Wushu is similar to the art and philosophy under the pen of Louis Cha. For example, the Baihuacuoquan of Chen Jialuo in The Book and the Sword, Tangshi Jianfa in A Deadly Secret, Shufaquan of Zhang Sanfeng in The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber, Luoyingshenjian Zhang of Huang Yaoshi in The Legend of Condor Heroes and Anranxiaohun Zhang of Yang Guo in The Return of the Condor Heroes are all sublimed Wushu that are similar to the arts and lack no philosophical speculation. While other authors pale in comparison to Louis Cha, there are a few that must be mentioned when discussing Wushu literature. Liang Yusheng (1924–2009) has 40 works, the most outstanding one of which is Ping Zong Xia Ying, Romance of the White Haired Maiden and Heroes of the Tang Dynasty. His works are full of literary characteristics. Most of them are classically elegant, and consist of excellent artistic conceptions and descriptions of women in these works. But some of Liang’s works lack authenticity while others are excessive and lack appeal.
Gu Long (1936–1985) leads another way. He references many Western whodunits and uses a lot of montage skills adopted from films. Therefore, his works are “westernized” and cater to the interests of young people. Gu Long has more than 80 works, including Handsome Siblings, The Sentimental Swordsman, Chu Liuxiang and The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng. The characteristics of Gu Long’s works include modern and sharp words, mysterious style, more cool tones than warm tones, and more sorrow than pleasure. In his works, there are speculations on the philosophic theories of life, profound conclusions on life experience, wonderful profiles of lives and vivid characters. However, carelessness and negligence are reflected in his works, resulting in overall mediocrity, where peals and stones, sagaciousness and superficiality coexist in the same works. The works of Gu Long are weird, but that also spurs his success. However, the characters in his works lack improvement and the proper connotations of history and life.
Gu Long led a miserable life. For a long time, he lived alone and drank heavily. He died in his forties. It is said that Li Xunhuan, the famous “Xiao Li Fei Dao”—a character in The Sentimental Swordsman, who also lives a lonely life and drinks everyday—is the epitome of the life of the author himself.
Action Film and TV
In the 1960s, knight-errant film became popular in Hong Kong. Famous action star Bruce Lee (Li Xiaolong) (1940–1973) conquered people of all colors. Thanks to him, people all over the world knew “Chinese Kungfu.”
Bruce Lee was a master in Kungfu. His original name was Li Zhenfan, and Xiaolong was his stage name. At age of 13, he became a student of Ye Wen, a Hong Kong master in Yongchunquan, and then went on to become a student of Shao Hansheng to learn Luohanquan and Tanglangquan. At age 18, he went to the United States to study philosophy at Washington State University. In 1965, he established the first school of Chinese Kungfu in the US. In 1967, he named the Wushu he created “Jeet Kune Do,” which made Chinese Kungfu schools more complete.
In 1971, Bruce Lee became famous overnight by playing a leading role in the film named The Big Boss. He then played the lead actor in the Fist of Fury, before taking a role in The Way of Dragon and Enter the Dragon. But, in both films, he not only acted, but also directed. On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died suddenly while filming the Game of Death. He died in acute brain edema and was buried at a memorial park in Seattle.
Bruce Lee played the roles of heroes who were masters at Kungfu dedicated to safeguarding the dignity of the Chinese nation. In each film, Bruce displayed his excellent Kungfu skills. The Way of Dragon included the most wonderful action shots of his films. This film has been made into an introduction film for learning Jeet Kune Do. In addition, it provides an example of competition between Chinese Kungfu and Karate.