Category: Chinese Culture

Today, we are going to talk about a 1984 movie named Drunken Tai Chi (笑太极xiào tàijí),which is Yen’s first starring role after his discovery by Yuen Wo-ping. It is perhaps the last traditional martial arts movie made in Hong Kong, both a period piece and a comedy. Yen plays Chin Do, an orphan taken in by a puppeteer/drunken Tai Chi master and his savvy wife after the deaths of his father and brother. Before their deaths, the father favors his younger son over the elder while the big brother willingly sacrifices for Chin Do. Actually, the son of a wealthy villager throws his weight around and challenges Chin Do; Chin Do and his brother turn the tables on him by setting off the firecrackers he’d intended to use against them. The poor sap goes crazy as a result, and his powerful father hires an assassin, Killer Bird, to take revenge. Meantime Chin Do befriends the child of the assassin, even foiling a kidnapping attempt. It’s only a matter of time before Chin Do discovers that his father and brother have been viciously murdered. He’s puzzled when he too is hunted down by the assassin. The drunken Tai Chi master and his wife refine Chin Do’s martial arts skills, and part of the narrative follows his exact training. Finally, Killer Bird makes his way to the cottage where Chin Do’s surrogate family resides, and the ultimate showdown occurs. In the end, Chin Do returns to care for the orphaned child of the assassin.