HONG KONG, Jan. 30 -- Hong Kong's undisputed king of cinematic combat has a brand-new title - and this time it doesn't come from a movie script.

Donnie Yen, the 62-year-old action legend behind some of the most bone-crunching, era-defining martial arts films ever made, has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by Hong Kong's Lingnan University.

According to CNA, the accolade was presented on Monday at the university's Doctorate Conferment Ceremony, where Yen stood shoulder-to-shoulder with five other distinguished recipients.

In its citation, the university hailed him as a "legendary figure" whose decades of work have left an "indelible mark" on both cinema and national culture.

The tribute singled out the global impact...