The Chang Family are a fictional family of Hong Konger and American origins in the Tekken series.
History[]
Mr. Chang was a Hong Konger who was in the employee of the Mishima Zaibatsu. He was sent by Heihachi Mishima to the USA in order to find an ancient treasure. The treasure was supposedly located in Native American lands. While in the USA however, Mr. Chang met and fell in love with a Native American woman. He later married her and they had a daughter, Michelle. Heihachi never received the treasure in question, a pendant which Mr. Chang seems to have found.[1] Mr. Chang seems to have kept this fact from Heihachi and either his failure or his apparent defection resulted in Heihachi's henchmen hunting down and killing him. On her 18th birthday, Michelle's mother told her how her father had been killed, and Michelle vowed to take revenge on Heihachi. Michelle entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to do so.
After Kazuya Mishima, Heihachi's son, won the tournament, he took over his father's corporation and apparently discovered Heihachi's interest in the Chang pendant. He kidnapped Michelle's mother in order to lure Michelle into attending the tournament so that he could steal her pendant.
Before the events of Tekken 3, Michelle adopted a daughter, Julia, whilst she was still a baby. She found the baby in the ruins of a Native American settlement. Julia was brought up with love by Michelle, and she went on to become a student of archaeology. When she was eighteen, Julia heard that famous martial artists were disappearing. Her mother had left to learn more about her pendant but never returned. Knowing that Heihachi had sought the pendant, Julia decided to seek him out for answers. Julia discovered that her mother had been kidnapped by Heihachi, who took her pendant and used it to awaken Ogre, an ancient god of fighting. Ogre was responsible for the disappearances of the martial artists, as he absorbed their abilities after defeating them.
Julia later switched from studying archaeology to biology after she became concerned about the desertification of her homeland. She joined a research group funded by G Corporation in order to work on cell regeneration. When the Mishima Zaibatsu raided G Corp's labs, they stole Julia's data and she vowed to get the data back. Despite entering the fourth Iron Fist Tournament for this purpose, Julia was ultimately unsuccessful. Apparently with the help of Ganryu, a long time admirer of her and her mother's, Julia was able to retrieve the data she needed at the fifth Iron Fist Tournament. When she returned, to her native homeland to begin reforesting the desert, she was warned by a wise woman to intercede to try and stop Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima from clashing and awakening a great evil. Julia fed information on her employers at G Corporation to Lee Chaolan of Violet Systems, and after being discovered, was rescued by Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch. Since then, she has worked to fund her research privately either through her secret wrestling persona, Jaycee, or through online streaming.
The Chang Pendant[]
The Chang Pendant as seen in Michelle's Tekken 2 ending
The pendant is a Native American treasure and also a key. It is circular in design, with a large red stone in the center and eight smaller stones set around it. Engraved geometric patterns encircle the stones. The pendant has a darker rim with white enamel inlay feather-like designs.
The pendant was sought by Heihachi who dispatched his employee Mr. Chang to find it. Mr. Chang found it, but kept the pendant from Heihachi, and instead gave it to Michelle for safekeeping. The pendant could apparently awaken Ogre who slumbered in a temple in Mexico, and Heihachi successfully did this before Tekken 3. The pendant was sought by Heihachi and later by his son, Kazuya. It was also the target of the thief, Kunimitsu, who learned that it was a valuable treasure when Heihachi set his eyes on it.
Chang Kenpo[]
Michelle's fighting style is listed as "all types of Chinese fighting arts" whilst Julia's is frequently listed as various martial arts based on Xin Yi Liu He Quan and Baji Quan. In Tekken 3 however, one profile lists Julia's style as 'Chang Kempo'.[2] As her mother practices a similar style, it appears that "Chang Kempo" is a blend of Xin Yi Liu He Quan, Baji Quan, and some wrestling moves, passed down within the Chang family. The Chinese martial arts are likely an influence of Mr. Chang, a Hong Konger, and Michelle appears to have blended these and taught them to her daughter.
Chang Family Members[]
- Mr. Chang - Michelle's father.
- Mrs. Chang - Michelle's mother.
- Michelle Chang - Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chang.
- Julia Chang - Michelle's adopted daughter.
Relationships[]
- Heihachi Mishima - Killed Mr. Chang. Was previously Mr. Chang's boss. Heihachi wanted the Chang pendant. Kidnapped Michelle in Tekken 3.
- Kazuya Mishima - Kidnapped Mrs. Chang to ensure Michelle entered the second tournament. Wanted the Chang pendant. Later became Julia's boss. Julia spied on him for Lee.
- Ogre - Awakened by the Chang Pendant.
- Ganryu - Pursued Michelle, and later her daughter, Julia, as he fell in love with both of them.
- Kunimitsu - Tried to steal the Chang Pendant
- Lee Chaolan - a friend and acquaintance of Julia. He funded some of her work and she worked for him against G Corporation.
Trivia[]
- It is unknown if Mrs. Chang or Michelle are still alive. Michelle appeared alive in Julia's non-canon Tekken 3 ending, but has not been seen canonically since she was kidnapped by Heihachi.
- It is likely Michelle was successfully rescued by Julia, since Julia is no longer motivated by her mother's disappearance in later games.
- The folklore shared with Julia by a member of her tribe, predicting Jin and Kazuya's clash, as well as the prior knowledge Michelle and Julia have of Ogre, indicate that their tribe have an oral tradition that expresses foreknowledge of these events. Although their Native American tribe is not known, the folklore of Michelle and Julia's tribe could parallel the culture of the Hopi Tribe, also principally native to Arizona:
- The Hopi have origin stories of the First Ages of Mankind, which tell of how the prior worlds of humankind came to be, until cataclysms signaled the end of the age, with humanity's wickedness as its downfall.[3]
- The times of Azazel may refer to the very first age, when humankind was pure and one with nature, until something corrupted some humans and made them wicked and wage war upon another. This resulted in the world being "razed in fire", possibly paralleling Azazel reign in ancient times.
- The times of Ogre may refer to the third age, where it was said that man was "able to fly with great discuses", but used them to wage war by gathering armies and "sucking the life dry of people" until "the world became flooded", possibly referring to the aliens and their technology used to create Ogre and his kind.
- The fourth age, which is said to be the current age, shall end "with jars of ashes wiping out all life upon the land"; which could parallel the world war Jin Kazama deliberately started to try and purge the Devil Gene within him.