WrightWatch: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

A kung-fu movie that mostly focuses on hard it is to learn kung-fu. The majority of the action revolves around main character San Te (Gordon Liu) passing a series of tests in the process of becoming a kung-fu master.

The story revolves around rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty by those still loyal to the deposed Ming dynasty. Within the film this is portrayed as a fight by the Han ethnic group against a people the film’s translation refers to as ‘tartars’ and we would more properly know as ‘Manchu’. My imperfect understanding of the film’s context rendered the meaning of this plot vague and confusing to me. Existing in English speaking world, I’m used to triumphal rebellion films being about successful rebellions (usually the American Revolution)— but though the tone of 36th Chamber is upbeat and hopeful, I know from Wikipedia that the Ming definitely did not defeat the Qing. Viewing the film as a dramatisation of real history is therefore a confusing experience, as the film’s tone is at odds with historical reality. As such I would guess the film is better viewed as a Han folk tale, given the emphasis on resistance against a foreign enemy, and a vehicle of pride in Han identity. This however means I maintain some distance from the film, given that I am not Han and therefore not the intended audience of the folk tale.

The 36th Chamber’s spectacle is very clearly choreographed. There is a mechanical quality to the fighting — it felt like I could hear a dance instructor calling time throughout the movie. This did not keep those movements from being impressive (my particular favourite was the use of a three-section-staff to swing over an enemy’s upraised sword to hit him on the back of the head). But the fighting rarely felt immediate.

The use of lights shining from Gordon Liu’s eyes to convey his fighter’s perceptiveness was my favourite image from the film, and possibly the most transferable to my own work. I was mightily impressed by the various means the Shaolin Temple used to train the monks, particularly the use of a candle attached to a pendulum to train San Te’s eyesight (he must only move his eyes and not his head, and to ensure he does not do the latter, his head is placed between two burning sticks). However transferring these puzzles into my own stories would feel less like inspiration and more like a lack of personal creativity. Distinction there is probably the fact that I can see myself reemploying the image of glinting, hyper-perceptive eyes in ways other than Liu Chia-liang (Director) did. A candle on a pendulum however is less obviously adaptable to a different context.