For Rebuilding the Northern Shaolin Temple: Part 16, click here.
December 22, 2020
Twenty-Twenty-One is upon us – just in time I think because most people really have had more than enough of 2020!
Fortunately in China, COVID-19 has been contained for a long time now and life has mostly returned to normal just about everywhere. True, everyone wears a mask inside indoor public places, and there is a “Health Kit” app everyone needs to get into stores and some pubic venues. But those are minor inconveniences – compared to for example - getting COVID-19. Consequently, travel within China is easy again these days. So recently I got together with some friends from Beijing Shaolin Wushu School in a big van and drove to North Shaolin monastery on Panshan.
Regular readers of KungFuMagazine might recall that Beijing Shaolin Wushu School hosts the massive International Kung Fu Federation (IKFF) tournaments every year since 2012. (See “New Star in the Universe of International Wushu Competitions” by Gregory Brundage JAN+FEB 2012.)
Over the years I’ve kept in contact with my friends at Beijing Shaolin. For example, during last years “Mid-Autumn Festival” Master Fu Biao, the founder and CEO of that exceptionally large international school invited my friend and translator Miao Hui and I to a resort in the countryside for a couple of days of horse riding, bouncing around on an amazing array of trampolines, incredible food, and really memorable good times. We even sat around during the cool evening admiring the full moon and chatting amicably about this and that. Master Fu Biao is a splendid host, an excellent storyteller and has a good sense of humor. I would write more about him but his resume is so long I can’t possibly summarize it here. Some parts can be found in Master Fu Biao’s resume.
Kung Fu movie fans may recall the movie KUNG FU DREAM which was released in the USA in 2010 as THE KARATE KID starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. It was partly filmed in Beijing Shaolin Wushu School. I was told Jaden Smith spent a week living and training at the school before his father Will Smith arrived for shooting.
So, what was most meaningful about our recent journey to North Shaolin?
Probably most meaningful was sharing the delights of the mountain with a couple of children that came along who got to meet the Kung Fu masters at North Shaolin Monastery on Panshan and discover the majesty of the mountain, the beauty and serenity of the monastery, the poetry of Emperor Qianlong carved into huge rocks, and discover the infinite depth of history – how much was lost, and how much remains. To them I’m sure it was a colorful blur, but those memories will sort themselves out over time.
For me, it felt good introducing some illustrious people from Beijing Shaolin Wushu School to the noble North Shaolin Monastery, Panshan, and especially Shaolin monk Shi Yan Kong. Construction at North Shaolin has been continuing, but during our visit there were only two brothers working. I asked their names and was told the older brother is called “Boss,” and the younger “Forth.” Ha! They are from the construction team that works at Songshan Shaolin. At the time of our visit, most of the monks were back at Songshan Shaolin, and only two monks were at North Shaolin, Shi Yan Kong, and another I didn’t know who seemed busy, no doubt meditating.
During our visit to Panshan and North Shaolin, we also stopped in at Wei Ming’s Guest House and found he and his lovely wife were off traveling somewhere, and their daughter was managing the guest house. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and other obligations here in Beijing I couldn’t visit North Shaolin for about a year, and I was amazed at how much things had changed. Wei Ming’s rather large guest house was totally remodeled and now appears very upscale. A few of the former guest rooms had been converted to a large dining hall with a huge picture window looking over at North Shaolin Monastery about 800 meters away – what a lovely view!
Along with me were some Beijing Shaolin Wushu School coaches and the Secretary General of the IKFF, whose name in English means “Sea Bird” but I usually call “Helen.” She’s a totally amazing lady who is the primary organizer of the large international tournaments and cultural exchange events hosted by the IKFF. The logistical details of those events is really mind-boggling! She, she is a super-genius and really kind lady in my opinion. Her husband – a Sanda coach and son “Max” were other travelers on this marvelous adventure. Also in attendance were a young lady I call “Christine” who speaks English quite well, a brilliant physics teacher and financial analyst from the school, and others.
Chatting with monk Shi Yan Kong over tea we discussed many subjects including Koans, called Gongan (公案) in Chinese. Gongan literally translates as “complex legal cases” in English, but are really mind-stopping questions, answers and statements that both enlighten and transmit the timeless teachings of Zen (Chan in Chinese) Buddhism. If any reader wants to test their Chinese translator’s abilities, ask him or her to translate a conversation between a Shaolin monk and an inquisitive kung fu reporter on the subject of Gongan! Fortunately, Helen’s and Christine’s English is quite excellent, and Shi Yan Kong’s knowledge of Gongan extensive, so it was a sparkling conversation. For those interested in discovering more about Gongan, I recommend reading: Thinking with Cases - Specialist Knowledge in Chinese Cultural History edited by Charlotte Furth, Judith T. Zeitlin, and Ping-chen Hsiung that contains an article written by Robert H. Sharf titled “How to Think with Chan Gong’an.”
Night crept up on us with remarkable rapidity. In China, many traditional customs are still routinely practiced. One such practice is to bring a gift when traveling to meet someone, and near the end of our tea meeting with Shi Yan Kong, Helen and her husband presented the illustrious monk with a ceremonial sword from Beijing Shaolin Wushu School.
Back in the van driving home to Beijing the children were asleep in about two minutes. Earlier in the day, we had done quite a bit of hiking up the Royal Road on Panshan, and there was quite a bit of excitement at each lovely stop along the way. Max had turned into quite the photographer and we all had enjoyed the whole marvelous adventure.
Chinese New Year’s doesn’t arrive till February 12 in 2021 but many people here also celebrate the Western New Year’s event starting on December 31. On the Chinese calendar 2020 will be the Year of the Ox.
As for me personally, I celebrate all holidays, though like most people here I also work relentlessly – mostly editing Graduate Student friends’ Thesis, Dissertations, and scientific research studies – though of course I don’t charge my friends money. The range of topics varies from the petroleum industry, geology, and gemology, to sport-related biomechanics and kinesiology. This means a lot of chemistry, physics and of course my favorite: advanced statistical analysis! Ha! I also meet regularly online with friends from Beijing Shaolin Wushu School for language exchange meetings as my Chinese language is always in need of improvement, and they like having fun in English too. In any case I’m learning a lot and helping friends so I’m pretty happy. And of course, I keep up with my Kung Fu training, run, swim, bicycle and do yoga regularly just to keep harmonized with the universe, and incidentally, healthy.
I don’t think most Americans really know how very much most Chinese really admire the USA and share the sorrow that has afflicted so many because of the COVID-19 epidemic. The philosophy everyone here seems to share is that we must remain careful, and optimistic to overcome these most difficult times. True, there are very many complications in the world today, but everyone I know here is hoping and, in most cases, praying for health, peace and harmony between all people everywhere for the New Year.
Many thanks to the good friends at Beijing Shaolin Wushu School and North Shaolin Monastery for our latest great adventure, and we all wish everyone everywhere a greatly improved and most excellent, Happy New Year!
