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Chinatown's Favorite Son: Bruce Lee 李振藩

Everybody knows who is Bruce Lee, but what most people do NOT know, is Bruce Lee was thoroughly American... by birth. Bruce Lee, Chinese name Lee Jun-fan 李振藩, was born in The Chinese Hospital in Chinatown, San Francisco, on Nov 27, 1940... which happens to be the year of the dragon, AND the hour of the dragon.  This made him a dual Hong Kong and US Citizen by birth. 

Bruce Lee Sculpture in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong
by tee2tee via Pixabay

When he took to the stage later, he chose the stage name 李小龍 (Li Xiao-Long in Mandarin, Lee Siu-lung in Cantonese), which means "little dragon". 

(Remember we mentioned Xiao Long Bao aka XLB, aka Shanghai Dumplings?) 

What was interesting at the time was how his parents got to the US... His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen was the lead Cantonese Opera singer of a traveling troupe from Hong Kong, and his mother, Grace Ho, was the wardrobe manager for the troupe. Indeed, Grace Ho was Eurasian, as Bruce's maternal grandmother is English. The Cantonese Opera Troupes had to be specifically invited by theaters in the US. Once the contract was signed, they then had to be presented to the US Consulate for the visa to be approved, because this was years before the repeal of the Chinese Exclusionary Act in 1943. 

Today, you can do a Bruce Lee walking tour of Chinatown, as demonstrated by SFGate.com, where they start from the Chinese Hospital to both Sun Sing Theater and Great Star Theater, to the various kungfu studios and athletic associations where he either practiced, demonstrated, or taught. 

There are also at least two murals of Bruce Lee in Chinatown as of May 2022. One is right next to Eastern Bakery, at Commercial and Grant. This one has Bruce Lee with a Chinese Dragon and a Crane, with the Chinese 身體健康 (body healthy) 


The other, with Bruce Lee alone and the slogan "Be Like Water", is at the corner of Clay and Grant. 




There is also "We Are Bruce Lee" exhibition by the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) held at the CHSA Museum at 965 Clay, that just opened in April 2022, and is planned to run for 3 years. They do charge an admission, but it is quite affordable. 

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About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

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