Northern Shaolin in Shandong

[Siu Lung]

The system I am investigating claims to teach Northern Shaolin, but does not have a known (or acknowledged)link to Gan Feng Chi or Ku Yu Cheong and other well known proponents of Bei Shaolin/ Bak Sil Lum. Their lineage asserts that a monk brought the system to a Shandong Shaolin temple in the North, where most of the "ten core" sets and their movements are taught in Mandarin and not Cantonese like most Bak Sil Lum. Anyone ever heard of Bei Shaolin from Shandong? Just wondering.

**Siu Lung
(edit note: bad spelling, he he)

[beiquan]

I think that I remember reading that Yan Ji Wen, who taught Gu Ru Zhang, ran a bodyguard business out of Shandong Province; he must have taught others besides Gu Ru Zhang...

[Ben Gash]

Remember, northern shaolin refers to a whole host of systems. Basically any northern longfist system may be referred to as northern shaolin boxing (except for things like Zhaquan). If the lineage is from Shandong then there would not be any link to Kuo Yu Cheong, and Mandarin would be the correct dialect. The ten hand sets would however be different to the ten of Kuo Yu Cheong's lineage.

"Weapons are the embodiments of fear,
the wise use them only when they have no choice"
Lao Tzu

[Siu Lung]

Actually, the system is said to have come from the Songshan Temple in Henan (just like Ku Yu Cheong's) but the only known genealogy stretches back a mere four generations, to a Shaolin monk from Shandong named Yang Shou-shan. The system has retained several of the sets trained in Bak Sil Lum, such as LienBoQuan, TanTui, a version of DuanDa (TunDa), and MeiHua (Moi Fah) all of which are similar to the Bak Sil Lum taught by Wing Lam, Lai Hung, and So Bin Yuan, etc. Anyways, some of the ten core sets have been removed or at least drastically altered and others have been inserted---including BaGua, Chaquan, and indigenous Shandong forms. I have a feeling that the Songshan-Shandong link may be connected with Yan Ji Wen or perhaps earlier.

**Siu Lung

[Ben Gash]

All Northern Shaolin systems will state that they originated from Songshan temple, just as all southern shaolin styles will state that they originated from Fukien temple.
As for the forms, Lian Bu Quan was created at the Nanjing central Kuoshu Institute in the 1930s. Tan Tui, Bagua and Chaquan aren't Shaolin, but many northern schools (especially those with links to the Nanjing institute) teach them as supplemental systems.
It's not uncommon for Chinese Sifu to only know their lineage for a few generations, especially where it starts with a monk. I mean who's going to ask them for their lineage?

"Weapons are the embodiments of fear,
the wise use them only when they have no choice"
Lao Tzu