The Legend of Monkey Fight (watch it)

1898 - In an effort to modernize the dated Confucian ethics of China, Emperor Guangxu instituted a sweeping reform aimed at westernizing the nation. This period would become known as the "Hundred Days’ Reform." Heavy influence from American and European culture was not received well among arcane Chinese sects.

Much Kung Fu Followed...

1909 - Ping is a young kung fu student living in the backwoods of the Shandong province. Under the harsh tutelage of Master Chow, he learns the way of the fist, but secretely he has long studied numbers as well. Once introduced to Dr. Wang, who has returned from years studying abroad in Quantum Physics, Ping discovers a new mentor, a notion that doesn't sit well with Master Chow, who knows that numbers are the enemy of a warrior.

Under the guidance of Dr. Wang, Ping hopes to master his mind. Under the harsh discipline of Master Chow, he wishes to master kung fu. And stuck in between is the gruff but loving Ling, who knows that the brain is tiny, but the fist is big! Caught in a world he never wanted, Ping is no longer able to divide loyalty between his two mentors. Will he be able to choose? Or perhaps he may discover that numbers are not the true enemy of a warrior...

Production Notes: The Legend of Monkey Fight is not a remake of the award-winning Monkey Fight. Rather, it is a film adaptation of the historical events on which Hirohito Ishida's 1963 novel Ancient Conflict: Pen Against Fist was based. After the completion of Monkey Fight, which drew exclusively from Ishida's book, we felt that the significance of the real historical Hung Fei Ping and his exploits should be made known to Western audiences. So, not but a year later, we began production on a film set in the original 1909 (Ishida's story was set in post-Cultural Revolution China of the late 50's) and using contemporary historical documents from the period as the basis for our plot.