King of Beggars

King of Beggars is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Gordon Chan, starring Stephen Chow, Sharla Cheung, Ng Man-tat and Norman Chui. The story is loosely based on legends about the martial artist So Chan (better known as "Beggar So"), who lived in the late Qing dynasty and was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton. Plot So Chan is the spoiled son of a wealthy general in Canton. Although he is lazy and illiterate, he excels in martial arts. While visiting a brothel, So falls in love with Yu-shang, a prostitute who dares to behave rudely towards him. So vies for Yu-shang's services with Chiu Mo-kei, a high-ranking government official, by trying to outbid him. By outbidding Chiu, So inadvertently foils an attempt by Yu-Shang, who was actually in undercover, to assassinate Chiu. Yu-shang wanted to get close to Chiu in order to avenge her father, who had been murdered by Chiu. Yu-shang agrees to marry So if he can win the title of "Martial Arts Champion". To win Yu-shang's hand-in-marriage, So enters the imperial martial arts contest to win the championship title. So's father helps him cheat his way through the written examination, while his personal expertise in martial arts carries him through the physical tests. So eventually emerges as champion, but just as the emperor is about to grant him the title, Chiu reveals that So is illiterate, proving that he cheated in the written examination. The enraged emperor orders So's family properties and possessions to be confiscated, and decrees that they shall remain as beggars for the rest of their lives. So does not adapt well to his new life. He encounters Chiu on the streets and Chiu breaks his legs, preventing him from practising martial arts again. So is introduced by his father to join the Beggars' Gang, but he is ashamed when he finds out that Yu-shang's family leads the gang. He spends most of his time sleeping in seclusion. By coincidence, he meets an elderly beggar, whom he helped earlier, and the beggar attempts to cheer him up by healing his wounds and teaching him the Sleeping Arhat Skill. When Yu-shang is kidnapped by Chiu later, So is shaken out of his delusional state as he wants to save her. He tricks the Beggars' Gang into electing him as their new chief by pretending that he is possessed by the spirit of Hung Tsat-kung, a legendary former chief of the gang.