Chor Yuen

Biography

Chor Yuen, originally named Cheung Po-kin, was born on October 8, 1934 in Guangzhou, with ancestral roots in Meixian, Guangdong. He was a renowned Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and actor. His father was Cantonese film and television actor Cheung Wood-yau, and his wife was Cantonese opera and film actress Nam Hung. Chor Yuen actively participated in school drama performances during his youth and made his film debut in 1954 in "The Virtuous Queen of the West." He had studied chemistry at Sun Yat-sen University but came to Hong Kong in 1955 for treatment of a gastric ulcer and decided to stay. In 1956, he began working as an assistant director and screenwriter under directors Ng Wui and Qin Jian, with his first screenplay being "A Flying Flower." In 1958, he directed his first film, "Lakeside Grass." In the 1950s, he primarily made Cantonese films across genres including melodramas, comedies, thrillers, musicals, and family ethics films. As Cantonese cinema declined in the late 1960s, he transitioned to Mandarin films and became especially known for adapting Gu Long's wuxia novels, earning recognition as one of the "Four Great Directors" of Shaw Brothers alongside Li Han-hsiang, King Hu, and Chang Cheh. In 1973, he directed "The House of 72 Tenants," which revived Hong Kong Cantonese film production. He continued directing various film genres and acting in film and television through the 1980s and 1990s. Chor Yuen directed nearly 130 films in his lifetime, making significant contributions to Hong Kong cinema. He received the Hong Kong Film Award for Professional Spirit in 1998 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He gradually withdrew from the film industry in the 2000s and passed away on February 21, 2022.