Donnie Yen’s Autobiography: “All About Donnie (問丹心)“
Donnie has written an autobiography back in 2011. Recently I bought it and found some interesting stories of him. THEY WERE ALL DRAMATIC OKAY? I thought I might just translate them and share with you all here. Millions millions thanks to my dear beta Dream @evocating . You have helped me A LOT.
The stories of Donnie below were about his two encounters with the triads in Hong Kong and Taiwan years ago when he was filming. Donnie is a sexy sweet caring talented dangerous smol who will protect his family and friends at all cost ;;;
Donnie Yen’s autobiography (Page 36-40)
Chapter 2: Getting Into the Film Industry
“Against the Triads’ Power”
In recent years, the film industry (in HK) is on a track to be systematic and standardized according to rules and regulations. However, when I first started, people with triad backgrounds working behind the scenes was very common. I daresay that the film producers, especially, were rather dubious. They were hired to deal with the intrusions of the triads like collecting “fines” and “protection fees” and bargaining with them.
Although I have practiced martial arts for a long time and was skilled in a few ways even then, the two encounters I had with the triads were so dangerous that I barely escaped by a hair’s breath. Nevertheless, there is justice in the world and I got out both of them safely.
“Triads Collecting Protection Fee”
One day, when I was filming my second leading film “Mismatched Couples”, we went to Yuenlong(a suburb in HK) to film at a villa. New Territories(one of the three main regions of HK. Yuenlong is located there. NT are mainly countryside and suburbs) was far-away from the centre of HK. I heard the producer was dealing with the triad on the phone. The triad who controlled that area claimed that they had to collect ten thousand of HK dollars as protection fee, otherwise, they would “rape the leading female actress and cut the face of the leading male actor”. Of course, the lead male actor referred to me, and the leading ladies were May Lo and Anna Ueyama. Did that mean that we were in danger?
My master Yuen Wo Ping was rash and hard-headed; he had hot blood in his veins and steel in his spine. As the director of the film, he refused to bow to the triads. He ordered the whole crew to stop filming, and give the triads “a right and proper welcome”. At night, the triad members arrived; two cars full of them. We shone the spotlights onto the main gate and used our own cars to block their route of retreat. Then the crowd, including me, threw ourselves to surround them and threw stones at their windows and windshields to scare them. They were frightened to death and ran away like chickens and stray dogs chased by hounds. It was very satisfying for everyone to watch them go.
In fact, ten or twenty years ago, the triads were so commonly seen in the Taiwan show business. The film “The Miracle Fighters(1982)” was produced by a Taiwanese triad leader. Making films was only his hobby; his income came from the underground gaming houses.
However, do not underestimate him as merely one of triads; he’s not stupid or uneducated by any means. He was skillful with his words and with his fists, and could chat with me in fluent English. During free time, we would discuss the films that we have watched. He was a character like the blind warrior, Toshirō Mifune; he would carry along two katanas with him. Even on the sets, he and triad members would place some of their weapons around us, like the lamp stands, so as to warn people from coming to them for revenge.
One day, a former staff member from the props team brought in some gang members with sickles in hands. Fortunately, YWP came forward and mediated between the two sides, reducing the argument from a mountain to a molehill. The incident thus ended in peace. Nevertheless, in such circumstance, you had to stay alert at every moment or else there will be innocent people who end up hurt.
A few years later, I brought my sister, Chris Yen, who was only 12-13 years old, with me to Taiwan to film “The Close Encounter of Vampire(1986)”(She was cast in the film). One day I found that there was a bruise on her arm. After investigating, I found out that it was some hooligan on the set who had hurt her. I immediately went to the executive director to explain the situation. Then I waited outside the studio for that thug. When I saw him, I questioned him at once, “Did you bully my sister?” He didn’t even try to deny it. I was so furious that I taught him a lesson with fists. I hit him so hard that, afterwards, the bones of my fingers were bent
The hooligan hadn’t learned his lesson, so he asked his gang leader to deal with me. The situation was like this: on one hand, there was a crowd who was crying out for my blood; on the other, the film’s boss knew it wasn’t my fault. So he hurriedly got some people to escort me back to the hotel I was staying. I had offended the wrong people on the set so it was lucky that the boss helped me to resolve the incident. Or else I would have been stabbed god knows how many times, and died in Taiwan.
In those days, my blood ran hot and I believed that situations should be resolved by violence: an eye for an eye. That was recklessness. In a civilized society, we should instead use the law to deal with criminal elements. That’s the sensible way.
