Mak Bing-wing was born Mak Hon-ming in 1915 to a family from Panyu, Guangdong. He attended Wah Yan College in Hong Kong and, fond of opera from childhood, was apprenticed at thirteen to the teacher Chi Yau-chung. He soon took small parts with the Yan Sau Nin troupe, moved two years later to the Kok Sin Sing troupe, and after two years of supporting roles rose from last-ranked young man to second martial male, appearing in operas such as The Red Stove Fire. In 1934 he was principal young man with the Sun Sang Wood troupe, and before 1940 he joined companies including Tai Lo Tin and Tai Ping. Just before Hong Kong fell at the end of 1941 he left for the United States, not returning until early 1947 to join the Chin Fung troupe. He was long a principal civil-and-military male lead and mainstay of the Tai Lung Fung troupe, his finest stage partner being the actress Fung Wong Nui, with whom he performed The Victorious Return Greets the Colourful Phoenix, The Spoilt Marshal and the Reckless General, and the much-loved Love and Hate in the Phoenix Pavilion. A skilled civil-and-military actor steeped in traditional form, he starred in operas such as Huang Feihu Rebels Against the Five Passes and Heroes and Beauties. He entered films in 1940 and appeared in about 120 pictures up to 1966, most adapted from his stage hits, among them Tai Lung Fung's productions of The Victorious Return Greets the Colourful Phoenix (1961), A Dream of Ten Years in Yangzhou (1961) and Love and Hate in the Phoenix Pavilion (1962), as well as other Cantonese opera films such as Meeting Mother by the Rushua River (1961) and Flags of Victory in a Sea of Fire (1962). In 1963 he and his second wife, the actress Yu So-chau, founded Wing Fung Film Company, producing films such as We Shall Not Return Until Loulan Is Conquered (1963). His Death Cannot Part Brothers (1962) preserved rare footage of the ceremonial opera The Six States Seal the Prime Minister. He also served as chairman of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong. His last film was The Colourful Phoenix Returns in Glory (1966). Known for his fiery energy on stage, he was nicknamed 'Bull Wing'; his hoarse voice was called the 'bean-paste throat', and the Cantonese opera actor Yuen Siu-fai was his disciple. He joined Rediffusion Television in 1978 and died of a heart attack in the United States on 13 September 1984.
Mak Bing-wing's partnership with Fung Wong Nui in the Tai Lung Fung troupe was a box-office guarantee for Cantonese opera in the 1950s and 1960s, and stage hits such as Love and Hate in the Phoenix Pavilion were transferred to film, preserving traditional staging and singing. His Death Cannot Part Brothers recorded rare footage of the ceremonial opera, making it especially valuable for the study of Cantonese opera tradition.
Achievements
- 1940 · Appeared in his first film, Xu Minggao Thrice Visits the Prince of Ning's Mansion.
- 1961 · Starred for Tai Lung Fung Film in The Victorious Return Greets the Colourful Phoenix.
- 1963 · Co-founded Wing Fung Film Company with Yu So-chau, producing films such as We Shall Not Return Until Loulan Is Conquered.