Paid IDR 2 thousand, this is the story of Jet Li being able to debut in the Shaolin Temple film

 Who doesn't know the actor Jet Li ? Surely you know all about this actor of Singaporean descent. Not only an actor, Jet Li is also a film producer, martial artist.

The man who was born in Beijing, China, won the first wushu champion at the age of 11 years. But at the age of 17 he chose 'early retirement' from the wushu championship. It turned out that his decision was behind his busy life as an actor. 

The film titled " Shaolin Temple " became his first debut as well as catapulted his name as a star in his country. Then, since 1994, Jet Li has not only starred in films in local languages ​​but also in English. One of the old Hollywood films that he has starred in is Romeo Must Die , Kiss of the Dragon and The Forbidden Kingdom .

Wushu martial arts in the life of Jet Li 

Before he retired at the age of 17 as a wushu athlete, Jet Li studied with Wu Bin. Wu Bin himself is a wushu coach who has succeeded in educating athletes to become champions in China. 

ADVERTISEMENT

But there is an interesting thing why Jet Li was able to jump into the world of wushu martial arts, guys! Because, when he was 2 years old, Jet Li lost a father. It was only at the age of 8 that he took wushu seriously. The reason is because his family is so poor that he can't afford Jet Li to go to school. 

“I come from a very poor family and we don't have money to go to a good school, so it's the best sports school; can eat and have a chance to get out of China,” Jet Li told Muscle & Fitness magazine.

His hard work turned Jet Li into a wushu athlete. As a result, he was able to travel to 45 countries thanks to the Beijing Wushu Team. Until finally he met the US President, Richard M. Nixon in 1974.

Jet Li also mastered various styles of wushu, he also mastered the main weapons of wushu, such as Sanjiegun (Three Section Staff), Gùn, Dao (Broadsword), Jian (Straight Sword).

Jet Li's debut at The Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple

The fame gained from his sporting victories led to a career as a martial arts film star; starting in mainland China and then continuing on to Hong Kong. With the fame he has, he starred in his first film entitled “ The Shaolin Temple ” which was directed by Chang Hsin Yen.

Even the film has an influence in the Bamboo Curtain country. At first, not many people knew about the Shaolin Temple. It was only after the film came out that it was very popular. Lots of tourists coming, and the rise of martial arts schools.

Shaolin Temple is the first martial arts film set in the Shaolin Temple, an ancient Buddhist monastery revered as the birthplace of China's most famous martial arts wushu, or traditional Chinese martial art.

It was equally surprising in an interview on the popular Chinese talk show “A Date With Luyu”, that Jet Li was being paid only 1 yuan or equivalent to IDR 2,500/day while shooting the film. With all the income taken into account, he makes around USD 750 or Rp. 10.7 million.

"Remember, I'm just an ordinary guy. I was lucky, learned martial arts. Now I'm lucky to make films," Li said in another interview with Kung Fu Magazine.

This film more or less requires a two-year filming process with a fairly primitive production method, aka not as sophisticated as it is today. Work also had to be suspended for six months when Jet Li broke his leg during a tense fight scene. 

Despite the difficult conditions, Jet Li said that filming Shaolin Temple was still like a vacation.

“The best part about making that film was that we didn't have to rehearse anymore. Even if we get up at five or six to get to the set, and shoot from eight until sunset, it's nothing." 

Hong Kong moviegoers flocked to theaters to see Shaolin Temple after its winter release. With interest in the history of the resurgent Shaolin Temple , China has a tourism advantage.

Synopsis of Shaolin Temple

This film depicts Emperor Tang being betrayed by one of his generals, who makes himself emperor in the Eastern Capital. The son of one of his slave workers escapes to the Shaolin Temple, learns kung fu, and sets out to kill the traitor, who killed his father. 

The monks had to help him, and in the process, they saved the true emperor, who valued them highly. 

Synopsis of Shaolin Temple

Synopsis of Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple Achievements at Box Office

China's " Shaolin Temple " grossed an all-time high of 161 million yuan and is estimated to have sold more than 300 million tickets in the country. 

While in Hong Kong, the film sold 700,000 tickets and grossed 16,000 HKD or US$2.6 million, clearly making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 1982 in Hong Kong. 

In Japan, it was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1982, with distribution rental revenues of 1.65 billion. In South Korea, the film sold 294,000 tickets in Seoul, equivalent to an estimated gross of about 882 million won or 1.2 million US dollars.

The film's estimated total box office gross is about US$106.424 million in East Asia. 

This film starring Jet Li is largely responsible for turning the Shaolin Monastery into a major tourist destination, both in China and internationally . The film's popularity quickly prompted filmmakers in China and Hong Kong to produce more Shaolin-based films.