Jet Li: the past life in the martial arts

From "Shaolin Temple", "Wong Fei Hung", "Deadly Romeo", to "Hero", "King of Kung Fu", to "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" which took 5. 6.5 billion box office in Mainland China earlier this year, Jet Li's kung fu images and actions have long been y rooted and well known. With his profound martial arts skills, he has made a perfect combination of the beauty of traditional Chinese martial arts and combat martial arts, shaped dozens of marvelous classic art images, and successfully made a name for himself in Hollywood to break into his own piece of heaven and earth, and reached a high degree of balance between the national and global qualities of the movie, and at the same time, he is also called the "Legendary Film Star of the East" by the world due to his remarkable achievements in the fields of sports, movies, and public welfare. Legendary Film Star of the East".

Jackie Li was born on April 26, 1963, into an ordinary family in Beijing, the fifth in line, with two sisters and two brothers above him. His father named him Zhengdong (正东), and because of his big appetite, his neighbors called him "Little Tiger" (小虎), and Jet Li became his stage name. When he was two years old, his father died, and the whole family relied on his mother's monthly salary of 31 yuan for work in the bus company and another 10 yuan from the state aid subsidies.

Because he was always underfed, Jet Li invented a way to eat: "First eat the snacks, then eat the radish, the snacks in the stomach up top, radish down, one up one down, the two things tossed in the stomach, a day are not hungry."

Jet Li learned martial arts is a complete accident.

In 1971, Jet Li in the factory bridge elementary school on the first grade, during the summer vacation, the teacher took the students to the Shichahai Sports School, for the selection of athletes there, the results of Jet Li was picked to learn martial arts. Although the practice of martial arts bitter, but the benefits of a lot: the state tube food and housing, but also free distribution of sportswear, from Jet Li did not have to wear his sister's old flower pants. Whenever you get clothes, Jet Li always get the biggest size, go home to his two brothers to wear, and then wear the old ones.

In 1974, at the age of 11, Jet Li participated in the National Wushu Competition Junior Group, winning three consecutive championships, and became famous. It was also in this year that he took part in the Chinese delegation to visit the United States martial arts performance. Jet Li bought his mother a Swiss watch with the pocket money he had saved in the United States, and his mother was very happy.

At the end of the martial arts show at the White House, then U.S. President Richard Nixon said to Jet Li: "My little friend, your kung fu is very impressive, will you be my bodyguard when you grow up?" Jet Li immediately replied, "No, I want to protect hundreds of millions of people in China!" Jet Li's outstanding diplomatic performance made him the undisputed "representative of the Chinese people", and he was sent to more than 40 countries to visit and perform Chinese martial arts.

Shaolin became famous in China

By 1979, Jet Li had won the All-Around Martial Arts Championship for five consecutive years, but at the age of 16, he began to worry about his future. After watching Bruce Lee's movie "Jingwumen," Jet Li had the idea of turning to movies. However, he was not selected by the movie company that came to the gymnasium to select actors, and the explanation given by the people was that there was no possibility to be a star below 1 meter 70.

Jet Li was able to make Shaolin Temple purely by accident. Hong Kong Yindu organization to shoot "Shaolin Temple", take the Japanese "Shaolin Boxing Union" investment, the director found Henan Peking Opera Troupe actors, but the Japanese think they did not shoot the true face of Chinese martial arts, asked for a replacement. Yindu replaced the director Zhang Xinyan. Zhang Xinyan was so impressed with Jet Li that he customized the film for him. The movie was an exceptional hit when it was released, hitting a box office myth of hundreds of millions of dollars in an era when tickets cost 10 cents a pop, and Jet Li became a household name. In half a year, he received more than ten sacks of letters, once two police officers found him, said a reactionary because he liked the "Shaolin Temple" to write important information in the letters sent to Jet Li, the result is that the two police officers spent five days to read those letters written by the audience to Jet Li.

After the success of "Shaolin Temple", Jet Li continued to shoot the "Shaolin" series of films in Yindu organization. 80's, catching up with the wave of expatriates, Jet Li immigrated to the United States, and opened a martial arts school in Los Angeles to teach boxing to make a living.

Hong Kong director Tsui Hark heard that Jet Li had come to the United States, and enthusiastically invited him to star in a new movie, "Wong Fei Hung". Before shooting, Tsui Hark called Jet Li to his home, played him a National Geographic animal documentary, lions prey on antelopes, told Jet Li a "profound" truth: "Every action should have a sense of beauty."

"I used to make movies are real real kung fu, but 'Wong Fei Hung' is not, Tsui Hark asked me to fight with opponents, must think of what the audience is watching and thinking, which later on I made the movie helped especially." Jet Li recalled.

In the movie, Huang Feihong's signature move is the "shadowless foot". According to common sense, in real life, the speed of ordinary people can not be in mid-air kicked out 7 feet - at most 3 feet. But Tsui Hark believes that the movie is art, watch the movie, kick to the third foot, the audience only excited, the fourth foot audience began to applaud. Huang Fei-hong" was a great success, but also in the United States, South Korea, Japan has caused a strong reaction. Jet Li became the most popular actor in Hong Kong by relying on "fake kung fu" and his value reached 16 million Hong Kong dollars. Jet Li's career was in full swing when the conflicts with his agent made him lose interest in his career, and his wife, Li Zhi, suggested that he should go to Hollywood to develop his career.

In 1998, there was a villain role in Lethal Weapon 4, and Jet Li was recommended to the investors. There was a pleasant conversation on the phone, and as long as Jet Li played, the studio offered $1 million; when Jet Li arrived in New York, the price was reduced to $750,000; and when he went to the audition, the price was reduced to $500,000. Jet Li was furious and told him to return to Hong Kong immediately. At this time, Jet Li has not been so exasperated: "In China you again cattle, go to the United States or have to start from scratch."

This time, Jet Li not only acted in supporting roles, but also had to compete with five other people for this supporting role. The night before the interview, Jet Li was afraid of affecting his wife's sleep, a person hiding in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet read an all-night script. He didn't know English, so he first had it read in English, and then took a tape recorder to record it, adding the dialog to the Chinese characters, wearing headphones to memorize the dialog.

When Lethal Weapon 4 was released, Jet Li was very well received. The U.S. media at the time said, "Jet Li's skill is astonishing, and his appearance in black brings a sense of mystery, which is in line with the Western impression of the East." Warner immediately tailored for him "Deadly Romeo", starring him, the role has become a decent, and in the film first appeared in Chinese subtitles, after the original title in English, reflecting Warner's sincerity and attention to Jet Li. With the premiere of "Deadly Romeo" reaching the runner-up spot at the box office, Jet Li has finally taken his place in Hollywood, alongside Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, as a kung fu superstar in the hearts of Americans.

The good is as good as water, and the good is as good as water

After his success in Hollywood, Jet Li went back to China and made many wonderful films, including Hero, Huo Yuanjia, The Surrender, The Founding of a Nation, and The Flying Aces of the Dragon Gate, and The Surrender was the first Academy Award movie star in his life. But this award came too late for Jet Li, "This award is not important to me at all, I now regard the One Foundation as my life."

One Foundation was founded in 2004 in the Indonesian tsunami, when Jet Li's family was vacationing in the Maldives, the victims of the tsunami, and the sea water had not gone over the neck. Jet Li was lucky to escape, but his brush with death left him with a strong inner shock. After the disaster, Jet Li has a new sense of life, he began to look at everything around him with a heart of gratitude.

In April 2007, he founded the private charity organization "One Foundation" to provide help to people in disasters and difficulties. "I ask you to use 1 yuan to build a school, you will be scolded for having a problem; but China has a population of 1.3 billion people, 500 million cell phone users, if each person pays 1 yuan, how can it not be possible?" Jet Li once laughed that he is a daytime killer (refers to filming) at night to help people, after completing the "King of Kung Fu" and "Tomb Raider 3", he has even pushed back all the movies in recent years, focusing on charity work.

Among the highest-priced Chinese movie stars, Jet Li pushed back Hollywood blockbusters for charity, and some people said he was washed away by the tsunami, and his friends advised him to casually donate millions of dollars to charity, so why bother? Jet Li said, "Bill Gates donated 70 billion can not solve all the problems in the world, I want to turn public welfare into a culture and habit." "As long as you are a human being, you have the obligation to give back to society. You can donate 1 dollar, or donate your profession, for example, a doctor can give free clinic for one hour, a company can donate one thousandth or one ten thousandth of its profit. It's a show of hands, but the simplest is the most lasting." He has been soliciting "volunteers" for the One Foundation, from U.S. President Bill Clinton to extras on the set, from show business to sports, and from CEOs to wage earners, Jet Li has been tirelessly "selling" his ideas. Jet Li has also changed his personality from not talking to actresses in private, and even during the filming of "King of Kung Fu," a meeting to discuss work was turned into a mobilization meeting for permanent volunteers. "The charity I'm doing now, it doesn't have film, but it's my life, we're standing on the moon looking at the earth, 6.7 billion people are a family, everyone is a screenwriter, everyone is a director."

Jet Li said, originally thought that rely on kung fu can make Chinese culture famous in the world, but the Westerners as soon as they see themselves say fight, as if the Chinese only fight, Chinese culture, tolerance, wisdom, philosophy they do not know. For this reason, Jet Li was once in deep thought.