Shaolin monks' newest technique: fists of cash

Celluloid Shaolin monks saved Han civilisation and fought off the hated Manchus in the Shaw Brothers' film classics of the 1970s.

Who would have thought that real-life Shaolin monks now credit these low-budget flicks, along with the martial art novels of Louis Cha Leung-yung, alias Jin Yong, for having saved the venerable Buddhist temple in Songshan, Henan , from ruin?

The temple recently revealed that it received more than 1.5 million visitors last year. Kung fu tourism has created an economic boom in the former farming neighbourhood, now complete with hotels, restaurants and, of course, kung fu schools claiming to teach the authentic Shaolin fighting style. Hong Kong, too, will have the Shaolin Kung Fu and Culture Centre on Lantau completed by the end of this year.

'In 1981, there were around a dozen monks left, most of them elderly, living on subsistence farming,' a spokesman told Apple Daily.

But he said Cha's novels and kung fu movies revived interest in the Buddhist temple, which, coupled with the mainland's economic openness, have turned the derelict temple into a commercial brand.

These days, young Shaolin monks no longer just train and grow vegetables. They take classes in English, maths and computer use. The temple is practically a martial arts college, and also runs expensive summer classes for children of well-off families who want to inculcate discipline and a sense of duty in the young brats.