In martial arts the relationship between master and disciple is increasingly close and formal. We all know that we should only call the master a certain way, like Sensei in Japanese arts, and we should greet him in a certain way, bowing in the same example. In Chinese martial arts this closeness and formality are even more accentuated thanks to the Confucian influence on Chinese culture. Confucius’ philosophy placed family as the most important thing to the individual, which is why in kung fu we refer to masters and colleagues as family, which we have already talked about previously, and use the kinlai greeting, which we have also discussed. But there is still one element we haven’t talked about yet: the discipleship ceremony.
This ceremony is called 拜師 Bai Yes in the cantons or Song Shi in Mandarin, literally translated as “bow to the master”; It is also sometimes called a tea ceremony. In ancient times, kung fu styles were preserved by generations of families or taught to a few people. There were no «academies» or «schools» like today, and the masters did not teach just anyone, generally dealing with techniques, training methods, forms, etc. like a secret. Sometimes they had ordinary students to whom they taught the basics of the style, but they only taught the rest to their disciples. There were basically 3 ways to become a disciple and complete the ceremony: when the common student showed talent, perseverance and dedication he could be chosen by the master to perform Bai Si; Or an older colleague and already a disciple could nominate a younger one for the ceremony; or tell the teacher directly that you are interested in becoming a disciple, which may result in the student accepting, rejecting, or requiring more practice time.
During the ceremony, master and student swore loyalty and commitment to each other. The master would teach the greatest secrets of his art and in return the student would have total dedication to the martial art and his master. Doing Bai Si meant that you would have a much closer relationship with your teacher, almost like between father and son. It was like a special club, very difficult to join, but very easy to be expelled from. The new disciple would be constantly tested. He must demonstrate technical and moral qualities and scrupulously follow the rules of the school, he must obey any command of his teacher, have particular obligations such as cleaning, maintaining and promoting the school/training place, teaching younger colleagues, representing the teacher on occasions in which he was unable to attend, and many other obligations. He was also sometimes forbidden to train with other masters unless he had permission from both.
Students who did not fulfill their obligations or broke school rules were permanently expelled and could not even return to being normal students. Bai Si also meant that you would be an official representative of your master and his style. Losing or winning a fight, your good or bad conduct in any matter, would have repercussions on the image of your teacher and the school, bringing dishonor to everyone.
The rules and procedures for performing Bai Si varied from school to school. But they generally followed the following steps:
- The student destined to become a disciple was instructed on the procedures of the ceremony by an older colleague or by the master himself. On the day of the ceremony the whole school gathered, it was a cause for celebration.
- The teacher would face away from the school altar, sitting on a chair. The disciple would kneel before the master. A senior colleague or the person who nominated you will be behind the teacher on your left.
- The older student poured tea into a Chinese cup and handed it to the candidate. He passed the cup to the master or held it with both hands in front of his body.
- The candidate would then bow his head and say something like «My name is…, I am the son of…, I come from… I humbly ask for the honor and privilege of being accepted as the master’s disciple…» He would then stand and offer the cup to the master.
- The master held the cup without drinking. Then the candidate bowed 3 times (the Kautau 叩頭, Chinese way of bowing to a superior) and took the oath. Every time he bowed he swore commitment to his teacher, the school and the tradition/style.
- The master would then drink the tea offered to him if he accepted the student’s request. Then he would give the candidate some other type of tea, perhaps extremely hot or bitter, and the candidate would drink it in one gulp despite the pain or discomfort, signifying a willingness to face future difficulties.
- After drinking the tea, the candidate hands the cup to the older student and offers the master a Hong Bao 紅包, a red envelope containing a pre-arranged sum of money. It could be a large or reasonable sum, reported in notes, always added to an odd number and without containing the number 4 or 14, since 4 in Chinese (四) is said to be “six” in Cantonese and “yes” in Mandarin are very similar to the word death (死), “séi” in Cantonese and “s|” in Mandarin.
- The master would take the Hong Bao and help the student stand up. Then he would say something like «From today on you will be part of my family and will be called…» then the new disciple would be given a kung fu family name.
- Finally, the master and the new disciple took a photo together, with the master seated and the student to his left.
From now on the student would become a TouDai (徒弟), a disciple, an apprentice.
Remember that the Bai Yes it wasn’t a graduation ceremony. Upon graduation, the student could receive a certificate and have a photo taken to the RIGHT of the teacher, representing that the student would be ready to teach their own students.
OR Bai Yes It was not only performed for martial arts discipleship, but could also be used for painting, music, cooking, medicine, etc. Nowadays, few academies still conduct the Bai Yesboth because few people are willing to face the challenges before and after the ceremony, and because the school no longer plans to reserve part of the style contents for a small number of students. But in any case, we must remember how difficult it was for our kung fu ancestors to learn this art, and also to honor and commit ourselves to our master and our tradition.
By Murilo Caruy Povoa
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