Shih Kien
Hong Kong actor (1913-2009)
Shek Wing-cheung (1 January 1913 – 3 June 2009), known by his stage name Shih Kien (Chinese: 石堅; pinyin: Shí Jiān; Jyutping: Sek6 Gin1), was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. He was known for being one of the first stars of Chinese-language wuxia and martial arts film beginning in the 1940s, typically playing villains. He is most familiar to international audiences for his portrayal of the primary villain, Han, in the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon that starred Bruce Lee.
Early years
Shih was raised by his stepmother and was a sickly child. He decided to practise martial arts to improve his health and trained for nine years. Shih trained at Shanghai's Chin Woo Athletic Association and was among the first generation of students at the school to be certified as instructors. After becoming certified to teach styles, including Eagle Claw and Choy Li Fut, he decided to start his career as an actor. However, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War caused his studies to be disrupted. Shih and his friends travelled between Guangzhou and Hong Kong to stage drama performances, in order to raise funds as part of the anti-Japanese movement. Besides acting on stage, Shih also participated in back-stage activities, such as makeup and arrangements of lighting and props.
“Shih Kien” enters the record as hong Kong actor (1913-2009). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Shih, Kien and Hong can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Shih Kien” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Shih, Kien and Hong provides the most credible route into that argument.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q557277. VIAF identifies the subject as 27277249. The Library of Congress control number is no2014124661. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1913, 2009 and 1973.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. 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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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Shih Kien” 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.