麻豆APP

10 Unbelievable Facts about The Shaolin Temple

Shaolin temple, Henan Province. The complete indexed photo collection photo by  Gary Todd鈥�

Shaolin temple is a Buddhist monastery located in Henan province, china it was founded in 495 by a wandering monk from India known as Bodhi dharma.

The ancient monastery is recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin monk warriors. The temple was built in 495, the 19^th year of the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty.

The name Shaolin was given due to its location; it was suited at the northern foot of shaoshi mountain.

The ancient temple has been awarded the highest level category used by the ministry of culture and tourism. Here are 10 unbelievable facts about the Shaolin temple.

1. The monastery was established by an Indian

The great temple of Shaolin is an important part of Chinese culture but to the astonishment of many the temple was not founded by a Chinese, rather it鈥檚 believed that a wandering monk from India Known as Batuo or Buddhabhadra was behind its formation

The Buddhist monk arrived in the empire of northern Wei around 464AD, he preached there for several decades. The emperor Xiaowen took a liking to him going as far as offering him a place in his ministry but the monk declined, regardless the emperor ordered the building of the Shaolin monastery on mount song.

Batuo was the first abbot of the monastery, which was believed to have been a Center for translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.

The monks adhered to the Hinayana school of Buddhism which was considered difficult to grasp under the leadership of Batuo, this made its community relatively small.

The coming of a second Indian monk by the name of Bodhidharma saw the temple undergo drastic changes, the Hinayana school was dealt away with and replaced with Chan (Zen) Buddhism, which the monks follow to this date.

2. There was a legendary werewolf at the Shaolin temple

Legend has it that, during the latter half of the 19^th century, there existed a man named Tai Djin, who was labeled Langren (werewolf) of Shaolin. The legendary werewolf suffered a condition known as hypertrichosis.

He was famous for his hair-covered body and also for being the greatest martial artist in China. Tai Djin was unfortunately born in an era that had its beliefs rooted in superstitious beliefs and his family believed he was a demon upon his birth and left him to die in a nearby forest.

He was found by passing Shaolin monks who heard his cries and they took pity on him and later decided to raise him after failing to find a family for the boy.

He learned martial arts from Shaolin masters and was believed to have mastered many styles of Kung Fu.

3. The Shaolin temple monks were persecuted by a warlord

In 1928, Shi Youcan set fire to the temple causing it to burn for 40 days, destroying most of the temple structure. Manuscripts were purged from the monastery walls, one of those documents was Sanfena Zhang, which is relevant to Tai Chi.

The warlord captured the Shaolin monks and publicly flogged and paraded them through the streets as people threw trash at them. The monks were jailed and later executed at his commands.

4. The monastery monks fought against Japanese pirates and won the battle

Shaolin_Temple_xingsu photo by Xing Su 鈥�

The Shaolin temple is famously associated with Kung Fu martial art and it鈥檚 no surprise the monks were famous throughout Ming china for their specialized and highly effective Kung Fu.

During the early 16^th century, China鈥檚 coastal towns were under constant attacks from Japanese buccaneers, which in turn greatly affected trade. In 1553 the pirates launched an attack on the port city of Hangzhou, killing hundreds and leaving many homeless.

The chines government were fade up and issued a royal decree and 120 elite warrior monks were formed with the task of eliminating the unruly pirates.

There were four major battles between the two forces, but it was only during the battle of the Wengji gang did the monks finally gained victory over their foe.

5. The monks of Shaolin monastery inspired the making of Star Wars films

According to gorge Lucas, the monks of the temple inspired him during the creation of stars, especially with the Jedi knights.

There are quite a several similarities between the monks of Shaolin temple and the Jedi order of Star Wars, such as the fighting style of the Jedi鈥檚 light saber resembles the acrobatic techniques used by the monks when wielding their famous double-edged swords.

The power struggle between the Jedi order and emperor Palpatine resembles the Shaolin conflict with the Qing dynasty emperor.

6. The Jieba sacred mark has a great significance within the Shaolin monastery

The jieba is a sacred mark placed on a monk by his master, a sign indicating he has completed his training. Each dot represents one of the fundamental rules of conduct followed by the monks.

The ceremony is lengthy, including rigorous mediation and physical conditioning. At the end of the ceremony, a stick of incense is fixed on top of the head with a paste. The incense stick is left to burn until the skin of the scalp is signed completely black.

The ceremony was burned until 2007, a since then many people come forward to participate in the ceremony it saw the only westerner ever to complete the ceremony, Franco Testini.

7. The temple has the pagoda forest as a historic monument

Shaolin_Temple_Pagoda_Forest photo by Gary Todd鈥�

The Pagoda forest at the monastery refers to several brick pagodas, it stands at the foot of shaoshi mountain and is the largest pagoda forest in China.

The pagodas were made to honor the eminence contribution of respectable Buddhists. After the death of a monk, their body was cremated and their ashes were put underground and a pagoda would be erected on the spot. Each pagoda was curved with the exact date of construction and a brief inscription.

8. Shaolin wasn鈥檛 the only order of martial arts wielding monastery

Shaolin_Temple_8th_International_Shaolin_Wushu_Festival,_October photo by Gary Todd鈥�

While the temple is associated with iconic warrior monks, surprisingly Shaolin isn鈥檛 the only Chinese monastery where monks were physically trained.

Centuries before the appearance of Batuo in china, there were many other temples whose monks were trained with weapons and martial arts.

Others practiced Buddhist Temple Martial arts, such as the Naga Sadhus as well as Japanese and Korean monks.

9. The temple wasn鈥檛 the creator of Kung Fu

Shaolin_Meditation_Temple photo by Godstar23 鈥� 

Though the monks participated in the battle that aided in the creation of the Tang dynasty, there is no historic evidence suggesting the temple to be the birthplace of Kung Fu.

There鈥檚 a Chinese saying 鈥渁ll martial arts under heaven arose out of Shaolin.鈥� however this is necessarily not true historically, as there is no tangible evidence pointing to the temple as the creator of the martial arts.

Historians believe the monks during the Tang Dynasty used common tang weapons and weren鈥檛 more skilled than the other soldiers. Kung Fu history can be traced back to before the Shaolin temple was formed and, may even date back as far as 500鈥�800 BC.

10. The Shaolin monks were implicated in the boxer rebellion in china

In 1899 the boxer rebellion started in china, turning out to be an open attack on foreign armies in conjunction with the Qing army.

The temple鈥檚 reputation went down a drain when Shaolin monks were accused of teaching the boxers martial arts and betraying their beliefs of non-violence.

The attack failed, and in 1901 the Chinese Shaolin leaders and monks escaped to other countries to evade persecution.