King of Beggars
| King of Beggars | |
|---|---|
Film poster
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| Traditional | 武狀元蘇乞兒 |
| Simplified | 武状元苏乞儿 |
| Mandarin | Wǔ Zhuàngyuán Sū Qǐ'ér |
| Cantonese | Mou5 Zong6-jyun4 Sou1 Hat1-ji1 |
| Directed by | Gordon Chan |
| Produced by | Stephen Shiu |
| Written by | Gordon Chan John Chan |
| Starring |
Stephen Chow Sharla Cheung Ng Man-tat Norman Tsui |
| Music by | Joseph Koo |
| Cinematography | David Chung Ma Koon-wah |
| Edited by | Mei Fung Kwong Chi-leung Yu Sai-lun |
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Production
company |
Win's Movie Productions
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| Distributed by | Gala Film Distribution Limited |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | HK$31,514,995 |
King of Beggars is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Gordon Chan, starring Stephen Chow, Sharla Cheung, Ng Man-tat and Norman Tsui. The story is loosely based on legends about the martial artist Su Can (better known as "Beggar So"), who lived in the late Qing dynasty and was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton.
Set in the Qing dynasty in China, the film features a fictionalised story of the martial artist So Chan (蘇燦; Mandarin: Su Can), who is popularly known as "Beggar So" (蘇乞兒) and was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton.
So Chan is the spoiled son of a wealthy general in Canton. Although he is lazy and illiterate, he excels in martial arts. While visiting a brothel, So falls in love with Yu-shang, a courtesan who dares to behave rudely towards him. So vies for Yu-shang's services with Chiu Mo-kei, a high-ranking government official. By outbidding Chiu, So inadvertently foils Yu-shang's attempt to assassinate Chiu to avenge her father, who was murdered by Chiu. Yu-shang agrees to marry So if he can win the title of "Martial Arts Champion" (武狀元).
To win Yu-shang's hand-in-marriage, So enters the imperial martial arts contest to win the championship title. So's father helps him cheat his way through the written examination, while his personal expertise in martial arts carries him through the physical tests. So eventually emerges as champion, but just as the emperor is about to grant him the title, Chiu reveals that So is illiterate, proving that he cheated in the written examination. The enraged emperor orders So's family properties and possessions to be confiscated and decrees that they shall remain as beggars for the rest of their lives.
So does not adapt well to his new life. He encounters Chiu on the streets and Chiu breaks his legs, preventing him from practising martial arts again. So is introduced by his father to join the Beggars' Sect, but he is ashamed when he finds out that Yu-shang's family actually leads the sect. He spends most of his time sleeping in seclusion. By coincidence, he meets an elderly beggar, whom he helped earlier, and the beggar attempts to cheer him up by healing his wounds and teaching him the "Sleeping Arhat Skill". When Yu-shang is kidnapped by Chiu later, So is shaken out of his delusional state as he wants to save her. He tricks the sect's members into electing him as their new chief, by pretending that he is possessed by the spirit of Hung Tsat-kung. Using his improved literacy, he reads the sect's ancient martial arts manual and learns seventeen of the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms" (降龍十八掌), while the last style is not shown in the book.
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