Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Zhang Jingchu from Jadesoturi (Jade Warrior)

This picture (and others from the same source) widely circulate the Internet (yes I still write it with a capital I, since it's a proper noun) with a caption that says this to be an Inuit archer.

No.

This is a picture of Chinese actress  Zhang Jingchu from the filming of a (first and only)  Finnish-Chinese kung fu film Jadesoturi (Jade Warrior), from 2006.

So she's Chinese, not Inuit, an actress, not a huntress, this costume is clearly a movie costume (nobody wears a corset in traditional societies!), and the place is Finland, not the North Pole or something.

Anybody who knows archery can also tell that this woman doesn't know archery.

Mistakes are:

1. The position of the bow is wrong. She holds it a bit too high from the center which makes the bow tilt backwards. I've drawn the correct position of the bow, where it should be.
2. She holds the arrow with index finger of her bow hand. A beginners mistake, once again.

2 comments :

  1. Hello.
    If i can ask: What kind of bow is it (looks to be a Khanty one) and hwo made it for the movie?
    Thank you :)

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    Replies
    1. It does look Finno-Ugrian indeed. I can't say anything more specific from the picture.
      The IMDB page lists the full cast of the movie, but it doesn't specify who made the bow. Maybe somebody from the prop department?
      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416871/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

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