Yu Zhanyuan

Biography

Yu Zhanyuan was born on September 27, 1908 in Beijing to a family of opera performers; his father was Yu Yonghai. In the 1940s he gained fame in Shanghai as a Peking Opera wusheng (martial arts performer), serving as a renowned martial arts instructor and backstage stage manager for martial scenes. Due to political changes in mainland China, he relocated to Hong Kong in his middle years and founded the Chinese Drama Research Academy in a tenement building near Breezy Street in Sheung Wan in the 1960s. He trained numerous disciples, most notably the "Seven Little Fortunes" consisting of seven members: Hung Kam-bo, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Kwai, Yuen Wah, Yu Wu, and Yu Tai, along with over 70 other students including Yuan Ching, Yuan Chau, Yuan De, Yuan Jun, Yuan Bin, and Yuan Bao. In 1973 he and his wife Li Huifang emigrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles in his later years. He passed away on September 8, 1997 at the age of 88; his remains were taken to the Chinese Funeral Parlour for memorial rites and he was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park. His disciple Hung Kam-bo portrayed him in the 1988 film "Painted Faces", which won the Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film, and Hung also won Best Actor at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Award. In 2022, his son Tony Hung directed a short segment titled "Training" within the film "Septet: The Story of Hong Kong", depicting his own childhood martial arts training on rooftop terraces.