Cheng Pei-pei: how martial arts actress of Crouching Tiger fame first saw stardom in wuxia classic Come Drink with Me
- She played the malicious guardian in Ang Lee’s groundbreaking global martial arts hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but her career had begun decades earlier
- Cheng shot to stardom playing Golden Swallow in King Hu’s 1966 film, reprised the role for Chang Cheh, and became the leading martial arts actress of the 1960s
Actress Cheng Pei-pei is well known among martial arts fans for her skilful performance in King Hu’s groundbreaking 1966 wuxia film Come Drink with Me, while mainstream viewers will recognise her as the malicious guardian from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
Hu’s film made Cheng Hong Kong’s biggest female martial arts star of the 1960s – she was voted “Queen of Swords” in a poll organised by the Hong Kong press – and she made around 20 wuxia films for Shaw Brothers alone, including a reprise of her role in Hu’s film for Chang Cheh’s Golden Swallow in 1968.
“Her performances are [characterised] by grace, agility and dignity, which undoubtedly came from her background in ballet, music, and Chinese dance,” a Hong Kong critic wrote in 1980. “She is considered to be one of the best actresses to have emerged from the martial arts cinema.”
Cheng had no plans to make martial arts films when she signed a contract with Shaw Brothers in 1963. An immigrant from Shanghai, she has said that she was unfamiliar with martial arts films, as they were no longer screened in China after the Communists took power, although she was aware of martial arts novels.
As with most of the young actresses on the Shaw Brothers roster in the early 1960s, the studio began trying her out in a variety of roles. Chances were plentiful, as the studio was trying to build up a bank of young new talent. “They just wanted to see what would be a hit for me,” Cheng told Asia Pacific Arts.