Jet Li
李連傑
Chinese actor and former member of the Beijing wushu team, four-time Chinese all-around champion, who made his film debut in Shaolin Temple (1982).
Quick Facts
ChinaBiography
Jet Li, born Li Lianjie (李連傑), was born on 26 April 1963 in Beijing. He is an actor who first made his name as a wushu competitor.
At the age of eight his talent was discovered at a summer course of the Beijing Sports School, where he was coached by Li Junfeng and Wu Bin. At eleven he became a member of the Chinese national wushu team and, as part of ping-pong diplomacy, performed in the USA, Mexico and Hong Kong; he turned down an offer to become President Richard Nixon's personal bodyguard, saying he wanted to protect a billion of his compatriots. From 1974 to 1979 he was a member of the Beijing wushu team and won the Chinese all-around title four times. He is skilled in changquan and fanziquan, and also trained in baguazhang, taijiquan, xingyiquan, zuiquan, yingzhaoquan and tanglangquan, as well as fighting with the staff, the sabre, the sword and the three-section staff. He ended his competitive career in 1979 at the age of eighteen because of a knee injury and then worked as an assistant coach of the team.
He made his film debut in Shaolin Temple (1982); the stage name Jet Li was devised for him that same year by an advertising agency. In the Once Upon a Time in China series (1991–1993) he played Wong Fei-hung, he appeared in Tai Chi Master (1993), and he took the lead role in Fist of Legend (1994), a remake of Fist of Fury starring Bruce Lee. He made his Hollywood debut as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998). In Fearless (2006) he played Huo Yuanjiu, founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Association, and called it his last wushu action film; in Tai Chi (2012) he portrayed Yang Luchan. Choreographer Yuen Woo-ping praised his precision in controlling the force of his strikes and kicks.
He criticizes modern competitive wushu for emphasizing form at the expense of substance. In 2007 he founded the One Foundation, China's first private charitable fundraising organization, and in 2011 he co-founded the Taiji Zen program, focused on meditation and taijiquan, with Jack Ma.
Associated Martial Arts
A collective term for the Chinese martial arts, not a single style. It includes sport wushu (taolu and sanda) and traditional schools. It has no founder, and Bodhidharma is a legend.
Wushu TaoluChampion→A competitive discipline of sport wushu in which a routine is judged under IWUF rules. Standardized routines arose in the PRC from 1958, the IWUF from 1990.
Achievements and honours
- National Championships1st place · 1975
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.
Actor — Jue Yuan (Xiaohu) · Wushu Taolu (real practitioner)
Once Upon a Time in China1991Actor — Wong Fei-hung · Hung Gar (portrays the art on screen)
Tai Chi Master1993Actor — Zhang Junbao (později Zhang Sanfeng) · Tai Chi (real practitioner)
Hero2002Actor — Nameless · Wushu Taolu (real practitioner)
Fearless2006Actor — Huo Yuanjia · Mizongyi (Lost Track Boxing) (portrays the art on screen)