Shaolin Temple,

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Shaolin Temple
Must Sees Henan Provincial Museum Shaolin Temple Yellow River Scenic Area Shang Dynasty Ruins Mountain Songshan Optional Attractions Dengfeng Observatory Songyang Academy of Classic Learning Ancient Tomb at Dahu Pavilion Ruins at Dahe Village Temple of the City God Nativity of Emperor Huangdi Located at the foot of the western range of the Songshan Mountain, Dengfeng City, about 90 kilometers southwest of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Shaolin Temple is reputed to be "The Number One Temple under Heaven". Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the temple has been as old as more than 1,500 years, with a total area of over 30,000 square meters. The temple is named for its location in the dense forest at the northern foot of Shaoshi Mountain, a major part of Songshan. It is the cradle of the Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin Martial Arts such as Shaolin Cudgel. One can see wild flowers and pines on the mountain. With birds singing and a brook spattering, a beautiful scene full of life and vitality is revealed to the visitors and it has become a top tourist attraction of China. Built in 495 AD, Shaolin Temple is the famous home of Kungfu (martial arts). It is also the home of the Chan (Zen) sect of Buddhism, which was introduced in 527 by the Indian monk Boddhidharma, founder of the sect. At Shaolin Temple, Boddhidharma supposedly spent 9 years facing a wall in the state of illumination and visitors can still go to the cave where he meditated. China's most famous martial arts tradition was developed by Buddhist monks at Shaolin Temple, the fighting monks in a thousand martial arts films can trace their origin to this temple. In fact, the Chinese martial arts and such offshoots as the gender exercise forms known as taiji have their symbolic, if not literal, birthplace at this temple. The branch of Buddhism known as Chan also looks to Shaolin as its source. Visitors can watch thousands of young trainees dressed in the colors of their respective schools practice this martial art. In September, the temple comes alive with guests from all over the world, as it hosts the international Kungfu Festival. Shaolin Temple embraces many exciting attractions, such as the Hall of Heavenly Kings (Tianwangdian), the Mahavira Hall (Daxiongbaodian), the Pagoda Forest, the Dharma Cave, Permanent courtyard, the First Founder's Hall, the Second Founder's Hall and the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Training Center. While crowded and commercialized, Shaolin is still one of China's most interesting historical and religious monuments, dating back to the end of the fifth century A.D. In 625 it was expanded by a Tang Dynasty emperor in gratitude for wartime services rendered by the Shaolin monks, who used their fighting skills to send off some usurpers. In the early sixth century, a monk from India named Bodhidharma arrived at Shaolin, where he founded Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Bodhidharma, who was probably a legendary rather than actual figure, is also heralded as the founder of martial arts, a system of hand- to- hand combat that was later modified to produce the immensely popular form of exercise that millions practice every morning throughout China -Taiji, sometimes called "Shadow Boxing" in the west. Bodhidharma set an example by sitting with his face to the wall in a rock cave northwest of the Shaolin Temple for nine years, and his shadow became engraved deep into the rock face. The rock is now in Baiyi Hall at Shaolin Temple, and the cave is now known as Bodhidharma Cave. Bodhidharma was the first to practice what is now known as Shaolin martial arts. His limbs had become stiff from the long periods of sitting still and facing the cave wall, and he felt great discomfort. He also noticed that the monks were falling asleep during meditation and that their health was deteriorating, so he invented an exercise of eighteen movements, now known as the Eighteen Routines of Shaolin Martial Arts, imitating the pounce of the tiger, the climb of the monkey, and the jump of the leopard. In 1125, the Temple of the Founder of Chan was built on the road to Bodhidharma Cave. The main hall, though not large, is a treasure house of sculptures. Carved on the 12 octagonal stone columns of the hall are colored designs of female musicians, children, birds, pomegranates, peony flowers, and grass. There are another four stone columns featuring bas-reliefs of heavenly guardians, auspicious clouds, and coiling dragons. The sculptures on both sets of columns have bold lines and imposing colors, and the human figures are simple and unsophisticated. The luxuriant cypress in front of the main hall is four meters around. It is said that Hui Neng, the sixth abbot of the Shaolin Temple, took a cypress sapling in his alms bowl from Guangdong Province and planted it in front of the main hall of the Temple of the Founder of Chan when he returned to the Shaolin Temple to pay homage to Buddha. The tree is over 1,200 years old. There is a mural entitled Thirteen Shaolin Cudgeling Monks Rescue the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty on the walls of Baiyi Hall. It depicts the fight for power toward the end of Sui Dynasty between Prince Qin (599-649) and General Wang Shichong (?-621). At the crucial moment, monks from the Shaolin Temple came to help Prince Qin attack Wang Shichong's army from behind and win victory. When Prince Qin came to power as Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he conferred titles on the monks, granted land to the Shaolin Temple, and issued a special edict that allowed the monks to eat meat and drink wine. In the Pagoda Forest, there are small sealed pagodas that hold holy relics and remains of important monks. The Forest of 227 pagodas at Shaolin Temple covers over 1,000 years of Buddhist funerals, beginning with that of a Tang Dynasty abbot who was buried here in the year 746. The form and size of the pagodas bear the influences of the times and show the ranks of the dead during their lifetimes and the economic situation at the temple. The pagodas vary in appearance and are from one to seven stories high, the highest being 15 meters (about 49 feet). The layer and the shape of a pagoda depend on many factors, such as one's Buddhist status, attainment and prestige during his lifetime. Some of them have closely-placed eaves, some look like pavilions. The pagoda foundations are square, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, or round. And the Pagoda Forest in Shaolin Temple is regarded as the largest of China's pagoda complexes.

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