Yu So-chow

**Yu So Chow **( Yale Cantonese:yū sou chāu; 9 Julie 1930 - 12 Mey 2017) wis a Cheenese actress born in Beijing tae a Peking opera faimily. She is the dochter o late Maister Yu Jim-yuen who ran the *China Drama Academy*, a Peking Opera School in Hong Kong, an teacher o mony well-kent actors.

She stairtit her actin career in 1948 an made ower 240 films in the wuxia, kung fu, action, detective an Cantonese opera genres. Her films wur successfu at the box-office an she wis ane o the maist popular superstarns o the 1960 in Asie an Hong Kong.

## Career
Yu learned Peking Opera at the age o aicht an made her stage debut at the age o nine.  She specialisit in playin female warrior roles in which she coud skillfully demonstrate her fuitwirk bi continuously jugglin an kickin back twal reid-tasselled *tuo shou* (脫手) spears, as seen in ane o her famous stage Peking operas,  *[[Madame White Snake|The White Snake]]* (白蛇傳), an in the 1951 film *Amazon on the Sea* (海上女霸王).

Her first movie wis made in 1948, a Mandarin wuxia film cried *The Kung Fu Couple* (宏碧緣 ).  She wis ane o the three actresses in the 1950s who really ken mairtial airts.   Aff the screen, she wis virtually a heroine: at the age o saxteen, she alane successfully focht aff a group o gangsters wi anerly a silky belt on the streets o Shanghai.   She wis able tae dae aw the stunts, punches an acrobatic skills bi hersel in aw her action films.

Her early wuxia picturs frae 1948 tae 1957 wur in baith Mandarin an Cantonese dialogue, wi stories intendit tae increase cooperation o the Northren Style an Soothren Style o mairtial airts, as seen in *The heroine of deadly darts* (女俠響尾追魂鏢) in 1956. Thir remarkable wuxia films wur maistly based on kung fu novels, e.g. *Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery Pt 1 & Pt 2* (火燒紅蓮寺) in 1950, *The Golden Hairpin Pt 1 & Pt 3* (碧血金釵) in 1963, *Buddha’s Palm* Pt 1 tae Pt 4 (如來神掌)* in 1964 an *The Burning of Pingyang City* (火燒平陽城) in 1965.

Her performances in Cantonese opera wur quite different; she brocht in a mixtur o Peking Opera, in which she performit a lot o fuitwirk, as in *Suet Ting Shan an Fan Lai Hua - Meetin on the Weedy River* (蘆花河會母) in 1961, *Giein birth on the brig – the White serpent* (斷橋產子) in 1962 an *How Zhong Wuyan Conquered the West* (鍾無艷掛帥征西) in 1962. She played a male lead as seen in movies *Execution of Lui Po* at Pak Moon Lau (白門樓斬呂布) in 1961 an aw, *Twa hunters in a pursuit* (文武狀元爭彩鳳) in 1962 an *The beauties* (陣陣美人威) in 1964. Apairt frae action films, she did a few rare contemporar an [[melodrama]] films, for example *Midsummer nicht’s romance* (夏夜之戀) in 1953,  *Bachelors beware* (溫柔鄉) in 1960 an *Twa mouthy ladies frae the north an sooth* (南北鐵咀雞) in 1965.

Her [[gowden age]] o filmin wis aetween 1963 an 1966, when she made at least thirty movies in a year.  Despite her fame an her leadin position, she did tak pairt in movies as a villainous wumman, a role uisually rejectit bi ither actresses who wur afraid o damagin their image.  Housomeivver, Yu pruivit that her talent in actin wis no limitit tae action films. Her surprise roles in  *The big revenge pairt 1 an 2* (灕江河畔血海仇) (1963) an *Heaven, Hell an Crystal Palace* (天堂地獄水晶宮) (1965) did no destroy her popularity nor upset her fans; insteid they wan the herts o the audience.

She marriet famous Cantonese opera actor, Mak Bing Wing, in 1966. Her last major movie wis filmit in [[Taiwan]] (*Decree o the fire dragon* (血火龍令) in 1968) an she made a guest appearance in  *Secret agent no.1* (神探一號) in 1970.  Suin efter that she wis completely retired frae the limelicht. She is nou settled in [[San Francisco]] wi her five childer.

In 2004, Yu wis ane o the celebrities honoured on the [[Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong]]. Tae date, Yu still haulds the record amang actresses o makkin mair nor 170 wuxia movies. Tho she did no gain any internaitional awairds afore her retirement (acause Hong Kong wuxia picturs wur acceptit internaitionally only recently), she is recognisit as a "queen" o mairtial airtists an actresses bi her fans for her devotion tae, an excellence in, wuxia films.

==Selectit filmografie==
* *The revenge o the great swordsman Assassin Zhang Wenxiang* (大俠復仇記) (1949)
* *The five heroes'deadly spears* (五虎斷魂槍) (1951)
* *A story of three lovers, pt 1 & 2* (啼笑姻緣上下集) (1952)
* *A heroine frae Moont Emei*(峨嵋女俠 ) (1952)
* *The dragon-phoenix swordsmen*(龍鳳雙劍俠) (1957)
* *The strange hero conquered the dragon*(怪俠赤屠龍) (1960)
* *Conqueress*(無敵楊家將) (1961)
* *The secret beuk, pairt ane* (仙鶴神針上下三集) (1961)
* *The veelage militia, pt 1 & 2* (魔鏡神珠上下集) (1962)
* *The blonde hair monster*(黃毛怪人) (1962)
* *The birth o the Monkey Keeng*(馬騮精出世) (1962)
* *The Road tae the wast*(唐三藏取西經) (1962)
* *Ingentious swords, pt 1 & 2* (白骨陰陽劍上下集) (1962)
* *Burning o the Reid Lotus Monastery pt 1 & 2* (火燒紅蓮寺上下集) (1963)
* *Valiant Pan An* (武潘安) (1963)
* *The iron wild goose pt 1 & 2*(鐵雁霜翎上下集) (1963)
* *The teeger in huntin*(臥虎藏龍) (1963)
* *Pat cham lau lan sai pat wan* (不斬樓蘭誓不還) (1963)
* *Spring blossoms*(花開富貴錦城春) (1964)
* *The Flying Fox*(萬變飛狐) (1964)
* *The invincible kid Fang Shiyu*(無敵神童方世玉) (1965)
* *The aw-powerful flute pt 1 & 2*(簫聲震武林上下集) (1965)
* *Hero of midland*(中原奇俠) (1966)
* *Fire dragon an the mythical pearl*(火龍神珠) (1966)
* *Heroic days o the Great Ming Dynasty* (斷臂神龍劍) (1966)
* *The avengers' tale pt 1 & 2'' (鐵血恩仇錄上下集) (1966)

## Freemit airtins
* Offeecial Wab Steid o Yu So Chow 
* Yu So Chau at Hong Kong Cinemagic