Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Born in Beijing

Although he came from a poor family, he has lofty aspirations, and he was caught by the martial arts coach because of his excellent bones.He was diligent and eager to learn, and he didn't learn a single movement, so he asked for a teacher overnight. At the age of 11, he fell ill and participated in the national martial arts competition, winning three championships in a row. At the age of 18, he made a business card "Shaolin Temple", which set off a "Jet Li craze" across the country. On April 26, 1963, a maternity hospital in Beijing. A middle-aged man waited anxiously outside the delivery room, walking back and forth.

The door of the delivery room opened with a "squeak", and the middle-aged man quickly ran to the nurse. The nurse said calmly, "It's a son." The man was full of excitement, rubbing his rough hands and smiling.The nurse looked at the excited middle-aged man and said, "Congratulations, first child right?" "No, no. There are four older ones at home." The man replied honestly. "That means the family is full of girls, and you got a big fat boy today, are you happy?" "Hehe, there are two boys and two girls in the family, both of whom are my blood. I am happy, both girls and boys!"

This little baby boy who brought his father infinite joy was Jet Li. At the moment of his birth, no one could have predicted what kind of legendary experience would happen to this little man. "Could you give the child a nickname?" the frail mother looked at her father and said happily. The father looked at his son and said, "I've thought about it a long time ago. Let's call it Zhengdong. It's loud, and my baby name is Dongdong. What do you think?" Mother smiled and nodded.Li Zhengdong's name was settled in this way, and Jet Li was his later stage name. This book uses his stage name to describe the full text.

Soon, Jr. came back home from the hospital. After Jr. came home, his older brothers and sisters surrounded him all day long, looking at him curiously. One day, an older brother found that he had a huge appetite and started snoring after feeding. His voice is also loud, and the neighbors can hear him crying, so they don't call him Xiaojie, but "Little Tiger".Soon the nickname spread. Not only did his family members call him that, but his neighbors also affectionately called him "Little Tiger". Jet Li's mother is Zhang Fenglan, who is the conductor on the bus.His father is Li Qingquan, a technician who was born as a worker. Both of them are workers, and the salary they receive is only enough to cover a few mouths.Parents looked at this group of lively babies, half happy and half sad.I am happy that there is another cute little life in the family; sadly, it was a three-year difficult period, and it was a big problem to have enough food. How to raise such a baby who is waiting to be fed!However, no matter how hard it was, the naturally optimistic father and mother still gave their children as much material guarantee and spiritual care as possible, so that they could grow up healthily in the difficult years.

In order to feed and clothe the children, the father’s work is even more busy and tiring, but no matter how busy and tired he is, when he returns home and sees their clear eyes and innocent smiles, the father’s heart is infinitely comforted, and the father often leaves after get off work. After playing with the children, the mother looked at them with a smile, and the hut was full of deep affection. However, the happy time is always short-lived. When Jet Jr. was two years old, his father left them forever because of overwork. After the father died, the mother stood up bravely and single-handedly provoked the burden of life for five children and two elderly people.In Jet Li's memory, his mother never had time to rest from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night.Many years later, Jet Li, who has become a generation of kung fu movie star, always has tears in his eyes when he thinks of his mother and those difficult years—what a resolute woman she is!

In addition to five underage children in the family, there are two elderly people who need to be taken care of.The mother who works as a conductor, goes to work during the day and comes back at night to cook and wash for everyone, and also supervises the studies of her brothers and sisters. She is still middle-aged, and frost has appeared on her head early.The indomitable spirit of traditional Chinese women has been fully reflected in Jet Li's mother, and his mother's character has also deeply influenced his life, which has benefited him a lot in his future life, and he has gone through one after another in his life. a difficulty.

The children of the poor are sensible early.From the day he could remember, Jet Li told himself: To strive for success, for my mother, for my brothers and sisters.According to the memories of Jet Li's neighbors, Jet Li was very sensible when he was a child, and never asked his family for money, which would increase the burden on his mother. When he was seven years old, Jet Li entered Changqiao Primary School in Beijing.When he was in school, he didn’t dare to ask for new clothes and schoolbags from home, so he only wore his brother’s and sister’s old clothes to school. The clothes of his brothers and sisters covered his body, which was relatively big, and the inside was empty when he wore them, and he swayed when he walked. , The classmates often laughed mockingly after watching it.

One day, he went to school wearing a pair of floral trousers worn by his sister. "Look everyone, Jet Li is wearing a pair of girls' pants!" A boy pointed to his pants and said. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" A group of children also booed and shouted. Xiao Lianjie's face turned red up to the ears.He lowered his head and didn't make any response, but he was secretly making up his mind: "Just watch, one day you won't laugh at me!" For this past event, Jet Li is unforgettable. When he gave a speech at Sichuan University in 2005, he said: "It was really poor at that time. When I was in the first grade of elementary school, what pair of pants should I wear to school? They were worn by my sister and given to me. My brother, my brother gave it to me after wearing it. Every day when I go to school, I cover my pockets tightly with my hands, lest people see women’s trouser pockets.”

In this way, Jr. told himself to strive for success all the time, so he also put in more efforts than others.When he was in class, he listened carefully; when he got home, he finished his homework on time; he could also help his mother with some housework.The "excellent" in his homework is also the most in the class.Teachers and mothers often praise him for being sensible. When Jet Li was in school, he had a shortcoming that he was born with five-tone insufficiency, and his singing was always out of tune.Every time it is time for the final exam of the music class, each student must sing a song alone.When the teacher finally called his name, he stood up.The teacher knew that he couldn't pass the test, so he said to him: "Didn't you say that you have a sore throat today? Then you don't have to take the test. Sit down and score 80."

The days in the school passed quickly, and soon, the school was on summer vacation, and Jet Li was about to enter the second grade. At this time, a matter related to his destiny came to him, that is, being selected Practice martial arts at the Amateur Sports School in Xicheng District, Beijing. The reason why Jet Li was selected into the martial arts team has a lot to do with a fight he had with his classmates.When Xiao Lianjie was studying, the teacher saw that he was smart, diligent, and well-behaved, so he became the monitor of the class.After becoming the class monitor, his mother was very happy and warned him: "When you become the class monitor, you can't bully others, you can't fight, and you have to help the poor and weak students." Xiao Lianjie kept his mother's teachings in mind.

Not long after, Lian Jie and a group of classmates were playing table tennis at school. When they were having fun, the two came over and said arrogantly: "You all go to play on that table. We will use this table. " As soon as he said that, the classmates on Xiao Lianjie's side started to shout. "We came here first, are you unreasonable?" "That table is broken, how can we play?" The two sides quarreled, and one "little bully" saw that they refused to go to the other table tennis table, sat down on the table angrily, and said, "If we don't let us play, you can't play either." Then the other one also sat down. Went to the stage. After entering the 21st century, in the face of increasingly popular Kung Fu movies, veterans in the American entertainment industry and the media unanimously judged that the era of Chinese sweeping Hollywood is not far away. Indeed, the first person to bring Kung Fu movies to Hollywood was "Kung Fu Emperor" Bruce Lee, but unfortunately he died young and only made four movies.Kung fu movies were short-lived in Hollywood and then fell silent. This situation lasted until 2001. In 2001, director Ang Lee knocked on the door of Hollywood with his "Crouching Tiger, Hidden City", and Kung Fu movies began to be recognized by the American mainstream.With the popularity of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden City", a number of kung fu movies were born one after another, such as Zhang Yimou's and Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu". Among them, the person who best embodies the essence of Chinese Kung Fu is Jet Li. Because of his pure Chinese Kung Fu, he is called "the new Kung Fu Emperor" by Americans. Jet Li has conquered tens of thousands of American female audiences with Ling Li's boxing skills, shining eyes, handsome face, and natural heroic temperament. He has conquered Hollywood and become their new idol, proclaiming the "Emperor of Kung Fu" The era of Bruce Lee is gone forever. Li Lianjie was born in a poor family in Beijing. When he was young, he wore his older brothers and sisters' old clothes to school all day long, and was ridiculed for it.In order not to be ridiculed by others, eight-year-old Jet Li applied for an amateur sports school. The coach saw his excellent bones and thought he was a genius, so he accepted him.From then on, Jet Li fell in love with Chinese martial arts. 11-year-old Jet Li took part in the national martial arts competition in Xi'an due to illness. His skills surprised everyone and won the first place in the junior group, the all-around first, and the team. The rhythm is bright.In the second year, he participated in the adult competition and won the all-around championship.After that, he was invincible all over the world for five consecutive years.People exclaimed that a martial arts genius came out of Beijing. In 1980, when the Hong Kong Zhongyuan Film Company cast "Shaolin Temple", the director named Li Lianjie to play the protagonist Jueyuan monk.Later, "Shaolin Temple" became popular throughout Asia and set off a "Jet Li craze" in China.A hero comes out of a teenager, Jet Li is only 18 years old at this time.Later, when she was filming the comedy "Shaolin Boy", she began to fall in love and get married with her childhood sweetheart, Huang Qiuyan. Soon, Jet Li emigrated abroad, and later went to Hong Kong to film, and fell in love with his Asian sister Li Zhi at first sight. After experiencing a period of emotional ups and downs, the two tied the knot. In the early 1990s, Jet Li was photographed by the "ghost" director Tsui Hark, and created the "Huang Feihong" series for him, reorganizing the signature of a generation of masters. At that time, even three-year-old children would gesticulate and say: "Huang Feihong" Come too!" Just when his career was brilliant, his agent was shot dead, and Jet Li was disheartened. At this time, the film wonderman Yang Dengkui offered his help and invested 30 million to let him go back to the mainland to make a film. In the mid-1990s, he adopted the tactics of wanting to promote before suppressing, plotting to break into Hollywood. He only played for five minutes in "Sky Cannon Four", conquered foreigners with his extraordinary achievements, and was promoted to the leading role in "Savior of the Mundi". "Savior Mundi" is crazy for foreign movie fans.Jet Li established his status as an international superstar. At the turn of the millennium, Zhang Yimou threw a hydrangea, causing a "bumping incident" with different opinions. In 2005, Jet Li's family encountered an Indian tsunami while on vacation. In the fight against the flood, Jet Li showed himself as a hero. Looking at the life of Jet Li for more than 40 years, it can be summed up with the word "odd".A strange person must have many strange things, and what makes this "weird" lies in his belief in "promoting Chinese martial arts". "Without faith, it is difficult to achieve great things." Jet Li said. "You lied, when did you eat it?" Little Lianjie refused, and insisted that his mother eat an egg before giving up, and his mother ate one under his "coercion". Then, he came to grandma with the egg again, and said, "Grandma, you haven't eaten an egg for a long time, and you can eat one too." Grandma was so moved that she burst into tears, touched his head and said, "This little tiger eats eggs." , how sensible." After grandma and mother finished eating, Jet Li let go of his stomach and ate the bowl of eggs. Jet Li's martial arts career was not smooth sailing. He experienced ups and downs. The biggest one was almost quitting the sports school. It is hard to imagine what kind of life Jet Li would be like after quitting the sports school. Half a year later, during a practice, Jet Li suddenly fell down and couldn't get up. The teacher of the sports school saw that the situation was not good, and immediately sent him to the hospital. After diagnosis, the doctor found that Jet Li's kneecap was broken. Hospitalization. That night, the sports school teacher notified Jr.'s mother, Zhang Fenglan. After hearing the news, Zhang Fenglan rushed to the hospital immediately. Looking at his pale face and gauze-wrapped leg, Zhang Fenglan was heartbroken.She couldn't bear to let her children practice martial arts anymore, and she said with tears in her eyes, "Little Tiger, listen to your mother, don't go to the sports school to practice martial arts anymore!" Xiao Lianjie was unhappy, pouted, and didn't dare to object to his mother's opinion.A few days later, Xiao Lianjie's older brothers and sisters also came to the hospital. Before they came, they were ordered by their mother to persuade the little tiger not to go to the sports school to practice martial arts.After the brothers and sisters came to the ward, Lian Jie was a little moved by what one person said, and Lian Jie said to them: "Then what should I do in the future?" That's right, what would he do if he wasn't allowed to practice martial arts?Everyone was dumb all of a sudden.Suddenly, his eldest sister had an idea and said to him: "Then you can serve as a soldier in the future!" The words of the elder sister can be said to have hit his heart. Stand guard. "Yes, yes! Little Tiger, you can be a soldier in the future. It's great to be a soldier. With a gun hanging on your waist, no one dares to provoke you." One of his little brothers said while imitating the posture of a soldier. Everyone also echoed this opinion. When Xiao Lianjie heard that he was asked to serve in the army, his eyes immediately lit up. As soon as his brothers and sisters encouraged him, he immediately became distracted, thinking of the heroic appearance of a soldier in his mind.He said to his elder brother: "I won't practice martial arts anymore, I'm going to be a soldier, I'm going to be a soldier." His eldest brother is in his twenties and is relatively mature. Seeing that his younger brother agreed not to go to the sports school to practice martial arts, he immediately said to him: "Okay, little tiger, I will ask my mother to tell Mr. Wu in the sports school that you will stop practicing. Go to the People's Liberation Army." Zhang Fenglan also felt that this was a good opportunity, so she ran to coach Wu Bin of the sports school and said, "Mr. Wu, I can't bear to let the little tiger fall like this. Besides, although practicing martial arts can strengthen the body, But if you delay your studies, you have to learn some knowledge to be successful in the future.” Wu Bin looked at Zhang Fenglan and said: "How can you say that? As the saying goes, if you are the best at what you do, you can do anything well. Little Tiger is now the best student in the martial arts class. How can you let him go so easily?" Woolen cloth?" Zhang Fenglan immediately shed tears and said: "He broke his kneecap at such a young age. If he accidentally falls again in the future, he will become disabled. What should I do? How can I explain to his dead father? " After hearing what he said, Wu Bin was silent for a while, and said, "What does Xiaohu think?" Zhang Fenglan immediately said: "Xiaohu doesn't want to come either, you can ask him if you don't believe me." Hearing his words, Wu Bin couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and said, "Okay then, I'll go and see him some other day, but it's best for him to continue learning martial arts. He has a talent for learning martial arts." After a period of time, Wu Bin came to Jet Li's house. At this time, Xiao Lianjie left the hospital and was resting at home. When Xiao Lianjie saw Coach Wu Bin, he lowered his head.Wu Bin said to him: "Xiao Hu, why don't you want to learn martial arts anymore? It's great to learn martial arts, and no one bullies you." Xiao Lianjie timidly said to coach Wu Bin: "My mother told me not to practice martial arts, and my brother and sister told me to join the army in the future." After hearing this, Wu Bin understood everything, and went back to doing Zhang Fenglan's ideological work.He said to Zhang Fenglan: "A socialist country needs talents in all aspects. Chinese martial arts is a traditional Chinese culture and needs someone to inherit it. Jet Li is a good seedling of martial arts. How can he give up halfway because of a fall?" Zhang Fenglan still did not waver after hearing Wu Bin's words.After that, Coach Wu Bin went to Jet Li's house several times.He explained the meaning of martial arts to Lianjie's mother and son, and told the stories of heroes who practiced hard... It was really hard work, and Zhang Fenglan changed his mind and agreed to let Xiao Lianjie practice martial arts. Seeing that Zhang Fenglan agreed, Wu Bin immediately turned around to do the ideological work of Xiao Lianjie.Wu Bin believes that Jet Li has been distracted by his dream of being a People's Liberation Army.If he wants to be in the People's Liberation Army wholeheartedly, then he will be absent-minded about martial arts, and it is important to concentrate on martial arts. To do this, he must first solve his ideological problems. Wu Bin said to Xiao Lianjie: "Little Tiger, do you want to be in the People's Liberation Army?" Little Jeter nodded. Wu Bin said again: "Then you won't be a hero if you become a member of the People's Liberation Army, you're just a bear." Xiao Lianjie hated people calling him a bear the most, and said angrily: "Then why?" Wu Bin pointed to the portrait of the People's Liberation Army on the wall of his house and said: "All the martial arts of the People's Liberation Army are very good. If you don't learn martial arts well, you can't be a good People's Liberation Army. Look at how brave the People's Liberation Army uncle on the portrait is when fighting the enemy. Didn't learn martial arts well, can he beat bad guys?" Little Jeter thinks about it, right, isn't the People's Liberation Army going to beat bad guys?How to beat bad guys without martial arts.After thinking about it, he figured it out, and said to coach Wu Bin: "Teacher Wu, you can take me back to practice martial arts. After I learn martial arts well, I will go to the People's Liberation Army. I don't want to be a bear, I want to be a hero." Wu Bin smiled and said: "Good boy, you can rest for a few more days, and when you feel better, you can go back to the sports school to practice martial arts." When Jet Li returned to the martial arts class of the sports school, Wu Bin and other friends held a welcome party for him.Jet Li began to invest in new training. According to Jet Li's own recollection, after recovering from the injury, he did several days of recovery training under the guidance of coach Wu Bin, and then began to practice whirlwind kicks. Whirlwind kicks are an important movement in martial arts. Sometimes, people are required to turn around in the air, fly high in the air, swing their legs fast, clap loudly, and land lightly, which is quite difficult.It's harder if you do it continuously. When Xiao Lianjie practiced this movement, because of his small stature, his coordination of movements was not good, and his second foot could not keep up with the first foot.One day, coach Wu Bin checked their movements. Seeing that Lianjie did not perform well several times, he got angry and scolded: "What's wrong with you? Why can't the second kick keep up with the first kick?" Little Jet stood there, muttering, "It's almost enough." Unexpectedly, this sentence was heard by Wu Bin, and he became even more angry, and ordered: "It's almost impossible, practice 500 times more." As soon as Wu Bin's words came out, the little partner beside Jr. also gasped. He had never heard of an extra practice of 500 times, and the most was 300 times. Little Jet stood in the rehearsal hall, unwilling to practice more. At this time, the rays of the setting sun passed through the glass and shone on his immature face and his lip-biting mouth.Seeing his aggrieved face, Wu Bin knew that he had practiced a little more, but he believed that no jade could be perfect, and he had to be strict with them in order to make them successful.So, he scolded again: "What's wrong with you, hurry up!" Under the intimidation of the coach, Xiaolian slowly squatted down and danced and twirled again and again.Everything around him swirled before his eyes.Spinning and spinning, he suddenly felt dizzy, fell to the ground with a "plop", and the little partner next to him immediately ran up and asked him what was wrong. Coach Wu went to sit on the chair and said mercilessly: "You all Go away and let him get up by himself, only 350 times!" Lian Jie lay quietly on the floor for a while, gritted his teeth, trying to stand up straight like a carp, but unfortunately he failed, his waist seemed to be hung with a hammer, and he was so heavy that he couldn't stand up straight, through the curtain of tears , he peeked at the coach.Wu Bin pretended not to see it.He had no choice but to get up slowly and practice the whirlwind kick vigorously, 400 times, 450 times, 500 times, and he finally completed it.At the last moment, he lay on the ground and couldn't get up. Coach Wu Bin looked at Jet Li lying on the ground panting, and thought, what a good boy!Can bear hardships, not afraid of tiredness, such a person can become a master. However, Jet Li was really trained as a national athlete because of a small incident. This trivial incident made Wu Bin see that Jet Li is a martial arts genius that is rare in a century. Once, Wu Bin gave a shuttlecock to each martial arts team member, and told them to go down and kick it by themselves after stretching their legs in the morning, so as to increase their flexibility. , everyone kicks more than 50 times per round." Two weeks later, coach Wu Bin came to the team and asked everyone to come and have a look.Shuttlecock kicking is very common for children in Beijing. The way of kicking the shuttlecock is usually directly in front of the body.However, when it was Jet Li's turn, the situation changed. He threw the shuttlecock into the air and immediately turned his back and kicked it behind him, which meant that he could kick the shuttlecock accurately without looking at it. skills.Coach Wu Bin and the martial arts team members stared at Jet Li's kicks, and he kicked more than 100 times without landing. Wu Bin thought that Lianjie practiced shuttlecock kicking from behind since he was a child, so he investigated the matter. After investigation, he learned that Lianjie only kicked shuttlecock in front of him before, and only after receiving instructions from the coach, did he come up with an ingenious way of doing it. Came up with this trick.After understanding the matter, Wu Bin sighed from the bottom of his heart, this little tiger is really a genius!A martial arts genius who is rare in a century.I must train him to make him the best martial arts athlete in China. Wu Bin called Lianjie to his room, and said to him earnestly: "Little Tiger, you have made great progress this year. The sports school has decided to train you as a key student. Therefore, the burden on you It is very important and bears the hope of everyone in the sports school." Xiao Lianjie seems to understand Wu Bin's conversation, but he knows that he has a great responsibility, he can't embarrass the sports school, he must practice martial arts well. After that, in order to make himself the best martial arts athlete in the sports school, Lian Jie did more training than others.Others run 10 laps around the 350-meter playground at dawn every day, he runs 15 laps, others stretch their legs 300 times, and he does 500 times in one practice.In the end, even the coach was afraid of him, worried that he would be hurt by overloading his body, so he had to limit his exercise. In addition to the normal martial arts training, coach Wu Bin also gave Jet Li a small lesson and taught him to learn Shaolin boxing. Everyone knows that Shaolin martial arts is the most mature and profound martial art in China. Its characteristic is "the integration of boxing and Zen". , that is, boxing and Zen become one.Boxing refers to boxing. Shaolin Wushu believes that people can achieve physical fitness and improve self-defense through practicing boxing. Zen refers to the enlightenment teachings in Buddhism and the method of eliminating distracting thoughts. It is also called "Zen" in Buddhism. Through the method of sitting quietly and practicing Zen, we can internally cultivate the mind and see the nature, so as to achieve the purpose of forgetting self and doing nothing, cultivating vitality, and cultivating the root of life. In Buddhism, it is believed that boxing and Zen are complementary to each other. Meditation can cultivate one's character, cultivate martial arts, and promote the understanding of martial arts for martial arts practitioners. On the contrary, practicing boxing can strengthen the body and nourish vitality. beneficial. Since then, Lianjie has learned one more lesson than others. He not only needs to practice boxing but also sit in meditation. At the beginning, he was not used to it. He has a restrained personality and doesn't like to show off. Zen meditation has had a profound impact on his personality. Even if he becomes an international superstar, he is still a gentle person who doesn't like to show off. Practicing at three times in summer and three times in winter, after several spring and autumn, Jet Li's kung fu has been perfected. His movements are characterized by fast speed. A routine of fifty or sixty movements can be completed in one go in 70 seconds. The moves are clean, neat, The rhythm is clear.Moreover, he also has a unique skill, which can make two 360-degree turns in one vacant movement, and sweep out beautiful whirlwind legs.Every time the coach sees his unique skills, he can't help but praise him.Whenever he is praised, he always smiles slightly, and this smile has become Jet Li's signature smile after he became famous, revealing shyness and connotation. As the saying goes: "Pardidness pays off", with better physical fitness and arduous training, Jet Li has a very strong strength. He has become a new star in the martial arts world and began to shine brightly. In 1972, the opportunity came! One day, after Jet Li had dinner, the coach Wu Bin excitedly called Jet Li and said to him: "Little Tiger, I have good news for you. There is a national martial arts competition held in Jinan, Shandong, and the sports school decided to send you to participate. During this period of time, you should practice your routines well, and on the other hand, you should also pay attention to your body, so as not to hurt your feet." Xiao Lianjie nodded sensiblely. This year, Jet Li was nine years old. The competition in 1972 was the first national martial arts competition held since the "Cultural Revolution".However, there are no official rankings or awards for this competition, only one award of a folk nature: the "Outstanding Performance Award".It wasn't a standard competition at all, it was more like a martial arts conference described in martial arts novels, where martial arts masters from all over the country came to show off their skills. A few days before the meeting, Coach Wu Bin took Jr. to Jinan. Along the way, Jr. was very excited because he could take the train.This trip to Jinan was the first time he left home—and also the first time he left Beijing in his life. After a short rest in Jinan, on the third day, coach Wu Bin took him to the competition venue. After the competition started, Lianjie was not nervous at all. He just looked around as if nothing had happened. Facing the masters from all walks of life, Jet Li was not stage fright at all, and he did what he should do. Finally, he showed his special skills - making two 360-degree turns in the air and sweeping out the whirlwind kick. Those present shocked the judges on the field. They didn't expect this little guy to be so extraordinary. Finally, the conference awarded the "Outstanding Performance Award" to this nine-year-old boy.After winning the award, teacher Wu Bin excitedly picked him up and let him ride on his shoulders. After returning to Beijing, Xiao Lianjie suddenly received a notice telling him that he didn't need to go to class for a while, and he went to the sports school to practice martial arts all day long.There are very profound reasons for this change of Jet Li.At the time, China was gearing up to host a very important sporting event: the Pan-Asian-African-Latin American Table Tennis Championships.It was a big event for China at the time—as big as hosting the Olympics now.Due to the Cultural Revolution, China at that time was silent for quite a long time in the eyes of the world.In this table tennis championship, China invited players from other countries and continents to participate in the competition, which is of great significance to China. For the opening ceremony of this grand event, the organizers designed a series of art performances to showcase the essence of Chinese culture: Beijing opera, dance, and of course martial arts.There are five performances scheduled in the martial arts performance, and Jet Li and a group of friends will perform three of them.Excessive practice made him sweat, and he repeated the same tricks and routines countless times, but when he thought of the expectations of the motherland, Jet Li was full of strength. The competition was held in the largest gymnasium in Beijing. Before the official performance, the martial arts performance team conducted 12 rehearsals, and important leaders came to inspect the rehearsal and evaluate each time.It was this time that Lianjie deeply realized how much pressure there is to perform in front of others as a representative, and there is no need to make any mistakes. On the night of the opening ceremony, the stadium was brightly lit, and the light illuminated the stage. When it was the turn of Jet Li and his teammates to take the stage, their moves were uniform and decisive. After the show, the audience burst into applause. Hearing the applause from the audience, Jet Li felt a strong sense of pride in his heart. After the performance, Premier Zhou Enlai received this group of teenagers.For Jet Li, it was a great honor to meet his dear Premier Zhou, not to mention the excitement when he heard Premier Zhou's praise for them.Many years later, Jet Li still couldn't forget that scene. He recalled: "I can imagine that the Prime Minister of the country personally received and praised your performance. What a supreme honor that is! For a 9-year-old child, he will never forget it." After participating in the table tennis championship, Jet-Jet didn't need to go to school anymore, even the morning class. The teacher of the sports school arranged him into the dormitory of the sports school. From then on, Jet Li began to receive systematic and comprehensive martial arts training in the sports school.Because he lived in the dormitory of the school, he could only go home on Saturdays, and had a short reunion with his mother, brothers and sisters. On Sunday night, he had to go back to the dormitory, and on Monday morning, he began to receive a new week of training.