History of the Shaolin Temple

 

 The history of China began long before the Qui Dynasty, but it's emperor Chin united many of the warring states and joined many parts of the Great Wall ( built in parts against marauding Hans and Mongolian's ) immuring up to 300,000 Chinese workers into the wall in the belief that it would be stronger against attackers and would be invaders. It was believed that these workers would strengthen the Great Wall with their bones and their spirits. (This is also the emperor who created the Terra cotta Warriors at the expense of 700,000, yes seven hundred thousand, workers).

 

So it is considered that during the time of the Qui Dynasty the Emperor Chin united most of China into one nation. In his quest for longevity, Emperor Chin tried many potions and lotions and slowly poisoned himself with a mercury based longevity drug.

Around 700 years later in 497 AD, in the time of the Southern & Northern Dynasty, the first Shaolin Temple was built.

 

 The Establishment of Shaolin

Towards the end of the 5th Century AD an Indian Buddhist monk by name of Ba Tuo was traveling through China teaching Buddhism, helping and guiding those he met. His great wisdom and kindness came to the ears of the Emperor who summoned Ba Tuo to come to him.

 

Exact details of what happened at this meeting are not entirely clear but is seems that Ba Tuo was offered riches, a place in the palace and encouraged to continue his teachings. Ba Tao kindly declined this offer and asked for a piece of land far away from any 'civilized' place in the province of Henan, on the side of the Song sang Mountain. There he was given a large piece of land and the resources to build a monastery in an area called 'Wooded Hill' or 'Small Forest', which translates to Shaolin in Mandarin or Sil-Lum in Cantonese.

 

 Introduction of Physical Exercise

In about 539 AD, a holy man named Bodidarma (later called Ta Mo by the Chinese) left his monastery in Southern India to spread the Buddhist faith to China, later called Ch'an Buddhism. (Ch’an is the Chinese translation for the Sanskrit word "dhyana" meaning Yogic concentration, also known as Zen in Japanese when it was introduced from China.). After traveling hundreds of miles to reach Northern China and crossing the Himalayan mountains and the Yangtze River, he headed north to Loyang, the capital of Henan Province.

 

There of course he found the Shaolin Tzu (Temple). It was, 40 years after it was founded, and it had become famous for scholarly translations of Indian Buddhist scripture into Chinese. Bodidarma sought entrance to Shaolin but the abbot of the day, Fang Chang would not let him into the temple (many sought entrance for various reasons).

 

Bodidarma was determined to enter and see the Shaolin Tzu. He located to a nearby cave on the side of a mountain ( this cave can be visited when in Henan/Shaolin as well as climbing to the top where a 40 foot Buddha is erected in honor of Ta Mo ) where (it is said) he sat in meditation facing a stonewall. Many versions of this event exist, including;

 

·          That he sat facing a wall for most of the next nine years at the end of which Bodidarma's deep blue piercing eyes had apparently drilled a gaping hole in the cliff wall. ( we did not find such a hole but we did find what seemed to be a permanent shadow )

·          That he fell asleep meditating and his eyelids closed and when he awoke, he was so distraught that he cut of his eye lids so that this would not happen again ( since this would be against Buddhist teaching - and he was a devote Buddhist - this is unlikely ).

That he was visited by monks (initially secretly as they were interested in the ‘foreigner’) and was supplied with food and water. In this way he was able to demonstrate his knowledge and skill of Buddhism to such a degree that he was finally (after 9 years?) admitted into the temple.

Irrespective of which story is true, it is clear that Fang Chang at some time relented and allowed Bodidarma entry into the temple Shaolin.

Upon gaining entrance to Shaolin, Ta Mo (as he was now called by the Chinese) saw that the monks were weak and unable to perform the rigorous meditations he expected that Buddhist Monks should be practicing. Whilst meditating, they often fell asleep or were very restless and were not achieving inner calm or peace (a state required to reach Enlightenment, that for which all Buddhist strive!).

He spent some time in seclusion pondering the problem. Considering the time and health awareness of the period, Ta Mo came to a staggeringly accurate conclusion that the monks were not fit to meditate. With this in mind he started working on a solution; he created three treaties of exercises.

These in-place exercises were later transcribed by monks as;

a.          "The Muscle Change Classic" or "The Change of the Sinews,"

b.         "The Marrow Washing"

c.          

"The Eighteen Hand Movements later named The Eighteen Lohan Shou (Lohan meaning enlightened)

This marked the beginning of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu (meaning hard work and perfection). Ta Mo later devised some self-defense movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting systems (Bodidarma was born an Indian Prince and was well versed in Yoga and Indian Kung Fu).

 

Shaolin Kung Fu

Many of the Shaolin priests were retired soldiers and generals, thus, Ta Mo's teachings were enriched and refined by these martial art masters and it slowly developed in to a martial art of the hands also known as Shaolin Ch'uan [ Shaolin Fist ] or Shaolin Ch'uan Fa [ Way of the Shaolin Fist ].

Shaolin was not a poor temple by this time and was regularly attacked by peasant armies (since individuals had no chance to penetrate Shaolin defenses and walls). Often, to enrich its knowledge, Shaolin would invite wandering healers, scholars and now also martial art masters into its walls to learn from these by sharing knowledge and skills.

Shaolin became very apt at Kung Fu and in repelling the attacking bandits. Slowly but surly the Shaolin became renown for their martial arts prowess and fighting ability. It is to be noted that not all Shaolin Monks were warrior monks; often they chose to specialize in areas of expertise, much like university professors. Although at this time all practiced Kung Fu, not all were totally focused on the practical aspect of the art, only the Warrior Monks. It is also interesting to note that Shaolin preferred not to hurt their assailants as this would have ramifications for their spirituality in this life and the next!

A mere 30 years later, Shaolin was closed and forbidden, it took some 30 more years, around 600AD, before it was reopened.

 

 The Second Temple

Built around the same time as the Henan Temple, the Fukien Temple was integrated into mainstream Shaolin around 650 AD and became the 'Second Temple" of Shaolin. It was/is a much larger temple than the one in Henan and served as the second main temple in times where Henan was destroyed or occupied by other than Buddhists and Shaolin.

 

The 13 Champions

In 698 AD, Emperor T'ai Tsung, of the Tang dynasty, called upon the fighting monks of Shaolin to aid him in his war against General Wang-Shih-Chung, who had gathered a large army in an attempt to oust the Tang emperor from the Imperial throne. Li Shimini, the Emperors son, was leading the army against Tang. Tang managed to capture the Emperors son and was inflicting great damage to tangs army.

 

Tang sent a message to the Shaolin temple asking for help to save his son. 13 monks were sent to answer their emperor's plea, although in fact it may have been a much larger force (113 monks or so). Even though the number of Shaolin monks sent was small (the enemy's army numbered 10,000 men) the Shaolin were victorious, the enemy was beaten back and decimated and the Emperors son was saved.

In recognition of their great action T'ai Tsung awarded the monks land, and bestowed upon the temple the title, 'Number One" temple in China.

 

Later that same saved son, Li Shimini, succeeded his father and a very strong bond was forged between the Imperial court and Shaolin. Regular interchange and training between high ranking soldiers and graduate Shaolin Warrior Monks saw further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and the integration of the secret Imperial (Eagle) Kung Fu into Shaolin knowledge and skills.

 

 72 Movements

A couple of hundred years later a rich young noble and experienced martial artist, entered the Shaolin Monastery and assumed the name of Chueh Yuan. He soon devoted all his studies to the further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and fitness training. Within a few years, he revised the 18 Fists of Lo Han and created what he called the 72 Styles or movements. His methods and teaching were so successful that all Shaolin monks adopted his 72 fists very quickly. The 72 movements were very effective for both internal and external fitness. They incorporated much of what is being taught today. But Chueh Yuan was still not fully satisfied with this and he went out to teach and learn, looking for Masters of other styles.

 

This later became common practice for Shaolin. Shaolin adepts were sent out to share Buddha's teaching and help the poor (much like the founder of Shaolin). It was also a test, as many would be Shaolin monks were tempted by worldly pleasures and did not return. Those that did became the Priests and brought many new skills, knowledge and wisdom from their travels.

 

The Third Temple

It is also around this time that the third temple was integrated into the Shaolin order. The Wutang Tiger Temple was located in the politically unstable area near Manchuria and the Korean Peninsular. It was often besieged or attacked, and the monks there were very versed with the practical aspect of war, weaponry and defense. The Wutang (Wutang, Wu Tang) temple was very old and integrated into Shaolin around 800 AD.

 

170 Movements

On his travels, Chueh Yuan witnessed a bandit attacking a 60-year-old traveler. He saw how the attacker landed an apparently very strong kick to the body of the traveler with very little or no effect. The old traveler only used two fingers against the bandit's leg sending the attacker to the ground, seemingly unconscious by the time Chueh reached them.

This maneuver obviously impressed Chuan enormously and he introduced himself to the senior. Much to his surprise the old man did not know much of martial arts and what little he knew he had learned from the local master Pai Yu-feng.

Pai Yu-feng was a friendly 50 year old and Chuan convinced him to accompany him back to his temple. Over the next few years they, using the 18 fists, the 72 movements and these 'pressure point techniques' redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu into the 170 exercises that became one of the foundations of Shaolin Kung Fu as we know it ( This is also how traditional Shaolin Kung Fu is taught today. First the basics very similar to the 170 exercises and then the 5 Animal Styles).

 

The Time of the Ming Dynasty

The time of the Ming Dynasty was another golden area in China's arts history (so called because of all the treasures and artwork created in this time but there was also a very dark side to this era, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries). Many works of art were created that still exist, considered now to be priceless. Philosophy and knowledge was taught to an equal degree. During this time the Shaolin Temples also grew and prospered becoming the centre for teaching, philosophy, history, Buddhism, mathematics, poetry and of course martial arts. Many monks, wise persons and traveling martial artists would gain entrance to Shaolin and share their knowledge; in return for Shaolin knowledge and shelter.

At this time, Shaolin reached its peak. Each Temple was like a university of Buddhism, health and the finer arts. Each temple had several Shaolin Masters who were experts or specialists in a particular area of training, well-being or philosophy. Rich Chinese would send their sons (and later even Daughters) to Shaolin to become students (not priests) and learn from the best in every field.

 

Shaolin adepts would also undergo a rigorous test before they were considered ready to leave the temple on their journey years. In order to graduate from the temple, they would have to exhibit phenomenal skills and pass through 18 testing chambers in the temple (which were possibly more symbolic in nature as no evidence was found in any of the Shaolin Temples of any such rooms).

 

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