WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, now in theaters.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a story filled with underlying themes about family, love and understanding. While the lion's share of these themes is handled throughout the film's dialogue and the overarching plot, there is a hidden back and forth that centers around balance and how it plays into the theme of love. This underlying story is best expressed through the film's main form of action, martial arts.
This concept is first shown early in the film when Shang-Chi's antagonist, Wenwu (Tony Leung), meets a protector of the village of Ta Lo named Ying Li (Fala Chen). At first, the conqueror seeks entrance into the secret realm through violence, inciting a fight. Wenwu is a master of multiple forms of martial arts, but he is primarily shown using the fast-paced martial art of Wing Chun coupled with another art known as Hung Gar. The latter helps in conjunction with the power of his ten rings, which work as iron bracelets typically used in Hung Gar. Wenwu's rigid and aggressive closed fist style is ultimately no match for Ying Li's flowing, open-handed form of Tai Chi. Rather than focus on strikes, she uses her natural skill and wind abilities to dance around Wenwu, turning their bout into a waltz of sorts.
Their combat serves as a physical representation of yin and yang as it opens the door to love between them. Wenwu represents yin through his coldness and stillness, while Ying Li represents yang due to the warmth and light that surrounds her. However, both borrow qualities from each other, like passiveness and masculinity. As they fight, their shared energies represent the curved line where light meets dark, and their love for each other completes the symbol, representing the two smaller circles. At first glance, the parallels are easy to miss, but their powerful bond is felt even more strongly as Shang-Chi progresses.
Following Ying Li's death, Wenwu's main goal is to free her soul from Ta Lo, as he believes the villagers are keeping her trapped there. While he is being lied to, his adamant nature and ruthlessness in finding her show that his love never died, but without her light to balance him out, his dark nature has taken over again. Ultimately, his son, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), must remind Wenwu of his love for his children while facing his own struggles with light and dark.
Shang-Chi was trained at a young age to be a killer. He adopted his father's Wing Chun style and fought with similar efficiency. However, the big difference between them is that Shang-Chi doesn't have the same ruthlessness as his father and fights to protect lives, not endanger them. Once Shang-Chi reaches Ta Lo, he's convinced that the only way to stop his father is to kill him. However, his Aunt Nan (Michelle Yeoh) shows him a different way by teaching him his mother's Tai Chi style. Using his rage constructively, he opens the door for his father to be reminded of what's important, and the two find a balance.
Wenwu gifts Shang-Chi his rings in his last moments, showing that he has grown from the monster he was. What used to be two separate entities creating yin and yang now flows through their son. He is the best and worst parts of his mother and father, but rather than go down either path, he takes his own. Through martial arts, Shang-Chi's audience can take this journey with him while showing how expert choreography can tell its own layered story.
To see the poetry in martial arts, check out Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in theaters now.
0 Comments