Bruce Lee thought of himself as a human being first and part of one large human family. He was undoubtedly influenced by both his western and eastern background including living in California and Hong Kong and working in Thailand. To Lee it didn’t matter where you were born or where you lived because everyone was connected in the world.
“You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. Because I don’t want to sound like as Confucius say, but under the sky, under the heaven man there is just one family. It just so happens man that people are different. “
Eight Important Places in the Life of Bruce Lee
Take a look at 8 important places in Bruce Lee’s life from his birth through the multiple cities he lived and worked.
1.
11/27/1940: Born in San Francisco, California, gaining U.S. citizenship.
2.
April, 1941: Moved to Hong Kong, Colony of the United Kingdom, joining his siblings.
3.
May 17, 1959: Emigrated to San Francisco to confirm his U.S. citizenship and escape legal trouble in Hong Kong.
4.
9/3/1959: Moved to Seattle to attend high school and College.
5.
July, 19 1964: Moves to Oakland to open the Gung Fu Martial Arts Institute.
6.
March, 1966: Moves to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in Hollywood.
7.
July, 1971: Travels to Pak Chong, Thailand to film The Big Boss.
8.
December, 1971: Moves to Hong Kong to film Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, The Game of Death, and Enter the Dragon.
We all can learn something from the life of Bruce Lee. He lived and traveled throughout the world and trained, worked, and befriended people from many backgrounds. He saw that what we shared in common far outweighed what separated us.
Resources:
The Pierre Berton Show (aka The Lost Interview), aired December 9, 1971. Very important interview of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong. Lee talks about his life, philosophy, and martial arts. This episode was thought lost but was later found. This is difficult to get in its entirety. It was released on VHS tape and is available on DVD from Australia. Parts can be found on the excellent documentary, I am Bruce Lee. 25m (IMDB).
Video of Earth, Pixaby
Instrumental music, Eco Technology, Lexin_Music, Pixaby.com.
Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1998, 2016. Volume 5 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Letters to friends, family, and business associates. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.
AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI.