Body and Gender in Hong Kong Martial-Arts Films on the Example of Ching Siu-tung’s “Duel to the Death”

Grzegorz P. Kowalski

Abstract

According to Kowalski, Ching Siu-tung is one of the most interesting Hong Kong directors making wuxia films featuring female characters (the Chinese use the term wuxia to denote Eastern martial-arts cinema in the broad sense of the word). The popular choreographer, who drawn on the tradition of the Peking Opera classic school on the film set, is also a brave director who incessantly asks viewers questions about the importance of gender in the world of martial arts and about the foundations of gender roles in the patriarchal Chinese society. Kowalski presents the artistic biography of Ching Siu-tung and the socio-historical condi­tions that have had an influence on the themes he selects. Kowalski outlines the history of Hong Kong film art, discussing its film studio system and the New Wave. Analysing Duel to the Death, which in his view is a milestone in experiments with the capabilities of the human body, Kowalski says that although not a landmark film, it may be an interesting sign of the director’s future interests developed in other productions, including the trilogy Swordsman.