HONG KONG: Hong Kong businessman W. Wong still remembers the day in 1972 when he first heard neighbourhood kids rave about a figure who seemed larger than life: Bruce Lee.

Lee, a consummate martial artist whose films spawned a kung fu craze around the world, was one of the first Asian men to achieve Hollywood superstardom before his death at 32.

His influence can still be felt in Hong Kong, where he spent his childhood and final years, as fans this week hold exhibitions and martial arts workshops to mark the 50th anniversary of Lee’s death.

“Every child needs some kind of role model, and I chose Bruce Lee,” said Wong, 54, who has led the city’s largest fan club devoted to the star for nearly three decades.

“I had hoped my life would resemble the Bruce Lee I saw: handsome, strong, with great martial arts skills and a heroic image.” At a studio for Wing Chun — a style of martial arts Lee practised before inventing his own Jeet Kune Do method — the martial arts master is revered as something akin to a patron saint.

Studio owner Cheng Chi-ping, 69, said his cohort began their training under the shadow of Lee’s cultural influence but “we could never match his speed, strength or physique”. Lee’s appeal had not diminished for the next generation, said Mic Leung, 45, who trained at the same studio and, as a teenager, sought out Lee’s movies on old videotapes.

“When we talk about the ‘god of martial arts’, we could only be talking about Bruce Lee. There is no one else,” he said.

Born in San Francisco in 1940, Lee was raised in Hong Kong and had an early brush with fame as a child actor, supported by his father, who was a famous Cantonese opera singer.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2023