Part of the culture surrounding the characters of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the religion Daoism. While it is evident that Wudang master Li Mu Bai attempts to reach enlightenment, the same can also be said of the women of Crouching Tiger. By comparing the actions of the three main women in the film—Yu Shu Lien, Jade Fox, and Jen Yu—to the Eastern idea of chakras, it can be seen that their actions represent three aspects of the path to enlightenment—being bound to the physical plane, becoming stuck in a chakra, and actually finding total freedom and enlightenment.
Before beginning the dissection of the three women characters, one has to have a bit of background on life energy. One aspect of Daoism is the belief in life energy, or qi. This energy is found throughout the body and can be manipulated and developed in a way that a person could, with practice, receive enlightenment (“Ch’I,” religionfacts.com). The idea of qi is loosely related to the idea of chakras in the body. Chakras are mostly used in Indian religions like Hinduism and are thought of as spinning spheres of energy in the body, each with a different color and function (ChakraEnergy.com), or, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, “any of several points of physical or spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy.”
According to ChakraEnergy.com, there are seven main chakras in the body—the first chakra, or root chakra, is associated with the color red, located at the spine and is concerned with the physical world, protecting oneself and providing security; the second chakra, or spleen chakra, is associated with the color orange, located in the lower abdomen below the belly button and is concerned with feelings, using our senses, social abilities and intimacy; the third chakra or solar plexus chakra, is associated with yellow, located in the stomach area above the belly button and is concerned with personal power, such as balancing the ego, self-control, humor, and self-confidence; the fourth chakra, or heart chakra, is associated with green, located in the middle of the chest, and is concerned with relationships and exercising love, compassion, forgiveness, self-control, and acceptance of the self. The throat chakra is the fifth chakra and is associated with blue. Like the heart chakra, the location of this chakra is self-explanatory. The throat chakra is concerned with expressing oneself and exercising loyalty, trust, and organizational skills. The brow chakra is the sixth chakra and is associated with indigo. This chakra is located between the eyes and is sometimes referred to as the “third eye” chakra because it is concerned with seeing-both physically and emotionally. To go in more detail, the third eye chakra deals with one’s intuition, psychic abilities, self-realization, and releasing repressed and latent thoughts. The final chakra is the crown chakra. It is associated with violet and white and is located at the top of the head. This chakra deals with spirituality and the connection to God. When this chakra is opened in combination with the six others, the body and mind are balanced and a person can receive enlightenment.
Yu Shu Lien’s actions throughout Crouching Tiger are much more earth-bound than the other characters. One way this is exhibited is through how compelled she is to abide by societal norms; for instance, she is in love with Wudang master Li Mu Bai, but neglects to start a relationship with him because she feels it will dishonor Li Mu Bai’s murdered friend, the man to whom she was initially betrothed. This act of stuffing her emotions away is blocking every one of her chakras with the possible exception of the root chakra because she is blocking her true self. By living by this honor code, Yu Shu Lien is only concerned with self-preservation—one of the purposes of the root chakra—and how she might appear to others in society. Another example of Yu Shu Lien’s earthbound status is her way of communicating with men. She remains polite and slightly evasive, making sure not to upset the status quo. For instance, when she doesn’t agree with Li Mu Bai about a certain way to solve a problem, she will sneakily, but softly, suggest another (usually more straight-laced) idea, saying it in a way that won’t lead Li Mu Bai-the man in power-to feel like a woman is trying to take control away from him. The society Yu Shu Lien lived in had men labeled as the leaders, so by encouraging this part of society by voicing her opinion in a careful manner, she is inhibiting the full power of her throat chakra and is only focused, once again, on self preservation. She is, once again, using the root chakra negatively. Her negative actions ultimately reveal themselves to her when she loses the chance at a relationship with Li Mu Bai. It is only when he dies that she realizes that she should’ve opened herself up to have the life she initially wanted.
While Yu Shu Lien’s case is a cautionary tale warning against not living to one’s fullest potential, Jade Fox’s case, on the other hand, seems like a cautionary tale warning against letting one chakra get out of control. This can cause a person to become stuck in one chakra, thereby blocking them from enlightenment and, if left untreated, possible physical and/or emotional destruction. In her quest to kill Li Mu Bai, Jade Fox becomes consumed with rage and hatred, thereby becoming stuck in the heart chakra (which deals with forgiveness) and the spleen chakra (which deals with feelings). She doesn’t want to forgive the Wudang masters for not teaching women the fighting style, and later on, she can not even find it in her heart to re-accept her apprentice Jen Yu, who has learned the Wudang style, surpassing Jade Fox in skill. This life finally gets the better of Jade Fox, and she succumbs to it; her death seems to signify that while following your heart’s desire is necessary and integral to living a fulfilling life, over-indulging in raw passions will lead to destruction.
Jen Yu, on the other hand, takes life into her own hands, and becomes enlightened. All of her actions—good and bad—lead her to the bliss she finds at the end of the film; by stealing Li Mu Bai’s sword, the Green Destiny, she embarks on a journey to overcome her lust for power, thereby negating any damage Jade Fox caused through her lessons. Jen Yu’s disguise as a man also helps her relinquish her need for power. Her disregard for societal norms exhibit her use of the root, third eye, and throat chakras because she is more in touch with her true self than the other women characters and doesn’t mind vocalizing her opinions. The actions mentioned above also help open the third eye chakra because emotional issues Jen Yu deals with, such as power, lust, love, and acceptance, are forced to the forefront. One of the biggest events in Jen Yu’s life is falling in love with the desert bandit, Lo, causing her to open up the heart, spleen, and solar plexus chakras-the chakras with primary connections to feelings, intimacy, and relationships. Through all of the events in Jen Yu’s life, she eventually learns humility, self-control, love, and forgiveness, and she is finally able to fly free into the sky, enlightened and blissful.
While Jen Yu may have found enlightenment, all of the paths taken by the women in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have merit through the lessons they have taught. Yu Shu Lien has learned to enjoy life and live by her own rules instead of society’s; through Jade Fox’s death, Jen Yu realized that wanting ultimate power destroys. If Li Mu Bai was more perceptive in his journey to enlightenment, he could have studied the three women who were a part of his life and see how they related to the power of chakras. These three women exhibit how one wrong move can cause heartache, destruction, or eternal bliss.
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Works Cited
Ang Lee, dir. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Perf. Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Pei Pei Chang, Chow Yun Fat. Asia Union Film & Entertainment, Ltd. 2000.
n.p. ChakraEnergy.com. n.d. Web. 10 Feburary 2010.
n.p. “Chakra”. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Web.Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2010. 10 February 2010.
n.p. “Ch’I, Chi or Qui-Taoism”. Religionfacts.com. Web. ReligionFacts. 2010. 10 February 2010.
