Jackie Sings in Taipei with Chen Sisi

Jackie arrrived in Taipei this afternoon from Shanghai to sing with Chen Sisi in a concert.

Jackie Chan arrived in Taipei for Chen Sisi concert Kuadao

(Central News Agency reporter Qiu Jun Qin Taoyuan International Airport to 31, Xinhua)

Hong Kong artist Jackie Chan arrived in Taiwan on a flight this afternoon, and will attend the concert held by Chinese artist Chen Sisi at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Jackie Chan arrived in the afternoon by plane from Shanghai to Taiwan and will participate in the Chen Sisi concert held in Taipei. He said that because of his good personal friendship with Chen Sisi, he was invited to Taiwan, to participate in her concert performances

CNA NEWS

More news HERE as well some links on that page to some of the other news about the New Seven Little Fortunes visit to Taiwan over the last 2 weeks.

Jackie and Dragon Style Kung Fu

Well I was sitting here this morning wondering if there was such a thing as dragon-style kung fu. Not being one to sit for long with such thoughts I got up and came to find out from the wonderful world of the internet and google LOL.


And guess what! There is a style of Kung Fu known as Dragon Style and you can read about it on Wikipedia and in this article about the origins of dragon style.

What I found really interesting though is that Jackie uses dragon style in his 1979 movie Dragon Fist. Here is a clip of Jackie showing off dragon style.

What further interested me is that Jackie says in the documentary film Jackie Chan: My Story that his favourite style is Bak Mei and that the master of Dragon Style, Lam Yiu-Kwai and the master of Bak Mei; Cheung Lai-Chuen were good friends from their youth in the Dongjiang region of Huizhou, longtime training partners and later cousins by marriage. As a result Dragon style and Cheung's style of Bak Mei share many similarities.

And lastly the rules/code of Dragon Style sounds very similar to the principles Jackie has stated so often:

Four rules of the Dragon Style

1. Focus to train and condition the body.
   
2. Be righteous and uphold your honor.
   
3. Respect your parents, honor your teacher.
   
4. Treat others with honesty, treat your friends with loyalty.

Jackie Chan - Centurion (not the Roman Dude but as in 100)

Jackie Chan: The Centurion

The action star celebrates his 100th film

By Karen Chu

Oct 29, 2009, 01:00 PM ET


Jackie Chan timeline

Two questions into an interview in the windy courtyard of a Beijing clubhouse, Jackie Chan tries to show a trick with his very hot glass of tea -- and fails. Despite his fame, fortune and long filmography, it's hard not to think that the likable Chan resembles a big kid, a hyperactive one at that.

"I might have what the kids nowadays have -- ADD," he laughs.

Who can blame him? Between finishing "Little Big Soldier" from a script he's been writing on-and-off for the past 15 years; filming Columbia Pictures and China Film Group's "Kung Fu Kid"; and meeting with his longtime collaborator, Stanley Tong, for his 100th movie project, "Chinese Zodiac," he's got enough on his plate to give anyone ADD. And that doesn't even include the concert he's staged, the cameo he had in the epic "Founding of the Republic" and his attendance at numerous charitable and promotional events.

Just thinking about it is exhausting -- but not for Chan, who's a bundle of energy. His body doesn't ever seem to stop moving; he's constantly glancing around, shifting his weight, enthusiastic when he acts out a couple of his signature moves. Only when he talks about the things he's most passionate about -- like China and "Chinese Zodiac" -- does he suddenly become very still, his tone firm, allowing you to see the determination that has made him a global superstar. That, and the passers-by swooning before him.

Chan might have an easygoing, everyman quality, but he's clearly different, and he's been different ever since he was a child.

Chan's parents put him in the care of Chinese opera and martial arts master Yu Jim-yuen when he was 6. At 8, he made his first appearance on celluloid in the movie "Seven Little Valiant Fighters." It was 1962 and Chan was a live-in pupil at the China Drama Academy, which means he had to practice acrobatics and martial arts every day.

"Making movies meant I could have a whole lunchbox to myself," he recalls, clearly relishing the memory. "And it meant I didn't have to do my Peking Opera training."

Chan has few memories of what he did in those early films, but the stars he met have stayed with him. "We got to work with our idols -- Bai Yan, Cheung Wood-yau, and later, teen idols Connie Chan and Josephine Siu. I remember the uniformed maids of my godmother, Li Li-hua (who played Chan's mother in "The Story of Qin Xianglian" in 1963), and how she was always delighted to see me on set. I was no one's treasure at the academy, a cane to my face during training day after day; but on set, the lead actresses were always pinching and kissing me, showering me with affection." Still, he acknowledges, "I've never thought I'd be making films for life."

More than 40 years later, with the release of his 100th film, Derek Lee's grim action drama "Shinjuku Incident," Chan has entered a new phase in his career, transforming himself from the amiable character he usually portrays into someone more complex. His performance might come as a shock to his fans, but that is exactly what Chan had in mind.

"I thought if the audience accepted me in this role, it would give me tremendous freedom to play whatever roles I want in the future," he says of the film, which opened in April.

In the 1960s, Chan appeared in numerous films along with his "brothers and sisters" at the academy, known collectively as the Seven Little Fortunes. The eldest brother, Sammo Hung, left the academy when he came of age and earned his living as a stuntman. Envious of how the young and successful Hung was "rolling in money," Chan aspired to follow Hung's footsteps when it came time for him to leave the academy, too. He did just that, quickly becoming a reliable name in stuntmen circles, and eventually landing work in films like Bruce Lee's landmark 1970s martial arts blockbusters "Fist of Fury" (1972) and "Enter the Dragon" (1973).

After Lee's death in 1973, the Hong Kong film industry was desperate to fill the kung fu hero void and Chan was eager to separate himself from the stuntmen pack. He got his first starring roles with "Fist of Fury" director Lo Wei, who wanted to replicate Lee's success in a string of period kung fu films like "New Fist of Fury," "Shaolin Wooden Men" (both in 1976) and "To Kill With Intrigue" (1977).

In their eagerness to find another tough-guy persona, these early films failed to tap into the unique qualities that would eventually make Chan a star. It was only director-producer Ng See-yuen who saw Chan's potential and borrowed him from Lo, putting him in films tailor-made to showcase Chan's everyman and comedic sensibilities.

The one-two punch of "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" and "Drunken Master" in 1978, produced by Ng and directed by Yuen Woo-ping, became the major breakthroughs in Chan's career and ushered in a new style of action comedy.

Raymond Chow, the now-retired founder of Golden Harvest and the man responsible for discovering Bruce Lee, signed Chan to star in and direct a slate of films at the beginning of the 1980s, and thus began a 20-year working relationship that saw Chan steadily rise in popularity across the Asian region.

"Golden Harvest offered me HK$4.5 million to film 'The Young Master' in 1980, a sum that I could have used to buy a whole street in Kowloon Tong (an up-market residential district in Hong Kong) at that time," Chan recalls. "The day before I was earning HK$3,000 a film. Other studios such as Shaw Brothers offered me more, but Golden Harvest promised to make me an international star."

"The Young Master" topped the 1980 boxoffice chart in Hong Kong, and before long, Chan was shipped to Los Angeles to prepare for his Hollywood career.

A former journalist who worked for the United States Information Service during the 1950s, Chow saw it as his mission to make films starring Chinese actors for the U.S. market. He arranged for Chan to stay in Los Angeles to learn English and star in his first English-language actioner, 1980's "The Big Brawl." When the film failed to launch Chan's career in America, Chow landed Chan a role in 1981's "Cannonball Run," the wildly popular Burt Reynolds vehicle that featured a host of secondary parts played by major stars. It was Golden Harvest's first high-profile Hollywood investment, with the express purpose of introducing Chan to American audiences. While the movie was a hit, it would prove to be another false start, not quite establishing Chan as the household name Chow was hoping for.

So Chan returned to Hong Kong, where he soon began to take up directing duties. Ever since his days of working as a stuntman and action choreographer, Chan had always designed the action sequences in his films -- directing a whole film was the next logical move. After co-directing "The Fearless Hyena" in 1981, Chan's perfectionism shone through during the filming of his second solo directing project, 1982's "Dragon Lord," which caused studio head Raymond Chow enormous headaches.

"Part of the film was shot on location in Taiwan, and word came that it was running behind schedule," Chow recalls. "We asked Jackie to hurry up, get it done and come back to Hong Kong, but he didn't, so I flew over. It turned out that he had spent 40 days on a scene of him kicking a shuttlecock, an admittedly very difficult and elaborate action sequence involving all kinds of jumps and somersaults that he intended to do in one continuous shot. I was amazed. I told him, 'Jackie, film is make-believe! Why don't you make do with editing?' He was adamant. In the end, he did it in one take."

The memory still brings a smile to Chow's face almost 30 years later, but it probably helps that the film grossed nearly HK$11 million ($1.4 million) in Hong Kong, breaking the local boxoffice record at a time when cinema admission cost a few Hong Kong dollars. Chan next directed and starred in the action adventure "Project A" (1982), which promptly collected HK$19 million ($2.4 million) in Hong Kong, ¥3.1 billion ($34.6 million) in Japan, and cemented Chan's status as the region's top superstar, action or no action.

Just as Chan was persistent in his quest for the perfect action shot, Golden Harvest was unrelenting in the promise to take Chan out of Asia. Hence 1985's "The Protector," with a young American director at the helm, a script by American screenwriters and a location shoot in the U.S.

"I worshipped Hollywood at the time, so I was initially very impressed by this American production," Chan says. But his years in front of and behind the camera caused friction with the relatively inexperienced director, and after the film and its reshot Asian version flopped in the U.S. and Asia, Chan decided to take matters into his own hands.

"It proved to me that, as much as I thought I was the king in Asia, I was a nobody in America. Since I played a New York cop in 'The Protector,' I thought, 'I'll show you how to make a police movie.' " The result: 1985's "The Police Story," which became an enormous hit in Hong Kong and spawned four sequels. Chan displayed his now-famous daredevil instincts in the death-defying stunts in the film, which later nearly cost him his life.

In 1986, during location shooting in then-Yugoslavia for the action comedy "Armor of God," Chan wanted to try a stunt that required him to jump down from a tree. Rehearsals went fine and he did a good take, but he wasn't satisfied. During the next take he slipped, landed on a rock and cracked his skull. After intensive surgeries and good luck, he survived, but many wondered why a superstar who earned more than HK$5 million per picture would feel compelled to take such risks.

Chan's answer is simple: "I didn't know how to shoot action scenes, I only knew how to risk my life to make a good shot. Whether or not it would please the audience wasn't on my mind; I only wanted to do the stunt well. Ever since the beginning I've felt a sense of responsibility, if one movie succeeded it meant there will be another one; then my colleagues and I could carry on," he says.

After "The Police Story" sequels, Chan made "Rumble in the Bronx," directed by Stanley Tong, who worked with Chan on the third and fourth installments of the cop series. The 1995 actioner, shot in Canada, topped the Hong Kong boxoffice charts with HK$57 million and remains one of the top five grossing local films a decade later. But more importantly, the film's success finally made good on the promise Golden Harvest and Raymond Chow's made to him: The Golden Harvest-New Line joint-venture was released nationwide on more than 1,700 screens and grossed $32.4 million, making it the most successful Hong Kong production to be released in America.

After "Rumble" the Brett Ratner-directed "Rush Hour" (1998) gave Chan his first Hollywood starring role, and the three-part series would eventually gross $850 million worldwide -- though Chan never hid his discontent with the series, believing the film's humor and the action didn't suit him.

That mix of humor and action changed starkly with the release of "Shinjuku Incident."

"Audiences were shocked," he says. "This film marked me as an actor, not just an action star. It was a transition I had to make."

He may be an actor, but he's still fundamentally a star -- as the passers-by make clear, staring at him with undisguised admiration. He shrugs them off, unfazed after so many years.

He grins his trademark grin. "Let's go into the cabin there," he shrugs. "There're too many girls."

BACKSTAGE.COM

My comments - the flippant ADD comment by Jackie is a joke - he doesn't have ADD otherwise it is a nice article with a few interesting tidbits for long time fans and a good general background for new fans.

Jackie Chan, Elvis and Dirty Laundry

So I finally got round to uploading this video because although it is available online from TV streaming channels it is not easily accessible.

If you want to watch it from the streaming video rather then it is available HERE You want Season 25 Episode 20

Some unusual Green Tea recipes

Iced Green Tea 

You should never brew Green Tea with hot water and then cool it to prepare cold, or iced tea because it loses the anti-oxidants while cooling. Instead double the amount of the Green Tea leaves (usual amount 1 teaspoon of leaves per cup) used to brew it in cold water in a sealed container. This way you keep the aroma, the natural color and the medicinal health benefits of the Green Tea.  

To make the Green Tea concentrate for these recipes triple the amount of tea leaves and leave to brew for aproximately 30 minutes per cup.

Green Apple Sparkler 

1 1/3 cups green tea concentrate
1 1/3 cups apple juice
1 1/3 cups sparkling water
 Ice cubes

Combine tea concentrate, apple juice and sparkling water. 
Pour into ice filled glasses. 
Makes 4 servings.

Green Tea ginger Sparkler 
 
1 1/3 cups green tea concentrate
¼ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 2/3 cups chilled ginger ale
Ice cubes

Combine ginger and tea concentrate for at least one hour. 
Strain and discard ginger. 
Pour concentrate and ginger ale into ice filled glasses. 
Makes 4 servings.
 
Papaya Nectar Green Tea 

1 1/3 cups green tea concentrate
1 1/3 cups Papaya Fruit Juice
3 Tsp. Honey
Ice cubes

Combine tea concentrate, papaya nectar and honey. 
Pour into ice filled glasses. 
Makes 4 servings.

Apricot Tea Sparkler 

1 1/3 cups green tea concentrate
1 1/3 cups apricot  juice
1 1/3 cups sparkling water
Ice cubes

Combine concentrate, apricot nectar and sparkling water. 
Pour into ice filled glasses. 
Makes 4 servings.

Green Tea Yogurt 

1 Teaspoon of green tea leaves
1 16 oz plain yogurt
2 Tbs. Honey (or to taste)
 
Mix the crushed green tea leaves into yogurt. 
Add honey and mix well. 
Let it stand two minutes. 

(Note: You can substitute Jasmine Green Tea leaves in place of the regular flavored tea leaves.)

Jasmine Sour Cream 
 
½ Teaspoon of Jasmine green tea
1 ½ cup sour cream 

In a small bowl, combine the Jasmine green tea leaves to ½ cup of sour cream. 
Mix well.
Spread over baked potatoes, or use as a seafood dip.
 
Jasmine Vinegar
 
4 Teaspoons of Jasmine green tea
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ cup Virgin Olive Oil

In a jar combine all ingredients and shake well. 
Refrigerate. 
It is great dressing over salads or pasta.

As I said ...

As I said previously I like playing with graphics (and as I am so not a professional it is indeed 'playing') - here are two recent experiments.

Jackie Chan intends to attend the opening ceremony of Green Forum

According to reporters from the second session of the Organizing Committee of the China Green Development Forum acknowledged that the international well-known philanthropist, Vice Chairman of China Film Association Jackie Chan intends to attend the November 13 this year in Beijing Great Hall of the opening of the second session of the China Green Development Forum. Up to now, in China Green News and Sohu, China launched the green channel nomination List Top Ten Green NEWSMAKER-line public voting campaign, supported by the high rate of Jackie Chan has maintained the first position. From the November 13 awards ceremony there are 10 days time, Jackie Chan, could end up China's top ten green and newsmakers have no suspense, because Chan was already in people's minds as "green people". Jackie Chan has always been very concerned about the green Green Forum newsmaker selection activities, he was also named a finalist for last year's first Top 30 China Top Ten Green headlines.

In order to pay back the community Jackie Chan in 1988 established a charitable foundation named after himself to help poor children, the disabled, the elderly, and those in the field of science and the arts rather pursue students. Over the years, whether it is making a donation, or endorsement charities, from Hong Kong to the Mainland, from Asia to Africa, can see the Jackie Chan's shadow. With Jackie Chan's expansion of influence in the world, Jackie Chan's charity towards the world began, and now, Jackie Chan in nearly 30 countries, more than 50 cities have done a hundreds of good things. In recent years, Jackie Chan has gradually plunge into a series of public events to go, and mainly concentrated in the environment, health, natural disasters, charity student, the Olympic Games and other projects. Jackie Chan and former Beatles member Paul McCartney, U2 band members Bono, etc. along with Forbes magazine's "world's top ten charitable celebrities." Jackie Chan for the artists expressed their views on the responsibility, public charities have a starting point, but there is no end, we should always do so until it can not do so far. Environmental protection is everyone's responsibility and obligation to, artists are public figures, artists of the words and deeds have on society a wide range of effects, and therefore must shoulder certain social responsibilities, publicity of environmental protection, promoting green living, art that people can not shirk of social responsibility. Artists should take advantage of every opportunity to promote environmental protection, and set an example for environmental protection as something practical.

SINA.COM

Stunning photos of Jackie and other artists

I apologise for the photo's not displaying yesterday. I didn't realise that they were not until I checked the blog last night. I have now uploaded the photos to my own album.


Same photographer as the other ones I posted but these ones of Jackie are just so stunning!

and a few of the other artists:

Photos from the front row

These photos were taken by a person attending the concert who was seated in the first row and posted on a Chinese bulletin board HERE. There are a few photos on the link I haven't posted here of the other artists.

Be warned the person did NOT optimise the images for the web as fully as possible so they are very large files.

More photos from Jackie's Visit to Tangshan

PHOTO'S - HEBEI.COM

Concert Videos from Tangshan

These look like they were recorded by members of the audience but enjoy anyway:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Dragon's Heart Tangshan

Today Jackie donated 1 million yuan to assist with school renovation and expansion at the Luannan Jiang zi Jackie Chan Heart Primary School.

October 27, the international superstar Jackie Chan came to Luannan in Hebei Province, one million yuan donation to help the school renovation and expansion Luannan Jiang zi Jackie Chan Heart Primary School, which is already in China Jackie Chan donated the first 23 The Dragon Seed Heart Primary School. The photo shows such as Jackie Chan and elementary school teachers with primary school laid the foundation stone for the school.

CHINA NEWS.COM

In a shabby classroom, Jackie Chan and elementary school students eat the lunch of rape, fried white mushrooms and rice, while chatting enthuisiastically.

CHINA NEWS.COM

BEIJING, Tangshan, October 27 (Xinhua Baiyun water) here today in the international superstar Jackie Chan, Hebei Province Luannan primary, attended the foundation laying ceremony of Dragon's Heart Primary School. And with his successful experience in public school warning: Be sure to study well and grow up to serve the country.

"Jackie Chan, we love you!" Jackie Chan's car had 502 primary school children tightly surrounding it. In the smiling faces and full of childish voices cheering, he repeatedly shouted "I am deeply moved, touched ah!"

According to Kang Primary School Shou dream bubble introduction, Jackie Chan came to Hebei Luannan this is based on his great love of the heart in here to donate money to one million yuan to help the school renovation and expansion into a "Dragon's Heart Primary School" This is Jackie Chan donated in the mainland's first 23 Dragon Heart Primary School.

Close to lunchtime, Jackie Chan and about a dozen elementary school students each received a box of fried mushrooms and white rice for lunch, in a humble classroom relish eating up. While the international superstar Jackie Chan is the first time to eat together, but these villages baby but he is not stage fright, curiosity drove them to the left a right a question ask a question could not finish. While Chan has been smiling to drink and chat for the growth of his experience and success stories patiently answered their questions. After listening to public school children, have boasted, "Jackie Chan is terrific ah!"

Jackie Chan wearing a red scarf two children have been infected by young innocence from time to time raised his right hand back to the Young Pioneers to their ceremony. He said that the child I am a poor child, the age of nine to have a leather jacket the joy was intense. Today, I came here to help you build a Dragon's Heart primary school, do not be grateful to me, and I want to tell you to study well and serve the country after the big.

"I love my home, I love my country. Country is my country is my home," Jackie Chan's whim, to teach the children sang the "Guo Jia", Jackie Chan singing and teaching children how to sign language with their interpretation of this is the first patriotic songs. In the song and laughter, the love of Jackie Chan's environmental protection cause and interest to hand-sewn with the kids has played a green shopping bag, and asked the children "to care for our planet, and cherish our beloved homeland."

Jackie Chan's visit is his "Dragon's Heart - Love Tangshan" an important element of charitable activities. 26, Jackie Chan was held in Tangshan, "Charity auction", a total of 5.06 million yuan was raised for charity, at the evening concerts all donated to the local Red Cross

CHINA NEWS.COM


Jackie has lunch with the students.
TANGSHAN HUANBOHAINEWS


Jackie also visited a rehabilitation center for paraplegic patients:






and a school for the deaf and blind:





TANGSHAN HUANBOHAINEWS



In the news you will see Jackie had a lunch of fried mushrooms, rice and a vegetable translated as 'rape'. The only rape I knew was rape seed oil, which I know is not edible as a vegetable. So here is the information on the Chinese rape or more correctly Yu Choy

Love knows no boundaries

Jackie opened the concert in Tangshan with these words ....

"Love knows no boundaries, Love does not know race and Love does not divide us...."

So ... on that note ... here are the first photos of the concert:

Bohai Sea News Network (Xinhuanet Kaneta red) star-studded Golden Autumn Night. October 26 evening, Jackie Chan, "Dragon Seed Heart - love Tangshan line" Stars Love concert staged in Tangshan Stadium Nightlife. The United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Jackie Chan together internationally renowned Ming-min, Evonne Hsu, Zhou T Chang, Long Pang, Jie, Michael Wong, Adu, Kan Mi Yeon, etc. mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan and South Korea more than 10 stars, for the Tangshan just give the audience a platform loving the show.

A period of "Dragon Seed Heart" of the APIs, the wearing beige clothes Jackie Chan first Chinese appearance, he addressed the language of humor on the easy opening words. Jackie Chan's discourse between the showing of love thanks to dedicated people in Tangshan, he said: "Love knows no boundaries, love is a race, and love is regardless of you my ... ..." and called on the audience audience stood together, hand in hand to pass love together usher in a wonderful night.

That night, Jackie Chan singing the "Tall in the saddle" "Myth" "Drunken Master" "National" and six classic tracks, and to the real natural modes of communication to narrow the distance with the audience, and constantly mobilize the scene of the fiery passion fans . Context throughout the evening of 5 APIs, let people step by step understanding of a "dragon child heart" project, it has been all over the world in every corner, every place has left a Jackie Chan for the charitable cause of the string passed footprints, and sow the piece of love.

The scene, from the National 22, "Dragon Seed Heart" Hope primary schools representative of power, personally the love of Jackie Chan charity gratitude. A primary school from Henan of a mentally retarded boy singing loudly sang, "Tall in the saddle," and he kept saying: "Jackie Chan, I love you!" Attracted the audience applause. Tangshan, "Love Garden" Several children brought flowers for Jackie Chan, and invited him to "Love Park" guest. Rehabilitation of the village two Tangshan Tangshan earthquake after the earthquake survivors described the strong face of life's experiences and Chan shook hands, saying: "You know you want to see us tomorrow, all could not sleep with excitement about her."

In particular, the main event on the evening people shocked, Jackie Chan into the afternoon in Tangshan Charity auction raised a total of 6.051 million yuan donated to charity in Tangshan City, the Red Cross, for charitable work. Tangshan City, Red Cross official said that, we must build a good loving platform for Jackie Chan's love in Tangshan pass, so that 'Dragon Seed Heart' carry forward the spirit of loving devotion.

Colorful flowers everywhere, and erected a white piano. When the Malaysian singer Michael Wong co-operation with the pianist of the romantic ballad Acoustic "fairy tale" "first" music sounded a time when many young audiences inside chorus singing, immersed in a warm ambience; the other one from the Malaysia's singer bull with a "My cattle," "Waves of a blossoming" farm-gate, letting the audience feel the dynamism of the summer sea joy in the breeze.

Concert, a number of star guests bring to the audiences outside of their classic tracks, but also expressed Jackie Chan "Dragon sub-heart" operations support, and said that inspired by Jackie Chan's love and dedication, and will do its utmost to plunge into love among the public welfare undertakings.

Although the late autumn chill of the night is getting stronger, but it lasted three and a half-hour show was one climax after another, cheering rounds. Passion singing star on stage, and the audience love is surging, a common feature in stars and the audience love and gratitude among the people living in such a dynamic, passion and love of the city pride and glory. Finally, all-star collective appearance in Jackie Chan's leadership, together sang "A Hero Never Dies", concert site into a love of the sea.

tangshan.huanbohainews