As there’s been a lot of discussion here recently about Hong Kong actresses and cinema, I thought I should do a post on the most famous erotic HK actress of all: Amy Yip. In spite of her global fame, there is surprisingly little concrete information I could find about about Amy, at least in English. Indeed, despite being famous for her obvious (enhanced) assets, even her nipples are a mystery: she always somehow manages to show all of her breasts, except the part everyone wants to see – a brilliant marketing strategy which has come to be known as the “Yip tease”.She got her big break in the 1987 film Erotic Ghost Story. If like most westerners you aren’t familiar with Chinese erotic ghost stories, the combination of elements in this film will seem bizarre, even absurd. Such stories are actually very popular amongst Chinese, however, and this movie is the quintessential film adaptation of the genre. I recommend it, but leave your brain at the door first and enjoy the humour and the eroticism of all three female leads. You get to see all of the other girls’ assets too, although they aren’t as impressive as Amy’s!

What really made her an international star though was her role in the most famous erotic (‘category III’) Hong Kong film of all: Sex and Zen. I can once again recommend this film – far more original than the sequels (although Hsu Chi looks absolutely fantastic in Sex and Zen II), it is if anything even more absurd than Erotic Ghost Story. Even though he is married to Amy, the main character in the film is unsatisfied with is sexual prowess or the size of his penis. He then manages to get his own penis replaced with that of a horse, and I suppose you can guess the rest! There are some pretty interesting (non-explicit) sex scenes in this film, of both the heterosexual and lesbian variety – you’ve probably never seen a flute used in this way before!

I’ve also seen her in one other very funny and sexy category III film, Robotrix – more on this film when I do a future post on its other busty star, Chikako Aoyoma. She has also appeared in several straight comedies and even a few serious dramas. She knows why people want to see her and isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself, and has a pretty good sense of comic timing. Sadly she retired in 1997 to get married, but rumours persist of a return to the movie industry soon. Perhaps she’s waiting for someone to offer her enough money to show everything!

The best bio I’ve found is here. Here’s a few galleries:

http://asianfanatics.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=668
http://www.asianology.com/advanced/amy_yip/
http://www.zoneasia.com/chinesenude/amy/
http://women.sohu.com/2004/06/23/01/article220680141.shtml