What are jedi based on?

I had heard that the jedi were based on the shaolin monks and samurai. Is this true? Does anyone have any info about this? What are the jedi based on?

 

i think the jedi were more based on samurai, since samurai has codes to follow and so do the jedi.

 

I don't believe they're based on any one group. They're more of a mixture of a lot of things, including Marshalls of the Old West (as demonstrated in the prequels).

 

I would have said "based on an image in George Lucas' mind", but I suppose thats a bit far fetched...

 

Lol at TeJitsuDo. I think you're a little too right. But I think he meant to ask, what did George compile to make that image?

 

Jedi always seemed to me like western knights (not samurai) with a heavy dose of Taoism mixed with tidbits of Buddhist and Christian philosophy.

 

I see the Taoism. You can see the influences from Kirosawa films. Lucas was also heavily influenced by writer Joseph Campbell who was an authority on myth in different cultures.

 

In the newer films the fighting was mainly (As I understand it anyway) taken from chinese martial arts, in particular Obi Wans stuff.

 

Having been up to the 4,000 acre Skywalker Ranch (Marin Co. - just across the Golden Gate bridge from the City of San Francisco) back in my Creative Director days (No I didn't work for Lucasfilm I designed products for one of the Episode I licences) ... I'd say the elements of the Jedi comes from all of the above so far mentioned.

The guy has massive library that sits in a Victorian house across the pond from his vineyards (which actually produce wine) in which sits a winery that he had imported brick by brick from France. The walls of the production facilities and the house showcase one of the largest collections of Norman Rockwell (Famous American Illustrator from the Golden Age of mag. illustration) anywhere. Very impressive and worth a fortune.

He's had two full time librarians. No flipping through the card catalogs for him. All of the post prod. facilities are underground as is all parking. Anyone coming through the gate would never have any idea what the heck the place is. Nesteld in a small valley in the rolling hills of Marin County it looks like something out of a Steinbeck novel!

At any rate - imagine that folks... your own personal library that takes up two entire floors of a Victorian house. You know the kind... rolling ladder all the way around the book filled walls etc. etc. etc. - and two friggin librarians making any piece of your reference at the tips of your fingers!!!

So it's pretty safe to say the guy has ample reference and resources to be able to work all of what's been mentioned so far into his idea of the Jedi's.
The whole storyline concept of Star Wars et. all follows a fairly classic hero/bad guy story line. It dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. I believe at one point Joseph Campbell wrote something in regards to the Star Wars sagas and the hero's journey narrative.

And in case your wondering - no... someone like myself back then - a lowly creative director didn't come anywhere close to meeting the guy - we meet with the grunts and the art direction staff. And, yes, just about everyone that's ever been up there wants a job there.

edit:

Ok - I knew there was something by Joseph Campbell on this.. this is slightly different than what I'd read before but at quick glance it's got an interesting contrast/comparison between the hero of SW (Luke) and the hero Matrix (Nero) - worth a look!

http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/myth.html

enjoy!

 

In the words of Mark Hamill...

The force is religions greatest hits.

Pretty much sums it up.

 

there is a very good book that was released, I can't find it at the moment, I probably sold it, but it was released by lucasarts or some such, and it told basicalluy all the derivatives that were combined together into the different characters, the storylines etc. and the jedi were essentially a sect of templar knights/roman centurions (at least in the original 3 movies, this books old) that followed what was essentially taoism... ill look and see if i can find it, it was short but interesting

 

Check out the documentary on Discovery Channel ... The Science Of Star Wars...

In that doc, George Lucas admits he modelled the Jedi after the Shaolin monks...

 

The Shaolin Grandmasters' Text goes into detail on how the Jedi are based on Shaolin and Ch'an.
The Shaolin Grandmasters' Text: History, Philosophy, and Gung Fu of Shaolin Ch'an

 

Hi Bob, welcome to MAP.

I’ve got the book, but could you remind me which pages refer to the Jedi?

 

The jedi are based on Coruscant. Durr. Everyone knows that.

 

Currently or "a long time ago"?

 

Yes.

 

That's at Easter, due to the midaclorians in the hot cross buns!

 

If there's one core idea that formed the basis of the heroic and tragic Jedi, it's this one. Lucas was heavily influenced by this school of thought, particularly Joseph Campbell's book. Take this theme, add a lot of Kurosawa, spaghetti Westerns, and a little 70s sci-fi, and you get Star Wars.

Hero's journey - Wikipedia