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Many people have never heard of his name, but he is the earliest grandmaster in the mainland film and television martial arts industry.
Although his fame is not very great, the popular idol Jackie Chan can become popular thanks to him.
His son's fame is even higher than that of Bruce Lee and Jet Li.
This person is Yuan Xiaotian, what happened to him?
01 Who is Yuan Xiaotian?
You may not have heard of Yuan Xiaotian's name, but you have definitely seen his movies.
Yuan Xiaotian is a martial arts star with a very personal character.
With white hair and neat fists and feet, he seems to be a martial arts master who came out of the martial arts world.
In fact, Yuan Xiaotian, known as the "Drunken Boxing Grandmaster", is not only a martial arts actor, but also the first martial arts instructor in the mainland.
It can be said that the origin of Chinese martial arts movies all originated from Yuan Xiaotian.
And the reason why he was able to play martial arts was related to his childhood.
However, unlike many specific scripts, Yuan Xiaotian was not born into a martial arts family.
On the contrary, his childhood was very monotonous, even difficult.
Yuan Xiaotian's parents died very early.
In addition to him, there is a younger brother in the family, and Yuan Xiaotian, as the eldest son, took on the responsibility of the family very early.
Coincidentally, although he has never studied martial arts, Yuan Xiaotian has been very interested in one move and one style since he was a child.
In addition to working to make money, Yuan Xiaotian often shows his hands in front of the big guys to relieve everyone's boredom.
Once, after Yuan Xiaotian's performance, there was thunderous applause around him as usual.
Yuan Xiaotian was satisfied and ready to leave, but he didn't expect a stranger to stop Yuan Xiaotian at this time.
He told Yuan Xiaotian:
"Child, you have acting talent, but if you don't find a good teacher and learn martial arts systematically, I'm afraid you won't have any attainments in your life."
Later, Yuan Xiaotian learned that the stranger who instructed him was a martial arts instructor.
He also saw that Yuan Xiaotian was quite talented, so he decided to instruct Yuan Xiaotian.
This martial arts instructor didn't know that it was his inadvertent words that completely changed the history of Chinese martial arts movies.
After thinking about it for a few days, Yuan Xiaotian finally decided to say goodbye to his younger brother and began to learn the martial arts of the Northern School.
He traveled all over the country and learned the twelve ways of springing legs, mandarin duck feet and deer steps plum blossom piles.
Although Yuan Xiaotian is not very old, he is very willing to endure hardships and practice, and within a few years, Yuan Xiaotian has achieved a lot of success.
At that time, Yuan Xiaotian wanted to spend his whole life in martial arts and carefully study martial arts.
But the reality is that he still has a younger brother to raise, and hobbies can't be eaten.
So Yuan Xiaotian made another decision that shocked the martial arts world at that time.
I went to Hong Kong to provide guidance for the martial arts part of Cantonese opera.
This job can be said to be very satisfying for Yuan Xiaotian.
Because it combines Yuan Xiaotian's hobbies while being able to support himself and his family.
In the process of teaching the martial arts part of Cantonese opera, Yuan Xiaotian was very interested in performing on stage.
He began to try to recommend himself to major movies, hoping to get a small role.
At that time, Hong Kong movies were booming, with a rich variety of genres, but there was no Yuan Xiaotian's one.
Although Yuan Xiaotian is excellent in martial arts, he is quite unphotogenic.
When the director saw Yuan Xiaotian's appearance, he always shook his head, and asked him to be honest and do a good job of martial arts instruction.
In this regard, Yuan Xiaotian is also very depressed, after all, his appearance is given by his parents, and he can't help it if he is not photogenic!
Fortunately, there is no endless road, and seeing that various directors are unwilling to give themselves a chance, Yuan Xiaotian decided to find another way.
Began to apply for a martial arts stand-in to the crew.
The martial arts shots of Hong Kong movies are all hard work with real knives and guns, and those professional martial arts movements cannot be practiced in a day or two.
Especially for star actors who have a certain reputation, it is even more difficult for them to spend time practicing martial arts.
Therefore, the appearance of Yuan Xiaotian can be said to have solved the problems of many crews.
The first time Yuan Xiaotian was really known to the public was in the movie "Kanto Heroes".
At that time, he played the heroine's martial arts stand-in.
When the movie "Kanto Hero" was first released, many people applauded the heroine Lisuo's fists and feet.
It wasn't until they saw the cast list behind that the audience knew that this brilliant fight scene turned out to be a man named Yuan Xiaotian.
Taking this opportunity, Yuan Xiaotian became more famous in the Hong Kong martial arts world.
He took over the job of martial arts instructor in the movie "Iron Wall King Kong", and he really became a famous character.
02 Yuan Xiaotian and Jackie Chan's fate
Maybe it's because I've been in the rain myself, so I want to hold an umbrella for others.
However, few people know about this relationship.
Although Yuan Xiaotian is not as famous as kung fu superstar Jackie Chan, judging from the sequence of his debut, it is actually Yuan Xiaotian who has achieved Jackie Chan.
After the fire of the movie "Iron Wall King Kong", Yuan Xiaotian's drama contract has not been broken.
His main job on a daily basis is to be a martial arts instructor.
Usually when I have nothing to do, I will make a cameo appearance in some movies and TV series.
After the 70s of the last century, Yuan Xiaotian began to return to life intentionally or unintentionally.
Although he has a lot of work, Yuan Xiaotian is unwilling to mix his old age life with work.
So many directors want to invite him out of the mountain, but they can't do it.
It wasn't until the movie "Serpentine Trickster" found Yuan Xiaotian that Yuan Xiaotian decided to re-enter the rivers and lakes.
At that time, no one believed that Yuan Heping, the director of the movie "Serpentine Trickster", could invite Yuan Xiaotian.
Because the male protagonist of this movie is a young man of unknown origin.
And Yuan Xiaotian was already one of the top golden supporting actors in the Hong Kong film industry at that time.
Why did this young man let Yuan Xiaotian match him?
However, what is surprising is that after reading the script of the movie "Serpentine Trickster" and meeting the actor, Yuan Xiaotian actually agreed.
In Yuan Xiaotian's words, this young man is hardworking and diligent, and he has the appearance of his youth.
So I want to promote young people, after all, the future is also the world of young people.
This young man cherishes the hard-won opportunity of the movie "Serpentine Trickster" very much.
During the filming, he also had one of his front teeth knocked out because of the real fight.
He is the later kung fu superstar Jackie Chan.
After the release of the movie "Serpentine Trickster", a trend of kung fu comedy films was formed throughout Hong Kong.
However, it is a pity that although the results of the movie are quite good, there are no popular actors.
So later, Jackie Chan and Yuan Xiaotian decided to strike while the iron was hot and continue to cooperate in "Drunken Fist".
During the filming of "Drunken Fist", Jackie Chan unexpectedly became popular, and Yuan Xiaotian was really happy for him for this result.
Although Yuan Xiaotian has played supporting roles all his life, his acting skills are superb, leaving many impressive roles for the audience.
And he is not only serious about work and martial arts, but also meticulous about the education of his children.
03 Yuan Xiaotian's children
Yuan Xiaotian had a total of five sons, and as soon as they were born, they followed Yuan Xiaotian behind his ass to learn martial arts.
Yuan Xiaotian is a strict father and a strict teacher.
So his children began to follow him from an early age to learn the "Three Character Classic" and "Disciple Rules".
Although Yuan Xiaotian has no culture himself, Yuan Xiaotian hopes that children can become useful to society.
When the children were a little older, Yuan Xiaotian began to let them take a horse and practice the northern martial arts he had learned.
Under Yuan Xiaotian's strict education, none of the children ever held a grudge against him.
Because every time Yuan Xiaotian punished them, it must be which of their actions was not done well, or which mistake was committed again.
Under Yuan Xiaotian's teaching, several children began to inherit Yuan Xiaotian's mantle as adults and became a new generation of martial arts instructors.
In particular, Yuan Xiaotian's eldest son, Yuan Heping, has won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Action Director many times.
It has a very great reputation in the world.
Many people are complaining that it is difficult to watch a martial arts drama now, and the more you watch it, the more fake it becomes.
It's still an old kung fu movie that looks good, and the requirements for actors are also high, and the current ones are basically computer-synthesized.
This is also very shocking to Yuan Xiaotian, and his previous standard for martial arts instruction is.
Even if you are looking for a stand-in, you have to practice with real knives and guns, otherwise what you give the audience will definitely be fake shots.
But he doesn't want an actor to practice all day, just like a professional martial artist.
Zou Zhaolong once said: The entire film entertainment industry. None of them are real kung fu, including Bruce Lee.
Real kung fu moves to die, real killing stunts.
Bruce Lee is really kung fu, but it is impossible for him to make a movie that kills people.
So the kung fu in the movie just made him look better and be more exciting.
is also deeply influenced by Yuan Xiaotian, and several children insist that the real martial arts blockbuster must be punched and kicked by the actor himself.
Every father should be a hero in the eyes of his children.
Even if he is ordinary, there will be a time when the child yearns to be like him.
As the saying goes: where there is a father, there must be a son, how can a son not be excellent if there is such an excellent father?
04 Epilogue
Unfortunately, in 1980, Yuan Xiaotian passed away due to lung cancer.
No matter how powerful your body is, it is impossible to get rid of cancer.
At that time, many people were paying tribute to Yuan Xiaotian, thinking that Chinese films had missed an excellent martial arts instructor.
But from another point of view, maybe Yuan Xiaotian just carried the wine jug and went to another world to be happy.
After his death, Yuan Xiaotian was hailed as "China's best actor".
Once when he was at the height of his fame, he never wanted to make money, but to cultivate talents for Chinese films.
Several children are also following the trajectory of Yuan Xiaotian before his death, making their contributions to Chinese films.