Who is better, Shaolin or Wudang ~!

Shaolin VS Wudang-Master of Wushu Culture Industry

China Wushu has a long history. In the process of historical development, Buddhism and Taoism's theory of self-cultivation was gradually integrated, resources were extracted from various Taoist spells, and various amazing martial arts were created in martial arts novels with the rich imagination of literati, thus forming an exciting martial arts culture.

1982, the film Shaolin Temple was released. Shaolin Temple is the first real appearance of China's martial arts films in Chinese mainland, leaving an indelible impression on fans in China and even the whole world. More importantly, it brought China's martial arts films to the world stage, and opened a precedent for China's martial arts culture industry. Today, Shaolin Temple's contribution to China Wushu culture industry is still unrepeatable and hard to surpass.

Driven by martial arts film and television, martial arts culture and modern media have gradually formed a diversified industrial form: the publishing of martial arts books, martial arts movies, TV dramas, music, martial arts animation, comics, martial arts online games, martial arts schools and martial arts tourism industries have all formed a considerable scale. The publication and dissemination of Jin Yong's martial arts novels alone has produced an output value of more than 5 billion yuan, and the brand value of Jin Yong himself is immeasurable; Martial arts film and television drama is the mainstream of China film and television drama. From Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Hero, to shaolin soccer and Kung Fu, the annual output value of martial arts film and television dramas exceeds 65,438 billion yuan. The cartoon industry has just emerged and has great potential; In addition, martial arts online games have grown rapidly, forming an annual scale of more than 654.38+000 billion yuan; Martial arts schools have blossomed all over the country with an output value of hundreds of millions. Now it seems that the annual output value of Wushu industry is tens of billions, so a new term "Wushu cultural industry" came into being.

For thousands of years, north shaolin and South Wudang, known as the Big Dipper of Mount Tai in rivers and lakes, have done their best. They have become the representatives of China Wushu Waijia Boxing and Neijia Boxing, leading the trend of China Wushu culture industry.

First, the development of Shaolin and Wudang Wushu cultural industries

In the 1980s, Shaolin Temple was in ruins, with a dozen monks and nine elderly people living on 28 acres of land. After more than 20 years of development, Shaolin Temple has formed a brand combination of Buddhism, Temple, Monk, Kindness, Zen, Martial Arts, Arts and Publications, and its industries include Zen Dew magazine, Shaolin Film and Television Company, Shaolin Painting and Calligraphy Institute and Shaolin Wushu Group. Moreover, Shaolin Temple has set up Songshan Shaolin Tourism Group in April 2007 to implement unified management and market-oriented operation of all scenic spots in Songshan Scenic Area. In addition, Shaolin Tourism Group also plans to package and list projects including ropeways, action movies, hotels and tourist fleets. All this stems from a series of brilliant industrial operations in Shaolin Temple.

When Shaolin Kung Fu is surging, Shaolin cars, Shaolin security doors, Shaolin ham sausage, Shaolin ink and Shaolin glue are close at hand, as far away as Europe, America, Japan and other countries and regions, all kinds of organizations under the banner of Shaolin Temple flock. In order to protect the brand of Shaolin, Shaolin Industrial Development Co., Ltd. was established in 1997. Since then, Shaolin has successively introduced Shaolin food series, namely Shaolin vegetarian cakes and Shaolin snacks. However, these do not seem to be the specialties of Shaolin Temple, and they are not directly related to the martial arts myths in the eyes of the public. Therefore, Shaolin Temple established Shaolin Temple Culture Communication Company to develop Shaolin brand as a whole, promote Shaolin Temple's Zen, martial arts and medical culture, and provide technical guidance in specific applications. Since then, Shaolin Temple has been pushed to the forefront of the stage again and again.

In 2004, Shaolin Temple published "The Secret of Medicine and Wushu" on the Internet, which triggered a great discussion among the martial arts, medical and social circles and focused the public's attention on Shaolin Temple.

June 5438+October 2005 10, the original dance drama "Shaolin in the Wind" jointly arranged by Shaolin Temple and Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theatre appeared in poly theatre. Subsequently, the play reached an agreement with the American Blue Trace Entertainment Group, and Shaolin performed in the United States for two years, with about 800 performances, and the performance income is expected to reach 8 million US dollars. This mighty performance, as a product discovery, once again adds luster to the brand of Shaolin Temple. In the same year, authorized by Shaolin Temple, the 3D online game "Legend of Shaolin" developed by Wanku Technology Company was officially put into operation. Then, the animation "Legend of Shaolin" with the same name as the online game went on the market, which was broadcast in more than 20 overseas countries and regions, as well as TV stations in Taiwan Province Province and Shanghai, and the ratings were among the best for many times. This not only gained economic benefits, but also publicized the Shaolin spirit.

At the end of March 2006, the "China Kung Fu Star TV Competition" jointly sponsored by Shaolin Temple and Shenzhen Satellite TV was officially launched. This form is similar to the "Super Girl" TV talent contest, which has six domestic divisions: Shenzhen, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, Chengdu and Shanghai, and six international divisions: the United States, Germany, Russia, Italy, France and Australia. On a global scale, 108 heroes were selected from the contestants through the evaluation of "morality, martial arts and art". The "Kung Fu Star" selected in the competition will appear in a series of film and television works with the background of "China Kung Fu" such as Shaolin Kung Fu epic TV series "Biography of Shaolin Monks and Soldiers" and will play a role in the series of movies "New Shaolin Temple" produced by Hollywood. At the same time, in the competition, mysterious activities such as "seed players practice in Shaolin Temple behind closed doors" and "confrontation with 18 Lohan in Shaolin Temple" were also carried out, which attracted the attention of martial arts lovers all over the world.

In addition to the "China Kung Fu Star TV Competition", in 2006, wonderful events about Shaolin Temple were staged continuously. 500 American Shaolin laity disciples from the United Wushu School held a pilgrimage ceremony in front of the Shaolin Temple in Millennium Temple to return to the mountain. Miss World Tourism travels around Shaolin Temple and competes with Shaolin Temple monks. Beauty and monk are two keywords that people can't help but pay attention to. In September, "Shaolin on Zen" was grandly held in the Great Zen Hall of Shaolin Temple; Hosted by Henan TV Station and Fuji TV Station, Japan's largest private TV organization, and hosted by Beijing Asian Sports and Cultural Exchange Center, "Wulin Wind? The departure ceremony of Shaolin Temple's legendary trip to Japan was also held in front of Shaolin Temple ... Even Russian President Vladimir Putin came to Shaolin Temple. After his bodyguard competed with Shaolin Temple monks on the same stage, Putin himself was eager to try. After many efforts to dissuade him, he carried a young monk on his shoulder, and Shaolin Temple was so beautiful.

In 2007, Shaolin Temple once again became the focus of media. In April, the 350 million yuan Zen Music Festival "Zen? Produced by the famous musician Tan Dun. The live performance of Shaolin Music Festival was officially staged in an all-round way and received constant praise. In May this year, Shaolin Temple held its second altar-closing ceremony in 300 years. After 28 days of ceremony, 600 Buddhists from all over the country became Buddhists in Shaolin Temple and became monks. In July, the Shaolin Temple monk performance group went to Japan to perform.

In 2008, Shaolin Temple remained the focus of attention. A TV series "The Legend of Shaolin Temple" is fascinating, constantly refreshing the viewing record and being praised as the 08 viewing champion by the media; In June165438+1October of the same year, Shaolin Temple signed an agreement with the government officials of Guandu District, Kunming City: Shaolin Temple will take care of four temples in Guandu for 20 years, and during the custody period, it will cultivate Yunnan Shaolin 18 arhats, and Shaolin Temple will once again become famous in the world. ...

High-frequency exposure has won high popularity and brought huge economic benefits. Among them is the martial arts school industry. Dengfeng City, Henan Province, where Shaolin Temple is located, is the largest martial arts city in the world. By 2005, there were 83 martial arts schools with Shaolin Temple as the core in the urban area, with 50,000 students. Perhaps the most famous of these is Tagou Martial Arts School, which is known as the "No.1 Martial Arts School in the World", with 6.5438+0.5 million students, 265.438+0.5 national champions and 95 international champions. The vigorous development of Wushu industry has effectively promoted the development of related industries. According to statistics made by the Sports Bureau of Dengfeng City, 50,000 students in Dengfeng are basically foreigners, and the consumption they only pull is an astronomical figure. It usually takes five years for Shaolin monks to teach Kung Fu, and the tuition and living expenses depend on the age and situation of the students. Take the boy aged 10 as an example, the annual expenditure is about 13800 yuan. However, international students charge twice as much as domestic students, and are equipped with special translators. According to incomplete statistics, in 2005, the martial arts school made a direct profit of 500 million yuan.

Accompanied by martial arts schools, there is also a colorful martial arts performance industry. Since 1980s, Shaolin Wushu has entered the markets of Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong, Japan and the United States in the form of temple folk performances, and has taken the step of internationalization of Shaolin Wushu performing arts industry. 1995, Shaolin Wushu entered the Golden Hall in Vienna and toured Western Europe. 1996, Shaolin Wushu was performed at the Royal British Theatre. Since 2000, the elements of artistry and industrialization of Shaolin Wushu performance have become stronger and stronger, and the market of Wushu performance art has expanded rapidly, and gradually developed to East Asia, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, Australia and other places, covering more than 0/00 countries and regions in the world. With the expansion of the performance area, the scale of Wushu performance groups in Dengfeng city has been expanding, from 23 in 2002 to 72 in 2007, which has more than tripled. In 2007, the number of performers reached 2,800, four times that of 2002. In 2005, Wushu schools performed more than 8,000 Shaolin Wushu performances for Chinese and foreign tourists, received 300,000 tourists and earned more than 7 million yuan. In the first half of 2007 alone, all artistic performance groups in Dengfeng City have performed 2500 performances, exceeding the total performance in 2005, achieving economic benefits of 23 million yuan.

Shaolin Wushu culture not only produces great economic value, but also injects vitality into local economic development. Shaolin kungfu attracts a large number of tourists. According to the ticket statistics, from 1974 to 1978, the total number of Shaolin tourists is about 200,000. By 1982, the number of visitors to Shaolin Temple had reached more than 700,000, and in 1984 it reached a record high of 2.6 million. Since the 1990s, the number of tourists has basically stabilized at around 6.5438+0.5 million per year, while the direct income of Shaolin Scenic Area mainly from tickets has reached 65.438+0.2 billion yuan a year. The rapid development of Wushu industry has created 2 billion yuan of comprehensive social benefits for Dengfeng every year, and the share of Wushu industry in the total economic output has been about 10%. The tertiary industry led by Wushu industry has become the pillar industry of Dengfeng economy, and its income accounts for 1/3 of the city's GDP. At the same time, the brand effect and cultural promotion function of Shaolin Wushu have become a strong glue to attract foreign investment in Dengfeng. By holding previous Shaolin Wushu festivals and the first World Traditional Wushu Festival, Dengfeng introduced more than 5 billion yuan of funds and more than 300 projects, with a total economic and trade volume of more than 654.38+0 billion yuan.

Shaolin Temple is closely related to its core products, Zen Buddhism and Wushu, and it has turned a product into a series of industries through a business-driven culture, dance dramas, monk tours, kung fu contests and music ceremonies.

Corresponding to Shaolin Temple, a few years later, there was the movie Wudang. Unfortunately, Wudang didn't give Wu Tang a chance to stand out from the peers. But this does not prevent Wudang, which is also a famous school, from developing Wushu industry. 1987 Wudang held the first Wushu competition, which had a great influence, with 2 10000 visitors. Later, Wudang Mountain held wudang boxing International Friendship Conference, China Wudang Culture Wushu Festival, Wudang Mountain Wushu Challenge, wudang boxing International Exchange Conference, wudang boxing Kung Fu Seminar and other martial arts events and seminars, and Wudang Wushu became famous for a while. In the middle and late 1990s, there was only 18 Wushu School in Wudang Mountain Tourism Special Economic Zone, with nearly 10,000 students. But later, due to various reasons, martial arts schools closed down or moved away. By 2007, there were only 9 martial arts schools in Shiyan with less than 2,000 students. The largest martial arts school has only more than 400 students, or at least a few. The resulting industrial value can be imagined. At the same time, due to the lack of strong operation team and government's joint control, Wudang's road to industrialization is not smooth. 1996 Wudang Mountain Cultural Relics Department leased the right to use Yuzhen Palace to "Chen Kui Film and Television Martial Arts School" without authorization. In 2003, a fire destroyed Yuzhen Palace. In 2002, Wudang Mountain Management Office signed a lease contract with Taihe Wushu School, but it was later built into a three-star hotel.

In this situation, Wudang began to integrate resources, while inheriting traditional martial arts, but also on the road of modern industry.

In 2003, China Wudang Kungfu Art Troupe was established and visited Southeast Asia and Western Europe. The special performance of "Wudang Wushu" held in Hongkong was performed in the "Wudang Wind" celebrating the third anniversary of Macao's return, toured in the cultural exchange of Wudang Wushu in Taiwan Province Province, and participated in the launching ceremony of China Kung Fu Star.

In 2004, Wudang introduced the "Wudang green fencing" in the Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Wudang Mountain. At the same time, we will unite Longzhong Scenic Area and implement the road of joint promotion.

In 2005, Wudang unified martial arts school fees to create a good educational environment for martial arts schools; Hold the first Wudang Mountain Zhaobao Taiji Friendship Association; Start Wudang Mountain Tourism Multimedia Consultation System; Create a stage play "Tai Chi Wudang"; Wudang Mountain Taoist Wushu Music Troupe went to Taipei, China to attend a Taoist concert on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

In 2006, we invested 80 million yuan to rebuild Yulong Palace ... These not only promoted Wudang Wushu, but also attracted many tourists.

In 2007, the number of tourists in Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province exceeded one million, reaching 6.5438+0.02 million. In the first quarter of 2009, Wudang Mountain received 288,000 tourists, a year-on-year increase of 45%. The tourism revenue reached 654.38+0.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 69%. Especially on major festivals such as Guanyin's birthday in March and March 3, Wudang Mountain receives more than 10,000 tourists every day, and the number of tourists in March is also the highest in a single month in Wudang Mountain over the years.

In 2006, Wudang Special Zone also signed a contract with Canada Wudang Culture International Association to build a large-scale stage play "The Road to the World" with Wudang Kungfu Art Troupe as the team. After going to Canada, it continued to tour in Western Europe, and gradually formed an industrial chain in line with international tourism.

Wudang Kungfu Art Troupe performed in Hong Kong (Source: Dahe Daily. com)

Second, the reasons for the gap between Shaolin and Wudang Wushu culture industry

Since ancient times, "wudang boxing, Shaolin Leg", "Wudang Sword, Shaolin Stick", Shaolin and Wudang, one south and one north, one soft and one rigid, have dominated the Wulin. However, since 2 1 century, Shaolin has left Wudang, which was once as famous as the rivers and lakes, far behind. What is the reason?

1. The origin of the sect

Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of China Wushu, is famous at home and abroad. Founded in the 19th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Shaolin Wushu is one of the earliest schools of Wushu in China. According to legend, Shaolin Wushu was created by disciples of Batuo, a monk of Shaolin Temple in Northern Qi Dynasty. It has a history of 1400 years. It is the crystallization of Shaolin monks' centuries of hard training. From generation to generation, it is fascinating and charming, and it is famous at home and abroad. Gradually, there is a saying that "Shaolin is made of the world's kung fu".

Wutangmen rose in the Ming Dynasty and was founded by Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province. It was called Wutangmen in history. According to legend, Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang Neijia Boxing, saw a fight between a magpie and a snake while practicing in Wudang. "Magpies fly up and down, snakes wriggle and shake their heads to dodge", which gave Zhang Sanfeng great inspiration, so Zhang Wu invented Tai Chi and created wudang boxing with unique style. However, in a large number of martial arts novels and film and television dramas, there is a saying that Zhang Sanfeng was a Shaolin disciple who was expelled from his school for violating the temple rules, and later founded Wutang Sect in Wudang Mountain, so there is a saying that Wudang Wushu originated from Shaolin. The authenticity of these legends can't be verified, but it gives the public a potential consciousness: Shaolin is better than Wudang.

2. think about it all the time

"Buddhism goes against the world. If Buddhism avoids the world, it will bring about its own destruction. " Shi Yongxin, the 30th abbot of Shaolin Temple, said this in Zen Dew Collection. It is also the strategic thought of Shaolin Temple-entering the society, entering the public and keeping pace with the times. It is under the guidance of this thought that the "historical character" of Shaolin Temple is different from other temples. At the end of Sui and Tang Dynasties, thirteen Shaolin stick monks saved the Tang King. During Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, Shaolin monks fought against the enemy. War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Shaolin monks fight against the enemy; In the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Shaolin Temple sent a rescue monk group to Sichuan disaster area, and took the initiative to assume the responsibility of saving the world by joining WTO. In peacetime, the abbot of Shaolin Temple inherited the spirit of Shaolin people's active accession to the WTO, and brought Shaolin Temple into the tide of "Kung Fu economy", which made Shaolin Temple develop from a dilapidated small temple into a big temple with world-famous brand image and economic benefits.

However, when people mention Shaolin Temple, their first impression is Shaolin Kung Fu. Shi Yongxin said: "The movie Shaolin Temple is like making a big advertisement for Shaolin Temple." However, the products of Shaolin Temple represented by this advertisement are too single or even superficial. Shi Yongxin wasn't content with martial arts, but he also put forward the concept of martial arts Zen. "I want to raise Shaolin culture to the height of learning and become an excellent school like Orientalism. To this end, abbot Yongxin has established cooperative research relations with dozens of universities such as Tsinghua, Peking University and People's Congress. Only in this way can Shaolin Temple culture be well explored and spread.

It is true that if Shaolin Temple is regarded as a product, if it only stays on the surface, it is impossible to expand the consumer groups. Therefore, it is necessary to break the conventional framework, vigorously explore its connotation and form the industrialization of Shaolin Wushu and Buddhist culture. It is under the guidance of this operating concept that Shi Yongxin has carried out a series of large-scale operations. 1996 When many enterprises were not clear about the Internet, Shaolin Temple built a website. Now, Shi Yongxin has almost all modern communication equipment: notebook computer, digital camera and fashionable mobile phone (it is said that he is very good at texting). He said, "With the rapid development of the Internet, Shaolin Temple will be farther and farther away from the world if it can't make good use of this new way of communication."

Subsequently, Shi Yongxin presided over the construction of the first digital temple in China, recruited Shaolin disciples around the world, and published Shaolin Juexue on the Internet. Under the leadership of Shi Yongxin, Shaolin Temple's public performances and marketing activities include "Shaolin Wushu" staged by monks all over the world, "Shaolin Return Gift" at traditional Wushu Festival, Red Cross fundraising, student protection and release, Shaolin Foundation and so on. At the same time, Shaolin Temple also founded Zen Dew magazine, and advocated "Shaolin Studies" with the same status as A Dream of Red Mansions. Shaolin Temple began to step out of single martial arts and move towards diversified industrialization, so in 2002, the TV series "New Shaolin Abbot" filmed by American Discovery Channel for Shi Yongxin was translated into "New Shaolin CEO".

In 2003, Shi Yongxin moved the China Internet News Publicity Summit Forum to the Buddhist Pavilion, the ancient temple of Shaolin Temple. In 2005, Shaolin Temple website launched "Wulin Cheats" and "Shaolin Pharmacy". In 2006, Shi Yongxin urged 500 American martial arts fans to worship at Shaolin Temple. In March 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Shaolin Temple, and in 2008, he signed an agreement with officials of Guandu District Government of Kunming: Shaolin Temple hosted four temples in Guandu for 20 years, and during the hosting period, Yunnan Shaolin 18 arhats were cultivated locally. These are not what ordinary people can do, and Shi Yongxin did. These practices of keeping pace with the times have pushed Shaolin Temple to the forefront of world public opinion again and again, and the brand of Shaolin Temple has also risen.

Besides, as the abbot of Shaolin Temple, a world-famous kung fu shrine, Shi Yongxin actually plays multiple roles. He is not only the youngest abbot in the history of Shaolin Temple 1500 years, but also a deputy to the Ninth and Tenth National People's Congress, vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association and president of the Henan Buddhist Association. These positions will enable Shi Yongxin to participate more in various activities, not only to increase his own brand, but also to promote the Shaolin brand.

In contrast, Wudang is much quieter. Wudang Taoist priests have always been afraid that the mountain is not high or deep. You Xuande, the head of Wudang, said that Wudang's activities have always been based on "pure religion, pure martial arts and pure learning", so Wu Tangmen has hardly engaged in commercial activities, and Wu Tangmen's kung fu teaching is still based on the principle of "I would rather be lost than spread indiscriminately". You Xuande, the head of the Wu Tang clan, once admitted that he could not surf the Internet. Interestingly, in 2002, when Wudang launched a contest between Shaolin, Wudang and Emei in Leshan, Sichuan, You Xuande, the head of Wudang, who had always been silent, announced to the outside world that it might be Wudang's helpless choice to face the commercial society by passing on the golden finger and lowering the dragon eighteen times.

Third, the conclusion

Therefore, not only some people will ask, if Shaolin can always be far ahead, can Wudang not get out of the Millennium downturn and re-show the style of the former Wulin leader?

In fact, the backwardness of Wudang Wushu culture industry also has its specific reasons. The production and chemical industry of Taiji Chuan do not have two basic conditions. One is the overwhelming boxing system, the first-class boxer. The other is that no one can be regarded as a "representative of contemporary Taiji" in terms of morality, technology and performance. In fact, compared with Shaolin Boxing, Tai Ji Chuan has many advantages. Especially in modern society, it has very strong adaptability. However, in its propaganda, it is too inclined to Tai Ji Chuan's fitness function, and greatly ignores the offensive and defensive functions, especially Taiji Sanda, which makes Tai Ji Chuan become Tai Ji Chuan and causes a large-scale misunderstanding in society. It should be noted that the leader is "beaten", and only by fighting with martial arts can we achieve leading influence. Wudang Wushu still lacks a leader with "great demeanor", but the appearance of such a person is neither achieved by hard work nor by coordination, but produced by the times. In addition, the management system is not smooth, the excavation and arrangement of traditional Wushu is not enough, the development funds are lacking, and the publicity is too small.

Therefore, only by making the development plan of Wudang Wushu, increasing publicity, inviting professionals to carefully package Wudang Wushu, improving its performance and actual combat ability, purifying the Wushu market, supporting Wushu schools and holding large-scale Wushu activities, can the industrialization of Wushu be promoted.

Of course, the promotion of Wudang culture and martial arts is not as simple as the article says, and it needs the cooperation of savvy businessmen and the national government, but it is no exaggeration if you dig deep, develop and develop into a tens of billions of big industries. We also have every reason to expect Wudang to have a sword dance for nine days on the road of Wushu industrialization.

But what we want to see more is not the eclipse of Shaolin or Wudang, because the profound China Wushu can't be covered by Shaolin or Wudang. Instead, we should focus on the core schools, drive relevant schools, and finally make the whole Wushu culture industry bigger and stronger.

The article is taken from Comparative Case of Cultural Industry by Professor Cai, the person of the year in 2009 and doctoral supervisor of Sichuan University, Communication University of China Press, 2009.