Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers Studio
Chinese	邵氏片場
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Shào Shì Piànchǎng - Wade–Giles Shao Shih P'iench'ang - IPA [ʂɑ̂ʊ ʂɨ̂ pʰjântʂʰɑ̀ŋ] - Yale Romanization Shàu Shr̀ Pyànchǎng Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Siu6 si6 pin3 coeng4 - IPA [ɕìːu ɕìː pʰɪ̄n tsʰœ̏ŋ] - Yale Romanization Siuh Sih pin chèuhng

The Shaw Brothers Studio (Chinese: 邵氏片場), owned by Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.

From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution business in Southeast Asia, Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫) and his third brother Runme Shaw (邵仁枚) founded South Sea Film (南洋影片) in 1930. It was later renamed Shaw Brothers Studio. The studio released Hong Kong's first movie with sound 《白金龍》 (which translates as "platinum dragon", or one of the slang terms for a pistol) in 1934, the company's logo borrows from the Warner Bros. Shield.

Legacy[link]

Directors[link]

The Shaw Brothers studio is noted for directors King Hu, Lau Kar-leung and Chang Cheh. King Hu was an early director who is best remembered for his film Come Drink with Me, a martial arts film which differed from those of Chang Cheh in that it featured a capable female protagonist and revolved around romance in the martial arts world, rather than fast paced action and the tales of brotherhood which Chang Cheh would later popularize. Chang Cheh, who was more fond of the latter components, would go on to be Shaw Studios' best known director, with such films as Five Deadly Venoms, Brave Archer (based on the works of Jin Yong), The One Armed Swordsman, and other classics of Wuxia and Wushu film. Almost equally as famous was fight choreographer turned director Lau Kar-leung, who would produce such highly regarded kung fu films as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter.

Actors[link]

Shaw Brothers was a studio which was modeled after the classic Hollywood system with hundreds of actors signed to exclusive contracts. While other studios rotated a good number of cast members, the Shaw Brothers assigned certain groups of actors to work exclusively with certain directors. The group from the 1978 release Five Deadly Venoms—who would become known by that namesake—were among the most memorable. These five were Lo Mang, Lu Feng, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng and Kuo Chui, who had been stars in the Shaw studio for years, but did not become memorable faces until the Five Deadly Venoms. Wei Pai, who played the Snake (referred to as "Number Two" throughout the film "Five Deadly Venoms") was also part of the Venom Mob which numbered over 15 actors which appeared in almost all of the Venom movies.

In the first half of the 1970s two other stars were particularly well known and favoured by Chang Cheh in his movies: Ti Lung and David Chiang. Ti Lung is considered one of the most, if not the most handsome martial arts actor to grace Shaw Studios, but is also accredited as a capable actor who reinforced his muscular glamour with strong characterisation over his many films. Chiang on the other hand was slight and wiry and often played sarcastic anti-hero to Lung's standard archetype. In the middle of that decade the duo were overshadowed by the rise of Alexander Fu Sheng who had played supporting roles opposite them on many occasions. Fu was eventually killed in 1983 in a car accident, at age 28, ending a brief but spectacular career.

Members of the Peking Opera School, including Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, played extras and bit parts in several Shaw Brothers films in the 1970s, although they were obviously unknowns at the time.

While the late 60's to 70's productions of the Shaw Studio headlined male martial arts actors, the 50's to early 60's productions of the studio were dominated by actresses like Li Lihua, Ivy Ling Po, Linda Lin Dai, Betty Loh Ti in dramatic and romantic features. In particular, Butterfly Lovers, a.k.a. Love Eterne, which is a tear jerker and a musical, starring Ivy Ling Po and Betty Loh Ti, is one of the highest grossing features of the Shaw studios. The success of this movie is in part due to the ingenious casting of Ivy Ling Po, who was a relatively unknown supporting actress before this feature, as the male lead. On the surface, the story of Butterfly Lovers is one of forbidden love between 2 persons of different social classes, but there is a hidden subtext of unspeakable homosexual love: the protagonists first met, became friends, and fell in love when both of them were supposed to be male students in college (In the story, the female lead disguised as a male to attend college because social mingling between the sexes was forbidden during the middle age). The casting of a female actor as the male lead in this feature makes this unspeakable homosexual subtext clear to certain members of the audience, in a socially acceptable way for the conservative mainstream audience of the early 1960's. The huge economic success was due to the emotional appeal to a large number of audience. The extent to which this feature resonates with the audience is unbelievable. Reportedly, some members of the audience in Hong Kong and Taiwan repeatedly bought tickets and watched the feature in cinema over and over again in 1962, with some watching it over 20 times, a phenomenon also reported for features such as the Titanic(1997) and Gone with the Wind(1939) in the West. From the late 60's onward, production of dramatic features was reduced in favor of martial arts features. Better known female martial arts actresses of the studio include Cheng Pei Pei, Lily Li and Tien Niu. Cheng Pei Pei in particular is relatively well known for her starring role in King Hu's Come Drink With Me, and more recently in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as Jade Fox.

Celestial Pictures acquisition and distribution[link]

Many Shaw Brothers classic films have become subject to bootlegging over the years due to the popularity of particular kung fu/martial arts titles. Celestial Pictures acquired rights to the studio's legacy and is releasing, on DVD, 760 out of the nearly 1,000 films^{[citation needed]} with restored picture and sound quality. Many of these DVDs have come under controversy, however, for remixing audio and not including the original mono soundtracks.

Many landmarks in Hong Kong and Singapore are named especially after Sir Run Run Shaw for his generous contributions to charity and medicare. The Shaw Organisation remains a major distribution network in Singapore today.

Karmaloop TV Secures Licensing Deal with Shaw Brothers[link]

Karmaloop TV, the new multi-platform programming network designed to help operators "reclaim" viewership among the 18 to 34 year old demographic, has announced its first film licensing deal with Celestial Pictures. The Hong Kong based company owns, restores and licenses the world's largest collection of Chinese-made films including the Shaw Brothers library of fan favorite kung fu and action classics such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Five Deadly Venoms and The One-Armed Swordsman.

The licensing deal with Karmaloop TV also means that kung fu and action film fans in the United States will see these films in their digitally restored versions, many of which will be premiering for the first time on U.S. television in High Definition. The licensed collection includes more than 60 of the greatest martial arts masterpieces, movies which launched the careers of stars like Jet Li, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, Gordon Liu and Jimmy Wang Yu.

Shaw Studios/Shaw Villa/TV City (TVB)[link]

The Clearwater Bay studio site at Clearwater Bay Road and Ngan Ying Road is the former home of Shaw Brothers studios (built 1960-1961), as well as vacated TVB Headquarters and studios (1986–2003 and now at TVB City) and Celestial Pictures.^[1] There are also apartment blocks formerly used to house actors of Shaw. The newer Shaw House and Shaw Villa are also located here. The site has been vacant since 2003 and will likely be re-developed with no new tenants targeted.^[2]

The older Shaw House has been used for various TVB series shoots as a hospital.

See also[link]

• Celestial’s Shaw Brothers Film Library
• Golden Harvest
• Hong Kong action cinema
• List of Shaw Brothers films
• Ocean Shore

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Glaessner, Verina. Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance. London: Lorimer; New York: Bounty Books, 1974. ISBN 0-85647-045-7, ISBN 0-517-51831-7.
• Wong, Ain-ling. The Shaw Screen: A Preliminary Study. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Film Archive, 2003. ISBN 962-8050-21-4.
• Zhong, Baoxian. "Hollywood of the East" in the Making: The Cathay Organization Vs. the Shaw Organization in Post-War Hong Kong. [Hong Kong]: Centre for China Urban and Regional Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2004. ISBN 962-8804-44-8.
• Zhong, Baoxian. Moguls of the Chinese Cinema: The Story of the Shaw Brothers in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, 1924–2002. Working paper series (David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies); no. 44. Hong Kong: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2005.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shaw Brothers Studio

• Shaw Studios
• Shaw.intercontinental.com—official site ((English)/(Chinese) (Big5))
• The Shaw Story—at the official company website.
• Shaw Brothers History — at Hong Kong Cinema UK.
• Shaw-Brothers_Reloaded - Global international site
• The Rise and Fall of the House of Shaw - scholarly essay by Tom Green.

v t e Cinema of Hong Kong Actors Directors Cinematographers Ocean Shores Producers Shaw Brothers Studio Films A–Z Action films Writers Films by year: 1909–1929 1930s 1940s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Jet Li 李连杰
Jet Li at the premiere of Fearless in 2006.
Chinese name	李連杰 (Traditional)
Chinese name	李连杰 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Lǐ Liánjié (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Lei5 Lin4 Git6 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Beijing, China
Born	(1963-04-26) April 26, 1963 (age 49) Beijing, China
Other name(s)	Lee Yeung Chung / Li Yangzhong 李陽中 (Traditional) 李阳中 (Simplified) Lǐ Yángzhōng (Mandarin) Lei5 Joeng4 Zung1 (Cantonese) (Chinese producer pseudonym)
Occupation	Actor Martial artist Film producer
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Huang Qiuyan (1987–1990) Nina Li Chi (1999–present)
Official Website	www.jetli.com
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor 2008 The Warlords Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 2006 Fearless Golden Horse Awards Special Award 1995 Other awards Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2008 Best Actor (The Warlords)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Li Lianjie ([lì ljǎntɕjɛ̌]; born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a naturalized Singaporean^[1][1] film actor, film producer, Chinese martial artist, wushu champion, and international star who was born in Beijing.

After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from Wushu at age 19, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably the Once Upon A Time In China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung.

Li's first role in a Hollywood film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films, including Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed. He co-starred in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with Jackie Chan, The Expendables (2010) with Sylvester Stallone, and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008) opposite Brendan Fraser. He also appeared in the Hong Kong film Ocean Heaven (2010), directed and written by Xue Xiaolu.

Early life and martial arts career[link]

Li Lianjie was born in Beijing, People's Republic of China, the youngest of two boys and two girls. His father died when he was two years old, leaving the family struggling.^[2]

Li was eight when his talent for wushu was noticed at a summer course at school, and he began his practice there.^[3] Li participated in the sport of wushu in the non-sparring event. He began his wushu on the Beijing Wushu Team, an athletic group organized to perform martial arts forms during the All China Games. He was coached by renowned wushu coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin,^[4] who made extra efforts to help the talented boy develop. Wu Bin even bought food for Li's family because they could not afford to buy meat, which was essential for the good physical condition of an athlete.^[4] As a member of the team, he received wushu training and went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships, where, despite his young age, he competed against adults.^[5]

According to Li, once, as a child, when the Chinese National Wushu Team went to perform for President Richard Nixon in the United States, he was asked by Nixon to be his personal bodyguard. Li replied, "I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion Chinese countrymen!"^[7]

Li is a master of several styles of wushu, especially Changquan (Northern Longfist Style) and Fanziquan (Tumbling fist). He has also studied other arts including Baguazhang (Eight trigram palm), Taijiquan (Supreme ultimate fist), Xingyiquan (Shape intent fist), Zuiquan (Drunken fist), Yingzhaoquan (Eagle claw fist) and Tanglangquan (Praying mantis fist). He did not learn Nanquan (Southern fist), because his training focused only in the Northern Shaolin Styles. He has also studied some of wushu's main weapons, such Sanjiegun (Three section staff), Gun (staff), Dao (Broadsword), Jian (Straight sword) and many more.^[8]

It is Jet Li's authentic martial arts prowess that enabled his rise to domestic and international fame.^[9]

Acting career[link]

Chinese films[link]

Jet Li
Jet Li's hand print and autograph at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.
Traditional Chinese	李連杰
Simplified Chinese	李连杰
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Liánjié - Wade–Giles Li Lien-chieh Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Lei5 Lin4 Git6 - IPA [le̬i lɪ̏ŋkìt]
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	李陽中
Simplified Chinese	李阳中
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Yángzhōng - Wade–Giles Li Yang-chung - IPA [lì jɑ̌ŋtʂʊ́ŋ] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Lei5 Joeng4 Zung1 - IPA [le̬i jœ̏ŋtsʊ́ŋ] - Yale Romanization Lee Yeung Chong

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters. Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, "Jet," given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team. He made his debut with the 1982 film Shaolin Temple. Some of his more famous Chinese films include:

• The Shaolin Temple series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China;
• The Once Upon a Time in China series (Chinese title: Wong Fei Hung), about the legendary Chinese folk hero Master Wong Fei Hung.
• Fist of Legend (Chinese title: Jing Wu Ying Xiong), a remake of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.
• The Fong Sai Yuk films about another Chinese folk hero.

Li starred in the 1995 film High Risk, where Jet Li plays a Captain who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crime lords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of Die Hard and both their Chinese film titles. This movie is notable in that director Wong Jing had such a terrible experience working with Jackie Chan in Jing's previous film City Hunter that he chose to make Cheung's character a biting satire of Chan. Jet Li would later publicly apologize to Chan for taking part in it.

Li has two wuxia feature films scheduled for release in 2011, The Sorcerer and the White Snake and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, the latter is helmed by Tsui Hark.

In order to promote tai chi, in 2012 Jet Li will star in a film titled Tai Chi and will co-produce the movie with Chen Kuo-Fu. Li will portray Tai Chi master Yang Lu-ch'an.^[10][11]

American films[link]

In 1998, he made his American film debut in Lethal Weapon 4 which also marked the first time he had ever played a villain in a film. He agreed to do Lethal Weapon 4 after the producer Joel Silver promised to give him the leading role in his next film, Romeo Must Die (2000) alongside late singer Aaliyah. The film became a box office hit.

Li turned down Chow Yun-fat's role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because he promised his wife that he would not make any films during her pregnancy.^[12] He also turned down the role of Seraph in The Matrix trilogy, based on his belief that the role was not one which required his skills and that the films were iconic and stunning enough without adding his name to the cast list.

In 2001, he appeared in two more Hollywood films: The One which was the first of his films with Jason Statham and Kiss of the Dragon opposite Bridget Fonda which did moderately well at the box office. In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action film with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006. In 2002, the period martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success and became the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history at the time.^[13] In 2003 he reunited with producer Joel Silver for the action thriller film Cradle 2 The Grave where he starred alongside rapper DMX and fellow martial artist Mark Dacascos. In 2004, Li lent his likeness, voice and provided motion capture work for the video game Jet Li: Rise to Honor.

Li took on a more serious role in the 2005 film, Unleashed (a.k.a. Danny the Dog), where he portrayed an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. Although his martial arts skills were utilized extensively, it was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li's films, and co-starred dramatic actors Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman.

In 2006, the martial arts film epic Fearless, was released worldwide. Although he will continue to make martial arts films, Fearless is his last wushu epic. In Fearless, he played Huo Yuanjia, the real-life founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association, who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicized events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Jun, the student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia (aka Fok Yun Gap), as well as Huo Yuanjia himself. Fearless was released on January 26, 2006 in Hong Kong, followed by a September 22, 2006 release in the United States where it reached second place in its first weekend.

I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won't make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years. Huo Yuanjia is a conclusion to my life as a martial arts star.^[14]

Li has stated in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily newspaper that this will be his last martial arts epic, which is also stated in the film's television promotions. However, he plans to continue his film career in other genres. Specifically, he plans to continue acting in action and martial arts films; epic films deal more with religious and philosophical issues.

Li's 2007 Hollywood film, War, was released in August of that year, and re-teamed him with actor Jason Statham, who previously starred with him in The One, and action choreographer Corey Yuen. War raked in a disappointing $23 million at the box office, becoming one of Li's lowest grossers in America; however, it was a hit on video, accumulating nearly $52 million in rental revenue, more than doubling its box office take.^[15] With the exception of Romeo Must Die and the worldwide release of Hero, most of Li's American films have been only modest hits like Kiss Of The Dragon, The One, Unleashed, Cradle 2 the Grave, and the worldwide release of Fearless.

In late 2007, Li returned again to China to participate in the China/Hong Kong co-production of the period war film The Warlords with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. This film with its focus on dramatics rather than martial arts netted Li the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor.

Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan finally appeared together onscreen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom, which began filming in May 2007 and was released to critical and commercial success on April 18, 2008. The film was based on the legend of the Monkey King from the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West.^[17][18] Li also starred as the lead villain in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with actors Brendan Fraser, Isabella Leong and Michelle Yeoh.^[19]

After a one-year hiatus from filmmaking, Jet Li returned to acting in 2009, portraying a mercenary in the film The Expendables, teaming up with action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. It was the third time he had teamed up with Statham.

Personal life[link]

Jet Li with Jackie Chan in Hong Kong.

Li is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.^[20] His master is Lho Kunsang^[21] of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of the Kagyu school.^[22]

In 1987, Li married Beijing Wushu Team member and Kids from Shaolin co-star Huang Qiuyan,^[23] with whom he has two daughters, Si and Taimi.^[24] They divorced in 1990. Since 1999, he has been married to Nina Li Chi (born Li Zhi), a Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-based actress. He has two daughters with her as well, Jane (born 2000) and Jada (born 2002).^[25]

Li was in the Maldives when a tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although it was widely reported at the time that he had died during the disaster,^[26] he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture, while he was guiding his 4-year-old daughter Jane and the nanny holding his 1-year-old daughter Jada to safety. The four of them were by the pool and slightly above the beach when the wave came ashore.^[27]

In 2009, Li, who previously had American citizenship, after years working in the United States, was thought to have renounced his American citizenship and taken up Singaporean citizenship,^[1][28] although no official confirmation has been provided by Singapore authorities.^[29] On July 28, 2009, the chairman of One Foundation (the Charity fund of Jet Li) announced that Jet Li had indeed become a Singaporean citizen.^[1] He was said to have chosen Singapore for its education system for his two daughters.^[1]

In 2009, Li launched his own fitness program that he named "Wuji".^[30] The programme consists of elements of martial arts, yoga and pilates; Adidas launched a special clothing line for it that bears the initials of "JL".^[31][32]

In his free time he likes to play badminton, table tennis, volleyball, ride his bicycle, read and meditate. He collects rare Tibetan beads. He says he is never bored in his free time.^[33][34]

Views on life and martial arts[link]

Li as a Buddhist believes that the difficulties of everyday life can be overcome with the help of religious philosophies.^[36] He thinks that fame is not something he can control; therefore, he does not care about it.^[37]

According to Li, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in three of his films: the message of Hero is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation; Unleashed shows that violence is never a solution and Fearless tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love.^[38]

About Wushu, Li said that he believes the essence of martial arts is not power or speed but inner harmony and considers it a sad development that today's Wushu championships place greater emphasis on form than on the essence of being a martial artist. He believes Wushu now lacks individuality and competitors move like machines, whereas according to his views Wushu should not be considered a race where the fastest athlete wins. He would like to see Wushu as a form of art, where artists have a distinctive style. Li blames the new competition rules that, according to him, place limitations on martial artists.^[39]

Li believes that Wushu is not primarily for self-defense and instead of trying to play the hero people should think about peaceful resolutions of conflicts and call the police if necessary: "A gun outdoes years of martial arts training in a split second. Like I've said many times before, it is important to differentiate between movies and reality. The hero in movies may be able to knock the gun off his opponent and save the day, but in real life – probably that is not the case."^[40] He has also stated that he has never had to use his martial arts skills in a real life fight and he does not wish to, either.^[35]

Philanthropy[link]

Li has been a "philanthropic ambassador" of the Red Cross Society of China since January 2006. He contributed 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) of box office revenues from his film Fearless to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health.^[41]

In April 2007, touched by his life-shaking experience in the Maldives when he was close to dying during the 2004 tsunami, Li formed his own non-profit foundation called The One Foundation.^[42][43] The One Foundation supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross as well as other efforts, including mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Since the starting of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake^[27] and Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.^[44] Wu Jing was a One Foundation volunteer and helped in the effort.^[45]

Li discussed his commitment to philanthropy in an interview with the December 2009 issue of Alliance magazine, stating that "grassroots non-government organizations can help the government in its blind spots. Government relief is not always detail-oriented. Grassroots NGOs can’t be as big as a government effort, but they need to be flexible and independent."^[46]

In September 2010, Jet Li was appointed by the International Red Cross as the first Good Will Ambassador. He posted online saying "Today I signed a deal with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – IFRC - to become the FIRST goodwill ambassador in the history of this humanitarian organization. I am very honored! At the same time, I will not pause to celebrate, but instead keep pushing forward.. and do my best to help the world! Thank you all once again for your support and belief in me!"^[47]

It was also announced that Jet Li would be meeting Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to talk about charity work. "Three days ago, I received an email from Gates, hoping I could make time because he and Buffett hoped I could go for a 30-minute chat before the dinner about the future we face as human beings, so I will go," Li said.^[48]

Filmography[link]

Considering US box office statistics, the most successful Jet Li film as of August 2010 is Lethal Weapon 4, which grossed over 130 million dollars domestically, while the second is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with over 102 million dollars.^[49] Hero is the third most successful foreign language film in the US,^[50] and one of the best critically acclaimed Li movies.^[51] Fearless is the sixth most successful foreign language film of all time in the US.^[50] From a critical point of view, the best acclaimed Li movie is Fist of Legend (Rotten Tomatoes: 100%) and the worst is War (Rotten Tomatoes: 12%).^[51]

See also[link]

• Cinema of China;
• Cinema of Hong Kong.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ducker, Chris, and Stuart Cutler. The HKS Guide to Jet Li. London: Hong Kong Superstars, 2000.
• Marx, Christy. Jet Li. Martial Arts Masters. Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-8239-3519-1.
• Parish, James Robert. Jet Li: A Biography. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002. ISBN 1-56025-376-2.
• Farquhar, M.(2010) ‘Jet Li: "Wushu Master" in Sport and Film’ in Jeffreys, Elaine. & Edwards, Louise (eds.), Celebrity in China, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong pp. 103–124. ISBN 962-209-088-5

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jet Li

• Official website
• Jet Li at the Internet Movie Database
• Jet Li's Foundation: The One Foundation Project
• Jet Li Biography (HKCinema)
• Jet Li Biography (HKFilm)
• Jet Li discusses The One Foundation
• Interview At FarEastFilms.com

Tommy Tam Fu-Wing, also known as Ti Lung (simplified Chinese: 狄龙; traditional Chinese: 狄龍; Mandarin Pinyin: Dí Lóng; Jyutping: Dik6 Lung4), or Dik Lung, is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly The Sentimental Swordsman (and its sequel), and in the classic A Better Tomorrow.

Background[link]

He studied Wing Chun under the martial arts master Chu Wan. In 1969, Ti was found by the Shaw Brothers and cast in Return of the One-Armed Swordsman opposite Jimmy Wang Yu, a role which would launch his career as one of the best known faces in classic Wuxia film. He became a common face associated with David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Gordon Liu, the Venom Mob, and other Shaw Bros. stars at the time, often cast as a dashing, noble hero as well as a capable martial artist.

Career[link]

Although he left Shaw Brothers Studios in the 1980s, Ti Lung's career took a turn for the worse until 1986, when John Woo's A Better Tomorrow cast him opposite Chow Yun-fat in the role of a Triad member. The movie was a box office success and placed Ti Lung back in the public consciousness, although it changed his image from the handsome martial youth to the tortured, would-be hero gangster. After that role, Ti Lung's next most recognisable appearance would be with Jackie Chan in Drunken Master II, in which he co-starred as Wong Kei-Ying, father of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung. From there, he has continued to work in television in a variety of roles. He is the uncle of Jerry Lamb and Jan Lamb.

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• IMDb entry
• Ti Lung Appreciation thread at Wuxia Society.org
• HK cinemagic entry

Chen Kuan-tai (born 24 September 1945 in Guangdong, China) is a Chinese martial arts film star. He has primarily appeared in Shaw Brothers productions, and was one of the first solid trained, martial arts stars employed by the company. His first appearance in a Shaw work was in the 1969 film The Chinese Boxer, alongside Jimmy Wang Yu and Ben McDonald.

Chen branched out as an actor with his tender roles in The Tea House and its sequel Big Brother Cheng, both directed by Chih-hung Kwei. These films gave Chen status as a "legitimate actor". After starring in the box office successes Challenge of the Masters and Executioners from Shaolin, both helmed by the legendary martial arts director Lau Kar-leung, Chen left the Shaw Brothers Studio.

While away from Shaw, Chen directed and starred in the 1977 film Iron Monkey (not to be confused with the 1993 film by Yuen Woo-Ping). Chen later returned to the Shaw Brothers in the films Crippled Avengers (directed by Chang Cheh), Killer Constable (directed by Chih-hung Kwei), and 3 Evil Masters (co-starring Yuen Tak of the Seven Little Fortunes).

To date Chen has starred in over 100 films, around 80 of which were with Shaw Brothers. His latest appearances were in Wilson Yip's 2006 martial arts-fantasy Dragon Tiger Gate, and in the 2007 remake of the King Hu classic, The Valiant Ones New.

Filmography[link]

This section is incomplete. Please help to improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (March 2010)

References[link]

• Chen Kuan Tai at the Internet Movie Database

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Lo Lieh (Chinese: 羅烈; 29 June 1939 in Pematang Siantar Indonesia – 2 November 2002) was a Hong Kong actor in martial arts films. His real name is Wang Lap Tat. After his parents sent him back to China he attended acting school in Hong Kong. He began his martial arts training in 1962 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in the same year ^{[1] [2]} and went on to become one of the most famous actors in Hong Kong kung fu films in the late 1960s and 1970s. He died of a heart attack in Shenzhen November 2nd, 2002. ^[3]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lo Lieh - Fan Website
• Lo Lieh
• Filmography
• Lo Lieh at the Internet Movie Database

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