Mr Kwan Tak Hing

1905-1996

Actor

Actor Kwan Tak Hing began practising Cantonese opera at age 15 under a performer of warrior roles named Sun Bak. In 1921, he joined Chuk Wah Lin Opera Troupe and honed his technique by observing warrior virtuoso Liang Chau. He was asked to step in for Liang Chau when the latter was absent, which earned him the moniker “Sun Liang Chau” (“New Liang Chau”). Later, with Liang Chau’s approval, he officially adopted Sun Liang Chau as his stage name. In 1921, while performing Cantonese opera in the US, he was invited by the owner of Grandview Film Company, Chiu Shu Sun, to star in the first Cantonese talkie, Blossom Time (1933). It was a big hit that cemented his status as an actor. In The Knight of the Whip (1936), Kwan stunned the audience with his whipping skills. In 1949, he played the title role in The Story of Wong Fei-Hung: Part One (1949), the first in a long-running series of more than 70 films about folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Kwan was best known for portraying the “God of War” and “Wu Song” (also known as “Mo Chung”), a fictional hero from the classical novel Water Margin, in films such as Mo Chung’s Bloody Fight on Lion’s Tower (1956), Kwan-Ti, God of War (1956) and General Kwan Escorts His Sister-in-Law on a Thousand Mile Journey (1957). Not dissimilar to the gallant personas he portrayed, Kwan was active in charitable work and a keen proponent of Confucian teachings. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he organised morale-boosting trips to the barracks and publicity for the armed resistance against the Japanese. Such efforts earned him the title ‘the Patriot Artist’.