By Qi Xin
and Han Bingbin
BEIJING,
Oct. 28 (Xinhuanet) --At 4 am in a hotel in Dengfeng, Henan province, a
32-year-old Nigerian woman, Peace Emezue, wakes to the cries of
"jihe"! ("assemble"). Half an hour later, still sleepy, she
shows up in the lobby to join 19 other young Africans, all dressed in gray robes
and canvas shoes.
They walk
in two lines for 15 minutes to the Shaolin Temple. This is the routine six days
a week while living the life of a Shaolin monk. Founded in the fifth century,
the monastery is long famous for its association with Chinese martial arts and
particularly with Shaolin kung fu.
The morning
classes start with these "disciples" closely following the monks'
moves and listening to them chanting, a chance to observe and hopefully
experience for themselves a state of tranquility.
Like her
name, Peace Emezue says she has sensed the spiritual moment several times.
"When
I came to Shaolin, I was surprised because the life here is peaceful and
simple," she says. "But it is also quite tough — the morning
exercises, the hard training. We do it every day except Sundays. It is a
lifestyle I am not used to, but I am getting used to it now."
To
strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Africa, the Ministry of Culture
launched the "Shaolin Kung Fu Training Class for African Disciples"
last month, enrolling 20 students from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Uganda
and Nigeria. The course lasts three months.
Emezue is
one of only three women in the group. The other two are Chinese-Africans from
Mauritius. As a Kung fu dazzles Shaolin Temple. Africans learn kung fu at
Shaolin Temple karate champion, Emezue was chosen by her local government for
the program to encourage women in Nigeria to take up martial arts, especially
kung fu.
"Women
also love kung fu and Chinese culture, and I will return and teach my ladies
how to meditate and do the moves of kung fu and qigong (breathing
exercise)," she says. "Since I came here, the training has really
made me strong, especially my legs, because we do a lot of running and mountain
climbing."
Wang Yumin,
dean of the Shaolin Temple's foreign affairs office, says many foreigners are
attracted to Shaolin because of its reputation for kung fu and its use in
Buddhism.
Shi Yanbo,
a kung fu master at the temple, says many of the disciples had experience in
other martial arts or had learned moves from watching films, but simulating
them was not enough. Kung fu is deeply rooted in the culture, he says.
So students
also have to learn meditation and study Buddhist doctrines that guide people's
actions. To help them gain greater understanding of Chinese kung fu, the
students are also offered Chinese language courses.
Zhang
Lifei, the group's Mandarin teacher, says because the 20 African disciples do
not speak the same African language, they are divided into two groups, each
containing someone who can speak English and can help the others.
"I can
speak a little French," Emezue says. "By paraphrasing, I help them to
understand what the teacher is saying."
When the morning
culture and language class is over, the students join the monks for a typical
temple lunch that begins with a ritual.
One of the
monks walks out of the dining hall with a bowl of rice. After gently tapping on
a wooden fish, he places a ball of rice on a stone as a tribute to all beings,
while the monks and students chant from scriptures and clap their hands until
tapping of the wooden fish again signals the start of the meal. Then they all
eat in silence.
"Life
in the Shaolin Temple is unimaginably lovely and peaceful. It's not like the
real world where there is so much hustle," Emezue says.
"I
have found a lot of peace of mind here and to be at peace with myself. I would
like to teach more people how to do that."
African
students join the monks for the lunch at Shaolin Temple that begins with a
ritual before eating. (Photo source:Xiang Mingchao / chinadaily)
(Source:
China Daily)
