The wuxia tribute in Kill Bill intersects with a more specific tradition during the Pai Mei episode: kung-fu cinema centred on learning. The distinction helps identify what Tarantino takes from his references. The retired master, the initiation test and the transformation of a fighter through exercises form a narrative with its own rules within Beatrix's revenge.
Shaw Brothers is a production company associated with many martial arts films, with different plots, directors and tones. Its name helps place a catalogue; to identify the references in the chapter, one must also pay attention to the characters, the actors and the way effort is presented.
The presence of Gordon Liu, the earlier portrayal of Pai Mei by Lo Lieh and the texture of the cinematography establish different connections. Some run through the cast and characterisation; others affect how a display of skill is shown. The combination turns Beatrix's recollection into a recognisable episode from martial arts learning cinema.
Wuxia, kung-fu and the space of learning
In his introduction to the BFI's A Century of Chinese Cinema cycle, Noah Cowan distinguishes wuxia, linked to swashbuckling adventure and the chivalric tradition, from the development of kung-fu cinema centred on unarmed combat. These are trends that make it possible to recognise narrative and visual priorities, with areas of contact between them.
The Pai Mei chapter makes it possible to apply that distinction by attending to what is expected of the action. The focus lies on acquiring an ability, accepting correction and facing a new test. The master's superiority is presented first as something Beatrix can experience, but not yet reproduce. That distance organises the scene more strongly than a clash between sides or a mission to be completed outside the compound.
When Pai Mei balances on Beatrix's sword, the demonstration goes beyond a realistic criterion. The episode can focus on training and still retain a fantastical physical capacity. Learning provides the structure through which it is shown.
The secluded space concentrates the relationships. Beatrix enters a place whose rules she does not know and where her previous experience needs to be put to the test. The courtyard offers a setting for demonstration; the moments of shared living extend the teaching. The setting makes it possible to move from displays of skill to their effects on the student without continually introducing new adversaries. Everyday life and combat remain close together.
Within Tarantino'stribute to Asian martial arts cinema, this episode adopts a rhythm of interruptions, attempts and observation. The pauses give weight to what the character still cannot do. Progress needs screen time and a situation that allows results to be compared, even when the editing shortens the training period.
Lo Lieh, Gordon Liu and two distinct precedents
The UCLA Film & Television Archive entry for Executioners from Shaolin identifies Lau Kar-leung as the director of the 1977 film and Lo Lieh as Pai Mei. There the white-browed master occupies the place of the enemy. This precedent makes it possible to recognise that Tarantino is reviving an earlier screen figure, with a look and a threatening authority already associated with kung-fu cinema.
Clan of the White Lotus, released in 1980, offers another combination. Lo Lieh directs it and plays White Lotus, the main antagonist; Gordon Liu plays Hung Wei Ting. The Celestial Pictures catalogue and Will Kouf's review published by Shaw Brothers Universe make it possible to distinguish those roles. White Lotus and Pai Mei should not be turned into a single character simply because they share an actor and a closely related characterisation.
In Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Gordon Liu goes on to play the master who imposes the test. For anyone who knows those films, his presence changes the vantage point from which learning is viewed: a performer associated with the hero who has to improve now embodies the one who seems to know all the answers. It is a relationship between roles that can be appreciated on screen, without attributing the personality of either of them to the actor.
The use of the elder's authority also changes. In the encounter withPai Mei, Beatrix needs to remain close to someone whose superiority she has just had to endure. The master takes on a function that requires coexistence: he can reject her, demand more of her or pass on knowledge. That continuity turns the inequality of the first confrontation into the starting point of a relationship. The memory includes a prolonged negotiation over who can learn and under what conditions.
The image of old kung-fu cinema
Robert Richardson explained to John Pavlus in American Cinematographer that the training used photochemical duplication to reproduce the contrast and wear of old kung-fu prints.
The master's display makes use of a visible difference in effort. While Beatrix tries to respond, he seems to have time to judge her. The exchange allows for a comic reading because of that imbalance, even though the student experiences the consequences as failure. The scene can be threatening and mocking at the same time. The viewer watches the display from a different position to Beatrix's: they appreciate Pai Mei's theatrical excess while she has to endure it.
The master's presentation takes part in that stylisation. His eyebrows and beard make the face recognisable before the action demonstrates his ability. The gestures extend the impression of control: he can pause, observe Beatrix and wait for her response. The alternation between that confidence and her difficulty makes the difference between them legible without relying on lengthy explanations of their skills.
Beatrix'straining with Pai Mei therefore brings together elements working at different scales: the character's appearance, the presentation of the space and the time given over to learning. The resemblance to its references allows for changes of function. Beatrix remains the protagonist of a revenge story, but during this episode her immediate task is to learn. The film gives her the role of pupil after showing what she is capable of as an adversary.
The precedents also make it possible to observe who transmits knowledge. In the UCLA notes on Executioners from Shaolin, Cheng-Sim Lim points out that the son combines the father's teachings, associated with the tiger, and the mother's, linked to the crane. Training depends on bringing together different family contributions.
Will Kouf highlights a comparable intervention in Clan of the White Lotus: Mei Ha, played by Kara Hui, helps the hero to change the way he approaches the problem. The female presence within these stories thus includes the transmission of knowledge crucial to the protagonist.
That variety qualifies the image of a genre made up exclusively of male masters passing knowledge to male disciples. Beatrix's entry into the role of student takes part in a tradition that already offered women different positions. Comparing who teaches, who listens and who ultimately uses what is learned makes it possible to appreciate the changes in Kill Bill without turning its references into a single formula.