China's Shaolin Temple rakes in cash and controversy

Bill Mattocks

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No disrespect intended, I simply post the link here as an interesting news item with regard to CMA.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iGr1RduvPwLH8WP4KGjwv5dR_lZA

Shaolin last year drew 1.6 million people who paid 100 yuan (15 dollars) to pass through its Disneyland-style turnstiles in Henan province, watch a half-hour kungfu show and take photos with performers for another 20 yuan.
The temple makes millions every year from entrance fees, online sales of Shaolin items such as nunchakus, spearheads, fans and clothing, and its travelling performing troupes.
...
The temple's money-making success is largely attributed to abbot Shi Yongxin, a small, plump monk who took charge in 1999.
Dubbed the "CEO of Shaolin," he has been repeatedly criticised for his perceived pursuit of money.
 

Telfer

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Money's not inherently evil...its value depends on what it is spent.

If the money's being used to set up Shaolin centers all over the world...whats wrong with that?
 

still learning

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Hello, Our Professor always makes trip every so many years to take Students to China...and one of the places is a Shaolin Temple...

The demos, and training...very commercialize....

Money can buy things..food,shelter,clothing and keep there way of life...

Hence...they charge and people are willing to pay!

Chinese..people smart on "how to make money" .....and make you more poor...too...

Aloha, look around in America...just about everything is made in China!
 

Skippy

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The Shaolin Temple is a tourist trap. Keep in mind up until around 20 years ago the temple sat pretty much empty in ruins with a few monks milling about. The so called monks there today are actually actors. What's funny is some of these so called monks ...(Actors) ... have come to places like America where they have opened up so called mini Shaolin Temple schools where idiots line up and shell out truck loads of money for what is nothing more than Peoples Republic Standard Routine Show Wushu. Case in point is out here in Southern California it's a joke. All these clown running around in orange monk robes with their little following of Bambi watching dweebs ... Pathetic!
 

shesulsa

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The Shaolin Temple is a tourist trap. Keep in mind up until around 20 years ago the temple sat pretty much empty in ruins with a few monks milling about. The so called monks there today are actually actors. What's funny is some of these so called monks ...(Actors) ... have come to places like America where they have opened up so called mini Shaolin Temple schools where idiots line up and shell out truck loads of money for what is nothing more than Peoples Republic Standard Routine Show Wushu. Case in point is out here in Southern California it's a joke. All these clown running around in orange monk robes with their little following of Bambi watching dweebs ... Pathetic!

Examples, please?
 

Wey

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That saddens me. It makes me feel good, as well, to be studying Korean in hopes of going to Korea to study Hapkdio instead of China to study "Kung Fu". Money talks, eh? =/
 

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Not too sure if your up on world history or in this case Chinese history but the Chinese Government has never been too fond of religion & the Chan Buddhist Sect which was what the Shaolin Temple Monks practiced was of all things considered a religion. The Chinese Government pretty much hunted down and killed off any monks they could get their hands on. Back in 1985 I was in China and I visited the site of the temple and it was in ruins & other than a few old monks there it was empty & there was no sign of any kung fu being practiced. Now it's turned into Las Vegas once the Government figured out there was money to be made off the kung fu crazy western public. I'm not going to go into what I do for a living as it's not important but I deal with Governments & I have had contacts on a bussiness level with people within the Chinese Government for years and they have all told me what I already knew the so called monks people see there now are in reality actors and wushu performers. Now we have the Shaolin Wheel of Life Vegas style show coming to a city near you! We have so called monks going out to all four corners of the globe on behalf of the CEO Abbot on a mission to make more money from simple minded childish people that shave their heads & walk aroung in bright orange robes thinking they are doing the Shaolin Hustle! Whats being taught at these so called temples in fast food culture watered down wushu. You might ask ... Is there such a thing as real authentic Shaolin Temple Boxing being taught? The answer is yes but you wont find it coming out of China's version of Las Vegas, that's for sure!
 

Xue Sheng

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No disrespect intended, I simply post the link here as an interesting news item with regard to CMA.

Of course you realize this means war :D

Actually Shaolin is not CMA it is part of CMA.

Shaolin Monastery is for the most part government run these days and what they teach is contemporary Wushu (performance) and Sport Sanda (for fighting).

It was very hard for me to except that fact by the way but it is what it is. Shaolin ain't what it use to be and it is, for the most part, today. A tourist trap. But there are still various types of monks from the full blown life long to the (I believe in China they call it... sarcastically) the 6 year monk. I saw a 6 year monk do a demo once and he impressed the hell out of me with his speed and strength and if his Sanda (Sanshou) was half as good I would not want to fight him.

Sadly the Chinese government is now focusing on Chenjiagou (Chen Village) too and this is not necessarily a good thing (more like not a good thing at all) for Chen Taijiquan.... I hear they now teach Sanshou there too.

Another thing us westerners have to take into consideration when we go to China to train or go train with some of the real live CMA masters that come here to teach. We are $$$ to many of them first and foremost.
 

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Of course you realize this means war :D

Actually Shaolin is not CMA it is part of CMA.

Shaolin Monastery is for the most part government run these days and what they teach is contemporary Wushu (performance) and Sport Sanda (for fighting).

It was very hard for me to except that fact by the way but it is what it is. Shaolin ain't what it use to be and it is, for the most part, today. A tourist trap. But there are still various types of monks from the full blown life long to the (I believe in China they call it... sarcastically) the 6 year monk. I saw a 6 year monk do a demo once and he impressed the hell out of me with his speed and strength and if his Sanda (Sanshou) was half as good I would not want to fight him.

Sadly the Chinese government is now focusing on Chenjiagou (Chen Village) too and this is not necessarily a good thing (more like not a good thing at all) for Chen Taijiquan.... I hear they now teach Sanshou there too.

Another thing us westerners have to take into consideration when we go to China to train or go train with some of the real live CMA masters that come here to teach. We are $$$ to many of them first and foremost.


Very well put,


Whats unfortunate is there will be those here that resent being shown the truth. I love the Shaolin arts & I wish the Shaolin Temple & the so called monks there were teaching the real thing but reality is they are not. Here in Southern California many might not believe how many so called Shaolin Temple schools have sprung up all over the place. What makes me laugh many of the so called sage like Chan monks have pages on my space all looking to break into movies. Whats most disturbing is the amount of people that flock to these sad excuses for Shaolin schools. Nothing I can do about it, nor do I wish to. All I can do is keep my own yard clean and be thankful I'm not a follower. Whats happening in Chen Village is also sad. It's also happening at Wudang as well. The Chinese Government chop/sock Hollyweird Kung Fu Circus is coming to a town near you! ... Hide your money!!!
 

Xue Sheng

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Very well put,


Whats unfortunate is there will be those here that resent being shown the truth. I love the Shaolin arts & I wish the Shaolin Temple & the so called monks there were teaching the real thing but reality is they are not. Here in Southern California many might not believe how many so called Shaolin Temple schools have sprung up all over the place. What makes me laugh many of the so called sage like Chan monks have pages on my space all looking to break into movies. Whats most disturbing is the amount of people that flock to these sad excuses for Shaolin schools. Nothing I can do about it, nor do I wish to. All I can do is keep my own yard clean and be thankful I'm not a follower. Whats happening in Chen Village is also sad. It's also happening at Wudang as well. The Chinese Government chop/sock Hollyweird Kung Fu Circus is coming to a town near you! ... Hide your money!!!

I suspected it was also happening (or going to happen) at Wudang but I was not sure how far along it was.

There is a Shaolin Kung fu school near me but it is not the Shaolin of the venerable monks of Shaolin it is the Northern Shaolin that came out of Chin Woo Athletic Association so it is a bit different and there are no orange robes :D
 

blindsage

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I seem to recall a big controversy when the current head abbot took charge because he wasn't appointed in the 'usual' way, selected by the senior monks, but was appointed directly by the Chinese government. For whatever it's worth.
 

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This government controlled thing is getting very old.
 

Xue Sheng

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This government controlled thing is getting very old.

Actually the reason for the government getting involved with Shaolin, Chenjiagou and Wudang has little to do with actually controlling what is going on there and a whole lot more to do with getting the Western Dollar.

We eat this stuff up, we pay big bucks to be able to say we trained there to impress others and of course turn this to our own monetary advantage and the Chinese government is happily going to allow it and take our money for the experience.

If westerners were not going there and spending money they wouldn’t care. They don't care if your Kung Fu is good or bad just as long as you pay tho learn it.
 

Skippy

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Actually the reason for the government getting involved with Shaolin, Chenjiagou and Wudang has little to do with actually controlling what is going on there and a whole lot more to do with getting the Western Dollar.


Huh?


You make no sense at all. No offense. The Chinese Government is very much involved with everything that goes on at Shaolin, Wudang & Chen Village. The Chinese Government deecides & controls every single thing that takes place at this locations because it's all about the money. Reality is money & control go hand in hand & it's been that way since we humans invented money.
 

Xue Sheng

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Huh?


You make no sense at all. No offense. The Chinese Government is very much involved with everything that goes on at Shaolin, Wudang & Chen Village. The Chinese Government deecides & controls every single thing that takes place at this locations because it's all about the money. Reality is money & control go hand in hand & it's been that way since we humans invented money.

I never said they did not control it, just that they were much more interested in the western dollar than controlling what goes on (Martial Arts and/or religion) in places like Shaolin, Chenjiagou and Wudang. They don't do much with Baiyun Guan or Dongyue (both Toaist) and they are right in Beijing but then most that go there are locals not western tourists. Don't get me wrong there are western tourist there but not to the scale of Shaolin, Wudang and Chenjiagou.

And if memory servers they didn't much care about Chenjiagou or Wudang not to long ago either.
 
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Skippy

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I never said they did not control it, just that they were much more interested in the western dollar than controlling what goes on (Martial Arts and/or religion) in places like Shaolin, Chenjiagou and Wudang. They don't do much with Baiyun Guan or Dongyue (both Toaist) and they are right in Beijing but then most that go there are locals not western tourists. Don't get me wrong there are western tourist there but not to the scale of Shaolin, Wudang and Chenjiagou.

And if memory servers they didn't much care about Chenjiagou or Wudang not to long ago either.


Sorry, didn't mean to offend you.

I really wish places like Shaolin & Wudang were not influnced by money but they are. It's sad & it's pathetic. Governments are the same the world over. if the popularity of these places on a tourist level were to wane tomorrow the Chinese Government would close them all down in a flash. We live in a fast food world, with a fast food global culture & nothing is sacred anymore.... Nothing.
 

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This article and link is of interest as it comes on the heels of a friend reading to me from a Chinese language newspaper last weekend an article about the Shaolin Temple refusing an invitation from two senior muay thai practitioners or clubs in Thailand to have their best Shaolin fighters have a competition fight with them. The premise of the article was that the Shaolin organisation did not wish to risk any defeat and embarassment that could impact on the revenue of the temple and training.

I of course understand everyone needs to make a dollar, have bread to eat etc but if at the end of the day you are peddling a "Martial art"/"combat art" then it makes me sick if you won't put your style or the training of your students to the test or see how it stacks up.

The article mentioned that previously, a long time ago (1920s I think), (sorry but I could not read the article and am not sure if paraphraising entirely accurately) in two instances when, not Shaolin, but kung fu masters from China (Crane style) fought with muay thai fighters they were badly defeated and one died from head injuries.
 

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