Chu Ko-liang: From Cabaret Stage to Lunar New Year Films, the King of Taiwanese Entertainment
Chu Ko-liang (1946–2017), birth name Hsieh Hsin-ta, changed his name to Hsieh Yu-chen after his 2009 comeback. He rose to fame in the 1980s through cabaret show videotapes that saturated every corner of Taiwan, and was grouped with Chang Fei and Hsing Feng as the "Chu in the South, Chang in the North, Hsing in the Middle." In 1993 he fled from gambling debts and disappeared for a decade. A single line in 2009 — "I went abroad for advanced studies" — made all of Taiwan laugh and welcome him back. The following year he won the Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show Host, and in his final years he released a Lunar New Year film almost every holiday season.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1946 | Born 6 December in Kaohsiung Zuoying1 |
| 1960 (approx. age 14) | Left Zuoying to join the "New Theater Troupe," became a disciple of Lin Sung-yen, started learning from backstage curtain-pulling1 |
| 1977 (age 31) | Played the comic role "Chu Ko-liang" in Yu Chi-tung's production of Liao Tiending; the stage name stuck. Joined the Blue Diamond Grand Cabaret as director and screenwriter, then debuted as host when filling in for the regular emcee1 |
| 1988 | Shot and wounded behind the Blue Diamond Grand Cabaret on 8 October1 |
| 1993 | Fled after accumulating massive gambling debts; briefly returned in 1997, left show business again in 19991 |
| 2009 | Spotted by Apple Daily reporters in February; returned on 24 April via a Tsann Kuen 3C commercial; began hosting FTV's Chu Ko-liang's Club in August1 |
| 2010 | Won the 45th Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show Host on 22 October with Hou Yi-chun for Chu Ko-liang's Club1 |
| 2011 | Began releasing a starring Lunar New Year film every year: Chicken Chop Hero, Big Tail Sea Bass, Dadaocheng, Double Happiness Arrives1 |
| 2014 | Confirmed diagnosis of stage II colorectal cancer on 30 May1 |
| 2017 | Promoted final film Master Angler in January; died 15 May at NTU Hospital, aged 701 |
Growing Up in Zuoying, Joining a Troupe in His Teens
Chu Ko-liang came from the Hsieh clan of Wujia in Zuoying, with ancestral roots in Hui'an, Quanzhou. According to Wikipedia's compilation, his father was a vegetable vendor who ran a stall; business was good because of the large military garrison in Zuoying, and all three brothers had to help out. As a child, Chu Ko-liang delivered vegetables by bicycle1.
He showed performing talent while attending Jiucheng Elementary School. His class monitor, the future writer Chen Fang-ming, recalled that when Chu Ko-liang got into trouble and the teacher moved to administer corporal punishment, he improvised a comic routine on the spot; the whole class burst into laughter and the punishment was dropped1.
At 14 he left Zuoying for the New Theater Troupe, became a disciple of Lin Sung-yen, and started by pulling curtains backstage, wandering with the troupe from place to place. At 17, during a run from Checheng, Pingtung to Yuli, Hualien, the troupe's lead actor Toa-a-tu (矮仔塗) injured his foot on a nail; Chu Ko-liang volunteered to step in, performed well, and from then on became a professional screenwriter and actor1.
Blue Diamond Grand Cabaret: Debut at Thirty-One
At 31, Yu Chi-tung (then performing as Yu Tung-jung) cast him in Liao Tiending as the comic character "Chu Ko-liang," a breakout performance; he simply adopted the role name as his stage name. Recommended by Chang Chien and Chang Ti, he joined the Blue Diamond Grand Cabaret founded by Yang Teng-kuei as director and screenwriter. One night the regular host Fei Chen-ling was absent; he filled in, and his hosting career began1.
His first partner was Kang Hung; later Yu Tien, Huang Hsi-tien, and others joined. In that era a cabaret show typically interviewed singers, had them sing, then everyone performed a short skit together. They also often dressed as spirit mediums (jitong) or Taoist priests, letting singers ask about romance, career, even the next winning lottery (ta-chia-lo) numbers. The laughs mostly came from his off-the-cuff, freewheeling ad-libs1.
In the 1980s, Chu Ko-liang Cabaret Show videotapes swept Taiwan. Pirated copies also circulated in the Hokkien-speaking region; many viewers in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Xiamen grew up renting his tapes and discs1.
The Microphone Hung Around His Neck
Early on there were no wireless microphones; holding a mic while performing was awkward. He had a flash of inspiration and hung the microphone around his neck with a cord — it became his trademark. Even after wireless mics appeared, he kept wearing it that way, leaving both hands free for skits and making physical comedy with guests easier1.
He put on no airs at work. In his early shows he handled every detail himself, treated the cast like family, ate meals with them, saying this was "passed down from Master Lin Sung-yen." Before every shoot he insisted on worshipping the Earth God (Tu-ti-kung), the Ground Deity (Ti-chi-chu), and the "good brothers" (wandering spirits), personally instructing the crew on how to make the offerings1.
Ten Years on the Run and "Advanced Studies Abroad"
Chu Ko-liang was addicted to the ta-chia-lo lottery and Mark Six. Reports say he once won NT$140 million, then lost heavily, amassing huge gambling debts, and fled in 1993. He briefly resurfaced in 1997, vanished again in 1999 — ten years gone1.
He later said that during those years he applied for jobs everywhere and was rejected every time; he couldn't even get hired as a building superintendent, and at one point considered becoming a monk1.
On 19 February 2009, Apple Daily reporters photographed him at a black-wheel (o-den) stall in Chaozhou, Pingtung. On 24 April the same year, Tsann Kuen 3C released his commercial monologue: in Taiwanese he said, "Haven't seen everyone for over ten years, because I 'went abroad for advanced studies.'" That line became the shorthand for his lost decade1.
On 5 June he visited Yang Teng-kuei at Gala Television (GTV); the two publicly reconciled, and his bridge back into show business was rebuilt1.
After the Comeback: Chu Ko-liang's Club and the Lunar New Year Films
His first variety show after returning was FTV's Chu Ko-liang's Club, whose ratings once broke 10%. In 2010 he and Hou Yi-chun won the Golden Bell Award for Best Variety Show Host for this program1.
Per Wikipedia, his per-episode hosting fee rose from NT$300,000 on FTV's Chu Ko-liang's Club to NT$700,000 on CTV's Ten Thousand Shows: Chu King, then NT$850,000 on CTS's CTS King Chu Ko-liang Show, setting a record high for Taiwanese hosts1.
Starting in 2011, he released a starring Lunar New Year film every year: Chicken Chop Hero, Big Tail Sea Bass, Dadaocheng, Double Happiness Arrives, Big Tail Sea Bass 2 — each grossing over NT$100 million — until 2017's Master Angler (NT$69.32 million) broke the streak; that was also his final film1.
The Last Three Years
On 30 May 2014 he confirmed a stage II colorectal cancer diagnosis. Worried about treatment side effects, he did not begin aggressive therapy immediately, prioritizing work and trying Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, and folk remedies. In 2016 his condition worsened; ascites reached 6,600 ml. He was hospitalized for emergency surgery on 6 September; by then the cancer had metastasized to the abdomen, liver, and lungs1.
In January 2017, despite his frail state, he promoted Master Angler and taped a New Year's Eve special. He said willpower kept him going: "Looking at my family, my children, that kind of heavenly bond makes me want to live on." In February he joined the Singang Fengtian Temple Mazu pilgrimage procession — his last public appearance1.
On the morning of 11 May he called Yu Tien to catch up; the long-standing rift between them (dubbed the "Yu-Chu Complex" by the media) was finally resolved. At 5:10 a.m. on 15 May, he passed away at NTU Hospital1.
Farewell
On 20 June the funeral was held at the New Taipei City Funeral Parlor. The family cast moon blocks for guidance; the deity indicated Taoist rites for the seventh-day ceremony and the funeral. After cremation, his ashes were interred at the Keelung Yongheng Cultural Park. Thousands of fans attended; the funeral procession circled the entire Banqiao area1.
What Remains
Most of his performing career used Taiwanese (Tâi-gí), giving him recognition throughout the Hokkien-speaking world — including Hokkien communities in China and Southeast Asia. As for who he influenced and how much he changed later variety shows, such assessments easily become hyperbolic; this article does not draw conclusions on others' behalf. What is verifiable: audiences watched him in three distinct eras — the 1980s videotapes, the 2010 Golden Bell win, and the consecutive blockbuster Lunar New Year films of his later years.
In 2022, his eldest son Hsieh Shun-fu and a startup team used virtual-real compositing technology to produce an AI video "Master Chu and the Little Monk," with his third daughter Hsieh Chin-ching voicing the Little Monk1.