Mr Sun Ma Si Tsang

1916-1997

Actor

Actor and Cantonese opera artist, Tang Wing-cheung is known by his stage name, Sun Ma Si-tsang and the moniker ‘King of Male Principal Roles’. His parents divorced when he was very young and he ran away from home to escape his stepmother’s maltreatment. He apprenticed under Cantonese opera artists Sai Gei and Ho Sau-nin, becoming known at a young age as the ‘Child Prodigy’. As he excelled at imitating virtuoso Ma Si-tsang, his master granted him the stage name Sun Ma Si-tsang (meaning New Ma Si-tsang). Tang went on to train under another virtuoso, actor and composer Sit Kok-sin, and even learnt Peking opera in Shanghai. His unique singing style came to be known as the ‘Sun Ma’ style.  Throughout the years, he founded various critically acclaimed troupes, including Yuk Ma, Sun Ma and Ng Wong (“Five Royals”) Cantonese Opera Troupes and shot to fame playing in Lust Is the Worst Vice and Emperor Guangxu Paying Homage to Concubine Zhen at Night, works which became his signature pieces. Tang made his big screen debut in 1936 with The Perfect Match (1936). Besides adapting operatic works for the cinema, he was also famous for funny roles alongside comedian Tang Kee-chan, like in the ‘Two Fools’ series, as well as Instalment on Marriage (1961), Teddy Boy in the Gutter (1967), A Strange Daredevil (1967), and other well-loved comedies. By 1976, Sun Ma Si-tsang had made over 300 movies. In 1960, he founded Wing-cheung Records Company to release his own works. His lifelong commitment to philanthropy earned him the moniker ‘Opera King of Charity’.  Furthermore, he received many accolades, among them an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford (1977) and an MBE (1978) in recognition of his outstanding artistic contributions.