The Shaolin Buddhist monks developed Kung Fu ( or Gung Fu ) because they found it necessary to defend themselves while at the same time living devoutly spiritual lives. After several centuries of practice in a great temple, their temple was destroyed during an atmosphere of political opposition. The monks who survived the massacre went underground to continue their religious and martial arts practices. Secret societies of Shaolin monks called Triads organized during the 1500s and continued to operate in China up until the 20th century.
In the 20th century, when Mao's "Proletarian Cultural Revolution" outlawed the martial arts, some martial arts practicioners went to Hong Kong. In the age of motion pictures, a genre of Kung Fu movies developed in Hong Kong. The movies exploited the ancient art for commercial reasons, but also helped it to continue to exist.
A young man named Bruce Lee, born in Hong Kong, moved to the United States. Bruce Lee majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. He needed to support himself, and, not satisfied with washing dishes, be began to teach the martial arts.
Bruce Lee developed his own martial arts style. He called it Jeet Kune Do. His approach was to take from many international martial arts styles whatever elements he found to be the most efficient in each of them. This led the purists of other styles to tell him that he was "doing it wrong" -- but, empirically, his method worked. For example, unlike the technique of Tae Kwon Do to bring the back hand forward for a punch, giving the hand plenty of room to accelerate, Bruce found that he could punch with the forward hand, developing the acceleration over a short distance. No one believed him until they saw him demonstrate his "one inch punch". He began with his hand at rest a mere inch from his sparring partner, and then suddenly propelled the opponent across the room.
Young Bruce Lee married one of his pupils, Linda, who was about his own age (Linda Lee is now Linda Lee Cadwell). In 1965, their son Brandon Lee was born.
Bruce Lee was chosen for a part in a TV show -- in 1966, the first episode of The Green Hornet was aired, starring Van Williams as Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Cato. The show was cancelled in 1967 after one season.
In 1969, Bruce and Linda had a daughter they named Shannon (now Shannon Lee Keasler).
Celebrities went to Bruce Lee for lessons when they wanted to learn the Chinese martial arts method, either for sports or for roles in movies. Joe Lewis and Steve McQueen were just a few of the famous pupils whom Lee taught.
Prejudice against Asian-American actors was severe in the U.S. It was so bad that Bruce Lee was turned down for the starring role in the TV show Kung Fu precisely because producers believed that the public wouldn't "accept" a Chinese actor playing the part of a Chinese character! David Carradine, who is not Chinese, was signed to play the part of the Chinese Buddhist priest and martial artist. This kind of treatment inspired Bruce Lee to go to Hong Kong for a while to do some acting. When he got to Hong Kong he was delighted to find that he was already considered a hero there. Not only were reruns of The Green Hornet very popular in Hong Kong -- people called the program "The Cato Show"!
Bruce Lee made two movies in Hong Kong: Fists of Fury and then The Chinese Connection (1972). His third film, Return of the Dragon was made in Italy. In the third movie, Bruce Lee choreographed the action, and allowed himself to beat up the characters portrayed by martial artists Bob Wall and Chuck Norris.
In the movie Game of Death, Bruce Lee fought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (in real life, one of his students). Completion of Game of Death was postponed because Hollywood finally recognized Bruce and made him an offer. Lee made his first Hollywood movie, Enter The Dragon, costarring John Saxon -- this is the movie with the famous fight scene in a room of mirrors and multiple reflections. (Note: The Warner Brothers re-release of Enter The Dragon contains new scenes that were omitted from the first release.)
Bruce Lee became so popular that imitators tried to get as close as possible to using his name. I wonder how many people went to see the martial arts movie Return of the Tiger starring Bruce Li merely because they didn't know how Lee spelled his name.
On May 10, 1973, Bruce Lee passed out for a short time, and doctors were unable to find the reason. He went back to Hong Kong and continued filming Game of Death. There in Hong Kong, on July 20, 1973, he had a headache and took medication. He passed out again. He was rushed to the hospital and died suddenly. The cause of death was identified as brain damage caused by an unusual reaction to the medication. Bruce Lee was buried in Seattle, Washington.