Lam Ching Ying

Lam Ching Ying was born Lam Gun Bo on December 27 1952 in the Year Of The Dragon, in Hong Kong. His family is originated from Shanghai, in the Republic Of China. His parents secured their subsistence by catering others. Ching Ying was his parents' third-born child. He had two brothers and three sisters. His elder sister is Ling Chu, his younger sisters are Bo Chu and Wai Chun. He had a  younger brother Chun Hung and an elder, whose name I don't know, and unfortunately died half a year before Ah Ying's death, which must have been terrible to their Mum, who was eighty years old in 1997,  when Ying died. The family wasn't really well off, as the elders didn't have any chance of education at all. Even little Ying left school, the Hong Kong's Shun Yi Association Elementary School he attended, in the 2nd grade and was sent by his father to the Chun Chau Drama Society to learn the Peking Opera style. It was in 1962/63, when he was about 11 or 12 years old, full of energy and archness.

This was the school of Madame Fan Fok Fa, the "rival" school of Yu Jim Yuen, where Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao were trained at the same time. Actually they were not really rivals, but friends and the students had many opportunities on stage to perform together and off-stage to make acquaintance, like Sammo and Ching Ying did when they learnt moves together. But his real friends at that time were his schoolmate brothers, such as Stephen Tung Wai, Mang Hoi, Wu Ma, Peter Chan, Chung Fat, John Lone, Fung Hak On, Hsia Hou, Mars, Wai Tin Chi, Chin Siu-Ho, Chin Kar-Lok. These names and faces escorted him througout his carrier, till his funeral.

His training at the school gave him unique physical abilities in fighting and gymnastics, but  Madame also thought him the rare skill to be able to play female roles, as well as performing stunt-doubling for actresses. He was quite short, slender, but what really made him capable of this oddity is his fragile figure, delicate body-structure and his singing-voice which was falsetto. This "female side" of his can be seen in The Prodigal Son, which was his finest performance later on. But at the beginning Ah Ying was so mischievous, that Madame reported him so disobedient, that he was beyond her ability to handle. There was nothing else to do than send him onto the stage after half a year of training, to let himself express and engage his drive. It could be an entire essay to find out how this naughty, undisciplined elf became such a serious adult who even rearly smiled or joked. His devotion to act, his collected, disciplined manner makes him a role model even nowadays.

His first show was titled White Beach, but his Beijing Opera carrier only lasted for 5 years. Presumably he realized that there was not much demand for his style of acting anymore and it was time to change.Through a friend's introduction he entered the film world. 

                                            First Steps