User:Joshicheng/sandbox

Impact
In the past century, the Chinese martial art, Kung Fu, have been facing suppression and rejection. During the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial reign of China, Kung Fu has been suppressed by the ruler for fear of rebellious actions, so one could only practice it secretly, forming secret clans. Later, under Chairmen Mao's reign, especially during the Cultural Revolution, the practice of Kung Fu has been rejected by the people at that time, as one of the aims of the revolution is to 破四舊, meaning to remove "old thinking, old culture, old custom and old tradition." Practicing Kung Fu is what one would consider as living in the "Old times," following traditions. Hence, people who practice Kung Fu, especially the Kung Fu masters, faced serious consequences, from public humiliation to execution. This traditional martial art went through a long and painful period, and development was almost stopped. However, in the last 50 years, we started to see an increase in popularity in Kung Fu. It started with a series of movies about the folk legend Wong Fu Hung, then to one of the most famous action stars, Bruce Lee, who is a student of Ip Man, the creator of Wing Chun. Kung Fu, once regarded as a disgraced, a forbidden tradition, has been brought back to life, all thanks to a large amount of Kung Fu themed movies. In recent days, Kung Fu has evolved; it is newly related to one of the Chinese quintessence, giving it a new height, a new meaning to this Chinese tradition.

The success of the Ip Man film series has to lead the promotion of not only Wing Chun, but Kung Fu to the world. Donnie Yan's proficiency in different styles of martial art has to lead him to be admired by a lot of people, some who would call him 宇宙最強 (the most powerful man in the universe) for his excellent martial art skills. With Donnie Yen starring in different movies Hollywood like XXX: Return of Xander Cage and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, his popularity pushed the audience base of this film series beyond Asia. Recently, Netflix started streaming more and more movies about Chinese martial art, Kung Fu, as such, we can see that the Ip Man film series boosted the popularity of Kung Fu, especially Wing Chun to the world.

Not only did the series promote Kung Fu to the world, but it also acted as a bridge that connects the "Old China" and "New China." Kung Fu was, as mentioned, was seen as related to a bad tradition under Chairman Mao's reign. It is however, quite the opposite now, Kung Fu is now related to nationalism and national pride, as more and more people start to appreciate this tradition. As portrayed in the different film series, the various Kung Fu movies often touch on topics about national pride and patriotism. These characters could all been found in the Ip Man film series that was directed by Wilson Yip, from fighting the Japanese invaders in the first film in the series to battle racism faced by Chinese Americans in the fourth and last film to the series. As Donnie Yan is a pop star and being highly skilled in Kung Fu, him playing as Ip Man in the film series creates a plate for tradition and modernity to cross path, a pop star playing an important figure in the Kung Fu world.