Hong Kong actress Joyce Cheng has posted a tribute to her late mother - Lydia Sum - on her 13th death anniversary.

The Hong Kong comedienne died on Feb 19, 2008 at the age of 62 after losing her battle with liver cancer.

In an Instagram post on Friday (Feb 19), Cheng, 33, wrote: "I made a promise 13 years ago that I would strive to be a good and useful person."

She also posted a photo of herself at her high school graduation ceremony, and said that during secondary school, her grades started plummeting because she was playful.

Because of her poor results, Sum stopped work in Hong Kong and flew to Canada to make sure her daughter got back on track with her studies.

"I remember that she did not beat or scold me when she saw my marks," Cheng said.

"What I saw instead was her disappointment, as if she was blaming herself for not spending more time to encourage her daughter in her studies."

Cheng - whose father is Hong Kong actor Adam Cheng - said Sum only whispered to her that she needed a good high school score to qualify for university.

The actress passed her mother a note the next day; she apologised and promised Sum that she would get on the honour roll at her secondary school graduation, which she did.

Recalling the promise Cheng said: "I''m trying... I'm on my way there... I will remember what you taught me."