A Fist Within Four Walls is a Hong Kong television drama created by Jazz Boon for TVB. It is a martial arts action serial drama, and revolves around kung fu masters living in the triad-ridden Kowloon Walled City during the early 1960s. The drama stars Ruco Chan as the series' protagonist, a gifted martial arts novice who, along with a group of young kung fu masters, take down the walled city's largest criminal organisation, the Fellow Association. The drama also stars Nancy Wu, Benjamin Yuen, Philip Ng, Yuen Qiu, Grace Wong, and Moon Lau in lead roles.
Protagonists
Chor Au-Kuen
Chor Au-Kuen (, meaning "left-hooked fist"), portrayed by Ruco Chan, is the main protagonist. He is often referred to as Kuen Lo (拳佬; "Fist Guy"; alt. "Boxer") by his friends, and is an extremely gifted martial arts novice. Kuen is described as an "optimistic and hot-blooded" natural-born leader, but is flawed with his impulsive and competitive nature. Kuen is kind-hearted, sometimes to the point of naivety. Yeung Hoi-pok portrayed 10-year-old Kuen.
Kuen was born Chiu Yeung (朝陽; Ziu1 Joeng4), and was the son of Chiu Mang-san, a Bajiquan master of the Chiu style. He and his younger sister Chiu Ha were both diligent Bajiquan students of their father. In 1945, when Yeung was 10, his family moved into the Kowloon Walled City to start a new living. They get acquainted with Duen Tung-tin, a Bajiquan master of the Duen style. Master Duen had long been a protector of the walled city; his Bajiquan kwoon was established to defend the walled city against oncoming triads, who were trying to take the ungoverned walled city as their base. Wanting to protect the walled city with them, Yeung asked his father to teach him his signature move, "Scaling Tiger" (猛虎硬爬山), but his father said the move was too powerful for someone as young as Yeung to learn.
Yeung was forcibly separated from his family when Master Duen died under mysterious circumstances. Duen's students claimed that Yeung's father was the murderer, as they were seen fighting right before Duen's death. The doctor ruled the cause of the death to be blunt trauma, and only Chiu's "Fierce Tiger Climbing Mountain" strike had enough power to kill. Yeung's parents were then beaten to death by Duen's students, and Yeung was separated from his younger sister. Yeung then escaped to Macau to live with his great aunt.
In 1959, 26-year-old Yeung, now named Chor Au-kuen, returns to the Kowloon Walled City to search for his sister. He meets But Tak-liu, a general contractor, who brings him into the walled city and introduces him to a water labouring job so he can pay his rent to the landlady Tiu Lan. By chance, he meets Duen Ying-fung, Master Duen's now adult son, and learns that the Duen family no longer operate a Bajiquan kwoon due to increasing intimidation of the Fellow Association, the walled city's largest triad organisation. Master Duen's death had indirectly led to the rise of the Fellow Association's power in the walled city. Kuen feels regretful and responsible—if his father had not killed Duen, the walled city may not have fallen victim into the wrong hands. He also learns from Fung that his sister had died from a mountain fire 15 years ago while attempting to escape the walled city. Kuen develops survivor's guilt as a result.
Wanting to atone his sins, Kuen decides to stay in the walled city and takes on the duty of protecting its people. Believing that his father's "Fierce Tiger Climbing Mountain" to be the strike that had killed Master Duen, Kuen refuses to re-learn Bajiquan, and seeks help from his neighbour Thai Por, a retired master in Wing Chun and Muay Thai. Kuen is a quick learner, and immediately adapts to Thai Por's fighting style, and uses her moves to defeat his enemies. After defeating underground Muay Thai champion Lung Shing-fu, who is also Thai Por's son, Kuen and Fung form the Kowloon Walled City Welfare Association to break the Fellow Association's stronghold in the walled city.
While attempting to rescue his Fa Man, he suffers head trauma causing blindness. Together with Fa Man's death and his loss at the hands of Fung he leaves his friends and becomes homeless. Tiu Lan soon convinces him to return and trains to fight without his eyesight. He later helps fight Yeung.
Tiu Lan
Tiu Lan (), portrayed by Nancy Wu, is Kuen's landlady and the owner of a local hair salon within the walled city. She is feisty, bossy, and can be at times too overbearing, but is innately honourable, protective, and compassionate. Her name, Tiu Lan, is a homophone of the word 刁難 (Diu1 Laan1), meaning "to give someone a difficult time."