After making three successful and very varied English language films, what made you want to go back to making a Chinese film?

It's actually something I've wanted to make ever since "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman", but I wasn't ready and wasn't able to do it. I've always wanted to make a martial arts film like this, like a form of poetry. From the experience I gained from the other films, I managed to get this made, and I got to put what I wanted to do with the genre into it. I tried to budge them a few inches and see how much I could get away with. It was important for me, both to fulfill certain dreams and to work outside the American system. To experience more creative film-making, that's refreshing to me. It's like an adventure.

Where is there left for you to go, professionally?

Bigger, better movies. Sometimes I'll succeed. Sometimes I'll flop. My whole career is like a film school to me.

How important was the Foreign Language Oscar, as opposed to the other nominations you had?

Asian films have never won the foreign language category. But right now, the line is really blurred. In the regular categories, I was competing with the American studio system, but here, only a small portion of the Academy got to vote and I got to compete with art films. It's also different, because in this category, I represented Taiwan. We were with a group of Taiwanese representatives. You feel part of the culture and you want to do your duty.

Read our review of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".