Sit Kok-sin (1904–1956), born Sit Jok-mui and known in school as Sit Luen-mui, was a native of Shunde, Guangdong, and came from a Cantonese opera family; he was the fifth of ten brothers, and two elder sisters and a younger brother were also performers. He entered St. Paul's College in Hong Kong at thirteen, left at fifteen and became an apprentice in a leather shop at seventeen, and at eighteen was taken as a pupil by his brother-in-law Sun Siu-wah, taking the stage name Sit Kok-sin and beginning in comic roles. He joined the Yan Sau Nin troupe in 1923 and, being quick to learn, was a principal by twenty, sharing the stage with Chin Lei-ku. In 1925 he formed the Fei Fei Film Company in Shanghai to shoot the silent film Butterfly of the Waves, meeting its leading lady Tong Suet-hing (a cousin of Tong Tik-sang), whom he later married; in Shanghai, Kunqu and Peking opera inspired him greatly, and he resolved to absorb Peking-opera staging and organisation and to reform Cantonese opera's music and percussion. Returning to Hong Kong in 1927 he joined several troupes, improved his make-up after the model of Mei Lanfang, and in 1929 formed his own troupe, the Kok Sin Sing, which produced such stars as Sun Ma Sze-tsang, Chan Kam-tong, Mak Bing-wing and Lam Ka-sing. On 27 September 1933 his self-written, self-starring Cantonese film The Platinum Dragon opened in Hong Kong and then sold well in Shanghai and Guangzhou. On 25 October 1933 the government allowed men and women to perform together, and the Kok Sin Sing became the first troupe with a female performer, his wife Tong Suet-hing the first woman to share the stage with male actors; his rivalry with Ma Sze-tsang opened the era known as the Sit-Ma contest. He reformed Cantonese opera by abolishing the apprenticeship contract, banning improvisation, insisting on rehearsal to a fixed script, adding Western instruments such as the violin and saxophone alongside Peking-opera gongs and drums, having Yuen Siu-tin teach northern-style combat, and borrowing from Peking opera and Jiangnan tunes to create the clear, expressive 'Sit style'. In 1954 he settled in Guangzhou, heading the art committee of the Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Company and later serving as a member of the national political consultative conference. On the night of 30 October 1956 he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage during a performance of Flower-Dyed Top Scholar Red in Guangzhou and died the next day, aged 52.
Sit Kok-sin blended Western instruments with Peking-opera vocal styles to found the Sit school and the 'Sit style' in Cantonese opera, and led the way in having women perform alongside men. His 1933 The Platinum Dragon was among the earliest sound Cantonese opera films, leaving a lasting mark on both Cantonese opera and early Cantonese cinema.
Achievements
- 1929 · Formed his own Kok Sin Sing troupe, performing in Guangzhou and Hong Kong and producing many celebrated artists
- 1933 · Wrote and starred in The Platinum Dragon, among the earliest sound Cantonese opera films
- 1956 · Suffered a cerebral haemorrhage during a performance of Flower-Dyed Top Scholar Red in Guangzhou and died the next day