Jet Li shifts focus to charity, tai chi

 　　BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Filmmaking is just a hobby now, says kungfu star Jet Li, who is spending more time on his charity and on promoting martial¹ arts.

　　He has turned down three films in 2011, including an American one, Li says at the premiere of his latest film, It's Love, a fantasy flick² based on a Chinese folktale about the romance between a man and a snake fairy.

　　He plays a kungfu monk³ in the film, which will be released on Sept 28.

　　The 48-year-old, while running his charity institution One Foundation, will soon start a company to promote tai chi with Alibaba Group Chairman Jack⁴ Ma. Alibaba is one of the largest online commerce platforms in China.

　　The former national martial arts champion expects to break the stereotyped⁵ view of tai chi as a form of exercise favored by just old people in parks.

　　It could be a fashionable sport for young people around the world, as much as India's yoga and South Korea's taekwondo, Li believes.

　　"China is an economic powerhouse," he said at Alibaba Group's annual summit for small- to medium-sized business owners in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, recently.

　　He added the company, named Taichi Zen, will focus on providing a cultural experience.

　　"Italian coffee is better than Starbucks, but consumers over the world recognize Starbucks more than Italian coffee, because it offers a cultural experience," he said at the summit.

　　Li's next movie is about tai chi. He will produce the film and play an important role.

　　Li's efforts may also help boost China's soft power overseas, another of his concerns. He attended the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September and was proud that It's Love was screened there.

　　"Audiences there were surprised that Chinese films can create such great special effects," he says. "In the future more and more impressive Chinese films will show up at international film festivals."

　　The film, costing 180 million yuan ($28 million), will be screened during the National Day holiday, a lucrative⁶ slot for filmmakers. Even so, Li says he does not care that much about the box office.

　　"I will make films again, but that is more like a hobby for me now," he says. "However, I will be a volunteer for charity causes for the rest of my life, and spend a lot of my time on Taichi Zen."

1 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

3 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 stereotyped   

adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的

参考例句：

• There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子，左不过是些才子佳人，最没趣儿。
• He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物，并且与我们的祖先有着明显的（虽然可能没有科学的）联系。

6 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。