Shi Yanzi

Biography

Shi Yanzi, born Mai Zhisheng in 1920 in Shunde County, Guangdong Province, was a renowned Cantonese opera actor in Hong Kong. He was known as a "New School Martial Arts Scholar," excelling in both literary and martial arts skills, and was particularly adept at performing traditional opera repertoire. He rose to fame in the 1930s and became highly popular on stage during the 1940s and 1950s, starring in many martial arts films and Cantonese opera films in Hong Kong. In the 1970s, he and his wife Rhen Bing'er founded the "Yian Xin Sheng Opera Troupe," a highly respected and prestigious troupe in Hong Kong, and his martial arts scholar prowess can be seen in a documentary. Though younger in age than He Feifan, He Feifan still studied under him and addressed him as his teacher, and Luo Jiabao was also once a member of his troupe. In the 1980s, Shi Yanzi gave an interview on Hong Kong Radio's "Opera Stars Speak from the Heart" program, where he criticized He Feifan and Luo Jiabao for focusing solely on vocal performance while neglecting the five skills and five methods of Cantonese opera art. In 1984, he starred in the sitcom "Neighbors," co-produced by Hong Kong Radio Television and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, playing a family patriarch living in a newly completed housing estate and running a grocery store in the neighborhood market. In his later years, he enjoyed horse riding and Chinese painting, leading a colorful life. On July 24, 1986, after playing mahjong with friends, he suffered a sudden stroke and was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon, later transferred to St. Teresa's Hospital. He remained conscious during the first week and could speak with visiting friends, with famous opera stars Ren Jianhui and Bai Xuxian visiting him multiple times. His condition deteriorated in the second week, falling into a semi-comatose state with paralysis on his left side, until he passed away at 9:45 AM on September 9, 1986, at the age of 66. On September 12, a Buddhist funeral ceremony was held at Kowloon Funeral Home, and his body was cremated at the Kwai Chung Government Crematorium.