Bruce Lee Siu-lung, born on Nov. 27, 1940, was a Hong Kong and American actor, martial artist, and philosopher.
Birth and pre-school life
Lee’s original name was Lee Jun-fan, he first used the name Bruce Lee in the release of the 1950 film The Kid, which was given to him by the film's scriptwriter Yuen Po Wan. He was named like this because Lee was born in the Chinese Lunar Year of the Dragon and at the time of the dragon, which is between 7 am and 9 am.
Born in San Francisco, Bruce Lee grew up in an actor’s family. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen, was one of the four most famous chou roles, which are clowns in traditional Chinese operas, in Cantonese opera in Hong Kong. He was born during his father's performance in Chinatown when his mother and three siblings went to the United States together.
As early as when Lee was three months old, he was already featured in the Cantonese film Golden Gate Girl, which was a movie about a love tragedy in the Chinese community in San Francisco.
Bruce Lee as an infant sits with his mother Grace Ho and father Lee Hoi-chuen, a famous Cantonese Opera actor. Photo from Sohu
Pre-adulthood life in Hong Kong
Lee was educated in Hong Kong before becoming an adult. He studied at Tak Sun School, a Catholic boys' primary school in Tsim Sha Tsui, from 1947 to 1951. For the next five years, he attended La Salle College in Kowloon Tong to continue his primary and secondary studies.
He started acting in films at the age of six and practicing Chinese martial arts with his father since he was in primary school. In 1953, the energetic Lee started taking Wing Chung classes from Master Ip Man.
Because of Lee's extra-curricular activities such as making films and practising martial arts, he did not do well in his studies at that time. In 1956, he transferred to Tai Kok Tsui’s St. Francis Xavier's College to continue his secondary school studies.
Lee's martial arts training helped him to win the 1958 Hong Kong Inter-School Boxing Championships in the junior division, but it also made him fight more. In the same year, Bruce Lee was criticised by the Hong Kong police due to his fight, which eventually led to his parents sending him to the United States to continue his studies.
By the time he left Hong Kong in 1959, he had appeared in 23 Cantonese movies.
Bruce Lee appears in My Son A-Chang, a Cantonese film. Photo from kknews
Lee practices Wing Chun with Ip Man. Photo from the internet
Bruce Lee lived in 218 Nathan Road before adulthood. Photo from the Internet
Bruce Lee appears in My Son A-Chang, a Cantonese film. Photo from kknews
Going to the USA, the start of his career
After he attained a secondary school degree in Seattle, Lee was admitted to Washington University for a bachelor's degree in drama, where he also took many philosophy classes.
As early as 1959, in the US, Lee started to teach martial arts, which he named “Jun Fan Gung Fu”, which means Bruce Lee’s martial arts in Cantonese and is a martial art based on Wing Chun with his own modifications to make it more practical. He later founded the Jun Fan Gung Institute in Seattle, Oakland, and Los Angeles between 1962 and 1967.
Lee was invited to film the American TV series The Green Hornet in 1965 and play Kato, the assistant of the Green Hornet, after being discovered by producers during a martial arts performance. The TV series showcases Lee’s superior martial arts skills. Yet, after filming one season, Lee found himself out of work and devoted himself to martial arts teaching.
Lee put forward the concept of Jeet Kune Do in 1967 after several years of thinking about the development of martial arts. This is a martial arts philosophy that emphasizes practicality and draws inspiration from many martial arts.
He got married to Linda Emery, who was at the same universitiy with him, secretly in 1964. Their first son Brandon was born in 1965 and their daughter Shannon in 1969.
 The symbol of Jeet Kune Do is designed by Bruce Lee. Photo from the Hong Kong Jeet Kune Do Instructor Association |  Bruce Lee acts Kato in the Green Hornet. Photo from American Heritage Center |  Lee gets married with Linda Cadwell and has two children. Photo from the Bruce Lee Foundation |
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Returning to Hong Kong, reaching the pinnacle of his career
In order to achieve greater development in the film industry, in 1971, Lee signed a contract with Golden Harvest, a newly established Hong Kong film company, and acted in The Big Boss. The film was released at the end of 1971 and became the highest-grossing movie in Hong Kong.
He then filmed Fist of Fury and broke the income record again. In the next two movies collaborating with Golden Harvest, The Way of The Dragon and Game of Death, in which he only finished fighting shots because of his sudden death, he gained more rights to participate in creation. Meanwhile, he collaborated with Warner Bros. to star in Enter the Dragon in 1972, which grossed over US$400 million (HK$3140 million) worldwide and was selected as the best martial arts movie of all time by the Guardian in 2013.
With these four and a half films, Lee promoted Chinese martial arts to the world, laid the foundations for Hong Kong to become the “Hollywood of the East”, and sparked a wave of martial arts films in the West. More importantly, he changed the perception of the Chinese as weak.
Sudden death and legacy
On July 20, 1973, at the age of 32, Bruce Lee died in the apartment in Kowloon Tong of Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress who had an intimate relationship with Bruce Lee.
His death at his lover's home caused a major uproar, and although the official cause was cerebral edema, there were many rumours in the community. According to his autopsy report, some believe he died of an overdose of cannabis, while others believe it was a drug allergy. There were also a few who speculated that he had been assassinated or even cursed by his competitors or criminal syndicates, such speculations became more popular after his son Brandon was shot and killed with a prop gun on the set of a film in 1993.
“I myself do not hold any person or people responsible for his death,” before leaving Hong Kong, Lee’s wife Emery said.
New research suggests that Lee may have died due to a form of kidney failure to remove excess water from his body.
Lee was buried in Seattle, where he first started teaching martial arts and was Emery’s hometown.
“Your inspiration continues to guide us toward our personal liberation,” wrote on Bruce Lee’s grave.
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His influence continues today, with an association formed in his honour, a tourist trail associated with him, his films repeated tens of thousands of times, hundreds of people learning the martial arts he pioneered, and his bronze statue standing at the entrance to the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, greeting visitors as they come and go.
He has also become a calling card for Hong Kong overseas and has influenced many local people with his dedication to excellence and openness.
On the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee's death, this feature article commemorates the legend who died so young.