Veteran Taiwanese actor Chang Feng dies at 98

Veteran actor Chang Feng's career spanned 70 years. PHOTO: TAIPEI FILM FESTIVAL/INSTAGRAM

TAIPEI - Award-winning Taiwanese actor Chang Feng died, aged 98, on Sunday (Feb 6).

His daughter Chang Ching confirmed the news on Wednesday (Feb 9), according to news portal Focus Taiwan.

She did not reveal the cause of death but said he died "peacefully in his sleep".

The veteran actor - whose career spanned 70 years - is best remembered for his portrayal of legendary pugilist Zhang Sanfeng in Taiwanese series The Heaven Sword And Dragon Saber (1994), an adaptation of the wuxia novel by Louis Cha.

In his long career in film and television, he had bagged best actor prizes at both the Golden Bell Awards and Golden Horse Awards.

He won best actor twice at the Golden Bell Awards for TV shows Two Endings (1984) and Autumn Moon And Spring Breeze (1986).

He also won Golden Horse Awards for best actor in 1976 movie Fragrant Flower Versus Noxious Grass and best supporting actor in 1984 movie The Warmth Of An Old House.

In 2008, he took home the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Horse Awards.

While he took on fewer roles in his later years, one of his last film appearances was in The Moon And The Tree (2021) by renowned Taiwan-based Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang.

The short film follows two Taiwanese veteran artistes, Chang and 1970s singer Lee Pei-jing, and premiered at the Taipei Film Festival in 2021.

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