17016 Jackie Chan. Who wouldn’t know Jackie Chan? He is the Bruce Lee of his time. When people say “Kung Fu” or “Asian action,” the first name that comes to everybody’s mind nowadays is Jackie Chan. Everybody knows he is the man from Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, kids enjoy his Jackie Chan Adventures, videogame addicts play his games, music lovers hear his name in songs, and grateful people know how generous he is in extending his help. He seems to have had an instant success in the movie industry given his status today. It’s easy to assume that every movie he did made it big, though his story shows otherwise.
Born in Hong Kong on April 7, 1954, his parents named him Chan Kong-sang simply meaning “born in Hong Kong.” His parents who were refugees from the Chinese Civil War, Charles and Lee-lee Chan, were poor they even had to borrow money from their friends to be able to pay the doctor. As a child he always had very high energy to play around that his parents nicknamed him Pao-pao which is the Chinese word for “cannonball.” Since both of his parents worked for the French ambassador as a cook and housekeeper, Jackie spent his young years in the diplomat’s residence in the Victoria Peak. To put this energy to good use, his father woke him up early everyday to practice kung fu which Charles believed would help the young Chan to build his character, and learn patience, strength, and courage. He was not the kind of student who excelled that his parents withdrew him from Nah-Hwa Primary school located in Hong Kong Island. In 1960, when Jackie was only seven years old, his father got the opportunity to work as head cook for the American Embassy in Canberra, Australia.
Comments are closed.