''The Traitorous'' aka. ''Shaolin Traitorous'' () is a 1976

Hong Kong film The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, British Hong Kong, Hong Kong had a gr ...

directed by Sung Ting-mei (). It is a

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

film starring

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 ...

, Polly Kuan and Chang Yi.

Plot

The film portrays a conflict between a

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 ...

and two descendants of loyal ministers who are incriminated by the eunuch. As a child, Yung witnesses the murder of his parents by three

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

masters. His father, a

Ming 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 ort ...

loyalist was kicked out of his political post and now a Ming traitor named Tin Erh Keng (portrayed by Chang Yi) and his two lieutenants magnificently ride in on horseback to finish them off. Sammo Hung and Hau Pak-wai do most of the dirty work in a gruesome fight to the finish. Yung's mother dies wearing a bracelet with bells on it and this becomes an important plot device throughout the film as years later, he carries the bracelet and its sound reminds the killers of their deed. The child finds his way to Shaolin and patiently waits outside until admitted and is later accepted as a student by one of the elder monks. The training is painlessly short compared with other Shaolin tales and consists of carrying buckets up stairs, leaping out of pits, and actual combat training. One important skill is his ability to puncture objects with his fingers, as his main foe shares the same ability. Although the 'Bronzemen' make an appearance as statues, Yung has no trouble leaving the temple ready to find the killers and make mincemeat of them. With his backstory told, Yung now becomes the nameless hero who wanders into town and aids the afflicted while searching for the killers. An unexpected foe comes in the form of a woman named Hsiao Yun-erh ( Polly Kuan), Tin's adopted daughter. She challenges Yung in one of the better teahouse confrontations. The match is unresolved, although Yung has the upper hand in more ways than one. Ultimately, Yung has to deal with Hsiao, figure out a way to get past a wild kung fu multi-man formation known as the Tien Lo Set, and defeat the lieutenants in order to challenge Tin himself.

Cast and roles

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 ...

- adult Shang Yung () * Polly Kuan - Hsiao Yun-erh () * Chang Yi - Tin Erh Keng () *

- First Head ()

References

External links

* * *
The Traitorous
' at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The websi ...

Hong Kong martial arts films Films set in 17th-century Ming dynasty 1976 martial arts films Wuxia films Hong Kong films about revenge 1970s Hong Kong films {{martialart-film-stub