Unveiling the Identity of Jet Li's First Wife (Photo)

The movie "The Shaolin Kids" also made a splash in the film industry in the early 1980s. The female lead who had an intense fight with Jet Li was his childhood friend and junior fellow apprentice. Seeing her senior brother as a young hero, she developed her first love, harboring deep affection within her heart and gazing tenderly at Jet Li. One day, Jet Li understood her feelings, and they got married, their first love blossoming into marriage.

When Jet Li's career hit a low point, he once felt very disheartened. Fortunately, at this time, his first girlfriend, Huang Qiuyan, came to his side. With feminine tenderness and the strength of a martial artist, she accompanied Jet Li through difficult times.

Huang Qiuyan was born in 1961, two years older than Jet Li. She came from a military artistic family; her father was named Huang Boshou, and her mother was named Chen Lianhuan. They were the first generation of ballet dancers trained by New China.

Huang Qiuyan was lively, outgoing, warm-hearted, and fond of singing and dancing. Many relatives and friends said when she was little that Huang Qiuyan was excellent material for dance. Her parents originally hoped she would learn dance and carry on their career. However, due to the ten-year Cultural Revolution, as intellectuals, Huang Boshou and Chen Lianhuan both faced persecution. To prevent any future setbacks for their daughter, the Huang couple agreed to send their elementary school-aged daughter, Huang Qiuyan, to the Shichahai Sports School to study martial arts.

From then on, Huang Qiuyan was placed in the same martial arts class as Jet Li. Later, they both became professional martial arts athletes. Their studies, practice, and daily lives all took place at the school, spending every day together. They often exchanged skills and played around, growing up together like "childhood sweethearts."

Although Huang Qiuyan did not win the national martial arts championship, she won the Beijing women's snake fist and swordsmanship championship. She had good flexibility and a strong sense of rhythm, which added a performative quality to her style. Her expressions were rich, but as a martial arts athlete, she lacked sufficient strength and power.

During their time at school, as they grew older, the relationship between Jet Li and Huang Qiuyan became somewhat ambiguous—neither like lovers nor like siblings. This situation persisted until Jet Li was invited to film "The Shaolin Temple," where a qualitative change occurred, and Huang Qiuyan's feelings for Jet Li surfaced, growing stronger over time.

After Jet Li was invited to shoot "The Shaolin Temple," Huang Qiuyan would often lose focus while practicing alone in the training room, constantly thinking about Jet Li. She gradually realized that she had fallen in love with him.

According to Huang Qiuyan's father, Huang Boshou, recalling:

"At that time, Qiuyan talked more about Jet Li when she came home, often praising him. But I didn't know if they were dating then; I only noticed that she had a strong liking for Jet Li."

When Jet Li was filming "The Shaolin Temple," Huang Qiuyan already had a salary from the sports school, but sometimes she still asked us for money. She often bought things to visit Jet Li's mother at his house, but Huang Qiuyan never mentioned her romantic relationship with Jet Li to her parents.

After Jet Li finished filming "The Shaolin Temple," he injured his leg during training, and the doctor said there was a risk of lifelong disability. Huang Qiuyan was extremely worried and almost visited the hospital every day to take care of Jet Li. It was at this time that Huang Qiuyan told her parents that she and Jet Li were dating. At that time, Huang Qiuyan was deeply in love with Jet Li and took great care of him in daily life. Sometimes, when her family bought something delicious, Huang Qiuyan would bring some to Jet Li.

Under the care of his girlfriend, Jet Li recovered quickly. Jet Li was grateful for Huang Qiuyan's care, and their relationship began to become clearer.

Not long after, "The Shaolin Temple" became a blockbuster hit, and its box office soared. Director Zhang Xinyan, seeing the nationwide craze for martial arts, decided to make another martial arts film. This became the later well-known "The Shaolin Kids."