Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940, at the Chinese Hospital, in San Francisco's Chinatown. According to the Chinese zodiac, Lee was born in both the hour and the year of the Dragon, which according to tradition is a strong and fortuitous omen. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old. Bruce's father, Lee Hoi-chuen, (Li Hai Quan ) was Han Chinese, and his mother, Grace Ho (He Ai Yu ), was of Eurasian ancestry.

After attending Tak Sun School (De Xin Xue Xiao ) (several blocks from his home at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon), Lee entered the primary school division of the Catholic La Salle College at the age of 12. In 1956, due to poor academic performance (or possibly poor conduct as well), he was transferred to St. Francis Xavier's College (high school), where he would be mentored by Brother Edward, a teacher and coach of the school boxing team. In 1958 Bruce won the Hong Kong schools boxing tournament, knocking out the previous champion in the final.  In the spring of 1959, Lee got into another street fight and the police were called. Until his late teens, Lee's street fights became more frequent and included beating the son of a feared triad family. Eventually, Lee's father decided his son should leave Hong Kong to pursue a safer and healthier life in the United States. His parents confirmed the police's fear that this time Lee's opponent had an organised crime background, and there was the possibility that a contract was out for his life.  The police detective came and he says "Excuse me Mr. Lee, your son is really fighting bad in school. If he gets into just one more fight I might have to put him in jail".  In April 1959, Lee's parents decided to send him to the United States to stay with his older sister, Agnes Lee (Li Qiu Feng ), who was already living with family friends in San Francisco.

Why did Bruce lee leave Hong Kong?
Lee's father decided his son should leave Hong Kong to pursue a safer and healthier life in the United States.