If any of you have never heard of Ip Man (a.k.a. Yip Man, a real person), he was a Chinese master of a form of martial arts called, Wing Chun. Furthermore, Yip Man is well known for being, actor, Bruce Lee’s master/teacher. (If you don’t know who Bruce Lee is either, here’s a cool YouTube link to see how impressive his skills were: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SncapPrTusA. That’s Bruce Lee playing ping pong with numb chucks. Pretty cool, right?)
Anyway, back to the master. The movie Ip Man is said to be a biographical/drama/action film (at least according to IMDb.com), but how much of the events portrayed in the film are true? Is Ip Man a true representation of Yip Man’s life? Well, let’s start with a bit of background information about the movie first.
Ip Man was released in 2008 in China and is considered a biographical/ action/ drama film representing martial arts as well as the life of Yip Man. During the film, Ip Man lives in Foshan with his family and leads a very prosperous life until Japan occupies China in 1931. When this happens the population of Foshan that was once 300,000 people, dwindles to 70,000 due to starvation. The people of Foshan find themselves in need of not only work and food, but also hope and a way to defend their livelihoods from thieves.
The movie uses actor, Donnie Yen as Yip Man, to show the strength of Chinese martial arts versus the martial arts practiced by the Japanese military. While the Japanese are stationed in Foshan, the general holds secret matches with the Chinese martial artists, pitting them against his own militarial Japanese martial artists. Each of these battle scenes include extremely dramatic music to show the morbidity of these matches, as many of the men who enter them are beaten to death. Donnie Yen’s character is depicted in the movie as having entered one of these matches to avenge his friend’s death and effectively defeats ten Japanese martial artists. In the film this act makes him a wanted man by the Japanese general and to save his family and friends, Yip Man must challenge the general in a public fight.
(Don’t worry if you’re concerned about spoilers, I won’t giveaway the big finish.)
After researching a few of Yip Man’s biographical accounts found on the worldwide web, I found that the film left out at least one key part of Yip Man’s life that would have drastically altered the morals portrayed in the film.
As it turns out, Yip Man was a Chinese officer before and after the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. If this seemingly minute fact had been included in the movie then Donnie Yen’s character would not have given off the same zen-like qualities. For example, there is one scene in the film when Donnie Yen’s character exhibits his disdain for guns by removing the revolving barrel of a Chinese officer’s gun in one swift movement. With this action, he displays to his audience that weaponry is inferior to the true practice of martial arts.
However, the inclusion of Yip Man’s battle against a Japanese martial artists (shown as a Japanese general in the movie) is actually based on some fact. While the sources do not state whether or not the battle was held publicly, they do state that the Japanese military had heard of Yip Man’s reputation and asked him to train their troops. When Yip Man refused, they had a Japanese Kung Fu master challenge him to a match. It is also true that due to the result of the match, Yip Man’s family had to flee Foshan.
Overall the film, Ip Man, is certainly a dramatic retelling of Yip Man’s life; nevertheless, there is some truth ingrained in the dramatized fight sequences and the quick dialog.
Ip Man Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhz4Jl6nf58
Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220719/, http://www.kwokwingchun.com/about-wing-chun/ip-mans-wing-chun/ip-mans-biography/, http://www.wingchun.co.nz/SifuHistory/GreatMasterIpMan/tabid/61/Default.aspx, http://www.lomankamwingchun.com/grandmaster-yip-man.html
True or False History 
Thanks for bringing attention to Yip Man—a figure with whom I am not familiar. I’m really interested in how historical figures are portrayed in movies. One thing I like to ask when something grounded in reality (a person, a book, etc.) is adapted into another medium (a film, a play, etc.) is: what is it that the creator of the new work is trying to accomplish? Are they adding something with their interpretation of an existing tale? In this case, is there something going on in China in 2008 that affected the choices the filmmakers made? I’m curious about the categorization of the film as “Biographical/drama/action,” which seems to blur many lines and makes such questions tricky. I found your interpretation of the missing historical fact to be really fascinating. Thanks also for including the link to Bruce Lee playing ping pong. I almost skipped it because I’ve never been a fan of martial arts movies but this, well this, made me unnecessarily happy. What an incredible feat.
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This is a fascinating idea for a blog! I tend to watch quite a bit of historical films (i.e. The Duchess, The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl), and I often wonder how true to life it is. I especially wonder this when the film claims to be based off of true events. However, I never take the time to research because I typically enjoy the film too much to care. Although, when something is obviously inaccurate, it makes me wonder “Why did the screen writer and/or director choose to change that?” Information is so accessible these days I have a hard time believing they just didn’t want to be bothered with knowing the truth. I suppose it’s all artistic decision in the end, perhaps the truth doesn’t look as good on camera, or, in the case of Ip Man, doesn’t fit the character they are aiming to portray. This begs the question, though, of: What’s more important, knowledge or entertainment? It’s part of the entertainment industry’s responsibility to depict accuracy. A person may go to a based-on-a-true-story movie and add what they watch to what they know. I can’t wait to see what other films you choose to discuss because just your first post turned a wheel of thoughts and questions for me.
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As a long time fan of Bruce Lee, this exploration of his tutor was refreshing to see. While there is a great understanding of the martial arts that are practiced in both real life and on film, the article does not labor on such things. Using specific sources within the actual post as references were wonderful uses of the medium. The choice in topic for this blog actually entertains me to a greater degree than I was anticipating. Anachronisms such as those displayed in this film give me so much trouble in a cinematic experience. Honestly, my greatest comment is a request, one that might be painful. If you could do this same sort of treatment with a worse movie, id be overjoyed. ‘Pearl Harbor’ is one of the movies I despise the most and there are several historical inaccuracies to be found there, ones most likely made for the same reasons as found here. The changes made to Yip Man are likely made to make him more likable, more faultless in the eyes of the audience. I hope that I might see this approach done again soon.
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