THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER

?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /NanQuan Wang Zhi Zhuang Shan He

南拳王之气壮山河 ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

I’d like to kick off this sentimental journey through the history of the 1980s Wushu cinema with a movie that over the years has become a cult classic with martial arts film fans worldwide. When it was first released in 1984 it was an instant smash and it topped the list ofChina’s biggest box-office hits for 2 years straight.

In those days, hardcoreHong Kongchopsocky fandom wasn’t really into Mainland Chinese Wushu cine. It deemed the acrobatic athleticism of the fight choreography way too flowery & overly prettified.

Now, here's some flowery Wushu for you...

Well, to each his own, and this viewpoint certainly makes perfect sense, if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Bruce Lee worshipper of the no-bullshit school. But the same line of argument coming from Shaw Brothers devotees and admirers of action directors like Lau Kar-leung劉家良& Chang Cheh張徹never fails to crack me up. Somehow I can’t help suspecting that they’re simply, uh… jealous.

Hey, don’t get me wrong, I dig “The Pops”! But how can anyone claim in all seriousness that these particular exponents of Hong Kong fight choreography focus more on hard-edged, no-nonsense combat action, when you have guys somersaulting & flipping to and fro in the best Peking Opera fashion at every turn in their flicks? Nope, folks, sorry… I don’t buy it.

Be that as it may,was well-received even byHong Kongaction film fraternities, because it cleverly combined the best of both choreography styles.

**** 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvpf8tAqE_o

So, why did I pick this one first? Easy. Bias! The movie’s supporting lead happens to be my longtime teacher & close friend Li Yanlong李彦 龍.

Li Yanlong getting strangled by the village bully.

At the time of shooting, 20-year-old Li Yanlong was a member of the professional Hebei Wushu Team

河北武术队. He had just accomplished the previously unheard of feat of being both a national    散打(Chinese full-contact fighting) champion anda highly successful competitor in the

套路  (form) events. Too versatile for his own good as a competitor, he found it hard to specialize. Yet, he usually managed to end up on one of the three places on the rostrum with is favorite weapons, the straight sword and the three-section staff.

The male leading role was played by another famous national Wushu champion of that period, Guangdong Team

广东武术队 member and南拳(Southern Fist) specialist Qiu Jianguo邱建國

stands out not only because of its glorious fight action (they even figured out a seemingly plausible justification for a flashy but pointless move like the butterfly twist!), it also delights with a great soundtrack and superb cinematography , lushly featuring impressive crowd scenes & plenty of Mainland China’s awesome landscape (shot in large parts on location in southern Fujian province).

And this is how you do it: as soon as your opponent grabs your ankle (the right one, preferably), you leap into the air, executing a horizontal body spin in a clockwise direction (the number of full body axis rotations is optional), putting his shoulder clean out of joint as a result. See? Piece of cake. 

The Plot:

The story of is fairly routine. It follows real-life Taiping rebel

Lin Hainan (Lam HoiNamin Cantonese), who jumps to a traveling theater group’s defense, putting a gang of a local tyrant’s bullying henchmen to rout. In consequence, their villainous employer sets his evil mind on killing the young troublemaker. The opera troupe meanwhile helps the hero hide as he continues to perfect the combat skills he needs for facing his nemesis in the final showdown.

Gloss:

Looking back, many film buffs wonder why Li Yanlong did not become a major star. He certainly had the looks & the martial arts skills (although he gets knocked off halfway through the movie). Plus, he was a talented and natural young actor.

Well, as was the case with many of his peers, Li Yanlong was still a member of a professional, government-funded athletic squad at the time. Quite understandably, their coaches didn’t want to let them go. Making movies meant that they had to leave the team for months in some cases, and during that time they weren’t available either for competition or training.

Besides, athletes acting in movie productions only got paid a meager, state-controlled fee… even national showpiece athlete Li Lianjie

李連杰was only entitled to a few RMB of pocket money, a slap on the shoulder, and 3 lukewarm meals per shooting day.

Anyway, fate had a different plan for Li Yanlong, and in the late 80s he left the People’s Republic forEnglandto take on the job of the British Wushu Team’s head coach inLondon. In 1991 he finally settled inWolfsburg,Germany(after we had lured him into accepting a full-time trainer position at our steadily growing Wushu club). Together with his future wife, Chinese national Taiji champion Lin Qiuping林秋 平, he later founded the DRAGON CULTURE Wushu Institute & an affiliated martial arts stunt team of the same name (where I became a busy co-trainer).

He is still active in the film industry, periodically working as an action choreographer, martial arts consultant and stunt performer both in China & Europe.

leading man Qiu Jianguo (Chiu Jian-guo, Yau Gin Gwok or Alex Chou, respectively) got a foothold in the film business and went on to play major roles in 12 Hong Kong movies… most notably, perhaps, the thuggish gang leader in Tsui Hark’s classicbefore his untimely death caused by nasal cavity cancer.

Supporting actor Xu Li許力( Hebei Wushu Team ) followed Li Yanlong’s example and moved toGermany, setting up his own martial arts school in the city ofKarlsruhe.

Another tragic footnote: cast member Gu Guoxin顧國信 (credited as Ku Guo-xing),Shanghai Wushu Team

上海武术队, later committed suicide, allegedly after a failed  relationship & an unsuccessful attempt to go in for a movie career abroad.

Other titles for:

Nan Quan Wang

Director:Xiao Long 蕭龍

Action Director:Brandy Yuen Bo-nan 袁伯男,Yang Hua 楊華

Martial Arts Consultant:Qiu Jianguo

Producer:Wu Yue 吳岳

Film Company:  Hua Wen Film VideoLtd 華文影業公司,Lok Fung Film Company 樂豐影業公司,Nan Hai Film Company 南海影業公司  

Starring:Qiu Jianguo (as Lin Hainan),Li Yanlong (as Liang Shaojia),Zhong Xiaozhen 宗巧珍(as Liang Yuqing), Xu Li (as Zhao Shixiong), Ku Guoxing (as Sao Sutou)