How Skilled Were the Shaolin at Weaponless Martial Arts?

Chinese martial art

Two fighters practicing Kung fu in Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Kung Fu (Chinese: 少林功夫; pinyin: Shǎolín gōngfū ), also called Shaolin Wushu (少林武術; Shǎolín wǔshù ), or Shaolin quan (少林拳; Shàolínquán ), is one of the oldest, largest, and most famous styles of wushu, or kung fu of Chan Buddhism. It combines Ch'an philosophy and martial arts and originated and was developed in the Shaolin temple in Henan province, Greater China during its 1500-twelvemonth history. Pop sayings in Chinese folklore related to this practice include "All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin" and "Shaolin kung fu is the best under heaven," indicating the influence of Shaolin kung fu among martial arts. The name Shaolin is also used as a brand for the so-called external styles of kung fu. Many styles in southern and northern China use the proper noun Shaolin.

History [edit]

Chinese martial arts before Shaolin [edit]

Chinese historical records, like Spring and Autumn Register of Wu and Yue, the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty, the Records of the Chiliad Historian, and other sources document the beingness of martial arts in Prc for thousands of years. For example, the Chinese martial art of wrestling, Shuai Jiao, predates the establishment of Shaolin temple by several centuries.^[1] Since Chinese monasteries were large landed estates, sources of considerable regular income, monks required protection. Historical discoveries signal that, even before the establishment of Shaolin temple, monks had arms and too practiced martial arts.^[2] In 1784 the Boxing Archetype: Essential Boxing Methods made the earliest extant reference to the Shaolin Monastery as Chinese boxing'south place of origin.^{[3] [iv]} This is, nevertheless, a misconception,^{[v] [6]} but shows the historical importance of Shaolin kung fu.

Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589 AD) [edit]

Shaolin temple established [edit]

Bodhidharma is traditionally credited equally the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch.^[7] According to Chinese legend, he too began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kung fu. In Nippon, he is known every bit Daruma.

In 495 AD, Shaolin temple was congenital amidst the Song mountains in Henan province. The first monk who preached Buddhism in that location was the Indian monk named Buddhabhadra (佛陀跋陀罗; Fótuóbátuóluó ), simply called Batuo (跋陀) by the Chinese. At that place are historical records that Batuo's first Chinese disciples, Huiguang (慧光) and Sengchou (僧稠), both had exceptional martial skills. For example, Sengchou's skill with the can staff is fifty-fifty documented in the Chinese Buddhist catechism. After Buddhabadra, the monk Bodhidharma (菩提达摩; Pútídámó ), described as either Central Asian or South Asian (Indian)^[eight] and but called Damo (达摩) by the Chinese, came to Shaolin in 527 AD. His Chinese disciple, Huike (慧可), was likewise a highly trained martial arts expert. There are hints that these first three Chinese Shaolin monks, Huiguang, Sengchou, and Huike, may take been military men before inbound the monastic life.^[9]

Bodhidharma's influence [edit]

Some popular historians^{[ten] [11]} consider Bodhidharma, the get-go patriarch of Chinese Buddhism to have had a major influence on Shaolin Kung Fu.

The idea of Bodhidharma influencing Shaolin boxing is based on a qigong transmission written during the 17th century. This is when a Taoist with the pen proper noun 'Purple Coagulation Human being of the Way' wrote the Sinews Changing Archetype in 1624, just claimed to have discovered it. The first of 2 prefaces of the transmission traces this succession from Bodhidharma to the Chinese general Li Jing via "a chain of Buddhist saints and martial heroes."^{[12] : p165} The work itself is full of anachronistic mistakes and fifty-fifty includes a popular character from Chinese fiction, the 'Qiuran Ke' ('Bushy Bearded Hero') ( 虬髯客 ), as a lineage main.^[thirteen] Literati as far back equally the Qing Dynasty accept taken notation of these mistakes. The scholar Ling Tinkang (1757–1809) described the author as an "ignorant village master."^{[12] : p168}

Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907 Advertisement): Shaolin soldier monks [edit]

During the brusque period of the Sui dynasty (581–618), the building blocks of Shaolin kung fu took an official form, and Shaolin monks began to create fighting systems of their own. The xviii methods of Luohan with a potent Buddhist season were practiced by Shaolin monks since this time, which was after used to create more than advanced Shaolin martial arts. Shaolin monks had adult very powerful martial skills, and this showed itself towards the finish of the Sui dynasty.

Like most dynastic changes, the end of the Sui Dynasty was a time of upheaval and contention for the throne. The oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a stele from 728 that attests to ii occasions: a defense of the monastery from bandits around 610 and their part in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621. Wang Shichong declared himself Emperor. He controlled the territory of Zheng and the aboriginal uppercase of Luoyang. Overlooking Luoyang on Mount Huanyuan was the Cypress Valley Estate, which had served equally the site of a fort during the Jin and a commandery during the Southern Qi.^[fourteen] Sui Emperor Wen had bestowed the estate on a nearby monastery called Shaolin for its monks to farm just Wang Shichong, realizing its strategic value, seized the estate and there placed troops and a signal tower, too as establishing a prefecture called Yuanzhou.^[xiv] Furthermore, he had assembled an army at Luoyang to march on the Shaolin Temple itself.

The monks of Shaolin allied with Wang's enemy, Li Shimin, and took dorsum the Cypress Valley Estate, defeating Wang's troops and capturing his nephew Renze. Without the fort at Cypress Valley, there was null to keep Li Shimin from marching on Luoyang subsequently his defeat of Wang'due south ally Dou Jiande at the Boxing of Hulao, forcing Wang Shichong to surrender. Li Shimin's father was the first Tang Emperor and Shimin himself became its 2nd. Thereafter Shaolin enjoyed the royal patronage of the Tang.

Though the Shaolin Monastery Stele of 728 attests to these incidents in 610 and 621 when the monks engaged in combat, it does not allude to martial training in the monastery, or to whatever fighting technique in which its monks specialized. Nor exercise whatsoever other sources from the Tang, Song and Yuan periods allude to military training at the temple. According to Meir Shahar, this is explained past a confluence of the late Ming fashion for armed forces encyclopedias and, more importantly, the conscription of civilian irregulars, including monks, as a issue of Ming military decline in the 16th century.^[15] Stele and documentary evidence shows the monks historically worshiped the Bodhisattva Vajrapani's "Kimnara Rex" form as the progenitor of their staff and bare hand fighting styles.^[12]

Ming dynasty (1368–1644) [edit]

From the 8th to the 15th centuries, no extant source documents Shaolin participation in combat; then the 16th and 17th centuries meet at least forty extant sources attest that, not simply did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts, simply martial practice had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist lore.^[15] References to Shaolin martial arts appear in various literary genres of the tardily Ming: the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historical writings, travelogues, fiction, and fifty-fifty verse.^[15]

These sources, in dissimilarity to those from the Tang Dynasty period, refer to Shaolin methods of gainsay unarmed, with the spear, and with the weapon that was the forte of the Shaolin monks and for which they had become famous, the staff.^{[3] [15]} By the mid-16th century armed forces experts from all over Ming Cathay were travelling to Shaolin to report its fighting techniques.

Around 1560 Yú Dàyóu travelled to Shaolin Monastery to run into for himself its monks' fighting techniques, just plant them disappointing. Yú returned to the south with two monks, Zongqing and Pucong, whom he taught the use of the staff over the next three years, afterward which Zongqing and Pucong returned to Shaolin Monastery and taught their brother monks what they had learned. Martial arts historian Tang Hao traced the Shaolin staff style Five Tigers Interception to Yú's teachings.^{[ citation needed ]}

The earliest extant transmission on Shaolin kung fu, the Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method ^[16] was written in around 1610 and published in 1621 from what its author Chéng Zōngyóu learned during a more than ten-year stay at the monastery.

Atmospheric condition of lawlessness in Henan—where the Shaolin Monastery is located—and surrounding provinces during the late Ming Dynasty and all of the Qing Dynasty contributed to the development of martial arts. Meir Shahar lists the martial arts T'ai chi ch'uan, Chang Family unit Boxing, Bāguàquán, Xíngyìquán and Bajiquan as originating from this region and this time menstruation.^[15]

Pirates [edit]

From the 1540s to the 1560s, pirates known as wokou raided Communist china'southward eastern and southeastern coasts on an unprecedented calibration.

The geographer Zheng Ruoceng provides the most detailed of the 16th-century sources which confirm that, in 1553, Wan Biao, Vice Commissioner in Master of the Nanjing Chief Military Commission, initiated the conscription of monks—including some from Shaolin—against the pirates.^[15] Warrior monks participated in at least 4 battles: at the Gulf of Hangzhou in spring 1553 and in the Huangpu River delta at Wengjiagang in July 1553, Majiabang in spring 1554, and Taozhai in fall 1555.^[xv]

The monks suffered their greatest defeat at Taozhai, where 4 of them vicious in battle; their remains were buried under the Stūpa of the Iv Heroic Monks (Si yi seng ta) at Mount She near Shanghai.^[15]

The monks won their greatest victory at Wengjiagang.^[15] On 21 July 1553, 120 warrior monks led by the Shaolin monk Tianyuan defeated a group of pirates and chased the survivors over ten days and twenty miles.^[fifteen] The pirates suffered over one hundred casualties and the monks only 4.^[15]

Not all of the monks who fought at Wengjiagang were from Shaolin, and rivalries developed amid them. Zheng chronicles Tianyuan'southward defeat of 8 rival monks from Hangzhou who challenged his control. Zheng ranked Shaolin first of the top three Buddhist centers of martial arts.^[15] Zheng ranked Funiu in Henan second and Mount Wutai in Shanxi third. The Funiu monks expert staff techniques which they had learned at the Shaolin Monastery. The Wutai monks practiced Yang Family Spear (楊家槍; pinyin: Yángjiā qiāng).

Contents [edit]

Shaolin monks demonstrate kung fu.

Shaolin temple has 2 main legacies: Chan (禅), which refers to Chan Buddhism, the faith of Shaolin, and Quan (拳), which refers to the martial arts of Shaolin. In Shaolin, these are non separate disciplines and monks have ever pursued the philosophy of the unification of Chan and Quan (禅拳合一; chan quan he yi ). In a deeper point of view, Quan is considered role of Chan. As late Shaolin monk Suxi said in the last moments of his life, "Shaolin is Chan, not Quan."

On the Quan (martial) side, the contents are arable. A usual classification of contents are:

1. Bones skills (基本功; jīběn gōng ): These include stamina, flexibility, and balance, which better the body abilities in doing martial maneuvers. In Shaolin kung fu, flexibility and residue skills are known as "childish skill" (童子功; tóngzǐ gōng ), which have been classified into 18 postures.
2. Power skills (气功; qìgōng ): These include:
   • Qigong meditation: Qigong meditation itself has two types, internal (内; nèi ), which is stationary meditation, and external (外; wài ), which is dynamic meditation methods similar Shaolin four-part exercise ( si duan gong ), eight-section brocade (八段锦; bā duàn jǐn ), Shaolin musculus-changing scripture (易筋经; yì jīn jīng ), and others.
   • The 72 arts: These Include 36 soft and 36 hard exercises, which are known as soft and hard qigong.
3. Combat skills (拳法; quánfǎ , "skills"): These include various barehanded, weapon, and barehanded vs. weapon routines (styles) and their combat (散打; sàndǎ ) methods.

Styles [edit]

Shaolin styles consist of many different fauna forms and techniques. From tiger'south claw to Aureate Serpent, most all animals are studied and adept throughout the Kung fu globe. Albeit Shaolin might very well be the most effective you take so many styles of Kung fu. Wing Chun is widely popular partly due to the Chinese made and produced hitting movie serial IP Man. Named for Bruce Lee'south first teacher of Fly Chun (Yip Man) the well-nigh famous practitioner of the art.

Like the usual system of Chinese martial arts, Shaolin combat methods are taught via forms (套路; tàolù ). Forms that are technically closely related are coupled together and are considered of the same sub-style. These are commonly chosen the small and the big forms, similar the small and big hong quan, which altogether make the Shaolin hong quan style, and the pocket-sized and large pao quan, etc. There are also some styles with one form, like taizu chang quan. Indeed, these styles are not consummate or stand-alone, this is just a classification of different forms of Shaolin kung fu based on their technical contents.

Shaolin kung fu has more than hundreds of extant styles. There is recorded documentation of more than a thousand extant forms, which makes Shaolin the biggest school of martial fine art in the world. In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Shaolin monks chose 100 of the best styles of Shaolin kung fu. And so they shortlisted the eighteen most famous of them. Nonetheless, every lineage of Shaolin monks take always chosen their ain styles. Every style teaches unique methods for fighting (散打; sàndǎ ) and keeping health via one or a few forms. To larn a complete system, Shaolin monks main a number of styles and weapons. The most famous styles of Shaolin kung fu are:

List of known styles [edit]

• Arhat'due south 18 hands (罗汉十八手; luóhàn shíbā shǒu ): known as the oldest style.
• Overflowing manner (洪拳; hóngquán ): with the small class (小洪拳; xiǎo hóngquán ) known as the son of the styles, and the big form (大洪拳; dà hóngquán ) known as the mother of the styles,
• Explosive fashion (炮拳; pàoquán ): known as the king of the styles,
• Penetrating-Artillery manner (通臂拳; tōngbìquán ),
• 7-star & Long Guard the Heart and Mind Gate manner (七星 & 长护心意门拳; qī xīng & cháng hù xīn yì mén quán ),
• Plum Blossom way (梅花拳; méihuāquán ),
• Facing & Bright Sun style (朝&昭 阳拳; cháo & zhāo yáng quán ),
• Arhat style (罗汉拳; luóhànquán ): known equally the most representative style,
• Vajrapani way (金刚拳; jīn'gāngquán ),
• Emperor'south Long-range style (太祖长拳; tàizǔ chángquán ): known as the almost graceful manner,
• 6-Match style (六合拳; liùhéquán ),
• Soft style (柔拳; róuquán ),
• Heed manner (心意拳; xīnyìquán )
• Imitative styles (象形拳; xiàngxíngquán ) (including Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Hawkeye, Monkey, Mantis, etc.),
• Drunken style (醉拳; zuìquán ),

and many other styles.

Internal and external kung fu [edit]

Huang Zongxi described martial arts in terms of Shaolin or "external" arts versus Wudang or internal arts in 1669.^[17] It has been since and then that Shaolin has been popularly synonymous for what are considered the external Chinese martial arts, regardless of whether or not the item style in question has any connection to the Shaolin Monastery. Some say that there is no differentiation between the so-called internal and external systems of the Chinese martial arts,^{[5] [18]} while other well-known teachers hold the opinion that they are different. For case, the Taijiquan instructor Wu Jianquan:

Those who do Shaolinquan leap about with forcefulness and force; people non adept at this kind of training before long lose their jiff and are exhausted. Taijiquan is unlike this. Strive for quiescence of torso, listen and intention.^[xix]

Influence on other martial arts [edit]

Some lineages of karate have oral traditions that merits Shaolin origins.^[20] Martial arts traditions in Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka and certain Southeast Asian countries cite Chinese influence every bit transmitted by Buddhist monks.^{[21] [22]}

Contempo developments in the 20th century such every bit Shorinji Kempo ( 少林寺拳法 ) practised in Japan's Sohonzan Shorinji ( 金剛禅総本山少林寺 ) still maintains close ties with China'due south Song Shan Shaolin Temple due to historic links.^[23] Japanese Shorinji Kempo Group received recognition in China in 2003 for their financial contributions to the maintenance of the historic edifice of the Song Shan Shaolin Temple.^[24]

References [edit]

1. ^ Canzonieri, Salvatore. "The Emergence of the Chinese Martial arts". Han Wei Wushu (23).
2. ^ Henning, Stanley (1999b). "Martial arts Myths of Shaolin Monastery, Part I: The Giant with the Flaming Staff". Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Clan of Hawaii. 5 (ane).
3. ^ ^{a b} Henning, Stanley E. (Fall 1999). "Academia Encounters the Chinese Martial arts". China Review International. 6 (2): 319–332. doi:10.1353/cri.1999.0020. ISSN 1069-5834.
4. ^ Zhāng Kǒngzhāo 張孔昭 (c. 1784). Boxing Classic: Essential Battle Methods 拳經拳法備要 Quánjīng Quánfǎ Bèiyào (in Chinese).
5. ^ ^{a b} Kit, Wong Kiew (2002). Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense Health and Enlightenment.
6. ^ Order of the Shaolin Ch'an (2004, 2006). The Shaolin Grandmaster's Text: History, Philosophy, and Gung Fu of Shaolin Ch'an. Oregon.
7. ^ "Shaolin Kung fu'due south Indian Connection".
8. ^ Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999), The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Primeval Records of Zen, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-21972-iv. pp. 8, 54–55.
9. ^ Canzonieri, Salvatore (February–March 1998). "History of Chinese Martial arts: Jin Dynasty to the Period of Disunity". Han Wei Wushu. 3 (9).
10. ^ Wong, Kiew Kit (2002). The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense Health and Enlightenment. Tuttle martial arts Boston, Mass. p. 13.
11. ^ Wong, The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu, p. 19
12. ^ ^{a b c} Shahar, Meir (2008). The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN978-0824831103.
13. ^ Liu, James J.Y. (1967). The Chinese Knight Errant. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 87–88. ISBN0-2264-8688-v.
14. ^ ^{a b} Shahar, Meir (2000). "Epigraphy, Buddhist Historiography, and Fighting Monks: The Case of The Shaolin Monastery". Asia Major. Tertiary Serial. 13 (two): fifteen–36.
15. ^ ^{a b c d eastward f grand h i j k l} Shahar, Meir (December 2001). "Ming-Catamenia Evidence of Shaolin Martial Exercise". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 61, No. two. 61 (2): 359–413. doi:10.2307/3558572. ISSN 0073-0548. JSTOR 3558572. S2CID 91180380.
16. ^ Chéng Zōngyóu 程宗猷 (c. 1621). Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method 少林棍法闡宗 Shàolín Gùnfǎ Chǎnzōng (in Chinese).
17. ^ Henning, Stanley (Autumn–Winter 1994). "Ignorance, Fable and Taijiquan" (PDF). Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Inquiry Association of Hawaii. 2 (three): 1–vii. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2011.
18. ^ Francis, B.K. (1998). Ability of Internal Martial Arts: Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing-I. North Atlantic Books.
19. ^ Woolidge, Doug (June 1997). "T'AI CHI The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Vol. 21 No. 3". T'ai Chi. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.
20. ^ Bishop, Mark (1989). Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques. A&C Black, London. ISBN0-7136-5666-2.
21. ^ "Shaolin kungfu". www.polish.cn. Archived from the original on xxx April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
22. ^ . 10 Dec 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171210022437/http://www.mardb.com/cheena-di/. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 30 Apr 2018. CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
23. ^ "Shorinji Kempo 50th Ceremony Commemoration". Archived from the original on eight July 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
24. ^ "China's Country-level Friendship Award Given to Shorinji Kempo Group Chairperson". Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2006.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaolin_Kung_Fu