Original subtitles

Guns, spears, arrows and shields What purpose do they serve? ...- Lao She

Escort agency standards, sabers, horses Street wisdom and gangland jargons

Loyalty and honour

They became things of the past overnight

What we face today are trains, guns Trades... and terror

It was the year 1921, in Canton

That year, southern warlords couldn't contain themselves anymore

Round One, Bloodshed in Canton

The convention's in Canton this time

Next time it will be held in Beiping

Whatever

Let's put it on the table

Once we get there

Who will be president?

Lt'll be decided by combat

The fate of a nation to be hinged on a combat?

1921, Canton

Down with warlords

Down with the Beiyang Government...

North-South Reconciliation...

Canton Martial Arts Arena

1921, the Southern Martial Arts Convention

It's a show of might

Where all stops were pulled and every weapon came to the fore

The 82 martial arts schools of the Southern Styles fought to be number one in Canton

Five Northern Tigers Took Canton Southern Traitors on Their Knees

They are undermining the revolution

Foshan Hero

Mentor

Bravo

Mentor

lp Man, you can't fight him

Wing-shing

Just a country bumpkin let him get his beating

Can't you see he's vomiting blood?

Lp Man...

Ip Man...

He'll get killed

He asked for it

10 Years Ago

Foshan, the town of Sangyuan

Fu Hung-mo is here, Fu Hung-mo is coming

The head or the queue...

The head or the queue save your life

What is going on?

The revolutionaries are coming Fu Hung-mo is coming

Fu Hung-mo? Hung-mo, as in red hair?

The head or the queue

Fu Hung-mo has wiped out villages nearby

Run...

Fu Hung-mo?

Oh no! Let's run for our lives, run!

Lp Man, run...

Fu Hung-mo?

The head or the queue...

Brother Ching-shan

Lam Ching-shan, what are you doing?

Folks, as Mr Sun Yat-sen says

Global advancement is unstoppable Go against it to our demise

I may be just a commoner of Foshan

I too have to stand up and urge you to join the revolution

Don't be left behind

Don't be left behind

Cut your queue if you want to cross the bridge

Cut your queue...

What nonsense!

Lam Ching-shan, you were my student

How can you do such a treacherous thing?

Sir, the emperor inside Forbidden City is your sire

But he is not my sire

What nonsense! Let me kill you the traitor

We are in a new era

Not just my queue

Your queue should be cut as well

I dare you!

Fu Hung-mo is here...

Get him

No! Don't cut my queue...

Cut it off...

Brother Ching-shan, why the queue should be cut off?

It means revolution

No, don't cut it...

Cut it off...

With the queue cut revolution is accomplished?

Don't cut my queue

You don't understand

Give way

Teacher...

No... don't cut it...

The head or the queue...

The head or the queue...

Teacher...

My queue...

Freeze! Hand over your money

Fu Hung-mo is coming...

Hand it over

Bravo

Good, go change

With you as coach

Even ten Fu Hung-mos wouldn't be a big deal

Master

Your Hard Gate Fist routine is awesome indeed

Your moves just now were quintessential Hard Gate Fist

But you seemed to have pulled the punch in the Drunken Conqueror move...

Master, it's too vicious

If I didn't pull the punch my opponent would be crippled

I am saving it for Fu Hung-mo

I see, that's wonderful

Master, Lady, men with guns patrol outside the manor

Here inside the manor

My martial arts guarantee the safety not just of Master and Lady

But every young and old of the lp family

Rest assured of that

Dad

Come on

From today on

You two take turn guarding Master and Lady's room 24 hours a day

You guard Young Master's room, get it?

Yes

It is said that the heads Fu Hung-mo chopped off could make a hill

If you confront him directly

we'll be at a disadvantage

Maybe we should negotiate with him

With Master Yim here, we will be fine

Dad, Mom, why do people refuse to cut their queues off?

Because our body and our hair were from our parents

Taking care of it demonstrates our filial piety

Cutting the queue off goes against filial piety

Hence it can't be cut

Dad, our fingernails were from our parents too, but why do we cut them?

Dad, Mom, I think observing filial piety is about the heart

It's not about keeping the queue

Where did you get such weird ideas?

Man, come on

In this chaotic times

The brighter our kid the greater our worries

Mom, why?

Dad, you tell me why

Here they are at last?

They're here?

What's wrong with you?

Use your head!

I...

Master, Lady, this guy was on patrol

he saw a shadow and thought it was one of Fu Hung-mo's men

He just fired off

So... was it or not?

No, he made a mistake

You two can go back to your sleep

Milady, come on

What's that?

What fell down?

A dead ox

Go check every corner out, just go

Yes

They want money only

You have the 1,000 taels ready?

Yes

Just to be play safe

If Master Yim fails to stop them

The money can save our lives

Come on

Master... Young Master is missing

What?

Young Master is missing...

You are Fu Hung-mo?

Hung-mo means red hair But your hair and your beard are black

Why do you cut others' queues off?

Kiddie

Asking me questions before I asked you?

Let me ask you, what's your name?

Lp Man

Come again?

Lp Man

Delivering yourself to me?

Come with me

I won't cut your queue off

I just want to chop your finger off

Come on over

Why?

I just delivered an ox to your dad and got a big present in return

His only son

Why you want my finger instead of my queue?

You are scared?

What's the use of getting scared?

There are so many of you

I am just a child

You can do whatever you like with me

You are some kid

Your saber

I told you to keep a watch on Young Master

But you failed to heed my word

I wasn't sleeping in his room I couldn't have caught him slipping out

How dare you talk back?

Master Yim... don't blame him for it

Spare me your crocodile tears

If something happens to Young Master

You have to pay it with your life

Master, oh no... Master...

Kneel!

What is it? Just say it

Master...

Milady...

See what you have done!

Where is the man?

That's what he said: Get 3,000 taels ready tomorrow

Deliver it to the Earth Deity Temple on the outskirts of town

In such chaotic times Where can I find 3,000 taels?

Master, Lady

Let me go to that Fu Hung-mo

My name Yim Tung commands some respect

with my skills in martial arts

Even if it means my life

I'll get Young Master back

Take it

Kid, you kind of grow on me

You were very talkative Why so quiet now?

I thought revolution meant cutting queues

But you chop fingers off and demand money

If you made it clear

The people didn't have to worry about their queues

Cutting queues and chopping fingers are for making money only

Bear what I say in mind

In this world, everything boils down to money

I don't think so

What do you know?

If every queue is cut It means our revolution is accomplished

Then I am a founding father

I can be a high official

Being a high official means money will come my way

What has the queue got to do with it?

There you go again

Kid, you are in danger

You're still in the mood to ask such questions?

Mind your own life

Who is it?

Yim Tung of the Jiangxi Hard Gate School

Young Master, it's alright I am taking you home

Halt!

You are a queue cutter?

The troop's queue cutter

A new trade that's in demand

I am very good at it

My cuts are even and neat

Let me cut your queue for you

No

Haven't heard of our rule "the head or the queue"?

I just want to know why we have to choose between the head and the queue

Kiddie, you are not afraid of death?

You want money only, you won't kill me

You sure can take him away But where's the money?

I hear that Fu Hung-mo used to be our peer

Then let's settle it our way, mano a mano

Mano a mano?

Sure, challenge accepted

If you win, you can take him away

If you lose, sorry, the price goes up

Please

Master Yim...

Master Yim...

Master Yim...

Master Yim...

Master Yim...

Just get up

I am my dad's son, I only listen to him

You are so stubborn

Before Master Yim came to us

He's already well-known among martial arts practitioners

You have nothing to worry about

Dad...

Master... I've failed you, I've shamed you

Get up first...

What... what happened?

They have upped the ransom demand to 10,000 taels

I am sorry... Master...

10,000 taels?

I am sorry...

Ip's Residence

What are you doing?

Milady, you are the one who runs the lp household and our Sangyuan business

I am more like a hanger-on

Let me do my part this time

Money comes and goes the family fortune can be rebuilt

Bear it in mind You and our son come first

I understand

Uncle, let me go with you

When the Manchus were invited in to take on Li Zicheng's rebel army

The intellectuals welcomed them on their knees

However, when they were demanded to shave their head and wear a queue

They turned against the Manchus

You know about the Yangzhou massacre and the Jiading massacre?

No

What are you doing here?

Lp Oi-dor, head of the lp family asks to see Commander Fu

Where's the money?

Money...

Commander, it's not possible to raise 10,000 taels in so short a time

Many Han people lost their lives for refusing to wear a queue

Weren't they being unnecessarily obstinate?

Now they are free not to wear a queue

But many would rather die than giving it up

Don't you find it hard to fathom?

How come you are so knowledgeable?

You either learn from books

Reading books of different schools

Or you learn from travelling

From meeting different people and experiencing things

As you grow up, you will meet with all sorts of strange things

Bear it in mind

Dig into everything by asking questions

Pick everyone's brain, keep asking

Because people see things differently

Commander Fu, please reconsider

10,000 taels or the lp family line Make your pick

Make your pick...

Dad?

Brother Ching-shan

Boy, what are you snickering at?

That you are bandits in revolutionaries' clothing

What bandits? What revolutionaries?

Did you just fart?

Farting...

Just stay here, don't wander about

The soldiers outside are not nice

He who wins the support of the people will flourish

What nonsense... what support... what flourish...

Young man, we are starving

Do you have a way to get this revolutionary troop out of their plight?

Yes... we are starving

Who are you?

A nobody, I cut hair

I am talking with Commander Fu Stay out of it

Young man, how perceptive

The Wuchang Uprising has opened up people's minds

Canton people are known to be radical in their outlook

If you discipline yourselves well

once you take over Canton

you can have as much money and as many men as you want

Now he's talking

Young man, you are not here for the rescue

You are here to show off your learning

Boy, you do know something

How come you are here?

Hush! To take you away

Wait! Let me hear them out

You do have some nerve

Hush!

We shouldn't let the chaotic times thwart our aspirations

Aspirations...

Ambition is revolution's undoing

Why have so many revolutions failed?

It's because of ambition

You know why I joined the revolution?

Because I have seen how corrupted the Qing court is

I joined the revolution

not because I wanted to be some founding father

but to answer to here... to my conscience

Bravo

With your shortsightedness How will the revolution be a success?

On the contrary, I'd say every revolutionary should be short-sighted

Only then will the revolution be successful

Indeed, how true

Freeze

Run

How dare you! This is a trap

Freeze

How dare you! This is a trap

It's a misunderstanding... This is not a trap

He dares to trick us, cut him no slack

Let go

We played no tricks... you...

Ip Man, you just stay here

Where are you going?

Just stay put, wait for me to come back, get it?

Wait for me

We haven't played any tricks, really no...

Be off... we haven't played any tricks Let go of us...

Who is it? Freeze...

Master Yu...

Greetings from Yu Fung-kau

Born and raised in Foshan

Unlike you though, I've employed my skills in martial arts since I was 18

in safeguarding peace for Foshan

The lp family may be rich But they are honourable

Now their only son has been kidnapped

It's my duty to get him back

How cool, you took our hostage and you have the nerve to come back

Commander Fu, you too are a martial arts practitioner

Let us settle it our way

Alright, your wish is granted

But again, as in our common practice

If you win, you have the boy

If you lose, the ransom is no longer 10,000 taels

It's 30,000 taels

30,000 taels

And have it sent over within a day

Or you can kiss the lp's family goodbye

Kiss them goodbye

Yu Fung-kau of the Crane School

What an embarrassment you are

Back down

A barber is such an adept?

Come on

Greetings, Fu Jing-wan here

Dad

This barber is a liar

Kid, you delivered yourself to me

How's your hand?

Dad, I am fine

Look, it's just a cut

My finger was not chopped off

I don't know why

Fu Hung-mo is you

Kid, if you want to go far

What you need is not just eyesight

but the perceptive power to tell between right and wrong

Master Yu, now there's a peer I just couldn't resist it

Fu Jing-wan of Emperor Taizu's Longfist School

Yu Fung-kau of the Crane School

Master Yu, awesome

You are in the troop

But you are the equal of any martial arts masters

My total admiration

Master Yu, you are too kind

My school belongs to the Fujian branch of the Southern Styles

We fought side by side with the Guangdong branch

in the overthrowing of the Manchu rule

The various schools in Canton can trace their lineage to Southern Shaolin

We are brethren, so to speak

So kungfu is not simple at all

Son, China has a history of over five thousand years

Many cultivations have been lost in time

Kungfu, however, is one of the exceptions

Hence it's a rich and extensive heritage

Master Yu, from foes to friends

Let's forget what happened See it as a misunderstanding

Man, let's go

Just a moment

What? It's alright, Dad

You are Fu Hung-mo, then let me ask you

Why do you cut others' queues off?

Brother Lam, what do you think?

This young boy here sees more than you do

Young man, what do you think? Is revolution good or bad?

Good, of course

Not necessarily

Every revolution in history cost tens of thousands of lives

Yet the outcome might not have been beneficial to all

Then why are you still a revolutionary?

The outcome of a revolution may not be good

But what we have now is definitely bad

Revolution doesn't promise us a bright future

But true revolutionaries will always look forward

Commander Fu, here you are 1,000 taels

But...

I know you are short of funds

See it as the lp family's donation to the cause

Alright, thank you

Commander Fu, may I ask a favour of you?

Please go ahead

The situation is volatile

The revolutionaries here today may turn the Eight Banners tomorrow

The loss of my queue will put me in inconvenience

My Sangyuan household of five hundred depends on me

With you gone, I'll have to fend it on my own

So please... let me keep my queue for the time being

Alright

Commander Fu, thank you

Man, let's go

I bid you goodbye

Master Yu

Some boy

lp Man...

Dad... How do I look?

Rascal, so it's not taking a dump

You went to cut your queue off

lp Man...

Ip Man, take your queue back

I don't want it anymore

You are right, no queue may not be a good thing

But wearing a queue is definitely bad

Bear it in mind

You still have a long road ahead

You are bound to encounter painful decisions

When your courage fails you

Take a look at this queue

Let it remind you of your first drastic decision

Hold it

Your son will make you proud

Master Yu, you have one worthy disciple

Young man, a lesson from the French Revolution

Oh Revolution! What crimes are committed in thy name?

Think about it

See you

Brother Fu, when will we meet again?

Brother Fu, goodbye

Brother Fu

Dad

Fu Jing-wan, you can't be more wrong

Brother Ching-shan, what did you say?

Lp Man, you naughty boy be obedient from now on

Look

Keep your queue safe, get it? Rascal

Wuchang Uprising, 10 October 1911

10 October, Hubei declares independence

22 October, Hunan declares independence

Foshan, Guangdong

Feel free to take a look...

Change your money here...

Change your money with Cashier Wah...

Cashier Wah, it's early of you

305 coppers for a dime

No profit margin for me at all

Not paid back even for the labour

Don't miss your chance Come on over

305 coppers for a dime

I'm taking it all, come on...

Here you are

Be generous

It's heavy

Cashier Wah, more deals and you can't carry it

I have room for more

If I can't carry it I'll give the money to all of you

I mean it

This bit of weight means nothing to me

Come on over...

Cashier Wah, what about mine?

Of course

Count them Sure

Let me count them

Thank you

Come on over... Money exchange...

Queue off...

Don't go... queue off...

Leave me alone...

Please, leave me alone

Queue off...

Tak Shing Money Shop

Boss... Cashier Wah

Take out the abacus and count for him

What's the exchange rate today?

10 dimes for one dollar 300 coppers for a dime

It's hard-earned money for you indeed

Two heavy chests all day

You only make two dimes from the difference

Many a little makes a mickle

I know no other trades

I have to sweat for it

Master Chan, what a firm clamping stance

You picked up Wing Chun from Master Tsan?

Beat him... What's going on?

Beat him...

Chun-loi has been trained by his dad since he was small

lp Man can't fight him