Hou Yao was one of the most unique and versatile film artists in Chinese and Hong Kong early cinema history. His works blended local traditions with Western romanticism.
Hou started his career as a playwright before going into film in the 1920s, and he briefly left the film world to be a secret operative against the Japanese invaders. He moved to Hong Kong in the 1930s and began directing Cantonese-language films, including anti-Japanese films, military propaganda and popular folklore dramas. He also made Malay-language films in Singapore and Malaysia.
Unfortunately, he was killed by the Japanese military when it invaded Singapore. (HKFA press release) Beheaded by the Japanese in Singapore.
