Shaolin Temple
少林
Shaolin Quan is one of China's most well known traditional Wushu, its name originating from the Shaolin Monastery.
The monastery is situated in Henan Province, 13km northwest of DengFeng country town at the western foot of Mt. Songshan. The name Shaolin comes from the fact that the monastery is nestled in the woods(lin) below the shady northen slope of Shaoshi Peak.
Shaolin Monastery was built in 495 under the patronage of Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 471-500) of the Northen Wei Dynasty, to accommodate a visting Indian monk, Bodhiharma. During the 1,500 years of its history, it has gone through many ups and downs; at times a vast thriving establishment, at others suffering decline and disaster.
In 573, Emperor Wudi (reigned 561-579) of the Northen Zhou Dynasty prohibited the Buddhist and Taoist religions. The Shaolin Monastery was abandoned. After 581, Emperor Wendi (reigned 581-605) of the Sui Dynasty revived Buddhism, granting the monastery 10,000 mu (666 hectares) of land and providing subsistence for the monks. Not long after, however, wide spread uprisings and wars against the Sui resulted in the monastery being razed to the ground, with only a stone pagoda left standing.
By the reign of the Tang Dynasty Emperor TaiZong (reigned 627-650), the monastery flourished once more, again in possession of more than 600 hectares of land, buildings with a total of more than 5,000 rooms, over 1,000 monks, and its own army and statutes.
In 1312, Emperor RenZhong (reigned 1312-1321) of the Yuan Dynasty ennobled the abbot of the Shaolin Monastery as the Great Master of the Void and the Duke of Jin. However, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it met again with disaster, once more being consumed by fire. The buildings remaining today date from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the title plaque, ShaoLin Monastery, above the main entrance was written by Emperor KangXi (reigned 1662-1723) of the Qing dynasty. Unfortunately, its troubles were not over yet. In 1928, during a battle between feuding warlords, Shi YouSan sent troops to burn the monastery. The fire raged for more than 40 days, reducing most of the main halls to ashes and destroying many cultural relics. |
