Shao Lin Kung-Fu Exponents Twenty years Ago

Shao Lin Kung-Fu Exponents Twenty years Ago
    The Origin of Shao Lin Quan
    In these two years, a few overseas Kung-fu masters and scholars working in the field of Chinese traditional culture, have confronted me with questions about Chinese Kung-fu, "What on earth is Shao Lin Kung-fu all about?" "Is Shao Lin Kung-fu Chinese, or was it imported by foreigners?" "There is a saying, 'all Kung-fu schools are rooted in Shao Lin', but does that mean Chinese Kung-fu was rather poor before the founding of Shao Lin Monastery?" "Were all Chinese Kung-fu including Quans and Weapons very weak before Tang Dynasty?" People have got some doubts about, such as, the definition of Shao Lin, how come all famous Kung-fu styles originated from a place for religious worship, and whether Chinese Kung-fu was brought in from India...
    These are serious questions related to academic realm and historical perspectives, frequently asked by Chinese living aboard and foreign friends. In the past two decades, Wushu had been reviving in China, and especially in these recent ten years, but a lot of people have been turning it into a business. Many murky phenomena emerge afterwards causing the questions and doubts to multiply.
     What does Shao Lin Quan Kung-fu include? Who were the creators? Which Kung-fu styles we see today belong to the school and which are derived from it? These are all big topics worthy of in-depth exploration. But there are two things we can be sure of.
     Number one, "Shao Lin Quan Kung-fu" is a general term for the various traditional Kung-fu that arose and grew in the central part of China through thousands of years, Number two, it had been Chinese people creating Chinese traditional Kung-fu. From fighting experience in thousands of years of ancient warfare, they developed armed and unarmed combat arts, and came up with countless methods boosting some huge strength during they practiced Kung-fu for their lives. Shao Lin Quan Kung-fu is a Chinese creation
    Shao Lin Kung-fu Exponents Twenty Year Ago
     The Shao Lin Kung-fu exponents in Mainland China before 1980s were those who loved Chinese traditional culture and traditional martial arts and got being Chinese Kung-fu practitioners. Like lovers of other forms of Chinese traditional culture and arts, these people are natural successors of the Chinese traditional culture. In fact, there are millions of people in different historical periods inheriting and enhancing various forms of traditional culture, arts and skills in the continuous course of struggle and living. Without them, the traditional culture embodying the characteristics of Chinese nation could never last long fill now. At that time, most of the lovers of Chinese Kung-fu encouraged themselves to take some military spirits. They practiced Kung-fu for mastery of the techniques or took it as an exercise for bodily fitness, but few of them regarded it as a means of living. There were many people who practiced Chinese Kung-fu diligently inheriting the techniques passed down from their predecessors. In the martial art circle in the past, there went a saying, "In summer keep exercising during the hottest days, in winter do the same thing during the coldest weather". I did see some Kung-fu exponents who practice Kung-fu to that extent.
     In different places of Henan Province, there were quite a few people who assiduously looked for masters to learn Chinese Kung-fu in modem times. Shi Degen was one of the Shao Lin bonzes learning boxing in Shao Lin Temple during the time period under the Republic of China (1912-1949). His master Wu Shanlin was from outside Shao Lin Temple. According to Yang Guiwu, Shi Degen' s eldest disciple, Shi Degen was the only disciple of Wu Shan Lin. He was also the only Shao Lin Kung-fu bonze in Dengfeng County of Henan Province in modem times according to the record there.
     Recently, I went to such places as Zhengzhou and Dengfeng in Henan Province again and had a visit to Shi Degen' s three formal disciples, Yang Guiwu, Chen Qiuju and Zhu Tianxi, knowing much about the lovers and exponents of Chinese traditional martial arts who were lucky enough to learn Shao Lin Quan from Shi Degen during the period from 1950s to 1970s.
    A Visit to Shi Degen’s Eldest Disciple, Yang Guiwu
     I met Yang Guiwu on the spiraling path behind the Shao Lin Temple to Luoyang in the mountain. Already in seventies that year, Mr. Yang looked benign, simple and honest. He pulsed some patients and cures diseases for the fellow villagers spending most of his time. Sometimes he might extend his arms and legs and teaching had been younger generations some routines to pass down Shao Lin Kung-fu.
     I asked Mr. Yang how he learned Kung-fu from Shi Degen in those past years, he told me, Shi Degen lived in Guan Di Temple in the mountain behind Shao Lin Temple at that time. When he returned home from the Shao Lin Temple, he surely passed by Yang Guiwu's house. Yang Guiwu's forefathers ever ran a drug store being a rich family in that locality. His grandfather was a teacher and shored up the drug store. He had a good relationship with Shi Degen so Shi Degen often took a rest in the drug store when he passed by. Yang Guiwu was young and weak then. His grandfather knew Shi Degen had practiced Kung-fu for some years though not so old and was good at it. He asked Yang Guiwu to learn Kung-fu from Shi Degen to improve his health. So he became Shi Degen's earliest formal disciple when he was fourteen. From then on, Shi Degen often imparted Shao Lin Kung-fu to him on his way home until 1970. Yang Guiwu learned many boxing routines and weapons in Shao Lin Kung-fu such as Luo Han Quan, etc.
     Later, Yang Guiwu worked in a working unit until he retired in 1983. He was once seriously ill in 1989. Fortunately, his strong physique created to his long time practice of Kung-fu had enabled him to recover from the disease.
     In the early years of 1980s, the film Shao Lin Temple and China's opening-up as well as its reform policy had contributed to the release of the military spirit from the bottom of the hearts of general public. The military spirit, which had been buried for many years, quickly spread up all over the country. Martial arts schools were set up one after one in Dengfeng County. The founders who only knew little about Shaolin Kung-fu were urgently looking for some masters and mentors everywhere. They also renched to Yang Guiwu and then Mr. Yang had given them some suggestions politely.
    When Zhu Tianxi and I visited Yang Guiwu, he became very delighted. The two fellow disciples recollected the routines Master Shi Degen taught them and practiced Kung-fu together once more. That is why readers can see the photos taken when they talked about boxing.

    Chen Qiuju--Shi Degen's Adopted Daughter
    Chen Qiuju is Shi Degen's adopted daughter and his female disciple still alive nowadays. In my first meeting Ms Chen, when I explained my purple of the visit and asked her to talk about how she learned Shao Lin Kung-fu from Shi Degen in those past years, she was very delighted and talked much about her practicing Kung-fu at her young age in that not much talking time.
     Chen Qiuju was bom in a family of Kung-fu. She liked to follow adults performing various weapons in her childhood. So her parent asked her to learn Kung-fu from Shi Degen when she was 12 years old. Chen Qiuju was intelligent by natural endowments and also in good shape, so it looked graceful when she performed some Quan routines. People were all fond of her and willing to teach her something. Especially, Shi Degen showed and did her much favor and made her as his adopted daughter. Over ten years from then on, Chen Qiuju learned more than ten types of boxing such as Xiao Hong Quan, Da Hong Quan, Mei Hua Quan, Luo Han Quan, Xin Yi Ba, Tong Bei Quan, Zui Quan and many weapons such as Mei Hua spear, Shao Lin blade, Mei Hua sword, broadfalchion, Hu Tou hook, twelve-section whip, single reel, double reel etc.
    After 1949, Shi Degen left Shao Lin Temple and worked in several units successively in the locality and he transferred to the Sports Commission of Dengfeng County later. During that time, as the leaders attached great importance to promoting traditional Kung-fu, Shi Degen made a circuit of counties such as Dengfeng, Gongyi and Huashi training physical education teachers and some students in different schools. Since Chen Qiuju had learned a number of Kung-fu routines somewhat up to the standards, Shi Degen often took her together with him as training his disciples as well as the teachers and students in the grassroots schools Shao Lin Kung-fu and had her demonstrating some movements for them. Chen Qiuju had been also developing her Kung-fu as performing the assistant to Shi Degen.
     Chen Qiuju was assigned working in Inner Mongolia after her graduation from university in 1970. After leaving Dengfeng County and coming to a new environment, she stopped practicing Kung-fu for ages due to various factors.
     Recently, Chen Qiuju returned to her hometown Dengfeng County after her retirement. She touched with deep emotion when she saw that her hometown had changed a lot, especially that Kung-fu had been more popular than in those years and many Shao Lin Kung-fu schools had been setting up and standing firmly as well. She had been often invited giving speeches on how she learned Shao Lin Kung- fu from Shi Degen, teaching some people Kung-fu and helping promoting Kung-fu in her hometown.
     Being asked to show some Shao Lin boxing, Chen Qiuju accepted my request with pleasure and performed Shao Lin Kung-fu routines in the yard. She also demonstrated some weapons as twelve-section whip, broad falchion and sword graciously. Viewing her movements, we could acknowledge that Chen Qiuju did practice Kung-fu hard in those past years and studied them and earned a lot. Though she had stopped practicing Kung-fu for several years, she could still perform well according with her solid base of Shao Lin Kung-fu.
     Chen Qiuju also practiced Shao Lin Luo Han Quan with Mr. Zhu Tianxi when they joined and traveled together. Master Shi Degen would have felt gratified if he were alive seeing them practicing Shao Lin Kung-fu and exchanging their views together some tens years later.
    Zhu Tianxi
    Shi Degen's Kung-fu Successor
      Compared with his fellow-students under the same tutor, Zhu Tianxi had taken a much longer way learning Kung-fu from Shi Degen as his fellow-students were all in Dengfeng and he had been growing up and residing in Zhengzhou rather far from Master Shi's living County, Dengfeng and lacking the needed introduction to the Master at the very beginning, though his endowments in Kung-fu were partly inherited from his forefathers, one of them was ever a great general in Ming Dynasty. We should always keep in mind that traditional Kung-fu inheritance is not an antique or article but that of traditional culture indeed. Cultural inheritance bears its own characteristics. As I said in many articles and various occasions, Kung-fu is not only handed down completely by inheritance but learned, studied and developed up by practice and comprehension. Even though ones' forefathers could transmit some inherent factors, they could never pass down all Kung-fu and traditional culture from generation to generation just like an antique accepted completely by ones later on.
     Zhu Tianxi ardently loves Kung-fu from his childhood on for his whole life. In fact, before formally being Shi Degen's disciple, he had been already the favorite student of Mr. He Ru, the master of Shao Lin Tai Zu Men in Henan Provice. He Futong being the senior master of Tai Zu Men, also favored Zhu Tianxi because of Zhu's determination, diligence and good personalities in traditional Kung-fu practice. Even when Mr. He Futong laid in bed at his illness, he still summoned Zhu Tianxi to his bedside and explained Qin Na handing capture Kung-fu to him. Zhu Tianxi learned a lot this way.
     When he was fifteen, Zhu Tianxi desired to be one of the disciples of Shi Degen. He visited Defeng County and asked Master Shi to teach him Shao Lin Kung-fu for several times. At first, Shi Degen denied his application, as he did not know enough about Zhu. One day in 1965, in order to show his sincerity, Zhu Tianxi again came to Dengfeng County on foot and kneeled on the ground in front of Shi Degen's house until  Shi was moved by his sincere de-sire and decided to accept the young boy from far away as his disciple. Before not so long, there started the Cultural Revolution and unfortunately Shi Degen encountered difficulty. Zhu Tianxi took him to his own house. During those three years from then on, Shi Degen imparted the essential parts of ShaoLin Kung-fu such as 24-routine Tan Tui Yin Yang Gun and Luo Han Quan to Zhu Tianxi one by one so that he became the last (close-door) disciple directly learning Kung-fu from Shi Degen ass well as the last Shao Lin Bonze in modem history.
     Zhu Tianxi studied Kungfu so hard that our general practitioners today could never reach that extend. At that time, the common situation was sfilf quite tough as there was only a little to eat due to the bad living conditions but having lots exercises for Zhu to do. When he practiced snapping kicks, he often performed it for several hours until he finished all of the 24 routines at one time. Each time, he even could squeeze some water from his clothes after he finished the practice. Zhu Tianxi often said to me, now young practitioners are required to snap kicks for ten times successively, but most of them could not do it.
      Shi Degen acknowledged Zhu practicing so hard and actually having a talent for Kung-fu. He felt that Zhu Tianxi had great potential so he taught him wholeheartedly. He imparted to Zhu Tianxi all the essentials of Kung-fu. Zhu has been studying Shao Lin Kung-fu in his whole life including boxing, weapons, internal energy acquired by Zen practice as well as the medical secrets and techniques in Shao Lin Temple. All of these makes Zhu Tianxi a veritable successor of Shao Lin Zen, Kung-fu and medicine now.
     That Zhu Tianxi has remarkable skills in Kung-fu thanks to his long time practice and obtaining the true mastery of Kung-fu. When I filmed Zhu Tianxi demonstrating Shao Lin Luo Han Quan, Pao Quan, broad falchion and spear in 1980s, Zhu Tianxi ever showed me a lot on how to use Shao Lin Kung-fu. I felt that he had remarkable skills with fierce, nimble movements and strong force. Though he was almost 40 years old then, he was just like a teenager when he performed the movements of squatting and jumping in Luo Han Quan. Today, not withstanding Zhu Tianxi cannot perform some movements as some years ago, his skills are still improved greatly, reflecting the fact that Chinese traditional Kung-fu need practicing for one's whole life.
     Today, I cannot find original Shao Lin culture and Kungfu in other places any longer after the word "Shao Lin" has been materialized and becomes the byword of economic interests. I think one could hardly find pure culture and Kungfu if there is no great human spirit.