Born to Defence
1986 film directed by Jet Li
Born to Defence (Chinese: 中華英雄) is a 1988 Hong Kong action film, which marked the directorial debut of Jet Li, who also stars in the film. The film features fight choreography by Tsui Siu-Ming. The film is set in China following the end of World War II and the liberation of China. Li stars as an avid athlete who encounters conflicts with American navy sailors, primarily in the boxing ring. The film was a success in China, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year.
Plot
Jet (Jet Li) returns to his hometown of Qingdao after fighting the Japanese. He and his fellow soldiers discover that much has changed since the end of the war, and American soldiers are taking all the glory for the victory achieved, and they feel unappreciated. Jet eventually meets with his old friend Zhang (Zhao Erkang), a fellow soldier who saved Jet's life in battle, but was seriously injured with shrapnel. Zhao makes a living as a rickshaw driver. Jet decides to stay at Zhao's house for a while.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Born to Defence” as 1986 film directed by Jet Li. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1986 film directed by Jet Li. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q464071. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Born to Defence” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.