"Kung Fu": TV Series, Beseiged

#50 (Prod #166262) "BESIEGED: Death on Cold Mountain" (pt. 1)
Teleplay By:: William Kelley^*2* (also #10, 18, 37 & 38)
Directed By:: David Carradine (also #47 & 51)
First Broadcast: November 15, 1974 (Friday)
Special Guest Star: Barbara Seagull (Hershey)
Guest Stars: Khigh Dheigh (also #10 & 20), Victor Sen Yung (also pilot & #1, 9, 21, 30 & 47), Yuki Shimoda (also #8), Richard Loo (also pilot & #3, 23, 35 & 48)
Regular Cast: David Carradine, Philip Ahn, Keye Luke, Radames Pera

In China Master Po and Caine are dispatched to rescue the survivors of another Shaolin temple which has been destroyed by the warlord Sing Lu Chan. One of the survivors happens to be a girl.
#51 (Prod 166263) "BESIEGED: Cannon at the Gates" (pt. 2)
Teleplay By:: William Kelley (also #10, 18, 37 & 38) & David Michael Korn^*2*
Directed By:: David Carradine (also #47 & 51)
First Broadcast: November 22, 1974 (Friday)
Guest Stars: (as above)

As the warlord moves on the temple, Nan Chi feels she has to sacrifice herself to save everyone else, especially Caine.

(from Part 1- "Death on Cold Mountain"):

"Forever? Forever is a word for children." - Master Kan

"Master of Monks here at Honan." - Master Kan, of himself

"Badly in need of a lesson in manners." - Master Po

"I can see you well enough, now that you speak. . . . Keep talking; your mouth gives me eyes." - Master Po (who is, of course, blind)

"If you will be so kind as to strike the first blow." - Master Po, accepting what he thinks is a challenge to Master Kan

"That is for me to judge." - Master Kan

"We must decide. Whatever we decide will be decided by vote." - Kan

"I feel eyes upon us." - Master Po

"Is there another way. . . ? Can we conceal ourselves." - Master Po

"You are a girl." - Caine

"The training requires great strength." - Caine, on Shaolin training

"We cannot do that. . . . We are Shaolin." - Caine, on disobedience

"I tortured him with exquisite care. I dragged him here behind my horse. Yet, he will not speak." - on Master Po

"Whatever has happened has already happened. We will wait to hear the outcome." - Master Kan

"'My death will not give him nearly so much satisfaction as it will me.' - Master Po
'Does not being able to see make you weary of life?'
'No. It is being able to hear.'" - Master Po (laughing)

"We are skilled, we Shaolin, in the arts of silent and invisible action but we know, too, when it is time to abandon these skills." - Master Kan

"I have every confidence in that young man." - Master Kan on Disciple Caine

"There is no place for you here. . . . I am the Master of Monks here." - Kan

"You are also of mixed blood. . . . We made a single exception in that case." - Master Kan, on accepting young Caine

"We have neither the inclination nor the facilities to accommodate nuns here at this temple." - Master Kan

"I do not regard it as an opportunity and I do not regard you as a remedy." - Master Kan

"The circumstances called for bold action." - Master Kan

"How can they hurt me?. . . Only this poor body." - Master Po

"I thought I would never see you again, my friend." - Kan to Po

At the time of this story Master Po is 83.

There are more than 200 Shaolin at the Honan Temple at this time.

See the historical note at the end of the next episode for how this connects to history.

Lines (from Part 2 - "Cannon at the Gates":

"Here in the peace and serenity of our temple, we seem." - Master Kan

"We are dealing with a man who is motivated not by reason but by passions. That means we are dealing with a man half mad at best. - Master Kan

"Only a threat. . . . We are secure here." - Caine

"'Even a Shaolin cannot exist without food.' - Master Kan
'It is, perhaps, time we tried.'" - Master Po

"It would slow me down to look after you." - Caine

"The Sage says, 'A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and cold. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore, the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.'" - Master Po, quoting the TAO TE CHING chapter #66 [F]

The story that there was a second Shaolin Temple at Fukien cannot be verified according to D.F. Draeger and R.W. Smith in Asian Fighting Arts (Tokyo, Kodansha Intl. 1969) pages 43-46, but they go on to say: "Tradition has it that during the reign of Emperor K'ang Hsi (1662-1723) Imperial troops sent against marauding bands in the western border areas were defeated. When the Emperor asked for volunteers, 128 of the Fukien Shaolin monks responded and routed the enemy without themselves suffering a single casualty. Subsequently, the Emperor was persuaded by Manchu officials to send a force against the Fukien temple on a purported charge of sedition. The temple was burned and only five monks survived the battle. Out of this grew the anti-Manchu Triad Society or Hung League. . . ." This is pretty much the story suggested in these two episodes for the destruction of the Fukien Temple although these stories which must take place in the mid to late 1860s are set about 150 years after it may have really happened.