An Old Man's Tale

Somewhere among mountains and rivers in a remote part of northern China, there was a temple and its people. And among those people, there was six year old Xiao An.

It was the year 1980, so there were no distractions from social media, nor was there much to watch on television. Xiao An spent his days training in martial arts and in all matters of school work. In the evenings, he listened to his uncle's stories about ancient Chinese warlords. One evening, Xiao An asked his uncle, "Why do the temple monks practice kung fu?"

"Well," said the old man. "Let me tell you a story."

According to that story, there once lived a scientist in the emperor's palace who believed in a power balance between the royals and the rights of the kingdom's citizens. So, he secretly created seven orbs, each possessing mystical powers. Any person who was deemed worthy would come to possess an orb and be given special abilities.

When the emperor discovered this secret, he sought to use the orbs to develop a new army endowed with unimaginable power. But, when imperial guards seized the scientist, he had with him only six orbs. The seventh was said to be destroyed. Overwhelmed with anger, the emperor executed the scientist.

The palace eventually learned that a covert tribe of warriors was protecting the seventh orb. For thousands of years, wars raged between the imperial army and that tribe. But when foreign invaders broke into the land, new wars were started, and all knowledge about the seventh orb was almost forgotten.

Over time, stories were told of spiritual warriors who kept and protected a precious ornament inside a temple in northeastern China. There, they continued to live, meditate, and practice martial arts. Some called this temple, "Shaolin".

"Whoa," said Xiao An.

It was an incredible story, and Xiao An found great delight in it. At the end of his story, Uncle Chan asked, "So, my dear little An, do you want to be a great martial artist?"

"No," said Xiao An. "I want to be a scientist."