Cheng Pei-pei, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and 'Come Drink With Me' Star, Dies at 78
Cheng Pei-pei, the beloved Chinese actor who died last month, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Horse Film Awards in November.
Cheng, considered a pioneer of martial arts roles for female actors, died in the San Francisco Bay Area after suffering from a degenerative brain disease. She was 78.
Veteran Taiwanese cinematographer and director Lin Wen-chin will also be recognized.
The Golden Horse Film Festival, which runs Nov. 7-23, will present tributes to Cheng, including screenings of martial arts classics “Come Drink With Me” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and the musical “Hong Kong Nocturne,” featuring Cheng.
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“Cheng started off as a trainee in Southern Experimental Theatre Company of Shaw Brothers Studio, and gradually took off in the mid-1960s, especially for her portrayal of the lead Golden Swallow in King Hu’s ‘Come Drink With Me,’ which also established her on-screen persona as a swordswoman. At the height of her early career, she starred in many martial arts films and thus earned herself the title of ‘queen of martial arts. But Cheng also delivered impressive performances in romance melodrama ‘Lovers’ Rock’ and ‘Song of Orchid Island,’ as well as musical ‘Hong Kong Nocturne’,” the festival explained.
“After getting married, Cheng appeared mostly on the small screen for talk shows, dance tutorials and documentaries; her rare appearance on big screen during that time would be ‘All the King’s Men’ by King Hu. In the 1990s, Cheng resumed her acting career and drew the attention of the young generation for the character Madam Wah in ‘Flirting Scholar,’ co-starring Stephen Chow. Later on, she became the Jade Fox in Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ which won her Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Cheng’s acting in ‘Lilting’ also earned a nomination for best actress at the British Independent Film Awards.”
Lin is to be hailed for his role as an educator. He served as the head of the cinematic and technical departments at Central Motion Picture Corporation, training award-winning cinematographers including Liao Pen-jung and Mark Lee Ping-bing. In 2020, Lin published his autobiography, the first-hand experiences witnessing the development of Taiwan cinema between the 1950s and 1980s.The festival will screen “Orchids and My Love,” to showcase his delicate and affluent cinematic senses.
The Golden Horse Film Awards nominations will be unveiled on Oct. 2, with the winners announced at a ceremony on Nov. 23 at Taipei Music Center.
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