View source for Oriental Heroes

{{Short description|1970 martial arts manhua}}
{{Distinguish|Oriental Hero}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox manhua
| image           = Lung Fu Muhn 288.jpg
| imagesize       = <!-- default 250 -->
| caption         = {{Descript-cvr|Oriental Heroes|288|||art=[[Wong Yuk-long|Tony Wong]]|¶=y}}
| zh_hanzi        = 龍虎門
| romanized       = lung4 fu2 mun4 (Cantonese)<br>Lóng Hǔ Mén (Mandarin)
| genre           = [[Kung Fu]]
  | MArts         = y
| author          = [[Wong Yuk-long|Tony Wong Yuk-long]]
| illustrator     = 
| publisher       = [[Sparkle Roll|Jade Dynasty]]
| publisher_en    = {{English anime licensee
| HK = [[Culturecom|Jademan]]}}
| publisher_other = 
| demographic     = <!-- Do not use Japanese terms -->
| magazine        = 
| first           = 1970
| last            = Present
| volumes         = 
| chapter_list    = 
| related         = 
| content         = 
| subcat          = Hong Kong comics
}}
{{Chinese
|order=ts
|t=龍虎門
|s=龙虎门
|j=lung4 fu2 mun4
|y=Lùhng Fú Mùhn
|p=Lóng Hǔ Mén
|l=Dragon Tiger Gate
|altname=Little Rascals
|c2=小流氓
|j2=siu2 lau4 man4
|y2=Síu Làuh Màhn
|p2=Xiǎo Liúmáng
}}
'''''Oriental Heroes''''' is a popular Hong Kong–based [[manhua]] created by [[Wong Yuk-long|Tony Wong Yuk-long]], a writer/artist responsible for also creating a number of other popular manhua titles.  It was created in 1970, and it continues to be published today.  The book was the first Hong Kong manhua title based on action and fighting, often borrowing from the [[wuxia]] literary world.  It established a new action genre of Hong Kong manhua and spawned many imitators.  The theme of its stories often revolves around brotherhood and the fight for justice.

Connie Lam, the director of the [[Hong Kong Arts Centre]], stated that the manhua was "the icon for jungle survival" and a "fantasy" in which people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds improve their standing through physical combat.<ref name=Lamp417>{{cite journal|last=Lam|first=Connie|title=Hong Kong Manhua after the Millennium|journal=[[International Journal of Comic Art]]|date=15 October 2009|page=417 (PDF p. 8/12)|via=[[Ebscohost]]}}</ref> Wong Yat-hei of the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' wrote that this work was "the first manhua to feature action and fighting".<ref name=WongYathei>{{cite web|last=Wong|first=Yat-hei|url=https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3064115/king-still-packs-punch|title='King' still packs a punch|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post|Young Post]]|place=Hong Kong|date=23 September 2013|accessdate=2023-04-23}}</ref> Lee Wing-sze, also of the ''SCMP'', described the series as "Wong's most crucial work."<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Wing-sze|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/539490/call-it-strip-search|title=CALL IT A STRIP SEARCH|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=7 March 2006|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

[[Jademan Comics]] published the comics in English, and these were distributed in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Hong Kong Comics Debut in U.S.|magazine=[[Black Belt (magazine)|Black Belt]]|volume=28|issue=5|publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc.|location=[[Burbank, California]]|date=May 1990|via=[[Google Books]]|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iNcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA74 74]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=iNcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}}</ref> The U.S. [[National Coalition of Television Violence]] (NCTV) rated this series "XUnfit" due to the violence it has.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Keith L.|title=Gore, Bloodshed More Common in Comic Books|newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|location=[[Atlanta]]|date=30 May 1989|pages=D1, D4}} – [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123378816/ Clipping of first page] and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123378858/ of second page] at [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

The 2006 movie ''[[Dragon Tiger Gate]]'' was based on this manhua.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Wing-sze|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/553938/re-enter-dragon|title=Re-enter the Dragon|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=24 June 2006|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

==Name==
''Oriental Heroes'' is the book's official English name. Its Chinese name is pronounced in [[Cantonese]], ''Lùhng Fú Mùhn'' ({{zh|t=龍虎門|s=龙虎门|p=Lóng Hǔ Mén}}).  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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/555634/golden-age-comics|title=Golden age of comics|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=6 July 2006|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref> The series has also been called "Tiger Wong".

==History==
Oriental Heroes was first published in 1970 under the title ''Little Rascals'' ({{zh|t=小流氓|cy=Síu Làuh Màhn}}).  It featured stories about young people living in [[Public housing in Hong Kong|public housing estate]]s 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 [[Censorship in Hong Kong|Indecent Publication Law]] in 1975, banning explicit violence in manhua.<ref name="Pilcher">Pilcher, Tim and Brad Brooks. (Foreword: Dave Gibbons). ''The Essential Guide to World Comics''. ''[[Collins and Brown]]''. 2005. 129–130.</ref>

As the Indecent Publication Law only applied to manhua, Wong Yuk-long established a daily newspaper, called ''Sàng Bou'' ({{zh|t=生報|s=生报|p=Shēng Bào}}), 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.<ref name="Pilcher"/>

Lee Wing-sze of the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' wrote that the work at the time "reflected the grass-roots culture of the 70s."<ref name=LeeWingsze>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Wing-sze|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/539491/comic-belief|title=COMIC BELIEF|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=8 March 2006|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

Responding to the success of writer Ma Wing Shing's manhua, ''[[Chinese Hero]]'',<ref name=Wong>{{cite book|title=[[Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua]]|author=Wendy Siuyi Wong|publisher=[[Princeton Architectural Press]]|year=2002|isbn=978-1-56898-269-4}}</ref> 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,"<ref name="Pilcher"/> 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.<ref name=Wong />{{pageneeded|date=April 2023}}

==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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/700872/local-cinemas-illustrated-history|title=Local cinema's illustrated history |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=10 December 2009|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

Lee Wing-sze wrote in 2006 that Tiger Wong and Little Dragon "became heroes to many young people."<ref name=LeeWingsze/>

===Tiger Wong===
Eighteen years old and with a strong sense of justice, Tiger Wong,<ref name=OrientalHeroesENIssue4P62>{{cite magazine|last=Wong|first=Tony|title=Oriental Heroes|publisher=Jademan Comics|date=November 1988|location=Hong Kong|issue=4|page=62}}</ref> known in Chinese versions as Wong Siu-fu<ref name=LeeWingsze/>{{#tag:ref|''Tiger Wong'' / ''Wong Siu-fu'': {{zh|first=j|c=王小虎|j=wong4 siu2 fu2|p=Wáng Xiǎohǔ|l=Little Tiger}}|group=note}}, fights to protect the weak from those who would oppress them.  He is both calm and courageous, fighting against powerful and evil forces without any fear.  Being from a family of martial artists, he is a naturally talented fighter.  His signature technique is the Wong Family's 18 Dragon Slayer Kicks, invented by his grandfather. Besides his family kung fu, he also invented a kicking technique named Leuih Dihn Sahn Teui ({{zh|t=雷電神腿|link=no}}); the name of this technique translates to "Thunder and Lightning Kick". Tiger's [[Chinese name]] means "Little Tiger". In English translations, he is called "Tiger Wong".

At first, he only mastered [[Hung Ga|Taming The Tiger Fist (Gong Zi Fu Hu Quan) and Tiger Crane Paired Form Fist (Hu He Shuang Xing Quan)]], both of which are his family kung fu. Later on, after meeting his eldest uncle, Wong Jiang Long, he was able to learn the legendary Wong Family's 18 Dragonslayer Kicks. As the story progresses, his kung fu skills are also developing, either by improving his current technique or learning an entirely new skill.
Subsequently, he learns "Nine Suns" Chi kung. This dramatically raises the power of his moves.

Andrea Chen of the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' described Tiger as "the most popular cartoon character of the 1980s."<ref>{{cite web|last=Chen|first=Andrea|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1313232/tiger-wong-and-creator-tony-wong-yuk-long-aim-draw-new-generation|title=Tiger Wong and creator Tony Wong Yuk-long aim to draw in new generation |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=20 September 2013|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

===Little Dragon===
Little Dragon,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wong|first=Tony|title=Jademan Kung Fu Special|issue=1|publisher=Jademan Publishing|year=1988|location=Hong Kong|page=12}}</ref> known in Chinese versions as Wong Siu-lung<ref name=LeeWingsze/>{{#tag:ref|''Little Dragon'' / ''Wong Siu-lung'': {{zh|first=t,j|t=王小龍|s=王小龙|j=wong4 siu2 lung4|p=Wáng Xiǎolóng|l=Little Dragon}}|group=note}} is twenty years old and is the elder half-brother of Tiger by the same father.  Sentimental and a loner, he values righteousness but is an indecisive person. When he was little, his mother left his father after finding out that he secretly had married another woman, Tiger's mother. The heartache she suffered had caused her to die miserably, which caused him to be raised in the orphanage. Lacking proper care, he turned into a rascal, eventually becoming a gang member. As a gang member, he even fought Tiger once, before they realized they were brothers. Although he was finally reformed and had a good relationship with his brother, Little Dragon is still unable to forgive Tiger's parents, whom he felt responsible for his mother's sufferings and miserable death. His Chinese name means "Little [[Chinese dragon|Dragon]]". In English translations, he is called "Little Dragon"<!--cited--> or "Dragon Wong".{{which|date=April 2023}}{{fact|date=April 2023}}

Even though he came from a family of martial artists, he didn't learn the family kung fu because he was taken away by his mother at a very young age. Instead, he learned Eight Trigrams Palm ([[Baguazhang|Bagua Zhang]]) and staff style at the beginning of the story. After he's reunited with his brother and uncle, he also learned the Wong Family's 18 Dragonslayer Kicks. However, he modified the style and uses his hands – instead of his feet – to perform them. Later on, he had a fateful encounter with the current leader of the Beggar Clan and was able to learn the original 18 Dragonslayer Palms and the Dog-Beating Stick Technique, greatly increasing his fighting skills.

In later editions, Little Dragon is killed by Chan Ou-wan<ref name=OrientalHeroesENIssue1P2>{{cite magazine|last=Wong|first=Tony|title=Oriental Heroes|publisher=Jademan Comics|year=1988|location=Hong Kong|issue=1|page=2}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|''Chan Ou Wan'': {{zh|first=t,j|t=陳傲雲|s=陈傲云|j=can4 ngou6 wan4|p=Chén Àoyún}}|group=note}}, the lieutenant of Fiery God.

===Gold Dragon===
Eighteen-year-old Gold Dragon,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wong|first=Tony|magazine=Jademan Kung Fu Special|issue=1|publisher=Jademan Publishing|year=1988|location=Hong Kong|page=11}}</ref> Shek Hak Lung{{#tag:ref|''Gold Dragon'' / ''Shek Hak-lung'': {{zh|first=t,j|t=石黑龍|s=石黑龙|j=sek6 hak1 lung4|p=Shí Hēilóng|l=Dark/Black Dragon}}|group=note}} in the original Chinese versions, is of mixed [[Han Chinese|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 ({{zh|t=碎骨門|link=no}}). 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 ({{zh|t=金毛獅王|link=no}}). 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{{Which|date=April 2023}}<!--Is this in Malay or English?--> 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.{{Fact|date=April 2023}}

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.

==Legacy==
After ''Oriental Heroes'' debuted, there were other comics with the same themes that appeared.<ref name=WongYathei/>

[[Lai Tat Tat Wing]] published ''Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'' in 2005<!--The previous year from the date of the SCMP article: 2006--> to pay honour to ''Oriental Heroes''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/555634/golden-age-comics|title=Golden age of comics |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=6 July 2006|accessdate=2023-06-08}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua]]''

==Notes==
===Names in native languages===
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oriental Heroes}}
[[Category:Hong Kong comics titles]]
[[Category:Martial arts comics]]
[[Category:1970 comics debuts]]