Oriental Heroes

Oriental Heroes is the book's official English name. Its Chinese name is pronounced in Cantonese, Lùhng Fú Mùhn (). This name translates as "Dragon Tiger Gate" in English, and is in reference to the name of the fictional kungfu school and organization that is a major subject matter in the book. Its original name is also translated as "Little Rogues". The series has also been called "Tiger Wong". ==History==

Oriental Heroes was first published in 1970 under the title Little Rascals (). It featured stories about young people living in public housing estates in Hong Kong fighting gangsters and criminals. The heroes of the stories exhibited antisocial behaviours, but routinely fought for justice. In the early years of the book's run, the fighting was very graphically illustrated. Various weapons were used, where spilled blood, internal organs, guts, and bones were shown in the injuries that the characters sustained. People criticised the graphic violence depicted in Oriental Heroes and other similar action genre manhua, eventually leading to the enactment of the Indecent Publication Law in 1975, banning explicit violence in manhua. As the Indecent Publication Law only applied to manhua, Wong Yuk-long established a daily newspaper, called Sàng Bou (), with which to publish Oriental Heroes. In the first month of Sàng Bou's run, the newspaper published actual news together with various manhua titles, including Oriental Heroes on the back cover. After a month, Sàng Bou switched to a manhua-only daily newspaper. Oriental Heroes was published daily in the newspaper, and a full week's stories were collected and published in book form every week. Wong Yuk-long changed the name of the book to its current name of Lùhng Fú Mùhn, with the English name of Oriental Heroes. He also explored less graphic means of depicting violence and altered his drawing technique. Responding to the success of writer Ma Wing Shing's manhua, Chinese Hero, Wong Yuk-long modified Oriental Heroes again in the mid-1980s. The drawing style began to use a style described by Tim Pilcher and Brad Brooks in their 2005 book The Essential Guide to World Comics as "more realistic," and the stories became more serious and less comical. After 1991, Oriental Heroes started being drawn by other artists instead of by Wong Yuk-long himself. ==Main characters==

The stories in Oriental Heroes mostly center around three main characters who are leaders of the kung-fu organization and school, Dragon Tiger Gate. The South China Morning Post described the main protagonists as "young, streetwise delinquents". Lee Wing-sze wrote in 2006 that Tiger Wong and Little Dragon "became heroes to many young people." known in Chinese versions as Wong Siu-fu Little Dragon Little Dragon, known in Chinese versions as Wong Siu-lung, the lieutenant of Fiery God. Gold Dragon Eighteen-year-old Gold Dragon, Shek Hak Lung in the original Chinese versions, is of mixed Chinese and Russian descent. Together with his parents and his younger sister, his family of four lived in Macau. His father, being a Judo master, attracted the attention of the evil organisation, Seui Gwat Muhn (). Seui Gwat Muhn's leader invited Gold Dragon's father to join his organization, but Gold Dragon's father refused. The two fought, and Gold Dragon's father mysteriously disappeared after the fight. Gold Dragon's mother then led her family to find refuge in Cheung Chau, under the protection of master Gam Mouh Si Wong (). Gold Dragon usually fights using his nunchucks. His Chinese name means "Dark Dragon" or "Black Dragon". However, due to his blonde hair, in English translations he is called "Gold Dragon". In Malaysia translations he is called "Dragon Long". There are other names for Shi Hei Long, such as Turbo Shek, Shek Hak Luhng, Shi Hei Long, Dragon Shek, and Rock Black Dragon. In addition to being a formidable judoka, Gold Dragon was also very good at playing nunchucks, two skills he mastered at the beginning of the story. Later on, he got the chance the learn the legendary Shaolin Golden Bell Armor skill which greatly improved his power and endurance. As with other characters of the story, his skills are also increasing throughout the story. ==Main villains==

• Shibumi (Saijyo Yuu)：CEO of Raksha Gang in Japan, a cruel fighter expert in internal strength "Tendon Change Classic (易筋經)" • 2nd Shibumi (Tenmu Hideaki)：New CEO of Raksha Gang after fallen of Saijyo Yuu, a supreme fighter expert in internal strength "Mahā Siddhartha (摩訶釋達)", the impetuous act causes his failure • Fan (Mori Nobuhiro)： A Japanese high ranked member of Raksha Gang responsible for internal affairs, specialized in claw strike fighting • Stick (Irie Sachisoku)： A Japanese high ranked member of Raksha Gang responsible for internal affairs, specialized in stick fighting • Katana (Akagawa Ryuta)：A Japanese high ranked member of Raksha Gang responsible for external affairs, specialized in Japanese swordsmanship (Kenjutsu), own a rare weapon called "Dragon Slaying Chop", he titled himself as "The Rio Dragon Slaying" • Flying (Yamashita Tetsuo)：A Japanese high ranked member of Raksha Gang responsible for internal affairs, specialized in light-footedness, uncle of the Tenmu family • Majesty (Dong Fang Wu-di)：A Korean Chinese CEO of White Lotus Gang in Korea, dreaming of being an emperor, expert in internal strength "Nine Yang Manual (九陽神功)" • Hierarch (Dong Fang Zhen-long)：New CEO of White Lotus Gang after fallen of Dong Fang Wu-di, discover the advanced level of "Nine Yang Manual", "Ten Yang" • Sun Saint Envoy (Kim Dong-Yo)：A Korean Chief External Affairs Officer of White Lotus Gang, uncle of Dong Fang Wu-Di • Moon Saint Envoy (Yuen Sing-sze)：A Chinese Chief Internal Affairs Officer of White Lotus Gang, always dress up as a monk • Saint Lord (Man Yan-tik)：A Korean Chinese as the leader of Ginseng Gang but later soothed by Dong Fang Zhen-long, now serve as a vice-CEO of White Lotus Gang responsible both internal and external affairs • Wenshu Tianzun (Tie Go-rou)：A Thai Chinese CEO of Tongtian Gang in Thailand • Old Tianzun (Tie Man-Ho)：Also known as "Honorable Tie"， ex-CEO of Tongtian Gang • Yuanshi Tianzun (Chi-you)：A Thai CEO of Yuanshi Mun, titled as "God of War", he serves as a frenemy with the member of Dragon Tiger Gate ==Legacy==

After Oriental Heroes debuted, there were other comics with the same themes that appeared. ==See also==

Names in native languages ==References==