The Shaolin Temple, the cradle of Chinese kung fu, has invited 10,000 lovers of Chinese calligraphy around the world to copy Buddhist scriptures by hand.

"The activity will not only preserve classic Buddhist literature, but also help people cultivate themselves in line with Buddhism doctrines," said Shi Yanzhi, a grand master of the Buddhist temple in Dengfeng, central China's Henan Province.

The handwritten Buddhist scriptures will be kept in a six-meter-high depository recently rebuilt in the temple with 520 drawers, capable of preserving 10,000 Buddhist scriptures to last 1,000 years, said Shi.

Applicants should first mail a sample of their calligraphic work, the Heart Sutra written in regular script with Chinese brush, to Shaolin Temple. The qualified ones will receive tailor-made paper from the temple. Endit