The Little Musical Monk

by Liang Chao and Hong Yi

Eight-year-old Qiu Shi hails from Beijing. He used to live in the capital with his mother， and has never been considered a “good” kid in the conventional sense. From an exclusive kindergarten to elementary school， he was always considered a very smart， but incredibly naughty boy. Exasperated by his behavior， his mother sent him to Tiantai Temple， Hongan County of Hubei Province， in hopes of her son finding some manners and discipline there.

Although the smallest available robe was still a bit large for him， and occasionally he cuddled up to his master， Qiu Shi adapted to temple life quickly – in only about two weeks. Tiantai Temple houses Tiantai Guangxuan Art Troupe， Chinas first all-monk performance troupe， and Qiu Shi became its youngest member.

Qiu Shi posts musical scores by Mozart and Schubert on his door. After practicing the violin every day in the temple for six months， he could perform in charity shows with his masters.