Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
Martial Arts Of The World - Webs Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
Shaolin Monastery, established in A.D. 495 by the Indian monk known in Chinese as Ba To, was just one of many monasteries at the time, but its location, historical circumstances, and possibly the disciplined yet individualistic nature of the Zen (Chan) Buddhism that was introduced there resulted in its subsequent fame as a center for martial arts. Built at the foot of Mount Song in today’s Henan province, it was close to China’s social, political, and geomantic center at that time. As early as 140–87 B.C., Mount Song was known as the central among China’s five sacred mountains, and it has been a popular destination for pilgrims over the centuries. Shaolin Monastery’s singularly strong association with fighting arts can be readily understood in terms of its exposed location between the ancient capitals of Loyang and Kaifeng, which made it extremely vulnerable to the ebb and flow of war and social upheaval, requiring the monks to maintain a self-defense capability. As a group, the fighting monks of Shaolin Monastery first appear in the midst of the confusion surrounding the collapse of the Sui dynasty and the rise of Tang (A.D. 605–618). Two incidents (both recorded on a stele dated 728) laid the foundation for the fighting fame of the Shaolin monks. In the first incident, the monks managed to repulse an attack by marauding bandits, but the monastery buildings suffered considerable damage in the process. In the second, and most famous incident, the first Tang emperor’s son, Prince Qin (Li Shimin or Emperor Taizong, who ruled between 627–649) requested the heads of the monastery to provide manpower and join with other local forces to fight Wang Shichong, who had established himself in the area in opposition to Tang rule. With Wang based near the monastery and probably eyeing it for its strategic location, the monks readily joined forces against him, helped capture his nephew, and assisted in his defeat. As a result, the monastery was issued an imperial letter of commendation and a large millstone, and ceded land comprising the Baigu Estate. Thirteen of the monks were commended by name, one of whom, Tanzong, was designated general-in-chief. Research has revealed that the primary motive for erecting the stele that records this information was to protect monastery property gains resulting from this incident. And, indeed, with imperial favor, Shaolin Monastery retained its properties while other monasteries in the area were divested of much of theirs. The monks were recognized for military merit. As for the actual martial arts skills of the thirteen monks, the record fails to provide any specifics. Later writers have assumed such skills, some even venturing so far as to refer to them as the Thirteen Staff Fighting Monks of Shaolin Monastery. The monks’ main contribution was more likely in providing the leadership necessary to direct local forces. Martial arts skills were actually fairly widespread in the villages and throughout the countryside, from whence they entered the monasteries. 458 Religion and Spiritual Development: China
For nearly 900 years following the deeds of the thirteen monks, there is not a single reference to martial arts practice in Shaolin Monastery. Not that martial arts were not practiced there, just that, if they were, they were likely nothing out of the ordinary—at most a security force from the monastic ranks. During the same period, there are sparsely scattered references to individual monks, not necessarily from Shaolin Monastery, who were involved in military activities. Two of these appear during the Song period when China was invaded by Jurched tribes, who founded the Jin dynasty (1122–1234). One, Zhen Bao, on orders from Emperor Qin Zong (1126), formed an army and fought to the death defending the monasteries on Mount Wutai in Shanxi. Another, Wan An, is recorded as having said, “In time of peril I perform as a general, when peace is restored I become a monk again.” In both these cases, one can see that the leadership role, as with the incident involving the thirteen monks of Shaolin Monastery, was of primary importance. Monks might provide disciplined leadership when needed in perilous times. In addition, the larger monasteries such as Shaolin and those on Mount Wutai were, more often than not, the objects of imperial patronage, and one of their roles would have been to pray for national peace and prosperity, and to support political authority. The high tide of Shaolin Monastery’s martial arts fame came in the mid-sixteenth century at a time of serious disruption in China’s coastal provinces as a result of large-scale Japanese pirate operations. Two hundred years earlier, in 1368, the monastery had suffered a major catastrophe when over half of its buildings were burnt to the ground and its residents were temporarily scattered to neighboring provinces in the wake of the Red Turban uprising against Mongol rule. This traumatic experience apparently inspired the returning monks to take their security duties and martial arts practice more seriously from then on. In 1517, well after the monastery was restored, a stone tablet was erected that ignored the story of the monastery’s destruction. It claimed that the monastery had actually been spared because a monk with kitchen duties had miraculously transformed himself into a fearful giant with a fire poker for his staff, who ran out and scared off the Red Turbans. Regardless of the mythical aspects of this story, which may have been designed to remind the monks of their responsibilities as well as warn away transgressors, the monks actually had become known for their staff-fighting prowess, and a form of staff fighting was named after the monastery. Observations by visitors to the monastery during the sixteenth century reveal that popular forms of boxing, such as Monkey Boxing, were also practiced by some of the monks, but none of these forms were named after the monastery. Cheng Zongyou, who claimed to have spent a decade studying staff fighting there, tells us that some of the residents were concentrat- Religion and Spiritual Development: China 459
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Shaolin Monastery, established in A.D. 495 by the Indian monk<br />
known in Chinese as Ba To, was just one of many monasteries at the time,<br />
but its location, historical circumstances, and possibly the disciplined yet<br />
individualistic nature of the Zen (Chan) Buddhism that was introduced<br />
there resulted in its subsequent fame as a center for martial arts. Built at the<br />
foot of Mount Song in today’s Henan province, it was close to China’s social,<br />
political, and geomantic center at that time. As early as 140–87 B.C.,<br />
Mount Song was known as the central among China’s five sacred mountains,<br />
and it has been a popular destination for pilgrims over the centuries.<br />
Shaolin Monastery’s singularly strong association with fighting arts<br />
can be readily understood in terms of its exposed location between the ancient<br />
capitals of Loyang and Kaifeng, which made it extremely vulnerable<br />
to the ebb and flow of war and social upheaval, requiring the monks to<br />
maintain a self-defense capability.<br />
As a group, the fighting monks of Shaolin Monastery first appear in<br />
the midst of the confusion surrounding the collapse of the Sui dynasty and<br />
the rise of Tang (A.D. 605–618). Two incidents (both recorded on a stele<br />
dated 728) laid the foundation for the fighting fame of the Shaolin monks.<br />
In the first incident, the monks managed to repulse an attack by marauding<br />
bandits, but the monastery buildings suffered considerable damage in the<br />
process. In the second, and most famous incident, the first Tang emperor’s<br />
son, Prince Qin (Li Shimin or Emperor Taizong, who ruled between<br />
627–649) requested the heads of the monastery to provide manpower and<br />
join with other local forces to fight Wang Shichong, who had established<br />
himself in the area in opposition to Tang rule. With Wang based near the<br />
monastery and probably eyeing it for its strategic location, the monks readily<br />
joined forces against him, helped capture his nephew, and assisted in his<br />
defeat. As a result, the monastery was issued an imperial letter of commendation<br />
and a large millstone, and ceded land comprising the Baigu Estate.<br />
Thirteen of the monks were commended by name, one of whom, Tanzong,<br />
was designated general-in-chief. Research has revealed that the primary motive<br />
for erecting the stele that records this information was to protect<br />
monastery property gains resulting from this incident. And, indeed, with imperial<br />
favor, Shaolin Monastery retained its properties while other monasteries<br />
in the area were divested of much of theirs. <strong>The</strong> monks were recognized<br />
for military merit. As for the actual martial arts skills of the thirteen<br />
monks, the record fails to provide any specifics. Later writers have assumed<br />
such skills, some even venturing so far as to refer to them as the Thirteen<br />
Staff Fighting Monks of Shaolin Monastery. <strong>The</strong> monks’ main contribution<br />
was more likely in providing the leadership necessary to direct local forces.<br />
<strong>Martial</strong> arts skills were actually fairly widespread in the villages and<br />
throughout the countryside, from whence they entered the monasteries.<br />
458 Religion and Spiritual Development: China