Bak Mei

Bak Mei (Chinese: 白眉; pinyin: Bái Méi; Wade–Giles: Pai Mei; Cantonese Yale: Baahk Mèih; lit. 'White Eyebrow') is a semi-mythical 17th-century figure of Chinese martial arts folklore. He is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders—survivors of the fictional destruction of the Shaolin Monastery. In later folklore traditions, he is sometimes portrayed as having betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government. In modern popular culture, Bak Mei has been depicted in Wuxia literature and Hong Kong martial arts films such as Executioners from Shaolin (1977), Abbot of Shaolin (1979), and Clan of the White Lotus (1980). Bak Mei is better known in the West as Pai Mei, played by Gordon Liu in the Hollywood action films Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) and Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2004). He is the namesake of the South Chinese martial art attributed to him: Bak Mei Kung Fu.