Shaolin Temple

 Shi Yongxin

Audiences, both domestic and foreign, are easily amazed by Chinese Kungfu performed by Jet Li, a film star now active in Hollywood, or that shown in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon .

Now, a large-scale Kungfu show, Inside and Outside Temple, will provide a feast of unbelievably dazzling Kungfu performances for the Beijing audiences. Unlike other shows that highlight traditional Chinese arts, Inside and Outside Temple started its tour in France early this year (as opposed to debuting first in China) and was extraordinarily popular among the French audiences, giving more than 20 performances in the European nation.

And in Muscat Festival held in the Sultanate of Oman, the Kungfu show performed for eight consecutive nights and drew great attention from the local audiences. Even the king of Oman invited the Kungfu team to perform at a party for the elites of Oman and foreign ambassadors. It was the only performing team invited by the king to the party.

Right after the show in Beijing, Inside and Outside Temple will continue its tour in countries like France, Italy, and the United States.

 The Solid and Traditional Chinese Art

Inside and Outside Temple unveils the daily life of monks in the Shaolin Temple through real Shaolin martial arts. Can you imagine a steel board being split in half by a person's head? Or lying face-up on a bed of upright swords? Can a piece of glass be pierced by a needle? And can you stay unhurt if swords are piercing you? These performances are not some fancy fake shows, but are all based on solid Kungfu.

Besides the solid Shaolin Kungfu, the show revolutionarily features fashionable elements like electronic background music and an interactive program, which gives audiences chances to imitate Kungfu on the stage and see how real Kungfu is practiced.

 More Than a Martial Art

Shaolin Kungfu is named after the Shaolin Temple on Songshan, or Song Mountain in Central China's Henan Province. Kung means "discipline" and fu means "person." Hence, kung fu refers to a disciplined person. Kungfu is often mistaken by the uninitiated as simply a physical activity. However, it is far from the truth, especially for Shaolin Kungfu. It's actually a comprehensive cultural and spiritual system rather than a mere kickboxing art.

Shaolin Kungfu is based on the belief in the supernatural powers of Buddhism. Shaolin Temple monks practice martial arts as their major way of expression. It embodies a thorough understanding of life interpreted by Eastern wisdom.

 1500-year Shaolin Kong Fu

Shaolin Kungfu has a history of about 1,500 years, and first developed in the Shaolin Temple.

In about 525, a holy man named Bodhidharma left his monastery in Southern India to spread the Buddhist faith to China, later called Ch'an Buddhism. In China, Bodhidharma established the Shaolin Temple (Young Forest Temple) and became the first temple (patriarch, literally, ancestor) of the Ch'an sect. He saw that the monks were weak and could not perform his rigorous meditations, so he incorporated some calisthenics into the monks' training. These in-place exercises were transcribed by later monks as "The Muscle Change Classic" or "The Change of the Sinews," "The Marrow Washing," and "The Eighteen Hand Movements of the Enlightened One" (The Eighteen Lo Han Shou) and marked the beginning of Shaolin Temple kickboxing.

Bodhidharma later devised some self-defense movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting systems. His emphasis on chi (intrinsic energy which can be cultivated with breathing exercises and meditation) is an essential foundation of Shaolin Kungfu. Later, because bandits frequently attacked the temple, the Shaolin further hired Kungfu masters to teach the monks to defend themselves. Eventually, the Shaolin fought off the attacking bandits and became renowned for their martial arts prowess.

 Styles of Kong fu

There are many styles or schools of Kungfu. Traditionally, these numerous styles are divided into two major groups: the internal Kungfu and external Kungfu. The three well-known internal Kungfu styles are taijiquan (tai chi chuan), bagua zhang (Pakua Palm), and xingyiquan (Hsing Yi Kungfu). External Kungfu includes Shaolin Kungfu and all its derived styles. Today, the two most well-known branches of Shaolin Kungfu are Northern Shaolin, which emphasizes kicking and long-range, acrobatic, and ground-fighting techniques, and the Southern Shaolin, which emphasize higher stances and hand techniques.

Shaolin Kungfu can be divided into four dimensions: Form, Force, Application, and Philosophy. Shaolin Kungfu epitomizes the meditation principles of Ch'an Buddhism that the mind, the spirit, and the body become one. Based on Shaolin's special philosophy of the Unity of Ch'an and Kungfu, students' livelihood will be enlightened, their wisdom will be expanded, and their ethical standard will be elevated, resulting in a peaceful society.

more...