麥嘯霞

简介

Mak Siu Ha was born on 11 February 1904 in the Xiguan district of Guangzhou, originally from Xiqiao in Nanhai, with the art name Hongze. He graduated from the Guangzhou Military Academy in 1921 and worked as a teacher. In 1928 he taught at Kei Lik Primary School on Hong Kong Island. Through the introduction of Lo Yau-yung and Chan Tin-chung, he worked as a scriptwriter for the Cantonese opera troupes Da Lo Tin and Hok Sin Sing, co-writing plays with Ma Si-tsang and Xue Jue-xian, including "The Top Scholar on Stage" and "The Sound Shakes the White Gate Tower." He also wrote famous songs such as "The Half-Open Rose." He participated in over twenty films throughout his life. His screen debut was the 1933 film "Conscience," where he served as actor, director, and songwriter. His final work was the 1940 film "Blood Sprayed on the Peach Blossom Fan," where he was director and screenwriter. In 1940 he authored the book "A Brief History of Guangdong Drama," documenting influential Cantonese opera songwriters from the Ming and Qing dynasties. He participated in a charity performance for the Hong Kong Women's New Movement Association in 1940, writing the opera "Courageous Lotus Heart" free of charge to encourage Chinese resistance against Japanese invasion. On 17 December 1941, during the Japanese bombing of Hong Kong, Mak Siu Ha was killed on Hong Kong Island and his body was never found. After his death, a charity art exhibition was held in 1948 to raise funds for the establishment of the "Mak Siu Ha Memorial School."