As anyone who has seen the bizarre 2001 martial arts/werewolf cult hit "Le Pacte des Loups" ("Brotherhood of the Wolf") can attest, he's not the first Frenchman to try his hand at martial arts. That doesn't make him any less proud of his accomplishments, however.

"I practice authentic Chinese kung fu now," says Philippe Bienfait.

His experiences in China have certainly altered some of his preconceptions about both the country and traditional Chinese kung fu in general, but his passion remains unchanged.

Bienfait is an action movie buff, and Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are his heroes.

"Chinese kung fu films have a huge following in France," says Philippe.

Philippe is studying Chinese in Beijing, and has been taking kung fu classes at the Beijing June First International School of Wushu ("wushu" means "martial arts") for the past three months. He also goes to the Beijing Institute of Wushu for further training.

He learns more than just kung fu at the June First School; the curriculum also includes language instruction, calligraphy, painting, and even cooking classes.

Bao Xiang, vice-principal June First School, says that China's rapid economic growth and its increasingly prominent role in world affairs are bringing foreigners to the country in droves. It is renewing global interest in China's colourful culture.

"Our school has taken in thousands of foreign students since it was established in 1995. Our programmes range from intensive training courses to short-term camps," says Bao.

This foreign obsession with all things Chinese is also booming on the other side of the pond. Martial arts schools and clubs are big business in Europe and North America, and many famed kung fu masters command hefty sums to lecture and teach throughout the world.

Li Jie, chairman of the China Martial Arts Association, says that kung fu has also opened the world's eyes to other aspects of Chinese culture, citing Shaolin Temple as an example.

The Chinese mainland's first kung fu film, "Shaolin Temple" (1982), contributed to the popularization of kung fu schools connected to the monastery. Millions of people from across the globe have studied in these schools, and it has been a huge boost to the economy of Central China's Henan Province, where the temple is located.

Tourism has also flourished. Visitors to the ancient temple jumped from 700,000 in 1982 to 2.6 million in 1984. This figure stood at 1.5 million in the 1990s. The film obviously played a significant role in this, because only 20,000 people visited Shaolin between 1974 and 1978, according to the temple's website.

"The temple accounts for about 38 per cent of Dengfeng's total revenues," says Li. Shaolin Temple is located in Henan's Dengfeng County.

"The Shaolin Temple travel route is still popular with visitors, especially foreign travellers."

Kung fu films

Kung fu films have popularized traditional Chinese martial arts throughout the world. These films are big business.

Films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Kung Fu Hustle," "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" have excited Hollywood, scored big at the international box office, and have made a splash at awards ceremonies and film festivals around the world.

Veteran Hong Kong director Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2001. It won four, which was a huge international breakthrough for the Chinese film industry.

Zhang Yimou picked up the Alfred bayers Award at the Berlin Film Festival. The former art film director's lavish, US$30 million martial arts epic, "Hero," topped the North American box office for two weeks following its release. It was nominated for the Golden Bear Awar in Berlin.

Zhang followed this huge success with the big budget spectacle "House of Flying Daggers".

"Kung Fu Hustle", directed by and starring Stephen Chow, was the highest grossing, limited release film in North America. It raked in US$293,025 on only seven screens over its opening weekend. That averaged around US$41,816 per screen, far outpacing any other movie. It was later expanded to a wider release in April this year.

It held the No 5 position in the United States for two weeks, and was eventually shown on 2,503 screens.

"Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" each averaged about US$9,000, or 41,450 per screen, during their first week of release on North American screens.

This kung fu wave has inspired several Hollywood filmmakers and studios to cash in on its popularity. Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill," tells the story of a young woman who studies kung fu in order to get revenge on her enemies. Disney's animated feature "Mulan," adapted from an old Chinese story, was also released to international acclaim.

Zhang Weiping, producer of "Hero," attributes the success of kung fu films in Hollywood to the depth and quality of the storytelling.

An anonymous official from the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Corp disagrees, and says that people like Zhang Weiping should take a lot of the credit.

"They use a market-oriented, Hollywood strategy to carry these films through all of the stages of production. Kung fu is their major marketing tool," the official says.

Other sources

Computer games were the next step in the popularization of martial arts. A number of popular titles are available.

Chinese game developers are generally not as good as their Japanese and South Korean counterparts in terms of technology, design, and marketing, however.

Martial arts novels have also long fuelled the popularity of kung fu.

Louis Cha, known as Jin Yong in China, is the most successful martial arts novelist in the world.

He has sold almost 300 million copies of his books. Part of Cha's appeal is the incredible diversity in his books. The characters in his novels include unsophisticated peasants, urban professionals, government officials, and even scientific researchers. Dozens of films and TV programmes have been adapted from Cha's novels, and they have also been translated into a number of languages.

"I started reading Cha's novels almost 20 years ago," says bookworm Cui Xinning.

Philippe says that he has also tried to read Cha's books in France.

"I think the films and TV programmes are simpler and more exciting, though."

Li says foreign understanding of kung fu is actually quite limited. Martial arts have been romanticized in the Western world.

"I think a lot of that came from the old days. China was very closed in the past, and was reluctant to share some of the more complicated theories with foreigners," says Li.

The new economy has forced many to reconsider this stance, however.

"Chinese martial arts are now an Olympic sport, and we have put on a number of international competitions around the world," says Li.

The China Martial Arts Association sends masters to lecture in foreign countries, and promotes exchanges with foreign organizations.

(China Daily November 28, 2005)