Jet Li
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China.org.cn, December 2, 2010
The King of Kung-Fu Stars
Traveling abroad at a very young age opened up Jet Li's minds. He learned to think independently from an early age. After winning five all-round championships in China, Jet Li decided that he would rather do something else now that he had already achieved a considerable height. His consummate skills in martial arts also won him a lot of opportunities.
Shaolin Temple: where the legend started
Shortly after retiring from the sport at the age of 17, Jet Li was offered many starring roles and subsequently began his film career with director Zhang Xinyan for Shaolin Temple. Based on the Shaolin folklore and the true story of how Shaolin monks saved the Tang emperor, this film marked the debut of the national wushu champion as an inexperienced film star.
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Shaolin Temple: where the legend started |
Shot with the magnificent background of the Yellow River, reed marsh, and pagodas in the Shaolin Temple, the film featured the Eighteen-Arms in the traditional Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin boxing, Drunk boxing, Eagle claws boxing, and swords. Upon its release, the movie broke all kinds of box-office records in Hong Kong, China, and Korea.
The success of Shaolin Temple propelled Jet Li from a mere martial arts master to a full-fledged Chinese movie star and celebrity, almost overnight. His star shone so bright that almost any picture with his name attached became an instant success. Kids From Shaolin and Martial Arts of Shaolin, Jet's second and third films respectively, also enjoyed box-office success.
However, like all movie stars, Jet Li then fell into the bust part of the boom-and-bust trajectory of big screen success. He directed and starred in Born to Defense, a World War II epic that fared miserably, both critically and financially. Even worse, Jet's health condition declined during that period. The doctor even declared that he should not work on wushu ever again.
Golden Age in Hong Kong
Frustrated and dejected, Jet Li decided to go to the United States, where he met Tsui Hark, who had already established himself as one of Hong Kong's leading new wave directors. Tsui Hark then cast Jet in the historical martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China in 1991. Jet got the opportunity to show off his blistering martial-arts skills once again as he played the legendary Wong Fei-Hung, who fought for China's rights against the Western colonial powers moving into China in the late 19th century. The film was a massive global success with critics and fans, so much so that it spawned two successful sequels, both starring Li. In the following years, Li starred in another film series about a Chinese folk hero, Fong Sai Yuk. The series was again a huge hit.
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Jet Li: King of the Kung-Fu Stars |
In the first half of the 1990s, Hong Kong saw Jet Li's golden age, with his consecutive hits of Wong Fei-Hung series and Fong Sai-Yuk series, as well as other films including The Master, Swordsman, The Last Hero in China, and The Tai Chi Master. Meanwhile, Jet Li was also one of the creators for the golden age in Hong Kong film history. Jet Li, together with other superstars such as Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, brought the tide of action movie to the Hong Kong film industry, as well as the force of Chinese kung fu to the entire world.
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