Shih Kien
| Shih Kien | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | 石堅 (traditional) | ||||||||
| Chinese name | 石坚 (simplified) | ||||||||
| Pinyin | Shí Jiān (Mandarin) | ||||||||
| Jyutping | Sek6 Gin1 (Cantonese) | ||||||||
| Birth name | Shek Wing-cheung (simplified Chinese: 石荣璋; traditional Chinese: 石榮璋; pinyin: Shí Róngzhāng) |
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| Born |
1 January 1913 Shigang Village, Panyu, Guangdong, China |
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| Died | 3 June 2009 (aged 96) Hong Kong |
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| Years active | 1949–1995 | ||||||||
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Shek Wing-cheung (1 January 1913 – 3 June 2009), better known by his stage name Shih Kien (Cantonese: Shek Kin; Mandarin: Shi Jian), was a Hong Kong-based Chinese actor. Shih is best known for playing antagonists and villains in several early Hong Kong wuxia and martial arts films that dated back to the black-and-white period, and is most familiar to Western audiences for his portrayal of the primary villain, Han, in the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon, which starred Bruce Lee.
Shih was raised by his stepmother and was a sickly child. He decided to practise martial arts to improve his health and trained for nine years. Shih trained at Shanghai's Chin Woo Athletic Association and was among the first generation of students at the school to be certified as instructors. After becoming certified to teach styles, including Eagle Claw and Choy Li Fut, he decided to start his career as an actor. However, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War caused his studies to be disrupted. Shih and his friends travelled between Guangzhou and Hong Kong to stage drama performances, in order to raise funds as part of the anti-Japanese movement. Besides acting on stage, Shih also participated in back-stage activities, such as makeup and arrangements of lighting and props.
In 1940, Shih officially entered the entertainment industry as an apprentice of the Cantonese opera makeup artist Sit Kok-Sin, before becoming an actor later. Shih starred as a Japanese secret agent in his debut film Flower in the Sea of Blood that year. Nine years later, Shih was invited by film director Wu Pang to work with him on a series of Wong Fei-hung-related films. Shih gained fame for his portrayal of the villains in those films and continued to play the role of the antagonist in several films during the first 20 years of his career. Shih's iconic "villain laughter" in the films was later mimicked and parodied by several actors.
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