Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 🎥 Does It Live Up To The Hype?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review 🎦 Watch Movies AND Learn Chinese!

Unless you’ve been crouching or hidden behind a rock (see what we did there?) you’ve definitely heard of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or as it’s known in Chinese 卧虎藏龙 wò hǔ cáng lóng.

Today we are going to tell you all you need to know about the world famous martial arts (武侠 Wǔxiá) film directed by Ang Lee.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Ang Lee

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Brief Introduction

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Main Characters

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Vocabs To Know

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Where To Watch

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): FAQ’s

Before we get stuck in, we want to make sure that when you watch TV or Movies in Chinese, you’re really making the most of the opportunity to learn.

Follow these super-simple, super-effective tips to learn Chinese with your TV…

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: Ang Lee

Ang Lee (Chinese name 李安lǐ ān) is a famous film director worldwide.

Throughout his career he made many famous films, including a number of Oscar winners.

One of his most famous movies is of course Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Have you ever watched any Ang Lee films?

Leave us a comment below with your ratings and join in the discussions.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: Brief Introduction

Before we get going with our Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon review, maybe you’d like to set the scene with some movie theme songs.

Take note of the third one, it’s none other than the theme song for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!

Chinese Movie Songs 🎬 Five Theme Songs To Learn Chinese

The top 5 Chinese Movie Songs – Today we introduce the best Chinese Movie Songs… with FIVE THEME TUNES from China’s Best Movies!

The movie is set during the Qing dynasty. Yu Jiaolong (Long means dragon), the daughter of an important official, is expected to marry a man her parents have chosen for her.

Little do her mother and father know, she has a secret kung fu master teaching her the ways of martial arts. This sparks an ambition in her to pursue her own path in the world. Determined to take control of her life, Yu Jiaolong (played by Zhang Ziyi) steals a sword and flees from her imposing future.

However, she doesn’t just steal any old sword. The sword she has taken, Green Dynasty, belongs to famous warrior Li Mubai (played by Chow Yun-Fat).

From this moment onwards, the chase is on and Li Mubai’s desire to track down Yu Jiaolong intensifies even further when he discovers their kung fu masters share a dark history.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: Main Characters

In this section, we’ll take a look at three key characters from the movie. First up…

Yu Jiaolong 玉娇龙 yù jiāo lóng, is played by Zhang Ziyi.

Quick-witted and independent, she started studying Wudang Kung Fu with her master secretly at the age of eight. This fosters a deep 武侠梦 wǔxiá mèng (martial arts dream).

Her understanding of kung fu eventually exceeds her master’s because she studies kung fu by focusing on the characters, whilst her master studies by looking at the pictures from the same book.

Her master is unaware of her true skill as she keeps this well hidden.

Her parents expect her to marry a man they have chosen, who would boost their family’s standing. Yu Jiaolong quickly rejects the idea, not least because she has a secret lover called Luo Xiaohu 罗小虎 (虎 means tiger). Under immense pressure, Yu Jiaolong decides to take her future into her own hands.

So she steals Green Dynasty, a sword belonging to Li Mubai 李慕白 lǐmùbái, played by Chou Yun Fat.

He is a martial arts master who is tired of being a hero in the world and he hopes to live a peaceful life with his lover Yu Xiulian, who he loves deeply. His main practice is known as Wudang swordsmanship.

Wudang swordsmanship emphasises controlling one’s desires, but he wants revenge for his master, he wants Yu Xiulian, and he even wants to take Yu Jiaolong as his apprentice.

Chow Yun Fat plays the contradictions of this character vividly.

Yu Xiulian 俞秀莲yúxiùlián, played by Michelle Yeoh, is a woman who inherited her father’s export business. She was asked by her parents to marry Meng Sizhao (Li Mubai’s close friend).

However, he died during a battle to save Li Mubai. In the aftermath, Yu Xiulian develops feelings Li Mubai, which she cannot express or act on due to cultural and societal norms of the time.

In Daoism, there is something known as Yin and Yang.

If Yu Jiaolong is the Yang and represents impulse, Yu Xiulian then is the Yin and represents the opposite, caution.

This line from Yu Xiulian will help you to get a feel of her character.

我虽然不是出身于你们这样的官宦人家，可是一个女人一生该服从的 道德和礼教并不少于你们。

wǒ suīrán búshì chūshēn yú nǐmen zhèyàng de guānhuàn rénjiā, kěshì yīgè nǚrén yīshēng gāi fúcóng de dàodé hé lǐjiào bìng bù shǎo yú nǐmen

Although I am not from an official family like you, the morality and ethics that a woman should obey in her life are not less than you.

The Tai-Chi Master (1993) – A Kung Fu Classic with Jet Li

Improve your Chinese with this 1993 Jet Li Classic movie. It is called 太极张三丰 tàijí zhāngsānfēng and the English name is The Tai-Chi Master.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: Vocab To Know

• 青冥剑 qīng míng jiàn – A sword called qing ming.
• 镖局 biāojú – A company which is responsible for exporting goods
• 江湖 jiānghú – A martial arts world
• 得道 dé dào – To achieve Daoism
• 梳子 shūzi – Comb
• 嫁人 jià rén /出阁 chūgé – (of a woman) Get married
• 平静 píngjìng – Peaceful
• 江洋大盗 jiāngyángdàdào – The big thief
• 我不稀罕 wǒ bù xīhan – I don’t care

And just for good measure, a great quote from the movie…

走江湖，靠的是人熟，讲信，讲义，应下来的，就要做到
zǒujiānghú, kào de shì rén shú, jiǎng xìn, jiǎngyì, yīng xiàlái de, jiù yào zuò dào
What you need to rely on is acquaintance relation, to obey your words and do what you promised if you want to live well in the martial world.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: Where To Watch

You can watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) online through Netflix.

You can also watch the movie on Tencent Video with Chinese Subtitles, but you may need a VPN.

If you have a VIP membership it is free to watch. Otherwise, you can sign up for a VIP membership which only costs 20 CNY per month.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review: FAQ’s

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