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A brief look at the many incarnations of Shaolin Temple

Updated: 2011-01-21 07:34

(China Daily)

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Shaolin Temple has been the subject of the following TV series and films:

Kung Fu, 1972-1975

The American TV series follows the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine), an orphaned half-caste Shaolin monk with superb martial arts skills who wanders the United States' Wild West to find his half-brother, and protects innocent people from villains along the way.

One of the most iconic roles on US TV, the Caine character catapulted Carradine to stardom and won him both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

A brief look at the many incarnations of Shaolin Temple

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, 1978

This Shaw Brothers classic centers on San Te (Gordon Liu), purportedly the first adult outsider to be accepted as a monk who seeks revenge by learning kungfu at the Shaolin Temple, after his family and friends are slaughtered by Manchus.

After conquering all the 35 training rooms in the temple (each one dedicated to the perfection of a physical skill), San Te gets his revenge on the Manchu baddies and later creates the 36th chamber outside the temple walls, training others in Shaolin's martial arts.

A brief look at the many incarnations of Shaolin Temple

The Shaolin Temple, 1982

Another story connecting vengeance and the Shaolin Temple, the film assembles the country's top martial arts exponents of the time, and features real kungfu and awe-inspiring fighting scenes.

In his remarkable cinematic debut, Jet Li plays a young boy who escapes to the Shaolin monastery and grows into a monk with ace martial arts skills who finally executes the warlord who killed his father.

The New Legend of Shaolin, 1994

Veteran Hong Kong choreographer Corey Yuen teams up with comedy specialist Wong Jing in this high-kicking action picture tinged with slapstick routines. Again, Jet Li is the hero trained at Shaolin Temple, but this time his adventure involves his young son, who survives an attack by the Manchu army. Together they encounter a pair of female con artists and combat a monstrous villain.

Shaolin Soccer, 2001

Stephen Chow writes, directs and stars in the film about Sing, a bum and a former Shaolin kungfu student, who forms a soccer team comprised of his old Shaolin buddies. Applying amazing dexterity and martial arts skills to soccer, Sing and his motley gang of outsider friends eventually pull themselves together and take Shaolin martial arts to the masses.

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