According to director Hu Xuehua and host Cao Kefan, actress Cheng Pei-pei passed away at the age of 78.
Cheng Pei-pei
Hu Xuehua posted on WeChat Moments: "I remember 27 years ago, in Los Angeles, you hosted the memorial service for director King Hu. Today, the 'Kung Fu Queen' has gone to follow King Hu. I believe she is reliving the glory of 'Drunken Master' at the Cannes Film Festival in heaven. Rest in peace, Queen Pepe."
Screenshot of director Hu Xuehua's Moments
Host Cao Kefan also posted a message on Weibo to mourn: "Every time I meet Sister Peipei, I am moved by her hearty laughter. Even when talking about the difficult times in the past, she never complains or laments. We often communicate in Shanghainese. She said that when she speaks Shanghainese, it's like returning to her childhood. The soft, elegant old-fashioned Shanghainese sounds very kind. In recent years, I have heard that Sister Peipei's health is not good. I didn't expect that she would be separated from us forever. There is no pain in heaven. I pray that she will rest in peace!"
Cheng Pei-pei and Cao Ke-fan. Photographed by Bi Yue-ping
Cheng Pei-pei's representative works include "Flirting Scholar", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Heroines of the Yang Family", "Sway", "The Lotus Lantern", "The Lover's Stone", "Drunken Master", "Mulan", etc.
Stills from "Flirting Scholar", Cheng Pei-pei and Stephen Chow
For young viewers born in the 1990s, Cheng Peipei is the kind and wise "Sister Peipei" in the reality show "Flowers and Youth". For fans born in the 1970s and 1980s, Cheng Peipei is "Mrs. Hua" in "Flirting Scholar", "Lady She" in the "Yang Men's Heroines" series, and "Blue-eyed Fox" in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". However, for older viewers, Cheng Peipei is the most brilliant and beautiful female knight in early Hong Kong martial arts movies.
The Jade Fox and Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Cheng Pei-pei won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards for this role.
Cheng Pei-pei, born on January 6, 1946 in Shanghai, China, is a Chinese film and television actress. In 1963, she was admitted to the Southern Experimental Theatre and joined Shaw Brothers Film Company after graduation.
In 1963, Cheng Pei-pei, who was only a teenager, played a male role in the movie "The Lotus Lantern". Her heroic beauty caught the attention of director King Hu, who invited her to star in the pioneering Chinese new-school martial arts movie "The Drunken Master". Since then, she has carved out her own path in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1960s, where "sweet girls" were popular, with her free and easy image of a chivalrous woman, and was dubbed the "Queen of Martial Arts Movies" by the press.
Stills from The Drunken Master
Born in Shanghai, Cheng Pei-pei's childhood experiences made her uphold the simple and upright values of the mainland youth of that era, and she must be clear about right and wrong. So when she later lived in Hong Kong, she was not used to the "bright lights and wine" and "prosperity and luxury" of Hong Kong. In the film industry, she was also appreciated by her peers for her straightforwardness and professionalism.
It is said that she had a strong sense of responsibility at a young age. On her birthday, when director King Hu and several other people got drunk, she really acted like a chivalrous woman and dragged them back to their respective homes one by one. In Cheng Pei-pei's memory, the Hong Kong film industry was very prosperous at that time, with many talented people. The company protected the actors very much, and the reporters also defended them. The young actors lived in the company dormitory, and everyone was very innocent. It was a very beautiful era.
After that, she retired from the entertainment industry, got married, raised a family, and experienced a divorce. When she returned to Hong Kong, decades had passed. The girl had also experienced many ups and downs, and now she was middle-aged. The Hong Kong film and television industry had changed dramatically, and the Hong Kong martial arts films that were once at their peak gradually declined. Her friends and teachers had passed away one after another. Cheng Peipei suddenly had a feeling: it seemed that there was a plan in the dark, and her mission to come back seemed to be to send these people who were destined to be with her on their last journey.
In 1992, Cheng Pei-pei became a disciple of Master Hsing Yun in Taiwan and studied Buddhism. The once fierce chivalrous woman gradually became a tolerant elder. In many film and television works, she has created one "family head" image after another with great love, righteousness and kindness.
She has also starred in many foreign works. In 2014, she co-starred with Ben Whishaw in the movie "Rocking", playing a mother who learned that her son was gay only after his death.
Her role was somewhat unexpected to some audiences, but it was very normal for her. Her original intention was simple. First, she thought the script was good, and second, she wanted to help young directors who were directing feature films for the first time. She said that when she saw many hard-working young people, she would always think of her own children. Everyone hopes that others would be willing to help their children when they need help.
Cheng Pei-pei was also nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 17th British Independent Film Awards for this role.
Stills from "Gently Rocking", Cheng Pei-pei and Ben Whishaw
In April 2014, Cheng Pei-pei participated in the first season of "Flowers and Youth".
Stills from "Flowers and Youth", Liu Tao and Cheng Peipei
In November 2018, Cheng Pei-pei won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Huading Awards.
Cheng Pei-pei at the Huading Awards.
In 2020, she co-starred with Liu Yifei in Disney's live-action film "Mulan", in which she played a matchmaker.
In recent years, Cheng Peipei has rarely appeared on stage. A few months ago, Liu Tao, who had formed a deep friendship with Cheng Peipei because of "Flowers and Youth", revealed on the show that Cheng Peipei's health was very poor. Cheng Peipei once sent a message to Liu Tao, "I can't satisfy everyone, but I just hope I can live up to my heart."
