Fong Sai-yuk (or Fang Shiyu) is a semi-fictional Chinese martial artist and

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

from Zhaoqing City,

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Fong was also associated with Hung Hei-gun and the

Five Elders In Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin (), also known as the Five Generals are the survivors of one of the destructions of the Shaolin temple by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647 or in 1732. The or ...

of the

Southern Shaolin Monastery The Southern Shaolin Monastery or Nan-Shaolin () is the name of a Buddhist monastery whose existence and location are both disputed although associated ruins have been identified. By tradition, it is considered a source of Nanquan. Establishment ...

. He was a disciple of Shaolin and his martial arts techniques were considered to have contributed to development of Hung Ga Kuen. He was first mentioned in ''

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 ...

'' stories dating from the

(1644–1912), such as ''Shaolin Xiao Yingxiong'' (少林小英雄; ''Young Hero of Shaolin''), ''Wan Nian Qing'' () and ''Qianlong You Jiangnan'' (乾隆游江南; ''The

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

Visits

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

''). Although Fong Sai-yuk is a fictional character, the stories about him treat him as if he really existed. He has been the subject of various novels, movies and dramas. Stories about Fong have been adapted into films and television series since the 1950s. The most notable ones are the 1993 Hong Kong film '' Fong Sai-yuk'' and its sequel, which both starred

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years ...

Background

His father, Fong Tak (方德; Fang De), was a wealthy merchant, while his mother, Miu Tsui-fa (苗翠花; Miao Cuihua), was a martial arts expert and the daughter of Miu Hin, one of the

Five Elders of Shaolin In Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin (), also known as the Five Generals are the survivors of one of the destructions of the Shaolin temple by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647 or in 1732. The ori ...

who escaped the Shaolin massacre. Sai-yuk trained in martial arts from his mother from an early age. When he was still 10 years old, Sai-yuk was challenged by Lei Lao Ho to a duel and accidentally killed him in a battle. Following the fight, the local authorities were ordered to find Sai-yuk and beat him to death. To escape those who pursued him over the killing of the aforementioned master, Sai-yuk ran to

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

Shaolin Temple to hide from pursuers. There, he was accepted by the temple occupants and trained with them in martial arts. Due to this incident,

Bak Mei Bak Mei () is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial g ...

and his disciples decided to seek revenge on Sai-yuk. Because of this, Sai-yuk left the Shaolin temple to train more in Shaolin Martial arts and traditional techniques.

Portrayals in media

;Films * ''

Fong Sai Yuk Sets Fire to Hung Wan Temple Fong may refer to: *the Bulu tribe of the Beti–Pahuin people of Cameroon *various Chinese surnames **the Hong Kong Government Cantonese romanization of the surname Fāng () **the Taishanese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Kuàng () **a ...

'' (1949), a Hong Kong film. * ''

The Adventures of Fong Sai Yuk ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1950), a Hong Kong film. * ''

Fong Sai Yuk in Yun Yiang Cave Fong may refer to: *the Bulu tribe of the Beti–Pahuin people of Cameroon *various Chinese surnames **the Hong Kong Government Cantonese romanization of the surname Fāng () **the Taishanese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Kuàng () **a ...

'' (1950), a Hong Kong film. * ''

The Prodigal Boxer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1972), a Hong Kong film produced by the South Sea Film & Co., H.K. 香港南海影業公司, starring Meng Fei. * '' Heroes Two'' (1974), a Hong Kong film produced by Chang's Film Co. 長弓電影公司 and distributed by the

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

邵氏兄弟有限公司, starring Fu Sheng. * ''

Men from the Monastery A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

'' (1974), a Hong Kong film produced by Chang's Film Co. 長弓電影公司 and distributed by the

邵氏兄弟有限公司, starring Fu Sheng. * '' Shaolin Temple'' (1976), a Hong Kong film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Fu Sheng. * '' The 36th Chamber of Shaolin'' (1978), a Hong Kong film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. * '' Return to the 36th Chamber'' (1980), a Hong Kong film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. * '' Disciples of the 36th Chamber'' (1985), a Hong Kong film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Hsiao Ho. * '' The Young Hero of Shaolin'' (1984–86), a two-part Chinese film directed by Wei Haifeng, starring Shi Baohua. * '' Fong Sai-yuk'' (1993), a Hong Kong film directed by

Corey Yuen Corey Yuen (; born Ying Gang-ming (殷元奎); 15 February 1951) is a Hong Kong director, film director, producer, action choreographer, and former actor. Yuen was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes. As an ...

, starring

. The film featured a cross-over between Fong Sai-yuk and the ''wuxia'' novel ''

The Book and the Sword ''The Book and the Sword'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised between 8 February 1955 and 5 September 1956The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), ''Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan'' (武 ...

'' by

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...

. * '' Fong Sai-yuk II'' (1993), a sequel to ''Fong Sai-yuk''. * ''

Burning Paradise ''Burning Paradise'' (''Foh Siu Hung Lin Ji'' 火燒紅蓮寺) is a 1994 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam. The film is set in the Qing dynasty and stars Willie Chi Tian-sheng as Fong Sai Yuk and Yang Sheng as Hung Hei-kwun. The fil ...

'' (1994), a Hong Kong film directed by

Ringo Lam Ringo Lam Ling-Tung (, Cantonese: Lam Ling-tung, 8 December 1955 – 29 December 2018) was a Hong Kong film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Hong Kong in 1955, Lam initially went to acting school. After finding he preferred making f ...

, starring

Willie Chi Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scre ...

. ;Television series * '' The Young Heroes of Shaolin'' (1981), a Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, starring Stephen Tung Wai. * ''

The Kung Fu Master ''The Kung Fu Master'' is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language martial arts film written and directed by Abrid Shine and produced by Shibu Thekkumpuram under the banner of Fullon Studio Frames. The film stars Neeta Pillai, Sanoop Dinesh and Jiji S ...

'' (1994), a Hong Kong television series produced by ATV, starring

Nick Cheung Nick Cheung Ka-fai (; born 2 December 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and director. Background He was formerly a Royal Hong Kong Police officer for four years, but he left the job after his request to be transferred to the criminal investigat ...

. * '' The Emperor and I'' (1994), a Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, starring

Marco Ngai Marco Ngai Chun Kit (Traditional Chinese: 魏駿傑) is an actor in Hong Kong and has been in many TV series such as ''Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1997(or 98)'', ''To Catch the Uncatchable'' (2004) and one of the favourites, Armed Reaction se ...

. * '' Hero of the Times'' (1999–2000), a Singaporean-Taiwanese television series produced by TCS and

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

, starring

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

. * '' Young Hero Fong Sai Yuk'' (1999), a Hong Kong television series produced by ATV, starring

Dicky Cheung Dicky Cheung Wai-kin (; born 8 February 1965) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Early childhood Cheung grew up with a physically abusive father. His parents divorced when Cheung was 14. Cheung was educated in St Francis Xavier's College in Ho ...

. * ''

Southern Shaolin The Southern Shaolin Monastery or Nan-Shaolin () is the name of a Buddhist monastery whose existence and location are both disputed although associated ruins have been identified. By tradition, it is considered a source of Nanquan. Establishment ...

'' ( 南少林) (2002), a ..... television series produced by ..... starring Wu Jing. * '' Gaishi Yingxiong Fang Shiyu'' (2011), a Chinese television series produced by Zhejiang Great Wall Entertainment, starring Yang Zi.

References

* Wang Li, Tang Zuofan, Zhang Wanqi. "Dictionary of Commonly Used Ancient Chinese Characters (5th Edition) (June 1, 2016)". Qing dynasty people People from Zhaoqing Buddhist folklore Chinese folklore Chinese martial artists Fictional characters from Guangdong {{PRChina-martialart-bio-stub

Background

Portrayals in media

See also

References