If the word "Shaolin Temple" comes up and you picture monks ringing bell and chanting scriptures in a reclusive temple removed from the secular world, your image needs an update. Shaolin temples, home of Shaolin Kungfu, are spreading Shaolin culture abroad by relating to modern society.
The 2012 European Shaolin Culture Festival, held in Germany and Austria on September 7, was organized by Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan Province and the World Shaolin Association.
The first of this kind in Europe, Shaolin Kungfu institutions and practitioners across the globe participated. Lectures about Shaolin tradition, Kungfu performances, Shaolin Zen philosophy and medicinal sciences were introduced.
The festival is a test of Shaolin popularity abroad. But some worry that Shaolin tradition is becoming overly commercialized.
Revamping an image
Shi Yongxin, the Shaolin Temple abbot, told Xinhua News Agency that Shaolin is an easy way for Westerners to learn about Chinese traditional culture.
"We hope more foreigners learn about Chinese culture and religion through the festival," said Shi.
According to Shi, over 1,000 people attended the conferences. Among them, over 400 were apprentices of Shaolin Kungfu, from 20 countries.
Shaolin Kungfu is one of the most recognizable aspects of Shaolin tradition, popularized through movies, attracting thousands of apprentices to the 1,500-year-old culture.
Six-year-old monk Shi Xiaosong, the youngest warrior monk in the temple, performed traditional Shaolin Kungfu at the festival.
Li Xudong, his father, told the Global Times that two years ago, Shi fell ill. Doctors suggested the child practice Wushu to gain back his health.
Though Shi doesn't have a typical education or childhood, Li said that Shi is content and takes courses at the temple, in lieu of normal study at school.
Shaolin Temple emphasizes educating its monks and disciples. Half the monks at the temple are born in the 1980s. Though Buddhist disciples were once isolated from the outside world, modern monks study in Buddhist institutions and universities while teaching Buddhism, religion and philosophy.
"Times have changed. Monks must learn communication and technology skills, study foreign languages and study abroad," Shi Yongxin told Xinhua.
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