From films and books, people got the impression that in China every temple of arts is a military academy, and a master of such arts must practice a religion. This is not true. In China, as elsewhere in the world, temples and monasteries have always been the center of religious practice. And the martial arts temple was preoccupied with its protection in everyday life. The only place in China where a unity of martial arts and spiritual practice has been declared for a long time is the Shaolin Temple. Shaolin martial arts have been a subject of admiration to this day. The monastery itself is located in Henan province, on the side of a mountain. Each of its tiers is higher than the other, thus, the general view of the monastery resembles a staircase.
The history of the emergence of Buddhism in China
It is believed that the temple of martial arts was founded in 495. At the end of the 4th century, the northern part of the country was ruled by the nomads of the Toba clan. They went down in history under the name “tabgachi”. They later founded the Wei Empire. The founder of this empire, Gui, was a practical person; he allowed to practice any of the religions. But already in the middle of the 5th century, he issued a decree on the destruction of Buddhist statues and icons, ordered to burn all books and execute all monks, regardless of their age. The heir to the throne held up the decree, which made it possible to preserve many icons, books and hide to the monks. In 452, his grandson came to power and revoked his grandfathers' decree on Buddhism. The new ruler even allowed to build pagodas, however, no more than one for 4-50 monks in the county. The Buddhists were no longer threatened with death, and the emperor, as a sign of respect for such a teaching, kept shaving his head.
In 465, the next heir to the dynasty, who was a true Buddhist in his soul, entered the throne. Toba Hong even built a huge Buddha statue. In 471, Toba abdicates his son and goes to a Buddhist monastery, but continues to lead political affairs. In 475, he issued a decree on the sacrifice of animals. So, at the end of the 5th century, Buddhism gained a strong position in northern China.
Temple history
The foundation of the temple is attributed to one Indian preacher, whose name was Bato. No one knows if he knew the martial arts technique, but the names of two of his students have survived to this day. The first is Senchou, the martial artist, successor to Bato. They say that by jumping, he could even reach the ceiling, he fought best in hand-to-hand fighting. The second student was Huuang. He could shoot a Chinese soccer shuttlecock at 500 shots at a time.
On March 31, 495, the Shaolin Temple was officially founded. The whole history of China has about 10 temples with the same name, but only one has survived to this day. Its name is Songshan Shaolin.
The monastery was built in very difficult times for the country. Then China was almost torn into 3 parts, which fought endlessly among themselves. Therefore, the Shaolin monastery was repeatedly subjected to enemy attacks. Since the monks were steadfast and especially persistent in training, this allowed them to adequately respond to opponents in an attack.
Why did the study of martial art stop
After the wars in China and centralization of power ended, the emperor took control of Shaolin. When the imperial family first visited the monastery, they were amazed at its beauty and spirituality. The emperor ordered the creation of a military garrison near the temple. Martial arts no longer needed to be studied for protection, so workouts stop. So, the military art temple has lost the study of martial skills and their training for 100 years.
The training of monks was divided into two types: practical meditation and understanding of the life path. Later they realized that the monks are too weak and will not be able to achieve their plan only through meditation alone. And in order to improve their position, Bodhidharma taught them the most ancient form of martial art, “The Fist of Eighteen Arhats,” the training and general strengthening of the body. Later, exercises with a spear, a pole, a sword and other weapons were added to the main trainings.
Obtaining the status of a monastery
In 621, rebellious actions flared up in China to overthrow the emperor. He fought to the last and, when he had nowhere to retreat, he and his army came under the walls of Shaolin. The monks responded to his request and defended their emperor. 13 of the best masters dispersed the rebels and captured some in their temple of art. This spoke of the highest training of people. As stated in the annals, the battle itself lasted no more than one hour. Interestingly, not one of the monks was injured.
The end of the battle marked the support of the imperial family, for which the monastery received a separate revered position in the country. Since then, the monks began to form their troops, protecting both the country's surroundings and imperial possessions. The emperor ordered his commanders to take martial arts lessons.
The temple of arts received equal rights along with the imperial army, Shaolin martial arts began to develop actively. The monks came to practice in Shaolin and often stayed there forever, as happened with 18 monks with different fighting styles.
Ming and Qin
The pinnacle of the temple reached during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. In those days, the number of monks in Shaolin was 2.5 thousand people. But in 644, the country had an extremely dry and barren summer, and this led to famine. The people, of course, rebelled against the emperor, and he was overthrown. The Qin generation has replaced the dynasty.
The new emperor did not have the slightest confidence in the monks and disbanded them. He even banned the practice of martial arts. Naturally, the training was carried out, but secretly. The temple had a huge impact on the northern part of China, therefore, in order to strengthen power, the emperor ordered the monastery to be destroyed. As a result, they set it on fire, and it burned down almost completely.
Temple collapse
The restoration began only a year later and only after the temple was imposed by huge taxes and a ban on the practice of martial arts. Thus, two styles were created: Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan. They were not considered combat and did not threaten anyone. But these were not all the troubles destined for the temple.
In 1928, one of the battles of the Civil War unfolded on the territory of the monastery. A fire broke out, blazing for several days. All 16 halls burned, and the temple was completely destroyed. The restoration could only happen with the help of the country's authorities, and only by 1980 was it possible to completely restore Shaolin. Today, the monastery is a national relic of China. Trainings are still there.
Wushu
Martial arts greatly influenced the temple of art. At the MHC, teachers often go through this topic, telling students about the displacement of gymnastics by martial arts. Therefore, the most famous of them are attributed to the cultural values of China. Wushu gained great popularity. Martial art takes its name from collective names.
According to legend, wushu originated in the Shaolin monastery, thanks to the Indian monk Bodhiharma. He came to preach in the temple, but local aborigines did not understand him. Disappointed, he turned to the wall and sat in one position for 9 years! All this time he was meditating. The monk fell asleep only once and, waking up, he tore his eyelashes from anger. They betrayed him at the crucial moment. From the discarded eyelashes grew a tea tree. Since then, the Chinese have always made strong tea to relax.
Wushu is a special set of exercises that consist of silence, contemplation, meditation and special physical exercises. On the basis of this struggle, many other martial arts were developed.
Conclusion
The temple of arts cited in the article is an example of one of the most outstanding. Its significance, history and influence on people is very great. In fact, there are so many places in the world. There is a temple of art in every country, and, as a rule, it is not alone.
These include tetras, in which new branches of art are born every day, museums that conquer with their expositions, churches that store great cultural monuments, such as icons. The temple of art, whose photo captivates with its beauty, can be proud of its choreographic, musical, as well as visual heritage. You need to know and be proud of such places.