China News Agency, Zhengzhou, April 14th, Question: Why did a "Shaolin Kungfu Test" attract so many foreigners to participate?
Author Zou Xiang (scholar of Shaolin culture, person in charge of the official website of Shaolin Temple)
At the beginning of 2022, the "Shaolin Kungfu Examination Online Competition" launched by the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, China, attracted more than 5,000 Shaolin Kungfu practitioners from nearly 100 countries and regions on five continents to participate in the competition, once again demonstrating the global influence of Shaolin Kungfu and Shaolin culture. .
So, what is the secret behind the popularity of Shaolin Kungfu?
Where does Shaolin Kungfu come from?
Shaolin Kungfu refers to a traditional Buddhist cultural system formed in the specific Buddhist cultural environment of the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, China, with the belief of King Kinnara as the core, the martial arts practiced by the monks of the Shaolin Temple as the expression form, and fully embodies the wisdom of Zen Buddhism.
Shaolin Kungfu was nurtured in the Central Plains, nourished by the Central Plains culture, Songshan culture, and Yellow River culture.
At the same time, the spirit of great wisdom and bravery manifested in Shaolin Kungfu has become one of the most valuable parts of the human civilization system.
Tourists visit the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan.
Photo by Xu Hongxing issued by China News Agency
Shaolin Kungfu mainly includes boxing, equipment and stunts, with rich content and various routines. There are more than 1,300 sets in history.
The abbots and eminent monks of Shaolin Temple are all masters of Shaolin Kungfu. Zen masters Sengchou, Xiaoshanzongshu, Haikuan and Xingzheng have all made positive contributions to the inheritance and promotion of Shaolin Kungfu.
According to the Shaolin Temple's boxing records, there are 708 sets of Shaolin Kung Fu routines, 552 sets of boxing and equipment routines, and 72 stunts, as well as various types of grasping, fighting, bone removal, acupuncture, Qigong and so on. There are 156 unique exercises.
The existing Shaolin Kung Fu routines include: 178 sets of boxing, 193 sets of equipment, 59 sets of pair exercises, and 115 sets of other sets, totaling 545 sets.
These contents, according to different categories and levels of difficulty, are organically combined into a huge and orderly Shaolin Kung Fu system.
Shaolin monks practice Shaolin Kungfu hard in the ice and snow.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Zhongju
In ancient times, Shaolin Kung Fu was mainly used for military warfare, protecting monasteries and strengthening the body.
With the development of society, Shaolin Kungfu has evolved into a sport with unique functions.
After years of dissemination and promotion at home and abroad, Shaolin Kungfu has been recognized and accepted by people of different cultures all over the world.
According to statistics, there are more than 60 million people practicing Shaolin Kungfu around the world.
Why do foreigners fall in love with Shaolin Kung Fu?
Nowadays, more and more foreigners are falling in love with Shaolin Kungfu, and by practicing Shaolin Kungfu, they can strengthen their bodies and cultivate their minds, and benefit from it endlessly.
More importantly, after the reform and opening up, Shaolin Kungfu continued to develop and go global.
Shaolin Kungfu "going to sea" has roughly gone through the following stages: First, restore the inheritance of Shaolin Kungfu, set up a Shaolin Temple monk group, and promote Shaolin Kungfu to apply for the World Heritage List.
In order to inherit the tradition of Shaolin Kungfu, Shaolin Temple comprehensively sorts out the complete system of Shaolin Kungfu, and continuously inherits and restores the inheritance of Shaolin Kungfu.
At the same time, Shaolin Temple actively declared Shaolin Kungfu as a national intangible cultural heritage.
In 2006, Shaolin Kungfu was selected into the national intangible cultural heritage list.
In February 2016, the Art Troupe of "Cultural China, Universal Spring" performed in Houston, USA, and the Songshan Shaolin Temple Warrior Monk Troupe performed martial arts.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Huan
The second is to go abroad and hold Shaolin Kungfu tours overseas.
Shaolin Kungfu belongs to body language, which can overcome language barriers and avoid the prejudice of some people's ideological and cultural differences.
In view of this, Shaolin Temple takes the promotion of Shaolin Kungfu to the world as the breakthrough point, and actively organizes Shaolin Kungfu tours overseas.
Through overseas tour activities, Shaolin Kungfu has been recognized, recognized and favored by the vast overseas people, and the number of practitioners has continued to increase.
The third is to set up an overseas Shaolin cultural center to comprehensively disseminate and promote Shaolin Kungfu.
At present, Shaolin Temple has established more than 200 Shaolin cultural centers all over the world.
These centers offer special courses such as Shaolin Kung Fu, Health Cultivation Techniques, Tea Ceremony, Chinese, TCM Acupuncture and Moxibustion, and also integrate traditional Chinese cultural symbols such as sticking Spring Festival couplets and making dumplings into the living habits of Westerners.
In order to test the practice of Shaolin Kungfu by students from overseas Shaolin Cultural Centers, Shaolin Temple has also held Shaolin Cultural Festivals overseas for many times, focusing on launching the "Shaolin Kungfu Examination Conference".
For example, the number of Shaolin Kungfu practitioners in the Japanese Shaolin Boxing Federation and the American Shaolin Boxing Federation has reached more than one million, with a wide audience.
The Cultural Code Behind Shaolin Kung Fu
Shaolin Kung Fu is sought after, not only the charm of Kung Fu itself, but also the cultural code behind it.
Shaolin Kungfu originated in the soil of traditional Chinese culture, not only various martial arts movements, but also cultural spirit and profound cultural connotations.
Generally speaking, the series of Shaolin Kungfu theories are more influenced by Chinese philosophy; Shaolin Kungfu’s method of self-defense and defeating the enemy is greatly influenced by Chinese military science; Shaolin Kungfu’s qigong and fitness exercises are deeply influenced by traditional Chinese medicine and health preservation; Kungfu is obviously influenced by ancient martial arts dance in the form of practice.
Shaolin Kungfu inherits traditional Chinese culture and Buddhist Zen culture, and uses the concept of overall unity as the criterion for exercise and application.
The inheritors of Shaolin Kungfu believe that the intangible mind, qi, vigor, force, and gong inside the human body and the external visible limbs are inseparable wholes, requiring the unity of mind, qi, vigor and shape.
At the same time, due to the influence of Zen culture, Shaolin Kungfu requires the integration of meditation into the process of martial arts, emphasizing "the unity of Zen and boxing, and the combination of form and spirit".
Shaolin Kungfu emphasizes the harmony and unity of mind, energy, strength and shape, which reflects the concept of "harmony between man and nature".
Shaolin boys who participated in the Zen Shaolin Music Ceremony practiced the Shaolin Arhat Formation.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Zhongju
The profound cultural connotation of Shaolin Kungfu is endowed by the wisdom of Zen Buddhism.
The practitioners of Shaolin Kungfu first express their belief in Zen culture, including wisdom belief and strength belief.
The desire for wisdom and strength has always been the pursuit of Shaolin Kung Fu practitioners.
This is the characteristic of Shaolin Kungfu and the difference between Shaolin Kungfu and other martial arts.
Shaolin Kung Fu enriches mutual learning of civilizations
Chinese martial arts is a treasure of the Chinese nation. It is extensive and profound, and has thousands of years of cultural heritage. It is a combination of ancient philosophy, health preservation, Art of War, Taoism, Buddhist thought, Confucian culture and medical theory.
Western martial arts are more about actual combat and combat, especially represented by free fighting and sanda.
Western Wushu advocates institutionalization, management, digitization and quantification, and pursues "one move to defeat the enemy" and "win every battle".
Chinese Wushu emphasizes gradual progress and attaches great importance to humanization. From the beginning of basic skills to boxing training, the strength and movement required in the fighting are all found in the boxing.
In general, Western martial arts focus on challenging the limits of the human body, while Chinese martial arts pay more attention to humanization and the unity of body and mind.
Civilizations are enriched by exchanges and enriched by mutual learning.
Shaolin Kungfu has the content of enhancing harmony, health and improvement. The concept of compassion, equality, harmony and harmony in Shaolin Kungfu has attracted the attention and love of people all over the world, and also enriched the content of mutual learning between civilizations.
Shaolin Kungfu moves from domestic to foreign countries. Through Shaolin Kungfu tours, Shaolin Cultural Centers, and overseas Shaolin Cultural Festivals, practitioners around the world can gain physical and mental benefits from practicing Shaolin Kungfu, which in itself promotes exchanges and mutual exchanges among civilizations. Kam.
In August 2018, more than 60 overseas Shaolin disciples from more than 20 countries including the United States, Sweden, Germany, and Indonesia returned to the mountain to worship the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan.
Photo by China News Agency Fa Yuelong
Nowadays, cultural exchange activities between China and foreign countries are becoming more and more frequent.
As one of the representatives of traditional Chinese culture, Shaolin Kung Fu plays an active role in enriching the mutual learning of civilizations.
In 2018, the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration released the "Report on the Research on Overseas Awareness of Chinese Discourse" for the first time, showing that among the top 100 Chinese words in terms of awareness, cultural words accounted for the largest proportion, and the highest ranking was China. In kung fu, the word "Shaolin" tops the list.
This is inseparable from the spread and development of Shaolin Kungfu overseas in recent years.
At present, China is promoting the "going out" of traditional culture. Shaolin Temple will give full play to the important role of Shaolin Kungfu as a symbol of Chinese traditional culture in cross-cultural exchanges, and actively promote the Shaolin Kungfu culture characterized by the integration of Chan and martial arts and Chinese excellence overseas. Traditional culture, dedicated to more sentient beings.
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About the Author:
Zou Xiang, young writer, scholar of Shaolin culture, head of Shaolin Temple website, executive editor-in-chief of Shaolin Temple "Zen Dew".
He has been engaged in Shaolin culture research for a long time, and has participated in Shaolin cultural exchange activities at home and abroad for many times.