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According to Asiaonein two videos posted to his Xiaohongshu account on July 24 and 25, the actor reflected on his evolving approach to parenting and the regrets he carries, particularly from his early years as a father.

Li, who has four daughters—Si and Taimi from his first marriage, and Jane and Jada with his current wife, Hong Kong actress Nina Li—recounted a moment that still lingers in his memory.

“There was once when my daughter’s tooth fell out,” he said. “She placed the tooth under her pillow, covered it nicely and said a fairy would send some money to her the next morning.”

“I was just a very silly father and told her, ‘Don’t fret about it, there wouldn’t be any money the next morning because unless your parents give it to you, no fairy would come,” he went on. “She cried and I didn’t know what to do.”

Li explained that his bluntness stemmed from his own upbringing, which lacked fairy tales and make-believe. His daughter later told him that instead of dismissing those childhood beliefs, he should have simply joined in the fantasy.

The actor added that he became a father at age 25. Having lost his own father at just two years old, he said he was unsure of how to be a dad back then, merely thinking being a good father meant working hard, earning money, so that he could provide a good education for his children.

But as the years passed, Li realized that he had missed out on much of his daughters’ lives.

“My girls [from my first marriage] had grown up so much and were already in school, and when we met, I could only ask how their studies were,” he said. “It felt like I was just doing my parental duties.”

Now, Li says his view of fatherhood has shifted. He has turned down several film projects to spend more time with his younger daughters, Jane and Jada.

“Now, I am able to talk to my daughters like we are friends, and we find time to let them talk about my shortcomings and provoke me,” he said.

Li, 62, was born in Beijing, China, and faced hardship early in life after his father’s death. He discovered Wushu at age eight and rose to become China’s national all-around champion from 1975 to 1979, retiring at 18 due to a knee injury. He later served as assistant coach for the Beijing Wushu team.

His breakthrough in cinema came with the 1982 film “Shaolin Temple,” which broke Chinese box office records. Its 1984 sequel “Kids from Shaolin” also became the highest-grossing film of that year.

Li made his international debut in the 1998 film “Lethal Weapon 4” and went on to star in global hits such as “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” and “The Expendables” series.

In 2011, he confirmed he had obtained Singaporean citizenship, according to AFP.