Actress Cheng Pei-pei (鄭佩佩), popularly known as “queen of martial arts films,” passed away on Wednesday at home in the United States, her family announced Friday. She was 78.
With a career that spanned six decades, Cheng was a multi-talented actress who made her name after appearing in several successful period martial arts films in the genre known as “wuxia,” Cheng’s agency, Hong Kong-based Supreme Art Entertainment, said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Cheng had been in poor health in recent years, but decided not to make her health issues public to spend more time with her family, according to the agency.
Photo: AP
Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter cited another Facebook post in its report on Cheng’s death, with her children stating that “ In 2019, our mom was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative, atypical parkinsonism syndrome -- unofficially, corticobasal degeneration (CBD). “ They said current medical treatment could not slow the progression of the disease, and that she had donated her brain for medical research.
Born in Shanghai in 1946, Cheng was named “queen of martial arts films” by the media in the 1960s for her successful wuxia films made by Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers Studios at the time, including “Come Drink with Me” (大醉俠) directed by King Hu (胡金銓) in 1966 which established the director’s unique storytelling and a new wuxia film style.
She left the movies after marrying a Taiwanese businessman and moving to the U.S. in 1970, but returned to acting after divorcing in 1987.
Photo: Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International
Cheng remained a prolific actress following her return, and her performance as “Jade Fox” in director Ang Lee’s (李安) “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (臥虎藏龍) won her Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2001.
Her most recent film role was “the matchmaker” in Disney’s 2020 live-action remake “Mulan” (花木蘭), and her other notable film appearances include 2014 British drama “Lilting” with Ben Whishaw and “Meditation Park” with Sandra Oh, the later opening the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Cheng also took to the stage and played a street vendor who believes her husband was abducted by aliens in Taiwan-based Performance Workshop’s “Sand and a Distant Star” (在那遙遠的星球,一粒沙) in 2015 at director Stan Lai’s (賴聲川) Theatre Above in Shanghai.
“Performing wuxia scenes is physically demanding. I’m no longer young. It is perhaps better to do a stage play,” she told a press conference the day after the premiere in the Chinese city.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS