The 1982 film Shaolin Temple launched the career of martial arts superstar Jet Li. But what is perhaps less widely known is that it essentially created Shaolin Kung Fu as we know it.
The Shaolin Temple is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourism center in Henan Province in central China. The mountain is home to dozens of martial arts schools; Ticket sales generate tens of millions of dollars annually; the temple is now a commercial empire, managing more than 40 foreign companies; and the international media even dubbed its abbot, Shi Yongxin, the “CEO monk.”
But when a film crew from Hong Kong film production company Chung Yuen visited in 1980, they discovered an abandoned site in poor condition after decades of neglect.
“When I was working in Shaolin there were no monks … only three monks … and they had just finished the Cultural Revolution,” Li said in an interview with Kung Fu Magazine in 2001. “Not a lot of people knew about the Shaolin Temple. After the movie came out it became very popular. A lot of tourists, a lot of martial arts schools.”
It was the first martial arts film made in China and the first film filmed at the Shaolin Temple, which is revered as the birthplace of China’s most famous style of Wushu.
It is believed that the monks there practiced fighting styles based on the movements of animals and birds for 1,500 years. This became known as Shaolin Kung Fu, a comprehensive cultural and spiritual system that strengthens the inner self. But this entire heritage was destroyed when communist Red Guards attacked the monastery in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution as part of their campaign against religion.
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Ancient artifacts were destroyed and the monks who lived there were beaten and ridiculed.
China condoned violence against the site, but just two decades later they allowed the monastery to be used in three films starring Lee.
China sought to bolster its weak economy by seeking business deals with other countries, and the partnership with Chung Yuen proved to be a masterstroke.
Set in the seventh century, Li – then known by his birth name, Li Lian-je – played Jue Yuan, who travels to the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts so he can avenge his father’s death at the hands of the evil Wang.
It took two years to film, with production methods fairly primitive given the dilapidated setting. Production on the film was also halted for six months when Li fractured his leg while filming one of his jaw-dropping martial arts fight scenes.
“Remember, I’m just a normal guy, I’m lucky, learning martial arts. Now I’m lucky making films,”Li said in another interview with Kung Fu Magazine. It’s quite a contrast with the US$350 million fortune he has said he will leave to his wife. Despite those tough conditions, Li has said that filming the first Shaolin Temple was still like being on holiday.
“The best part about making that film is that we didn’t have to train any more,” he said. “Even though we were waking up at five or six to get to the set, and shooting from eight until sunset, it was nothing. This was relaxing. Didn’t we have to fight all day? Sure, but this was nowhere near as tiring as wushu class. In fact, after we finished the day’s shoot, we’d go out again and play soccer or basketball.”
The monastery’s ancient murals provided a vivid and authentic backdrop that delighted film-goers, 700,000 of whom flocked to cinemas to watch it in Hong Kong upon its winter release.
The film was so successful, Li Lianjie changed his name to Jet Li because theatre owners thought his birth name was too long.
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“I remember when I was young, I really wanted to promote martial arts,” Li said. “In the 1970s I already had travelled to different countries, doing demonstrations. In the 1980s I started by making one movie. My eyes just opened. “I saw a lot of people watching the movie and they started liking the martial arts. Then I said, why not just continue making movies and through the movies give out more information. I really want the martial arts to help the people.”
Two Shaolin Temple sequels followed, Shaolin Temple 2: Children of Shaolin in 1984 and Shaolin Temple 3: Shaolin Martial Arts in 1986, for which Lee was still paid pennies.
Lee considered quitting the business, such was his experience, but the Hong Kong film companies knew they had a star on their hands, so they convinced him to continue with big offers, and a star was born.