Reading King Hu: A Note on His Literary Style

Abstract

This article introduces King Hu's literary styles to the English-reading public unfamiliar with his writings in Chinese. Aside from being a celebrated filmmaker, King Hu was also known to be a productive writer-essayist in his time. From his early days at Shaw Brothers, to the final “quiet” years in Southern California, he wrote more than one hundred short articles, authored a book on Lao She, and began writing a memoir that remains unfinished. For the first time in English, "King Hu in His Own Words" collects and translates a selection of King Hu's writings, presents the major director's reflections on filmmaking, the vicissitudes of life, Chinese history, philosophy and religion.