Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)
Martial Arts of Shaolin (Chinese: 南北少林, lit. “Southern and Northern Shaolin”), also known as Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts of Shaolin, is a 1986 Hong Kong–Chinese martial arts film. It is notable as the only collaboration between film director Lau Kar-leung and actor Jet Li. The film was later released on Region 1 DVD by The Weinstein Company under the Dragon Dynasty imprint.
Plot.
Set during the Qing dynasty of China, a young monk, Lin Zhi-Ming, trains to be one of the Northern Shaolin school’s best fighters, whose skills impresses his elders and classmates. Zhi-Ming is revealed to have been orphaned at a young age and was raised by the temple, with only a silver ankle bracelet being the only reminder of his past life; Zhi-Ming continues to wear this band during his years of training but in secrecy from the temple’s elders. Although being a devout student of Shaolin, Zhi-ming has the tendency to break many of the monastery’s rules, such as sneaking in meat to temple grounds or teaching the school’s secrets to outsiders. On one such occasion of the latter, Zhi-Ming meets some of the local youth, the same who he has unofficially accepted as his disciples; but in a meeting, two of the youthsRELATED:
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reveal to have been chosen to perform Lion dancing at the birthday of the tyrannical magistrate He Suo, who was responsible for the deaths of Zhi-ming’s family. Determined to get his revenge, Zhi-ming persuades the youth to let him perform the Lion dancing instead.
Meanwhile, in Southern China, Si-ma Yan, the niece of the Southern Shaolin school’s master Fa Ren, was informed about He Suo’s birthday celebrations at the capital and decides to embark on a journey to avenge her family’s death by assassinating the magistrate. Master Fa Ren soon discovers Si-ma Yan’s disappearance and enlists disciple Chao Wei, a close friend of Si-ma Yan, to aid her during her mission at the capital.
In Lord He Suo’s birthday, the festivities go as he had planned. But as Zhi-Ming attempts to perform his Lion dance while planning to stab He Suo,
he is interrupted by Si-ma Yan and her compatriots, who attempt to assassinate He Suo with hidden bows during a performance. The plan goes awry after He Suo dodges the arrows and a massive fight ensues, with Zhi-Ming, Si-ma Yan and Chao Wei all escaping He Suo’s henchmen. Although Si-ma Yan is wounded in the escape attempt, she and Chao Wei reluctantly agree to work with Zhi-Ming in order to escape He Suo’s wrath, who has in the meantime blocked all roads leading to the South, where Si-ma Yan and Chao Wei hope to escape back to Southern Shaolin. The trio eventually bypass checkpoints set up by He Suo’s men, but after spending a night to rest from the journey, Si-ma Yan reveals to Zhi-Ming a silver ankle band similar to his.
Production.
The film is the third part of the successful Shaolin film series which began with the 1982 film, Shaolin Temple, and was followed by Kids From Shaolin (1984). However, although it stars many Mainland actors from either or both predecessor films (Jet Li, Yu Chenghui, Yu Hai, Hu Jianqiang and Huang Qiuyan), Martial Arts Of Shaolin uses a Hong Kong production crew from Shaw Brothers Studio, in contrast to the other two films (which are Hong Kong-funded but are shot by a Mainland director with a Mainland crew).