'Warrior': The characters of Ah Sahm and Mey Ling form the crux of the upcoming Cinemax show
Cinemax's 'Warrior' is bringing back on screen what Hollywood had mimicked almost 50 years back from the writings of Bruce Lee. Although Lee's writings were initially rejected based on the claim that Hollywood wasn't confident enough about producing a series with an Asian lead, nevertheless it didn't mind whitewashing the history of Chinatown which thankfully has found its much-deserved legitimacy in the Jonathan Tropper-created show. 'Warrior' speaks about the untold tale of the Tong Wars that were fought between the Tongs of Chinatown, all across America but these gang wars intensified when it came to the bay areas of San Fransisco, where the immigrants would arrive in bulk and be divided among the Tongs or taken in by the whites as slaves.
'Warrior' concentrates on several such Tongs, but the chief among them are the Hip Sing Tongs and the On Leong Tongs. Starring Andrew Koji as Ah Sahm and Dianne Doan as Mey Ling, these two characters have been used on the show to represent the basic functioning of the Tongs. So what are they, and why are they so important to the Tongs Wars? Other than saying that these were, what we can say, the most powerful ruling bodies among all the Tongs they would often be the ones to instigate war to gain control over Chinatown. As 'Warrior' is set to release in April 5, let's take a brief look at the Tongs, their history, and their incessant criminality.