Dropped off on the bus to the Shaolin temple in Henan by his father (himself a kung fu teacher) at the tender age of 8, Xie Qingtuan became a 32nd generation Shaolin Martial Monk, former member of the acclaimed Shaolin international performance team and a First Grade National Athlete. After leaving the temple to study physical
education at Beijing Sports University, he now teaches kung fu to over 100 students at a number of international schools in Beijing. He is currently working on setting up his own Kung Fu club for international school students aged 6-14 in Beijing in order to share his passion. Xie wowed the students at Dulwich College Beijing with some spectacular moves and answered questions on Chinese kung fu, life in the temple and the real reason why Shaolin monks are all bald.
Christopher Chiu, 8, Australia
Since you train so much, do you have a 6-pack?
No, now I have a big belly. When I was younger I did though – you have to have muscles to do the back flips and jumps. But I finished with the Shaolin International Performance team and went to university in Beijing. While I was in the Shaolin temple I didn’t eat much but at university I did.
Theo North-Concar, 8, UK
What’s your favorite move?
My favorite move – OK, I’ll show you. I need to stretch first. My favorite move is just traditional, simple Shaolin style. It is a combination punch-kick-punch, very simple [punches and kicks the air in a blur, bringing a round of applause].
Milo Libby, 8, US
What do you eat in the temple?
Just vegetables, rice and tofu. No meat, just vegetables.
Darren Lu, 8, Australia
How big is the temple?
When I was there, it was very small and not a good place for tourists. But now it’s huge. It’s difficult to say how many people are there, but the walk from the gate to the temple can take about 30 minutes. You should go though; it’s a great place for tourists today.
Lawrence Xu, 9, UK
Have you ever fought against someone?
Yes, I have. Generally during practice we fight against each other, but I’ve also had a fight against a bad guy. It was on a bus, on the way to the temple. He stole a handbag from one of the passengers. There were three people nearby all watching but not doing anything, so I got the bag back and kicked him off the bus. People clapped. In kung fu, if you fight bad people, it makes you feel more like a warrior or a hero.
Alex Oehrlein, 8, US
Can you do a back flip?
[Does back-flip in front of students] Yes, I can.
Christopher Chiu, 8, Australia
Why couldn’t you eat meat at the temple?
Because the temple is Buddhist, and if you want to stay there you have to be a monk. You have to respect the religion and in Buddhism, you are not allowed to eat meat, you cannot kill any creature or be angry – there are many rules but you have to follow them out of respect for the religion, and for other people.
Daniel Na, 8, Korea
Why are monks bald?
Because when they are fighting, people cannot grab their hair. No, I’m kidding. The real reason is because to be a monk you have to have a bald head. It is another one of the rules we talked about before.
Lawrence Xu, 9, UK
Why did you leave the temple?
Because if you are a monk living by the rules and you want to be a monk for the rest of your life, you can stay in the temple. But I didn’t want to do that so I left and went to university instead.
Helena Lee, 8, Korea
Can you show us any other moves?
Perhaps after the questions.
Theo North-Concar, 8, UK
In martial arts, you get a colored belt. What color belt do you have?
In Chinese martial arts, we don’t have colored belts. Martial arts in the est are sports, and you want to be faster, stronger and cooler than other people so you have colored belts to show the difference in ability. But in Chinese kung fu, the goal is to bring peace. Two monks may fight, but it is not to compete – if they fight, they fight in a gentle way. They respect each other. Before they start, they will talk in a modest way saying how they are not good, and how the other person is better. Then when they fight, they do so in a respectful way. They will not punch because they are friends and brothers, like you here in this classroom. Everyone is good, each with strengths and weaknesses so we can’t have belts.
Lala Cheung, 8, Hong Kong SAR, China
Did you like living in the temple?
Sure. It was a very good place, very peaceful. The life there was very simple. We used to train, meditate and think about the world. We had a very good relationship with our Shaolin brothers.
