Shaolin Temple Buddhism

A brief history of the Shaolin Temple

　

The Shaolin Temple was founded in year 495AD. The temple was built in the Nothern Wei Dynasty by the Emperor in order to encourage the teachings of Buddhism.

Over time the prosperity and fame of the temple grew and spread throughout China and the rest of the world. It became most famous during the Tang Dynasty when 13 monks saved the Emperor from assasination. At this time the Temple owned thousands of miles of land was made up of over five thousand buildings and was home to thousands of monks.

Shaolin kung fu is a part of Chinese kung fu. Shaolin kung fu was not the first type of kung fu, in ancient times people had to fight everyday for survival as well as use tools to work the land and make produce. So kung fu came into being by long term practising and developing of this daily struggle. During the stone age (roughly 600000 years ago) our ancestors had begun to hunt with flint, axe, stone sword, stone hammer, stone sickle etc. People got the notion of chopping, spliting and smashing and they used these weapons and techniques when in combat with animals and each other.

With the development of social interteraction clans where formed and fighting techniques evolved into a military style as opposing factions fought for control over land. People looked for ways to improve there bodies and the effectiveness of there weapons. This laid the foundation for the development of kung fu forms and weapon techniques.

After the Han dynasty kung fu was very popular and competitions where held to find the best fighter, this helped kung fu develop as people strived to imrpove constantly. Often the reward for the winner would be a place in the military as a high rank. Thus it can be seen that productive struggle and military war were the main factors in the develompment of chinese kung fu. Shaolin kung fu was formed and developed on these same basics.

Pagoda Forest 

Tower Forest (TaLin in Chinese) is located 300 meters to the west of Shaolin Temple. Ta in TaLin is short from an old Indian word “TaPo”, which means tomb. Usually there are bones and mantles of monks buried in the tower. Tower Forest is a grave yard for the abbots of past ages or monks who have made significant contributions to the temple. According to the rule of Buddhism, only the greatest monks can be buried inside the towers after they die. It is a reward for their merits, virtues and encouragement for later generations. The shape and size of the towers are not only affected by the style of different dynasties, but they also reflect the position, achievement and prestige of the monks.

A total of 232 towers remain. Among them there is 1 tower built in Sui Dynasty, 1 in Tong Dynasty, 2 in Song, 7 in Jin, 43 in Yuan, 139 in Ming, 10 in Qing and 2 in modern times. There are 27 towers which have no records about their age and 35 towers are incomplete. The Tower Forest area is 14 sq. km. It is the biggest tower forest in China.

The essense of Shaolin Gong Fu (Kung Fu)

Shaolin Temple in one of the earliest Chinese kung fu schools. It has a very long history with a vast content and a unique style. In total there are 708 forms and techniques in Shaolin kung fu!

All kung fu forms and weapons created by monks or lay-man monks within the temple and all kung fu that came to the temple from outside is refered to as Shaolin kung fu.

Included in the Shaolin system are the following aspects:

Fist forms: Luo Han 18 hands, soft fist, Xin Yi fist, Five fist, Xin Yi Ba, Da Hong Quan, Xiao Hong Quan, Tong Bi Quan, Luo Han Quan,Mei Hua Quan, Pao Quan, Seven stars Quan,Chang Hu Xin Yi Men Quan, Chang Quan,Black tiger form, monkey form, leopard form etc.

Weapon: Spear includes 13 famous spear, 27 famous spear, 33 famous spear, Liu He spear, Niu Zong spear, San Kong Liu He spear, Mei Hua spear,Yang style spear, Luo style spear, 24 spear etc.

Broadsward includes Shaolin Dan Dao, Mei Hu Dao , Chan Tou Dao, Gun Tang Dao,Xue Jian Dao,Chun Qiu Dao, Qian Kun Dao etc. Sword includes Er Tang Jian, Da Mo Jian, Long Quan Jian,Qi Xing Jian, Ba Xian Jian, Long Xing Jian etc.

Staff includes Shao Huo Gun, Qi Mei Gun, Liu He Gun, Yun Yang Gun,Pai Gun, Da Ye Cha Gun, Monkey staff, 5 tigers and goats staff, white snake staff, Da Mo Gun, Yin Shou Gun, Qi Tian Da Sheng Gun, Zhen Shan Gun etc.

Rare weapons include tiger head hook, Fang Bian shovel, nine-sections whip, Shao Zi staff, dagger, dart,shoting star, iron fan,iron flute,Yuan Yang ring,Da Mo cane, Niu Jiao cane.

Other Kung Fu: Skill of locking joints, skill of pressing points, soft Qi Gong, Hard Qi Gong, iron sand palm, Mei Hua stake and 72 techinques.

Forms for building up bodies inclue Shaolin Yi Jin Jing, Ba Duan Jin, Chang Shou Quan, Feng Bai Liu etc. 

Some ways of caring for your health include Shaolin temple secret prescriptions, Shaolin 18 acupunctures, Shaolin plasters.

South fist is the short name for fist forms come from Shouthern Shaolin Temple.Now in Fu Jian province, Guang Dong province, Guang Xi province, Hu Nan province, Zhe Jiang province, Hong Kong, Maco etc, Wu Zu Quan, Fo Zu Quan, An Hai Quan, monkey form, Luo Han Quan, Gong Zi Fu Hu Quan, Er Lang Quan, White crane Quan, Dai Suo Quan, One finger Zen, Quan Liao Quan, Tiger eagle form, Fire Dragon form, Zun Long Quan, Hu Zhua Zhang, One finger palm, Yi Zhi Mei etc are very popular.The weapons include southern sword, south staff, south broadsword, southern spear and rare weapons.

The forms of southern Shaolin Kungfu are also very rich. They have punching , combat, paired practise, soft and hard Qi Gong etc.

　

　

Contact Form:

Please email to us directly chinashaolinkungfu@gmail.com if you have any questions about the school. Make sure that your email address is correct.Normally, you will receive the reply within two days. In the unlikely event that no reply is received ,please directly email tochinashaolinkungfu@gmail.com or call us at 0086-159-4301-1737(Mobile Phone)

Big Notice:The Contact Form Online is updating now, please don’t submit the Contact Form online, please copy the items and send it to chinashaolinkungfu@gmail.com directly first.

If you didn’t receive our reply within two days,please email again to let us know or call 0086-159-4301-1737.

Shaolin Temple
Dengfeng City, Henan Province, China. 
Postal Code: 452470