A Brief Biography of Huang Fei-Hong

Born in 1847 in Xiqiao village, Nanhai county in Guangdong province, Huang Fei-Hong was a famous and respected martial artist of Southern China; he died in 1924 at the age of 77 years.

Although Huang was popularly believed to have been one of the "Ten Tigers of Guangdong", research has revealed that it was actually his father, Huang Chi-Ying (in pinyin: Huang Qiying), who bore that title.

In his youth, Huang made his living from performing martial arts in the streets with his father; he was later engaged as martial arts instructor of the 5th Regiment of the Guangdong army and the Guangzhou Civilian Militia. His last years were devoted to the running of his father's kwoon, the Bao Zhi Lin.

Huang, who was one of the province's best lion-dancers, was known around Guangzhou as the 'King of the Lions'; he was a disciple of the Hong School of Shaolin martial arts and an expert in the 'Iron Wire Fist', 'Five Forms Fist', Tiger Vanquishing Fist' and the 'Shadowless Kick', as well as being skilled in the use of his favourite weapon, the flying thallium.

Very little information about Huang's actual deeds has survived and, unfortunately, Mo Guilan has proved to be of limited help in this area since she was only a teenager when she married the already elderly Huang. What we know of Huang's exploits has been aptly summed up by Woshi Shanren, author of the Huang Fei-Hong martial arts novels: 
"Huang was much revered in his lifetime, but little is actually known of him".

Text by Yu Mo Wan, part of The Prodigious Cinema of Huang Fei Hong; an Introduction. In 'A Study of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Film', Hong Kong 1980.