Foreword
The Tree within the Forest: The Wonderful Culture of Rivers and Lakes
“What comes to mind when you think of China?” When a professor asks students this question on the first day of a Chinese culture class, the answers may point to China’s economic boom, its vast market, the arts and painting, Daoism, Buddhism, Mao, or China’s burgeoning population. Increasingly, however, students speak of Kung fu or the martial arts. This answer reveals that some students might be in the habit of staying up late watching rented Kung fu movies in which Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li flash their martial prowess, kicking, fighting, and flying with superhuman skills. There is something liberating and transcendent about these Kung fu flicks that is irresistible, almost inspirational, particularly for young people recently freed from parental control and about to step on the academic treadmill. Hollywood has also been influenced by films such as Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou’s Hero, creating, in turn, movies like The Matrix, where digital technology and corporeal martial skills are blended to create a wonderful, if curious, cinematographic extravaganza.