Hsia Tsu-hui was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, in 1933, his father an air force officer of the Nationalists. The family moved to Taiwan in 1948, and he graduated in the fifth class of the drama department of the political warfare academy. In the 1960s he joined the Central Motion Picture Corporation, making newsreels, documentaries and military training films. When Li Han-hsiang directed a 1969 picture for CMPC, Hsia was appointed his assistant director, and on Li's next CMPC film (1971) he again assisted and also handled the music, winning Best Music (non-musical) at the 9th Golden Horse Awards. His own Taiwanese films include a 1973 title and another in 1974. Invited by Li to Hong Kong in the mid-1970s, he assisted on The Empress Dowager (1975) and The Last Tempest (1976) and settled in the city, becoming Li's long-term assistant at Shaw Brothers on erotic comedies and the 'Qianlong' series. At Shaw he also co-directed a 1978 portmanteau film, and he returned to Taiwan to help direct what was billed as the island's first 16mm television drama series. When Li left Shaw in 1982 Hsia went back to Taiwan television, later ghost-directing two late-1980s pictures for Li. In the 1990s he helped Li with four erotic films, and in 1992 he directed The Legend of White Snake, a television serial starring Angie Chiu and Cecilia Ip that drew huge ratings in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland. In 1996 he followed Li to Beijing on a television project; when Li died during production Hsia took over and completed it. Now retired, he lives in Hong Kong.
Hsia was Li Han-hsiang's long-serving assistant director and the hands-on force behind many of his palace and erotic pictures, taking over and completing Li's last project after his death; his 1992 serial The Legend of White Snake drew record ratings across Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland and became a Chinese-television classic.
Achievements
- 1971 · Served as assistant director and composer on Li Han-hsiang's The Story of Ti Ying, winning Best Music (non-musical) at the 9th Golden Horse Awards
- 1975 · Came to Hong Kong as assistant director on Li Han-hsiang's The Empress Dowager and settled there
- 1992 · Directed the television serial The Legend of White Snake, which drew high ratings in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland