Author: Mu Youqing
01
In Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s, gangs were everywhere and gangs were rampant, which was a period of extreme chaos.
Chen Huimin, who was born in 1944, seems to be the "epitome" of this era.
Because my father was a navigator and was away all year round. Therefore, the life of Chen Huimin's family, young and old, must be managed by her mother.
In such a large environment at that time, there was no clear line between black and white.
The plot of the Hong Kong gangster movie we see today is the personal experience of Chan Wai-min and his generation of Hong Kong people.
Therefore, during that period, "fist" became the pursuit of many young people, and Chen Huimin was no exception.
As he once said: You must first be able to fight when you come out to mix rivers and lakes, you can't fight in that era, you can't mix when you come out, you can't fight to be famous, you don't play famous, and it is useless to mix for ten years.
Therefore, Chen Huimin, who has loved martial arts since childhood, has not only learned the "Tan Family Three Exhibition Boxing", but also specially trained in Western boxing.
And these have become the primary conditions for him to mix rivers and lakes, become the boss, and be a star in the future.
In 1961, Chen Huimin, who was not yet 17 years old, joined a gangster society called "14K" because he could fight, and became the subordinate of the famous "jianghu gangster" Fei Zaikun at that time.
This also means that his "black and white life" has officially begun.
02
"Gangsters are cops, and cops are gangsters."
In Hong Kong in the 1960s, order was scattered, and it was common for underworld organizations and the police to join forces to make money.
A series of Hong Kong gangster movies such as "Infernal Affairs", "Ancient Puzzle Boy", "Disciple", "Dragon in the Jianghu" and so on, many bridges actually prove this.
Unlike ordinary "rotten boys", after four years of mixing outside, in 1965, Chen Huimin became a prison guard.
In the era when underworld organizations were rampant, many gangsters had the experience of squatting in prison.
As a prison guard, Chen Huimin also got to know many community bosses at this stage.
Because of the special nature of their work, those people have more respect for prison guards.
In addition, Chen Huimin is very good at fighting and is more moralistic, so this experience has also paved a good foundation for his future jianghu road.
After two years as a prison guard, Chen Huimin became a police officer again.
In today's police and underworld, it is well known that they are two completely opposing groups.
But it was Hong Kong in the 1960s, and black and white were never so clear-cut.
Therefore, Chen Huimin's experience as a policeman is actually somewhat close to the role of Liu Jianming, played by Andy Lau in "Infernal Affairs".
On the surface, there is a policeman, but in fact, there is an identity behind the scenes that is the gang boss.
Therefore, after being a policeman for a while, Chen Huimin's identity was exposed and he re-entered the bloody "jianghu".
He was only 25 years old.
03
How good is he at playing?
After leaving the police station, Chen Huimin has long been a well-known big brother in the underworld.
There will always be twenty or thirty little brothers following when they go out, and there are often four or five hundred people.
At that time, the "Kimberley Road" was once known as Chen Huimin Street.
And in the late sixties, in the early seventies.
Chan has represented Hong Kong in international boxing competitions and won the title of champion.
Moreover, in the jianghu, there has always been such a saying as "Bruce Lee's legs, Chen Huimin's fist".
In 1983, Chen Huimin participated in the "World Elite Fighting Competition", and even knocked down the Excellent Result of Japanese Boxer Hiroshi Morizaki in 35 seconds, becoming the "big brother" in the minds of many people.
Because of her previous experience, Chen Huimin not only has a strong network.
At the same time, because it can "fight", it also has a high prestige in the jianghu.
Therefore, in the 1970s, he became the "shoulder handle" of Tsim Sha Tsui at a young age.
Not only in the "14K", he achieved the position of "double flower red stick", and once became the leader of the Chinese group of the "Yamaguchi Group".
However, in Chen Huimin's mind, the gang organization is different from those "rotten hooligans" who have no lower limit in the traditional sense.
They preach morality, have precepts, and are patriotic.
So even though he later recruited a lot of protégés, there was no shortage of protégés who became big brothers after he retired from the shadows and businesses.
But what he demanded was that these people, whether in terms of image temperament or connotation, could not look like a thief with rat eyes.
Moreover, he has always adhered to the jianghu philosophy of "stealing and having a way".
04
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, "kung fu films" starring Bruce Lee attracted a lot of attention.
And Chen Huimin, who is also very good at playing, also began to get involved in the film and television circle during this period.
In 1972, at the invitation of a friend, Chen Huimin began shooting his first film, Blood Love.
Since then, it has been out of control, and it has been shooting for decades.
Such as the later "Legend of the Eagle Hero" and "Hero Without Tears" and other martial arts films, you can see the figure of this "big guy".
In the 1980s and 1990s, it was hailed as the "Golden Age" of Hong Kong cinema.
This period is also the most popular era of Hong Kong police films and gangster films.
Therefore, during this period, classic Hong Kong films such as "Kill into love street", "Ancient Puzzle Boy 3 Hands Covering the Sky", "Dragon in the Jianghu" and other classic Hong Kong films have Chen Huimin's appearance.
Moreover, in these film and television works, the roles he plays are almost all "bosses", so it is not too much to say that he starred in his true colors.
In the movie world under the control of that gang, many stars and actors have gangster backgrounds.
For some newcomers who have just entered the film and television circle, being bullied is naturally a common thing.
Andy Lau and Jet Li have been threatened with guns by gangsters; Lan Jieying has been devastated by scandals; Cai Shaofen and Cecilia Cheung have also been repeatedly harassed and threatened...
But Chen Huimin will always use her prestige in the jianghu to stand out for these actors and stars, and sometimes even offend friends in the jianghu for this.
05
In April 1990, Liu Jialing was kidnapped and photographed by "Rotten Boy".
For a time, Liu Jialing's body and mind were greatly damaged.
At that time, Chen Huimin was filming with Liang Chaowei.
So after learning about this kind of thing, Chen Huimin found the "rotten boy", asked for the photo back, and handed it to Liang Chaowei.
As a public figure, Liu Jialing is naturally unwilling to ruin her acting career.
So in order to calm things down, she just described this matter to the police as "robbing money", and then adjusted her mentality and continued to shoot.
Unexpectedly, 13 years later, Liu Jialing's "photos" were exposed by unscrupulous media.
For a time, public opinion was in an uproar, and Liu Jialing was also greatly hurt.
To this end, in 2003, 100 artists led by Mui Yanfang, Zhang Guorong, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Liang Chaowei launched a protest against the evil deeds of East Weekly.
Liu Jialing did not collapse because of this, but chose to bravely stand up and boycott the unscrupulous media.
The scale of this incident and the strength of the lineup show how bad the living environment of those stars was at that time.
And Chen Huimin is in the black and white, and the morality of speaking out for the weak is also respected by many stars in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.
Therefore, although he is also a well-known gangster big brother, this identity has not become an obstacle to his acting path.
And he is humble and courteous, promoting the quality of his descendants, and also allowing him to occupy a place in the future Hong Kong entertainment circle and become a "big guy" in everyone's mind.
06
Whether it is the jianghu or the entertainment industry, Chen Huimin is a "big brother" figure.
But Chen Huimin in life is a man who is afraid of his wife.
Of course, this is not because he can't beat his wife, but a kind of respect and love.
As a big brother, it is not surprising to be surrounded by a group of warblers and swallows.
At that time, Chen Huimin also had a lot of affairs.
One of the most famous of these was the 1983 scandal between Chen Huimin and Japanese actress Megumi Shinto.
At that time, the two people had just finished filming the movie "Crazy Love", and this Shinto Emi fell in love with Chen Huimin.
And Chen Huimin also admitted that although the two have met several times, they have not developed further, and he does not dare.
Saying that it is not dare, in fact, it is more of a self-consciousness that "married men" should have.
Chen Huimin and his wife met when they were young and have always been more loving.
At that time, Chen Huimin was the gangster brother who took his little brother to collect protection fees on the street, and his wife's family happened to be the object of bad luck.
The old mother-in-law opens a bar on the street, so it is inevitable that she will intersect with Chen Huimin.
Unexpectedly, Chen Huimin could also capture his wife's heart during this period.
Moreover, once because Chen Huimin was armed with a gun and had a lot of cases, he might have to squat for seven or eight years if he was caught.
Mrs. Yu couldn't bear it, so she apologized for Chen Huimin and went to prison.
After this incident, the heart of a prodigal son stopped here, and for his wife, Chen Huimin has always respected each other as guests.
In the decades since, there has not been any lace news on Chen Huimin's body.
07
After decades of chaos, Chen Huimin, like many "big brothers", has withdrawn from the stage of history.
However, the legend about him has never been broken.
In his own words: I've been the boss for too long, I've been the boss for fifty years, and I don't want to be the boss anymore.
Chen Huimin, who quit the jianghu, turned to business after taking a picture. Making wine is also doing well.
Today's Chen Huimin, who is 77 years old, faded out of the community and also faded out of the film and television circle.
For him, a full house of children and grandchildren and a happy family is the best state.
Perhaps, in the context of that era, there were many people who had similar experiences to Chen Huimin.
But this kind of "jianghu morality" that he has adhered to from beginning to end is the biggest chip he has ever had today.
Such people who are "both good and evil" are created by the times.
But the golden age of Hong Kong cinema is indeed inseparable from the "playing stars" who are starring like this.
As he himself once said to the young people who blindly follow him, it is not a last resort, do not take this path lightly.
Perhaps, for our contemporaries in a peaceful and stable environment,
Cherishing peace is the meaning of "gangster films" and "police films" in Hong Kong movies in the past to our times.
Because the jianghu is never just about fighting and killing.