The One-Armed Swordsman

The Golden Sword Clan is under attack by the "Huainan Twin Evils". Fang Cheng, a servant of the clan leader Qi Rufeng, sacrifices himself to protect his master, dying together with the attackers. In gratitude, Qi Rufeng takes Fang Cheng's son, Fang Gang, as an apprentice. Although Fang Gang is highly regarded by his master, the other clan members despise him for his background. To avoid confrontation, Fang Gang leaves but runs into trouble with Qi Pei, his master's daughter. In the ensuing fight, Qi Pei cuts off Fang Gang's right arm. Fang Gang stumbles and falls off a bridge into the passing boat of Xiaoman, a peasant girl. Xiaoman nurses Fang Gang back to health and they fall in love. However, Fang Gang feels dejected as he can no longer practise swordsmanship due to his missing arm. Reluctantly, Xiaoman gives him a half-burnt martial arts manual and a broken sword which she inherited from her late parents. Regaining confidence in himself, Fang Gang practises the skills and masters a new, one-armed style of swordplay, making him stronger than before. Meanwhile, Qi Rufeng is planning to retire from the jianghu and intends to name one of his apprentices as his successor. Around this time, his old foes – "Long-Armed Devil" and "Smiling Tiger" – seek to use the opportunity to destroy him so they ambush and kill his apprentices. When Fang Gang learns of the plot, he has no choice but to break his promise to Xiaoman to stay out of the jianghu. En route, he defeats several enemies and shows up just in time to save Qi Rufeng. After a vicious battle, he manages to slay "Long-Armed Devil", and then turns down his master's offer to be the next leader of the Golden Sword Clan, choosing to lead a simple life with Xiaoman instead. == Cast ==

The film's box office success earned Chang Cheh the epithet "One Million Dollar Director", At the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards various Asian film critics, filmmakers and actors voted for the top Chinese films from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. The One-Armed Swordsman was listed at 15th place on the list. In 2011, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival had 122 industry professionals take part in the survey. The voters included film scholars, festival programmers, film directors, actors and producers to vote for the 100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films. The One-Armed Swordsman was listed at 73rd place on the list. == Legacy ==

Chang Cheh directed a sequel in 1969, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, which was also produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio with Jimmy Wang reprising his role as Fang Gang. In 1971, Chang made a third One-Armed Swordsman film for the Shaw Brothers Studio, The New One-Armed Swordsman, starring David Chiang as a different character. The popularity of these films led to imitations by other studios and Jimmy Wang playing similar one-armed characters on several occasions, beginning with the Japanese film Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman in 1971, in which he was paired with the blind swordsman Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu). In 1971, Wang also directed and starred in One-Armed Boxer, combining elements of the One-Armed Swordsman and The Chinese Boxer films he had previously made with the Shaw Brothers Studio. In 1976, he appeared in three other films with this trope: Master of the Flying Guillotine (a sequel to One-Armed Boxer), One-Armed Swordsman Against Nine Killers and One Armed Swordsmen, which starred and was co-directed by Jimmy Wang and David Chiang, playing rival one-armed swordsmen. In 1995, director and producer Tsui Hark created The Blade, an original story about a one-armed fighter inspired by the one-armed swordsman films of the 1960s and 1970s. == See also ==