Woon was born in Bidor Town, Batang Padang District, Perak State, Malaya in 1954 in a Hakka family with ancestry from Mei County, Guangdong Province, China. In 1959, at a young age, he started reading from his family's collection of books and wrote his first short story. In 1961, he started attending primary school, and was accompanied by his elder sister because he was shy and afraid. However, soon after entering school, he became very active and outspoken in class, and was selected as the model student of the year in 1963. Throughout his years in primary to senior high school, Woon published articles in various magazines and defeated an opponent a year older than him in a debating competition when he was in secondary two. He also wrote a romantic novel titled Ouran (偶然; By Coincidence).
Between 1971 and 1972, Woon studied psychoanalysis and aesthetics. During this time, he met Fang E'zhen (方娥真), who became his partner for 16 years. He also started writing for various Taiwanese magazines and published his debut wuxia novel in the Hong Kong magazine Wuxia Chunqiu (武俠春秋). In 1973, he established a poetry society and published his first novel in the series Si Da Ming Bu (四大名捕; The Four Great Constables). At the end of the year, he travelled to Taiwan to further his studies at the National Taiwan University.
In 1976, Woon and Fang E'zhen established the Shenzhou Poetry Society (神州詩社) in Taiwan. However, not long later, they were accused of "promoting communism" by the Taiwanese government and detained for three months; the society was disbanded. They were sent back to Malaysia later, but were subsequently forced to move to Hong Kong due to the Malaysian government's strong stance against communism.
In 1981, after moving to Hong Kong, Woon published the wuxia novel series Shenzhou Qixia (神州奇俠; Hero of Shenzhou) in the newspaper Ming Pao. In the second half of 1983, ATV recruited Woon to be one of their writers. In the same year, Woon's works were published by Bok Yik (博益), a sub-company under TVB. His wuxia novels were later re-released by a Taiwanese publisher, Wansheng (萬盛). Woon's novel series Si Da Ming Bu and Buyi Shenxiang (布衣神相) were also adapted by ATV into television series.
In 1988, Taiwan's CTV released a television series based on Woon's novel series Si Da Ming Bu. Woon also wrote wuxia serials in the Taiwanese newspapers China Times and United Daily News. At the end of the year, Woon started his own magazine company in Hong Kong to promote his "new school" of wuxia stories. From 1990 to 1998, Woon ventured into the mainland Chinese market and spent most of his time in China. His most recent works such as Da Laohu (打老虎), Bu Laoshu (捕老鼠) and Yuanhou Yue (猿猴月) were published by Crown House Publishing (皇冠出版社) in Hong Kong.
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB Pearl as its main English service. TVB is headquartered at TVB City at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate.
Louis Cha Leung-yung, better known by his pen name Jin Yong, was a Chinese wuxia novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer, and is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia". He is also known as one of the "Four Great Talents of Hong Kong".
Fong Sai-yuk is a semi-fictional Chinese martial artist and folk hero from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province of the Qing dynasty. Fong was also associated with Hung Hei-gun and the Five Elders of the Southern Shaolin Monastery. He was a disciple of Shaolin and his martial arts techniques were considered to have contributed to the development of Hung Ga Kuen.
Felix Wong Yat-wah is a Hong Kong actor and singer best known for his performances in many wuxia television series produced by TVB, such as The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983), in which he played the protagonist Kwok Ching. He is considered to be one of the most popular teen idols of the 1980s and was named as "Third Tiger" among Five Tiger Generals of TVB.
Daoji, popularly known as Ji Gong, was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers through Buddhist practice, which he used to help the poor and stand up to injustice. However, he was also known for his wild and eccentric behavior and didn't follow Buddhist monastic rules by consuming alcohol and meat. By the time of his death, Daoji had become a legend in Chinese culture and a deity in Chinese folk religion. He is mentioned by Buddhists in folktales and kōans, and sometimes invoked by oracles to assist in worldly affairs.
Tommy Tam Fu-wing, known professionally by his stage name Ti Lung, is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly The Duel, The Blood Brothers, Clans of Intrigue, The Avenging Eagle, The Sentimental Swordsman and its sequel, as well as the classic John Woo film A Better Tomorrow and its sequel.
Di Nü Hua is a fictional Chinese story about Princess Changping of the Ming Dynasty and her husband/lover, Zhou Shixian. The first known story was a Kunqu script written in the Qing Dynasty, while the second version was a Cantonese opera from the early 1900s later found in Japan and Shanghai. Little information is available from this early 1900s version. The contemporary prevailing version, not meant to be historically accurate, comes from the second Cantonese opera script.
Dicky Cheung Wai-kin is a Hong Kong actor and singer.
The Four may refer to:
Face to Fate is a Hong Kong television series released overseas in September 2006 and aired locally on TVB Pay Vision Channel in March 2007. The series is an adaptation of wuxia writer Woon Swee Oan's works.
Wong Sing, better known by his stage name Ha Yu, is a Hong Kong actor who has been working on the television network TVB since the 1970s.
Michelle Yim Wai-ling, better known by her stage name Mai Suet, is a Hong Kong actress and elder sister of former actress Sidney Yim Wai-ming also known by stage name Suet Lei. She graduated from St. Rose of Lima's College and Shaw Brothers' Training School.
Damian Lau Chung-yan is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV.
The Four is a 2008 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB. The series is adapted from Woon Swee Oan's novel Si Da Ming Bu. The novel tells the story of four young constables: Heartless, Iron Fist, Chaser, and Cold Blood, who work together to solve cases and attempt to bring down the corrupt Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. The series is shown to celebrate TVB's 41st Anniversary.
Chor Lau-heung is a Hong Kong wuxia television series adapted from the first three novels in the Chu Liuxiang novel series by Taiwanese writer Gu Long. Adam Cheng starred as the titular protagonist, Chor Lau-heung. The series was first broadcast on TVB on September 3, 1979. The 65 episodes long series was divided into four parts: The Legend of Mo-fa (無花傳奇), The Great Desert (大沙漠), Legend of the Divine Palace (神宮傳奇) and The Final Battle (最後一戰).
Strike at Heart is a Hong Kong period wuxia television series based on Woon Swee Oan's novel, A Spear of Alarm produced by TVB. The series stars Joe Ma, Sunny Chan, Stephen Au, Charmaine Sheh, Nnadia Chan, and Annie Man. It was filmed in 2004 and released overseas in January 2005. Then it was aired in Hong Kong on TVB Pay Vision's TVB Drama channel from 27 May to 23 June 2009.
The Four is a 2012 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the first film adaptation of Woon Swee Oan's novel series Si Da Ming Bu, which has previously been adapted to a television series. In all adaptations and interpretations, the nicknames of the Four remained the same — Emotionless, Iron Hands, Life Snatcher and Cold Blood. They dedicated their special skills to the service of their chief, Master Zhuge, in solving crimes and apprehending powerful criminals.
The Four III is a Chinese-Hong Kong 3D wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the final installment of the trilogy based on Woon Swee Oan's novel series, after The Four (2012) and The Four II (2013).
Zoie Tam Hoi-ki is a Hong Kong actress, singer and television presenter currently under Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) management. She debuted as a singer in Japan and previously acted in Japanese and Hong Kong television station Asia Television (ATV) dramas. She is able to converse in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Japanese.
The Four is a 2015 Chinese television series starring Hans Zhang, Yang Yang, William Chan and Mao Zijun. It is the latest adaption of Woon Swee Oan's novel Si Da Ming Bu. The series aired on Hunan TV from 17 March to 23 June 2015.
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