Inspired by our visit to the JC Film Gallery in Shanghai, China, where a permanent exhibition is dedicated to Jackie Chan’s early experiences as a Beijing Opera troupe member in Hong Kong, we decided to take a closer look at the Chinese Drama Academy. This institution is famous for being the childhood home of an important generation of “Painted Faces.” Emerging from the most humble beginnings, they helped shape Hong Kong action films for decades while reaching their own cinematic success. Today, no matter the country of origin, one can hardly find a single action movie or television show that has not been influenced by the choreographic stunts, photography and editing techniques of the Hong Kong action style. What follows is the fascinating story of one of these troupes, the "Seven Little Fortunes."

 

The Master and the Institution

Up until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Beijing Opera was a popular art form in the mainland, with troupes enacting elaborate plays on stage involving their characteristic combination of singing, reciting, acting, martial arts and acrobatics. However, under the new rulers, many cultural expressions of the past, as well as their major supporters, were rebuked, reformed or completely locked away from general life. Many Beijing Opera masters and performers were forced to make their way to Hong Kong in hopes of surviving. One such master was Yu Jim-Yuen (于占元). Despite extensive experience in martial roles (wusheng 武生), he was not very successful in the local film industry; but his daughter Yu So-Chow (于素秋) quickly got involved in many productions scattered across different genres, including early martial hero (wuxia 武侠) pictures alongside legendary actors such as Kwan Tak-Hing (关德兴) or Shek Kin (石坚), later becoming very well-known and making over 240 films in a span of two decades.

Master Yu's daughter’s success helped him gain notoriety and connections. One of them was Chin Tsi-Ang (钱似莺), also known as Madame Hung (洪妈妈), a famous martial arts actress in her own right and one of the proprietors of the old Huanan Film Studios, where the Yu’s had worked before. In fact, it was Madame Hung – coincidentally the grandmother of Sammo Hung – who suggested that Master Yu open the Chinese Drama Academy (中国戏剧学院) in 1959. This proved a turning point for Master Yu, who founded the academy in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon. His goal was to promote the skills of Beijing Opera and the values of Chinese Culture among Hong Kong’s youth, whose living conditions were poor during the 50s and 60s. The academy served as a boarding school, and students would adopt the ending character of Master Yu’s name, Yuen (元), as their surname, with each individual name assigned by Master Yu himself.

 

Seven Was the Lucky Number

Around three months after the academy’s opening, members of the Yuen Clan (元家班) performed at a Scout Association in Kowloon for the first time. Prompted by their success, one of the part-time teachers at the academy and manager of the Lok Kuen night club and restaurant (乐宫楼夜总会), Master Suen Sing-Hoi (孙盛凯), suggested that Master Yu select a group of students to perform at his restaurant in order to generate interest and provide some needed income. Master Yu accepted, and began to send seven of his best students every night to perform sequences of Beijing Opera martial routines at the restaurant – which is how the famous name of the troupe, “Seven Little Fortunes (七小福)," originally came about. Master Suen is said to have conceived the name to advertise their performances, though some accounts mention a possible relation to a 1961 film of the same name in Chinese (English title The Seven Kids). A comedy directed by Ng Wui (吴回), it did not use any of Master Yu’s students; still, it could have been the inspiration for the group's name.

Early pictures of the first generation members.

 

Other interesting facts around the number “seven” involve two different movie projects in 1962. For the film, The Princess and the Seven Little Swordsman (公主与七小剑侠), by Mau Lam Studios (懋林影業), seven Yuen Clan members were invited to perform, under the moniker “Mau Lam Seven Treasures (懋林七宝)." Members included Yuen Ting (元庭), Yuen Lung (元龙), Yuen Qiu (元秋), Yuen Wah (元华), Yuen Hung (元红), Yuen Fu (元甫) and Yuen Sing (元声). The second project – originally entitled The Seven Tyrants of Jiangnan (橫掃江南七霸天) but later changed to Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (大小黄天霸), also featured seven members, acting as the “Seven Little Sword Heroes (七小剑侠)." Members included Yuen Ting (元庭), Yuen Lung (元龙), Yuen Tai (元泰), Yuen Wah (元华), Yuen Lau (元楼), Yuen Fu (元甫) and Yuen Man (元文). Master Yu was the action choreographer for both movies. As we learned at the JC Film Gallery, both films have been restored from private collections.

The Chinese Drama Academy in 1971.

 

Life at the Academy

Revenue from films was well received, but the academy’s intention was still to teach children the ways of the Beijing Opera according to the strictest rules and discipline. This included relentless sessions of physical exercises such as stretching, kicking, jumping, and more, together with severe verbal threats and physical punishment. Students' guardians were required to sign a permanence contract which relieved the school of any liability for personal injury or death caused by accidents or human error. It is said that on their first day of instruction, students were required to lie down on a wooden bench, expose their buttocks and receive ten hits with a rattan stick for no special reason, just to get a sense of authority at the academy. Just as it was showcased in the 1983 drama, Farewell, My Concubine (霸王别姬), life in the troupe was harsh and especially tough on those children with talent. However, despite the hardships, members of the Yuen Clan have reported many times that these traditional methods, although considered unacceptable by today’s standards, were an important and positive influence in their lives.

The following years saw a rise in the number of Yuen Clan members. The academy relocated several times, first to a different floor of the original location and later to a different building located on Jordan Road. Besides performing daily at the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park (荔园游乐场), members were invited to perform at many venues, including the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre. In fact, for a period of over ten years, the troupe was proficient in a large repertoire of Beijing Opera plays such as The Crossroads (三岔口), The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传), Sizhou City (泗州城), Picking the Jade Bracelet (拾玉镯), The Story of Qin Xiang Lian (秦香莲), and many more. By 1968, several members ventured into the film industry, particularly following fight directors Han Ying-Chieh (韩英杰), Tong Kai (唐佳) and Lau Kar-Leung (刘家良), while other disciples remained in the academy. In 1969, Master Yu took around 30 members to Taiwan for a period of nine months, where the Seven Little Fortunes performed regularly at several clubs and theaters, receiving widespread popularity at a time when traditional drama plays were in decline.

R - L: Yuen Wah, Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan, Yuen Tai, Yuen Tak and Yuen Mo. Over the shoulders: Yuen Man.

 

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

Upon returning from Taiwan, the school reopened in the Yuen Long District of Hong Kong, where it remained until 1973 – the year Master Yu decided to put together a tour to the United States. From their opening performance in San Francisco, the tour proved very successful and exceeded all expectations. But misfortune struck on the very last stop: the organizer of the tour disappeared with all the revenues, leaving the whole troupe stranded in Los Angeles without any means of support. Devastated by the incident, Master Yu abandoned his longtime dream of popularizing the Beijing Opera for the rest of his life; in fact, he never set foot in Hong Kong again. Some of the members of the troupe, such as Yuen Wah  (元华), Yuen Qiu (元秋), Yuen Hui (元辉), returned home with the financial aid of their local government, while others – including Yuen Biao (元彪), Yuen Tai (元泰), and Yuen Lin (元年) – stayed in the United States.

Back in Hong Kong, with martial arts films were booming after Bruce Lee’s huge success and sudden death, members of Beijing Opera troupes were in high demand to work as stunt performers, stunt choreographers, actors and more. So began the transformation of the Hong Kong movie industry once again. The mixing and matching of various styles and elements from Chinese opera, martial arts, acrobatics, comedy, slapstick, together with other influences, created whole new martial arts-based movie genres. The Seven Little Fortunes made an immense contribution to Hong Kong cinema. Rich in personal insight, talent, imagination, hard work, and sacrifice, they helped elevate the Hong Kong film industry to the highest ranks for around two decades. In addition, they influenced studios and filmmakers throughout Southeast Asia, and ultimately Europe, Hollywood and India, while entertaining and inspiring millions of viewers worldwide. For this and more, Master Yu Jim-Yuen and his protégés have a stellar place in the movie history books for generations to come!

Picture taken at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Seven Little Fortunes in Hong Kong in 2009.