Cao Dahua

essential information

Acting experience

In 1931, he went to Shanghai to join Yueming film company as an actor.

In 1933, playing "Da Niu Shun" in "hand to hand" began to be widely noticed.

Since 1935, he has starred and acted in many films in Hong Kong, such as orphan's journey, little tiger, demobilized tears, Shandong Xiangma, etc. In 1936, he joined the "Hong Kong grand view film company" under the recommendation of director Guan Wenqing and served as deputy director and actor.

In 1939, he played the leading role for the first time in the heroine.

When Hong Kong was occupied in 1941, Cao Dahua once lived by selling old clothes. In 1949, he and his sister Cao Qiwen set up "Youqiao film company", and founded Wenhua, Youqiao film company and "Youqiao studio". In 1949, he produced and starred in the martial arts film collection "seven swordsmen and thirteen swordsmen" and "seven swordsmen and thirteen swordsmen" (1-6 episodes), which set the highest box office record in 1949. In the same year, he was awarded the title of "forcing tiger to jump over the wall" "Iron man in silver altar".

In 1953, the palace theater was founded.

In 1964, he played the role of long Jianfei in the Tathagata palm. At the same time, Cao Dahua played Liang Kuan, a disciple of Huang Feihong, in biography of Huang Feihong, and began to perform more than 70 series of Huang Feihong. He is also the first actor to play Guo Jing in the biography of the shooting hero in the Cantonese film era.

In 1969, Wenhua film company was founded.

He joined Shaw company in 1979. In the 1990s, he moved to Britain, during which he still returned to Hong Kong to participate in some film and television performances. In 1993, he returned to Hong Kong and participated in the production of TV series by TVB. In 2001, he was awarded the Golden Bauhinia Award by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. In 2003, he was awarded the professional spirit award by the Hong Kong Film Awards.

2003: Fingerprinting on avenue of stars.

Main works

Take part in the film

Take part in TV series

(Note: reference materials for participating in TV Series)

Award winning record

Personal life

Born in Taishan, Guangdong Province, Cao Dahua grew up in Hong Kong and studied in St. Peter's College in Hong Kong.

In 1938, he married Zhu Qihua.

In 1960, he owned over a million properties, half a street property, and was the owner of Youqiao film studio. He was the first person in Hong Kong to own dodge Autobot, but he lost all his money in Macao because he was fond of gambling.

In 1990, Cao Dahua accepted an dezun, his only apprentice. He retired in the same year and emigrated to England with his son and wife to take care of his wife. In 1993, he returned to Hong Kong to take part in the production of TV series by TVB.

In 1997, he returned to England because of his wife's kidney disease.

After his wife died in 2000, he returned to Hong Kong to shoot TV series on Asian TV.

In August 2006, he fell down the stairs and was seriously injured in his rooftop apartment at No. 14, Sai Yeung Choi South Street, Mongkok. He was hospitalized for two months and then discharged. His apartment here was also exposed.

Cao min'er, the eldest daughter, is in the United States, while Cao Litao, the youngest son, is in Britain. She has two sons, one daughter and two sons.

Anecdotes and allusions

He said he lost 300 million in his life

Cao Dahua had an indissoluble bond with "gambling" all his life. In 1964, when he was shooting "Cape fright" in Macao, he played 21 points and won many games in a row, so he became addicted to gambling. The "Youqiao studio", "Wenhua studio" and "Palace Theater" founded by him also lost because of gambling.

Lin Jiao, a good friend of Cao Dahua, said that the studio was burned out because of a fire, and Cao Dahua did not rebuild it in the end. Because the owner of the Imperial Palace Theater increased the rent, Cao Dahua refused to renew his contract, instead of losing all his wealth as rumored.

Abandon business and follow the police

When Deng Houjiang, the Commissioner of police supervision of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, retired in July 2013, he summed up his career as "worthwhile". In retrospect, director Deng joined the police force for the sake of a man, Cao Dahua. In an interview with Cheng Bao, Deng houguang said that when he was a child, he was fascinated by Cao Dahua and often played the role of detective in Cantonese feature films. When he grew up, he wanted to watch the evil and punish the traitors, so he "abandoned business and went to the police" after graduating from university.

Character evaluation

Film contribution

He has a great influence on the film circle. He has devoted his whole life to film. (comments by Wang Mingquan)

Collective memory

Cao Dahua can be said to be the "collective memory" of the past generations of Hong Kong people. From teenagers in their twenties and twenties to middle-aged and elderly people, I believe that few of them have never seen Cao Dahua. The former may have seen his heroism from the TV replay of "Cantonese feature films" or TV series, while many of the latter grew up with the images of Cao Dahua's "Tathagata palm", "Huang Feihong" and "detective Cao". (Dagong online review)

Chinese PinYin : Cao Da Hua