Tsui Hark

Tsui Hark ({{zh-cpw|c=徐克|p=Xú Kè|w=Hsü K'o}}) (born Tsui Man-kong on January 2, 1951) is a New Wave film director in Hong Kong who is also a highly influential producer, often likened to Steven Spielberg for a similar galvanizing effect on his country's cinematic scene.

Early biography

Sources, and Tsui himself, differ on whether he was born in Canton (Guangzhou) province of China or in Vietnam. He was raised in Saigon by his Chinese emigre parents, in a large family with sixteen siblings. Tsui showed an early interest in show business and movies; when he was ten, he and some friends rented an 8mm camera with which to film the magic show they put on at school. He also drew comic books, an interest that would influence his cinematic style.

Related Topics:
Guangzhou - Vietnam - Saigon

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He took his secondary education in Hong Kong starting in 1966. He then studied film in Texas, first at Southern Methodist University and then at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1975. He claims to have told his parents he was studying to follow in his father's footsteps as a pharmacist, and that it was here he changed his given name to Hark ("overcoming") (Dannen & Long, 1997).

Related Topics:
Texas - Southern Methodist University - University of Texas at Austin - Pharmacist

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After graduation, Tsui moved to New York City. He worked on From Spikes to Spindles (1976), a noted documentary by Christine Choy on the history of the city's Chinatown. He also edited a Chinatown newspaper, developed a community theatre group and worked in Chinese-language cable TV. He returned to Hong Kong in 1977.

Related Topics:
New York City - Chinatown

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