Fans flock to Hong Kong to mark 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee's death
Bruce Lee, born in San Francisco 1940 but raised in Hong Kong, passed away at the age of 32 on July 20, 1973
Fans from Hong Kong and around the world gathered at the feet of a Bruce Lee statue on Thursday 20 July 2023 to pay tribute to the late kung fu legend on the 50th anniversary of his untimely death.
Standing in front of the life-size bronze statue with Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour behind them, a stream of fans snapped pictures, bowed and laid down flowers. Others performed moves from Lee's own brand of kung fu: "Jeet Kune Do" and threw "nunchucks" - a chained double truncheon weapon that was popularised by Lee in several films. Those who traveled to Hong Kong for the anniversary included people from mainland China, Asia and Europe.
"I have loved Bruce Lee since I was very young," said Bruce Shin from South Korea who sported a brush cut and large framed sunglasses, imitating Lee. "His body and figure was so mysterious. I wanted to be like him and did weight training for 50 years," Shin added while making high pitched yelps and unleashing rapid-fire punches. Lee, who was born in San Francisco but raised in Hong Kong, passed away at the age of 32 on July 20, 1973 from a brain swelling, just days before the release of his global blockbuster movie 'Enter the Dragon'.
Bruce Lee fans gather in Hong Kong to commemorate 50 year anniversary of martial arts legend's death
Fans gather in front of the statue of martial arts icon Bruce Lee to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death in Hong Kong, on July 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Fans of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who broke negative stereotypes around Asian men in films, gathered in Hong Kong this week to commemorate their idol’s death half a century ago, remembering his legacy and his life philosophy on persistence.
Lee, who was born in San Francisco but raised in the Asian financial hub, was famous for his martial arts talent and his fight against racist portrayals of Asians on big and small screens in the 1960s and 70s. He died at the height of his fame due to an allergic reaction to painkillers when he was 32. The 50th anniversary of Lee's death on Thursday drew fans to exhibitions in Hong Kong on his life and career. They also laid flowers at his statue at the Avenue of Stars, a tourist attraction modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the Kowloon shore of Victoria Harbor.
A government-run museum organized a camp for students to learn about Lee's legacy by introducing them to Jeet Kune Do, the martial arts style that Lee invented and practiced. The museum also screened his films. Many of Lee's supporters said his philosophy inspired them since they were young, even though many only learned about him and his works after his death.
related:
Fifty years on, Bruce Lee's legacy squares up to modern life in Hong Kong
Bruce Lee developed his own martial arts form, "Jeet Kune Do"
Fifty years after the death of Bruce Lee, who galvanised the imaginations of generations of young people worldwide with feats of kung fu immortalised on screen, it sometimes seems as if his legacy of the martial art he practiced is fading in Hong Kong.
Born in San Francisco but brought up in the Asian financial hub which would make him famous, Lee died of brain edema aged 32 on July 20, 1973, just six days before the release of "Enter the Dragon", his most popular film.
Lee's contributions to martial arts, film, and philosophy have inspired legions of fans across the world, but the legacy that endured for half a century is sometimes seen as a relic of the past in the former British colony.
50 years after his death, Bruce Lee remains a star, a role model, an enigma
Hong Kong has embraced Bruce Lee as a native son. Pictured is a statue of the martial arts star and actor near the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in the city. Photo: Shutterstock
The legacy of martial arts legend Bruce Lee has endured at the 50th anniversary of his death in part because there are so many Bruce Lees.
Since his 1973 death under mysterious circumstances at age 32, Hong Kong has embraced Lee as a native son, China as an anti-Japanese nationalist, Asian-Americans as a role model, blacks and Latinos as a fighter of white oppression, the developing world as a foil against colonialism.
“Think about how many people try to own Bruce Lee and how many narratives there are,” said Paul Bowman, cultural studies professor at Cardiff University and lead editor of Martial Arts Studies, an academic journal. “He functions as a kind of fantasy object or muse for people in different contexts.”
Fans of martial arts legend Bruce Lee fondly remember his life philosophy 50 years after his death
Fans of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who broke negative stereotypes around Asian men in films, gathered in Hong Kong this week to commemorate their idol’s death half a century ago, remembering his legacy and his life philosophy on persistence.
Lee, who was born in San Francisco but raised in the Asian financial hub, was famous for his martial arts talent and his fight against racist portrayals of Asians on big and small screens in the 1960s and 70s. He died at the height of his fame due to an allergic reaction to painkillers when he was 32. The 50th anniversary of Lee's death on Thursday drew fans to exhibitions in Hong Kong on his life and career. They also laid flowers at his statue at the Avenue of Stars, a tourist attraction modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the Kowloon shore of Victoria Harbor.
A government-run museum organized a camp for students to learn about Lee's legacy by introducing them to Jeet Kune Do, the martial arts style that Lee invented and practiced. The museum also screened his films. Many of Lee's supporters said his philosophy inspired them since they were young, even though many only learned about him and his works after his death.
Bruce Lee at 80: the martial arts legend and his legacy jeet kune do, the unique way of fighting he developed
Bruce Lee in a scene from The Way of the Dragon (1972). The martial arts legend would have turned 80 years old on Friday 27 Nov 2020. Photo: Criterion Collection
The best-known legacy of Bruce Lee, who would have turned 80 this Friday is of course his movies. But the martial arts legend also developed a unique way of fighting called jeet kune do, a Cantonese term which translates as something like “the way of the stopping fist” or more poetically, “the way of the intercepting fist.”
There are many distinct styles of fighting in kung fu – hung gar, wing chun, and tai chi to name a few of the more famous ones. But the best starting point for understanding jeet kune do is realising that Lee never wanted it to be a style.
Lee’s intention was quite the opposite, in fact. He developed jeet kune do because he thought that the idea of a rigid fighting style was too limiting.
Bruce Lee Grave Site in Seattle
Buried next to Lee is his son Brandon, who was also an actor and martial artist. Brandon was killed at the age of 28 in a fluke accident on the set of The Crow
The Bruce Lee grave site is very simple. The headstone simply has a picture of Bruce Lee, his name in English and Chinese, the dates of his life, and it reads “Founder of Jeet Kune Do”. On the foot of the grave is an open black book. On the left side of the book is a yin and yang symbol with Chinese writing, and on the right it says “Your inspiration continues to guide us toward our personal liberation”.
Named one of the top 10 celebrity grave sites in the world, thousands of people visit every year. There are always flowers, coins, and other trinkets resting on the plot. It’s an emotional pilgrimage for some while others simply just want to see where the martial arts legend is buried. Whether you’re a fan of Bruce Lee or not, it’s a pretty neat experience to visit his grave site.
Have you ever visited the Bruce Lee grave site in Seattle? We’d love to hear from you about your experience. Please leave a comment below or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget to also visit Seattle Bloggers for more places to check out in the Emerald City!
What killed Bruce Lee? 4 leading theories medical and martial arts experts proposed after his shock death 50 years ago on 20 Jul 1973
Bruce Lee on the set of “The Big Boss”. Lee died two years after the movie’s 1971 release, and in the years since, competing theories have been posited as to what exactly killed the martial arts star. Photo: Yau Leung
Bruce Lee’s unexpected death on July 20, 1973 sent shock waves across the world.
Today, fans continue to mourn and pay emotional tributes to the martial arts legend, but people still don’t really know why he died.
At the time, doctors cited a fluid build-up in Lee’s brain as the official cause of death, but they did not give a clear explanation as to why the excess accumulation of fluid occurred.
Ahead of the 50th anniversary of Lee’s death, we recall some of the theories put forward to explain his death:
- Cannabis use - When Lee died in 1973, he was just 32 years old. At the time, doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong attributed his death to cerebral oedema – brain swelling. The condition, which is life-threatening, is the body’s way of reacting to trauma, a stroke or infection.
- Hypersensitivity to aspirin or meprobamate - Shortly before Lee died, he was in actress Betty Ting Pei’s home on Beacon Hill Road, in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and complained of a bad headache.
- Heatstroke - In his biography Bruce Lee: A Life, author Matthew Polly posited another theory – heatstroke – for why Lee died.
- Drinking too much water - In December 2022, a study published in the Clinical Kidney Journal claimed that the real cause of Lee’s death could have been hyponatraemia, which occurs when there is a low concentration of sodium in the blood.
Bruce Lee's Death: Details of His Sudden Passing 50 Years Ago
Bruce Lee died at the age of 32 on July 20, 1973
In July 1973, Bruce Lee was working on a number of new projects, most notably the movie Game of Death. He’d been married to Linda Emery Lee for nine years, and they had two children together: 8-year-old Brandon and 4-year-old Shannon.
But on July 20, 1973, Lee went to take a nap after complaining of a headache and never woke up. An ambulance was called after he was found unconscious, but Lee was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Lee's sudden death at 32 years old was due to cerebral edema or swelling of the brain — though several theories have emerged over the years regarding the edema's cause. In the '70s, experts claimed the brain swelling was caused by a hypersensitivity to prescribed medication, while more recent studies suggest the edema could have been due to heat stroke or from drinking an excessive amount of water. His funeral was held in Hong Kong, where he died, though he’s buried in Seattle alongside his son, who died two decades later.
On the 50th anniversary of Lee's death, Shannon wrote a tribute addressed to her late father and brother in PEOPLE. "You both lived so vibrantly, so boldly, so viscerally, so truly, and it is that life that you embodied and shared so beautifully that has given me the courage and the desire to not just live but grow and blossom through the loss of you," she wrote. "Your energy is eternal, and it still communicates. It still hits. It still loves. And I love you—your big laughter, your big smiles." Here’s a look at what happened when Bruce Lee died and the legacy he left behind:
- How did Bruce Lee die?
- When did Bruce Lee die?
- Where did Bruce Lee die?
- How old was Bruce Lee when he died?
- How did the public react to Bruce Lee’s death?
- What legacy did Bruce Lee leave behind?
Bruce Lee's Daughter Shannon Pens Emotional Essay on 50th Anniversary of Death: 'I Love You'
Bruce Lee (died in Jul 1973) with wife Linda Emery & kids Shannon & Brandon (died in Mar 1993)
For Shannon Lee, 2023 is a year of incredibly emotional anniversaries. Fifty years ago, action movie juggernaut Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32. Starring in films like Fist of Fury and The Big Boss, Lee became the face of martial-arts cinema, ultimately defining the genre.
Bruce had two kids, Brandon and Shannon, with his wife Linda Emery before his untimely death. Brandon followed his father into the industry, working on cult classics like Showdown in Little Tokyo. Twenty years after Bruce's death, Brandon was killed on the set of The Crow in March 1993 after being shot by a costar with what they believed to be a blank but was actually a real bullet. Now, 50 and 30 years after the respective deaths of her father and brother, Shannon remains deeply affected by loving and losing them both so early.
Just 4 years old when her dad died from a cerebral edema, Shannon is now an actress, producer and board chairwoman for the Bruce Lee Foundation. She's also an executive producer of Warrior, a Cinemax series based on the writings of her father that debuted in 2019.
related: Brandon Lee's Sister Shannon Marks 30 Yrs Since His Death: 'His Soul is Still Alive with Us'
Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon
Bruce Lee, Chinese name Li Jun Fan, (born November 27, 1940, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died July 20, 1973, Hong Kong), American-born film actor who was renowned for his martial arts prowess and who helped popularize martial arts movies in the 1970s.
Lee was born in San Francisco, but he grew up in Hong Kong. He was introduced to the entertainment industry at an early age, as his father was an opera singer and part-time actor. The younger Lee began appearing in films as a child and was frequently cast as a juvenile delinquent or street urchin. As a teenager, he took up with local gangs and began learning kung fu to better defend himself. At that time he also started dance lessons, which further refined his footwork and balance; in 1958 Lee won the Hong Kong cha-cha championship.
Lee’s parents were increasingly disturbed by his street fighting and run-ins with the police, and they sent him to live in the United States shortly after he turned 18. He lived with family friends in Seattle, where he finished high school and studied philosophy and drama at the University of Washington. While in Seattle he opened his first martial arts school, and in 1964 he relocated to Oakland, California, to found a second school. It was about that time that he developed his own technique—jeet kune do, a blend of ancient kung fu, fencing, boxing, and philosophy—which he began teaching instead of traditional martial arts. He drew the attention of a television producer after giving a kung fu demonstration at a Los Angeles-area karate tournament, and he was cast as the sidekick Kato in the television series The Green Hornet (1966–67).
Bruce Lee 李 小 龍
Born on 27 Nov 1940 & passed away at the age of 32 on 20 Jul 1973
Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Jun-fan, 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Chinese-American martial artist and actor whose career spanned Hong Kong and the United States. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.
Born in San Francisco and raised in British Hong Kong, Lee was introduced to the Hong Kong film industry as a child actor by his father. However, these were not martial arts films. His early martial arts experience included Wing Chun (trained under Yip Man), tai chi, boxing (winning a Hong Kong boxing tournament), and apparently frequent street fighting (neighbourhood and rooftop fights). In 1959, Lee moved to Seattle. In 1961, he enrolled in the University of Washington. It was during this time in the United States that he began considering making money by teaching martial arts, even though he aspired to have a career in acting. He opened his first martial arts school, operated out of home in Seattle. After later adding a second school in Oakland, California, he once drew significant attention at the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships of California by making demonstrations and speaking. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to teach, where his students included Chuck Norris, Sharon Tate, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In the 1970s, his Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the Hong Kong martial arts films to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of Western interest in Chinese martial arts. The direction and tone of his films dramatically influenced and changed martial arts and martial arts films worldwide.
He is noted for his roles in five feature-length Hong Kong martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest's The Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; and Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse. Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, based upon his portrayal of Chinese nationalism in his films and among Asian Americans for defying Asian stereotypes. Having initially learnt Wing Chun, tai chi, boxing, and street fighting, he combined them with other influences from various sources into the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist). Lee died in July 1973, aged 32. Since his death, Lee has continued to be a prominent influence on modern combat sports, including judo, karate, mixed martial arts, and boxing, as well as modern popular culture, including film, television, comics, animation, and video games. Time named Lee one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
