HISTORY OF SHAOLIN TEMPLE (TANG- PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA)

In the Tang Dynasty, the monastery gained in both fame and importance. During the struggle between Li Shih-min (who eventually became Emperor Tai Tsung the Great), and Wang Shih-chung (a powerful courtier who attempted to gain power in 618 CE), thirteen monks from the Shaolin Monastery, led by Tan-tsung helped Li Shih- min to defeat his enemies and consolidate his position as emperor. There is an essay titled Yu Shaolin-ssu Chi written by Tien Wen (1635-1704) which records the event:

“There is tablet which was written by the Emperor Tai Tsung
during the time he was bidding for the throne. It was at that
time that Wang Shih-chung was usurping the throne with revolt.
The tablet was given to the monastery for the valiant and courageous
work of the monks. There was a monk named Tan-tsung who had
lead thirteen monks from the Shaolin monastery into the military
ranks of the Emperor to help put down the revolt of Wang-Shih-chung.
When victory was won, of the little band of monks, only Tan-tsung
accepted the rank of general and remained in the service of the Emperor.
The only favor the other monks asked was to be able to return to the
monastery and serve Buddha. The Emperor awarded each monk with a
purple cloak (kosa) to show his gratitude.”

When Li Shih-min became Emperor, he rewarded the Shaolin Temple with 600 acres of land surrounding the temple. He also permitted the temple to own and train its own soldiers. At that time, in order to protect the wealthy property of the Shaolin Temple from bandits, martial arts training was a necessity for the monks. The priest martial artists in the temple were called Seng Bing (monk soldiers). Their responsibility, other than studying Buddhism, was training martial arts to protect the property of the Shaolin Temple. For nearly three hundred years, the Shaolin Temple legally owned its own martial arts training organization, and continued to absorb martial skills from outside the temple into its training system (Yang, p. 7).

The story of the assault is included in two other sources: Hsin Tang-shu (New History of the Tang Dynasty) and the Jih Chih Lu. In the latter, there is section referred to as the Shaolin Seng Ping (Shaolin Warrior Priests), it is where the story if located (Cook, p.15).

From the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) there is something of a shortage of information on the Shaolin Temple. However, assumptions can be made that the monastery did grow in wealth and importance, because in the 1295’s, a saintly Buddhist monk named Fu Yu was appointed by the Emperor to be the new abbot of the monastery. “Since he was ranked 42nd in the Buddhist school, and had been a greatly revered teacher at the monastery of Yung-ching, we can assume he would not have been appointed head of an insignificant establishment” (Cook, p.15). This is still just speculation.

It seems as if the martial traditions of the Shaolin went into something of a decline in the 16th century. General Yu Ta Yu (1503-1580), the author of Chien Ching (Sword Classic) visited the Shaolin Temple. He was not impressed with the monks’ staff techniques, saying that they had lost the true interpretations of the techniques. He taught them his battle-proven methods of staff fighting, which regenerated the staff methods of Shaolin.

By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the monastery was more famous for its staff art than its boxing. The Shaolin-tsu Bei (Shaolin Stone Records) by P’ei Tsui, that monks used clubs and poles to defend the monastery against robbers. In 1628, Mao Yuan I offered his work, the Wu Pei Chih to the throne. Its 240 chapters were concerned with offensive and defensive weapons, armor, military strategy, etc. In this work, Mao Yuan I makes the statement that “all boxing originated from the staff, the staff originated in the Shaolin” (Cook, p.15).

It is not surprising that the staff was selected as the core weapon for the Shaolin monks. As Buddhists, the monks were not supposed to have anything to do with weapons, but they could legitimately possess a staff as an aid to walking or a carrying pole. The Brahmajala-sutra (the Sutra of Brahma’s net) is a Mahayana work containing ten major and forty-eight minor rules of discipline and morality. The first rule forbids killing, which would seem to deny any form of martial activity to the monks. However, the Brahmajala-sutra also commands all Buddhists to save all living things from death and suffering. For example, the 16th precept commands all followers of the Buddha to give up their flesh to feed starving tigers, wolves, lions, and hungry ghosts. It was also expected that all devout Buddhists would protect the trinity of the Buddha, Sangha (priesthood), and Dharma (teachings). Protecting Buddhist temples, libraries and priests against bandits, rebels, and invaders would necessitate the use of force, which in the circumstances soon becomes viewed as justified (Cook, p.17). The development of warrior monks was not limited to the Shaolin Temple, Japanese temples also recruited bands of sohei, and Tibetan monasteries had their own bands of warrior monks who maintained order and protected the monasteries from intruders.

Although by the 17th century, the staff seems to have dominated the Shaolin fighting systems, boxing had been the attraction for the 16th century boxer, Pien Cheng, who was employed as a cook in the temple for three years. The fact that this man managed to acquire a profound knowledge of Shaolin Temple Boxing while working as a cook demonstrates that the stories of secret training for monks, the locking up of the monastery and all the other legends associated with the training at the Shaolin Temple has no basis in fact and were created by people with more imagination than knowledge (Cook, p. 17).
Another reference can be made with the fighting monks of Shaolin. In the 292nd chapter of the Ming Shih (Ming Dynasty History), a government official Shih Chi-yen, in 1628, was made governor of Shen-cheu, in Honan province. A rebellion broke out and in order to suppresse the rebels he raised troops, entrusting their training to the monks of Shaolin (Cook, p. 17).

When the Manchus took over China and established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), in order to prevent the Han race Chinese from rebelling against the government, martial arts training was forbidden from 1644-1911 CE. In order to preserve the arts, Shaolin martial techniques spread to laymen society. All martial arts training at the Shaolin Temple was carried out secretly during this time. Moreover, the Shaolin monk soldiers had decreased in number from thousands to only a few hundred. According to the Shaolin Historical Record, the Shaolin Temple was burned down three times from the time it was built until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Because the Shaolin Temple owned such a large amount of land and had such a long history, it became one of the richest temples in China (Yang, p. 8).
After 1911, the Qing Dynasty fell in a revolution led by Dr. Sun, Yet-Sen and the prohibition against martial arts training was lifted. The training methods of Chinese martial arts were gradually revealed to the public. From the 1920’s to the 1930’s, many martial arts books pertaining to Shaolin were published. However, this was also the Chinese Civil War period, during which Chiang, Kai-Shek tried to unify the country. Unfortunately, in 1928, there was a battle in the area of the Shaolin Temple. Warlord Shi, You-San’s military burned the temple down. The fire lasted for more than 40 days and all the major buildings were destroyed. The most precious books and records on martial arts and Chan Buddhism were also burned and lost (Yang, p. 9). The remaining Shaolin monks built the temple again over the next decades but it was considerably smaller.

It was also during this period that in order to preserve Chinese martial arts, President Chiang, Kai-Shek ordered the establishment of the Nanjing Central Guoshu Institute at Nanjing in 1928. The institute recruited many famous masters and practitioners. The traditional name ‘wushu’ (martial techniques) was renamed ‘zhong guo wushu’ (Chinese martial techniques) or simply ‘guoshu’ (country techniques). This was the first time in Chinese history that under the government’s power, all the different styles of Chinese martial arts sat down and shared their knowledge together. Unfortunately, after only three generations, World War II started in 1937 and all training was discontinued at the institute (Yang, p.9)

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by Dale (10/2003)