Posted ByChina7day
Long ancient temple, thousand years of Shaolin, legendary years, Zen ancestral hall, the largest school in Wulin. Songshan Shaolin Temple is located in the dense forest of Shaoshi mountain at the foot of Songshan Mountain in Dengfeng City, Henan Province. The world-famous Millennium Temple, Shaolin Temple, was founded in 495 A.D. and has a history of more than 1500 years. The plaque in front of the gate of Shaolin Temple is a note of the title written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. 1500 years ago, a famous monk “crossed the river with a reed” came to the north. He first practiced on the wall of Shaolin temple for several years. The temple is famous for its eminent monks, who add luster to the temple.
When it comes to Shaolin Temple, we have to mention that the important historical and cultural landscape is the Pagoda Forest of Shaolin Temple, which is the place where the eminent monks passed away and the ancestral Tomb of Shaolin Temple. It covers an area of more than 21000 square meters. There are more than 232 ancient pagodas in the Tang Dynasty. After the different ages of Tang, song, Jin, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is an ancient pagoda group with the largest area, the largest number and the highest value in China, All kinds of tombs with brick, stone and brick mixed structure. Among them, there are 2 Tang pagodas, 2 song pagodas, 10 gold pagodas, 46 yuan pagodas, 148 Ming pagodas, and 2 modern monk tombs. The rest are Qing pagodas or those whose times are unknown. Their ashes or bones are put into the underground palace, on which towers are built to show merit. The height, size and number of floors of the pagoda are mainly determined by the depth of Buddhist attainments, prestige and merits.
When Shaolin Temple was first built, it was not called Shaolin Temple, but “monk Temple”. It is said that Emperor Xiaowen built Shaolin Temple at the northern foot of Shaoshi mountain in Songshan Mountain, the holy mountain facing Luoyang, in order to place the venerable Indian monk badoro. It is said that after Bodhidharma crossed the river and came to Shaolin Temple, he widely received believers and promoted Buddhism and Zen, thus establishing the position of Shaolin Temple as the Zen ancestral hall. In the Tang Dynasty, Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kung Fu were well-known because of “Shaolin thirteen stick monks save Tang King”
Northern Wei Dynasty: the eminent monk lenamoti and Bodhi flow jointly translated the Sutra of ten places of India, which was completed after three years, and played an important role in the development of northern Zen. During this period, the eminent monk Bodhi of South India, Bodhi Damo, crossed the river to Shaolin Temple, initiated the Zen teaching method of “mind is the heart”, and thus established the lofty position of the Zen ancestral hall of Shaolin Temple.
Sui Dynasty: in the early years of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty granted Shaolin Temple a hundred hectares of land, and Shaolin Temple has become a large temple with a lot of farmland and huge temple production. At the end of Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Shaolin Temple became the target of mountain bandits. In order to protect the temple property, Shaolin monks organized armed forces to fight against mountain bandits and officers and soldiers. Shaolin Kung Fu, as the armed force of Shaolin Temple, was initially formed. In the fourth year of Wude (621 A.D.), thirteen monks, including tanzong of Shaolin Temple, captured Wang Renze, captured Yuanzhou city and turned to Li Shimin, king of Qin. Three years later, Li Shimin sent special envoys to the Shaolin Temple to preach consolation. All the monks who participated in the war were granted a reward. Tanzong was also granted the title of general monk and granted 40 hectares of land to the boguwu of Shaolin Temple. Since then, Shaolin Temple has been famous for its bravery.
Tang Dynasty: Tang Xuanzang, a famous monk of the Tang Dynasty, once asked to study Buddhist scriptures in Shaolin Temple twice, but he was not allowed to do so. Huizhao, a monk of the state of Xinluo, has been studying in Shaolin temple for many years. With the prosperity of the Zen sect founded by Dharma and becoming the largest sect of Buddhism in China, especially after the Song Dynasty (10th century AD), Shaolin Temple began to become the pilgrimage site of the Zen sect. In order to commemorate the Dharma, in the place where the Dharma in the back mountain of Shaolin Temple once sat and preached Buddhism, the first ancestor’s nunnery was built, and a tall “Tower of facing walls” was built.
Yuan Dynasty: during this period, there were many famous monks in Shaolin Temple, which was the second glorious period of Shaolin Temple. As the ancestral hall of Zen sect, Shaolin Temple had a prominent position and a prosperous Zen School. Caodong’s patriarchal system has returned to the ancestral court, with a large number of talented people and eminent monks, which has opened the most glorious era of Shaolin Temple’s Zen history for more than 100 years, and is the axis of Chinese Zen sect in this period. During the period of Fuyu’s reign in Shaolin Temple, he also established the patriarchal clan system of the temple, which made all monks of Shaolin Temple regard Shaolin as their home, and became an important foundation for the rise and system of the level of Shaolin Kung Fu and martial arts in Ming Dynasty and the formation of sects.
Ming Dynasty: this period is an important period for Shaolin Kungfu to improve. In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to unite the peasant uprising to fight against the Mongolian oppression, in the era of cold weapons, the folk martial arts prevailing. At least six times, the monks of Shaolin Temple have been drafted by the imperial court, participated in the official combat activities, repeatedly built meritorious deeds, received many awards from the imperial court, and built temples on the tree steles of Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Kung Fu has also been tested in the actual combat, and its reputation is well-known. Therefore, Shaolin Kung Fu has established its authoritative position in the national martial arts field.
Qing Dynasty: influenced by the war, the scale of Shaolin monks was gradually reduced. In the 13th year of Yongzheng’s reign (1735 AD), the emperor personally reviewed the temple plan, approved the plan, rebuilt the mountain gate and rebuilt the thousand Buddha Hall. Emperor Qianlong visited Shaolin Temple, stayed in Abbot’s room at night, and wrote poems and erected steles.
Republic of China: at this time, the warlords fought in a scuffle, and the people suffered a lot. Shaolin Temple was burned down by one of the thirteen warlords and suffered heavy losses
Modern: since the reform and opening up, the Shaolin Temple has a large number of talents, a well-known Shaolin Kung Fu, and a wide range of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Now Shaolin disciples have spread all over the world, spreading the excellent culture of Shaolin Temple more and more widely. More and more people agree with Shaolin culture, which has become not only the representative of Chinese martial arts, but also one of the symbols of Chinese traditional culture.
The main cultural landscapes in Shaolin Temple are: Shaolin Temple, Tallinn, Mahavira hall, Abbot’s room, damodong, Chuzu temple, Shaolin pharmacy, etc. It has inherited the culture of “Zen, martial arts and medicine” of Shaolin for thousands of years. In the new era, I believe that the development of Shaolin Temple will be better and better.