Kwai Chang Caine

Kwai Chang Caine is a fictional television character played by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a younger Caine and Radames Pera as the youngest Caine, in the 1972–1975 western television series, "Kung Fu".

In the late 19th century China, Kwai Chang Caine was the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. He was raised in a Shaolin Monastery, and was trained by the monks to be a Shaolin master. "Kung Fu" follows his adventures as he travels to the American Old West (armed only with his skill in martial arts) as he seeks his half-brother, Danny Caine. Although it was his intention to find his brother Danny in a way which would escape notice, the demands of his training as a priest in addition to the sense of social responsibility which was instilled within him during his childhood, forced Caine to repeatedly come into the open to fight for justice. He would then leave his new surroundings in a further search for anonymity and security.

Synopsis

Orphaned after his maternal grandfather's death, Caine eventually found himself outside the local Shaolin temple along with other hopeful candidates. After waiting patiently for several days (even after being told to go home), Caine and the few other remaining candidates were taken inside the temple where only Caine passed a subtle test in manners. Although taking a student of mixed parentage into the order was unprecedented, the head monk sagely noted "For everything there is a first time," and welcomed Caine.

Following his induction into the order, Caine then lived in the temple until adulthood, mastering many of the fighting forms and lessons taught by the Shaolin monks. At one point during his training he was shown the various forms and his instructor explained that it would take a lifetime to master one of the forms. Later, while in America, when asked by a student which forms he teaches, Caine's response was "All of them."

One of his first instructors was the blind master named Po. Po considered Caine his favorite pupil and behaved more like an elderly grandfather. Caine was given the nickname "Grasshopper" by Master Po. The reference was from an exchange where the still ignorant young Caine asked the old blind master how he could function without seeing. Po then described the room in detail, including a grasshopper at Caine's feet. Incredulous, Caine asked Po, "Old man - how is it that you hear these things?". Po's reply was, "Young man, how is it that you do not?". From that point on, Po affectionately called Caine "Grasshopper".

Years after his graduation, Caine travels to the capital to meet Po, whose lifelong ambition was to travel to the city on that date. While talking, the Emperor's nephew and his entourage come along and an altercation ensued. While defending himself from an unruly and belligerent guard, Master Po is shot by the Emperor's nephew. In a moment of shock, Caine kills the Imperial nephew. With his dying words, Po instructs Caine to flee to America. Caine flees to the American Old West during which time he discovers that he has a half-brother, named Danny. At the same time, he was on the run from a steady stream of bounty hunters and Chinese agents searching for him.

Although it was his intention to find Danny in a way which would escape notice, the demands of his training as a priest in addition to the sense of social responsibility which was instilled within him during his childhood, forced Caine to repeatedly come into the open to fight for justice. He would then leave his new surroundings in a further search for anonymity and security.

This conflict between a desire for anonymity and a sense of social responsibility is conveyed through the frequent use of flashbacks. In these flashbacks, the adult Caine (Carradine) recalls a particular lesson during his training in the monastery while a child (Rad Pera) by his teachers, the blind Master Po (Keye Luke) and Master Kan (Philip Ahn).

During the concluding four episodes of the third (and final) season ("Barbary House," "Flight to Orion," "The Brothers Caine," and "Full Circle,") Caine not only finds his brother Danny, but his nephew Zeke as well.

Characteristics and skills

Caine is a Master In Shaolin Kung Fu. This school contained various arts in real Chinese history, but the styles depicted in the series were:

*White Crane
*Dragon
*Tiger
*Snake
*Mantis
*Eagle Claw

Caine's training involved both armed and unarmed combat. He was also tutored in eastern philosophy and herbal medicine. Upon graduation he attained the rank of Shaolin Master. Caine exited the school via a special corridor designed as a last test. Barring the exit was a hot iron cauldron with the figures of a dragon on one side and a tiger on the other. By lifting the cauldron with his forearms, the graduate branded themself with the figures. The newly initiated master thus bore an imprint on each their inner forearms; signifying their new status. On several occasions these scars identified him as a Shaolin monk to those familiar with Chinese culture.

Caine's character is humble, intelligent, inquisitive, and usually very soft-spoken. His only known pastime is the playing of a bamboo flute. Caine is fluent in both Cantonese and English. He is also very skilled in the schools of herbalism and healing.

Teachers

*Master Kan: (Philip Ahn)
*Master Po: (Keye Luke)

Known relatives

Kung-Fu

*"Father": Thomas Henry Caine
*"Mother": Kwai Lin
*"Half Brother": Daniel Caine
*"Uncle": American farmer
*"Grandfather": Henry Rafael Caine
*"Grandmother": Elizabeth Hale Caine
*"Nephew": Zeke (John Blyth Barrymore)

Kung-Fu: The Movie

*"Son": Chung Wang (Brandon Lee)

Kung-Fu: The Next Generation

*"Grandson": Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine)
*"Great-grandson": Johnny Caine (Brandon Lee)

Kung-Fu: The Legend Continues

*"Son": Matthew Caine
*"Distant ancestor": Kwai Chang
*"Grandson": Kwai Chang Caine
*"Grandson": Damon Caine
*"Grandson": Martin Bradshaw
*"Great-grandson": Peter Caine

Caine's name

In the fourth episode of season three ("The Small Beheading"), William Shatner's character presents Caine with a scroll that is written in Chinese. As the camera pans down the scroll, the Chinese characters for Caine's name appear for the first time in the series:

*note: "in Chinese, the surname is written first" The Zhangzhou accented Amoy pronunciation of the characters most closely match the English spelling of Caine's name. However, in the series, Caine attended the Shaolin Temple in Henan province, where the priests likely spoke Mandarin.

pin-offs

*In 1986 "" premiered as a made-for-TV movie. In reality, the movie was the pilot for a new series in which Caine finds himself hunted by the father of the royal nephew killed by Caine in the original pilot. The royal's primary weapon against Caine is a young man named Chung Wang - unknowingly Caine's adult son (played by Brandon Lee).
*In 1987 a second series called "" was supposed to be launched. It was set in the present day telling the story of Kwai Chang Caine's grandson (played by David Barlow) and great-grandson, played by Brandon Lee. Throughout this series, Caine would teach his rebellious son of the Shaolin ways. The series idea never took off beyond the pilot, however, and was not launched.
*In 1993 a third series was begun, "", wherein Carradine played [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdenticalGrandson the grandson of the original Caine] . Identical in appearance to and named after the first Kwai Chang Caine, this Caine was reunited with his son from whom he was separated fifteen years ago (when both thought the other had died in an explosion). Raised by a Los Angeles policeman, the son is now a police detective who has long since abandoned his boyhood Shaolin training.
*David Carradine made one final appearance as Caine in "The Gambler-The Luck of the Draw", part of Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" telefilm series. It also featured the final appearance of Chuck Conners as Lucas McCain, The Rifleman, and Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp.

References

*Pilato, Herbie J. "". Boston: Charles A. Tuttle, 1993. ISBN 0-8048-1826-6

External links

* [http://members.aol.com/debwalsh/kftime.html THE SHAOLIN/CAINE TIMELINE]