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Fearless
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 Fearless Production NotesMaster Huo Yuan Jia was a supreme Martial Arts champion, founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. "Fearless" tells his tale.
Superstar Jet Li headlines this action-packed film, his final martial arts epic. The film reteams him with producer Bill Kong ("Hero") and action director and choreographer Yuen Wo Pin ("Unleashed"). Li plays real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced incredible personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, forever defining himself at a tournament for the honor of his country and the true spirit of martial arts.
Already a boxoffice hit in Asia, "Jet Li's Fearless," directed by Ronny Yu (helmer of the Hong Kong classic "The Bride with White Hair") is Jet Li's final martial arts masterpiece, capping a tremendous body of work in that genre. Jet Li's Fearless reunites the actor with producer Bill Kong ("Hero") and action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping ("Unleashed") as he portrays real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century.
Huo faced incredible personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, forever defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin.
But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that helps him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned.
Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.
A Brief History of Huo Yuanjia's Life and Times
For centuries, China was a leading civilization, easily outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But times and circumstances changed, and by the time Huo Yuanjia journeyed to Shanghai in 1910, China had become wracked by civil unrest. The citizens' spirits were worn down by a lengthy period of military defeats and foreign occupation.
70 years prior, the first Opium War began and, for the first time in its history, China found itself militarily and strategically outclassed by foreigners. As a result of the Treaty of Nanjing, the country was forced to open up its ports to European traders and settlers and the opium trade started to flourish. This beginning of the era which Chinese historians refer to as "the time of unequal treaties" marked a time of unprecedented degradation for China and its people. Japan's victory during the Sino-Japanese War further sapped the national morale in "the Weak Man of the East."
It was in this humbling context that Huo, in 1909, founded a martial arts school, the Jingwu Sports Federation (the motto of which is "Body, Mind and Soul"). Jingwu introduced gymnastics training into its curriculum, and other schools followed suit. The school also encouraged cooperation, self-improvement, and national pride.
Huo had been born circa 1868 into a Wushu (the general Chinese-language term for martial arts) master's family, in Dongguang County (south of Tianjin). His father made a living working as a bodyguard for wealthy people. As a child, Huo was weak and often ill; his father therefore decided not to teach Huo martial arts. But the boy was determined to learn and master martial arts. Daily, he would watch his father and brothers practice Wushu and then mimic their moves in secret, in a forest of date trees. Taking note of Huo's determination, his father reconsidered and began to teach him martial arts. Huo learned the family's own fighting style as well as the essentials of other schools of fighting.
In 1890, a visiting Wushu master engaged in trials of strength with Huo's family members. The master, Du, defeated Huo's brothers. But Huo, with one swift kick, knocked the man flat. Word of this victory spread through Huo's village and the neighboring regions.
In 1901, Huo was present at a public match where a Russian fighter verbally insulted the Chinese people. Hearing this, Huo mounted the platform and reprimanded the man. Cowed by Huo's bravery, the fighter apologized.
In the spring of 1909, a British fighter named O'Brien came to Shanghai and announced that he would take on any Chinese contenders. Huo accepted the challenge, and also let it be known that he in turn would fight any foreign fighters. O'Brien left Shanghai before Huo could fight him. This rout greatly enhanced the Chinese people's morale, and Huo was spurred to found Jingwu to advance healthy body and spirit for a healthier nation. He taught as the main coach at the school.
Huo's life was cut short on September 14th, 1910, during the Shanghai tournament that would secure his place in Chinese history. Differing theories as to the specifics of his untimely death abound. The two most prevalent ones are that he was poisoned at a peace-making banquet given by the Japanese Judo wrestlers; or that he was poisoned with jaundice medication prescribed by a Japanese doctor who was also a teacher of the tournament's Judo competitors, and who fled Shanghai upon news of Huo's death.
The man was gone, but his legacy was already taking hold; in shoring up China's strength and spirit, Huo had inspired and unified an entire nation. Long revered in China as a hero and patriot, Huo's discoveries and teachings continue to transform lives (as the Jingwu Sports Federation has branches in over 50 countries) and convey the soul of martial arts.
Director's Statement
The road to this movie began in 2004, and by chance. I was passing through Hong Kong and, over coffee one afternoon, producer Bill Kong asked me which Chinese actor I would most like to work with. At that time, I had no plans of making a Chinese film again, since I've been working in Hollywood for so long. Yet, I knew immediately who I wanted to work with -- Jet Li!
Jet is the only actor I know who can truly do it all; he has an authentic martial arts background, he performs all of his own stunts, and, above all, he can really act. So I told Bill that if I were to make a Chinese film again after all these years, I would only do it with Jet Li. As soon as he heard this, Bill showed me a script that he had been developing with Jet about Chinese martial arts champion Huo Yuanjia. At first, I couldn't see a reason for making this film. Yes, there would be lots of great fight scenes; yes, Huo is a fascinating historical character; but the story still needed something that spoke to contemporary audiences...it needed a soul.
That inspiration came when I met Jet Li. He told me that each year in China, more than 280,000 people commit suicide. This weighs heavily on him, and he told me how he felt that young people today have forgotten how to believe in themselves. I was deeply affected by what he said, and all of a sudden I began to see potential in Huo's story. Huo is a patriotic icon in Chinese history because he united all of the different schools of martial arts under one roof, and introduced China to the virtue of sportsmanship. He gave hope to his people at a time when China's national morale was at an all-time low.
I realized that, with the troubling number of disaffected youth in China today, and with the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, now was a good time to examine what this man practiced. But I was also adamant that Jet Li's Fearless should speak to everybody, and so the story should not be about Huo Yuanjia the hero, but rather Huo Yuanjia the man. Here was an ordinary fighter, one whose pride and arrogance nearly destroyed him, and also one who found redemption when he learned that martial arts is a spiritual challenge and not a physical one.
The Chinese character for "martial arts" is made up of two parts -- characters meaning "stop" and "war." Martial arts is a discipline that promotes peace, not violence, and that became the very heart of our story.
Hopefully, young people will come out of our film feeling empowered. -- Ronny Yu
A Brief History of Wushu (the general Chinese-language term for martial arts)
A literal English-language translation of the Chinese word Wushu finds that "Wu" is "military" and "shu" is "art." Wushu therefore means martial arts, or the art of fighting.
The Chinese-language characters for "Wushu" are Zhi (meaning "do not do" or "stop") and Ge (meaning "fight" or "war"). Together, the characters translate into "Do not fight." Wushu therefore also reveals the true meaning of martial arts, or the art of not fighting.
Since the Zhou Dynasty ended in 771 B.C., practical Wushu basics have included strength training, fencing, staff sparring, and spear training. There are also specific forms grouped by style, implement, and participant(s).
Wushu training has been central to China's history. During the potent Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), warriors were chosen through martial arts competitions and officers were promoted that way as well. Open communication with neighboring countries led to a global presence for Wushu in adapted forms, such as Tang Soo Do ("the Way of the Chinese Hand"). During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), various forms of Wushu had taken hold in Korea, Japan, Tibet, and other countries. Karate is a variation on Southern Chinese boxing/fighting, while Judo can trace its origins to Chinese wrestling and Quinna (the precursor to Jiu-jitsu). Kung Fu and Taijiquan (Tai Chi), of course, also derived from Wushu.
Whereas Wushu was once a necessary survival skill, today it is a formal branch of study in the performance arts in China. It is the most popular national sport in a country of 1.1 billion people and is practiced by young and old alike. With the shift in emphasis from combat to performance, Wuhsu today hews that much closer to Huo Yuanjia's vision; a practitioner is likely to be motivated by the desire for health, self-defense skills, mental discipline, and recreational pursuit.
A guiding philosophy of Wushu is that every movement must exhibit sensible combat application and aestheticism. The beauty of movement is combined with scientific training methods; routines can be performed barehanded or with traditional Chinese weaponry.
Since the 1970s, Wushu in Mainland China has been modernized so that there could be universal standards for training and competition, and the athletic and aesthetic elements could both be cultivated. While Wushu remains a performance and competitive sport, more traditional Wushu (now basically known as Kung Fu) has been maintained as the standard fighting practice. Taijiquan remains a popular form, and utilizes the body's internal energy ("chi").
Wushu is now an established international sport. In 1990, it became an official medal event in the Asian Games. In recent years, World Championships have drawn 56 nations to participate. With the advent of the 21st Century, inclusion in the Olympic Games is the goal.
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Jet Li and Sun Li in Jet Li's Fearless.
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