The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

Gordon Liu.

Even film buffs who don’t normally watch martial arts movies may enjoy this 1978 classic that made a star of Gordon Liu (aka  Chia-Hui Liu).

He stars as Liu Yude, a student who joins rebel forces to fight against the tyranny of the Manchus in 17th century China. When his family and friends are killed, a wounded Liu escapes and finds his way to a Shaolin temple. Liu’s hope is that he can train with the Shaolin monks—who are renowned for their martial arts skills—and teach their techniques to his fellow rebels and defeat the Manchus.

The chief abbot rules in Liu's favor.

Liu is almost rejected at the outset, but the temple’s chief abbot overrules his brothers and grants the young man sanctuary because of his strength of spirit. For the first year, Liu—who is given the new name of San Te—does nothing but menial tasks like sweeping the temple. When he finally inquires about learning martial arts, he’s told that he must master 35 “chambers,” that doing so requires many years, and that most of the monks never complete this training regimen.

Undeterred, San Te starts with the 35th chamber, the most difficult one…and fails miserably. As he undertakes the other chambers, he gradually comprehends the importance of speed, balance, vision, strength, and humility. He goes from the weakest student to the best and rapidly works his way through the first 34 chambers (although it still requires several years). When the chief abbot offers him the opportunity to become the master of any chamber, San Te asks if he can create a 36th chamber—which sets into motion the final third of the film.

San Te (on right) defending a lethal blow.

There have been dozens of kung fu films where the protagonist mastered a “special technique” in order to defeat his enemy. However, I can think of no other genre movie with such extensive and engrossing training scenes. Part of the attraction lies in the training events. To learn balance, San Te must jump from floating log to floating log to cross a body of water. To strengthen his wrists, he must repeatedly strike a bell with a large stone attached to a flexible rod. I especially love the details in the scenes. As Liu tries various positions to strike the bell, we see other students waiting behind him, blue and deep red bruises covering their wrists.

San Te striking the bell using only his wrist,

Gordon Liu conveys intensity and determination as San Te. As he tries to figure out how to defeat one of the abbots in a fight, one can almost “see” him thinking. It’s no wonder his strong performance catapulted him to martial arts stardom. (Casual moviegoers may remember Gordon Liu best from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, where he played two roles. One of them was as the kung fu master who trains Uma Thurman’s character in Kill Bill, Volume II…a sequence likely inspired by The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.)

My only complaint about The 36th Chamber is that the training sequences are so good that the final third of the film is a bit of a letdown. It still includes some amazing fight scenes; the choreography is so intricate that I felt like I was watching a ballet. Director Lau Kar-Leung had extensive experience as a fight choreographer and actor. He and Gordon Liu were brothers (the latter was adopted).

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin was produced by the Shaw Brothers, the studio home of many kung fu classics (but not Bruce Lee’s films). I remember watching a 60 Minutes segment in which studio co-owner and producer Run Run Shaw was interviewed. At that time, his studio was the largest in the world and almost all their films were shot there. Run Run Shaw died in 2014 at the age of 107.

Tying (and Kicking and Punching) the Knot in “Heroes of the East”

Ah To (Gordon Liu) is opposed to his arranged marriage to a Japanese woman, Kung Zi (Yuka Mizuno), at least until he finally sees his beautiful bride-to-be. Just a few days into the union, Ah To’s trusted servant, Shou (Cheng Hong-Yip), hears sounds behind closed doors which lead him to believe that his master is beating his wife. As it turns out, Kung Zi is practicing martial arts, such as karate and judo. Ah To, believing that Chinese kung fu is both superior to the Japanese martial arts and more “proper” for a lady to practice, offers to teach kung fu to Kung Zi. The woman’s absolute refusal to learn invariably compels both husband and wife to prove that each respective discipline surpasses the other. Physical altercations ensue to showcase technique and weaponry, until Kung Zi packs her things and returns to Japan.

While visiting Japan, Ah To’s father learns that Kung Zi has left and is apparently being courted by childhood friend and ninjutsu expert Takeno (Yasuaki Kurata). When Shou convinces an irate (and drunk) Ah To to send a letter to Kung Zi, what the man sends is an open challenge, claiming that he will admit defeat if his wife is victorious in whatever martial art she chooses. An unforeseen repercussion of the challenge is Takeno reading the letter, which he shows to other martial arts masters. They take the letter as an insult, and experts in different martial arts travel to China to confront Ah To, with Kung Zi trailing behind them.


Heroes of the East (aka Shaolin Challenges Ninja; Challenge of the Ninja; Shaolin vs. Ninja/1978) was directed by Liu Chia-Liang (also known as Lau Kar-Leung), one of the most prolific directors, along with King Hu and Chang Cheh, to work at famed Shaw Brothers Studios in Hong Kong. He also worked as an action choreographer and sometimes as an actor, and his brother, Liu Chia-Yung (or Lau Kar-Wing), likewise was a director/choreographer and occasional actor for Shaw Brothers. Their adopted brother is Liu Chia-Hui, better known as Gordon Liu, one of Shaw Brothers’ most popular stars.
Heroes of the East is primarily an action film, but the comedy derived from the constant bickering between Ah To and Kung Zi is both whimsical and sweet. Ah To differentiates the marital arts by describing kung fu as a softer, more delicate discipline, whereas Kung Zi’s karate (or Japanese martial arts in general) is too aggressive. This plays well with the actors’ performances: Liu’s boyish face and mischievous smirks contrast with his skilled moves, while Mizuno’s sharp, vigorous punches and kicks are an antithesis to the seemingly meek Japanese wife. The sequences involving the two of them are the film’s highlights, including Ah To attempting to show Kung Zi the demure way to kick befitting a proper lady, using his robe as a makeshift dress; in one of their many confrontational moments, the two show each other their more covert weapons, pulling out hidden knives and the like, and slamming them on a table; and when asked about a bandage, Ah To is too embarrassed to admit that he has sustained an injury from his wife.
The film can be broken into two parts, the first half being the “battles” between husband and wife, and the second half a nonstop series of action set pieces, as Ah To must duel with each master. Japanese characters in Hong Kong films are often villains, but in Heroes of the East, a number of Japanese martial arts are displayed and treated respectfully. Each duel features a specific Japanese weapon or technique against a Chinese counterpart. The fights are superbly filmed and truly outstanding. One of the most memorable scenes is when Ah To’s master suggests using Chinese drunken boxing to combat karate. Not trained in said discipline, Ah To’s fellow students must approach Master So (played by the director), hoping that he’ll engage them in a fight. So while they’re continually beaten, Ah To copies So’s movements and slowly learns drunken boxing.
Though the action is topnotch, the second half of the film is at its best when it manages to acknowledge the feud’s catalyst: the relationship between Ah To and Kung Zi. It is handled in a surprisingly subtle manner, but there is undoubtedly a mutual love and respect between the two. After his wife leaves, Ah To has drunk himself into a stupor, evidently upset over Kung Zi’s absence. Following Ah To’s first duel, his Japanese opponent tries to give Ah To his katana (sword), as a sign that he has yielded. Unable to speak the language or understand the custom, Ah To does not accept the sword. The remaining masters consider this an offense and demand he fight everyone else. Kung Zi explains this to Ah To later and says that, had he taken the katana, the feud would have ended. It insinuates that the two of them should be together, an idea confirmed later when Kung Zi essentially becomes a translator for Ah To and his opponent.

The same year as Heroes of the East, Gordon Liu starred in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, also directed by his brother and which remains one of his most recognizable films. Playing a student of the Shaolin Temple, Liu shaved his head, a style he has retained for the majority of his career.

Japanese actor Kurata, an accomplished martial artist in karate, judo and aikido, has been quite successful in Hong Kong movies. He has appeared in two unforgettable cinematic battles, against Jet Li in Gordon Chan’s 1994 Fist of Legend (a remake of the 1972 Bruce Lee film, Fist of Fury) and Vicki Zhao Wei and Karen Mok in Corey Yuen’s So Close (2002). He also maintains a stunt agency, Kurata Promotion Company, based in Tokyo.
Heroes of the East is brimming with action sequences yet tells a decidedly good-natured story. It only falters by not satisfactorily resolving the dilemma within the couple’s marriage, as the movie abruptly concludes following the final duel. However, they did seem to put their petty disputes aside for the abundant fights, so one can assume that the two found common ground. After all, when a husband beats the crap out of seven men just to prove something to his wife, can that not be equated with a happy ending?