On the first edition’s cover of his memoir (originally published in October 2010), Donnie Yen is wearing a red jacket instead of a black vest. Coincidentally, he was the star of a 1993 film (Heroes Among Heroes) that was retitled in the U.S. as Fist of the Red Dragon. Right now, we are living in the year of the dragon but Donnie’s memoir will probably not be printed in English to commemorate the special occasion. Fortunately, I ordered it. I don’t want to translate the chapters which were already translated on Tumblr (i.e. the first 19 pages along with pages 36 to 39), so here are my favourite parts…
I had trained in the Beijing Wushu Team for more than two years and was about to return to the United States. Before I left, my mother called me and revealed that Yuen Woo-Ping was about to start filming a Kung Fu movie about Tai Chi and hoped to find new actors to perform. He suggested that when I pass through Hong Kong, I might as well make an appointment to meet him. Without psychological preparation, I made an appointment with him at his residence – Mei Foo Sun estate – and I auditioned on the balcony of the housing estate. Several Yuen family members put on a full set. I showed off my martial arts skills to the fullest. After two weeks, Woo-Ping decided to sign a three-year contract with me, and I took the first step to join the film industry.
At that time, I had no idea about film shooting. I only know the Kung Fu on the screen. How powerful the star looks: Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu is amazing, and Lo Mang’s physique made me envious. I couldn’t help but feel envious when I saw Kung Fu actors showing their arms on the screen, so I also trained my arm muscles like crazy when I was a teenager. My eyes were full of admiration, but I didn’t expect that I had the opportunity to make a movie. At first, I bumped around like a blind fly, which caused a series of jokes. In the first year after signing the contract, before I officially started filming, Woo-Ping’s assistant took me to visit the location. The first time I saw the filming process was The Champions starring Yuen Biao, who played the role of “North Leg” in the movie. I was very impressed with his fierce kicking skills. Until I saw him filming the fighting scenes, it was something else. I asked him “Why are you moving so slowly? Are you injured?” You need to know that the movie originally used a lot of editing and camera effects, so why do you need real skills to “scare”? But at the time, I was a “martial arts fanatic” and took the movies for granted based on wishful thinking!
Later, I went to Taiwan with my master Woo-Ping to shoot the sequel to The Miracle Fighters and learned the art of filming from the side. One day, during the making of Shaolin Drunkard, my master suddenly asked me to work as a stunt double. Everyone knew that I was good at kicking, so he asked me to shoot a scene where I kick my opponent. At that time, I was very happy and excited, thinking that I had finally waited for the opportunity to show off my skills. I stretched my muscles and pressed my legs beforehand, and tried my best to fight as soon as the camera was turned on. Unexpectedly, I was greeted by the master with continuous swear words. It turns out that the rhythm of the movie is different from that of real fighting. Especially in those days, Kung Fu movies required every move to be shot clearly so that the audience could see it. However, my movements were so fast that even the camera couldn’t catch them. Of course, I had to reshoot. I have always been practicing martial arts to perform moves quickly, but filming a movie requires that every punch and kick should be slower. It was only later that I gradually got used to it.
I stayed in Taiwan for eight full months, during which time I worked as a stand-in several times. I had no idea that a stand-in was actually paid. Later, I received 10,000 Taiwanese dollars from Master Yuen, which made me very happy. The old-school culture on the set is deep-rooted. The Kung Fu director and martial arts director are both “tinderboxes”. They always say “greetings to your mother” when they open their mouths. The director is “one word” and no one dares to disobey orders. For example, I had no idea about simple theater terms such as “out of the frame” and “into the frame”, so I asked the director for advice, but I got a scolding in return. It was difficult to adapt to the industry for the first time. Although I complained for a while, the training at that time was valuable. Later, Kung Fu movies declined and action movies took their place. A large number of shots, gun battles, explosions and stunts were used instead. In the past, shooting with just a few cameras and relying on the actor’s waist and Kung Fu skills no longer exists. Fortunately, I have gone through this training that was like Jackie Chan’s Shaolin Wooden Men, and I will be more accurate in the skills of shooting action movies in the future. As the saying goes – A stick produces a filial son, and a strict teacher produces a good disciple. The influence of the previous generation by the great Kung Fu film directors – Chang Cheh, Lau Kar-Leung and Yuen Woo-Ping – can be found everywhere.
Being able to enter the entertainment industry is all thanks to the guidance of my master Yuen Woo-Ping. I starred in my first movie, Drunken Tai Chi. I worked hard for a whole year to shoot it, but I complained endlessly. My impression of Yuen is only respect and fear. Our mentor-disciple relationship evolved from a simple fear to one where I later became both mentor and friend. The turning point came when I decided to leave the film industry after filming Mismatched Couples. He wanted to make me popular, but I chose to walk away. Unexpectedly, I would return to Hong Kong three years later. Only after we experienced the low point together could we truly “open the skylight” and develop a heart-to-heart friendship. The master is from a “red pants” (Peking Opera) background, he implements the old-school studio culture, and is very picky then strict with his apprentices. When filming Drunken Tai Chi, he commanded the world like an emperor. He loved me deeply and took responsibility for me as a fledgling. I had the most scenes opposite Lydia Shum. Everyone respects Lydia but pities me – “the apprentice” – because if something goes wrong, no matter whether I am wrong or not, I will inevitably become the “scapegoat” and be scolded.
In addition, due to Lydia’s tight schedule, Yuen Woo-Ping had to rush to shoot her scenes first, and I shot a few scenes early in the morning. I was not woken up until four o’clock the next morning to continue working. During a long period of time, I had to curl up in the cotton pile on the set and use it as a bed to sleep. When filming at that time, I was always on tenterhooks. Even if it was time for dinner, before I had even eaten a few mouthfuls of hot rice, Master Yuen would hurriedly put down his lunch box and continue filming. After Yuen shouted “cut” in every scene, I always listened intently to his tone as if I’m frozen. Only when he said “OK!” did I feel relieved, but he demanded extremely high standards. He often said “This is good, but it can be better!” This became sort of a mantra, which means “no acceptance” therefore reshooting commenced. At that time, I lived with an actor/martial artist in Yuen’s two-bedroom dormitory in the Mei Foo estate. The two of us shared a room and slept on a bunk bed. In the first year, he only had a monthly salary of NT$3,000. He was often verbally abused until his body was completely bruised, and he felt more and more wronged. He gradually lost his direction and didn’t know what filming was all about.
After I finished filming Mismatched Couples, I simply left and returned to the United States. Before I left, I didn’t dare to say goodbye to the master in person. I only told my brothers in the Yuen family class to pass the news on my behalf. During the three years that I was away from Hong Kong, I was in the United States where I worked as an assistant teacher at my mother’s martial arts school. I continued to watch Hong Kong movies, and the more I watched, the more I felt dissatisfied. In order to prove that I could make good movies, I decided to return to Hong Kong in 1988. After a few years of career slumps, Yuen Woo-Ping has also changed a lot, and I have become more mature than before. My growth has allowed me to communicate seriously with my master, and the master-student relationship has taken another big step forward. After returning, I discovered that I was still quite passionate about movies. Just as I returned, Yuen returned to the director’s chair to start a new venture for the D&B film company.
In Tiger Cage, the master and apprentice once again work together to work hard for their career. It was a big test that him and I faced. The movie was shot at a low cost, but it was everyone’s “saving signature” work. In the past, I felt that the master was condescending to me, but for this movie, we all sat down and had a meeting to “cross bridges” and we actually became like friends, discussing things. At that time, the action movies in the Hong Kong film industry were made by Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. They often featured a lot of speeding cars and explosions. Their huge team also had more than 20 martial artists working at any time. These were things we couldn’t afford. In this case, I suggested that it is better to use the actor’s own real skills and personal style to create a scene in Tiger Cage. To attract the audience, for a scene in the film, I sincerely invited my foreign junior brothers – one black and one white – from the United States to fight with me on the beach in Hong Kong. Everyone carefully planned their moves and won purely with their movements. In the end, it received rave reviews, even from people in the industry, and it successfully made a name for itself.
The next movie, In the Line of Duty 4, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping and starring Cynthia Khan, was not expected by everyone. As a rule, a group of behind-the-scenes staff should go to the theater during a preview midnight screening to observe the audience’s reaction on the spot, but Yuen was so nervous that he rented a hotel room next to the theater, and he stayed there to wait for news then sent an “errand boy” to the venue to find out. When he heard the good news of the spy’s return, Yuen (who was always serious) was so excited that he hugged me. I was so flattered that I didn’t know how to react. However, at that moment, it felt like master and disciple truly shared the hardships and supported each other. The relationship became stronger from then on.
When I returned to Hong Kong, I was full of confidence in martial arts, but when it came to acting, I felt that I was not up to par. In order to make up for my shortcomings, I humbly asked to join TVB’s artist training class since they had the best foundation. I was introduced to TVB artist manager May Fung Mei-Kei by a friend and joined TVB through her connections. I signed a three-year contract with TVB, with a monthly salary of $3,000 in the first year, $4,800 in the second year, and $6,000 in the third year. I also stayed in the company’s village dormitory in Tai Po Chai, Sai Kung, with the goal of adding value to myself. All benefits and environment are, of course, second-rate. In the big TVB family, I unexpectedly met Stephen Chow, who also loves martial arts. We both cherished each other and made friends through martial arts.
Some of my classmates included Gordon Lam, Lau Sek-Ming and Simon Lui. Although the course lasted for one year, I was only there for half a year because I was called out of class early to film a series. At that time, I had an appointment with D&B Films. I was filming TV and movies at the same time. It was so hard that words cannot describe it. After filming the TV series for more than ten hours a day, I immediately had to shoot a series of action scenes for Tiger Cage. I worked 24 hours a day and night without even a quarter of an hour of sleep. I was so exhausted that I started working on the TV series the next morning. Before I turned on the phone, my eyelids drooped uncontrollably, and I fell asleep from exhaustion. It is obvious that my mental and physical energy were severely exhausted. However, the three years at TVB have been bittersweet. Apart from the lack of rest due to the “crash schedule” of filming movies, every bit of it is worth recalling.
At a later social gathering with old friends, I happened to meet Lau Sek-Ming, a classmate from the artist training class. We talked about how we were in the past, and the memories of those years suddenly came back. My classmates knew that I was good at Kung Fu, and they all asked me to show off my skills from time to time. He said that his impression of me back then was like watching Bruce Lee perform. Everyone clapped and applauded. At that time, I was very competitive and at the peak of my form. I was like a “tiger boy” who loved to use his hands and feet. Therefore, I often complied with the requests of my colleagues in the company, both in front of and behind the scenes, to perform personal performances. From time to time, people gathered around me in the corridor outside the factory. The crowd was waiting to watch the excitement, the scene was quite grand.
The first TV series I filmed was File Noir (a.k.a. Mo Min Kap Sin Fung), where one of the actors was Stephen Chow. It turned out that he was also very interested in Kung Fu. At that time, he was in the beginning stage of practicing Western boxing. He often tried out his skills in front of me during his free time. We would sit down and exchange experiences during our free time. I remember that in order to study the problem of punching strength and angle, I randomly brought some boxing equipment at his request. Using leather pads as boxing targets, an impromptu demonstration was conducted. It was a rare martial arts competition that can only be encountered once in a while.
Pop Cult Master 