THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN
The virtue of hard-headedness
Spoilers for The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
It’s hard to deny the cultural impact of kung fu films. For generations since the real heyday in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we instinctively know what the Bruce Lee mimicry means. Even children, who have never seen a full kung fu picture, can be heard making the recognisable sounds as they pose and playfight.
You need only look at Lau Kar-leung’s 1978 film The 36th Chamber of the Shaolin to recognise the cultural impact. Samples from it would go on to form a throughline in Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), as well as influence the various members through their solo work.
It is a film that doesn’t need to rely on being referenced to impress, it’s an incredible piece on its own. Gordon Liu plays Liu Yude, a young student who is drawn into a rebellion against the tyrannical Manchu government. Beaten, barely escaping with his life, Yude makes his way to the Shaolin temple to learn kung fu and take revenge.
Yet his desire for revenge is the antithesis of what the Buddhist monks teach. It’s made clear from the beginning that the temple wishes to stay out of the political violence occurring across China. When Yude – later renamed San Te – expresses a desire to open a 36th chamber at the temple, one which would teach the populace kung fu as a means of self-defence, he is told that he must let this desire go. At several points, it is expressed that San Te is too hard-headed to succeed within the temple; too full of desire for something other than the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
His journey through the chambers of training, however, shows us that this hard-headedness is a virtue. While others have taken many years to complete their training, San Te develops quickly. His drive to return and take revenge on the oppressors pushes him to succeed. If the first real chamber he faces – a balance test where he must jump on a bundle of sticks to cross a pool of water – causes him problems initially, his final goal pushes him to train long after others have retired for the day, eventually floating effortlessly over the water.
This theme of San Te’s hard-headedness is most obvious during his training in the sixth chamber. The monks headbutt sandbags that are hung from the ceiling, aiming to remain upright and stable despite the concussive impact. Quite literally, San Te’s stubbornness, and his hard head, see him succeed.
Similarly, after his training is completed, San Te is denied oversight of one of the chambers by the monastery’s discipline chief, who challenges San Te to exhibition matches. Despite losing over and over, he continues to push forward, determined to beat his opponent and take his place as deputy overseer. His eventual success comes from discarding the traditional Buddhist weapons and by creating his own.
It's a short-lived success. San Te’s aims remain the same. Still determined to enact vengeance, to protect those who are been oppressed, means that he once again requests to train laypeople in the art of kung fu, which sees him surreptitiously removed from the temple. This covert way for the temple to circumvent its own apolitical rules is made possible by San Te’s continued hard-headedness, leading to the film’s fast-paced, martial arts finale.
Director: Lau Kar-leung
Writer: I Kuang
Starring: Gordon Liu, Lo Lieh
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