O.K., regarding this material that was saved during the 1920's fire: how much was actually preserved? If the library was indeed almost completely burned out, how can just a few original manuals document all of styles that were practiced at Shaolin? I'm also suspicious as to the authenticity of these "original" sets from the Song Dynasty. There's no allowance for the possibility that these documents are forgeries? It was only after the Cultural Revolution had happened and the government realized that a lot of money could be made off the Shaolin name when, all of a sudden, the Chinese government wanted to showcase "original" Shaolin martial arts. This was after a movie that showcased government sanctioned wushu. These families and so-called monks who claimed that they had the last original documents and that there's were the original sets, knew that they'd be revered and made famous. Since the PRC denied the authenticity of any of the other styles that left the mainland during the Revolution, one has to allow for the possibility that some of these documents are fakes.
Once again, before the PRC and the persecution of real Chinese martial artists whose lineages went back hundreds of years, Northern Shaolin kung fu was considered by just about everyone to be, at the very least, an authentic Shaolin style. The official (and unofficial) denial of this seems partly motivated by political reasons.
It's just like with Falun Gong. The PRC seems to latch on to this idea that anyone or any group of people who are or ever were in the least bit critical of their policies and suspect reasons for doing things is an enemy of the state. They are then not recognized as having any validity and (in the case of Falun Gong and all of the sifu's back in the 50's) they are brutally persecuted.
I agree with Fei Li. Shaolin has been a melting pot of styles. Northern Shaolin happens to be a Shaolin style that was created out of five styles that were practiced there during the 1100's. It was more similar to Hua and Wah, and Cha and less similar to Hung and Pao, but they are all represented in there. These styles exist, the similiarities are there. This should be proof enough but it's not for those who are more apt to believe this recently revised version of history. Here's a question: did the Shaolin monks of the 1920's deny that Northern Shaolin was an authentic Shaolin style? After all, it was more widely practiced then and it was recognized as such by many. Especially after Kuo Yu Chang made it famous.
Last edited by Siu Lum Fighter; 07-25-2007 at 03:07 AM.
The three components of combat are 1) Speed, 2) Guts and 3) Techniques. All three components must go hand in hand. One component cannot survive without the others." (WJM - June 14, 1974)