One of the main reasons for visiting the Henan Province was to go to the Temple where there is a statue of Javi doing Taiji.

The temple is a Buddhist/Taoist fusion one in a remote part of the region. Supported by the Zhang family it was built after Shifu’s grandfather’s cousin had a dream about an elephant. Being an uneducated farmer he did not know what an elephant was. So he walked for many days to consult a monk who told him that the dream was auspicious and that they would set up a Temple there.

One of Shifu’s other uncles was the Kung Fu and Taiji Master. He was Shifu’s Shifu and the first generation of Zhang Family style of Kung Fu.

Taiji originated in family clans and was passed down through the generations. Lineage is extremely important as being authentic versions of a particular style, there are several popular styles such as Yang, Chen, Sun or Wu. Each version is slightly different.

My Shifu is the second generation of the Zhang family tradition and Javi and I are the third generation. Because Javi has been learning for a long time without giving up and teaching this style in Spain, the monks raised funds to put up a statue of him.

The temple is in the middle of fields and a long way from anywhere (China is a BIG country). It is only partially built and funding for the building projects stopped during COVID. Normally 5 monks live here but as it was winter 3 were traveling to raise funds and only two remained to greet us.

On this trip Javi needed to clean his statue

Then he and his family lit incense sticks and made ceremonial bows.

Javi and I are Shifu’s high level students. The term for us is ‘tu di’. As a Tu di we also lit incense sticks and placed them in the burner at the front of the Temple.

This 75 year old monk was quite sprightly. He even helped Kevin up and down the steps. He was so excited to have us there (I don’t think that they get many, if any, visitors) and he wanted to give us a gift. He had no material possessions, so he gave us from the beautiful things that he found in the earth. When he was meditating by the river he found pretty stones so he gifted them to us. It was so sweet and pure and we felt blessed to receive them. They were, however heavy in our luggage!!!

After the ceremonies at the Temple we went into a further field to the site of the tomb of shifu’s father.

Shifu lit incense , made obeisance and introduced me to his father. It was a great privilege to witness and to take part in these ceremonies. It enabled me to make very strong connections with the origins of our Taiji family.

This location, if properly funded and developed would make a fantastic retreat centre. Maybe one day…

Ostensibly a tourist trip, we went with Shifu and his Spanish student, Javi and family around the Henan Province. We visited many lovely places but on one day we revisited the Shaolin Temple and here I felt a huge leap forwards in my Qi.

Inside each courtyard in the temple as you ascend are a series of carved lotus stones. As the others looked around at the buildings I did the lotus walk as a meditation (I had seen the courtyards before). I walked each step slowly and deliberately pausing on each stone before taking the next step. As I walked I felt the qi in my chest rotating forwards. As you practice more the 3 dantien balls in your body wake up and the chest is the second of these. This has recently happened for me and I have been feeling sensations across my chest when I do the Taiji or qi gong moves. This feeling got stronger and stronger with each step that I took. This was a wonderfully strong sensation that has stayed with me.

I heard later that many monks don’t bother to do the walk and think that it is just a story for the tourists. Shifu told me that he too has done the walk and felt strong sensations. Sometimes the people who are closest take things for granted. Shame.

The temple itself was as amazing as last time. Here are some of the pictures that we took.

Shaolin is the home of Kung Fu and there are over 1000 Kung Fu academies in the surrounding area. Here are some of the kids doing their morning training. Temperatures were below freezing.

Kung Fu is all about strength and balance. They practice their moves on these poles. Shifu has lots of strength and balance.

After lunch we went up the cable car to the Shao mountain behind the temple. Last time we did this hike I was extremely nervous and not keen on the heights but now after practicing Taiji my vertigo is greatly improved. I walked twice as far and in icy conditions. I wasn’t as scared and didn’t feel the need to hug the mountain. lol I even went close to the stomach churning steep drops.

The others went on ahead of us up a steep bit and just made it back in time to catch the very last cable car back down. Phew! There is a path down but it was covered in snow and ice and with no lights at all whatsoever it would have been a tricky descent to say the least. I was SO relieved that they made it back in time (Shifu had our tickets!)

Shaolin is the birthplace of Kung Fu so I just had to do this pose

But my favourite picture of all is this one. Shifu with his two Tu di (me and Javi) in front of the Temple gate.

Christmas holidays 2023.

First stop was Luoyan, 500 miles from Shanghai and over 5 hours on the high speed train. This was the ancient capital during the Tang dynasty and where the infamous Wu ZeTian (for whom I get my Chinese name) ruled.

We traveled 1st class which was very comfortable and still cheaper than going from Lancaster to London by cattle class!

First stop was Wu Zetian’s office and splendid it was too

Chinese Emperors use the Dragon as their symbol, the dragon being the most powerful animal. You see dragons all over the Forbidden City or older Royal palaces but dragons are male and so for an Empress the symbol used is the Phoenix. Luoyan is the only place where you will see this as Wu ZeTian was the only female ruler in the whole of Chinese history.

I am named for Wu ZeTian because she was a strong woman and good at Taiji not for her other attributes, that of killing all her husbands and children to stay in power! (Kevin is relieved)

Empress ZeTian wanted longevity and so she slept with younger men. Allegedly she had a different one each night and if they didn’t please her she had them killed! She had so many male concubines that she even set up an office to manage them. Two of her favorites were the Zhang brothers who apparently also committed lots of crimes. Born in 624 AD Wu ZeTian died in 705 aged of 81 in an era when most people died early, so ladies maybe there is something in her method!

Wu ZeTian was known for her exceptional intelligence and her shrewd political acumen. She has become one of China’s greatest leaders due to her strong governance which made China one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time.

We also visited a gallery of Wu ZeTian’s fashion as she was quite influential on the styles of the day. During her reign she promoted both Buddhism & Taoism in what became a period of open mindedness. Consequently her fashions also reflect this philosophy.

In the Longmen grotto there is a giant Buddha which bears the face of Wu ZeTian

Honestly someone should write a mini series about her for the BBC