I receive many emails from people inquiring about the Southern Shaolin Kung FuTemple in Fujian. There are two--one in Quanzhou and one in Putian, and both claim to be the origin of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu, though neither can prove it.
Below is an inquiry from a man, David M., in Singapore. If you have helpful information, please post it or email me and I'll pass it on. Enjoy Amoy! Dr. Bill
Dear Bill,
Greetings from Singapore. I'm currently researching the life of my kung fu teacher's master, Chee Kim Thong (徐金棟; 1918-2001) and was wondering whether your knowledge of Xiamen would cast light on a murky period in the master's life.
Master Chee was born in Putian. As a young man he joined a guerrilla faction called the Big Knife Army. In this period - the late 1930s - he learned a soft Shaolin art called Luohan Ruyiquan from a Buddhist: a former abbot who lived in seclusion in a cave by a temple. I have heard this temple called Lam Phor Thor, and the abbot named variously as Yit Sim and Yik Cha'an Sze. I am unsure whether the correct temple is in Xiamen or Putian. The place names, and the name of the abbot, are phonetic transcriptions of Hokkien and do not appear to correspond with any information I can find online, and alas I'm unsure how the Hokkien pronunciations might correspond to Mandarin. I lack Chinese characters for these names.
If any of the names I mention suggest anything to you, I would be very grateful for your thoughts. But if not, or if you don't have time for this query at present, don't worry. I'll continue investigating the matter any way I can.
Best wishes,
Chris M.
Unfortunately the facts of Master Chee's life are
already difficult to tease out; my efforts are plagued by a mixture of
legend and distortion, and a sheer lack of the pertinent information
among his close students. Frankly I don't know how to clarify some of
the questions I have about Master Chee's early life, and no-one outside
of Master's Chee's circle appears even to have heard of Luohan Ruyiquan.
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
Below is an inquiry from a man, David M., in Singapore. If you have helpful information, please post it or email me and I'll pass it on. Enjoy Amoy! Dr. BillDear Bill,
Greetings from Singapore. I'm currently researching the life of my kung fu teacher's master, Chee Kim Thong (徐金棟; 1918-2001) and was wondering whether your knowledge of Xiamen would cast light on a murky period in the master's life.
Master Chee was born in Putian. As a young man he joined a guerrilla faction called the Big Knife Army. In this period - the late 1930s - he learned a soft Shaolin art called Luohan Ruyiquan from a Buddhist: a former abbot who lived in seclusion in a cave by a temple. I have heard this temple called Lam Phor Thor, and the abbot named variously as Yit Sim and Yik Cha'an Sze. I am unsure whether the correct temple is in Xiamen or Putian. The place names, and the name of the abbot, are phonetic transcriptions of Hokkien and do not appear to correspond with any information I can find online, and alas I'm unsure how the Hokkien pronunciations might correspond to Mandarin. I lack Chinese characters for these names.
If any of the names I mention suggest anything to you, I would be very grateful for your thoughts. But if not, or if you don't have time for this query at present, don't worry. I'll continue investigating the matter any way I can.
Best wishes,
Chris M.
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
