Following its initial screenings in Beijing and Henan, Tai Chi rolled out across province after province, igniting an identical moviegoing frenzy everywhere it went.
The 480 release prints proved far from excessive. Attendance rates at virtually every cinema hovered around ninety percent, effectively gauging the total market capacity for urban theaters nationwide: at the very most, it could take another twenty prints, capping out at five hundred.
Those were the 35mm prints screened in cities. There were also 16mm prints distributed across townships and rural areas, where the numbers were vastly larger.
The reason box office statistics were so unreliable in this era was precisely because figures from the countryside and smaller towns were impossible to track. In many places, screenings were completely free, leaving authorities able to make only crude estimates based on the total number of prints distributed.
Premiering more than two months later than in Hong Kong, Tai Chi lived up to every expectation on the mainland, crushing all competitors like a relentless bulldozer.
"Almost overnight, practicing martial arts has exploded in popularity among the youth. Yet the movie's side effects are also becoming apparent. Group brawls and even criminal cases have erupted across various regions. Furthermore, throngs of adolescents have run away from home to seek apprenticeship in Chenjiagou."
"One parent reported that it was one thing for their child to practice punches and kicks, but the boy had taken to imitating the character Jade-Faced Erlang, Pink Butterfly, cutting up a pink mosquito net to wear as a robe and speaking in a vulgar, insolent drawl—which earned him a sound beating!"
"The excessive commercial entertainment and endless killing in Tai Chi offer zero benefit to adolescents. The martial arts depicted are pure nonsense, doing nothing but leading our youth astray!"
"Not long ago, Shanghai Television imported the Japanese TV series Sugata Sanshiro, only to pull it from broadcast mid-run after facing criticism for promoting Japanese bushido. Now Tai Chi faces similar questioning, leaving its future uncertain."
As the film swept across the nation, dissenting voices of every stripe began to crop up.
Clashes between conservatives and reformers existed in every era. Because the pull of Sugata Sanshiro had happened only that very year, people were genuinely worried that Tai Chi would suffer a similar fate.
Yet the outcome turned out entirely different.
Unlike the decision to pull Sugata Sanshiro, the leadership exhibited remarkable tolerance toward Tai Chi. The People's Daily even published a dedicated commentary:
"A film can generate positive, uplifting effects, just as it may bring about certain unfavorable side effects. If these side effects are not of a political nature and merely concern general social impact, they should not, as a rule, be blown out of proportion.
"We urge everyone to approach martial arts with rationality, guiding and educating the younger generation toward proper understanding rather than severing everything at the root with a single stroke. A small step taken by Tai Chi may well represent a giant leap forward for society."
An article in the People's Daily meant the official tone was set.
Seeing that Tai Chi had emerged unscathed, clever minds across the country sprang into action, sensing that an extraordinary era was about to dawn.
……
Shanghai Film Studio.
Deputy Studio Head Wang Lingu slammed his hand on the desk in excitement. He had bet right! He had bought four martial arts scripts from Chen Qi early on, perfectly catching the crest of this wave.
In a sense, making movies was much like investing: it all came down to catching the trend.
He immediately convened a meeting. "There is no need to dwell on the current situation," he declared. "Moving forward, our studio must release at least one martial arts film each year. In my hands, I hold four stories: Invincible Dual Kicks, Wudang, Great Shanghai 1937, and Blood on the Black Box. Let's discuss where we should start."
"Were these all written by Chen Qi?"
"Every one of them! They were published in Story Session right under our noses. But starting now isn't too late either!"
The room grew animated as everyone chimed in with enthusiasm, tossing ideas back and forth in spirited debate.
The film Shanghai Film Studio was most suited to make was naturally Great Shanghai 1937, but lacking experience in the genre, they worried about squandering such good material. Deciding to cut their teeth on a smaller project first, they settled on Invincible Dual Kicks.
……
Xi'an Film Studio.
Wu Tianming was busy claiming credit. "Shanghai Film Studio got there ahead of me, intending to snatch up every single script. Good thing I was quick on my feet and grabbed one. You even grumbled that two thousand yuan was too steep—how does it look now?
"Hey! Martial arts films are taking off, so we have to shoot Kyoto Ball Heroes right away. I volunteer to head to the capital, cast the actors, pull a crew together, and get straight to work!"
"Old Wu, you've never directed an action picture. Can you handle it?"
"Has any director in the country ever made one? Aren't we all starting from scratch? If you're worried, I can team up with Old Teng. A double guarantee!"
Old Teng was Teng Wenji, a fellow director at Xi'an Film Studio whose son was Teng Huatao—needless to say, quite a pair.
Wu Tianming and Teng Wenji were close friends who had already collaborated on two films. No one should assume Wu Tianming only made arthouse cinema; the man had a thoroughly wild, cultish streak. The 1989 television version of The Investiture of the Gods was cooked up by him, packed with partial nudity, gore, and brazen violence, exuding a bizarrely savage and primeval flair.
Pity it only ran for five episodes.
Later, when his daughter was studying in the United States, father and daughter ran a video rental shop and made dumplings by hand to scrape together a living. He stayed there for five years before friends finally helped him return to China.
Xi'an Film Studio had been at its peak back then, but when its locomotive suddenly vanished, it slid into a steep decline from which it never recovered.
For now, the studio head weighed the matter carefully before nodding in agreement. "All right. Kyoto Ball Heroes is yours to direct!"
……
Guangzhou.
The preparatory office of Wulin magazine.
In the past, traditional martial arts had been condemned as "poisonous weeds." It was not until 1979, when the state issued the Notice on Excavating and Collating Martial Arts Heritage, that martial arts gradually regained their standing.
This magazine had been conceived specifically in response to that call. Preparations had been underway for some time, aiming for an inaugural release in the second half of the year, but the explosive sensation of Tai Chi had disrupted their schedule.
"Our original content plan covered professional martial arts knowledge, anecdotes and legends from the martial arts community, short serialized comic strips, and folklore stories.
"There wasn't anything wrong with that initially, but now everyone is watching Tai Chi. I have a suggestion: could we contact Beijing Film Studio and the screenwriter to adapt Tai Chi into a serialized novel for our magazine?"
"Great idea!"
"That would definitely boost readability!"
"Exactly. Our inaugural issue has to sell well, otherwise we won't have any momentum moving forward."
"Speaking of readability, I have another proposal..."
Someone suddenly raised a hand and said, "I know an elder man of letters here in Guangzhou who has ties to the Hong Kong literary scene. Through him, we could reprint serialized Hong Kong novels, like those by Liang Yusheng or Jin Yong. What do you think?"
"Well..."
The editorial team hesitated. Liang Yusheng was a leftist, so that was fine, but Jin Yong was a far more delicate matter. Ming Pao, the paper he ran, had long taken cynical, mocking jabs at the mainland.
Amid the silence, the speaker added, "I have reliable word that Jin Yong has formally submitted a request to the Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong Branch to visit the mainland!"
"Really?"
"Is that dependable?"
"Completely reliable. And ever since reform and opening up began, Ming Pao has rarely criticized the mainland. Instead, it has praised the reform policies and lauded our leaders, with quite a few pieces penned by Jin Yong himself."
Put that way, everyone understood. In line with United Front policy, Jin Yong's relationship with the mainland was on the verge of a major shift.
Guangzhou had always been at the forefront of reform, bold and daring. The head of the editorial department weighed it over and over before finally slapping the table with a decision. "We reprint! We'll run Jin Yong's work. Our inaugural issue is going to be a smash hit!"
Chapter 187