Recording more than 40 albums and appearing in more than 40 films since starting her career at age 10, Mui never married. Her life was her work. When she checked into the Hong Kong Sanitorium Hospital, Mui was (not yet, only going to)filming Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers." Zhang has chosen to retain her role as a loose thread in the plot rather to cut her footage or replace the actress with a double.