Yuan Qiu-feng, a native of Lujiang in Anhui, was born in Harbin. After graduating in political economy from China University in Beijing he worked as a war correspondent; in 1950 he moved to Hong Kong to work for a newspaper and wrote fiction in his spare time, then became an assistant director under Ma-Xu Weibang. He wrote the scripts for Ma-Xu's Amoy-dialect films The Red Whisk Girl (1956) and a 1957 title, and directed his first Amoy picture, A Heroine of the Wilderness (1956). He went on to make more than twenty Amoy-dialect films, among them Malay Nyonya (1959) and Singapore Miss (1959), as well as one Teochew film in 1960. Joining Shaw Brothers in 1959, he made further Amoy and Cantonese pictures, and wrote the screenplay for Ma-Xu's posthumous release of 1961. He then turned to Mandarin films — first a two-part Song at Midnight (1962–63) begun by Ma-Xu, then a Dream of the Red Chamber (1962) and others written by his wife Yi Fan. In 1964 he moved to MP & GI, later Cathay, where his first film was a 1966 release and where he completed seven pictures, including an elaborately crafted 1966 epic. He later formed Golden Eagle with the siblings Lei Chen and Betty Loh Ti, directing swordplay films in 1968 and 1969; his last directing job was a 1970 Mandarin picture co-directed with Ling Yun. In a decade and more he directed over fifty films. In 1970 Shaw invited him to take over the production-manager post previously held by Raymond Chow; three years later he left the industry for publishing.
One of the most prolific directors of 1950s Amoy-dialect cinema, Yuan moved into Mandarin pictures spanning drama, swordplay and epic spectacle and later served as Shaw Brothers' production manager; his ambition-laden 1966 epic stands as a large-scale example of 1960s studio filmmaking.
Achievements
- 1956 · Directed his first film, the Amoy-dialect picture A Heroine of the Wilderness
- 1959 · Joined Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) as a director
- 1970 · Was invited by Shaw Brothers to take over the production-manager post previously held by Raymond Chow