59-598: Ringo Lam Ling-Tung ( simplified Chinese : 林岭东 ; traditional Chinese : 林嶺東 ; pinyin : Lín Lǐngdōng , 8 December 1955 – 29 December 2018) was a Hong Kong film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was known for his action and crime films produced during the Hong Kong New Wave , many of them comprising entries in the heroic bloodshed subgenre. He was nominated for six Hong Kong Film Awards , winning Best Director for his 1987 film City on Fire , which he followed with other similar films that shared
118-419: A Hong Kong production titled Victim . The film featured a supernatural storyline and had its ending changed on its Hong Kong theatrical release. Half of the release prints contained a scene stating whether or not the actor was possessed by a ghost. The other half of the movie reflected the original script and did not reveal this. Lam's second U.S.-based production, Replicant , was released in 2001. The film
177-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
236-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
295-694: A dark view of Hong Kong society, collectively known as the "On Fire" cycle. Lam's other notable films include Aces Go Places IV (1986), Prison on Fire (1987), Undeclared War (1990), Twin Dragons (1992, co-directed with Tsui Hark ), and Full Contact (1992). Many of his films starred Chow Yun-fat . He also directed several films in the United States, beginning with 1996's Maximum Risk , with Jean-Claude Van Damme . He would continue working on film productions in both Hong Kong and two more American productions with Van Damme until 2003. In 2016, he won
354-511: A decade Lam's new film was titled Wild City . Lam stated that he returned to filming after his son had graduated from college and that he would "like to make films that allow me to express myself. It's a device for me to unburden myself, to get things off my chest, and also a mirror to learn more about myself through the film I made. I don't make films for money anymore." Lam attended the New York Asian Film Festival in 2015 where he
413-514: A director. According to Hark, Lam handled most of the action scenes in the film. Lam also briefly appears in the film as a car mechanic. Lam's next film Full Contact was released in Hong Kong on 23 July 1992. It grossed a total of HK$ 16,793,011. Lam followed it up with Burning Paradise which differed from his previous films by being a period film featuring the Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-yuk opposed
472-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
531-453: A film set in an urban environ. The film was poorly received at the box office in Hong Kong, being the 145th highest-grossing film of the year. In 1995, Lam directed another period film set in 1975 starring Andy Lau titled The Adventurers . The film was shot partially in the Philippines and the United States and grossed HK$ 14,839,584 in Hong Kong. In 1996, Lam made his American debut with
590-599: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
649-518: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
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#1732855028533708-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
767-508: Is always a love-hate process." The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival . In 2014, the Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily reported that Lam would return to directing with a film with funding from Mei Ah Entertainment with a cast to include Daniel Wu and Shawn Yue . The film began production in June 2014. The film marked Lam's first feature-length film in over
826-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
885-809: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
944-609: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
1003-540: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
1062-586: The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Lam followed up Full Alert the next year with The Suspect which was shot in the Philippines. The Suspect was not as financially successful as Full Alert , grossing around ten million less. In 1998, Variety announced that Lam would direct the film Simon Sez with Kevin Elders . Lam later only contributed to the film as a producer. Lam directed
1121-712: The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Director for his Wild City , his first film in 8 years. His final film, a segment in the omnibus Septet: The Story of Hong Kong , was released posthumously in 2020, two years after his death. Ringo Lam was born in British Hong Kong in 8 December 1955. Lam started his career by enrolling in the TVB Actors Training Program in 1973. At the program, he met Chow Yun Fat with whom he would later collaborate on several films. He graduated from
1180-441: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : The Eighth Happiness The Eighth Happiness (八星報喜) is a 1988 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Johnnie To and starring an ensemble cast of Chow Yun-fat , Raymond Wong , Jacky Cheung , Carol Cheng , Cherie Chung , Fung Bo Bo and Fennie Yuen. It was the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong at
1239-456: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
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#17328550285331298-404: The 1980s was Wild Search released in 1989. It grossed a total of HK$ 15,944,333 in Hong Kong. Lam's first film of the 1990s was Undeclared War released in 1990. The film contained an international cast including Olivia Hussey , Peter Lapis , Danny Lee and Vernon Wells . The film was not as popular as Lam's previous films in Hong Kong, grossing HK$ 5,523,958. Lam's next film Touch and Go
1357-476: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
1416-508: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
1475-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
1534-475: The abuse of street, prison and school systems. Lam rarely employed Cantopop in his films. Lam's films often have Western music, such as City on Fire , which features a blues-oriented saxophone score, and Full Contact , which uses American rock music. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with
1593-458: The best I can ..." Lam received sole directing credit for the film. The film was released on 15 December 1983 in Hong Kong. Lam's next feature film was The Other Side of Gentleman , which was released 28 June 1984 in Hong Kong. Lam followed this with the romantic comedy film Cupid One released 1985. The film grossed HK$ 6,382,935, which was less than his previous two films which both grossed over ten million Hong Kong dollars. Lam's next film
1652-440: The box office. Lam also stated that he wanted to spend more time with his family and "above all, to observe people and learn more about them. I wanted to seek resources, material, and subjects that were worth making into films." In 2007, Lam co-directed a section of the portmanteau film Triangle with Tsui Hark and Johnnie To . Lam stated that his story in the film represented "a metaphor of my attitude towards filmmaking: It
1711-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
1770-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
1829-465: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
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1888-472: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
1947-493: The film Maximum Risk starring Jean-Claude Van Damme . The film was not a big draw at the box office. Lam returned to Hong Kong where he shot his next film Full Alert which was budgeted at $ 13 million. The film was shown at film festivals in 1997 including Rotterdam and Berlin . Full Alert was nominated for five awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and won the award for best film and best actor (Lau Ching-wan) at
2006-616: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
2065-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
2124-465: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
2183-503: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
2242-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
2301-459: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
2360-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
2419-578: The other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
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2478-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
2537-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
2596-476: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
2655-461: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
2714-459: The success of Aces Go Places IV , he began his On Fire series. Lam chose the English titles for these films stating that it gave them "a sense of energy, of action". The films City on Fire , Prison on Fire and School on Fire do not share any characters or situations, but all have a common bleak view on Hong Kong society. In these films, Lam looks at controversial issues such as street violence and
2773-425: The time. The film centers around three brothers Fong Kim-long ( Chow Yun-fat ), Fong Kim-fai ( Raymond Wong Pak-ming ) and Fong Kim-sang ( Jacky Cheung ). One day, their telephone line failed, they meet their future wife because of this incident. The film grossed HK$ 37,090,776 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 11 February to 30 March 1988 and was the top-grossing film of 1988 in Hong Kong and
2832-488: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
2891-817: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
2950-535: The training program in 1974 alongside Chow. After taking a few acting roles, Lam went to Canada and studied film at York University in Toronto . Lam returned to Hong Kong in 1981. Lam's first four films were not written by him. Lam took over as director for Po-Chih Leong after he had finished about one-third of the film Esprit d'amour as the film's producer Karl Maka needed a cheap replacement and hired him. Lam explained that he had "no choice, I need food, so I do
3009-516: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
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#17328550285333068-442: Was Prison on Fire which had a script that was written in nine days while the film was shot in 20 days. In 1988, along with Karl Maka, Lam had a brief acting role in the film The Eighth Happiness . Lam then continued his On Fire series with School on Fire which was released in Hong Kong on 20 August 1988. School on Fire was edited with many scenes censored on its release in both Hong Kong and Taiwan . Lam's final film of
3127-554: Was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lam's last film, Sky on Fire , was released in 2016; it is the last installment in his "On Fire" series. On 29 December 2018, Lam was confirmed dead at his Hong Kong residence at age 63, after his wife found him unresponsive in his bed. Lam had been working on a film "Eight and a Half" with Milkyway Image with Ann Hui , John Woo , Tsui Hark , Patrick Tam , Johnnie To , Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-Ping . Each director
3186-461: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
3245-485: Was released on 16 May 1991 in Hong Kong. The film was a comedy starring Sammo Hung . Lam stated in interviews that Touch and Go was an assignment took for hire in order to keep himself in the film business. The film grossed less than Undeclared War in Hong Kong. Lam released a second film in 1991 titled Prison on Fire II . The film was very popular with Hong Kong audiences where it grossed $ 24,367,261. Lam's next film Twin Dragons had him partnered with Tsui Hark as
3304-544: Was screened theatrically in France on 11 July 2001. The film was released direct-to-video in the United States. Lam directed two more films in 2003: the Hong Kong production Looking for Mister Perfect and the American direct-to-video release In Hell starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Lam next took a break from filmmaking after finding dissatisfaction with the filming environment in Hong Kong after Finding Mr. Perfect did poorly in
3363-416: Was the first of his On Fire films, City on Fire . The film is a gangster movie which was made in Hong Kong in the footsteps of A Better Tomorrow (1986) which re-invented the gangster film genre in Hong Kong. The film was released on 13 February 1987 and earned $ 19,723,505 in Hong Kong. Lam won the award for Best Director award at the 1987 Hong Kong Film Awards for City on Fire . Lam's next film that year
3422-474: Was the fourth film in the Aces Go Places film series, Aces Go Places IV . Lam stated in interviews that he directed the film as a favor to Karl Maka , who helped give Lam his start. The film was very successful at the box office grossing HK$ 27,012,748 in Hong Kong. After Aces Go Places IV , Karl Maka allowed Lam to make whatever type of film he wanted. Lam's had two films released in 1987. one of which
3481-499: Was to create a segment based on Hong Kong history. Without Woo's segment, the film's title was changed to Septet: The Story of Hong Kong and the film was originally set for a release at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival . The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020. Lam's first four films were comedies not written by Lam. When Lam began to shoot the films he wanted to make after
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