{ "id": "epg2e105pq", "slug": "royal-tramp", "title": "Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994", "label": "Comedies of 1990 to 1994", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w", "label": "Titles K to W", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记) is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy directed by Wong Jing, starring Stephen Chow and adapted from Jin Yong's novel The Deer and the Cauldron.", "snippet": "Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记) is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy directed by Wong Jing, starring Stephen Chow and adapted from Jin Yong's novel The Deer and the Cauldron.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w", "markdown": "# Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记)\n\n**Royal Tramp** (鹿鼎记) is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy film directed and written by Wong Jing, adapted from [Jin Yong](https://www.edgepedia.org/jin-yong)'s novel *The Deer and the Cauldron*, and produced by Win's Movie Productions.[17](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/royal-tramp-am51531) • [18](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104770/) • [1](https://www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?ID=582803&Preview=false&SiteID=1&Type=bkztb) • [4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992) It stars [Stephen Chow](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-chow) as Wei Xiaobao, alongside Deric Wan, Sharla Cheung, Chingmy Yau, Ng Man-tat, and Damian Lau, and was first released in Hong Kong on 30 July 1992.[1](https://www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?ID=582803&Preview=false&SiteID=1&Type=bkztb) • [4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992) The film earned close to HK$41 million at the domestic box office, making it the third highest-grossing Hong Kong film of 1992, and was followed the same year by a sequel, *[Royal Tramp II](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp-ii)*, directed by Ching Siu-tung.[2](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii) • [2](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf) • [5](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/royaltramp.html) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 鹿鼎记, adapted from Jin Yong's novel *The Deer and the Cauldron*[17](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/royal-tramp-am51531) |\n| Director and writer | Wong Jing[18](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104770/) |\n| Release | 30 July 1992, Hong Kong; produced by Win's Movie Productions[1](https://www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?ID=582803&Preview=false&SiteID=1&Type=bkztb) • [4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992) |\n| Lead cast | Stephen Chow (Wei Xiaobao), Deric Wan (Emperor Kangxi), Sharla Cheung, Chingmy Yau, Ng Man-tat, Damian Lau[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992) |\n| Box office | Close to HK$41 million, third highest-grossing Hong Kong film of 1992[2](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf) • [5](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/royaltramp.html) |\n| Runtime | 110 minutes per the Hong Kong Film Archive; other listings give 106 minutes or 1h 51m[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/sc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-7-1-12.html) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/royal-tramp) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%A8%98/umc.cmc.6az7vn6i9kwr06v34nk5uih3u) |\n| Sequel | *Royal Tramp II* (1992), directed by Ching Siu-tung, 1h 33m[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story is set in the early [Qing dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/qing-dynasty). Wei Xiaobao, raised in a brothel, accidentally saves Chen Jinnan (陈近南), leader of the anti-Qing Heaven and Earth Society, becomes his disciple, and is ordered to enter the palace disguised as a eunuch to steal the treasured Forty-Two Chapters Sutra.[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/sc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-7-1-12.html) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%A8%98/umc.cmc.6az7vn6i9kwr06v34nk5uih3u) Inside the palace he becomes a confidant of the young Emperor Kangxi (温兆伦), who is not yet old enough to rule personally while the regent Oboi (鳌拜) seizes control of the government.[8](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%A8%98/umc.cmc.6az7vn6i9kwr06v34nk5uih3u) Kangxi orders Wei to remove Oboi; the attempt fails at first, but with help from an empress dowager impersonated by a Dragon Cult priestess (张敏), Oboi is imprisoned, the credit is given to Wei, and he gains power at court.[8](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%A8%98/umc.cmc.6az7vn6i9kwr06v34nk5uih3u) The film thus places its antihero at the center of the era's political schemes while he serves both the emperor and the rebels who want to overthrow him.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/royal-tramp)\n\nThe opening establishes the film's comic method. Wei appears as a storyteller perched on a stack of chairs, exaggerating the heroism of Chen Jinnan to a crowd that keeps catching him out; the height of his seat, and its later collapse, play as a visual joke about heroic storytelling itself.[9](https://hkcd.com.hk/content/2020-06/11/content_1197236.html)\n\n### Sequel and later releases\n\n*Royal Tramp II* (鹿鼎记II神龙教), released the same year and directed by Ching Siu-tung, continues the story: Lone-er has imprisoned the empress and taken over her identity, and Wei knows the truth and threatens to expose her.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii) [Brigitte Lin](https://www.edgepedia.org/brigitte-lin) joined the sequel's cast, and she also appears in a cameo in the first film.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii) • [13](https://qwipster.net/1998/01/05/royal-tramp-1992/)\n\nThe film has remained in circulation. It streams with [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) and Mandarin audio and English and Chinese subtitles.[14](https://www.netflix.com/sg-zh/title/922448) In 2025, a new 4K restoration was scheduled to open in mainland Chinese cinemas on 5 December, 33 years after the film's first Hong Kong release, marking its first mainland theatrical run in the restored format.[15](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20251203/202512031012247266.pdf) Later mainland re-releases of the two parts together took in a little over HK$2 million, a modest result that a trade report attributed in part to the distributor's limited use of the films' star power.[16](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20260211/202602111202073633.pdf)\n\n## Style and adaptation\n\nWong Jing's adaptation compresses Jin Yong's long novel into a fast-moving comedy, and the Hong Kong Film Archive's notes describe it as tight and lively, with Chow playing Wei as unlearned, mischievous, and crafty.[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/sc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-7-1-12.html) The film melds period intrigue and action with *mo lei tau*, the Hong Kong \"nonsense\" comedy style Chow made popular, including speeded-up shots, characters bursting into song, and fourth-wall breaking.[10](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2023/11/the-royal-tramp-collection-1992/) A 2020 commentary in the *Hong Kong Commercial Daily* argued that the 1992 film and its sequel captured the spirit of the novel better than any earnest adaptation, while still making selections and changes; the novel's humor had already moved from comedy toward farce, and the film made its mockery more direct.[9](https://hkcd.com.hk/content/2020-06/11/content_1197236.html) Its most quoted line, \"My admiration for you flows on like a surging river, unstoppable as the flooding Yellow River,\" became one of the film's signatures.[2](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf)\n\nA Chinese academic commentary describes the film as a model of fusion adaptation: it keeps the novel's satire and deconstruction of the jianghu and its martial world, folds in Chow's uninhibited comic style, and adds the filmmakers' own touches, such as the mad antics of the palace official Hai Dafu after he is injured.[11](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%AE%B0/9411239)\n\n## Box office and reception\n\n*Royal Tramp* was the third highest-grossing Chinese film in the 1992 Hong Kong box office, taking in close to HK$41 million.[2](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf) • [5](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/royaltramp.html) It was one of the five top-grossing Hong Kong films of 1992.[17](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/royal-tramp-am51531) Counting both parts, the *Royal Tramp* films grossed about HK$77 million, which a study of Chow's career describes as setting a new record.[12](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf) Audience ratings have remained favorable: IMDb and TMDb list 7.1/10.[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992) A 1905.com review cited by Baidu Baike called it the funniest version of the story, praising its twisting plot and gags while noting it does not simply follow the novel.[11](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%AE%B0/9411239) A contemporary-style review at Qwipster rated it an exception where Chow's broad humor and Wong Jing's filmmaking came together as a satisfying whole, calling it a parody of kung fu films with energetic action, while cautioning that some humor and in-jokes do not translate well for viewers outside the Hong Kong genre tradition.[13](https://qwipster.net/1998/01/05/royal-tramp-1992/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [《鹿鼎记》, 中国大百科全书](https://www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?ID=582803&Preview=false&SiteID=1&Type=bkztb)\n2. [香港电影专题 (NSFOCUS PDF, 1992 box office figures)](https://www.nsfocus.com.cn/uploadfile/2021/0929/20210929021520516.pdf)\n3. [Royal Tramp II, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/royal_tramp_ii)\n4. [Royal Tramp, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/royal-tramp-1992)\n5. [Royal Tramp, Fortune Star Media](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/royaltramp.html)\n6. [《鹿鼎记》, 香港电影资料馆](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/sc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-7-1-12.html)\n7. [Royal Tramp, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/royal-tramp)\n8. [《鹿鼎記》, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%A8%98/umc.cmc.6az7vn6i9kwr06v34nk5uih3u)\n9. [香港电影，是庸俗还是艺术?, 香港商報](https://hkcd.com.hk/content/2020-06/11/content_1197236.html)\n10. [The Royal Tramp Collection [1992], Horror Cult Films](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2023/11/the-royal-tramp-collection-1992/)\n11. [鹿鼎记（1992年王晶执导的武侠喜剧电影）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%B9%BF%E9%BC%8E%E8%AE%B0/9411239)\n12. [X. Xu PhD thesis, University of Southampton](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf)\n13. [Royal Tramp (1992), Qwipster](https://qwipster.net/1998/01/05/royal-tramp-1992/)\n14. [鹿鼎记, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/sg-zh/title/922448)\n15. [中国电影报, 2025-12-03](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20251203/202512031012247266.pdf)\n16. [中国电影报, 2026-02-11](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20260211/202602111202073633.pdf)\n17. [Royal Tramp (1992) - Jing Wong | Synopsis, Movie Info, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/royal-tramp-am51531)\n18. [Royal Tramp, imdb.com](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104770/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles K to W*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记)](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Royal Tramp (鹿鼎记)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-tramp. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Royal Tramp is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy directed by Wong Jing, starring Stephen Chow and adapted from Jin Yong's novel The Deer and the Cauldron." }