Philosophy And Martial Arts

When Enter the Dragon was released in 1973, it introduced Bruce Lee to western audiences. A joint product of American and Hong Kongese collaboration, the film also introduced Asian cultural components to America, specifically philosophy and martial arts. Film director Robert Clouse implements many cultural components into this film, including Asian philosophies and tactics from The Art of War, but the diverse cast causes this film to be more specifically tied to Hong Kong, rather than mainland China. The Art of War is an ancient Chinese text written during the Spring and Autumn Period whose authorship is attributed to the military strategist Sun Tzu.

Composed of 13 chapters, each chapter deals with a difference aspect of warfare and teaches the reader on how to overcome the enemy, even when at a great disadvantage. In Enter the Dragon, the character of Lee sets out on a mission to expose the crime lord Han. During his quest, we see many instances where Sun Tzu’s stratagems apply.

Sun Tzu says “Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” According to Sun Tzu, if you can beat your opponent while preventing them from directly fighting you then you should choose this path. In the film, when Lee is travelling to the island on a junk ship he is confronted by Parsons. Though Lee probably did not know this man and his fighting capabilities, he was aware that he was another contestant and witnessed him physically bullying crewmen on the ship.

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Parsons asks Lee what his style is, which to he replied “The art of fighting without fighting.” Parsons becomes intrigued and invites Lee for a fight to show this style, Lee pretends to agree and tricks him into getting on a boat, where Lee extends the rope right away and forces Parsons to travel alone on the small boat for the remainder of the trip. Sun Tzu also says “In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.” Again in this scene, Lee uses deception to defeat his opponent without even having to fight him.

Later in the film, Lee again practices “the art of fighting without fighting” when he uses a venomous cobra to clear out the underground radio room of Han’s henchmen. Thus, avoiding combat and establishing radio contact with the British intelligence officer Braithwaite. Sun Tzu says “If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.” In the film we witness Lee as a fearless warrior who does not back down unless he absolutely has no other choice. Such was the case later in the film, when the guards were alerted about the intruder in Han’s underground lair and tried to find him. Lee at first tries to avoid the guards and attempts to escape quietly, however after his cover was blown he tries to fight his way out. He only retreats after subduing a group of guards and when he’s faced with another group of guards whom this time were equipped with weapons. Lee becomes cornered and this time has no other choice but to fight all of his enemies around him, although he still emerges as the victor even in this case, he eventually becomes trapped in a room, where he finally decides to stop and save his energy for the upcoming consequences and his confrontation with Han. Sun Tzu says “If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch.

All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.”Towards the end of the film, all hell breaks loose as Han’s prisoners are freed and join Lee and Roper in the fight against Han and his men.  After a dangerous confrontation with Lee, Han uses the first opportunity to escape to his palace and takes refuge in a mysterious room full of mirrors. This puts Lee at a great disadvantage, as he was not familiar with Han’s special room. But, as Sun Tzu advises, Lee wishes to fight and therefore he must lure out his enemy out into the open by attacking “other places”, in this case Lee breaks every mirror he comes across until Han is forced to come out from hiding and face him, which leads to Han’s demise and to Lee’s victory. There is a lot of philosophical discussion in Enter the Dragon. After his first fight, Lee engages in a deep discussion with the Shaolin Abbot at the monastery. The Abbot praises Lee saying that his talents have gone above physical level, and asks Lee what the highest technique he hopes to achieve is, to which Lee replies “To have no technique.”

When the Abbot asks him about his thoughts when facing an opponent Lee answers “There is no opponent…because the word “I” does not exist.” Lee gives the Shaolin Abbot collectivist answers, which oppose individualism, and are reminiscent of Taoist doctrine. In Enter the Dragon, we witness diversity in the film before we even meet any non-Asian actors. In the beginning of the film when Lee fights his opponent at the Shaolin Monastery, we see him use a series of judo throws before he finally uses a jiu-jitsu crucifix into forcing his opponent to tap out; both judo and jiu-jitsu are types of Japanese martial arts. And as mentioned, the cast is quite diverse, where two of the four leading characters, Roper and Williams are American.

When Williams meets Han in his palace, he is interrogated by Han and becomes uncomfortable, to which he reacts by telling Han “Man, you come right out of a comic book.” This reference made by Williams is surely to be relatable with much of the audience who are familiar with American comic books, as Han fits the stereotypical description of a comic book villain. With the implementation of Chinese philosophies and stratagems, an international English-speaking cast, and the use of Japanese fighting techniques by a non-Japanese actor in a film that’s made by Americans and hong Kongers, which was probably unheard of at the time, really ties this film to Hong Kong. Enter the Dragon is not Chinese enough to be Chinese film, it isn’t American enough to be American film, but it is such a perfect blend that it has become an important and an immortal part of Hong Kong Cinema.