I met Peter Shiao within the Wulin (武林) - the martial 'forest' - the community of martial artists roaming the world. We first crossed paths through K-Star in 2006, which was a Chinese reality TV show searching the globe for the next Kung Fu movie star. The Shaolin Temple was involved, along with mega-star Jacky Wu Jing, noted director Stanley Tong and others. It helped propel several martial arts careers such as for my old friend, Philip Sahagun.
A half decade later, Peter and I worked together on an unprecedented Shaolin gathering - the Shaolin Summit. This event marked one of the very first visits of the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, Venerable Shi Yongxin, to the United States with a major entourage of monks. It also showcased the release of the Abbot's autobiography, Shaolin Temple in my Heart, which had yet to be translated into English at that time.
Peter was the President of the newly formed non-profit Shaolin Association of North America (SANA) and CEO of Orb Media Group, both major roles in the promotion and organizing of the Summit. It was held in prestigious locations, the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Pacific Asia Museum, and various other venues across the L.A. area. I was honored to participate on a discussion panel there on "Zen, the Power of the Mind and Martial Arts" at Peter’s invitation.
The Shaolin Summit was the first and only of its kind. The following year, Shaolin Temple launched the Shaolin Cultural Festivals, which mirrored the Shaolin Summit and was held for several years in various places around the world. Some thought Shaolin co-opted the concept but it was more of an evolutionary step. Either way, the Shaolin Summit was formative for the advancement of Shaolin in the western world.
Several months ago, Peter reached out to me about a new project, Immortal Studios. He asked me to come on board as a martial arts advisor which struck me as a novel idea for a graphic novel. I was reluctant to get involved because I’ve seen so many martial arts graphic novels fail. But after seeing some of the artwork and hearing his pitch, I decided to join his team. I’m glad I did. It’s been an exciting ride so far and we’re just getting started.
GC: What led you to founding Immortal Studios and what is it?
PS: Immortal is an entertainment studio that is focused on rebirthing the ancient genre of Wuxia (Martial artsfantasy 武俠) in a modern and “elevational” way. I founded the company to create a global home to this genre believing that the we need to restore this cultural, literary, and cinematic tradition by going back to its founding ideals of transformation, and the time to doing it was now, where more than ever we need the emergence of new heroes. We will first be known as a comic studio that will deliver a comprehensive inter-connected “storyverse” over the next few years, before we expand into other endeavors.
GC: Tell us about the first graphic novel from Immortal Studios, The Adept.
PS: The Adept is the first title from the Immortal Storyverse, so it is kicking everything off. It is no accident that we are starting with Shaolin and Chan Buddhist ideas in the backdrop, which as you know is the mecca of Kung Fu. Other than delivering authentic Kung Fu in the traditional and idealistic sense which I believe is where the magic is at from a myth and story point of view, we have at the center of our story a young woman who is troubled and lost, and who discovers her inner, then outer hero as a result of these influences and practices. So it is something very aspirational and personal set against a vast backdrop of philosophies and genre influences. We play around with the idea that Kung Fu can save your soul – and then the world.
GC: What does Wuxia mean to you and why is it important?
PS: Wuxia, which literally translates into “martial-hero” is something universal and at the same time uniquely Eastern. On the one hand, it is an ode to a universal need for and honoring of heroes in a world that needs them as long as there is injustice and oppression. On the other, that archetype is embodied in a philosophically rich, transcendent, reserved, nuanced way that gives it a complex flavor that is both beautiful and resonant.
I have been a life-long fan of the Wuxia (martial-hero) genre, especially the literature which I would argue is the well spring of the genre, literally from my earliest memories as a boy. So in a real way these stories have informed a lot of who I am as a person and my beliefs and values.
Personally, I love Wuxia because is it a genre that evolved out of the ashes of time that is specifically at the intersection of the martial tradition and heroism. As someone who is ethnically Chinese and loves Chinese culture, I love Wuxia because it is also an embodiment and distillation of timeless Chinese traditions, cultures and wisdoms that is hard to find anywhere anymore (including in China). To have the two together in Wuxia is divine!
GC: Tell us about your father and his legacy in Wuxia fiction. How did your father inspire you?
PS: My father whose pen name is Shiao Yi (蕭逸), who passed away in late 2018, was – and remains – one of the most prominent voices in Wuxia in the past 100 years as a novelist first and foremost. He was a hugely influential and prolific writer with 60+ published titles, many film and television credits that helped define the New Era of Wuxia that is still considered today the first golden age of the genre in modernity. We are working on building the second one.
He is known for many attributes –a studied portrayal and commitment to the archetype of the Xia (knight-errant hero 俠), love of classical Chinese culture and ideals particularly Taoist philosophy, and being a force in two major Wuxia subgenres: the martial heroine, and the immortal swordsmen. So in a direct way, he has influenced every aspect of Immortal’s character. He was also the founder of the Chinese Writer’s Association of North America, and is also remembered as the “American Puma’ by literary critics, the only Chinese American writer of Wuxia who received colossal acclaim writing from our home in Hollywood, California and who established his own style and lane from America.
I had a very deep relationship with my father. It was a complete arc from the earlier disciplinarian who instilled in me fundamentals and ideals while availing to me his vast knowledge and influences during my formative years, the father who kept in the background, supportive while I pursued my own aspirations, to the later years when we became comrades, mutual supporters and spiritual friends.
So first, I am grateful for having received a special Wuxia lineage from him which has given me a cord to a beautiful, idealistic world that continues to inspire me in real world action. He taught me the power of ideals and story, and will always be my gateway to my Chinese ancestry. It is sad and beautiful in the way that he is not here in person, but in spirit, to see what we are doing at Immortal.
GC: Tell us about the Immortal Studios team that you’ve assembled.
PS: The Immortal team is kinda like the Heroes of the Marsh, imbued with different intelligences and skillsets, yet united by the same drive to carry forth our mission of awakening the hero in everyone. Because we have pretty large goals that do not fit neatly in one lane, we have had to bring a lot of people together from different areas of knowledge and skills from around the world from real world practitioners to writers, artists, translators, and designers to work cross culturally and cross disciplines. On the executive front, we brought in a deep bench of technology, product, marketing, finance and systems innovators to put together our own playbook on running a global content studio that is as forward thinking as our content. Here, it is also a good time to give our interviewer, Gene Ching, a shoutout for your excellent work on the Adept as a keeper of the authentic torch!
GC: Thanks! But let’s step back a bit and focus on you. How did you get involved with K-Star? How did you get involved with Shaolin Temple?
PS: This is actually a very interesting story. I met the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple about 16 years ago in China when we were invited to give presentations at a martial arts cinema summit atop the mountains where a lot of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed. First there was a recognition that the Temple and I had similar goals and understanding of Kung Fu as an entry way into a larger conversation. This sympatico led to a correspondence, visits, and then a friendship. At that time he was setting up a cultural communications arm of the Temple to develop their own content initiative, and I was asked to guide and play a role in that effort, especially from a more global development perspective, which of course for me was an honor and pretty cool to be inside a storied institution and given latitude to do a lot.
Eventually, that resulted in a formalized relationship between my company at the time and the Shaolin Cultural Communications organization. I later became their US based content partner and worked across the worlds of Shaolin themed art, film, television, games and events while learning the Shaolin ways. When they were developing K-Star, the global reality show, I naturally became the chairman of the North American region, which I am glad placed many of the top finalists to K-star. I will always regret that the reality show we developed for Shaolin, Punks to Monks, with the producers of the Biggest Loser, never got the green light at the US networks because that would have been a great show.
The relationship later deepened, and I assumed the secretary general role for the Shaolin Association of America for a time. And with the aim to bring together all Shaolin enthusiasts and offshoots together, I had the opportunity plan and chair the first ever Shaolin Summit. Of all these activities, what I treasure the most are the friendships I made with many exemplary Shaolin practitioners who continue forth as living embodiments of this amazing heritage. Those conversations and times atop mountains hermitages, caves, midnight walks in the temple, cities throughout the world and China, to practicing with pretty amazing people, have put me squarely into stuff of legends and fantasy stories.So my China dream did come true with Shaolin.
GC: How did you get from working with Shaolin and K-Star to founding Immortal Studios?
PS: My original dream out of college was to be a public servant for the disempowered and other unpopular causes through politics. After making a pretty good foray into politics first as an activist and organizer, and then working inside the system for elected officials, I had a change of heart.
I woke up one day and realized that stories and culture were often the drivers of innovation and ideas, and this usually predated any kind of real-world change. And that I wanted to be there at the level of images, ideas and visions. I also wanted to visit China and experience the land that gave rise to all those Wuxia stories and legends, so this was a global quest. Thus began a bit of a journey that continues to this day. Since that decision my roles have included carpet salesman, producer, CEO, fund manager, founder, promoter and wanderer. In hindsight, I realize that I was merely getting ready for the role of founding Immortal.
GC: Do you train Kung Fu or Qigong?
PS: Haha. I once answered this question posed to me from Master Beng Ru, the head Chan Master of Shaolin and the abbot of JingYe Temple in Xian, in the slightly affirmative at his retreat in Zhongnan Mountains, which I regret to this day. Being forced to practice my volatile forms in front of him and his top disciples on a moonlit night, and seeing his wordless disappointment, remains one of my most embarrassing memories of a lifetime. So I will respond by saying that I have been around a lot of great Kung Fu practitioners, and for a period of time, attempted to practice both Shaolin Fist and Wing Chun. I am more of an adept in the tradition of Wuxia which is swordplay on paper.
Qigong, however, does open up things quite a bit. I have been a meditator and a practitioner of energy exercises in a lineage in the vein of Bodhidharma’s origins for a spell and continue my daily practice, so I am slowly accruing a tiny bit of credit there. I have been threatening to learn some of the Bodhidharma-Shaolin work too.
GC: Tell us about how the Kickstarter campaign went. Since Kickstarter met its goal so quickly, should people still donate to it?
PS: At the time of this writing (July 2nd) and just about halfway into our Kickstarter campaign (last day July 15th), we have been blessed with a pretty good outcome. We met our $10,000 goal within the first few hours, and right now are tracking to at least triple that goal. We are also on track to pass the 1000 individual contributor mark which I am told places us in the .09% of first issue Kickstarter comics. I hope that this means we are doing a few things right, and that there is support out there for Immortal.
I also want to ask your readers, that if our goals and story speak to you, that you chip in to help us put authentic Kung Fu and Wuxia back on the map in a big way. You are invited to visit The Adept Kickstarter. There is a lot of artwork and interviews with the key creatives to watch there too. We also do a fair amount of social content so we’d certainly like to share about Immortal as we continue to build and grow. For all interested parties, please visit our website which is sort of a hub at Immortal-Studios.com.
GC: What happens next for The Adept?
PS: Before we completed the first issue of the Adept we have already mapped out a significant story arc that will take Amy, the lead character, and her master, FaSheng, to a satisfying crescendo where the Immortal Storyverse foundation will be established. We are at least 5, very possibly more, comics away from that so there will be a lot happening from now over the next year or so on the Adept. I will also say that even though we have a good grasp of the story we want to tell, we are not impervious to community input.
In addition to the Adept, we are deep into development on many more stories in the “Immortalverse” so expect to see at least few more stories get launched in 2020. Stay tuned because it is still early days….
About
Gene Ching :
Gene Ching is the Publisher of KungFuMagazine.com and the author of Shaolin Trips.
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