I myself, as a Western European, always wondered about a few things surrounding Sek Koh Sam. Op deze pagina benoem ik enkele van deze verwonderingen.
- What does ‘ The 49th generation of Second Chamber Southern Shaolin ‘ mean?
- Sometimes the Shaolin of Sek Koh Sam is called “Ee San Pai” or “Hill Patrol Sect” also known as Yi Shan School. “怡山派” What does Yishan mean/refer too?
- The names of a few of the associations Sek Koh Sam started have ‘Sao 少 XXX San 山’ in them. What does that mean and why were these names chosen?
Sometimes the Shaolin of Sek Koh Sam is called “Ee San Pai” or “Hill Patrol Sect” also known as Yi Shan School. “怡山派” What does Yishan mean/refer too?
“Ee San Pai” or “Hill Patrol Sect” also known as Yi Shan School. “怡山派”. For example: 南洋一带南派少林武术”怡山派”; The Yishan School of Southern Shaolin Kungfu in Southeast Asia.
This name comes from a temple in Fuzhou, this is where Monk Wei Jia 微嘉 came from. He was the one that ordained Sek Koh Sam.
The imperial edict name is Yishan Changqing Temple, commonly known as Xichan Temple. 福州榕垣怡山西禅長慶寺 敕号怡山长庆寺，俗称西禅寺.
The place where Xichan Temple is located is anciently known as Yishan. Inside that area a temple is located; the Xichan Temple. In the past, there were Zen temples in the southeast and northwest suburbs of Fuzhou. This temple was located at the foot of Yishan Mountain in the western suburbs of Fuzhou, so it was called Xichan Temple. The temple belongs to the Rinzai lineage (临济宗) of Zen Buddhism, part of the broader Linji school in southern Fujian, and played a role in the exchange of Buddhist traditions between Fujian and Taiwan
The temple has numerous sub-branches in Southeast Asia; overseas monasteries such as Shuanglin Temple in Singapore, Shuangqing Temple in Penang, Malaysia, and Nanputuo Temple in Vietnam all belong to the Xichan Lower House, and are still managed by the resident monks of the Xichan Temple. Therefore, this is a window for cultural exchanges between Fuzhou and Southeast Asia. Every year, many foreign monks and believers come to participate, and it has become a unique landscape of the ancient temple. Take a tour here.
Is that a good reason to label Sek Koh Sam’s Shaolin as Yishan School, or is there another reason?
- The names of a few of the associations Sek Koh Sam started have ‘Sao XXX San 少 XXX 山’ in them. What does that mean and why were these names chosen?
The following associations were initiated by Sek Koh Sam himself:
Sao Hua San National Arts Association 少华山国术健身社 summer 1954
Seow Tin San Athletic Association 少雄山國術健身社 1954
Siau Hiong San Pugilistic Association 星洲少雄山國術健身社 1955
Penang Sao Lim Athletic Association 槟城少林国术健身社 1956
Nanyang Siao Lim National Arts Association 南洋少林国术总会 1958
Two of them (Penang Sao Lim Athletic Association & Nanyang Siao Lim National Arts Association) have quite logical names with the words Shaolin 少林 in them. What is striking is the absence of the character “South” 南 to indicate that this is Southern Shaolin 南少林. Sek Koh Sam reportedly made no distinction here and simply called his art “Shaolin” 少林.
Other schools with the “Shao … Shan” 少…山 ( ‘Sao’ or Seow/Siau) and ‘San’) in the name construction were opened by his students in Penang, and in Singapore and almost never use the full term ‘Shaolin’ in the name of the association, only the abbreviation.
It is not certain why this was, but even to this day it means that the schools are easily separated from other branches of Shaolin, although there are exceptions to the ‘Sao .. San’ rule.
Other associations sprung up that can be traced back to his teachings like the Hui Hwa Pugilistic Association 星州惠华国术研究社 , 少南山, 少忠山, 少林得英堂, 少林佛山堂… etc. Some of the students still run martial arts schools, many of them have already passed on and others lead lives in which the martial arts no longer play any role. In the decennia many of these associations have closed due to lack of financial support and dwindling number of members.
(Penang) Seow Chu Sang Association 檳城少慈山体育会
Persatuan Jasmani Seow Hay San Pulau Pinang 梹城少懷山健身社 (Master Gooi Teong Hup)
Penang Siow Hua San 檳城少華山國術健身社 by Quek Heng Choon
Persatuan Jasmani Soo/Sao Beng Sun 少明山健身学院 （亚依谈）Air Itam
Sao Hoon San Physical Culture Centre 少云山健身学院 (吡叻录) Perak
Penang Sao Hong San 槟城少峯山健身学院
Penang Seow Seet San Health Culture Association 槟城少室山健身社
Singapore Seow Teck San Physical Cultural Society 新加坡少竹山国术体育会
Singapore Siow Chong San Physical Culture Society 新加坡少众山国术体育会 (16 October 1969)
