196 Fist Fighting and Self-Cultivation
of writing it is uncertain whether the Chinese martial arts will be featured in
the 2008 Beijing Olympics (possibly as a demonstration sport). It is clear,
though, that the games loom large in the minds of Shaolin officials, who plan
to reopen in 2008 their Northern Shaolin Temple in the outskirts of Beijing.^42
The Media: Reality has imitated fiction as the rise of the Shaolin Temple
has followed close upon the growing popularity of the movies and the televi-
sion series dedicated to it. The international success of the kung fu genre is
among the most striking aspects of contemporary cinema. Hong Kong
movies—which have exerted a significant influence on Hollywood filmmaking
—have played an enormous role in spreading the martial arts’ fame, both
within China and around the globe. The modern media has thereby recreated
the Shaolin legend for contemporary audiences. Particularly noteworthy in
this respect has been Li Lianjie’s ( Jet Li’s) 1982 blockbuster Shaolin Temple,
which has been briefly mentioned in chapter 2. In the wake of the movie’s suc-
cess, thousands of aspiring athletes flocked to the monastery, laying the foun-
dations for the martial arts schools that would mushroom around it. The
temple’s revival has been intimately linked, therefore, to the flowering of the
kung fu genre.
Economic Reform: Whereas the Ming dynasty promoted Shaolin’s military
power, the Communist regime appreciates its economic significance. Even
though some of its alumni have joined the PRC military, the monastery is val-
ued primarily as a financial asset. The spectacular success of the Shaolin Tem-
ple as a tourist and as a sporting attraction has had far-reaching implications
for the previously depressed Dengfeng County economy, resulting in enthusi-
astic government support. State-sponsored attempts to revive other martial
arts centers—such as the Funiu Monasteries mentioned in chapter 3—have
been modeled on the Shaolin example. The temple’s revival needs to be inter-
preted, therefore, in terms of the economic reforms that have so dramatically
changed contemporary Chinese lives.