# "Kung Fu" nitpick: Why does Caine walk the Earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585 "2012-02-02T21:51:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/1 "2012-02-02T21:51:14Z")
I know [why he left China.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=297838) But, having arrived in America, why does he become a drifter? Why does he [walk the Earth](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/WalkingTheEarth)? Most Chinese immigrants just settled down somewhere and got a job. Caine might be a wanted outlaw in China, but nobody’s going to drive him out of any Chinatown. It might make some kinda sense if he were being chased by somebody, or if he were on a quest to find something, but he ain’t. He just hits the road again at the end of each episode for no apparent reason. Is it a Buddhist thing? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/2 "2012-02-02T21:52:09Z")
Because it would take too long to crawl. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/3 "2012-02-02T21:53:27Z")
Because he can’t afford a car? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/4 "2012-02-02T21:54:01Z")
Wasn’t he looking for a half-brother? Grumble, grumble. Now I’ll have to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/5 "2012-02-02T21:54:59Z")
Because he is a wanted man. Everywhere he goes someone recognizes him from the posters, so he has to move on. Also, it makes a better TV show. ETA: And as Yllaria notes, he is looking for his half brother Danny, who he finds in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/6 "2012-02-02T21:55:50Z")
He was 1) looking for his half-brother and 2) trying to dodge the various agents the Chinese gov’t sent to find him, as well as various Americans trying to collect the bounty on his head. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/7 "2012-02-02T21:56:45Z")
The two previous posters are BOTH right. Caine isn’t “walking the Earth” as some kind of spiritual quest. His concerns are more practical: 1. Since he killed a member of the Chinese royal family, there’s a prince on his head. 2. He’s hoping to find a long-lost brother. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/8 "2012-02-02T21:58:59Z")
Yup, per wiki: “Kung Fu follows the adventures of a Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine [虔官昌 Qián Guānchāng] . . . who travels through the American Old West armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts, as he seeks his half-brother, Danny Caine.” Also: “During four episodes of the third and final season . . . Caine finds his brother Danny, nephew Zeke and two cousins, Joseph and Ezekial.” For those who need closure. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/9 "2012-02-02T22:06:07Z")
The Legend Continued… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/10 "2012-02-02T22:09:29Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. Since he killed a member of the Chinese royal family, there’s a prince on his head. I guess it was beyond 19th-Century surgery to remove one of those safely. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/11 "2012-02-02T22:13:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. Since he killed a member of the Chinese royal family, there’s a prince on his head. Damn, that’s a heavy burden to carry through the Old West. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/12 "2012-02-02T22:17:28Z")
Although I think it is also partly spiritual since he neither wants nor needs possessions and he lives off the land at one with nature so he doesn’t need a job. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/13 "2012-02-02T22:33:25Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The two previous posters are BOTH right. > > Caine isn’t “walking the Earth” as some kind of spiritual quest. His concerns are more practical: > > 1. Since he killed a member of the Chinese royal family, there’s a prince on his head. He got in trouble for having a prince on the head of his spear. That’s not a metaphor, he’s not English. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/14 "2012-02-02T22:44:00Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The Legend Continued… “I am…Caine. I will…help you.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/15 "2012-02-02T22:52:34Z")
> [@](#): > > “Kung Fu” nitpick: Why does Caine walk the Earth? Because his gung fu is too weak to let him walk the seas… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/16 "2012-02-02T23:15:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The two previous posters are BOTH right. > > Caine isn’t “walking the Earth” as some kind of spiritual quest. His concerns are more practical: > > 1. Since he killed a member of the Chinese royal family, there’s a prince on his head. > > 2. He’s hoping to find a long-lost brother. We call it Prince, it’s really just a squiggle. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/17 "2012-02-02T23:17:19Z")
From a writer’s standpoint, it’s because it makes for a much more interesting show. Also, did you not think of him as Cain, who slew Abel? > [@](#): > > 10 Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! > 11 So now you are cursed [with alienation] from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. > 12 If you work the land, it will never again give you its yield. **You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.** ” Gen. 4, 10-12. Emphasis mine. Yes, the victim was a prince, not his brother, but it makes for a nice tie-in. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/18 "2012-02-03T20:57:59Z")
He searched for a man named Jim Sonnett… No, wait… ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/19 "2012-02-03T23:27:20Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Damn, that’s a heavy burden to carry through the Old West. It’s a heavy burden to carry anywhere – even if only on your back. But it wasn’t so much a prince but the nephew of the emperor – and, actually, the bounty for said nephew’s death. The brat was pretty young during the incident, so it’s not clear whether he held or would ever gain a title or position. Still, since he was a relative of the emperor, the death was a pretty newsworthy matter and the emperor wouldn’t be willing to lose face for doing nothing about it. I guess by staying in the West he’d meet fewer people (and sustain a genre TV show) but that also kinda meant he stuck out like a sore thumb. If he’d jumped off at the Cooke Islands or the Phillipines, he could have blended in a lot easier. :rolleyes: —G! There’s a price on your head well that’s the price of fame and that’ll never change . --Jon BonJovi (solo) . _Billy Get Your Guns_ . Young Guns II Soundtrack ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585/20 "2012-02-04T01:16:03Z")
There was several assassins sent to kill Cain. He always defeated them, but sometimes got injured. He had to keep traveling to stay alive. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kung-fu-nitpick-why-does-caine-walk-the-earth/611585.md?page=2)