Director Ting Shan-hsi dead at 74

Retired Taiwanese drama and martial arts filmmaker Ting Shan-hsi has passed away at the age of 74. He was admitted to hospital for the treatment of liver cancer and died on November 21 according to his wife, Xiao-rong who spoke to Chinese media by phone.

Ting is best known for writing and directing patriotic war films like THE EVERLASTING GLORY (1974) and THE BATTLE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (1981). He also wrote and directed a sizable number of martial arts actioners including MA SU CHEN, its sequel FURIOUS SLAUGHTER and THE BEHEADED 1000, all starring Jimmy Wang Yu.

Ting was born in the city of Qingdao in China’s Shandong province. He graduated from an arts school in Taiwan and began screenwriting in the 1960s. Some of his first screenplays were for the wuxia films KING CAT and THE YOUNG AVENGERESS. By 1969, Ting graduated to film director by helming a mix and dramas and martial arts films. His final productions were the fantasy martial arts films THE BEHEADED 1000 and MAGIC SWORD, both released in 1994.

Ting directed at least 69 feature films over the course of a career spanning nearly 30 years.

Source: Chinese Television System, Taiwan’s Government Information Office