After a whirlwind tour of the United States, the Shaolin monks will present their thrilling martial dances, Buddhist music, true-to-life sets and dazzling lighting in Soul of Shaolin to audiences in the capital city. The show will be held at the Beijing Exhibition Hall Theatre on April 23 and 24.

The 40 monks appearing in Soul of Shaolin use both traditional and modern Chinese Buddhist music to accompany their famous Shaolin kung fu, the unique form of martial art developed and practiced at their home temple in central China's Henan Province.

Shaolin Temple, at the foot of Mount Songshan, has been famous for its profound version of Zen Buddhism and its legendary kung fu for more than 1,500 years. Today, the images and legends of the Shaolin monks still fire the imaginations of those of us who lead more pedestrian lives.

The breath-taking performances this month will give Beijing admirers a chance to see the monks in action without having to travel all the way to the temple.

Soul of Shaolin is based on the monks' daily lives and training regimen.

China has an old saying: "All kung fu comes from Shaolin." It underscores the importance of the temple in China's martial arts heritage.

Shaolin kung fu is not simply a genre of martial arts, but a comprehensive system of Zen Buddhism that incorporates martial arts as part of its discipline. The physical prowess and strength of the monks is awe-inspiring, but no less is the sheer dance-like beauty of the their movements.

Compactness is a central feature of Shaolin kung fu. The moves and kicks are short, simple and succinct as well as being rich and varied. While fighting, Shaolin monks advance and retreat in short, straight movements. Attack and defense are blended together in a seamless continuity.

The Shaolin Temple was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 368 - 534). Many of the monks who entered the temple were already skilled in martial arts. They taught each other what they knew and helped each other to improve their skills. Gradually, they developed their skills into the unique system of the Shaolin school.

The monks remained in obscurity, however, until the Tang dynasty (AD 618 - 907), when they saved the life of Li Shimin, the second Tang emperor, as he fought to establish his rule.

Li eventually was able to reward the monks, giving the temple large grants of land and money to expand the temple complex.

The Shaolin Temple was allowed to organize an army of monks, who served as soldiers in times of war and as monks when there was peace. The comprehensive system known as Shaolin kung fu continued to undergo refining and tempering through the centuries.

By the time of the Yuan dynasty (1271 - 1368), the Shaolin Temple had more than 2,000 monks, all of them masters in the martial arts.

In the early 20th century, there was a great surge in the popularity of kung fu and clubs were established all over the country, with most of them practicing the Shaolin style. But before long, the kung fu fad had waned, and Shaolin began to fade back into obscurity.

Until the 1960s, that is, when books and stories about Shaolin kung fu suddenly became wildly popular again. Interest continued to grow through the 1970s, and by the time the action film Shaolin Temple, starring Jet Li, was released in the early 1980s the temple and its amazing monks were known all over the world. 

(China Daily April 15, 2004)