Masters Transmit Martial Arts
Kungfu teaching at new Shaolin Temple in Zambia is tightening China-Africa cultural ties
The distinctive architectural style of the buildings with gigantic roofs, the solemn and majestic statues of Buddha in the temple’s main hall, the powerful sounds of kungfu practitioners... At the first sight, one is led to think that it must be temple complex in China instead of Africa. In reality, this is the first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in the capital city of Lusaka.
Supported by Chinese entrepreneurs, the construction of the temple started in April 2019 and was completed in September 2021. Covering an area of over 20,000 square metres, it is one of the largest Chinese Buddhist temples in Africa.
The temple opened its doors to the public and started offering training courses in January 2022, with an initial class of 15 local students. Yan Lun, headmaster of the temple, revealed that there are around 50 children aged six to 16 from very vulnerable backgrounds receiving educational support, food and shelter at the temple. They come from different parts of Lusaka.
Besides Yan, the temple has three other masters from the Songshan Shaolin Temple in China, and one African monk named Max Yollando, whose Chinese name is Yan Ming, to conduct the trainings.
Yan Lun said the project is intended for not only Zambians, but all of Africans.
“Kungfu is a good way to help Africans to understand Chinese culture as well as enhance the China-Africa friendship,” Yan told ChinAfrica.
Exercise of body and mind
Shaolin kungfu is a martial art that originated from traditional Chinese culture, evolving with time. For over 1,500 years, Shaolin kungfu was passed down from generation to generation. Chinese regard it as not only a kind of martial art, but also martial virtue. A real Chinese kungfu master is one who possesses a healthy body and physical prowess, is also brave and has a strong character.
As for the disciples in Shaolin Temple in Zambia, they not only need to practice kungfu, but also learn Chinese language and culture, and attend daily meditation classes.
“Shaolin kungfu not only makes you healthy and fit, but builds discipline and respect,” Yan told ChinAfrica. He said that the daily meditation classes help the African students to better understand Chinese kungfu, gain
wisdom and enlightenment, and learn self-control as well as how to resolve problems through peaceful means.
“Learning kungfu helps me to keep fit, and also understand the rich Chinese culture. I hope that one day I can travel to China and visit the Shaolin Temple in China,” said 13-year-old Henry Memba, a disciple in the temple.
Some critics say that the temple’s existence is in conflict with the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation. Yan explained that the temple has not been built with the aim of interfering with religions in Zambia, but to make the youth discover their talent through kungfu and Chinese culture.
The fact is that the programme instils hope among the vulnerable people in Zambia. Now, Memba and the six-year-old disciple Jiang Fair have become “kungfu stars” in the eyes of the local people. They are often invited to show their exquisite kungfu skills to children in local schools. More and more local people who like Chinese kungfu and Chinese culture go to the temple to learn and exchange ideas.
Some of the disciples are from the Ngwerere compound near the temple, which is a low-income community that lacks access to education and recreational facilities for young people.
“We are very happy to have the Shaolin Temple close by. Many young people will benefit from the education and skills programme being offered at the temple,” Andrew Miti, the Ngwerere compound chairperson, told Xinhua News Agency.
Residents in the community noted that the Shaolin Temple in Zambia is serving as a beacon of hope for many young people in the Ngwerere compound and beyond.
Continuation of spirit
Shaolin kungfu is widely known in Africa. The Chinese martial art conjures up images of the iconic movie stars Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan, whose superb fighting skills were popular throughout the continent.
As early as 4 April 1998, the ambassadors of 28 African countries to China visited the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, and expressed the hope that Shaolin culture could enter Africa and benefit the local people on the continent.
In 2012, the programme on Shaolin kungfu training for African disciples was launched by China’s Ministry of Culture (predecessor of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) to strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Africa.
Every year, about 20 African martial art aficionados are invited to the three-month training programme. Their learning contents include
Shaolin kungfu, Chinese calligraphy, Zen medicine, etc.
Every participating African student becomes a ChinaAfrica cultural exchange ambassador on returning home. Some students are working as Shaolin kungfu instructors while some have opened clinics or “regimen pavilions” based on the Zen medicine techniques they learned in the temple.
Yollando, the only African monk at the temple in Zambia, is one of the beneficiaries. The native of Côte d’Ivoire said he became interested in Chinese culture while at the university and decided to go to China in 2015 to learn Chinese culture. He studied in the Shaolin Temple for six years before becoming a master in Zambia.
“I have always liked kungfu since my childhood. Whenever I watched kungfu movies and the actors, I wished to become like them,” he told ChinAfrica.
During his study at the Shaolin Temple in China, the temple covered all his expenses. “I am very grateful to have the opportunity to learn kungfu in China’s Shaolin Temple. The Abbot of the Shaolin Temple Shi Yongxin hopes that I can become a bridge between Chinese and African cultures. So after the establishment of the Shaolin Temple in Zambia, I decided to come here to spread Shaolin culture and Chinese culture,” Yollando told ChinAfrica.
He said learning Chinese culture has broadened his horizons and that the time spent at the Shaolin Temple taught him the importance of self-discipline and respect for mankind.
He believes that it is important for African people to learn the cultures of other countries in order to blend into the global system. “We are here to impart to the Zambian people knowledge of Chinese culture and hope this will help to reinforce China-Africa relations,” he told ChinAfrica.
“The word ‘kungfu’ literally means ‘work hard’ in Chinese. And I think what Africans should learn from Chinese is their diligence, hard-working spirit and resilience in pursuit of a better life,” said Yollando.