The Incredible Untold Story of Tai Lung

Before becoming the terror of Ancient China, he was just a child desperate to be loved. But how did he become the monster we all know? And how could he have been something more?

A phrase that sums up Tai Lung's story and struggle. But there is always a B-side to everything, always a question to be answered. Like for example, what happened to Tai Lung's biological parents? And what happened during his twenty years in prison? Can the character truly redeem himself and have a worthy ending?

Let's play at imagining these answers in our brand new movie.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TAI LUNG ORIGIN

“A good father is worth a hundred teachers, if not, ask Tai Lung”, Jean-Jaques Rousseau.

It’s ironic that you say that, Rousseau. We all know that Tai Lung, like Po, is adopted. But unlike Po, Tai Lung was never able to discover and resolve his true origin story in the way that the panda did. And perhaps he would have preferred to never know the truth in the first place...

Tai Lung was born into a family of tigers with a proud warrior lineage. It was expected that the new son would continue this lineage with honor. But from the moment he opened his eyes, he was seen as an anomaly. His fur wasn’t golden and black like the others, but white as snow, with barely visible markings, almost as if he were a member of another species. How could this be possible? His community, which had never seen anything like it, rejected him almost immediately. His parents tried to convince themselves, and others, that this was just a strange birth defect that would heal over time, that it was only a matter of waiting for Tai Lung to gain his color like the rest of his species. But the community, ignorant of science, was skeptical. Some said his condition meant he would be weak, that he could never match his ancestors. Others, more superstitious, claimed that a tiger without visible stripes was a clear sign of misfortune.

So, pressured by tradition and a community that was growing more hostile, they decided to abandon their newborn son in the mountains. The mother, more compassionate, wanted to leave him somewhere that would at least ensure his survival, but the father, more insecure, feared the consequences if they allowed this strange anomaly to grow, both from the creature itself and from the authorities of their homeland.

Whatever the case, the son was no longer with them, but fear and shame would accompany them for the rest of their lives.

Did the parents ever regret it? Would they have preferred to flee their land with their son, regardless of any possible retaliation? At some point, did they try to find him again?

If it weren’t for a wandering monk, who found him and took him to the famous Jade Palace, little Tai Lung would have simply died in the wild.

That’s right, folks. Tai Lung was never a snow leopard, as we thought, but an albino tiger. And if it wasn´t for this strange congenital condition, he would have never made it into Shifu’s arms. A truth that deepens the tragedy of his life.

And what comes next, from Tai Lung’s adoption to his arrest, is what we all already know.

THE TWENTY YEARS OF NOTHING… OR OF SOMETHING GROWING

“The most important decision you make every day is to be in a good mood, unless you're Tai Lung, then it gets complicated”, Voltaire.

Yes, if I were you, Voltaire, I wouldn’t try saying that to Tai Lung after his twenty years in prison. But by the way… what happened during all that time? Did truly nothing happen? From the outside, that’s what one might think. But there, in that dark and deep prison, is where the great feline discovered the truth—and the monster was born.

As we know, the prison guards were not exactly kind. Whenever they could, they tormented and mistreated Tai Lung, both physically and verbally. They even organized illegal fights and bets in which they used him at their mercy. While these fights were strictly monitored, they helped the warrior maintain his technique to some extent.

This went on for many years until one day, something interesting happened. The monk who had once rescued Tai Lung from the mountains heard rumors about illegal fights in which a fierce white tiger always emerged victorious—and that whenever he fought, one had to bet on him. It was the description of the fighter that caught his attention. He was curious to know if that was truly how that innocent baby had ended up, so one day, he personally went to the prison. However, the head guard was not going to let him in so easily, at least not until he explained in detail how he knew the prisoner. So the monk had to reveal what he knew about Tai Lung’s origin story. He didn’t say much, as he didn’t actually know much—only that Tai Lung had been cast out from a prestigious family of tigers.

The monk was allowed to visit Tai Lung, but the prisioner did not recognize him nor had any intention of interacting with anyone. He was like the living dead. Heartbroken, the monk left.

However, the head guard did not forget what he had been told. He knew that revealing this information to Tai Lung, even if slightly embellished, could be a worse torture than any physical punishment. So, for his own amusement, he told the warrior the story of how his biological parents had deliberately abandoned him, emphasizing how everyone had forsaken him.

"As you see, if it weren’t for that naïve monk, you’d already be dead. You would have died shortly after birth, without ever having lived. A fate perhaps preferable to rotting to death in this prison."

Naturally, this reignited Tai Lung’s hatred and resentment. He felt even more betrayed. Of course, inside the prison, he could do nothing—until, as we know, the opportunity finally presented itself.

One could say that, years later, Tai Lung, in a way, avenged himself on his homeland and his parents’ decision by defeating Tigress. Before being trained by Shifu, Tigress had been born and raised in the same land as Tai Lung, but with all the opportunities that had been denied to him because of his albinism.

Curiously, among other things, Tai Lung had planned to destroy his homeland upon his return, but when he arrived, he found it completely empty—fully evacuated. So, he simply continued on his way, heading straight for Shifu.

Naturally, Tai Lung's resentment toward his biological parents was lesser since he was too young to remember them, unlike Shifu, whom he, of course, remembers very well. However, he was tormented by the idea that everyone abandoned him (TRAUMA!).

THE DEFINITIVE REDEMPTION

“When an innocent is punished, an evil one is born, but when an evil one is punished, does an innocent emerge? I don't know, we should ask Tai Lung”, Victor Hugo.

Now we shall see, Mr. Victor Hugo. Despite the tragic life of Tai Lung, there is always hope and the possibility of change as long as there is life. Yes, it’s true—Po blew Tai Lung into a thousand pieces, leaving no trace of his flesh for the rest of the saga. And since the poor guy was alone in the world, no one reproached the panda for this—not even Shifu. However, as Kung Fu Panda 4 shows us, albeit somewhat incompletely for my taste, his spirit still endures.

Redemption is not the sum of good deeds; rather, a single good action can change everything. So, in our version, if not for Tai Lung, Po would have never been able to defeat Chameleon. In fact, Po was on the verge of being defeated until the miraculous arrival of Tai Lung, who gave him the strength to win. His assistance in this single act, along with his subsequent display of respect and recognition toward the true Dragon Warrior, provides the character with a worthy conclusion and allows him to rest in peace—alongside the other past villains who finally understood what truly matters.

Shifu confessed his mistakes to Tai Lung in one of the best scenes of Kung Fu Panda, which in itself was an admission of his genuine love. But what about the biological parents in our version? Did they ever regret their actions?

From the afterlife, Tai Lung watches as an old tiger approaches a grave. It is Tai Lung’s grave, one that this old tiger had specially prepared. In the past, he used to come accompanied by a woman; now, he is alone. He lays down some flowers and weeps when no one is watching… Or so he thinks. Shifu approaches and consoles him.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TAI LUNG AND LORD SHEN

“Often we find a fat panda on the paths we take to avoid it”, Jean de La Fontaine.

That is what La Fontaine said. Finally, a general reflection on Kung Fu Panda and the unresolved traumas of its villains.

Unlike Lord Shen, who seemed evil and ambitious from birth, the plausible idea of a potential redemption arc for Tai Lung shows that the character was not pure evil. And we only need to look at their motivations. While Lord Shen also has a complicated backstory with his parents, the truth is that they only abandoned him after witnessing him commit nothing less than genocide against an entire species—simply out of fear of a supposed prophecy. Similar to how Herod the Great ordered the killing of all children under two years old out of fear of Jesus, but replacing Herod with a peacock and Jesus with a panda. Moreover, Shen’s present motivations were to conquer China using the gunpowder weapons he had developed. We could say he is a more prototypical villain—a true genocidal and dictatorial leader with ambitions of conquest.

Tai Lung, on the other hand, has motivations in the present that are deeply tied to his past, which he cannot let go of. He has an unresolved conflict with his adoptive father, his only loved one in the world, from whom he feels betrayed and abandoned. While one could argue that both he and Shen resent the world for their painful pasts and abandonment, Tai Lung’s motivations remain more personal and arguably more understandable. The only thing he ever wished to conquer was the Dragon Scroll, which would certify him as the greatest warrior of all time—a title he felt had been unjustly taken from him.

At the end, the pain that is not transformed is transmitted. Like many other villains, Tai Lung deserved to transform his pain, but he never had the chance, and all we saw of him was how he transmitted it. However, we are left with many questions that, at least for now, only imagination can answer.

Real footage of Tai Lung reading this article. Now remember: no one, not a single person, can deny your destiny. They can deny your dreams, but not your destiny, as this one is determined by your actions. So don't let anyone sit on your destiny.