use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , occupation = Actress, martial artist , years_active = 1970s–1992 , spouse = , children = , module = Angela Mao Ying (born Mao Fuching; 20 September 1950) is a Taiwanese actress and

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

who appeared in

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

in the 1970s. One of the most prominent martial artist actresses of her time, she is nicknamed "Lady Whirlwind" and "Lady Kung Fu". She was positioned as a female version of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

Biography

Mao was born as Mao Fuching in 1950. She is the daughter of Mao Yung Kang,

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

star, who moved from China to Taiwan in 1949. Her family was originally from

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province. Angela was originally a

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

before becoming an action film actress; at a young age she attended ballet classes before joining The Fu Shing Peking Opera in 1958. Mao trained in

hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...

and other martial arts at an early age. This would later help her achieve success in martial arts movies. When she was 17, she was discovered by

Huang Feng Huang Feng (黃楓) (born 7 January 1919) is a Chinese-born Hong Kong-based film director, screenwriter and actor. Huang was a native of Hefei, Anhui, China. He started his career as an actor, then became a screenwriter and assistant director ...

, an action movie director known for discovering

Sammo Hung 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 fight choreog ...

and

Carter Wong Carter Wong (born Wong Chia-ta on March 22, 1947) is a Chinese actor and martial artist, who is mainly known for roles in Kung Fu action movies. The biggest movies he was featured in are ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (1986), and ''Yong zheng ...

. Feng was looking for a young woman who knew martial arts to be the leading lady for his upcoming sword fight film, called ''

The Angry River ''The Angry River'' (Chinese title: 鬼怒川) is a 1971 Hong Kong fantasy action film directed by Huang Feng. It was the first film produced by Golden Harvest. Plot Lan Tin-lung, master of the Liangyi Castle, calls upon all upright swordsm ...

''. With her experience in acting and martial arts, Angela quickly began taking lead roles in other action films in Golden Harvest productions including ''Hapkido'' (Lady Kung-fu), ''

Lady Whirlwind ''Lady Whirlwind'' a.k.a. ''Deep Thrust'' () is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Huang Feng, starring Angela Mao. Plot A young man Ling Shih-hua (Chang Yi) is severely beaten by Japanese mobsters and left for dead on ...

'', and ''

The Fate of Lee Khan ''The Fate of Lee Khan'' (Chinese: 迎春閣之風波) is a 1973 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film, directed by King Hu. Plot During the waning years of the Yuan Dynasty, Mongol general Lee Khan and his sister Wan’er travel to the desolate Spring Inn i ...

'' (directed by

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 ...

). She was also successful in other movies such as ''

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

'', '' The Himalayan'' and many others. Internationally, she found fame for her role as the doomed sister of

's character in 1973's ''

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

''. Although Bruce Lee died shortly after the production of the movie, Mao was able to train and develop a friendship with him. Following the incredible success of her short-lived role in ''Enter The Dragon'', many of her films began to be released in the west. ''Hapkido'' was the first to gain a wider audience. The film also stars Carter Wong, Sammo Hung, her real life teacher

Hwang In-Shik Hwang In-shik (born September 13, 1940) is a Korean actor and hapkido teacher. He is known for his work in various Hong Kong martial arts films such as Bruce Lee's ''Way of the Dragon'', Jackie Chan's ''The Young Master'' and Angela Mao's ''Ha ...

, and also Ji Han Jae. Also working on ''Hapkido'' were an uncredited 'bootmaster'

Leung Siu-Lung Bruce Leung Siu-lung (born Leung Choi-sang; 28 April 1948) is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor who has appeared in many Hong Kong martial arts movies. He often appeared billed as "Bruce Leung", "Bruce Liang", "Bruce Leong", or "Bruce Leung Siu ...

who was helping Sammo with the fight choreography, and a stuntman named

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

. Mao continued with a string of successful movies through the seventies. She and actor Carter Wong became a bit of a kung fu duo act in a series of kung fu classic movies. One of their most popular films is ''

When Taekwondo Strikes ''When Taekwondo Strikes'' (Chinese: 跆拳震九州, also known as ''Sting of the Dragon Masters'' and ''Taekwondo Heroes'') is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts film directed and written by Feng Huang, and produced by Raymond Chow. The film is kn ...

'' which is also the only film made by

Jhoon Rhee Rhee Jhoon-goo (January 7, 1932 – April 30, 2018), commonly known as Jhoon Rhee or Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, was a South Korean master of Taekwondo who is widely recognized as the 'Father of American Taekwondo' for introducing this martial art ...

. Mao spent time training with Rhee during the making of this movie. After her Golden Harvest contract expired, she returned to Taiwan and for the next five years continued to make kung fu movies. Mao married

Kelly Lai Chen Kelly Lai Chen (; born Hsi Chungchien; September 3rd, 1933 – April 3rd, 2018) was a Hong Kong actor born in Shanghai. He appeared in more than 40 films in the 1950s and 1960s, and was best known for his portrayals of sensitive young men. He wa ...

in 1974 and gave birth to a daughter, Hsi Pui Sze, in 1976. They divorced in 1980. She later remarried and had a son, George King, who was born in 1983. She retired from acting in 1992 to devote herself to her family. She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1993, where she and her family run three restaurants. Searching for Lady Kung Fu, ALEX VADUKUL, New York Times, NOV. 4, 2016
/ref>

Filmography

*''

'' (1970) – Lan Feng *''Thunderbolt'' (1970) *' (1971) *''

Deadly China Doll ''Deadly China Doll'' also known as ''The Opium Trail'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Huang Feng, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Angela Mao use both this parameter and , birth_date to display ...

'' (1972) – Hei Lu *''

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...

'' (1972) – Yu Ying *''

'' (1972) – Miss Tien *''

'' (1973) – Su Lin *''

Back Alley Princess The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column ru ...

'' (1973) – Ying *''

'' (1973) – Wan Ling-ching *'' The Two Great Cavaliers'' (1973) *''

'' (1973) *'' Naughty! Naughty!'' (1974) *'' Stoner'' (1974) – Angela Li Shou-Hua *'' The Invincible Kung Fu Trio'' (1974) *''The Tournament'' (1974) *'' The Himalayan'' (1975) *''International Assassins'' (1976) – Queen of Cambodia *''Lady Karate'' (1976) *''Duel with the Devils'' (1977) – Chu *''Invincible'' (1976) *''

A Queen's Ransom ''A Queen's Ransom'', (Chinese: 鱷潭群英會) also known as ''International Assassin'', is a 1976 Hong Kong action film about a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. The film was written and directed by Ting Shan-hsi and starred Jimmy Wang Y ...

'' (1976) *''The Eternal Conflict'' (1976) – Fei Fei *''Duels in the Desert'' (1977) *''

Broken Oath ''Broken Oath'' () is a 1977 Hong Kong Mandarin-language kung fu film directed by Jeong Chang-hwa, a South Korean director. The film was produced by Golden Harvest. It is an unofficial remake of the 1973 film '' Lady Snowblood'', itself an ada ...

'' (1977) – Lotus Lin *''The Damned'' (1978) *''Iron Maiden'' (1978) – Chin Lun *'' Scorching Sun, Fierce Wind, Wild Fire'' (1978) *''

Return of the Tiger ''Return of the Tiger'' is a 1978 martial arts Bruceploitation film starring Bruce Li and a sequel to ''Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger''. Synopsis Chang Hung, who works for a rival organization, and his female partner devise an elaborate plan ...

'' (1978) *''

Dance of Death The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...

'' (1979) *''Snake Deadly Act'' (1979) – Brothel Madam *''Flying Masters of Kung Fu'' (1979) *''Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion'' (1981) *''The Stunning Gambling'' (1982) *''Ninja, the Violent Sorcerer'' (1982) – Anna (uncredited) *''

Book and Sword Chronicles ''Book and Sword Chronicles'' is a Taiwanese television series adapted from Jin Yong, Louis Cha's novel ''The Book and the Sword''. It was first broadcast on Taiwan Television, TTV in Taiwan in 1984. Cast * Yu Tien-lung as Chen Jialuo / Qianlong E ...

'' (TV series) (1984) – Luo Bing *''

Eastern Condors ''Eastern Condors'' () is a 1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeof ...

'' (1987) (extra) *''Devil Dynamite'' (1987) *''Ghost Bride'' (1992)

References

*Zhiwei Xiao, Yingjin Zhang: ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''. Taylor & Francis, 2002, , S. 237 () *Ric Meyers: ''Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book''. Eirini Press 2001, , S. 172–174 () *E. K. Padberg
''Angela Mao Ying: de kung fu dame''
– article in a Dutch magazine

External links

*
The Films on Video of Angela MaoHong Kong Information of Angela Mao
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mao, Angela 1950 births Taiwanese film actresses Living people Taiwanese female martial artists Hapkido practitioners