Soul of Shaolin

SOUL OF SHAOLIN·HUI GUANG’S STORY tells a touching story about loss and reunion. A child, who was separated from his mother during the chaos of a war, was luckily rescued by Shaolin monks. He grew up in the temple under the teaching and care of Shaolin monks and finally reunited with his beloved mother. The play is based on the joys and sorrows between mother and son, connecting all kinds of distinctive Shaolin Kungfu and martial arts scenes in daily life. The story combined Zen boxing, weaponry, internal strength and combat skills as a whole, which made  Shaolin Kungfu to be more entertaining and awe inspiring. The play created a new art form of kungfu.

The original version of SOUL OF SHAOLIN·HUI GUANG’S STORY was created in 2003, which was co-produced by the Eastern Shanghai International Culture Film &Television Group and the Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Center，Mt Songshan, Henan Province. This play was rated as one of the key projects of Chinese cultural export during 2009-2010. It was simultaneously nominated the Best Special Theatrical Event in the 63rd Tony Award and the 54th Drama Desk Award. The show’s public debut on Broadway was in the Marquis Theater of New York on January 15, 2009. All the tickets were sold out in the seven continuous shows, and moreover, all the standing-room tickets were hard to get for the last two shows. The governor and mayor of New York declared January 15, 2009 as China on Broadway Day. The show became China’s first show on Broadway and China’s only show to be nominated for the two top prizes in the American drama world.

From 2009 to 2013, the play was performed in the United States, Australia, Italy, Norway, India, Korea, Turkey, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, etc. Thus far, SOUL OF SHAOLIN has been performed more than 500 times, entertaining over half a million people.

In 2015, the Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Center，Mt Songshan, Henan Province  invited Mr. Xue Weijun, the art supervisor from the Shanghai Theater Academy and also a renowned director for large-scale productions, to make the ninth revision upgrade for the repertoire. From the plot, stage background, character modeling, lighting and other aspects, a new version SOUL OF SHAOLIN·HUI GUANG’S STORY of 2016 was created. All the performers of this new vision are carefully chosen from the best trainees of Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Center, having been trained in the center between four to twenty years and undergone strict preparation in stage performance. They all possess excellent kungfu skills and are highly experienced in artistic performance.