For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 6, click here.

July 27, 2015, Bishkek – Day 13

And a visit to Ak-Beshim – First recorded in history by Buddhist Pilgrim Xuanzang

Introduction

With the help of a new friend, translator and guide Asan who I met at the bus station in Almaty on the way here to Bishkek (the Capital of Kyrgyzstan) I got an appointment with Dmitrushenko Yuriy Vladimirovich, President of the Kung Fu Federation of Kyrgyz Republic at 10:00 am this morning. And, luckily my new buddy Asan was here to translate.

After basic introductions we started this interview by sharing photos on our notebooks because we had them, and it turns out we have a lot of friends in common including each other. In fact I met Yuriy at the International Wushu Championships in Beijing last year. His photos included him with Master Fu Biao, CEO of the Beijing Shaolin (though not formally associated with Songshan Shaolin, he is a former disciple of Shi Yongxin Abbot of Songshan Shaolin) hosting school of the International Championships, him with Kamil Rabadanov, President of the Russian Kung Fu Federation who I’ve met on many occasions (and is on my Facebook too), as well as many team photos at different championships, training, etc. And he had some nicely produced videos of his Kung Fu teams training and competing.

The Kyrgyz Kung Fu federation is still very young having started only two years ago in 2013. None the less they have around 100 plus members, with most training at regular schools as it’s more economically feasible than private clubs like in the U.S. Being on summer vacation right now they aren’t training in Bishkek at this time.

Kung Fu unfortunately does not get the government support in most Asian countries that, for example Taekwondo and boxing get because it’s not an official Olympic sport, yet. Nonetheless it does get some, and popular interest is growing around Central Asia aided by the Wushu Federation of China, the International Wushu Federation and various national Wushu and Kung Fu Federations, not to mention a great love of Jackie Chan , Jet Li , and of course, the one and only Bruce Lee. It should be remembered that these countries have only been independent nations since 1991 so they’re still in “rapid growth mode,” so to speak. This sounds better than “developing country,” and in many ways provides a better picture of what’s really going on here.

The Kyrgyz Republic Kung Fu Federation currently has four local teachers/trainers and though they do teach traditional Wushu taolu, Sanda is the most popular form of Kung Fu in Kyrgyzstan. I also noticed that Yuriy has a certificate in Sanda training from Beijing Shaolin School.

Kyrgyz Kung Fu Fed President Coach Yuriy with Master Fu Biao and Team at Int Wushu Championships in Beijing.

 

I asked if former Soviet nations had or have sports or martial associations and Yuriy answered “Not officially, though many of us know each other and meet from time to time for one reason or another.” In regards to his own martial art background and training I found out he started in Taekwondo at the Kyrgyz State Academy of Physical Education and Sport, however later transitioned into the Kung Fu/Wushu program. After this we discussed the brilliant future ahead for the Central Asian region, especially those nations located along the Silk Road, and Chinese President Xi Jingping’s plans for enhanced cooperation and infrastructure development, e.g. the Silk Road Development Plan and Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

As we were parting, he invited me to go swimming at lake Issyk Kul, one of the most beautiful places on earth I’ve been told, and I said “Oh absolutely yes,” but afterwards Asan told me it’s a four or five hour drive away… and my time here in Bishkek is just too darned short!

Though young the Kyrgyz Kung Fu spirit is growing quickly.

 

July 28, 2015 – Suyab – Ancient Silk Road Trading Center and Buddhist Monastery

Today I set my sites on Suyab, or modern-day Ak-Beshim - a Silk Road settlement of Sogdian merchants in the 5th and 6th century.

The partially excavated ruins are located some 50 km east of Bishkek and 8 km southwest of Tokmok. It took about an hour minibus ride through the picturesque countryside and another 30-minute taxi ride through and beyond a lovely small town called Tokmok to get there.

The existence of Ak-Beshim was first recorded by the very famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang who traveled through the area in the year 629. Discovered by a team of Soviet archeologists, it is considered to be a major historic find.

An article titled A Newly Excavated Church of Syriac Christianity along the Silk Road in Kyrgyzstan written by Wassilios Klein suggests that it was built by the Sogdians associated with what are today Iranian and Uzbek cultures. They are said to have occupied that region until the 14th Century.

An article by Mark Dickens, Syriac Gravestones in the Tashkent History Museum, states that Christian gravestones with engravings in the Syriac script were found in the Chu Valley in modern-day Kyrgyzstan and other places. Ak-Beshim is in the Chu Valley.

 

 

However, the article India and Central Asia: Renewing a Traditional Relationship by Devendra Kaushik (p. 232) states quite clearly: “Central Asia acted as a transmission belt for spread of Buddhism from India to China. In the first centuries of the last millennium, Buddhism appears to have prevailed as a major religion on the territory of Sogd. This is proved by the excavation of a Buddhist temple at Ak-Beshim in the Semirechye province of Kyrgyzstan by Russian archaeologist A.N. Bernshtam.”

The taxi driver that took us to this site said that a large stone Buddha was found there and moved to Russia.

Though only the foundations and lower parts of some walls remain, it’s enough to show the outline and structure of what were dwellings from about 1,600 years ago. It is a truly extraordinary archeological find and I strongly suspect that what has been excavated is only a tiny portion of a much larger village or town. Clearly a lot more work needs to be done to unearth and protect this ancient Silk Road town. It should absolutely be preserved as a UNESCO Cultural Treasure.

According to an article titled Safeguarding Silk Road Sites in Central Asia, Ak-Beshim at one time was one of the region’s most important and powerful political, military and economic centers due to its position on the Silk Road and by the 6th Century was a symbiosis of Indian, Chinese, Sogdian and Turkic cultures “bringing with them their own religious and cultural traditions.” In 2003 UNESCO launched a project to preserve the site. Xuanzang of course should need no introduction but he is the legendary and historical Chinese Buddhist pilgrim that made a 17 year trip through Central Asia to India (long before Marco Polo) bringing back to China 657 sacred Buddhist scriptures, translated these scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese and inspired by Yogacara philosophy founded the Buddhist Consciousness Only School. He passed away in 664 in Xian. That he should be the first to make a written record of Ak-Beshim makes this a place of some reverence for Buddhists worldwide. The classic Chinese novel Journey to the West was inspired by his life, though some Buddhists object to the very naïve portrayal of Xuanzang in that novel, as he had to be repeatedly rescued from various flesh eating monsters along the way by the rather naughty hero of the novel, Stone Monkey, Sun Wu Kong, who I should add did earn his enlightenment at the end of this magnificent classic of Chinese literature.

Ak-Beshim, Kyrgyzstan.

 

I very much like Bishkek and could happily live here. To me it seems young and modern, with lots of great malls, yet surrounded by very traditional farms and villages, and my hotel is quite excellent, clean, new and inexpensive – all great things in my book. There are snowcapped mountains in the distance, and the streets are wide and lined with graceful beautiful trees.

Though also young, the Kung Fu scene here is growing quickly also. MMA and bodybuilding are very popular here too. I saw a lot of young men wearing T-shirts advertising these athletic endeavors. There are a lot of really huge men here. For example, I couldn’t find a pair of shoes in my size (10), they were all too big! That Kung Fu should find a new home here amidst the new fashionable trends in sports and fitness is good, as the philosophic underpinnings of Kung Fu are harmonious with and supportive of this quickly growing beautiful nation.

It does seem like a bit of paradise here.

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 8 click here.