If there is no accident, the first Asian superhero on the Western screen should be 80 years old this year
He is a superstar among superstars, idols of idols.
The late American basketball player Kobe regarded him as one of his life mentors, watched all his movies, and read his publicly published articles.
Image source: Chinanews
"Father of Marvel" Stan Lee once said that the Marvel superhero he created was influenced to some extent by his Kung Fu movie.
Source: Documentary "How Bruce Lee changed the world"
Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen are all his followers. Jay Chou paid tribute to him with musical works. Zhou Xingchi used to imitate his classic movements in the movie.
Zhang Weili, China's first defending Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's strawweight champion, regarded him as his idol and admired his martial art philosophy.
Image source: Chinanews
On July 20, 47 years ago, martial artist and Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee died unexpectedly in Hong Kong, and the whole world was in an uproar.
In just 32 years of life, Bruce Lee starred in only four and a half films. But it was him who wrote "kungfu" in an English dictionary, which allowed Chinese Kung Fu to go to the world; it was also him who became the first widely sought-after Asian superhero on the Western screen and redefined the masculinity of Asians .
Now, the three characters Bruce Lee have become a legend, a cultural symbol.
He smashed the "East Asian Sick Man" plaque and also redefined the image of the Chinese
Most people know Bruce Lee from the screen.
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco, USA in 1940 and moved to Hong Kong in 1941. Because his father Li Haiquan is a well-known Cantonese opera actor, Bruce Lee has participated in many film and television plays since childhood, and is everyone's favorite "child star".
In 1959, Bruce Lee bid farewell to Hong Kong to study in the United States. People once again saw him on the screen, which was the American TV series "Green Hornet" aired in 1966.
Source: Douban screenshot
When initially auditioning for "Green Hornet", 24-year-old Bruce Lee was personable in front of the camera, confidently and self-introduced and showed his boxing skills, successfully winning the role of supporting role "Kato" in the film. But in the beginning, out of distrust of Asian actors, this role had no lines.
Source: Bruce Lee auditioned the "Green Hornet" screen.
The stubborn Bruce Lee wrote to the film: "Kato is a smart partner of Green Hornet, not a silent follower. I’m not complaining that a smart partner will bring a better Kato to Green Hornet. "" In order to win the line.
In the film, "Kato" has an extraordinary skill, and "Green Hornet" together with the violence. After the broadcast, the "Kato" limelight overshadowed the actor, and Bruce Lee began to be sought after by the American audience.
Bruce Lee in "Green Hornet". Source: "Ruoshui" documentary
This is especially difficult for Asian actors. At that time, the image of Asians on the American screen was either tragic or evil, and the film side often used white actors to play Asians. Bruce Lee's screen image changed the stereotype of the audience towards Asian men. Many people are obsessed with Chinese Kung Fu because of him, and many women regard him as a "dream lover."
In 1971, Bruce Lee, who suffered a setback in Hollywood, returned to Hong Kong. He has since starred in several films with great success.
In the movie "Jing Wu Men", Bruce Lee defeated foreigners, kicked the plaque of insulting Chinese and other classic scenes throughout the national integrity of fighting foreign enemies and promoting our country's prestige. This movie broke the Asian box office record and also won Bruce Lee unprecedented popularity.
Since then, Bruce Lee and Warner Films of the United States have collaborated on the film "Dragon Fighting". When the film was screened in the United States, it defeated many blockbuster films of the same period and became the originator of the Hollywood Kung Fu genre.
Jeet Kune Do, nunchakus, whirlwind-like chained legs, iconic roars... Bruce Lee demonstrated his superb Chinese martial arts while also exuding the integrity of punishing evil and promoting goodness, fascinating countless martial arts enthusiasts.
He is not "Yi Jie Wu Fu"
No one may deny that Bruce Lee is good at martial arts, but many people don’t understand it. He is equally charming except for Kung Fu.
In 1961, Bruce Lee was admitted to the University of Washington majoring in philosophy. In the book "The Artist of Life", he said that choosing philosophy is related to the struggle in childhood. Victory can no longer satisfy him, and philosophy has become his hobby.
In understanding life and martial arts, Bruce Lee has his own unique philosophy. He once said, "The practice is not to break the board, but to influence our entire mind and way of life."
In an interview in 1971, he expounded the philosophical idea of "be water": "Let's think, forget the form and shape. Just like water, when poured into a cup, it becomes the shape of a cup, and when poured into a bottle, it becomes the shape of a bottle. Pour into the teapot and it will become the shape of a teapot. The gurgling water can also be a huge wave."
Bruce Lee also loves writing poetry. Many of his poems are included in "The Artist of Life". In a poem called "Falling Leaves", he wrote: "Wind and rain happily play/a yellowish leaf outside the window/Desperately attached to the branch/I took off the leaves/Give it a home/ It's in the book."
Dance also added points for Bruce Lee. In 1958, Bruce Lee won the all-chance dance competition in Hong Kong. In addition, Bruce Lee's handsome image, confident and free talk and outstanding fashion acumen also added personal charm.
Immortal legend
On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died unexpectedly in Hong Kong, but his influence did not decline.
Image source: "Ruoshui" documentary
For more than forty years, people still commemorate him in various ways such as songs, movies, and biographies. His cartoon characters and movie characters are familiar to people so far. Around the world, some people imitated his appearance and kung fu and followed his martial arts spirit.
An Afghan youth named Shakur, modeled after Bruce Lee's name, called himself "Bruce Hazara" and claimed to be the Afghan version of Bruce Lee. In addition to being very similar in shape, Shakur will play nunchucks and can jump in the air to kick off wooden boards.
Image source: Chinanews
Canadian foreign teacher Joseph Campbell, because Bruce Lee fell in love with martial arts, made a special trip to China to learn martial arts.
China News Agency reporter Yang Yanmin photo
Bruce Lee special actor Liao Chentao, practiced fast punching up to 11 punches in 1 second, and can perform two-finger push-ups in a row.
China News Agency reporter Hong Shaokui
This year is the 80th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s birth, and various commemorative activities are also taking place around the world.
In Japan, the four classic films starring Bruce Lee, "Brother Tangshan", "Jingwumen", "Raptors Crossing the River" and "Death Game" will land in some theaters in Tokyo and Osaka in the form of 4K repairs.
In June, Bruce Lee's documentary "Be Water" was broadcast as one of ESPN (Time Warner's Cable Sports Channel) documentary series "30for30".
Source: Douban Video
The Criterion Collection announced the release of a newly restored Bruce Lee movie Blu-ray commemorative collection in July called Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits, with a total of seven discs. There are four 4K repaired movies.
Hong Kong, China launched a special stamp to commemorate Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday. The stamps were inspired by Bruce Lee’s four films "Brother Tangshan", "Jingwumen", "Dragons Crossing the River", "Death Game", his philosophical thinking, and "Jitquan Dao" he founded with his hand. Stamp sheetlet.
Source: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Press Release
In the 15 years between Bruce Lee’s study in the United States and his death in Hong Kong, the 138 Letters to Bruce Lee written to family, teachers, friends, disciples, peers and fans were also published in June.
Whether domestic or overseas, people are commemorating him and following him. May one day, someone who worships him can become him. (Source: China Overseas micro-channel public network number ID: qiaowangzhongguo Author: Ranwen Juan)