''Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch'', also known as ''Last Eunuch in China'', (Chinese: 中國最後一個太監) is a 1988 Hong Kong

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Jacob Cheung Jacob Cheung Chi-leung is a Hong Kong film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His credits include '' A Battle Of Wits'' (2006), which was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Golden Bauhinia Awards, and ''Beyond the S ...

in his directorial debut and starring

Max Mok Max Mok ( zh, t=莫少聰; born 2 December 1962 in Hong Kong; also credited as Benny Mok, Benny Mok Siu-chung and Max Mok Siu-chung) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Mok was recruited by the Shaw Brothers Studio and has been a major film star si ...

in the title role of Liu Lai-shi. The film is based on

Ni Kuang Ni Cong (30 May 1935 – 3 July 2022), courtesy name Yiming, better known by his pen name Ni Kuang (also romanised Ngai Hong, I Kuang and Yi Kuang), was a Hong Kong-American novelist and screenwriter. He wrote over 300 Chinese-language ''w ...

's novel about eunuch

Sun Yaoting Sun Yaoting (Traditional Chinese: 孫耀庭, Simplified Chinese: 孙耀庭, Hanyu Pinyin: Sūn Yàotíng, Wade-Giles: Sun Yao-t'ing; 29 September 1902 – 17 December 1996) was the last surviving imperial eunuch of Chinese history. He was cas ...

Plot

During the chaos of the late

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 ...

, Liu Lai-shi (

) envies the glory of his fellow townsman and eunuch Siu-tak-cheung and asks his parents for purification. Soon, the Qing dynasty collapses, Liu failed to become an imperial eunuch and was sent to Beijing to study opera. Subsequently, he meets his childhood friend Chiu Tai (

Irene Wan Irene Wan Bik-ha (born Wen Bik-ha on 30 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and producer. Her father was an officer of the Republic of China Army. In her early years, she was known as a "sexy beauty". After her marriage, Wan faded out of ...

). Liu intends to lead a normal family life, but unable to do so after his identity of a eunuch was exposed. The opera troupe leader (

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 ...

) sympathizes Liu's life experiences and tried to arrange him to the palace to be China's last eunuch. In 1924,

Xuantong Emperor Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

was expelled from the

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 includ ...

and Liu also began his wandering career.

Cast

as Liu Lai-shi, the main protagonist, China's last

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 ...

as Chiu Tai, Liu Lai-shi's childhood friend *

as Liu Lai-shi's teacher, the opera troupe leader (guest star) *

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

as Han Ming, Chiu Tai's husband and a revolutionary (guest star) *

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 directoria ...

as Lord Ting, the head eunuch (guest star) *

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 ...

as Liu Chang-fu, Liu Lai-shi's father (guest star) *

Gua Ah-leh Grace Gua Ah-leh (born 2 June 1944) is a Taiwanese actress and singer. Gua has portrayed over 200 roles in film and television since 1965. She has won the Golden Horse Awards 4 times and the Golden Bell Awards twice. Life and career Also known ...

as Liu Lai-shi's mother *Pauline Wong as Sister Hung, a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

Manfred Wong Manfred Wong (; Wong Man-Chun; born 5 June 1957, in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong radio personality, film producer, screenwriter, film director and actor. He is best known for his involvement as a writer for the ''Young and Dangerous'' film series. ...

as Eunuch Lee *

Peter Mak Peter Mak is a Hong Kong film director and actor. The films he has directed include '' The Wicked City'', ''All Night Long'', and '' Enemy Shadow''. As an actor he has appeared in ''Shu zhi suo zhi '', ''Happy Sixteen'', ''Lai Shi, China's Last Eun ...

Alfred Cheung Alfred Cheung '' (; born 28 December 1955) is a Chinese actor, director, writer and producer. Early life Cheung's mother, with one suitcase and two children, left their hometown in China in order to find better opportunities in Hong Kong. Cheung ...

as the district chief * Anthony Chan as a Japanese interpreter * James Tien as General Lei *Sit Hon as Lord Chao * Sihung Lung as Fu's landlord *Ng Min-kan, Yuen Miu, Chow Kam-kong and Pang Yun-cheung as opera troupe members *Lee Chi-kit as a Japanese soldier *

Vincent Chiao Chiao En-chun (born 7 November 1967), also known as Vincent Chiao, is a Taiwanese actor and Mandopop singer. He is best known for portraying heroes in costume television dramas. Filmography Films Television series Discography Albums / E ...

as Adjutant

Theme song

*''Misconception'' (錯覺) **Composer:

Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo has ...

**Lyricist: Cheng Kwok-kong **Singer:

Box office

The film grossed HK$15,624,171 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 4 March to 31 March 1988 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Accolades

External links

* *
Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch
' 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 ...

* {{Jacob Cheung 1988 films 1980s historical drama films Hong Kong historical drama films 1980s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Jacob Cheung Films set in 20th-century Qing dynasty Films set in Beijing Films set in the 1920s Golden Harvest films 1988 directorial debut films 1988 drama films 1980s Hong Kong films