Text: Bapro's monologue
Bapro's monologue
In 1973, Hong Kong was in the middle of a hot summer. However, the headlines in the newspapers gave everyone a blow in their hearts.
Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee, who shouted "Chinese are not the sick men of East Asia", unfortunately passed away.
When it comes to Chinese kung fu, Bruce Lee can never be avoided. When he was only three months old, he was already on screen......
The source of this article is from the official media [China News Weekly] published in 2019 and [China Overseas Chinese Network] in 2023. In order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!
Returned to Hong Kong and stepped into the showbiz
At that time, a Cantonese film produced and filmed in the United States, "The Golden Gate Girl", needed a baby actor.
And this opportunity happened to fall on Li Xiaolongtou, which can be regarded as his screen debut.
After the filming ended, Bruce Lee was taken back to Hong Kong by his father Li Haiquan.
After returning to Hong Kong, Bruce Lee often followed the crew to film in his free time.
In fact, Bruce Lee doesn't like to study, and his enthusiasm is in his acting career.
However, his father, Li Haiquan, did not support his son's continued career in the film and television industry.
During this period, Bruce Lee transferred schools more than once.
In the end, because of his weak physique, he went to the "Tang Lou" and apprenticed to Ip Man, the master of Wing Chun.
Who knew that Bruce Lee was still unruly after apprenticeship, often fighting with his classmates, and even beating his classmates to a coma.
So, Bruce Lee's parents made up their minds to put him on a flight to the United States.
When Bruce Lee left Hong Kong, he only had a driver's license on him.
With a broken English, he will work hard again, and he has started a legendary life abroad.
At that time, the attitude of Americans towards the Chinese was very bad, but how could the proud Bruce Lee tolerate such bullying?
Four months later, Bruce Lee went to Seattle and opened his own martial arts club, the "Zhen Fan Guoshu Hall".
Two years later, Bruce Lee was admitted to the Department of Philosophy at Washington State University.
Due to his frequent activities at school, his kung fu was known to many people, and the Guoshu Museum he opened also began to make a name for itself, and many people took the initiative to join.
And the female disciple Linda Emory became his future wife and co-ran the martial arts club with him.
But just 7 days after the birth of his son Li Guohao, Bruce Lee's father Li Haiquan passed away.
"Jeet Kune Do" was born out of sorrow
Bruce Lee was difficult to face, and plunged headlong into the study of martial arts, and Jeet Kune Do was born.
It was also at this time that Bruce Lee's acting career officially began.
In 1971, Bruce Lee ushered in a turning point in his acting career.
After the release of the movie "Big Brother Tangshan" starring him, it was a great success.
Subsequently, the movie "Jingwumen" starring him pushed his acting career to the peak.
His nunchuck performance became a classic action in martial arts movies and became his trademark.
The classic line he shouted in the movie "Chinese are not the sick man of East Asia" has resonated with Chinese at home and abroad.
The movie "Enter the Dragon" starring Bruce Lee also became the highest-grossing kung fu movie at the time, which further consolidated his position in the international film industry.
However, when he was only 32 years old and in the limelight, fate played a joke.
In 1973, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong to prepare for the filming of "Game of Death", but was accidentally found dead in bed.
His passing is not only a huge loss to the Hong Kong film industry, but also to the martial arts world and global pop culture.
Some media even claimed conclusively that Bruce Lee did not die, and everything was just for the publicity and hype of the movie "Enter the Dragon".
The public is questioning, what the hell is going on?
After forensic identification, Bruce Lee died because of his own cerebral edema. In fact, as early as the filming of "Enter the Dragon", Bruce Lee fainted on the set due to overwork.
Over the years, in order to pursue the ultimate in martial arts and acting, he did not hesitate to remove his sweat glands, and even used electric shocks and drugs to stimulate his physical functions. These extreme measures have already seriously damaged his physical health.
On July 24, 1973, Bruce Lee was wearing the dark blue Tang costume in "Jingwumen", and the four big characters "Art Sea Star Sinking" were hung above his mourning hall.
Funeral
Outside the Kowloon Funeral Parlor in Hong Kong, there was a surge of people.
Bruce Lee's fans, with admiration, came to pay homage to his remains.
Surprisingly, after the memorial service, the crowd outside the funeral home did not disperse, but watched Bruce Lee's family leave.
Seattle, the city that is most entangled with Bruce Lee and Bruce Lee's favorite, was chosen by his relatives and friends as the place to settle after Bruce Lee's death.
On the day Bruce Lee's coffin departed from Hong Kong for the United States, countless Hong Kong people spontaneously saw him off.
On July 31, 1973, at the funeral home in Seattle, Linda's husband held another memorial service. Bruce Lee's coffin was gently covered, and it was steadily lifted by the six soul supporters and sent to the hearse.
And these 6 people are all from a lot of backgrounds......
Li Junjiu: The father of "American Taekwondo" and Bruce Lee's master, Danny Inosando: Filipino-American, Bruce Lee's descendant.
Steve McQueen: Famous American action star, James Cobain: Famous American movie star.
Takeyuki Kimura: Japanese, who met Bruce Lee by chance and studied martial arts with him;
Together, they escorted Bruce Lee's body to the cemetery.
Lakeview cemetery
His wife and young children followed the Chinese custom of wearing linen and filial piety for him.
That year, Bruce Lee's son Li Guohao was only 8 years old, and his daughter Li Xiangning was only 4 years old.
It's just that he didn't expect that twenty years after Bruce Lee's death, his son Li Guohao also passed away, or died of a conspiracy.
When Li Guohao became an adult, he inherited his father's career and became the protagonist of the movie at a young age.
In 1993, he participated in the movie "The Crow", playing a rock singer who was killed by drug dealers and returned to the world for revenge with the help of mysterious powers.
Who knows, in the filming of this movie, there was an accident.
After a gunshot at the shooting scene, Li Guohao fell to the ground and never stood up again.
The prop gun, which was supposed to be filled with fake bullets, fired real bullets!
Although he was rushed to the hospital for rescue, due to excessive blood loss, the hospital tried its best to fail to save him.
Bruce Lee's tomb
Seattle, USA, Lakeview Cemetery on Capitel Hill, under the shade of flowers, the cemetery is buried with outstanding figures in Seattle history.
In Rulin's tombstone, Bruce Lee's is among them.
On the crimson tombstone, the names are Bruce Lee's real names "Li Zhenfan" and "Bruce Lee".
Below the tombstone, there is a stone carved book with half of the pages, on the left side of the page is a black and white Taiji, next to it are engraved two sentences in Chinese, and on the right is a paragraph in English.
"The impossible is the law, and the infinite is the finite. ”
“Your inspiration continues to guide us toward our personal liberation.”
(Behavior is the manifestation of thought.) ）
And to the right of this tombstone is another black one, which is Bruce Lee's son Li Guohao.
epilogue
Bruce Lee's short life is like a magnificent picture scroll, condensed in the 12 words in front of his tombstone.
Today, the tombstones of Bruce Lee's father and son are still being cleaned, and it is Bruce Lee's former apprentice Takeyuki Kimura.
After the death of Takeyuki Kimura, Gu Zhiyuan, a disciple of Jeet Kune Do, became the new grave keeper.
To this day, many people go to Seattle to see Bruce Lee's tomb.
Although his life was short, his legacy was eternal.
Bruce Lee was a great actor and martial artist who inspired generations of people to pursue their dreams.
Looking back on Bruce Lee's life, I not only saw the great legend, but also saw the flame that will never be extinguished.