# Return to the 36th Chamber (少林搭棚大师)
**Return to the 36th Chamber** (少林搭棚大師, also known as 少林三十六房續集 and Return of the Master Killer) is a 1980 Hong Kong kung fu comedy directed by Lau Kar-leung for Shaw Brothers, in which con man Chu Jen-Chieh impersonates the Shaolin monk San Te and acquires kung fu indirectly through scaffolding work at the temple. It is the second film in the series begun by *The 36th Chamber of Shaolin* (1978), with Gordon Liu Chia-hui returning as the star but playing a different character.[1](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) • [2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 24 August 1980, Hong Kong; produced by Shaw Brothers (邵氏兄弟), produced by Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong[1](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) |
| Director and writer | Lau Kar-leung (劉家良), who also served as martial arts director; screenplay by Ni Kuang (倪匡)[1](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) |
| Star | Gordon Liu Chia-hui (劉家輝) as the con man Chu Jen-Chieh; San Te is played by Lee King-Chue[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm) |
| Languages and runtime | Mandarin and Cantonese; runtimes reported as 99 minutes (Douban) and 111 minutes (UCLA catalog)[4](https://movie.douban.com/subject/1302531/) • [2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf) |
| Hong Kong box office | HK$3,632,892, ranking 10th among 1980 Hong Kong releases[5](https://kungfutube.info/13563) |
| Audience rating | 7.6/10 on Douban from 7,447 users[4](https://movie.douban.com/subject/1302531/) |
| Series position | Second of the Shaolin films with Gordon Liu, followed by *Disciples of the 36th Chamber* (1984)[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/36th-chamber) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set during the Manchu rule of China. At the Manchu-owned Cheng Tai Dye Mill, the Han workers have their salaries cut by twenty percent when the owner brings in Manchu thugs to force up production; when the workers protest, they are beaten.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm) The desperate workers hire Chu Jen-Chieh, an out-of-work con man who makes his living posing as a monk and selling fake goods, to impersonate the famous Shaolin monk San Te and frighten the Manchus into restoring their wages.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm)
The imposture collapses when the Manchu boss demands a demonstration of kung fu and Chu bungles the moves; he and the workers are thrashed. Admonished by his brother, Chu skips town and vows to learn real Shaolin kung fu from San Te. After a series of deceptions, including slipping a laxative to a monk to take his place, he sneaks into the Shaolin temple. San Te exposes him as an imposter and puts him to work: his job is to scaffold every building of the temple for its scheduled renovation.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm)
**Training by drudgery.** While watching the disciples practice in the courtyard, Chu uses bamboo and cord to imitate their techniques, building exercises from his scaffolding materials. Expelled from the temple, he returns to the dye mill and discovers he has acquired superb fighting skills: his apparent drudgery was an oblique form of kung fu training. He uses his bamboo-scaffold techniques to defeat the villains and help the workers win back their rights.[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf) • [7](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%B0%91%E6%9E%97%E6%90%AD%E6%A3%9A%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%88/9820195?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
## Production and sequel context
*The 36th Chamber of Shaolin* (1978) had made a star of [Gordon Liu](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-liu) as the fighting monk San Te and set the template for training-centered martial arts films. Since that story was complete, the filmmakers chose an unusual solution for the sequel: Liu stayed as the star but was recast as a comic loser who trains under San Te, now played by Lee King-Chue.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/36th-chamber) • [3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm)
The film was shot on 35mm film with anamorphic Shawscope lenses and presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.[8](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/shawscope-vol2-arrow-2024-bd) The martial arts direction was credited to Lau Kar-leung, Qing Qu, and Xiao Ho, and the cast included Johnny Wang Lung-Wei as the Manchu boss, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Chen Szu-Chia, Hsiao Hou, and Wa Lun.[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf) • [3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm) Baidu Baike describes the production as using hard-style, real kung fu staging, with Gordon Liu performing his action scenes without a stunt double.[7](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%B0%91%E6%9E%97%E6%90%AD%E6%A3%9A%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%88/9820195?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
A third film, *Disciples of the 36th Chamber* (1984), followed, with Liu back as San Te.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/36th-chamber) A separate 1980 Hong Kong film, released on 14 August 1980 and directed by Wong Wah-kei, also carried the English title *Return to the 36th Chamber*, ten days before this film premiered.[1](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf)
## Reception and legacy
The film was a hit on release, though not on the scale of the original.[8](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/shawscope-vol2-arrow-2024-bd) The UCLA Film and Television Archive catalog credits it, along with the slapstick kung fu films of [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung) and [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan), with helping to usher in the vogue for martial arts comedy in 1980s Hong Kong cinema, and describes it as a self-parody that pokes fun at the very conventions Lau Kar-leung helped establish.[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf) The lovehkfilm review calls it one of the rare sequels as much fun as its predecessor, equal parts spoof and straight-ahead martial arts action.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm)
Its manual-labor training premise, in which chores become kung fu exercises, anticipates the formula later used in *The Karate Kid*.[9](https://cinapse.co/2023/05/return-to-the-36th-chamber-shawscope-vol-2-roundtable-reviews/) The film has been restored by Celestial Pictures and released on home video, including the Arrow Video *Shawscope Volume Two* Blu-ray set, and is available for streaming and digital purchase in the United States.[8](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/shawscope-vol2-arrow-2024-bd) • [10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/return-to-the-36th-chamber)
## References
1. [Hong Kong Film Archive, 港產電影一覽 (1913–2003), entries 6635–6636](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf)
2. [Return to the 36th Chamber, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Heroic Grace catalog](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/HeroicGraceCatalog.pdf)
3. [Return to the 36th Chamber review, lovehkfilm.com](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/return_36th_chamber.htm)
4. [少林搭棚大师, Douban](https://movie.douban.com/subject/1302531/)
5. [続・少林寺三十六房／少林搭棚大師（1980）, KUNGFU TUBE](https://kungfutube.info/13563)
6. [36th Chamber, Rotten Tomatoes (audience review by Luke Y. Thompson)](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/36th-chamber)
7. [少林搭棚大师, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%B0%91%E6%9E%97%E6%90%AD%E6%A3%9A%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%88/9820195?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
8. [Shawscope: Volume Two Blu-ray review, The Digital Bits](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/shawscope-vol2-arrow-2024-bd)
9. [Return to the 36th Chamber: Shawscope Vol. 2 Roundtable Reviews, Cinapse](https://cinapse.co/2023/05/return-to-the-36th-chamber-shawscope-vol-2-roundtable-reviews/)
10. [Return to the 36th Chamber streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/return-to-the-36th-chamber)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Martial arts films › Released 1943 to 1985*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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