Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee died at the young age of 32. Today is the 40th anniversary of his death. Most people know he is the greatest martial artist of our time, but there are things that they may not know: Bruce was a child star in Hong Kong. Quentin Tarantino probably knows, as he was a fanatic of old Chinese movies, before he became a famous director in Hollywood. Besides being a child star, Bruce was a dancing contest champion in Hong Kong. He was also a street fighter there. His father wanted to make him stay out of trouble by sending him back to America where he was born.  

Bruce Lee is great, not only because of his superb martial arts and Chinese kung fu, but also because of his philosophy of life. He rejected the idea that Chinese kung fu must be kept for the Chinese people only. He defeated everyone who dared to prevent him from teaching Chinese kung fu to the Westerners. My opinion is that all the great people in this world belong to the whole humanity, not just to their own race, culture or country. My view is a cosmopolitan view, an all-in-the-family view, with one humanity, one world, one Planet Earth.

Aside from philosophy and opinion, these are some facts that many Bruce Lee fans do not know. Bruce is not only Chinese, but also American and partly German. How so? Bruce was born in San Francisco, so he is an American. His father Lee Hoi-Chuen was an actor in Chinese opera. His mother Grace Ho was a Eurasian of German and Chinese ancestry. My dear American and German friends, you can rightfully claim that Bruce Lee is partly yours. By the way, Bruce, like myself, grew up in British Hong Kong, which went back to Chinese rule in 1997. Dear Brits, yes, you can also claim a part of Bruce Lee. My dear Chinese friends, what the heck, let's be generous and share the great Bruce Lee with the whole world. We can't say no anyway. They have already taken a great portion of him. Rest in Peace, Bruce !