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Once Upon a Time in China Wikipedia

Once Upon a Time in China is Hong Kong auteur Tsui Hark's series of six movies about the famous kung fu master and China|Chinese national hero Wong Fei Hung (played by Jet Li in parts 1, 2, 3, and 6 and by Vincent Zhao in parts 4 and 5). The movies were released in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1993, 1994, and 1997, respectively.

Using the renowned kung fu master and doctor as the main character, the films deal with the negative effects of European imperialism in China. The second film even has Sun Yat-sen (the father of modern China) as a character (though it is unlikely that the two ever met in real life). For a set of Hong Kong films, the Once Upon a Time in China films are surprisingly political (at least the first three). However, because the main thrust is non-partisan nationalist, and because Sun Yat-sen is seen as a hero by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) the films are not as politically divisive as they may seem at first to Westerners.

Last Modified:   2005-11-07