By Pauline Go
The famous Shaolin Temple is located in the beautiful Songshan Mountains, which is 50 miles southwest of Zhenzhou, the capital of Henan Province. It is just 8 miles from Dengfeng. It is the most famous temple in entire China renowned for its martial arts and its contribution to Chinese Buddhism.
The temple was established in 495 AD during the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 534 AD). Batuo, and Indian Buddhist monk, came to Luoyang , the capital city of the dynasty, with the view of spreading Buddhism. Incidently, Emperor Xiaowen was a follower and believer so he decided to build a temple in Songshan Mountains for Batuo to live in. Here the monk translated many Buddhist works and established a faithful following.
In 517 AD, another Buddhist monk, Damo came to live in the temple. Damo is the creator of Chinese Zen. Many people believe that Damo wrote the famous Yijinjing, on which Gongfu or Shaolin martial arts is based. However, there is no comprehensive evidence. There are others who believe it was a Taoist priest from Tiantai Mountain who wrote Yijinjing in 1624. To add to mystery this priest, Zongheng, made up a story telling people that Damo wrote it.
The temple plays an important role in Chinese martial arts. It is believed that all martial arts in China emerged from Shaolin. The temple was strategically located and had to find ways and means of protecting itself from invaders. The temple also was supported by different dynasties over centuries. This is because 13 Shaolin monks saved Li Shimin, the emperor of Tang Dynasty. After this, the temple was allowed to keep monks who were also soldiers. During the Ming Dynasty, the temple had over 1,000 soldier monks and the emperor used them to quell rebellions and to fight against Japanese bandits. However, during the Qing Dynasty (1316 - 1644), martial arts were forbidden by law.
Although the Shaolin Temple had soldier monks, it was always being attacked. A few times it was severely damaged by fire. However, the biggest destruction was done by Shi Yousan, a warlord, who set fire to temple in 1928 and destroyed most of the buildings.
Today one can see over 300 ancient inscriptions on stone and 232 pagoda from different dynasties. The oldest pagoda dates back to Tang Dynasty. These pagodas are tombs of notable Shaolin monks. There is also a large mural in the Qianfo Hall dating back to the Ming Dynasty.
