The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, also known as The Master

Killer and Shaolin Master Killer, is a 1978 Shaw Brothers kung fu lm directed by Liu Chia-liang and starring
Gordon Liu.

General Tien Ta - portrayed by Lo Lieh

The lm follows a highly ctionalized version of San Te, a

legendary Shaolin martial arts disciple who trained under
the general Chi Shan.

Hung Hsi-Kuan - portrayed by Yu Yang

36th Chamber of Shaolin is widely considered to be one of

the greatest kung fu lms and a turning point in its directors and stars careers.[2][3][4] It was followed by Return
to the 36th Chamber, which was more comedic in presentation and featured Gordon Liu as the new main character with another actor in the smaller role of San Te, and
Disciples of the 36th Chamber.

Tung Chien-Ching - portrayed by Wu Hang-Sheng

Rice Miller Six - portrayed by Wang Yu

Lu Ah Tsai - portrayed by Hsu Shao-Chiang

3 Production
4 Distribution

Plot

The lm was released on VHS as early as 1993.[6] It was

released on DVD in February 2000 by Crash Cinema Media under the title Shaolin Master Killer.[7] In 2007, it was
released on DVD by Dragon Dynasty as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.[8] It has also been released on Blu-ray as
of 2 March 2010 from Vivendi Visual Entertainment.

A young student named Liu Yude, later known as San Te,

is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion
against the Manchu government. The government ocials suppress the uprising and liquidate the school, killing
friends and family members as well. San Te then decides
to seek vengeance. Wounded in an attack by Manchu
henchmen, he ees to the Shaolin temple and seeks training in kung fu. Initially the Buddhist monks reject him, 5 Reception
since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot takes mercy on
the young man and lets him stay. One year later, he begins 36th Chamber of Shaolin is widely considered to be one
his martial arts training in the temples 35 chambers and of the greatest kung fu lms ever made and a highly inadvances more rapidly than any previous student. Along uential entry in the genre.[2][3][4]
the way, he is depicted as inventing the three section sta.
According to the Harvard Film Archive, the lm is an
However, as San Te nears the end of his education, the exhilarating rendition of the legendary dissemination of
temple ocially exiles him in a surreptitious way to al- the Shaolin martial arts and an absorbing account of
low him to aid the people against the oppressors. He re- [an] initiation into the vaunted Shaolin style, ... depicted
turns to the outside world, namely to his hometown, and here [as] an inner voyage of discovery.[1]
assists the people by teaching them martial arts. Before
In 2014, Time Out polled several lm critics, directors,
the political revolution he is inspiring to complete, he is
actors and stunt actors to list their top action lms.[9] The
forced into conict with the Manchu governor. Finally,
36th Chamber of Shaolin was listed at 29th place on this
he triumphs and returns to the Shaolin temple, where he
list.[10]
establishes the 36th chamber, a special martial arts class
for laypeople to learn kung fu.

6 See also

Cast

List of Dragon Dynasty releases

The lms trailer credits the cast as follows[5]

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) a 1993 album

whose title was in part inspired by the lm

Liu Yude/Monk San Te - portrayed by Liu Chia-Hui

1

References

[1] Shaw Scope: A History of the Shaw Bros. Studio.

Harvard Film Archive. 2008. Retrieved 2014-04-12. A
bald and tautly muscled Lau Kar-fai (Gordon Liu Jiahui)
headlines this exhilarating rendition of the legendary dissemination of the Shaolin martial arts. Lau plays a reallife gure long-since transmuted into myth, a Chinese
commoner on the run from Manchu oppressors (including a glowering Luo Lie) who seeks refuge at the Shaolin
Temple. The lm is an absorbing account of his initiation into the vaunted Shaolin style, known for its emphasis on the external and the physical. But as depicted here
the training process is very much an inner voyage of discovery; the novice must work his way through a series of
torturous chambers before becoming the newly minted
monk, San De.
[2] Pollard, Mark (2007-06-26). Movie Reviews: 36th
Chamber of Shaolin". Kung Fu Cinema.
[3] Neveu, Janick (2003-08-27). "36th Chamber of Shaolin
Review. Kung Fu Cult Cinema.
[4] Sanjuro (2003). Reviews:
Shaolin". LoveHKFilm.com.

The 36th Chamber of

[5] The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) Trailer on YouTube.

Retrieved 2014-04-12.
[6] http://www.amazon.com/Master-Killer-VHS-Chia-Hui/
dp/6302860717/
[7] http://www.amazon.com/
Shaolin-Master-Killer-Widescreen-Chia/dp/
6305511705
[8] Gibron, Bill (24 January 2008). Digital Dynamite: The
30 Best DVDs of 2007. PopMatters. Retrieved 201404-12. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin represents a directorial tour de force for Chia-Liang Liu. Its a sumptuous
lm to look at, a movie that takes its varying ght facets
very seriously.
[9] The 100 best action movies. Time Out. Retrieved
November 7, 2014.
[10] The 100 best action movies: 30-21. Time Out. November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.

External links
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin at the Internet Movie
Database
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin at AllMovie

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_36th_Chamber_of_Shaolin?oldid=707606434 Contributors:

Saltine, Fifelfoo, David Gerard, Gugganij, Bumm13, D6, Ajplmr, Bender235, Kwamikagami, Alai, Instantnood, Brookie, Woohookitty,
Madchester, Ric man, GregorB, Graham87, Tarc, MarnetteD, FlaBot, Zimbabweed, YurikBot, Wisekwai, Welsh, Gorilla Jones~enwiki,
Tryptofeng, Sugar Bear, SmackBot, YellowMonkey, Bobet, Lds, Thrashbarg, Da Vynci, VinTheMetalhed, Kukini, JethroElfman, Da
ola~enwiki, Bjankuloski06en~enwiki, Dl2000, AcidZero, Shrimp wong, Cydebot, Lugnuts, Ghostexorcist, Robsinden, Okajaya, James
Epstein, AlexOvShaolin, Andrzejbanas, .anacondabot, Dark Eagle (usurped), Steven Walling, Gwern, Richiekim, Athaenara, Nohansen,
Aspects, Polbot, Iianq, Hans yulun lai, Martarius, PipepBot, Qaelith 2112, Addbot, Debresser, Lightbot, Luckas-bot, Sandpalm88, TheMovieBu, AnomieBOT, ChristopheS, Xqbot, Handrem, LucienBOT, Lind j a, TobeBot, Piranhamae, Tashivana, EmausBot, GoingBatty,
ZroBot, ClueBot NG, 19jduryea, BG19bot, Vanischenu, Razibot, Knowlej, Paleface Jack, Stolen Vehicle, Tsaost, Chode3000 and Anonymous: 50

9.2

Images

File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This le was derived from Wiki letter w.svg: <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Wiki_letter_w.svg' class='image'><img alt='Wiki letter w.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_
letter_w.svg/50px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png' width='50' height='50' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/
Wiki_letter_w.svg/75px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/
100px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='44' data-le-height='44' /></a>
Original artist: Derivative work by Thumperward

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0