The Family Business
The Chinese mafia, a.k.a. the Triads, had a lot of influence in the Hong Kong film industry. Actors who were affiliated with one gang could be compared to an actor in the West who assigns with an agency. Despite how many Hong Kong movies were about Triads, there was never really a movie that dug deep into what it meant to be a Triad who works in the film industry. I guess it would have been like a magician revealing his tricks. Maybe, one day, there will be a scripted TV series that explores the history of the Hong Kong movie industry. If done correctly, it could be the long-form version of Boogie Nights. Like how the transition from film to videotape had signalled the end of glamour in the adult movie world, Hong Kong cinema was tainted by the desire of some companies to shoot on video. While not as widespread as what happened in the adult movie world, these Hong Kong videos should have been strictly TV movies instead of being released straight-to-VCD (since videos take up too much space in the average Hong Kong household).
Like in the adult movie world, erotic Hong Kong movies usually attract the involvement of the mafia i.e. small budget, little effort and big thrills. When Hong Kong was handed back to Mainland China after being free of British rule in 1997, Hong Kong’s version of erotic movies (i.e. the Category III genre) were mostly shot either on video or digital video. Some movies are so cheap that they used hotel rooms instead of sets, which lends itself to all kinds of casting couch jokes. Like how streaming ruins the commercial viability of cinema releases, Hong Kong cinema was ruined by piracy to the extent that many filmmakers overcompensated by having to make movies that primarily cater to the Mainland market. One movie that signals the end of the Hong Kong Triads ruling the local industry is a 2003 movie called The Secret Society - Boss. Despite being shot on video, this was actually released in cinemas.
You would think that if Triads can finance movies then why can’t the police force? Actor Danny Lee Sau-Yin wanted to be a policeman so bad that he has played so many of them. Ironically, he never appeared in Jackie Chan’s Police Story franchise. Even Danny’s Magnum production company had entered the world of Category III video entertainment in 1994 with Shoot to Kill and Water Tank Murder Mystery. Although not pornographic, the violence was enough to garner the rating. This is often the case with films given the Category III rating. Other times, films can be rated as such because of the foul language or depiction of Triad rituals. The world of Cantonese slang can give you a clue such as burning yellow paper. This activity can be used for contractual agreements in general, so a film-maker can create a technicality by keeping things strictly symbolic. In movies to do with magic, burning strips of yellow paper allows for more symbolism and technicalities.
One example is a slasher movie that didn’t begin filming. The title was Boxers - the old-fashioned name for martial artists. Before cinema was even a thing, Triads joined wandering opera troupes where they could disguise their movements. When martial arts movies were first being made in Hong Kong, many opera performers joined in…including the Triads. In an eBook titled 36 Chambers of Kung Fu Cinema Vol. 2, Bey Logan talked about how he once had a meeting with Sifu (i.e. master) Lau Kar-Leung in 1989: “In my story, the spirits of Chinese Boxers murdered by the British in the Beijing of 1900, are set loose in modern London, possessing innocent folks. Their victims then use improvised versions of the 18 weapons to kill the descendants of the soldiers that slew them. Lau Sifu would play a ghost busting martial arts master called in to assist Scotland Yard. The film’s finale, set at Stonehenge, would see Lau’s character take on a possessed warrior in a recreation of the last reel of Legendary Weapons of China, with a dash of Sammo Hung’s masterful Spooky Encounters thrown in.”
In another Bey Logan book, Bruce Lee and I, he talked about how British law enabled him to open up a Bruce-themed café in Hong Kong because, under British law, a person’s rights to their name and likeness ended with their death. This meant that he could open a Bruce Lee café with impunity unlike the United States where he would have needed permission from the Lee Estate. However, there is a conflict in Hong Kong between the worlds of law and spirituality. In the February 1989 issue of Inside Kung Fu, there was an article about Cynthia Rothrock’s China O’Brien where Raymond Chow’s daughter (Roberta Chow) was quoted as saying that unexplained accidents happened on the set of every Hong Kong film where Bruce’s image was used. At one point, they had to make offerings and burn incense to a picture of him before the shoot to obtain his blessing. In the world of Triad culture, an incense master has a senior rank in the traditional structure of their society. The initiation ceremony isn’t the only ritual that he is in charge with. The numerical code associated with this rank is 438.
Back to the burning of yellow paper, this results in a portion of the ashes being used to make ritual wine. The phrase “jump ashes” was best personified in a 1976 crime film called Jumping Ashes. In the world of Cantonese slang, “jump ashes” means to deal in drugs (especially heroin). The film was co-written by Phillip Chan Yan-Kin. He served in the Royal Hong Kong Police from 1965 to 1976: the year of the dragon. The film features an actor who went from being a gangster to a cop and back again. His name is Michael Chan Wai-Man. In spite of how much they are affiliated with the police, Danny Lee and Phillip Chan only appeared in one film together: No Way Back (1990). By comparison, Danny had appeared in nine films with Michael Chan whereas Phillip had appeared in eleven films with Michael. Phillip has an indirect connection to Michael in that he appeared in an English language movie featuring Michael’s friend, Bolo Yeung. This movie was filmed in 1986, released in 1988, and was titled Bloodsport.
Bolo liked the star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, so much that he played the villain in Double Impact. Although it was filmed in Hong Kong, Michael Chan doesn’t appear in it despite other Hong Kong actors who appeared in it. This is peculiar because in between both movies, one of Michael’s regular collaborators (Steve Lee Ka-Ting) had appeared in another JCVD movie that was filmed in Hong Kong (albeit partially filmed there). Titled Kickboxer, it contains various players from the Hong Kong film world. Back to Double Impact, one of the producers was Michael Douglas. He actually wanted Jackie Chan to play the villain in a 1989 film that should probably have been about the Chinese mafia instead of the Japanese one (i.e. the Yakuza). The title, Black Rain, reminded me of various Cantonese slang terms about the Triads. One such term goes black eats black, this can either mean people in the same gang who quarrel with each other or a gang who quarrels with another gang.
In the third act of a 1981 film called The Prodigal Son, Triad actor Peter Chan Lung participates in an industry insider joke involving this saying. His character participates in a supernatural ritual that involves using a yellow substance which can make water turn black. He sees the image of the person who he wants to see without realizing that the person, his master, is behind him. The master is the protagonist, who the servant thinks is dead. In order to prove that he is alive, the master dunks his servant’s head in the bucket. This causes the servant’s face to be black to the extent that you can see what looks like black ink in his mouth. The Prodigal Son is one of 43 films that Peter did with Sammo Hung, who directed, choreographed and acted in The Prodigal Son. Peter had shoulder tattoos which he never revealed on film because they would have given away his identity as a Triad. You can only see them in behind-the-scenes photos of Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss. One of Peter’s friends and regular collaborators was the aforementioned Bolo Yeung.
As for Cantonese slang terms that go beyond colour, we should first look at how the Triads are a family business even if it isn’t literally a family. Most men of equal rank are regarded as brothers. Although a senior colleague can be called a big brother, you rarely hear a boss referred to as father. However, you might get a gangster director like Lo Wei who can become a godfather. The boss of one’s boss is called a maternal grandfather. Elder Triads are called uncles whereas a veteran boss is called top grandpa. To “sit upright” means to take over the leader’s seat. The Triad world is called Rivers and Lakes. It’s fitting that a list of Triads is called a seabed. If Triads talk about status in the underworld, they will say river lake position. In The Big Boss, there are three pivotal scenes which take place near a river whereas the finale features a lake that Bruce Lee kicks a Thai gangster into. In Fist of Fury, a less spectacular version of this sees Bruce kick a Japanese man into a garden pond. Kowloon Tong means nine dragons pond. A gang is often called a Tong.
In The Way of the Dragon, there is a dialogue scene where the topic and location is a fountain in Italy. This brings deeper meaning into what Bruce said about how water can flow or crash. In Enter the Dragon, his character accidentally makes a man almost drown in a boat. Back to the world of Triads, “washing bottom” is an archaic expression which means to renounce one’s membership, especially under a government programme designed to help members break their links with Triad societies. A ground basin is a nickname for either a construction site or a territory belonging to or controlled by a Triad society. “River lake first aid” is the principle requiring support for a fellow Triad member in difficulty. There is even a Triad called the Water Room Gang i.e. Wo On Lok. Primarily known in Chinese as Shui Fong, they are one of the four Major Gangs in Macau; the others being Wo Shing Yee, the Big Circle Gang and 14K. The latter have various names. They were originally known as the Hongmen Loyalty Association (or Hong Mountain Loyalty Hall). The initial abbreviated name was Hung League.
The aforementioned Michael Chan Wai-Man is a member of the 14K. When he was starting out as both a cop and a gangster, he would have been given the nickname of pawn. As a businessman, he owns multiple bars. As such, it’s not uncommon for a bouncer to be a member of a Triad. Michael was a Kung Fu movie star. The sound effects in Kung Fu movies were often called thunder. This word can also describe loyalty between friends who may or may not be Triads. Although they say there is no honour among thieves (e.g. once a thief always a thief), there is one example that dispels this notion. To “install a house fee” is to financially support the family of a member who has had to go into hiding, been sent to prison or has been killed working for the society. How to Meet the Lucky Stars was a 1996 film that was made to support Lo Wei, who was in bad health. He died before the movie was completed, so the proceeds went to his family. It was actor Eric Tsang’s idea since he was a friend and collaborator of Lo Wei. Eric was no stranger to Triad culture. His father was a corrupt policeman, and one of Eric’s best friends, Alan Tang, was a gangster.
Lo Wei was a high-ranking member of the Sun Yee On Triad. They share the same nickname, sān gei, as the Xinhua News Agency (who served as the People’s Republic of China’s de facto embassy in Hong Kong before 1997). Back to the family theme, “family law” is often a punishment, especially a serious one, for a Triad member. An enforcer, named a Red Pole, is often thought of as being a big background when accompanied by lackeys. Generally and confusingly, “background people” can be people who have Triad connections. A big play has a double meaning: Cantonese opera or a gang fight. This gag pays off during a scene in The Prodigal Son. A respected gangster can be called either a big road marshall or a second road marshall. A lodge leader is another such monicker. Being a shoplifter can result in as much punishment from a gangster as a cop since a gangster might collect protection fees from the shop that the thief is stealing from.
“Petals” is a general term for either a Triad group or any line of business. A double flower Red Pole is a Red Pole who has been commended by his Triad bosses. In First Strike (1996), there is a scene where Jackie Chan fights a Triad gang who are armed with literally red poles. “Planting one’s flag” is taking power in an area. “Showing one’s hand” is as much of a gambling term as one to indicate that you’re calling support from fellow gangsters. “Ring head, ring tail” alludes to the less prosperous areas at the two ends of Hong Kong Island facing Kowloon. It can also mean an area where there is not much money to be made. Old hair has multiple meanings. Besides the obvious euphemisms, it can refer to Chairman Mao because old hair in Cantonese is Lao Mao, or a red envelope containing lucky money. The envelope is distributed during the Lunar New Year and other ritual occasions including when a gang recruit thanks his big brother on letting him join the gang. It’s also lucky money given to an actor by the director when his character dies.
One reason why so many cops either became Triads or became friends with them is because the police and Triads worship the same shrine: a statue of Guan Yu - a general from the Three Kingdoms period who was known as the God of War. He represents loyalty and brotherhood. He is usually depicted as having a red face which comes from the blood of his enemies. In 1614, the Wanli Emperor called him the Great God who subdues demons in the three worlds. Coincidentally, the Chinese translation of Triad means Three Harmony Society (a reference to Heaven, Earth and Water). In The Prodigal Son, the protagonist plays General Guan in a play. If a gangster or policeman finds themselves in a situation where their face is covered in blood, they will be called Guan Yu regardless of whether they are alive or dead.
“One of us” is a subtle code among gang members to acknowledge someone’s affiliation whereas “join the club” is a discreet way to induct newcomers. A “side door” describes a shady side hustle in the form of illegal activities or dishonest dealings such as pirated movies. When someone brings up the topic of a shop sign (or “signboard”), they are asking for the name of your gang. A signboard poem is a poem recited by a Triad member to show his affiliation. An example of this can be seen in a 1981 film called Mahjong Heroes (written by the co-writer of The Prodigal Son). “Change stalls” can either mean to change your job, change your allegiance to a Triad, or even telling someone to mind their own business! To conclude, “pricking the finger” is a stage in the Triad initiation ceremony in which the middle finger of the left hand is pricked and the blood is used to make a ritual wine. This officially makes it a blood cult. It sounds over the top, but spirituality is permeated so much into the Triad lifestyle that a Triad’s robe is often called a monk’s robe.
