Pushing Hands

Pushing Hands (Chinese 推手, Tui shou) is Ang Lee's feature-length directorial debut from 1991. It was a Taiwanese-American co-production, it is spoken in both Mandarin and English, and in genre it is a drama with comic elements, not an action film. It opens Lee's loose trilogy Father Knows Best, which was followed by The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). The main character is Mr. Chu, an old Chinese taijiquan master who moves to New York to live with his son and his son's American family and looks for his place there. He is played by Sihung Lung, an experienced film, television and stage actor who had already retired from acting and returned to it after reading the script. Taijiquan here is not a subject of fights but a theme. The film presents tuishou, in English "pushing hands", as a two-person exercise in which students of taijiquan learn to yield to brute force. According to the English Wikipedia, the title therefore also refers to the process by which the traditional teacher adapts to culture shock after moving to America: tuishou is in it both a combat exercise and a metaphor. For the role of Mr. Chu, Sihung Lung won the award for best leading actor at the 28th Golden Horse Awards in 1991. The film also received the Special Jury Prize there, and Ang Lee was nominated for directing.

Martial arts in this work

Origin

Pushing Hands was shot entirely in New York and, according to the English Wikipedia, it was the first film from Taiwan made entirely in the United States. The Chu family's apartment was filmed in North Riverdale in the Bronx. Shooting lasted about four weeks and was preceded by rehearsals. According to the Chinese Wikipedia, Sihung Lung prepared for the role for about two months with taijiquan master Li Feng-zhang (李豐章). We have not been able to confirm that he practised taijiquan before filming, and we did not find the extent of Li's presence on set in the sources.

People and martial arts

• Ang LeeDirector
• Sihung LungActor — as Mr. Chu· Tai Chi (portrays the art on screen)
• Li Feng-zhangTechnical advisor· Tai Chi (real practitioner)

Awards

• Won · Golden Horse Awards (28.), Best Leading Actor (Sihung Lung) (1991)
• Won · Golden Horse Awards (28.), Special Jury Award (1991)
• Nominated · Golden Horse Awards (28.), Best Director (Ang Lee) (1991)