Yam Kim-fai

Yam Kim Fai
Yam Kim Fai (left)
Background information
Chinese name	任劍輝 (traditional)
Chinese name	任剑辉 (simplified)
Pinyin	Rén Jiànhuī (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Jam4 Gim3 Fai1 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Yam Lee Chor (任麗初)
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1913-02-04)4 February 1913 Nanhai, Foshan, China
Died	29 November 1989(1989-11-29) (aged 76) Hong Kong
Occupation	Actress, Performer (文武生)
Genre(s)	Cantonese opera
Influenced	Loong Kim Sang (protégée)
Awards Cantonese Opera Film Century Award 14th Hong Kong Film Awards

Yam Kim-fai
Traditional Chinese	任劍輝
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Jam6 Gim3-fai1 Yale Romanization Yahm Gim-fāi

Yam Kim Fai (Chinese: 任劍輝, 4 February 1913 (Lunar 29 December 1912) – 29 November 1989), also known as Ren Jianhui^[1] was a renowned Cantonese opera actress in China and Hong Kong.

She was most notable for her unique ability to sing in the lower register. That her opera voice was indistinguishable from a male one allowed her to play either male or female roles, though she usually performed male ones.

Miss Universe 1976, the 25th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 11 July 1976 at the Lee Theatre in Hong Kong. From five portraits, contestants were asked to pick one that she/they could identify, as the only actress instead of an actor, in Cantonese opera costume. Yam was not^[2] the one she/they picked. In 1972, TV viewers looked for the "man" they knew from movies/stage performances when Yam performed the last time in public. They did not expect to see her in a 2-piece set of jacket and qipao (cheongsam) with floral print.

Since 1972, Yam enjoyed singing in private with a live band and was often accompanied by her protégée Loong who would read the lyrics out for her until her eyesight improved with surgery.

Early life

Born Yam Lee Chor (Chinese: 任麗初), Yam performed as a past-time with a Cantonese opera troupe since when still in grade school. When Yam was 14, her aunt (Chinese: 小叫天), another Cantonese opera actress, taught Yam the foundation courses. Very soon, Yam quit school and began her formal opera performance studies with Wong Lui Hap (Chinese: 黃侶俠), who was known for being the female version of Ma Sze Tsang.

Jade Flower (Chinese: 玉瓊花) was one of the very first co-stars as female leads on stage. Yam earned her keep, rose from the bottom rung and eventually became male lead at the age of 17 but switching between being male lead and playing second fiddle to Wong or other actresses, with more experience and more well-known, for another few years before venturing out on her own.

In 1939, Yam joined an all-female opera troupe (Chinese: 群芳艷影). Many troupes (Chinese:「新太平劇團」、「嗚聲劇團」、「金星劇團」、「錦繡花」、「平安劇團」、「太平艷影」) followed her first own (Chinese:「鏡花艷影」) with Tsui Yan-Sam (Chinese: 徐人心) as co-star. For ten years, was stuck in Macau when her hometown in Guangdong fell to the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Yam played the male lead in many Cantonese opera stage productions in those years opposite many actresses, including Tsui Yan-Sam (Chinese: 徐人心), Tam Lan-Hing (Chinese: 譚蘭卿) and Tang Pik-wan (Chinese: 鄧碧雲). Meanwhile, she moved her family, including her younger sister Yam Bing-Yee (Chinese: 任冰兒) into her new home in Macau. With the financial help from Mr. Ho Yin, father of Edmund Ho, in Macau, she formed a new opera troupe called New Voice Opera Troupe (Chinese: 新聲劇團) with the following performers:

1. Chan Yim Nung (Chinese: 陳艷儂), the Daan (Chinese: 旦)
2. Au Yeung Kim (Chinese: 歐陽儉), the Cau (Chinese: 丑)
3. Lang Chi Bak (Chinese: 靚次伯), the Zing (Chinese: 淨)
4. Yam Bing-Yee (Chinese: 任冰兒)
5. Bak Sheut Sin (Chinese: 白雪仙)

Career

A performer on stage first and foremost, Yam was the male lead in many Cantonese opera stage productions in Hong Kong, post-war, opposite many actresses, including but not limited to:

1. Fong Yim Fun since Golden Phoenix Opera Troupe (Chinese: 芳艷芬, 金鳳屏劇團) - top-billed instead of Yam sometimes. Many titles were adapted for the screen, a few iconic ones are listed below. Yam is in Qing Dynasty attire including pao, mao (a stiff cap) and magua (a buttoned mandarin jacket 'for the rich') for the first two below, both set in late 1800s and early 1900s.

	Year	Title	In Chinese	Notes
1	1955	A Beauty's Flourishing Fragrant	一枝紅艷露凝香	first versionRepeat 1[3]
2	1956	The Story of Little Cabbage and Yeung Nai-mo	小白菜情困楊乃武
3	1956	Feather Fan Under Spring Lantern	春燈羽扇	first versionRepeat 2
4	1957	Goddess of the Luo River	洛神
5	1958	Beauty Fades From Twelve Ladies' Tower	香銷十二美人樓	BtypoTcorrect in HKMDB
6	1958	Butterfly Lovers	梁祝恨史	pdf full libretto
7	1958	Swallows Come Home	一年一度燕歸來
8	1958	A Buddhist Recluse for Fourteen Years	火網梵宮十四年
9	1958	The Story of Yutangchun	玉堂春
10	1958	The Merry Phoenix	彩鳳喜迎春
11	1959	The Summer Snow	六月雪	pdf full libretto
12	1959	A Pedestal of Rouge Fragrance or Sweet Dew on a Beautiful Flower	一枝紅艷露凝香	second versionRepeat 1
13	1959	Regret from the Spring Lantern and Feather Fan	春燈羽扇恨	second versionRepeat 2
14	1959	The Moonlight and Pipa of the Borderland	萬里琵琶關外月	HKU URL
15	1959	The Dream Encounter Between Emperor Wu of Han and Lady Wai	漢武帝夢會衛夫人

2. Yu Lai Zhen (Chinese: 余麗珍) - many movies were made from stage productions. For example, 1960 film Golden Chrysanthemum (Chinese: 血洗梅花澗/七彩金葉菊)

3. Chan Yim Nung (Chinese: 陳艷儂) - the Dream of the Red Chamber (Chinese: 紅樓夢), Red Chamber in the Sea (Chinese: 海角紅樓)^[4]

4. Tang Pik Wan (Chinese: 鄧碧雲) - In Macau Wife in the morning, sister-in-law at night (Chinese: 晨妻暮嫂). Many movies (1947, 1952 and 1957 My wife married my brother) were made from this stage production. For example, 1956 film Guizhi Sues from the title The Daughter of the Horse Trader or Kwaichi sues (Chinese: 販馬記/桂枝告狀) which was Yam's debut but not Tang's.

5. Hung Sin Nui (Chinese: 紅線女) - vocal records like Kingdom and the Beauty or Prince and the Waitress (Chinese: 游龍戲鳳1953) were made from those plays. Stage production at Wing Lok Theatre (Chinese: 《胭脂虎棒打紫薇郎》,《女媧煉石補青天》) was, for example, in Hong Kong, early 1950s. Ngor Jie selling dumplings (Chinese: 娥姐賣粉果) in June 1952 was the last time shared stage.

These actresses above are successful performers in their own right. They shared the stage with as well as had film roles opposite many male leads throughout their career. Tang Pik Wan actually took on male lead roles as well while Chan Yim Nung did that much later in life in United States for leisure.

Films

In movies from 1951 to 1968, Yam played the male lead opposite just about every female lead, young like daughter of Leung Sing Bor included. In the 1961 film, "Fun on Polygamous Marriage" (Chinese: 八美審狀元), Yam is married to eight wives; Yu Lai Zhen (Chinese: 余麗珍), Tam Lan Hing (Chinese: 譚蘭卿) and Yam Bing Yee (Chinese: 任冰兒) are three of the actresses opposite Yam in it as the wives. However, her first film was "A Mysterious Night" in 1937 after observing film-making as a friend of Luo Pinchao and others. Good proportion of the 300 movies she made are contemporary, neither in Cantonese opera costumes nor set in early 1900s when women still had bound feet.

As co-star	Of	Selective Actresses	In Chinese	Film genre
59	62	Law Yim Hing	羅艷卿	Romantic, Comedy & Drama, Masculine Yam vocal style & Martial arts[5]
57	58	Ng Kwun Lai	吳君麗	Romantic, Comedy & Drama[6]
34	36	Yu Lai Zhen	余麗珍	Romantic, Comedy & Drama, Masculine Yam vocal style & Martial arts[7]
28	29	Fong Yin Fun	芳艷芬	See above mostly since the Golden Phoenix and then Sun Yim Yeung era.
23	24	Tang Pik Wan	鄧碧雲	Romantic, Comedy & Drama, Masculine Yam vocal style & Martial arts[8]
10	27	Fung Wong Leui	鳳凰女	Romantic, Comedy & Drama, Masculine Yam vocal style[9]
0	1	Tsui Yan Sam	徐人心	1937, Ensemble cast, Contemporary in A Mysterious Night
Total 211	237	of 294 films made total counted to-date

The above actresses are all very versatile and successful on stage as well as in films and TV (late in life). Fong Yin Fun, Yu Lai Zhen and Ng Kwun Lai all owned film production companies and hired Yam often by choice and therefore top-billed instead of Yam sometimes. Law Yim Hing and Ng Kwun Lai seldom shared the stage with Yam but made many films with her. Four of the seven listed (Fong Yin Fun, Law Yim Hing, Fung Wong Leui and Tang Pik Wan) dressed in male costume on stage as well as in films at some point. The 1956 film How Wong Fei-Hung Saved the Lovelorn Monk from the Ancient Monastery reflects how wide the range of films Yam was in.

Linchpin

Yam was the "speak softly and carry a big stick" member of Cantonese opera community. Entourage (hospital, airport, etc.) around her could become out of control if she allowed it. However, the residue value of her "down-ballot effect" is minimal for her co-stars. The last two, Lam and Loong, who played second fiddle to her on stage as second leading "men" continue to be super idols for decades.

Since 1956, for four years and then only sporadically in 1960s, on stage she was limited to only work opposite Bak Sheut Sin, fifteen years her junior and green from debut only in 1953, as the abandoned woman, a character like Eliza in My Fair Lady, in Red Cherries and a Broken Heart (Chinese: 紅了櫻桃碎了心).

Between 1953 and 1956, Bak played second fiddle to either Fong Yin Fun or Hung Sin Nui when Yam was the male lead opposite any one of them or Chan Yim Nung before that.

They reprised many of those roles when the operas were adapted for the screen between 1951 and 1968. The only two made into movies are Li Yi (李益) in The Legend Of The Purple Hairpin and Zhou Shixian (Chinese: 周世顯) in Tai Nui Fa. However, some of Yam's other roles like Liu Mengmei (Chinese: 柳夢梅) in the Cantonese opera version of The Peony Pavilion and Pei Yu (Chinese: 裴禹) in The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom were never made into movies. The later is available only in vocal record. Her Liu Mengmei (Chinese: 柳夢梅) was never recorded for commercial purpose with Bak Sheut Sin.

Farewell

The last overseas tour was 1968 in North America. With all of her 'next' generation in tow, the last on stage live production of five titles in 1968/69/70 followed the last film "Tragedy of the Poet King" released in 1968.

Her last public performance was on 24 June 1972. She introduced her six backup singers, her 'next' generation, to the wider audience when she sang the song, related to the film "Tragedy of the Poet King", from album released in 1964. Also, with Bak Sheut Sin she sang the final scene from Tai Nui Fa for the TVB telethon event that was hosted for the victims in the 18 June landslide. Yam never performed in public again since then. Instead, she kept her protégée close by for training and proper upbringing to be her successor. With her successor well established as a professional Cantonese opera performer, she moved to Canada during the early 80s. In 1989, she died at her home in Hong Kong due to pleural effusion.

AAA on Stage

Yam shared her AAA (art, acrobatics, acting) on stage, in return for combined, no more than, HK$2.00 worth of Christmas gift in the form of a pair of nylon stocking, with more than a dozen enthusiasts, age 10 to 20, for the sake of preserving the art form of Cantonese opera as she knew it for future generations. She asked for nothing else, tangible or intangible, implicit or explicit, from them, except studying hard.^[10] Yam was never heard talking about her sacrifices in paving the way for her 'next' generation or made any move for her own vanity for close to 30 years, ceding the limelight for benefit of her 'next' generation.

Moreover, Yam declined to entertain any academics' requests, whether to share her AAA in Cantonese opera with them or to be back on stage for their studies/researches.^[11] This preserved the demand (hunger) from her admirers for her 'next' generation to supply (feed) in due course.^[12]

When these female enthusiasts were good and ready, Yam shared the spotlight with them every step of the way if she was not actually the spotlight that introduced to the community these then up-and-coming performers with years of training under her guidance and with a given stage name (劍 in the middle) to match hers for four of them. (This method of naming a next generation is similar to training schools in the north for other Chinese operas such as Peking opera in the past. However, 劍 is not a registered trademark and is very popular in Cantonese opera community.)

Yam was said to be the only actress competitive in male lead role of a generation and survived when the ban on "male/female in same troupe" was lifted in 1930s. Yam's protégée Loong Kim Sang (Loong) is considered by some as the first actress in male lead role that dominated the field although she was dueling with one actor very often in 1972-1992. Yam and Loong together had more than leveled the playing field for generations of actresses who have joined the Cantonese opera community since 1980s.(^[13] The list of bona fide Cantonese opera actresses in male lead roles since 1960, excluding those up-and-coming still being tutored.)

Rule of Thumb

In 1999, the 10th anniversary of passing of Yam, Loong disclosed the first time on camera, Yam's rule of thumb, "Be Natural" (Chinese: 自然就是美)."2015 Talk on the Rendition of Yam Kim Fai", as just about all those have been speaking publicly since 1999, referred to this term first coined by Loong. James Wong, in his 2004 piece, also referenced Loong about Yam's style.^[14]

"Prepared but be spontaneous to keep the performance refreshing in every show, as if it were the debut (first show) even for the Nth time in the same role", a bar set by mentor Yam for Loong, resulted in close to 40 versions of each of two titles from 2005 to 2008.^[15] This requirement from mentor Yam explains the challenge for Loong to be on stage within a six-month period and provide 40 different (in some way in one or two acts out of total 6 to 8) but still GOOD interpretations without changing the show as a whole. This organic way, to hunt/harvest for the meal instead of "frozen" or "canned", was the only way acceptable to Yam and therefore set Loong apart from classmates or performers of a generation from very early days. That makes it worthwhile for those who pay for their tickets^[16] to be back every day for every show.

「養兒一百歲，長憂九十九。」

She was backstage, as well as in the audience, on 20 February 1989 when Loong's troupe, Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix) Cantonese Opera Troupe,^[10] performed The Purple Hairpin for Tong Wah (a charity event), according to one veteran audience who kept that ticket as souvenir.

^[12]"Over years, legacy projects of mentor Yam, being staged frequently, have become a very poor quality stencil instead of a xerox with the best technology available." - according to one contemporary librettist. Loong calls herself "old school" continuing to follow Yam's teaching to a T even though, as described by the Press, already "in a league of her own".^[17]

The remaining other two of the six 1972 backup singers, since retiring as cast member (six pillar) of Chor Fung Ming, have been tutoring students of all backgrounds,^[18] including some with down syndrome for years in Hong Kong. They are wise not to brand themselves as representatives of Yam style or even compare themselves with Yam while sharing what they have learnt in the decades of Yam's guidance. Yam's (style or school of) AAA on stage has only been observed and commented on by third parties. There has been no authentic account yet since neither Yam nor Loong had published on the topic.

Contrary to some comments by columnists/academics, some of the well-known signature acrobatics happened to be unintended consequence. Yam and Loong had/have spine damage from bending forward all the time to accommodate co-stars of very short statue. In 1952 film The Twelve Beauties, height difference was close to a foot when Yam still stood fairly straight in the Fantasy of Heaven of Parting Sorrow, ending scene of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Cart Before The Horse

The "a performance did take place" ("做咗") generations of performers known, per Yuen, as feel too good about themselves (Chinese: 自我感覺過份良好), would not bother to even study the script meticulously, scripts generally agreed to have all needed information from Tong, before going on stage in roles been legendary since 1950s. Instead of preparing for the task ahead by being fluent in a classic novel, they, the bottle blonde (靠黐二代), just ask for story time to attain connotations. Once upon a time, performers were illiterate and had no access to novels or other publications so readily available today. Why would contemporary performers bother? Story time is just another coat of garlic paint on top of layers of such garlic body-paint^[16] for a decade or so already. That is not bold (大膽) but plain hubris (斗膽) for someone who had been told-off getting involved in Loong's productions from the beginning other than as investor and to provide supports in areas like promotion and stage production techniques, no matter how accommodating Loong has been with the poor choices made in many other aspects. Were there any hostage situation, such individual is also another dark soul in Cantonese opera community with nothing but a gravy train in mind. It is also obvious not the way to heed the 2012 advice properly.

The Yam legacy titles have been instantly gratifying for generations still in infancy as a performer. As a result, they skip the essential foundation courses and perform these legendry titles en masse. Contemporary performers took in pupils within years as six-pillar member of troupes to elevate themselves to the status of guru. They have audiovisual resources from the market as well as private collection to copy/learn from or even, in return for remunerations, teach followers of their own (the let's watch the video class). Yam and Loong were never hubris and claimed teacher status at any point. In 2004/5, Loong disagreed when one reporter suggested a performer, albeit successful to some, as a copy of her.

1. Yam is two generations Loong's senior and had complete control over whether Loong taking in students or not throughout the 30-year mentorship. (Lam Kar Sing, who has his own version of Jia Baoyu, is the generation in-between Yam and Loong.)
2. Loong is one to two if not three generations more senior to any contemporary career performers, except those do not take both hands to count.

「有人辭官歸故里，」

Spin-offs or rip-offs, a dime a dozen, playing fast and loose with the Yam-Loong brand to steal their thunder do not come and go. Recent demise of Yam's legacy titles could be the work of:-

• Sponges (靠嗦) who were in the audience in 1970s to 1990s and since 2004, excluding, for example, Lam Kar Sing in the audience only as a competitor since he never on the record performed any of Yam's legacy titles since 1970s.

• sponges in their audiences to watch and learn
• their students, excluding those hobbyists in grade/high school classes

• Scavenger (靠執)

• graduate in 2009 opined that Cantonese opera was not alive without someone like Loong around.

• Garlic-coated generations^[16] (靠黐)

• watched Loong videos to learn in 1990s in private (宗師)
  • graduates from the let's watch and learn together class (二代)
• watched Loong videos to learn in 2000s in private (一代)
  • students still in the let's watch and learn together class (二代)
• watched Loong videos to learn in 2010s in private

The aroma^[16] came from a brew started a year before Loong was born and decades longer than the summation of all garlic coatings of these performers. To fool (around) again and again with this iconic image of Jia Baoyu, instead of any other version, within a five-year period can be fetish, a stunt, a con, or something else. Get in line.

「有人漏夜趕科場。」

Yam only finished grade school while Loong did not finish high school when they had roles like Jia Baoyu in 1943 and 1964 respectively. In 1964, Yam taught Loong, age 20 with one year of formal training, line by line and word by word while there is no information as to how Yam came to be in that role so well-received in Macau. Neither of them ever claimed to be child prodigy. They both wrote for publications and are known most for their roles as romantic scholars, well-educated and fluent in literature. Contemporary performers benefiting from Yam-Loong perspiration take it that they can just clock in/clock out and produce what is now known as poor quality stencil and the demise of such repertoire once propped up the Cantonese opera community for five decades.^[19][20][21]

Since 2011

Since 2011, Loong (金牌), with a producer (製作人) in tow, have put some of those Yam aroma back on stage. The mythical character (金牌製作人) dreaming big to build an empire on quicksand does not exist. The votes (box-office records) they received came from the pocketbooks of new as well as veteran audiences coming from the time of Yam as well as of Loong, the two career performers.^{[15][21][22][23]}

Yam legacy titles were not as well-received in 1950s as a decade since the debut. That was achieved with exposure across several media. The deal was sealed with audiences from the 1970s and 1980s known to be more educated than those from the 1950s or before in Hong Kong. This is also the group that witnessed the dueling between two leading men known as super idols who dominated the only decade or two that there was an increase in audience for Cantonese opera. They can recite line by line and verse by verse of these legacy titles of Yam. These veteran audiences are not craving for run-of-the-mill low-quality performances with famous titles. They know better than even columnists (nationwide or not) or academics (worldwide or not) who are mostly motivated or paid to be bias if not just recycle second hand information or pull it out of thin air. Accommodation for entourage, including Trojan horse, ends at water edge as always.

Vocal Style

Yam was once upon a time known as the female version of and is still one of the more famous exponent of Kwai Ming Yeung style, both AAA and vocal.^[24]

Yam demonstrated the "Kwai" trait of her AAA in film The Red Robe (1965) and on stage titles like "Wong Fei-fu's Rebellion" or "The Revolt from Huang Feihu’s Rebellion" (Chinese: 黃飛虎反五關) instead of the roles (as romantic scholars) she spent more time on in her 40s and later years on stage. However, the voice still rose to the occasion. In 1960 for charity, Yam performed a duet with the late Leung Sing Bor, the song called "Gaoping level" (Chinese: 高平關取級). According to experience of James Wong in 1960s as backup singer for this song, Yam was louder than the four of them. They were shocked by the "little old lady" met that day.^[14]

Yam reprised her role as Liang Shanbo (Chinese: 梁山伯) more than once since the title debut. A film with Fong Yin Fun (芳艷芬) released in 1958 was followed by CD with Lee Bo Ying (李寶瑩) released in 1960s, (Chinese: 樓台會) but often nicknamed (Chinese: 映紅霞). The leads each in this title also has a solo from this title in CDs. Fong performed her solo for charity in mid-1980s on stage, almost 30 years since retirement. Several more CDs with Lee as co-star are very popular including sets like (Chinese: “釵頭鳳”，“無雙傳”） just like those with (co-star - "songs") Chinese: (冼劍麗 - “胭脂巷口故人來”+“榮歸會李仙”，崔妙芝 - “琵琶記”).

Yam made many CDs (vocalists - "songs") like (Chinese: 秦小梨 - “《玉葵寶扇》之《碧容探監》”，羅麗娟 - “飄”，上海妹 - “好女兩頭瞞”，小飛紅 - “恩愛夫妻”，小燕飛 - “海角紅樓”^[4]+“款擺紅綾帶”，銀劍影 - “紅衣贈杞良”） or solo for songs like (Chinese: 情淚浸袈裟，海角紅樓恨^[4]，金扇緣) since what believed to be the first one (Chinese: 梁卓卿 - "雅士採梅香") in 1937.

Naamyam (Chinese: 南音) is one particular type of songs that Yam is very respected for. Paying Nocturnal Sacrifice to Kam-Kiu (Chinese: 祭金嬌) related to the film released in 1954 is an example quoted when Yam's name comes up on this topic. Good portion of the 1957 film Prosperity Knocks also has such demonstration of Yam vocal style.

Reflecting the lighter/grassroots side of Yam's formal training with Wong Lui Hap (Chinese: 黃侶俠), (Chinese: 蕭月白之賣白欖) is a duet with Au Yeung Kim (Chinese: 歐陽儉). The play, co-star Chan Yim Nung, with title Siu Yuet-Pak (Chinese: 蕭月白) was very popular in Macau right after the Second Sino-Japanese War. Films by Cheung Ying and others are:-

1. How Two Naughty Girls Thrice Insulted Xiao Yuebai (1952)
2. The True Story of Siu Yuet-Pak (Part 1) (1955)
3. The True Story of Siu Yuet-Pak (Part 2) (1955)

Commemoration

In recognition of the talents of four late artists, Hongkong Post issued the first series of special stamps on movie stars on 15 November 1995.^[25] This stamp set focused on Hong Kong's movie stars, saluting four stars who have left their marks on film history. Yam, in Cantonese opera costume, was featured on the HK$2.60 stamp.

For her 100th birthday, Yam Kim-fai centenary celebration at HK Film Archive^[26]

	Year	Co-star	Title	In Chinese
1	1954	Tang Pik Wan	Paying Nocturnal Sacrifice to Kam-kiu	夜祭金嬌
2	1959	Fong Yim Fun	The Story of Little Cabbage and Yeung Nai-mo	小白菜情困楊乃武
3	1959	Fong Yim Fun	Regret from the Spring Lantern and Feather Fan	春燈羽扇恨
4	1959	Bak Sheut Sin	Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom	蝶影紅梨記
5	1958	Bak Sheut Sin	The Peach Blossom Fairy	桃花仙子
6	1960	Yu Lai Zhen	Fan Lei-fa	紮腳樊梨花
7	1961	Ng Kwun Lai / Tam Lan Hing	The Courtship of the Queen	百鳥朝凰
8	1960	Law Yim Hing	The Story of Lee Sin	李仙傳
9	1961	Law Yim Hing	The Golden Cat	怪俠金絲貓
10	1955	Yam was the female lead	An Actress's Struggle	任劍輝舞台奮鬥史

In 2013, the Cantonese Opera Legend Yam Kim Fai – Repertoire Select by librettist Tong Tik Sang/Tong Dick-san.^[19][20] was organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong.

• Only one actress listed in male lead role (finished hkbarwo.com training school in 1983)
• Only one, age 60 or older performer, listed never worked for ^[10] Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix) Cantonese Opera Troupe.

	Title	In Chinese
1	The Story of the Lute	琵琶記
2	The Daughter of the Horse Trader	販馬記
3	Princess Cheung Ping	帝女花
4	A Romance of Pear Blossoms	蝶影紅梨記
5	The Reincarnation of a Beauty	再世紅梅記
6	Sweet Dew on a Beautiful Flower	一枝紅艷露凝香
7	A Buddhist Recluse for Fourteen Years	火網梵宮十四年

On 4 February 2016, her 103rd birthday, Google Hong Kong's homepage (Google.com.hk) Google Doodle was her illustration by artist Sophie Diao.^[27][28]

See also

• Bak Sheut Sin
• Hung Sin Nui
• Tang Pik Wan

References

External links

• Yam Kim-fai at the Internet Movie Database