Cover Cheng Pei-pei in ‘Lilting’ (Image: courtesy of Imdb)
Cheng Pei-pei in ‘Lilting’ (Image: courtesy of Imdb)
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From ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ to ‘Mulan’, Tatler revisits five of Chinese actor Cheng Pei-pei’s most iconic works
Aged 78, Chinese actor and director Cheng Pei-pei died on July 17, 2024, from a degenerative brain disease similar to Parkinson’s disease in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her family said in a post on her Facebook page, “Our mother, Cheng Pei-pei, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones”, and added that she donated her brain to medical research.
Cheng was celebrated for being one of the first female action film figures in China. Born in Shanghai on January 6, 1946, she moved to Hong Kong in 1962 and began training at Shaw Brothers Studio. Being fluent in multiple languages and having a ballet and traditional Chinese dance background helped her rise quickly as an actor.
In her six-decade career, the actor forged a reputation for playing strong martial arts fighter roles, most memorably Jade Fox in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Later in her career, she branched out into other roles, such as playing an authoritative matchmaker in Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan (2020).
Tatler looks at five of her most memorable works.
Read more: 5 iconic Hong Kong venues that served as Wong Kar-wai’s movie locations
‘Come Drink with Me’ (1966)
Above Cheng Pei-pei in “Come Drink with Me” (Image: courtesy of Freshwave Hong Kong)
Cheng Pei-pei in “Come Drink with Me” (Image: courtesy of Freshwave Hong Kong)
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Produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, this film, where Cheng plays the lead role, launched her career as a star in the wuxia genre (martial arts genre). She plays Golden Swallow, the daughter of a governor and an adept swordfighter and martial artist. Disguised as a man, she is sent to rescue her older brother who is kidnapped by the bandit Jade-faced Tiger.
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000)
Above Cheng Pei-pei in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (Image: courtesy of X.com)
Cheng Pei-pei in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (Image: courtesy of X.com)
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In Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee’s action adventure film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Cheng also played a wuxia fighter, but this time, she played the villain Jade Fox, who is obsessed with becoming the best fighter, so much so that she corrupts her own apprentice and poisons the kind-hearted hero Li Mubai. Cheng’s dexterous acting and fighting skills made this film’s elaborate choreography and fight scenes some of the most celebrated on the silver screen in Hollywood.
‘Lilting’ (2014)
Branching out from martial arts, Cheng delivered a touching performance in British filmmaker Hong Khaou’s poignant romantic film Lilting, in which she played Junn, a widow who speaks little English and is unaware that her son Kai is gay and dead. Kai’s boyfriend Richard, played by Ben Whishaw, hopes to fulfil his late boyfriend’s final wish and sets out to hire a translator for Junn.
‘Love of Hope’ (2017)
Above From left: Xia De Jun and Cheng in a still from “Love of Hope” (Image: courtesy of IMDB)
From left: Xia De Jun and Cheng in a still from “Love of Hope” (Image: courtesy of IMDB)
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Cheung starred in another sentimental movie three years later: Chinese director Whenbai Zha’s Love of Hope, in which Cheng plays an optimistic professor who encourages Hubei migrant worker Liang Guohua not to give up when he is diagnosed with uremia and struggles with being a new father. Touched by the professor’s kindness, Liang signs up to donate his organs when he receives the news that there’s no hope for his condition.
‘Mulan’ (2020)
Above Cheng Pei-pei in a still from “Mulan” (Image: courtesy of IMDB)
Cheng Pei-pei in a still from “Mulan” (Image: courtesy of IMDB)
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For something more light-hearted, Cheng played the feisty and funny matchmaker in Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan. Before the titular heroine goes on her epic journey to war, she takes the matchmaker’s test to showcase of her “good” wife material—obviously it doesn’t go as planned when Mulan left the matchmaker in disgrace. This was also Cheng’s last movie.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
