, Film Workshop's first film, ''Shanghai Blues'', turned out to be both a critical and commercial success in Hong Kong; and so were the two subsequent films that Tsui directed: ''Working Class'' and ''Peking Opera Blues''. At this time, Tsui invited other directors to join in. With Tsui producing, John Woo directed ''A Better Tomorrow'', which grossed US$4.5 million locally to set a new record as the highest grossing motion picture in Hong Kong. After having a falling out during the making of ''A Bett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lam Ching-ying
Lam Ching-ying (; born Lam Gun-bo (); 27 December 1947 – 8 November 1997) was a Hong Kong stuntman, actor, and action director. As a practitioner of martial arts Lam starred in a number of notable films that found recognition outside Hong Kong including ''Encounters of the Spooky Kind'', ''The Prodigal Son'' and his best known role in '' Mr. Vampire''. Biography Childhood years He was born Lam Gun-bo (林根寶) on 27 December 1952 in the year of the Dragon, in Hong Kong. His family originated from Shanghai, in the People's Republic of China. Both of his parents made a living by doing catering services. Lam was the third child of six children. His family was poor, and his parents weren't educated. Lam attended Shun Yi Association Elementary School in Hong Kong, but eventually dropped out after 2 years. His father sent him to Chun Chau Drama Society to learn the Peking Opera style under the guidance of Madame Fan Fok Fa. Due to his slender and fragile body structure, Lam specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Ma
Fung Wang-yuen (22 September 1942 – 4 February 2014), better known by his stage name Wu Ma, was a Hong Kong actor, director, producer and writer. Wu Ma made his screen debut in 1963, and with over 240 appearances to his name (plus 49 directorial credits within a fifty-year period), he was one of the most familiar faces in the history of Hong Kong Cinema and is best known as the Taoist ghosthunter in ''A Chinese Ghost Story''. Early years Born Feng Hongyuan in Tianjin, Republic of China. At 16 he moved to Guangzhou and became a machinist before migrating to Hong Kong in 1960. In 1962, Feng enrolled in the Shaw Brothers acting course. Graduating a year later, he became a contract player for the studio and made his first appearance in ''Lady General Hua Mu-lan''. He then appeared in such films as ''Temple of the Red Lotus'' (1965), ''The Knight of Knights'' (1966) and ''Trail of the Broken Blade'' (1967). He took on the stage name 'Wu Ma' as it reflected the animal in the year of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sifu
Shifu () in Mandarin, or sifu in Cantonese, or sai hu in Hokkien, is a title for, and the role of, a skillful person or a master. The character 師/师 means "skilled person" or "teacher," while 傅 means "tutor" and 父 means "father." Though pronounced identically and bearing similar meanings, the two terms are distinct, and their usage is different. The former term, 師傅/师傅, bears only the meaning of "master," and is used to express the speaker's general respect for the addressee's skills and experience; it is, for instance, the term frequently used for cab drivers or other skilled laborers—thus, a customer may use this term to address an automotive mechanic. The latter term, 師父/师父, bears the dual meaning of "master" and "father," and thus connotes lineage in a teacher–student relationship. A tradesperson, for example, would address only their own teacher or master in this way; in the previous example, the mechanic's apprentice would address their master us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dugu Qiubai
Dugu Qiubai is a fictional character who is mentioned by name in three wuxia novels by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). He does not appear in any of the novels because he lived in an era long before the events of the novels took place. Nicknamed "Sword Devil" () to reflect his prowess in and devotion to the practice of swordplay, he attains the philosophical level of "swordsmanship without a sword", which means that he uses swordplay techniques in combat without the physical existence of a sword. Name Dugu Qiubai's family name Dugu (literally "alone") suggests that he was ethnically Xianbei. His given name "Qiubai" literally means "seek defeat". His full name thus roughly translates to "Loner Who Seeks Defeat". It represents his status as an invincible swordsman who is haunted by solitude as no one can defeat or equal him in swordplay. Fictional character biography ;''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' In this novel, set in the late Song dynasty, Yang Guo inherits Dugu Qiubai's Heav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jianghu
''Jianghu'' () is a term that generally refers to the milieu, environment, or sub-community in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set. The term is used flexibly, and can be used to describe a fictionalized version of Historical China (usually using loose influences from across the ~1000 BCE–280 AD period); a setting of feuding martial arts clans and the people of that community; a secret and possibly criminal underworld; a general sense of the "mythic world" where fantastical stories happen; or some combination thereof. Background In modern Chinese culture, ''jianghu'' is commonly accepted as an alternative universe coexisting with the actual historical one in which the context of the wuxia genre was set. Unlike the normal world, in the ''jianghu'' ''xia'' (wanderers, knight-errants) are free to act on their own initiative, including with violence, to punish evil and foes, and to reward goodness and allies. While the term literally means "rivers and lakes", it is broad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Hua Sect
The Mount Hua Sect, also known as the Huashan Sect, is a fictional martial arts sect mentioned in several works of ''wuxia'' fiction. It is commonly featured as one of the leading orthodox sects in the '' wulin'' (martial artists' community). It is named after the place where it is based, Mount Hua. The sect appears in three of Jin Yong's novels. There exists a real-life Mount Hua Sect, but it has scarcely any association with martial arts. It was founded in the Song dynasty by Hao Datong, one of the "Seven Immortals of Quanzhen", who also appears as a character in Jin Yong's ''Condor Trilogy''.Cha, Louis. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (射鵰英雄傳). ''Ming Pao'', 1957. However, in wuxia fiction, these two sects do not appear to have any connection at all. History In ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'', set in the Yuan dynasty, the Mount Hua Sect is briefly mentioned to be one of the six leading orthodox sects in the ''jianghu''.Cha, Louis. ''The Heaven Sword and Drag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park (Beijing), Zhongshan Park, the sacrificial Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Beihai Park, and the Jingshan Park. It is officially administered by the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420, and was the former Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty (since the Yongle Emperor) to the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of the Government of China, Chinese government for over 500 years. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and arti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Depot
Eastern Depot or Eastern Bureau () was a Ming dynasty spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs. It was created by the Yongle Emperor. History After the Yongle Emperor usurped the throne in 1402 from his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, he attempted to retain the officials who served in Jianwen's court, but some of them opposed him. In 1420, in order to suppress political opposition, Yongle decided to create the Eastern Depot (named as such because it was located east of the imperial palace), a spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs. They were responsible for spying on officials of any rank, including military officers, scholars, rebels and the general populace. The Eastern Depot would investigate and arrest suspects, and then hand them over to the Jinyiwei for interrogation. In the late Ming dynasty, the Eastern Depot had its own tactical forces and prisons, and became so powerful that even officials were ordered to kowtow to the Depot's leaders. The Eastern Depot lasted to 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines, or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han Chinese, Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump state, rump regimes ruled by remnants of the House of Zhu, Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the naval history of China, navy's dockyards in Nanjin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
