Quotable DM

[Drunk Monk]

...but it's not for him, strangely enough. he holds a lucrative job in china and writes for fun, because he loves it. and we love free content.

the wulin is not very lucrative or i'd be driving a new jaguar. i had a freelancer submit a story a while back and retracted it when she found out how much we compensated. then, a few weeks ago, she came crawling back, realizing that no one would buy her story at all but us. So our pittance was better than nothing, plus there was the profile aspect of adding our title to her resume.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Is Wulin the new term I have to start using?

[Drunk Monk]

Know what it means?

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Yes,(sigh), I looked it up.

[Drunk Monk]

...what did it say?

[The Queen]

According to Wikipedia, "Wulin (武林), a term used in wuxia fiction and media related to Chinese martial arts to describe the community of martial artists. It is part of the broader term jianghu."

I'm guessing I'm missing the point, though.

[Drunk Monk]

...which, of course, begs the question, what is jianghu?

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

According to Google : Jiang Hu received the B.S. degree in optical engineering from Zhejiang University

[Drunk Monk]

KB (DOOM bro high on the 'we should check in on him to make sure he's not in jail' list) once asked me about the Jianghu after watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. It comes up in that film very quickly in a line Michelle Yeoh delivers, but the subtitle reads "gianghu" which dangles precariously for anyone uninitiated. I can't remember if I answered KB to his satisfaction, but I do remember being impressed that he even caught it.

Jianghu literally means 'rivers and lakes' but it refers to a semi-underground, semi-mythic, over-romanticized portion of martial arts society in medieval China, somewhat parallel to the Ronin of Japan. These were martial arts heroes and villains who traveled the waterways (rivers and lakes) and went about having adventures and such. Mostly, the notion derives from Wuxia (literally 'martial knight') which describes a genre of literature, film and legend. Chinese pulp fiction goes back centuries so it got incorporated into today's standing myths and legends; the two are hard to separate. Outlaws of the Marsh is essential wuxia and that dates back to the 14th. Numerous styles of present-day Kung Fu descend from that tale, which like Robin Hood or King Arthur, has some historical basis but is mostly fiction. We even did a special issue focused on it. Wuxia continues to develop. Louis Cha (aka Jin Yong), who CF and I have mentioned in the books section of this forum, has had a tremendous impact on the genre, and he's still alive. Wulin (literally 'martial forest') is a related term which generally refers to the community of martial heroes.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

That was what I was going to say next.

The def I found was the alternate universe where the Wuxia stories take place.

[Drunk Monk]

http://chinesemartialstudies.com/2013/04...big-thing/

benjudkins likes dm

[Drunk Monk]

I was interviewed for the Austin Kung-Fu Academy's podcast Kung Fu Konversations last night: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.austinkungfuacademy.com/blog/archives/885">http://www.austinkungfuacademy.com/blog/archives/885</a><!-- m -->

[Drunk Monk]

Shaolin Temple Rakes In Cash and Controversy
Rena Gregory

"An enchanting place, home of the warriors," promises the pop music blaring from a giant screen as excited visitors board buggies fit for a theme park.

Welcome to the Shaolin Temple in central China, known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and world-famous for its kungfu. Instead of inspiring awe and mysticism as it had once done for centuries, the present venue is managed more along the lines of a Hollywood theme park.

It prompted one European visitor to comment, "The first time I came here, I thought the taxi driver had made a mistake. I thought I'd see a monastery deep in the forest, and I was very disappointed."

As a well known sage once said, "monks in temples can no longer save themselves, let alone saving others." Well, the report above confirms this comment.

The Shaolin Temple was established in 495 AD, according to legend, by Boddhidharma. The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries. A warlord attacked the temple in 1928, which burned for 45 days, destroying many of the buildings, books and records.

During the days of the Cultural Revolution when religion was banned, many adjacent building, statues and relics were demolished. Since then, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has orchestrated schemes to allow certain religious practices to run as a show; and it is also designed to placate a nation which had deep rooted traditions in faith and morality, which was suddenly replaced by an anti-faith, pro-violence, atheist regime.

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. This temple drew 1.6 million people last year 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. It is nothing but a huge commercial enterprise, and the Abbott possesses a Mercedes, high quality lap tops, female personal assistants and 'friends'.

The venue's notoriety has been a boon to the neighbouring area, attracting more than 80 mostly private kungfu schools where more than 60,000 people train to be like the monastery's 200 warrior-monks. But why are they training? Certainly not to become virtuous, altruistic people, attempting to raise their morality - instead, training to make money from rituals visitors want to have performed.

A 24-year-old Henan province visitor recently found the temple more rowdy than she would have expected from the epicentre of Zen Buddhism, but the commercial aspect did not dampen her enjoyment. It prompted her to comment, "When tourists come here, there are so many people that don't feel it's that calm, but I like it."
CEO of Shaolin

Screenshots: Shi Yongxin was interviewed by journalists.

The temple's money-making success may be largely attributed to Abbot Shi Yongxin, who took charge in 1999, but temple monks revealed that some money making decisions were made by Shi Yongxin's lover, Liu Dandan, who is 20 years younger then Shi and lived in the Shaolin temple from 2002 to 2004. Shi Yongxin was busy traveling for his business pursuits,and while he was overseas in 2004, Liu fell in love with Shi's nephew, Feng who also lived in the temple. Liu left the temple after this. It was Liu Dandan who initiated selling one incense stick for 3888 yuan.

Shi Yongxin is repeatedly criticized for his perceived pursuit of money, his cunning character and his sinister past in getting him to the position of Abbot. This prompted a computer hacker to replace the Shaolin website's front page with a mock letter of remorse in Shi's name. The post accused him of commercializing the 1,500-year-old temple.

Shi retorted: "I'm not a businessman. I don't hold shares." He sat for an interview wearing a yellow robe in one of the temple's halls. He defended Shaolin's commercial ventures, which he refused to describe as businesses, but rather as ways "of raising the temple's profile."

"Believers have demands, and we must satisfy and serve them to the best of our ability -- it's a service that provides faith products."

Screenshot: Why is it always female journalists interviewing Shi?--- the comment at bottom of photo
Bikini contest

Parts of a reality TV contest show scenes were shot here in 2006, to find a new kungfu star, with a bikini fashion show! Gene Ching, the US-based publisher of Kung Fu Tai Chi - a periodical devoted to Chinese martial arts - and a former student at Shaolin, defended Shi, saying the Abbot was moving with the times.

Can you imagine St. Peter's Basilica in Rome holding a bikini contest? According to Ching, things were even more bizarre at one time at this once sacred temple - the grounds of Shaolin were full of tourist "atttractions," such as a terracotta Buddha with a house of horrors inside, a roller skating rink, video game arcades and karaoke bars, adding "it was more like a surreal circus carnival."

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chinauncensored.com/index.php/kaleidoscope/64-chinas-famous-shaolin-temple-rakes-in-cash-and-controversy">http://www.chinauncensored.com/index.ph ... ontroversy</a><!-- m -->

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Wait? The abbot's lover? True or false, Mr. DM?

[Drunk Monk]

If not, it's something I'll share next time we're face2face. ;-)

Meanwhile, I'm not actually quoted in this article, but there's a nice pic of me in one of my fav beer shirts.

术学院朱东教授应邀赴美国加州大学伯克利大学讲座和研讨
2014-03-20

本网讯 武术学院朱东教授应美国加州大学伯克利大学武术项目组的邀请，于2014年3月12日至17日赴旧金山进行 了武术科学化训练的讲座和研讨。讲座的内容为竞技武术套路跳跃动作及武术训练计划的科学制订，在时长6小时 全英文的理论讲授中，朱教授从跳跃难度的科学研究开始，到跳跃难度的训练方法和具体操作手段，以及如何在大 赛前安排武术套路运动员的训练计划，最后到自由提问，深入浅出的授课方式和自由讨论使在场的所有人感觉收获 很大。在研讨会中，通过对不同运动员完成跳跃难度所出现的具体问题，朱东教授进行了一一的分析和讨论，运动 员及个别教练员参加了本次的研讨，短短的3小时研讨使到场的每一位武术教练和运动员感到这种交流形式很有必 要，使他们学习到了真正的训练方式，开拓了眼界。


朱东教授在武术讲座中进行授课


在研讨会中进行跳跃难度的分析


朱东教授在美期间，还参观了美国的《功夫太极杂志》社，并与该社主编Gigi女士进行了交流。


在《功夫太极杂志》社与社长Gigi女士及其他人员合影（该照片由Tiger Claw Co.提供）

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sus.edu.cn/info/1007/8093.htm">http://www.sus.edu.cn/info/1007/8093.htm</a><!-- m -->