Kong Hong (; 1915–2004), also known as Gong Hong,[1] Kung Hung[2] or Henry Kung, was a Taiwanese film producer and writer.[3]
Kong was a native of Chongming, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai).[4] He entered Shanghai High School in 1931. He entered the journalism department of the Nanjing School of Politics (Chinese: 南京中央政治學校, the predecessor of National Chengchi University) in 1933. In August 1937, at the start of the Battle of Shanghai, the school evacuated to Lushan, Jiangxi, and eventually ended up in Changsha, where it was located when he graduated in 1938. Soon after his graduation he married Chou Chia-yen (Chinese: 周家熙). His first son was born in 1939, and was followed by four more sons from 1942 to 1956 and a daughter in 1963.[5]
Kong's early career took him through various positions as a cartoonist, a reporter, and an executive in both print journalism and radio.[6] He began his media career having manhua published in Lin Yutang's Analects magazine (Chinese: 論語雜誌) in 1932. After his graduation from the Nanjing School of Politics, he worked for the Kuomintang's newly-established . In 1942, at the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was promoted to manager of the Kuomintang's Cultural Construction Printing Company (Chinese: 文化建設印刷公司), in which capacity he was posted to Kolkata, India, in 1944 as a writer for the Chinese Journal of India (Chinese: 印度日報), and was promoted to editor-in-chief in 1945. After the war he was stationed in Hong Kong, where he set up the Kuomintang's Overseas Publishing Company (Chinese: 海外出版社), and then returned to Shanghai to take up the position of general manager of the China Cultural Service. After the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan in 1949, he first went again to Hong Kong, where he worked for an American publishing company (Chinese: 思文出版社) producing anti-Communist pamphlets. He continued to work for them after moving to Taipei in 1951, and also had cartoons published in the Central Daily News beginning in 1952.[5]
Kong made his debut as a film producer with the documentary City of Cathay (1960), under the auspices of Chinese Art Films. Initially screened at the 21st Venice International Film Festival in its English translation by Loh I-cheng of the Government Information Office, it introduced the Song dynasty handscroll painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival.[6] [7] [8] In 1963, Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) president James Shen appointed Kong as general manager of the CMPC.[5] Kong brought the Asian Film Festival to Taiwan for the first time the following year.[6] During his tenure at CMPC, Kong drew inspiration from the technical style of Italian neorealist films, but sought to avoid their pessimistic themes. He thus brought to CMPC a style he dubbed in films such as Li Hsing's The Oyster Girl (1963) and Beautiful Duckling (1964).[9] [10] These were both major commercial successes that helped to break the domination of Taiwan's film market by Hong Kong-produced Mandarin films as well as open up new markets for the Taiwan film industry in Southeast Asia. Kong further supported Li Hsing in making film adaptations of the romance novels of Chiung Yao, namely Four Loves and The Silent Wife (1965)., a graduate of Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, also started his filmmaking career at CMPC under Kong's tenure, first co-directing the historical drama (1966) and then making his solo directorial debut with (1967); Kong then supported Pai in bringing the commedia all'italiana style to CMPC films with the commercially and critically successful The Bride and I (1969) and (1970). Kong resigned from his position at CMPC in 1972 for health reasons and creative conflicts with Li and Pai.[11]
After leaving CMPC, Kong became a professor at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. In 1975, Loh I-cheng invited Kong to New York to become the editor-in-chief of a Chinese-language newspaper, the Americas Daily (Chinese: 華僑美洲日報).[5] In the 1980s, Kong wrote a series of four books containing biographies of various Chinese historical figures.[5]
Kong served as eastern U.S. president of the National Chengchi University Alumni Association.[5] He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36th Golden Horse Awards in 1999.[12] He died due to respiratory failure in 2004.[5]
| Year | Chinese title | English title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 《蚵女》 | Oyster Girl | |
| 1964 | 《養鴨人家》 | Beautiful Duckling | Best Narrative Feature, 3rd Golden Horse Awards (1965) |
| 1965 | 《婉君表妹》 | Four Loves | |
| 1965 | 《啞女情深》 | The Silent Wife | Nominated for Best Narrative Feature, 4th Golden Horse Awards (1966) |
| 1965 | 《雷堡風雲》 | An Unseen Trigger-Man | |
| 1966 | 《還我河山》 | Fire Bulls | |
| 1966 | 《我女若蘭》 | Orchids and My Love | Best Narrative Feature, 5th Golden Horse Awards (1967) |
| 1967 | 《寂寞的十七歲》 | Lonely Seventeen | |
| 1967 | 《貂蟬與呂布》 | Tiao Chan | |
| 1967 | 《悲歡歲月》 | ||
| 1967 | 《雙歸燕》 | ||
| 1967 | 《路》 | The Road | Best Narrative Feature, 6th Golden Horse Awards (1968) |
| 1968 | 《情關》 | Temptation | |
| 1968 | 《生命之歌》 | ||
| 1968 | 《珊瑚》 | ||
| 1969 | 《八仙渡海掃妖魔》 | Eight Immortals | |
| 1969 | 《乾坤三決鬥》 | The Valiant Villain | |
| 1969 | 《新娘與我》 | The Bride and I | |
| 1969 | 《玉觀音》 | Jade Goddess | |
| 1969 | 《小翠》 | The Petite Wife | |
| 1970 | 《三朵花》 | A Test of Love | |
| 1970 | 《春梅》 | The Unknown Man | |
| 1970 | 《家在臺北》 | Home Sweet Home | Best Narrative Feature, 8th Golden Horse Awards (1970) |
| 1970 | 《萬博追蹤》 | ||
| 1970 | 《群星會》 | Stardust | |
| 1970 | 《葡萄成熟時》 | The Ripening Grape | |
| 1971 | 《青衫客》 | He Heals and Kills | |
| 1971 | 《真假千金》 | Love Can Forgive and Forget | |
| 1971 | 《李娃》 | Dolly Lee | |
| 1971 | 《大地春雷》 | ||
| 1971 | 《還君明珠雙淚垂》 | Indebted for Life and Love | |
| 1971 | 《事事如意》 | ||
| 1971 | 《落鷹峽》 | The Ammunition Hunter | Nominated for Best Narrative Feature, 9th Golden Horse Awards (1971) |
| 1972 | 《無價之寶》 | Judy’s Lucky Jacket | |
| 1972 | 《白屋之戀》 | Love in A Cabin | |