The Heroic Ones
1970 film by Chang Cheh
The Heroic Ones is a 1970 Hong Kong Shaw Brothers Studio martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh. It was originally released on 14 August 1970 in Hong Kong and was one of the top grossing Hong Kong films between the years of 1970 and 1972.
Plot
In 880s imperial China, the Tang dynasty court no longer had effective control of its empire, and the national capital Chang'an was sacked by Huang Chao's anti-government army. Li Keyong, a Shatuo chieftain loyal to the Tang cause, led his troops to suppress the rebellion. His 13 generals—essentially all adopted sons—helped expel Huang from Chang'an, although a rift between some of them became more and more apparent in the process. Following the victory, Li Keyong accepted an invitation for a banquet at military governor Zhu Wen's territory of Bianliang, unaware that it was a trap to assassinate him.
Cast and characters
Ku Feng as Li Keyong, Prince of Jin
Chin Han as Li Siyuan, Li Keyong's 1st general
Pao Chia-win as Li Sizhao, Li Keyong's 2nd general
Lo Wei as Li Cunxu, Li Keyong's 3rd general
Nam Seok-hun as Li Cunxin, Li Keyong's 4th general
Liu Kang as Li Cunzhi, Li Keyong's 5th general
Sung Yuan as Li Cunke, Li Keyong's 6th general
Huang Pei-chi as Li Cunjin, Li Keyong's 7th general
Wang Kuang-yu as Li Cunzhang, Li Keyong's 8th general
Chen Chuan as Li Cunshen, Li Keyong's 9th general
Lau Kar-wing as Li Cunshou, Li Keyong's 10th general
Ti Lung as Shi Jingsi, Li Keyong's 11th general
Wang Chung as Kang Junli, Li Keyong's 12th general
David Chiang as Li Cunxiao, Li Keyong's 13th general
Chan Sing as Zhu Wen, the Bianliang governor (he was an officer under Huang Chao before he surrendered to the Tang government)
Lee Hae-ryong as Huang Chao, the rebel leader, self-proclaimed Qi emperor
Bolo Yeung as Meng Juehai, Huang's general
Jin Bong-jin as Zhang Quan, Huang's general
Lily Li as Cuiyan, a young woman in Chang'an
Deviations from history
Some events in the film are loosely based on history, such as Li Keyong's troops expelling Huang Chao from Chang'an in the summer of 883, and Zhu Wen's failed assassination attempt of Li Keyong a year later that took the lives of Shi Jingsi and many others. However, many other events have been fictionalized. While Li Cunxiao did in fact have a strained relationship with Li Cunxin and Kang Junli and did die by dismemberment, he was actually the one who betrayed Li Keyong, who eventually executed him. Except for Kang who was killed by Li Keyong in relation to Li Cunxiao's death, no other general died from infighting.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15260747. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 4 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970 and 1972.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Heroic Ones” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.