China
Kung Fu Monks
14’25
June 2002
Suggested Link: Kung Fu Monks Australian theatre audiences have been wowed in recent weeks by a spectacular stage production called “Shaolin – Wheel of Life”. Its stars are the monks from the temple in China that’s the cradle of Kung Fu…the martial art that’s taken hold around the world. But behind the stage production is another story -- the real life story of the monks themselves -- and it’s one that people who’ve seen the stage version may find surprising. Here’s Eric Campbell.
Shaolin monks stage show 10:00
Campbell: They come from a small temple in the middle of mainland China. But they’re perhaps the best-travelled and best-known group of monks in the world. Their stage-show “Shaolin - Wheel of Life” tells the story of their ancient temple and its tradition of kung fu. Their abbot, Shi Yongxin, says it’s all about using modern means to spread a timeless message. 10:07
Abbot: We do not do the performing tours to raise funds. We are using a modern means of publicity to spread the name of Shaolin, to raise the awareness of the essence of Shaolin culture. 10:41
Monks at Temple with tourists Campbell: But back at the real temple, this ancient order is facing a modern dilemma. Their mystique has become so marketable they’re the centre of a commercial frenzy -- with stampedes of tourists, hordes of imitators and huge financial temptations. Some believe the battle to keep their traditions has already been lost. 11:02
Arvid Arvid: Just a few of the monks are owners of schools, but these monks, I think you could use the word corrupt. 11:26
Monks chanting
Monks Campbell: For 1,500 years the monks of Shaolin Temple have been guardians of two of China’s greatest traditions. Their monastery at the base of the sacred mountain Song Shan was the cradle of Zen Buddhism. It was also the birthplace of kung fu, first devised to protect the monks from bandits but later an integral part of their Buddhist faith. 11:41
Inside temple Abbot: The words “kung fu” refers to the process of Zen Buddhist practices -- for example, meditation, reading Scriptures, 12:05
Abbot prostration and daily activities. They are all considered practices of kung fu. 12:15
Archival footage -- Cultural Revolution Music 12:25
Campbell: The temple is lucky to have survived at all. The Communist regime nearly destroyed Buddhist orders. In the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards declared war on old ideas and closed the monasteries down.Abbot: The monks stopped religious activities,
Abbot and just lived the life of ordinary people. They just stopped religious practices, but did not change their religious beliefs. 12:45
Abbot walking through monastery Campbell: Today, it’s not just tolerated, it’s part of the system. Master Shi Yongxin is even a member of the National People’s Congress -- the parliament that meets once a year to endorse Communist Party decisions. But it wasn’t religious tolerance that restored the temple’s fame, wealth and reputation. It was a Kung Fu film. 12:53
Excerpt from "Shaolin Temple" film Campbell: In 1982 a Hong Kong company was permitted to hire the temple to make a movie about the Shaolin legend. “Shaolin Temple”, starring a young Jet Li, was the first martial arts film to be shown in mainland China.It was a smash hit. Within weeks, the new game for every Chinese schoolboy was imitating warrior monks. Dozens, hundreds and later thousands began flocking to the ancient temple. Local authorities were quick to see the potential spin-offs. 13:21
Zhang Yi-Bing Zhang Yi-Bing is deputy marketing director for the Henan Province tourist bureau. 13:55
Yi-Bing Yi-Bing: It can be said that the development of tourism industry in Henan started with Shaolin Temple. The film The Shaolin Temple was screened around world in 1982, and the temple gradually gained international renown. Both domestic and international tourists started to come for sightseeing in Henan.
Pilgrims and tourists at temple Campbell: The temple is now one of the most visited sites in China. Some come as religious pilgrims. But most are tourists -- millions of them. And some are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the legendary warrior monks. The temple’s new found success has allowed it to revive the kung fu tradition. Young boys across China compete to be accepted into the temple. While they come to learn kung fu -- also known as wu shu -- they also study Zen Buddhism. 14:14
Yan-Yi Twenty-eight year old, Yan-Yi has been here for 14 years. 14:47
Yan Yi: The rules are strict and formal -- but it is not seriously restrictive. It's not. It is not harsh or boring, either… it's not like that.
People thought our life would be very hard. We have our own regularity in life. We don't find it hard, we like it. 15:10
Yan-Yi and Heng Bo train Campbell: Today he helps train younger students like 14 year old Heng Bo. He came here when he was six, and he's already travelled the world. 15:21
Heng Bo Heng Bo: I would like the world to understand Shaolin kung fu. Our show is very popular with foreigners. Through that, we achieve good merit. 15:31
Music
Young boys practice kung fu Campbell: In the townships around the temple, everybody is kung fu fighting. 15:49
Music
Campbell: The area has become a magnet for martial arts fans from across China and the world. On almost every street there’s a kung fu or wu shu school and endless souvenir stalls, offering fighting and religious trinkets ranging from the tacky to the even tackier. And everyone is using the name Shaolin. 16:09
Abbot: It is a brand name in Chinese wu shu. 16:30
Abbot There is a lot of pirate use of the Shaolin Temple name, both in this country and overseas. This has brought great negative effects to the protection and teaching of Shaolin culture, and caused us great concern. 16:34
Shaolin Temple Wu Shu training centre Campbell: But the local authorities are franchising the Shaolin name. The tourist board has even set up its own Shaolin Temple Wu Shu training centre, which includes the Shaolin Wu Shu travel service and the Shaolin sword factory. 16:46
Stage show Music 17:01
Campbell: The centre even has a touring stage show remarkably similar to the temple's -- right down to the backdrop. It's called the Real Shaolin Kung Fu, except these are not real monks, they're athletes wearing monk costumes. The authorities make no apology for trading on the Shaolin name. 17:05
Tourist Official: We think the Shaolin Temple does have exclusive rights to the name “Shaolin Temple”, but the Shaolin wu shu belongs to not only the Shaolin Temple, but the entire Chinese nation.
Campbell: Even so, most schools advertise their courses as Shaolin Temple Kung Fu. This is the area's largest school, run by an ex-farmer who isn't even a Buddhist. 17:41
But seventy-one-year-old Liu Bao-shan says he has as much right as any monk to claim the temple tradition. He learnt kung fu from his father. He claims the warrior monks had all but died out by the time the Shaolin Temple film started the kung fu craze. 17:56
Liu Bao-shan: At the time there was only a man named Su-Xi at the Shaolin Temple who knew wu shu. He was in poor health. So they came to me. 18:14
Raising of Chinese flag Campbell: The emphasis here is on patriotism rather than Buddhism. Once a week, the entire school turns out to raise the Chinese flag. 18:31
Then they sing the school’s very own Shaolin anthem.
(18:49) Dawn bell clanks(18:52) Dusk drum rolls(18:54) Punches and kicks weigh thousands of pounds(18:56) Whoops are loud as thunders(18:57) Strengthen bodies(18:59) Uphold justice(19:00) Be free of sectarianism and develop China(19:02) Travel thousands of miles just to learn Shaolin kung fu(19:03) Tagou wu shu School forges an iron army(19:05) Shaolin boys have awesome glory(19:07) Roam the world stage of martial arts(19:09) Shaolin boys have awesome glory(19:11) Brilliance of gold medals spread the mighty fame 18:49
Students learning kung fu Campbell: While the students spend hours every day drilling, they learn nothing about religion. For them, Shaolin is not an expression of Zen Buddhism --- it’s a competitive sport. 19:15
Wang Wang: Buddhism… I don’t really know. I’m not sure. There is no Buddhism course here. 19:25
Campbell: Like thousands of others, Wang has come here to escape the poverty of the Chinese countryside. He hopes one day to be an instructor. At the very least, he will have a better chance of becoming a policeman or security guard. The ultimate dream is to act in Kung Fu movies -- just like Shaolin Temple. 19:32
Wang: We all want to learn kung fu after watching the film. Half of our classmates have watched it. 19:50
Arvid learning kung fu Campbell: There may not be much religion here, but everywhere you look there are monks -- or rather, kung fu students and instructors dressed up as monks. It’s all rather a disappointment for some of the foreigners who come here entranced by the Shaolin legend. Arvid is a 17-year-old student from Germany studying at the State-run Shaolin Wu shu centre. 19:56
Arvid: It’s very disappointing. Before I came here I thought it would be 20:17
Arvid not so much tourism here. And would be much more traditional. I wanted to learn traditional martial arts and see the monks practising. But you can’t see the monks practising. Just the students and the teachers. It’s not really traditional any more.Campbell: And people dressed as monks, when they’re not?Arvid: No. Dressing like a monk is normally just for the show. 20:24
Performers training centre Campbell: Even some of the temple monks aren't real monks either. And they don't bother dressing up when there's no audience. 20:50
Most live and train outside the temple, in this small spartan dormitory. One group is now based in England because of touring commitments. Under Chinese law they can't be ordained as monks until they’re 18.
Even after many years at the temple, some choose not to go through with it.
Yan-YiMonk If you want to be a monk it’s your own decision. And if you want to be a star, or if you don’t want to be a monk that’s your decision as well. So far we haven’t thought about it. We are fine. Life is pretty good here. 21:15
Film poster Campbell: But some are leaving the temple to cash in on its mystique. Ex-monks have begun setting up private kung fu schools. Arvid left one such school after constant demands to pay more money.Arvid: When you go to a school and want to become a student, they try to trick you, the monks, to get as much 21:31
Arvid money as possible and tell you prices they are twice as high or three times as high as normal. It’s not what you are thinking about the monks. 21:54
Campbell with Abbot Campbell: There are some monks now who are actually operating private schools. Are you comfortable with monks setting up their own businesses and making money from this?Abbot: This is only an experiment by us. I have not yet seen the actual situation, and don’t know what the result will be. 22:07
Chanting 22:29
Nunnery interior Campbell: But sometimes there is a happy meeting between Buddhism, kung fu and commercialism. This nunnery is just down the road from the Shaolin Temple. It's been restored and reopened, thanks to the generosity of a nearby private school, a school that claim to be China’s first wu shu school exclusively for girls. 22:33
Girls learn wu shu Singing
Campbell: For China it's a rare experiment in altruism and feminism. 23:04
Lirui Headmistress Zhang Lirui left a job paying three times the wages to be part of it. 23:08
Lirui: Our manager’s mother is a very independent and strong-willed woman. She established the wu shu school for girls, not to make money, but to teach girls to become independent and brave women, of whom all female can be proud. While learning wu shu, our students also follow school curricula. We give equal emphasis on literacy and wu shu. 23:15
Road builders Campbell: Whatever the motives and whatever the benefits the Shaolin phenomenon is certain to grow. All around the temple, new kung fu schools are being built as authorities widen the roads forever more tourist coaches. 23:43
Stage show It’s come a very long way in a very short time from the simple, isolated temple that quietly preserved its ancient traditions. Like all legends, Shaolin Temple's is part fact and part myth. But after a 1,500 year run, it shows no sign of ending. 24:0224:33
Credits: Kung Fu MonksReporter: Eric CampbellCamera: Sebastian PhuaResearch: Rex ChenEditor: Richard Dale
Kung Fu Monks
14’25
June 2002
Suggested Link: Kung Fu Monks Australian theatre audiences have been wowed in recent weeks by a spectacular stage production called “Shaolin – Wheel of Life”. Its stars are the monks from the temple in China that’s the cradle of Kung Fu…the martial art that’s taken hold around the world. But behind the stage production is another story -- the real life story of the monks themselves -- and it’s one that people who’ve seen the stage version may find surprising. Here’s Eric Campbell.
Shaolin monks stage show 10:00
Campbell: They come from a small temple in the middle of mainland China. But they’re perhaps the best-travelled and best-known group of monks in the world. Their stage-show “Shaolin - Wheel of Life” tells the story of their ancient temple and its tradition of kung fu. Their abbot, Shi Yongxin, says it’s all about using modern means to spread a timeless message. 10:07
Abbot: We do not do the performing tours to raise funds. We are using a modern means of publicity to spread the name of Shaolin, to raise the awareness of the essence of Shaolin culture. 10:41
Monks at Temple with tourists Campbell: But back at the real temple, this ancient order is facing a modern dilemma. Their mystique has become so marketable they’re the centre of a commercial frenzy -- with stampedes of tourists, hordes of imitators and huge financial temptations. Some believe the battle to keep their traditions has already been lost. 11:02
Arvid Arvid: Just a few of the monks are owners of schools, but these monks, I think you could use the word corrupt. 11:26
Monks chanting
Monks Campbell: For 1,500 years the monks of Shaolin Temple have been guardians of two of China’s greatest traditions. Their monastery at the base of the sacred mountain Song Shan was the cradle of Zen Buddhism. It was also the birthplace of kung fu, first devised to protect the monks from bandits but later an integral part of their Buddhist faith. 11:41
Inside temple Abbot: The words “kung fu” refers to the process of Zen Buddhist practices -- for example, meditation, reading Scriptures, 12:05
Abbot prostration and daily activities. They are all considered practices of kung fu. 12:15
Archival footage -- Cultural Revolution Music 12:25
Campbell: The temple is lucky to have survived at all. The Communist regime nearly destroyed Buddhist orders. In the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards declared war on old ideas and closed the monasteries down.Abbot: The monks stopped religious activities,
Abbot and just lived the life of ordinary people. They just stopped religious practices, but did not change their religious beliefs. 12:45
Abbot walking through monastery Campbell: Today, it’s not just tolerated, it’s part of the system. Master Shi Yongxin is even a member of the National People’s Congress -- the parliament that meets once a year to endorse Communist Party decisions. But it wasn’t religious tolerance that restored the temple’s fame, wealth and reputation. It was a Kung Fu film. 12:53
Excerpt from "Shaolin Temple" film Campbell: In 1982 a Hong Kong company was permitted to hire the temple to make a movie about the Shaolin legend. “Shaolin Temple”, starring a young Jet Li, was the first martial arts film to be shown in mainland China.It was a smash hit. Within weeks, the new game for every Chinese schoolboy was imitating warrior monks. Dozens, hundreds and later thousands began flocking to the ancient temple. Local authorities were quick to see the potential spin-offs. 13:21
Zhang Yi-Bing Zhang Yi-Bing is deputy marketing director for the Henan Province tourist bureau. 13:55
Yi-Bing Yi-Bing: It can be said that the development of tourism industry in Henan started with Shaolin Temple. The film The Shaolin Temple was screened around world in 1982, and the temple gradually gained international renown. Both domestic and international tourists started to come for sightseeing in Henan.
Pilgrims and tourists at temple Campbell: The temple is now one of the most visited sites in China. Some come as religious pilgrims. But most are tourists -- millions of them. And some are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the legendary warrior monks. The temple’s new found success has allowed it to revive the kung fu tradition. Young boys across China compete to be accepted into the temple. While they come to learn kung fu -- also known as wu shu -- they also study Zen Buddhism. 14:14
Yan-Yi Twenty-eight year old, Yan-Yi has been here for 14 years. 14:47
Yan Yi: The rules are strict and formal -- but it is not seriously restrictive. It's not. It is not harsh or boring, either… it's not like that.
People thought our life would be very hard. We have our own regularity in life. We don't find it hard, we like it. 15:10
Yan-Yi and Heng Bo train Campbell: Today he helps train younger students like 14 year old Heng Bo. He came here when he was six, and he's already travelled the world. 15:21
Heng Bo Heng Bo: I would like the world to understand Shaolin kung fu. Our show is very popular with foreigners. Through that, we achieve good merit. 15:31
Music
Young boys practice kung fu Campbell: In the townships around the temple, everybody is kung fu fighting. 15:49
Music
Campbell: The area has become a magnet for martial arts fans from across China and the world. On almost every street there’s a kung fu or wu shu school and endless souvenir stalls, offering fighting and religious trinkets ranging from the tacky to the even tackier. And everyone is using the name Shaolin. 16:09
Abbot: It is a brand name in Chinese wu shu. 16:30
Abbot There is a lot of pirate use of the Shaolin Temple name, both in this country and overseas. This has brought great negative effects to the protection and teaching of Shaolin culture, and caused us great concern. 16:34
Shaolin Temple Wu Shu training centre Campbell: But the local authorities are franchising the Shaolin name. The tourist board has even set up its own Shaolin Temple Wu Shu training centre, which includes the Shaolin Wu Shu travel service and the Shaolin sword factory. 16:46
Stage show Music 17:01
Campbell: The centre even has a touring stage show remarkably similar to the temple's -- right down to the backdrop. It's called the Real Shaolin Kung Fu, except these are not real monks, they're athletes wearing monk costumes. The authorities make no apology for trading on the Shaolin name. 17:05
Tourist Official: We think the Shaolin Temple does have exclusive rights to the name “Shaolin Temple”, but the Shaolin wu shu belongs to not only the Shaolin Temple, but the entire Chinese nation.
Campbell: Even so, most schools advertise their courses as Shaolin Temple Kung Fu. This is the area's largest school, run by an ex-farmer who isn't even a Buddhist. 17:41
But seventy-one-year-old Liu Bao-shan says he has as much right as any monk to claim the temple tradition. He learnt kung fu from his father. He claims the warrior monks had all but died out by the time the Shaolin Temple film started the kung fu craze. 17:56
Liu Bao-shan: At the time there was only a man named Su-Xi at the Shaolin Temple who knew wu shu. He was in poor health. So they came to me. 18:14
Raising of Chinese flag Campbell: The emphasis here is on patriotism rather than Buddhism. Once a week, the entire school turns out to raise the Chinese flag. 18:31
Then they sing the school’s very own Shaolin anthem.
(18:49) Dawn bell clanks(18:52) Dusk drum rolls(18:54) Punches and kicks weigh thousands of pounds(18:56) Whoops are loud as thunders(18:57) Strengthen bodies(18:59) Uphold justice(19:00) Be free of sectarianism and develop China(19:02) Travel thousands of miles just to learn Shaolin kung fu(19:03) Tagou wu shu School forges an iron army(19:05) Shaolin boys have awesome glory(19:07) Roam the world stage of martial arts(19:09) Shaolin boys have awesome glory(19:11) Brilliance of gold medals spread the mighty fame 18:49
Students learning kung fu Campbell: While the students spend hours every day drilling, they learn nothing about religion. For them, Shaolin is not an expression of Zen Buddhism --- it’s a competitive sport. 19:15
Wang Wang: Buddhism… I don’t really know. I’m not sure. There is no Buddhism course here. 19:25
Campbell: Like thousands of others, Wang has come here to escape the poverty of the Chinese countryside. He hopes one day to be an instructor. At the very least, he will have a better chance of becoming a policeman or security guard. The ultimate dream is to act in Kung Fu movies -- just like Shaolin Temple. 19:32
Wang: We all want to learn kung fu after watching the film. Half of our classmates have watched it. 19:50
Arvid learning kung fu Campbell: There may not be much religion here, but everywhere you look there are monks -- or rather, kung fu students and instructors dressed up as monks. It’s all rather a disappointment for some of the foreigners who come here entranced by the Shaolin legend. Arvid is a 17-year-old student from Germany studying at the State-run Shaolin Wu shu centre. 19:56
Arvid: It’s very disappointing. Before I came here I thought it would be 20:17
Arvid not so much tourism here. And would be much more traditional. I wanted to learn traditional martial arts and see the monks practising. But you can’t see the monks practising. Just the students and the teachers. It’s not really traditional any more.Campbell: And people dressed as monks, when they’re not?Arvid: No. Dressing like a monk is normally just for the show. 20:24
Performers training centre Campbell: Even some of the temple monks aren't real monks either. And they don't bother dressing up when there's no audience. 20:50
Most live and train outside the temple, in this small spartan dormitory. One group is now based in England because of touring commitments. Under Chinese law they can't be ordained as monks until they’re 18.
Even after many years at the temple, some choose not to go through with it.
Yan-YiMonk If you want to be a monk it’s your own decision. And if you want to be a star, or if you don’t want to be a monk that’s your decision as well. So far we haven’t thought about it. We are fine. Life is pretty good here. 21:15
Film poster Campbell: But some are leaving the temple to cash in on its mystique. Ex-monks have begun setting up private kung fu schools. Arvid left one such school after constant demands to pay more money.Arvid: When you go to a school and want to become a student, they try to trick you, the monks, to get as much 21:31
Arvid money as possible and tell you prices they are twice as high or three times as high as normal. It’s not what you are thinking about the monks. 21:54
Campbell with Abbot Campbell: There are some monks now who are actually operating private schools. Are you comfortable with monks setting up their own businesses and making money from this?Abbot: This is only an experiment by us. I have not yet seen the actual situation, and don’t know what the result will be. 22:07
Chanting 22:29
Nunnery interior Campbell: But sometimes there is a happy meeting between Buddhism, kung fu and commercialism. This nunnery is just down the road from the Shaolin Temple. It's been restored and reopened, thanks to the generosity of a nearby private school, a school that claim to be China’s first wu shu school exclusively for girls. 22:33
Girls learn wu shu Singing
Campbell: For China it's a rare experiment in altruism and feminism. 23:04
Lirui Headmistress Zhang Lirui left a job paying three times the wages to be part of it. 23:08
Lirui: Our manager’s mother is a very independent and strong-willed woman. She established the wu shu school for girls, not to make money, but to teach girls to become independent and brave women, of whom all female can be proud. While learning wu shu, our students also follow school curricula. We give equal emphasis on literacy and wu shu. 23:15
Road builders Campbell: Whatever the motives and whatever the benefits the Shaolin phenomenon is certain to grow. All around the temple, new kung fu schools are being built as authorities widen the roads forever more tourist coaches. 23:43
Stage show It’s come a very long way in a very short time from the simple, isolated temple that quietly preserved its ancient traditions. Like all legends, Shaolin Temple's is part fact and part myth. But after a 1,500 year run, it shows no sign of ending. 24:0224:33
Credits: Kung Fu MonksReporter: Eric CampbellCamera: Sebastian PhuaResearch: Rex ChenEditor: Richard Dale