King of Beggars
Encyclopedia
King of Beggars is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Gordon Chan
, starring Stephen Chow
, Sharla Cheung
, Ng Man-tat and Norman Tsui.
The theme song Cheung-lo Man-man Bun-nei Chong (長路漫漫伴你闖) was performed by George Lam
in Cantonese
.
in China, the film features a fictionalized story of martial artist So Chan (蘇燦), popularly known as Beggar So (蘇乞兒), one of the Ten Tigers of Canton
.
So is the spoiled son of the wealthy General So in Canton
. Although he is lazy and illiterate, So excels in martial arts. While visiting a brothel, So falls in love with Yu-shang, a courtesan who dares to behave rudely towards him. So vies for Yu-shang's services with Chiu Mo-kei, a magician and imperial official. By outbidding Chiu, So inadvertently foils Yu-shang's attempt to assassinate Chiu to avenge her father, who had been murdered by Chiu. In order to get rid of So, Yu-shang agrees to marry him if he can win the title of Martial Arts Champion (武狀元).
To win Yu-shang's hand-in-marriage, So enters the imperial martial arts contest to win the championship title. So's father helps him cheat his way through the written examination, while his personal expertise in martial arts carries him through the physical tests. So eventually emerges as champion, but just as the emperor is about to grant him the title, Chiu reveals that So is illiterate, proving that he cheated in the written examination. The enraged emperor orders So's family properties and possessions to be confiscated and decrees that they shall remain as beggars for the rest of their lives.
So does not adapt well to his new life. He encounters Chiu on the streets and Chiu breaks his legs, preventing him from practising martial arts again. So is introduced by his father to join the Beggars' Sect
, but he is ashamed when he finds out that actually Yu-shang's family leads the sect. He spends most of his time sleeping in seclusion. By coincidence, he meets an elderly beggar, whom he helped earlier, and the beggar attempts to cheer him up by healing his wounds and teaching him the "Sleeping Arhat Skill". When Yu-shang is kidnapped by Chiu later, So is shaken out of his delusional state as he wants to save her. He tricks the sect's members into electing him as their new chief, by pretending that he is possessed by the spirit of Hung Tsat-kung
. Using his improved literacy, he reads the sect's ancient martial arts manual and learns seventeen of the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" (降龍十八掌), while the last style is not shown in the book.
Meanwhile, Chiu puts Yu-shang into a magical trance and attempts to use her as a puppet to assassinate the emperor and start a rebellion. So leads his beggar followers across to Great Wall of China
to stop Chiu and they engage Chiu's forces while So saves Yu-shang in the nick of time. So uses all the skills he had learnt to fight Chiu, but they prove insufficient to completely defeat Chiu. When Chiu conjures a windstorm, So's manual falls out and forms a flip book
that animates the first seventeen of the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms". So suddenly realizes that the final stance is a combination of the seventeen palms and he uses it to destroy Chiu and save the emperor.
In the final scenes, Yu-shang agrees to marry So, and the grateful emperor asks So what reward he desires. So chooses to remain as a beggar king and the emperor expresses worries over So having so much power over the common people. So reminds him that as long as the people are cared for, there will not be enough beggars under his influence to pose a threat. Before the film ends, So and Yu-shang are seen wandering the streets with their large family, using an imperial tablet to force rich people to give them money.
Gordon Chan
Gordon Chan Kar-Seung , born in 1960, is an a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include Beast Cops, Fist of Legend, Painted Skin, 2000 AD and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen...
, starring Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
, Sharla Cheung
Sharla Cheung
Sharla Cheung Man , also known as Cheung Man is an actress working in the Hong Kong film industry....
, Ng Man-tat and Norman Tsui.
The theme song Cheung-lo Man-man Bun-nei Chong (長路漫漫伴你闖) was performed by George Lam
George Lam
George Lam Chi Cheung, also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer and actor of Xinhui area origin. Lam studied at the Diocesan Boys' School in Kowloon, Hong Kong...
in Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
.
Plot
Set in the Qing DynastyQing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
in China, the film features a fictionalized story of martial artist So Chan (蘇燦), popularly known as Beggar So (蘇乞兒), one of the Ten Tigers of Canton
Ten Tigers of Canton
The Ten Tigers of Canton or Ten Tigers of Guangdong refer to a group of ten Chinese martial artists from Guangdong , China, who lived during the late Qing Dynasty . They were said to be the best fighters in southern China at that time...
.
So is the spoiled son of the wealthy General So in Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. Although he is lazy and illiterate, So excels in martial arts. While visiting a brothel, So falls in love with Yu-shang, a courtesan who dares to behave rudely towards him. So vies for Yu-shang's services with Chiu Mo-kei, a magician and imperial official. By outbidding Chiu, So inadvertently foils Yu-shang's attempt to assassinate Chiu to avenge her father, who had been murdered by Chiu. In order to get rid of So, Yu-shang agrees to marry him if he can win the title of Martial Arts Champion (武狀元).
To win Yu-shang's hand-in-marriage, So enters the imperial martial arts contest to win the championship title. So's father helps him cheat his way through the written examination, while his personal expertise in martial arts carries him through the physical tests. So eventually emerges as champion, but just as the emperor is about to grant him the title, Chiu reveals that So is illiterate, proving that he cheated in the written examination. The enraged emperor orders So's family properties and possessions to be confiscated and decrees that they shall remain as beggars for the rest of their lives.
So does not adapt well to his new life. He encounters Chiu on the streets and Chiu breaks his legs, preventing him from practising martial arts again. So is introduced by his father to join the Beggars' Sect
Beggars' Sect
The Beggars' Sect is a fictional Chinese martial arts sect featured prominently in works of wuxia fiction by writers such as Jin Yong and Gu Long. The sect has also found its way into some Hong Kong martial arts films such as King of Beggars....
, but he is ashamed when he finds out that actually Yu-shang's family leads the sect. He spends most of his time sleeping in seclusion. By coincidence, he meets an elderly beggar, whom he helped earlier, and the beggar attempts to cheer him up by healing his wounds and teaching him the "Sleeping Arhat Skill". When Yu-shang is kidnapped by Chiu later, So is shaken out of his delusional state as he wants to save her. He tricks the sect's members into electing him as their new chief, by pretending that he is possessed by the spirit of Hung Tsat-kung
Hong Qigong
Hong Qigong is a fictional character in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes and its sequel The Return of the Condor Heroes...
. Using his improved literacy, he reads the sect's ancient martial arts manual and learns seventeen of the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms" (降龍十八掌), while the last style is not shown in the book.
Meanwhile, Chiu puts Yu-shang into a magical trance and attempts to use her as a puppet to assassinate the emperor and start a rebellion. So leads his beggar followers across to Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
to stop Chiu and they engage Chiu's forces while So saves Yu-shang in the nick of time. So uses all the skills he had learnt to fight Chiu, but they prove insufficient to completely defeat Chiu. When Chiu conjures a windstorm, So's manual falls out and forms a flip book
Flip book
A flip book or flick book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be...
that animates the first seventeen of the "Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms". So suddenly realizes that the final stance is a combination of the seventeen palms and he uses it to destroy Chiu and save the emperor.
In the final scenes, Yu-shang agrees to marry So, and the grateful emperor asks So what reward he desires. So chooses to remain as a beggar king and the emperor expresses worries over So having so much power over the common people. So reminds him that as long as the people are cared for, there will not be enough beggars under his influence to pose a threat. Before the film ends, So and Yu-shang are seen wandering the streets with their large family, using an imperial tablet to force rich people to give them money.
Cast
- Stephen ChowStephen ChowStephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
as So Chan - Sharla CheungSharla CheungSharla Cheung Man , also known as Cheung Man is an actress working in the Hong Kong film industry....
as Yu-shang / Ru-shuang - Ng Man-tat as General So
- Vindy Chan as Tracy
- Norman Tsui as Chiu Mo-kei
- Lam Wai as Tsang-kak Lum-sumSengge RinchenSengge Rinchen was a Mongol nobleman and general during the Qing dynasty, who is mainly known for his role during the Second Opium War and the suppression of the Taiping and Nian rebellions.-Background:...
- Wong Chung as Uncle Mok
- Natalis ChanNatalis ChanNatalis Chan Pak-Cheung, born 3 December 1950 in Hong Kong, is a Hong Kong television host, film actor and producer.Besides his duties as a variety show host, he has also been a horse racing commentator and horse trainer...
as Secretary of Justice - Lawrence ChengLawrence ChengLawrence Cheng Tan Shui is a Hong Kong film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a Hong Kong DJ and radio channel executive....
as Professor - Matthew Wong as Emperor
- Peter Lai as Uncle Cheng
- Jackson Ng as Botaroto
- Yang Mi as So Chan's daughter
- Chow Yee-fan
- Lee Kin-yan
- Kingdom YuenKingdom Yuen-Filmography:-References:...
- Yuen Cheung-yanYuen Cheung-YanYuen Cheung-Yan is an actor, director, stuntman, and fight choreographer who has worked for many years in the Hong Kong film industry. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he worked with Yuen Woo-Ping and other members of the Yuen family on several films, some of them bizarre kung fu comedies such as...