Member-only story
In 1972 a new, high-concept adventure-action western was introduced to TV viewers. Titled “Kung Fu,” it starred actor David Carradine as Eurasian (Caucasian father, Chinese mother) Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine. When his maternal grandfather dies, the orphaned Caine is admitted to the Hunan monastery, where he grows up to become a priest and martial arts expert.
The series stopped in 1975.
Caine avenges the death of his mentor, Master Po, at the hands of the emperor’s nephew. With a price on his head, he flees China for western USA, where he seeks his family roots and half-brother.
It is not Caine’s intention to attract notice in the American West, but with his skill set and sense of social justice, he cannot avoid it. After each encounter with those of lesser virtue, in which he emerges victorious, he must move on, to avoid capture and further harm to those he has helped.
There are frequent flashbacks to the Shaolin temple, where the blind Master Po taught his favorite pupil to be keenly aware of the world around him and playfully called him ‘Grasshopper,’ a name given because of the insect at his feet at the time.
Caine dresses simply, like a peasant, and goes about barefoot. He plays a bamboo flute, a sweet, lyrical touch. He is a man of few words. What he utters he chooses…
