The sEVe n FortuNeS

Monkeying Around

Remember that time when that very tall Australian bad guy (from First Strike movie) said that Jackie "moves likes a monkey"... he wasn't kidding. Jackie Chan does move like a monkey. His acrobatic stunts and well choreographed fights are done with superb speed and precision. How in the world does he do all those crazy acrobatic stunts with such great agility and coordination? Think about it. There are some big action stars but none like JC. Van Damme does the splits and that same spinning split kick. That gets old quick. Arnold punches or shoots his opponents. Not bad but he doesn't do his own stunts. Bruce Willis usually has a gun. OK but who CAN'T shoot a gun? Steven Seagal? Well...Seagal usually makes the bad guys do the somersaults. But he can't move like Chan does. Jackie is quick and moves all over the place. He uses an assortment of things to fight or to navigate his way into some of the most unexpected places. How does he do it?

Peking Opera School

Well it started a long time ago. 1962 to be exact. Jackie started as a child performer of the Peking Opera School troupe. His teacher/master was Yu Jim Yuen. Of course this was not typical school of performing arts. We are NOT talking about the Julliard School. This was a tough environment where the students trained to their limit. Let me explain.... The training started from dawn and ended at dusk. Back flips, hand stands, tumbling, and splits were some of the routine tasks the boys performed for hours on end. Hundreds and hundreds of times. These kids actually jumped through hoops. Many martial art routines were taught for the theatrical performances. Yu Sifu (Master Yu) would push his students to excel in every aspect of the performing art of Chinese opera. Physical exercises were not the only training activities they had to perform. Singing and memorizing the classic Chinese operas were also practiced as frequently and as serious. Even facial make up was an art taught to the kids. Notice the picture at the top of this page? Half of their faces were painted on by Master Yu. The other half was completed by the student. Each side had to match exactly. Each face represented a specific character in Chinese folklore and history. The boy who played the character of the great General Kwan had to look like General Kwan. He also had to act, speak, and move like the General. Likewise, the boy who was the Monkey King had to act, speak, and move like the legendary Monkey King. There was little variation to these old and often-performed classical Chinese operas. These performances left little room to the director's improvisation. Perfection was the key to a successful performance.

Watch Out for The Stick

Now you maybe asking yourself, "how could one guy get a bunch of little boys to do so much?" Its hard enough to get one boy to sit still for 5 minutes. Well... did I mention the stick? Jackie Chan has done a lot of interviews in his career. Some of his interviewers will ask about the Peking Opera School. Sometimes Jackie will mention the stick. Apparently, the stick was a frequent motivator for the boys to accomplish their training. Yes... we are talking about getting hit by a stick. Physical punishment such as caning were the harsh tools of instructions. If you don't follow the command to jump or flip then you can expect to get hit. Simple... but strict. "Mean" you say? Of course it is. But Master Yu did not hate the kids. On the contrary. He loved his students and wanted to see them excel in the performing arts. If he didn't push them then they would get lazy and not do their best. Remember that physical punishment was an accepted practice back then. I'm not saying that physical punishment is "good"... but Master Yu's had a specific contractual condition that gave him complete control over the students. The boys, who applied for the school, must agree with the contract before joining. The contract also waived the liability of their deaths in the course of the school training. Many (if not all) of the applicant's families were poor so having their son enrolled in the Peking Opera School was a good option for the child's future. Food and room and board were paid from the money generated through the students' public performances. It has been over 30 years since it started but Jackie will say that he wouldn't want anyone to go through the same experience that he has.

The Movie Business

As the world around them slowly modernized, the audience base for Chinese opera waned smaller and smaller. Soon there was little revenue being generated and Master Yu had to close down the school. The boys were older now and fortunately there was work at the local movie studios where there was a need for the extras. Master Yu had instilled a good ethic in his students. They were taught well and you could see it in their efforts. They would work hard when other movie extras were lazy in performing their parts. They were faithful to do their best even if their roles were small. Eventually they were rewarded for their consistent hard work. The casting directors were highly satisfied with their performance and several of the Peking Opera School students became stuntmen, actors, choreographers, producers, and directors. Among the many opera troupe performers, there were seven who stood out AND have accomplished a lot in Hong Kong's world of action cinema. They were known as the The Seven Little Fortunes or in Cantonese Chat Siu Fok. Below is a chart of some of those who did well in the Chinese movie industry.

The Three Brothers Samo Hung (left), Yuen Biao (middle), and Jackie Chan are the most familiar faces of the Seven Fortunes. Most hardcore Hong Kong movie fans know them and their work. The three actors are frequently called the Three Brothers. There are a few "Jackie Chan" movies that include the Three Brothers and many hardcore fans love these films because its three times the fun and three times the action.

The Three Brothers films include: - Countdown in Kung Fu (1975) - Winners and Sinners (1983) - Wheels on Meals (1984) - My Lucky Stars (1985) - Twinkle, Twinkly Lucky Star (1985) - Project A I (1983) and Project A II (1987) - Dragons Forever (1987)

A casual pose from the set of the Project A II movie.

Resources

A very good resource to check out is the Painted Faces movie. Directed by Mabel Cheung Yuen Ting, this film is a biographical story on the Peking Opera School. Samo stars in the leading role of his teacher - Yu Jim Yuen. Another movie is Farewell My Concubine. It portrays a harsher but more accurate view of fictional Chinese opera school than Painted Faces. This movie includes two popular Chinese actors - Leslie Cheung and Gong Li. It will be easier to find a video copy of this film and is most likely to be located in the foreign film section of major video stores. Note that this movie contains some serious adult content.