The Truth About Shaolin Temple Performances
The reality is the boy ‘monks’ you see doing Kung Fu shows are not from Shaolin Temple but the nearby Kung Fu schools well outside the temple. Very few of these boys are selected to enter Shaolin Temple, perhaps as few as one in one thousand. They are used to perform in Kung Fu shows to promote “Shaolin Tourism’ at the Temple or in a kind of traveling circus kung fu show.
The young boys (and girls) that you see training when you visit the Shaolin Temple come from poor homes and are offered a small scholarship by local government to attend the martial arts schools like Tagou which is near the Temple. Conditions are harsh and the young kids see their parents only once or twice a year.
