The Shaolin Monastery

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The Shaolin Monastery
History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts
Meir Shahar
Un i\'C rsily of Hawa i'j Press
I-Ionolulu
2008 Unh1!fsi ty of Hawai'i Press
All rights resep;ed
I>rintcd in the Unit ed States of Ameri ca
13 12 II 10 09 08 654 3 21
Library of Congress Catal oging-in-Publication Da ta
Shahar, Meir.
' !lIe Shaolin monaslery: his tory, religion, and the Chinese mart ial ans / l\'I("ir
Shalt ar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliograph ica l refere nces and index,
IS UN 978-0-8248-3110-3 (a lk. paper)
I. Shao lin si ( Dcngfeng xian, China)-I l islor)" 2. Martial arts-China. I. Titlf'.
II . Ti I Ie: I I iSlory, religion, a nd I he Ch inese mOl rt ial art s.
UQ6345.T462S52'1752008
294.3'657095 II 8-dc22
Uniwrs it y of 1I<\I\'ai'j Press books a re prinl ed o n
acid-free paper and meel Ihe gui delines for pe rmanence
and durabi I it}' of the Call neil o n Libl" ry Resources
Designed by U ni versi l y of 1-la\\';'1 i'i Press pnx luClion sia IT
Pri rll ed by The Maple-Vai I Book Manu faci uring Group
2007032532
Fol' !Yoga Zhang /-/ 1/;
Contents
Ma/)s (lnd Figures
Ark n.ow/prJ gill! 111 S
In t roduct ion
PART 1: ORI GI NS OF A M ILI TARY TRADI T I ON (500-goo)
Chapt e r I: The Monaste ry
Chapt.e r 2: Scrvi ng t he Emperor
PART II: SVSTEMI ZI NG MARTI AL PRACTICE (900- 1600)
Chapter 3: Defending lhe Nalion
Chapter 4: Starr Legends
PART III : F I ST F I GHTI NG AND SELF- CULTI VATION ( 1600 - l gOO)
Chapler 5: I-land Combal
Chapt.er 6: Gymnaslics
Chapler 7: Suspect Rebels
Conclusion: i-l isLOry, Reli gion, and the Chinese Manial Arts
A/JIJendix: S o m ~ EditiQIIS QJlheSincws Trans formation Classic
Noles
Glossary
Works Cited
Index

IX

Xl
I
9
20
55
82
11 3
137
182
197
203
205
239
247
273
HI
Maps and Figures
MA PS
I. Location orllle Shaol in Monastcry 10
2. Shaol in's cont r ibul ion [ 0 Li Shi Illi n's campaign agai ns\
Wang Shichong 24
3. Ming cent ers of monastic fi ghting 63
4. Some !-Ienan sites associalCd wilh the Qingmartial an.s 124
F I GU R ES
I. Bodllidllarma rClllrning to the Wesloll a 1209 SIJaoiin stele 15
2. The Rush-LcarUodhidharma on a 1624 Shaoii n sl ele IG
3. Li Shimin's autograph "Shimin" as copied OntO the 728
Shaolin st.cle 27
4. Xuanzong's imperial calli graphy on the 728 Shaolin stele 32
5. List orllie thi rteen heroic monks on lhe 728 Shaoli n stele 34
G. Ni nt h-ccnllll"}' Dunhuang 38
7. si newy physique in a Tang SUll liC 39
8. 'fwd fUI-ce ntury Shaol in stele of Na raY;:II,la (Vajrnpiil,l i) " I
9. The " Li rt i Position in Che ng Zongyou's SIll/olin S((11
Me(/tOl/Or 1621 GO
10. PraCliceseqllence diagram rrom Che ng Zongrou's Slwolill Staff
Metl/Ol/ Or 1621 61
II. Abbol Wenzai 's 1517 V.yra pa l.li (Na rayal.la) stele 84
12. V.yrapal.li (rdelTed to as Kil'!'lIla ra) atop ML Song 86
13. ( Kil'!,lIlara) QingShaolin StaHle 89
14. Arhat equipped Wilh a starr; dela il oran early se\'cmeemhccmury
Shaoli n rresco 90
15. Sun Wukong's stair; la te Ming (ca. 1625) woodblock illustration 9-1
16. i-i uiming manipulating the narr rrom horse back; woodblock
illustration dated 1498 96
17. Late Ming woodblock illustration orLu Zhishe n ma nipulating
the staff 98
"
Maps and f igures
18. I-Iuiming brandislling the staff; h'oodblock illustration
dated 1614 99
19. Late Mingh'oodblock illuSlration ofSha Monk wielding
the staff 100
20. The ring staff as the e mblem of the monk; detail of a
Xixia-period ( 1038- 1227) wa ll painting 103
21. Tile slaffas lile e mble m of the monk;J apanese portrait of
the Chinese monk Yinyuan (1592-1673) 104
22. "The body met.hod oflile Shaolin monk" in XI/al/ji 's
Af'II/tltll f'/ure Points 115
23. Warning to readers in Xllflnj i 's l iru/nmc/lIIe Poin's 119
2'1. Pa 1m post u res bet ra)' i ng the in fillence of BlIddh ist III/Idrii s
(XlUIllj i's Al'upulI f'/ure Points) 120
25. Buddhist hand s)' mbolism (1I"ulriis) 121
26. The "Eight-Immortals Drunke n Ste p" in Hand Comb(/f Classi( 122
27. Shaolin monks demonst rat ing to the Manchu official Li n Qing 128
28. Qing fresco of the Shaolin ma rti al arLS 130
29. Qingfresco of the Shaolin martial arl.s (detail ) 130
30. Tlte "Supreme Ul timat e Eight S t e p s ~ in Ilmu/ Combat Classi( 134
31. Massagi ng and qici rclliation in the treatme nt of indigestion 14 3
32. first exercise of the l\\'e h'e-Section Brocade in
Wang ZUYllan's 1882/1111slmle(/ Exposition 159
33. Sltaolin statue ofWeituo (Ska nda) IGI
3'1. "Wei l.uo offering hi s jdemon-fellingl dub" in a ninetccll1h-
century edition of the Sinews Tmnsfonll(ltio/l CllI ssi( 162
35. The Shaolin '"Bodhid harma Cane" 173
36. The unil)'ofthe thrce teachings in a 1565 Shaolin stele 176
37. The structure of mania I a rts mythology 179
38. Shaolin monks who fought undcr the Ming ministc,' of war
Yang Sichang 189
Acknowledgments
' J\vo FR1ENI)S Ilave contribuled most to lilis sludy: A' de guided me <lIllIe
Shaolin Monastery and generously slial'cd \\' illl me hi s intimat e knowledge
or it.s hist.ory and epigraphic treasures; Gene Ching re"ealed 10 me lhc com-
plexities of the cOIlI CmpOrnr)' manial \\'odd. I-lis dedicatio n \0 his art has
heen a source or inspi..,11 ion.
I hm'c troubled no fc\\'cr than fi ve scholars \0 I'cad my manllscript , and I
am deeply grat eful for thei r comments and suggesti ons. They are Bernard
fau re, Ibrend tel' 11aar, Valerie Ilansen, Patrick Hanan, andJ ohn Kieschn ick.
for advice, rare mat erials, and/ or hospilal ity. ' am also indebt ed 10 Carl Bi ele-
fd dt , Susan Bush, Stanley E. ll enning, Viill Ide ma, Paul Katz, Li l:engmao,
!..iao Chao-I\c ng, WuJc n-shll , Zholl Qiufang, Zhou Wei li a ng, and Robin Val.es.
Inmluable Iidp wil II the maps and I lie illustrations was provided by Dina Sha-
hal', Gideon Zorea, and J)atrick Lligo. Pat ricia Crosby of the Uni versit y of
I Jawai ' i Press lias been Il eipful and e ncouraging tllrouglloul.
My research be nefited from an Israel Scie nce Foundati on Gram (no. 851 ),
and I he leisure for writing was prO\' idcd by 1 he ge ncl'osit )' of Vad- I Ianadiv
FOLl ndation,J e rLl sale m.
Introduction
AT T il E BEGINNING of the IWcll l ), r.rsl cCllwr )', t h e ShaoJin Monas1.ery has
arguahly become the most famOlls Bllddi lisl temple in tllC world. The reason
lies neither in its cont ribution 10 Chinese Buddhi st evol ution nor in it.s art
treasures that have been accumul :.lcd in the course ofil.s fiflcenIHlndrcd
)'car hi st.ory. Not c\'cn t he legends associating the monastery wilh 1 he myth ic
founde r of Chan (Zen) l\uddhisIH, Bodhidharma, arc the source or its re-
nown. R:Hhcr, the Shaolin Monastery is worldfamous because or its pre-
sumed connection \0 t he Chinese manial ans,
The Westwa rd disscminalion orChincsc fighting techniques is lI Tll ong
t he intriguing aspeel,s of Ihe cultural encounter between China and the
modern West. Feat ur ing a un ique synt he sis of mi I it ary, t herapeu lic, and rcl i-
gious goals, t he Ch inese manial a n sappeallo millions ofWeSlenl practition-
e rs. Of le n presented as if they had ori ginated at t he Shaolin Monaste r y,
these fighti ng tec hn iques spread the temple's fame among large popul ations
not. necessaril y familia r with the Buddhi st faith. MOl-cover, non practitioners
have been exposed to t he Shaolin myth as wel l; beginning with Bmce Lee's
( Li Xiaolong) (1940-1973) legendal-y films in the 19605 and culmi nating
wilh Li Li a l-uie's (jet Li ) (b. 1963) spectacular features, the Shaolin Te mple
has been celebrmed in numerous kung fu movies, wh ich ha\'e played a major
role in the propagat ion of its legend,
Is Shaolin' s fame j ustified? Did its monks e\'er practice the manial ans?
I r l ll ey did, t he ir militar}' practi ce woul d gi\'e rise to numerous questions: re-
ligious, political, and milital-y a li ke. The Buddhologist, to start with, would
be struck by the obvious contradicti on between monastic military training
and the Buddhist proh ibition or viole nce. I-low could Shaolin monks disre-
gard a primar y tenet or the ir re li g ious ra itll tllat rorbade warrare? Did n't. they
reel uneasy heading to the battl e fiel d? Did they try to vindicate their trans-
gression of Budd h ist monaSlic law?
I
2 Imrodu<:lion
It could be argued, of course, thal indi viduals and coll ectives alike have al-
wa),s found ways to j uslif}' dolaling their professed ideologies, in which sense
the ronlmtiicliOll between Buddhism and manial practice is less interesting
t.han the connection. Arc lhe Shaolin mania] arlS inherently related 10 Bud-
dhism? Nowadays, Shaolin monks e mphatically claim thaI their manial regi-
men is a Conn of spi.-ihlallraining. Shaolin's Abbot Yongxin (b. 19(5) rders 1.0
his monastcl),'s milit.ary tradition as '" maniai Chan" (wlIdwn), meaning lhat
1.]le pllysical exercises arc a 1001 for lile culti \,ation of awareness. Some
practit.ioners argue funhcr lhat il is possible to perceive a Chan logic wit.hin
IIIC Shaolin figilli ng mctllod (as di stinct fmm ot hcrCllinese marl ial Sl yles sud I
as Quan). The Shaolin seque nce of fi ghting postures, Illt:y explain , ere-
ates pal1erns only to destroy them, the re by liberating the practilioner fmm
preconceived notions. Sudl clai ms sllol\ld not be belittled; on the cont rary. tile
II istorian should trace lhci I' ol"igi ns.
Other connections be twee n Buddhism and milital)' practice Illay also
exisl.. As cad y as tile medieval period, tile Shaoli n Monastel), owned a large es-
tate, which in chaotic limes needed military protcction. Shaolin martial train
i ng m ighl have derived, therefore, from economic necessit y: I he safegua rdi ng
of I he tcmple's propert)'. Practi cal needs might have been sane! ioned by divine
precedents. II is striking t Ilat. a religion as intent on peace as Buddhism arrived
in CII ina equipped with an enti rc arsenal of mil it al)' gods. Buddhist iconogra
phy flan ks I he Buddha wit h hea"i I)' armed, ferociouslooki ng deities who tram
pic delllons underfoot. Such guardia n deities might have provid(:<1 a religious
excuse for monastic viole nce; if the worldhonored one required the protec
lion of martial gods, then his monasti c communi ty cel'lainly n(:e<l(:d the de
fense of martial monks.
No ilwestigation of Chinese monast ic manial practice would be com
plete witiiOUL re fe rence to ti le possibil it)' of na ti\'e in fluences. Gymnast ic and
breath i ng exerci ses, coupled with techn iques for t he i ntema I ci lUI I 'Ilion of
vilal e ne rgy (qi), haw: been practiced in Chilla as eady as the nnst cent uries
BCE. Conside red lI seful for longevit ), a nd spiritual self-cultivation , these ex-
ercises were incorporated during the earl y medieval period into lhe emerg'
ing Daoist reli g ion, where they became a n integral cle ment of the faith's
search for im monality. It is possible tha t th is ancient tradition of rei igiousl)'
oriellled gy mnastics influenccd Shaolin fighting tech niques, in which case
the Chi nese Buddhi st martial ans could be interpreted as ),et anothcr ex-
ample of the si n ici7 .. '1tion of Buddhi sm.
The implications of Buddhist manial practice are not meldy religious;
monastic arm ies might ha\'c pl ayed a pol itical role as wei J. Chinese imperial re-
gi mes of the past, Ii ke thei I" contemporary Communist successors, have always
been suspicious of the presumed re bellious intents of rei igious organizations.
I-low could they tolcrate monastic militar)' trai ning? The political historian
would ilwestigate, thercfore, whether the state attempted to suppress Shaolin
manial practice, or, on the contrary, emplo)'ed fighting monks for its own mili-
[11\ rodu<:lion 3
tary cnds. As the following chaptcrs demonstrate, the a nswer varied from onc
period lO anOlher. Whercas Shaolin monks rendel-ed loyal military service t.o
thc Ming dynasty (1368-1644), for h'hich tlley \\'ere handsomely rewarded with
statc patronage, their relations with the Qing (lfYI4-1911) wcrc ambivalent.
Qing officials fcarcd-probabl y not h' itholll n:.:ason-lilat som(: Shaolin affili-
ates would joi n sectarian rc\olts.
Pract itioncrs and manial arLS historians alike \\'oul d Ix: more imcrcsted
in thc cvolution of lec/l11iqut'S than in their I-eligiotls or political implicat.io ns.
Wllcn did thc Silaolin mania I arLS eme rge? To address this question we must
di slinguish bctwec n milit.al-y (lelivilies and fighting ledwiql/es: As early as the
Tang dynast)' (618-907), Shaolin monks e ngaged in warfare, but there is no
e\'ide nce tllal al Illal lime tlley specia li zed in a gi\'e n martial art , let alone d e-
veloped Iheir own. The monks prcsumabl y can -ied to bailie COlllmon Tang
weaponry, praci icing I he same mil itary tact ics as 0\ her medi eval soldiers,
As 10 Ihe monasle r)"s own martial ans, they evolved in 1 \\'0 stages tilat
lasled several cenluries eac.h. In the first phase, \\'hich likely began around
Ille I,\'elnll cenlury and rcaclled its a pogee in tile sixt eenlh, Shaolin monks
speci ali zed in slatT fighling. By Ihe latc Millg, Iheir techniques \\' ith Ihis
\\'eapo n \\'e re considered Ihe best in China. In the second phase, from t.he
sixteenlh cenlury 10 Ihe presclll , Ihc monks have been pe rfecting thcir UIl-
armed teelill iques, \\' h iell graduall y eel ipsed 111e sta IT as 1 he domi nanl form
of Shaolin martial pract ice, By Ihe twe nt y-firsl cenlury, the Shaolin metho d
of hand combat (qmln) has spread all O\'e r the world . II needs be emphasized
I hal I hrougholll.lhe monaste ry's history, the monks hrwe also practi ced fight-
ing with swords, spears, and olhe r sha rp weapons , which in real bailie we re
more effecl.i \'e than eithe r staff or ha nd combat.
Hegi nning wi t h Tang I lao's (1897-1959) pioneering l"Csean:: h in the 1930s,
significant progress has bee n made in the sllIdy ofmanial arts hislOI"Y. Nevel"-
theless, lhe C\'olulion of Chinese fighting techniques is not )'et full y chaned ,
and important. lacunas l"C main to be explol"Cd. The de\'clopmelll of Shaolin
figh ti ng could lX)tCnlial ly shed li ght on mania I artS hi story in general. Signifi-
canll )" Shaolin hand combat cmerged during the same peri od-the lale Ming
and earl y Qing-as other familiar bare-ha nded styles such as TaDi Quan and
Xing)' i Quan, As shown in the following chapters, the Ming-Qing transilion
was a pi\'olal period in martial ans history, in wh ich Daoist gymnastic and
brc.. "l.lhing lechniques wcre integrated with barchanded fighting, c,'caling a
synlhcsis of fighling, healing, a nd self-culti \-ation, Arguabl y, this uniquc com-
binal.ion of military, thcl-apelllic, a nd reli gious goals has been the key to the
manial ans' appc.."l.1 in thcir nati\'e land and the modem West as wel L
This book is concerned the n with these problems: military, political, and
religious. !-lowC\'cr, before they could ha\"C b(.'"e n addressed, a funda mcntal
queslion had to be answered: Did Shaolin monks practicc fighting, and if so
since when? During the late impel-ial period a n cnormous body of1cgcnds grcw
around lhe Shaolin Temple, Tl lC Chinesc martial arts \\'ere wrapped in an elab-
4 Imrodu<:lion
orate mythology lhalasCI-ibcd lilem to Buddlli Sl saims and 10 Daoist immortals.
Propagated the \\'orld o\'er 1' tmini ng manuals, as \\'e ll as by 1100'C!S and movies,
this mythology has become panof Ollr 0'1\' 11 . To examine the evolution ofShao-
lin fighting, it wa" necessary the refore to separate-as far as possible-myth
from hi slOIY The result is a chronological account thaI spans fifteen hundn::d
yea rs, from Shaolin's founding in the lale fifth century through the
Tang milil.arycamp."1i gns, the it rendered the Ming dynasl.Y, the
c,'olution of it .. sl,aIT tech niqucs and later iL'> bare-ha ndccltcchn iqucs. and ils u n-
easy relati o ns willi til e Qing, \\'11 ieh lasted t llmugll the ninet.een! h cenl II ry.
Anyancmpl \0 ilH'csligale the hislOl' Y ofmonasl ic fighting is confronted
hy the rciucl,an(.e of Buddhisl authors 10 record it. Even I hough some e minenl
monks criti cized monaslic \\'al' farc-provid ing us imponanl infonnalion on
il-I he typical Buddhisl response has been silence, In the vast historiographi-
cal corpus of the Chinese canon, no refe rence is made to Shaolin military ac-
I ivil ics, \vll iell contradicled Bllddl\ iSI monaSI ic law, In thi s abscllee, epigrapll y
has provcn 10 be an invaluable source. The Shaol in t'i'lonaste ry boasts dozens of
inscripl ions, wlliel l slled li gl' l on ils milil a l)' aCI ivilies from the sevent h t h I'ollgh
I he nineteenl h eelHuries. Whe reas Tang a nd Mingsle les reco,'d imperial gifts,
\vll iell were Ix:slowed on Il le mon;:lsler y in recogn il ion of it s Illi lita ry services,
Qing inscripl ions warn I he monks nOI to e ngage in re bellious aeti vi1 ies. Olher
in formation \\'as also recorded in slone. The buria l st upas of Mi ng-period
Shaolin figlHing monks arc inscribed wilh e pil aphs thaI list indi vidual baltles
in which the cleri cs had panicipated.
Whereas all through the fourteenth century, e pigraphy is ou r most im-
ponant source ofShaolin mililaryaeti vilies, beginning in the mid-Ming the
sit uation changes dramaticall y; the Shaoli n mani a l arts arc lauded in every
gen re of sixteenl h- and se\'e meenlh-century Cll i nese I it e m lUre, a nd figh Ii ng
monks figure in dozens, ifnol hundreds, onate Mingand Qing texts. The re
were probably se\'eral causes for the burst of late Ming imerest in monastic
figll ting, wllich lasted t llrough tile e nsuing Qing period.
The first reason was the d(:cline of the he reditary Ming army, which forced
the go\'e rnmelll to rel y on other military fon::es, including monastic troops.
The late Ming was the heyday of monastic armies, tIle mania I ans being prac-
t.i ced in te mples across thc empire. Fighting monks were d rafted for numerous
military camp.'1igns, and their contribution to nationa l defense was recorded
in official hi stories such as the Ming Veritllbl, Record.s (Mil/g .slti lu) and the IHi llg
Hi.story (Mil/pIll). The brm'e r y and fi ghting skill s of clerical troops-Shaolin's
and other's-wc.:re similarly lauded in chronidesofi ndi vidual baules. The con-
tribution of monastic annies to the sixtecnt h-century pimcy campaign, for ex-
ample, was re pealed I)' pra ised in treatises on coastal defe nse,
A second cause for the wealth of sixteenth- and sevemeenth-cemury
sources on Shaolin fi ghting was the publishing industr y's growth, The Shaolin
martial arts were feallired in new genres, wh ich were fi rst primed during the
late Ming, as well as in old ones, which proliferated in t hat period, They figure
[11\ rodu<:lion
in milil.ary tr eatises and mania I arts manuals; local ga:r..eueers and monaSl ic
histori es (which, unlike generail lislodes of Chinese Buddh ism, did mc mion
fighti ng monks) ; household cncrciopcdias, lraxel guides, and me moi rs; as well
as a gre at variel ), of fiCl ion in ooth ti le classical and vernac ular idioms.
The Manchu conqucstof 1644 fumi shcs a third importaI1l factor in the his-
I.oriograplly ofShaolin figilling. The Ilumilialing dcfeat turned the attcntion of
the lil.eral.i elite 1.0 the popular martial arlS, \\'hich had been earlier considered
unworthy of documentation, RenOh'lled litcrati such as Gli Yanwu (1613-1682),
HuangZongxi (1610- 1695), and the latter's son I-lua ng Baijia (1613-?) acknowl-
edged becoming intcresltx l in folk fighting tcchniqucs h(:callse their scholarly
Confucian education had failed in lhe nation's defensc. Thcsc scholars were
not mot ivatcd by a nai\'c bel icf t llat bal'c-handcd figlll ing could N.'Cr\ llrow tile
foreign conqucrors, but rathe r lookcd for the mal't ial ans as a means for restor-
ing nat ional confidcnce, not unlikc nine t<.--c nth- and t wcnt ieth-centl.lry Chinese
all.e mpl.S \0 rcstorc Ihc nation's political body by invigorating the corporal
bodies of indi vidual ci ti zens,'
The greal medi evali st Marc Bloch has comment ed Ihal knowledge of the
present is necess;u)' for an understanding of the p a s 1 . ~ On several occasions
conl.em po ral)' Shaol in pract ice has ililiminatcd for me aspects of tile \.e mple's
IlislOl1'- Tllis is cSIX!ci atl y t.fll C as regards tile fl uidi! y of I he Shaoli n COlllnlll nil)"
of \\' 11 iell residc nt monks constit ut c no more tlUIIl a core Illi noril)'. In addition to
ordained derics who dwell inside the te mple, numcrous Shaolin practitioncrs
-monks and laymen alike-ha\'e becn trained at the monastcr), but havc left it
1.0 pu rsue an indelX! ndent career, often opening up thcir OWIl martial arts
schools, These Shaoli n alumni often disregard monastic regula! ions (csJX:ci a lIy
the di cta I) ' law prohibiting meat),j ust as the ir late imperial pnx lecessors mi ghl
have jOined in sectarian r<,'\olls. During the Qing ]'X:riod, govcrnmcnt offici als
censured tile criminal activities or the itinerant Shaol in colnmunity nllhcr limn
blame the monastel), itself for seditious intents. Thc Shaolin Te mplc was sus-
PCCl nol. because of its own inslloordina tion, but lX!caliSc of its intimalC conncc-
tion to an un rul)' and flu id martia l cOllunllnity, which was dcemed potcntiall y
dangel'Ous,
Thus, whcre thc elucidation of a histol-ical problc m R'quircs reference to
comempora l) ' conditions, I ha\'c \t: ntured into c thnogrnphic observation, Ncver-
theless, Shaolin's modern h iSlory will ha\'C to await a not her st udy, B<..-ginn ing i n
the m id-n i nelecnth cemur)" Shaolin'S ma rti a l <''\'olution lias been intimately re-
lated to the fale of the modern Chinese ma nial a rts. The traumatic encoume r
with tile modern West and tl lc aue mptto sa\'e tilC race by ma nial training; lhe
e me rgence of the modem media-ncwspaper, film, and tclevision industrics-
and thei r respectivc roles in sprcading tJl e martia l arts; the promotion of stan-
dardi zed martial arts sports in lhe People's Re public of China and lhe
govemmelll's auempt, on which naliona l pride hinges, to include them in Ihe
Olympic games-e\'en lhough I ha\'c commellled on the m, these topics will re-
quire the auemion of thc spccialist in modcrn Cll i nese h istor),.
PART I
Origins ofa
Military Tradition
(500-900)
CHAPTER I
The Monastery
S 1-1 AOL IN'S I [I STORY spans fln een hund red rears. The 1ll0l1as1erywas fOil nded
during 1he las! decade of I he fin h ceillury by an Indian-born monk, who is re-
fen'ed to in tile Chinese sources as Ualllo, or FOluo. II is sil l!a1ed in mOl ln1ain
ous Dengfeng Counl Y, Central I Icnan, some thirl y miles sOll theaslof Luoyang,
t he former capil al of I he NOl'I hem Wei dynast y (386-534), and forty-five miles
southwesl ofZhengzholl, the modern capilal ofl lenan Province (map I), The
peaks of I he loft}' MI. Song rise abO\'e the temple. Today! hey arc largely bar-
ren, but during the period when the monaslel)' was established the en! ire
counlY was cm'ered wilh foreslS.'
I n te rms of its populal ion, wh ich approaches a hundred Illi II ion, I lena n
is t.oday the largest Chinese province. Remm'ed fmm China's prosperous
coast, it is also one of the pooresl.
2
Dusty villages line the road from lhe
ZhengzhoLi ai'l}Ortlo the Shaolin Monastery, The air is heavily pollllled by
coallhal is carried in open trucks from nearby mines. The pm'eny of its sur-
roundings highl ights the Shaolin Monastery's significance for the region's
economy. By the [ale 1990s the temple attracted more t han a million [ourislS
a yea r. The lodging, food, and transpon ation these modem pilgrims ,"equire
spu rred the emergence of a toul"ist industry, which pl ays a m-uor role in
Dengfeng County's economy; the sale of ent!)' tickets 10 t he temple alone brings
in US $5 million annually.'
From the coullly's perspccti\"e, students arc e\'en more val uable than tour
iSIS. Dengfeng is home to some se'"ellly thousand aspil-i ng manial anists, who
sUidy in dozens of fi ghting schools that mushroomed around the monaslery
beginning in the 1980s. Admitling boarding students aged six and up, the
schools oITer a comprehensi,"c martial training coupled with such required
scholastic skills as math, language, and tJl e like.
1
Only a fraction of their pro
specti ve gradualcs arc ordained as Shaolin monks" t.,lost become professional
martial artists, earning a I i\"ing as inst.-uctors of physical education, as soldiers
9
10
Shanxi
Shaolin 0 . Mt. Song
Monastery 0 Dengfeng
Henan
MA I' " Locati on of the Shaoli n Monaslcq'.
Origins of a Tradition
Sbandong
in elit.e military units, or as freelance bodyguards for affl uent bll sinessmen.
Tile \'cry best rna)' be Ilandpickcd for ,l lc Cilincsc nalionallclIm, whereas 01 hers
may Ilopc for a career in Il le film industr),; a1 least one Dengfcng SI udent , Shi
Xiaolong (b. 1988), became an inl crnalionaimovic SIal' before reaching the
age of fifleen. Young Shi has starn.xl in more than len I iong Kong kung I'll
movies, as well as in sc\'cral of h is own t.elevision seri als.
5
The economic bcncfil sof lhc Shaolin Temple arc fell throughollt Il enan ,
nOI onl)' in Dcngfcng Coull ty. I n lhe carl)' 1990s provincial authorities capi-
talized on the monaste ry's ime rn:u ional renown. In association with Shao-
lin's abbot, they init ialed the bie nnial Shaolin Ma nial Ans Festival (Shaolin
wlIsIlll j ie), wll iell is held si mullllneously at t Il e temple and I hc pmvi ncia I cap-
ital. The festival brings to He nan athletes a nd e nthusiasts from around the
globe. It is celebrated in the Chinese national medi a and advertised by the
China National Tour ism Administ ration the world 0\'c r,6
Shaoli n's illlense comme rciali zation pe rplexes some of its devotees, De-
vout Buddhi sts and committed mania I a nists aspire to the sel'enil.Y of self-
c ullimtion. The temple strikes them instead as a mania I arts supermarket
lhat caters to the uninit ia ted. Their di sa ppointment was shared by pilgrims
cen Ul ries ago. As earl y as the Ming pe riod some bclie,'ers \\,(:,'C di st urbed b)'
Shaoli n's excessi"e wealth, wh ich thC)' considered contrary to Buddhist ideol-
ogy. In the earl y se,ellleenth cellllll-y a De ngfe ng County magistrate named
Fu Mei (n. 1610) lamented tha t "Shaolin's lofty mansions and splendid fur-
n ishi ngs a rc remi ni sce nt ofa go"er nme nt official's residence, Truly, the de-
cli ne of the Buddhist teaching is far-reaching, Th inking of thc Buddhist
sages of old, one can onl y sigh deeply!"7
Even though hi s first impressio n ofShaolin was disappointing, Fu was
Thc Monaslcry II
well aware that the monastel-}' made an enormous contribution to the evolu-
tion of Chi nese Buddhism, and-it could be argued-to Chinese culture at
large. I ndeed, he himself proceeded to h' rile a h istory of the temple, tit led-
in reference to lhe peaks abO\'e it-Song Moun/a;" Book (SOIlg ShU).8 I-lis his-
tory includes detailed hiographies of eminent Shaolin monks helonging 10
c\'ery Buddhist sect from Chan to Pure Land. It al so incl udes transcriptions
of Shaoli n stdes, some of h'llich date back to t ile si xtll and seventll cent uries .
The Shaolin Monastel), boaslS a pI-iceless collection of some two hundred
carvcd inscript.ions, wh ich h'erc hcstOh'Cc! upon it by powerful patrons rang-
ing from Empress Wu (I'. 684-705) to the Qi anlong emperor (r. 1736- 1795).
Thcsc provide the h isl.o l-ian with invaluable information on the religion,
cconomy, and go\'cmmcnl of impcrial China.
Fu's book on I hc Shaolin Monaslery "'as ncithcr the first nor the only one.
In its mitlcnnium-and-a-half hislory, Ihc monastcl), has heen celebra1.ed in
countless litcral), compositions, ranging in length from individual poems 1.0
futl-lc ngt h monographs. Empcrors, officials, and pocts have extolled in verse
and prose the bcaut }' of Shaolin's hall s and lowers. The monastery's mastcr-
picces of art make it uniqucly imporliull for the historian of Chinese painting
and sculpture.!I Its Slupa Foresl (Talin) is a treasure of archit ect ll re,
containing more t han \ WO hundred-I he largest !lumber in China- stup<IS
(pagodas). USlIatl y housi ng the cremated re mai ns of emi nell1 monks, these ele-
gant stone st ructures arc inscri bed with important tcxts on the llislory of Ill(:di-
eval Buddhislll.
11I
Why did the Bliddhisl tradition accord Shaoli n such a prominent JXlsi-
tion? What we re the sources of the monastery's weahh? Why did its monks
pract ice t. he ma rl ial arts? V.'e begin our investigation with tile monastery's lo-
cation on t llc slopes of tile sacred Ml. Song.
Sanctity
"I n China, l he mounlains arc d ivin ities, wrote one of the pioneers of Western
sinology.lI Indeed , the Ch inese re li gious tradition has accorded peaks n umi-
nous powers. Chinese pilgl-image siles-regardless ofrcligious affiliation-arc
almost ilwa riabl)' localed in alpine Si wal(.>(1 on the slopes of ML
Song, Ihe Shaolin Monaslery is no exception. The name MSong" docs not al -
lude 10 a single rx:ak, bUlIO an entire ra nge of mountains, which nms cast to
weSl across Dengfeng County. "nl is range's highest c1e\-ations are Taishi in
Ihe eaSl ( 1,440 melers or 4,724 feel alxwe sea le\'eI ) and Mt. Shaoshi in the west
(1,512 melers or 4,961 feel abO'.e sea le\d ). The Shaolin Monastery is nestled
L1nden w.ath the laueI'. lis name probably reflects its location in ML SIU/oshi's
ancielll iin (grO\'e), hence Shaolin.
ML Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sa(l"ed mo un-
tai ns long before the Shaolin Monaslery was founded. As earl y as the first cen-
12 Origins of a Tradition
lUries BCE il was chosen as one .of the Fh-c Hol y Peaks (Wuyuc), which served
as divi ne prOlCClors cflhe Slale.
I
' In accorda nce wit h Five-Phases Cosmology,
t hese deified mOlllllains faced nonh ( ML I-Ieng), south (Mt. I-i eng), east. (ML.
Tai), west (Me I-ILIa), and CClller ( Me Song). In 110 BCE, Emperor I-Ian Wudi
(reigned 140-87 BCE) cl imbed lhe Cemral l-lol y Peak ( Ml. Song) and .offered
sacri flee 1.0 tile mouillain's god. II TIIUS, lie began a tradition I hal lasted tllrough
the sc"cntJI cent ury, wile n Empress Wu pe rfonned \l lcre tile mOSI elaborat.e of
all im perial lcgilimal.ion .-it cs: the fl!lIgshall sacri fiee. On thaI occasion, 1 he e m-
press changed the surrounding COUll t y'S name-as well as her own reign
[ille-I O Dcngfcng ( literall y, "mounting the Jellg [sacrifice],,).' ''
Me Song's significance in imperial c ults \\'as ,'eflected during the first
centuries CE in the sacred geography or tlle e me"ging Daoi st religion. The
mount ain became the object or Daoist pi Igri mages, real as well as imaginary.
Whe reas e mine nt Daoist,s sitch as Zhang Oaoli ng (fl. 142), Kou Qianzhi
(365-448) , and Sima Che ngzhe n (647-735) resided on the mOlllllain.
1fo
mys-
ti cs a rr ived the re without e"er leaving their st lldios, Using as aids ror the
imagi nal ion spi rilual chans such as t he Map oj '/'f Fi tif' Pffl kJ' Tnif' SI/(//)f ( Wit
yllf %Iw// :o.:ing JIUI1I I ll ), they reached the mOllnt ai n by med itatio n. Ea rl y in the
medieval per iod Ille enor mous Daoisl Temple ort he Cent ral Peak (Zhon&'Y1' c
miao) was established on MI. Song. II is among the la rgesl and IllOSt ancie nt
Daoi sl te mples in China. Nowadays il houses monks-and, in a separate
wing, nuns-belongi ng to the Pe rrect Reali zat ion (Quanzhen) SectY
Reli gions te nd to appropriate each other's sacred places Ucrusalcm is
one example). Thus, whe n Huddhist missiona ri es arrived in China in lhe
fi rst centu ries CE, I hey quickl y pe rceived the religiOUS pOlemial or ML Song.
As carly as the third century a Huddhi st monastery was establi shed on the
mountain, wh ich by the ea rl y sixth cent ury reat ured no rewer than six Bud-
dhist te mplesYI Thc mountai n's "Huddhist conquest"' (as BemMd Faure has
termed it) im'oh'ed the creati on ora new mythology, which lied lhe Chinese
peak to the Indian-born raith. It cente red on t he legendary rou nde r or lhe
Chan Uapanese: Zen) School: Hodh idharma.
m
The eighth century witnessed tile flowering or a new school or Chinese
Huddll iSIll , which as ind icated by its na me stressc..xI t ile signi ncance or medita-
tion (dum in Chinese; llll),{ln(l in 5.1. nskl' it). One of t he Chan School's novel
t raits was the belier that the tmth re\'ca!c..xI by the Buddha could be direClly
t ra nsmitted rrom maste r to d isciple. At least in theory. it was no longer neces-
sary 1.0 st udy the scriptures. Instead, the unmediated mind-dharma (xi nftl)
could be handed from teachcr to student. To k-gitimize thi s clai m, Chan mas-
te rs had 1.0 show that /heir mind-dha nna had becntra nsmitted to them through
a lineage going back all the way to the Buddha himself. Therefore. in the
course or the eighth ceIllUI-y, Chan alilhors rur nished their school with a pas\.
They manuractured a genealogy or Chincsc..--and, rurther back, Indian-
pat riarchs who con nected them to the source or the Buddhist raith, W
Chan authors paid particular attention to the patriarch they claimed
Thc Monastcry 13
brought the teach ings from I ndia to China. T iley assigned this role to the ob-
scure Bodhidhanna (Chinese: Damo), ,."hom they \'enerated as the fou nder of
thei r school. I n the course of the lh'elllielh centu ry, Bodhidharma has been
the subj ect of intense scholarl y resealch. Chinese, Japanese, and Western
scholars usually accepl the histor icity of this Indian (or, according to an-
other version, Persian) missional'y, h'ho arri"ed in China around 480 and
propagated the Dharma in lhe Luoyang region until ca. 520. However, schol-
ars are skept.ical as t,o Bodhid harma's rol e in the Chan School (which
emerged at least a cenl.U ry after Ilis deall l). E"en if Bodll iclharma preached a
doct rine that in nuenced Chan thin kers, the at tri bution of the school to him
is considered a legend b)' mOSI
For our puq)ose here, the significance of the Bodhidharma myth is its as-
sociation wit.h ML Song, Dlu' ing the lasl decades oflhe seventh cent u ry, this
mountain became an imporlanl cenl erofChan learning, as eminel}t masters
such as Faru (638-689) and I-I ui an (?-709) look li p residence at the Shaolin
Monastery, Tl lese earl y Cilan practitioners \\'ere prol>.:, bl y responsible for con-
necting Bodhidhanna 10 Ihe Central 1-10 1), Pcak, Z! It \\'as on MI. Song, they
claimed, that the aged Ind ian palriarch (he \\'as said 1.0 be more than ahli n-
dred years old) had t ransmill ed the Dharma \0 his Chinese disciple-the firs t
native pat riarch-l luikC' (ca, 485-ca, 555). ThIlS, Mt. Song Ix:came the sym-
bolic cross ing point be twee n the realm Of l he Buddha and China.
The evolul ion of Sodhi d harma's MI . Song legendscan Ix: traced 1 hroll gh
medieval Buddhist lileralure, In Ihe sixth-centul), Rerort/ OJ BlIlhlltist IHol/os-
tnies il/ Ur)'flllg) ( LuO)'ungqie/un )i) (ca. 547), the saill1 is said to h;we visited
I he cil y, bUI no allusion is made to t he nearby M 1. Song. A ppmxi mal cJ)' a cen-
Iury laler, the Continuation oj the Biogm/)hil':S oj Eminent Monks (Xu COO5ellg
:.11'1/(//1) (645), descr ibes him as act ive in the "Mt. Song- Lllo),ang" region,
Then, in such early eighthcentll ry compositions as the Prerious Rord oj fhe
Transmission (CltlwlIJa bao)i) (ca. 710) Ikldllidhanna is identified
not. mercJ y wit h Ml. Song but more specificall y wit h t he Shaolin Monaster)',
where supposedl y for se\'eral yea rs he faced t he wall in meditation. The I"' re-
ci011S Record al so mentions the u' ials undergone by I-Iuike when, atlile Shao-
lin Monaste ry, he sought Bodhidhan na's instruction. To express his
earnest. ness, Huike cut off hi s arm and offered it to t he Indian patriarch,
who in response led him to
Tang legends are cJaborated upon in Song hagiographic collections. The
ele\'e nl h-cemuryjingrlePeriod Rcol'll oft!!./! 'nllllsmission if/he /1Im/) (jillgrle Chual/-
deng lit) ( 1004) embellishes eighth-cemur)' Bodll idll anna stories with dramatic
detail. It was an icecold night, we arc told, when Huike sought the saint's guid-
ance at the Shaolin Monaster)'. The Chinese disciple stood motionless in the
freezing snow, waiti ng for Bodhid han na's allemion. Then, in a surge of rcJi-
gious zeal , he cut off hi s ann. "My mind is not at peace," lie disclosed. "Please
pacify it for me." '" BI; ng your mind here and I will pacify it for you," replied
Bodhidharma, "I ha\'e searched for m)' mind," I-Iuike conceded, "but I cannot
14 Origi ns of a Trad itio n
find it anywhere ," a t wllich point it h 'a 5 only necessary for Bodhidharma to con-
dude with: "I have nOh' completely p."1cifi cd yOll r mind for yoU."21
Bodhidhanna's association h' iLh Silaolin, \"Ilidl is traceable in canonical
scriptures, is equally anesled to by archaeological evidence at the temple il.-
self. Shaolin sIdes rc \'callhe gradual process by which the Indian saint had
been linked to the Chinese temple. A stele inscripli on dated 728 is earli-
est, 1.0 have Rodhidharma residing on lll! t. Song, a nd another, dated 798, al-
ready has Huikc pe rforming the d ramat ic gest ure of severing his
The n a ple thora of lh in cclllh- and fourlcent h-cenllll' Y SIdes feature the
compicl,c Ill)'! II as it appe ars in slid I Song-pe ri od Il agiograpll ies as tIl e Jingdll
P('riod RecQrd oflhe TmllSIII;,fSioll oflhe Laml), The latt e r is cil ed , for e xample. in
I he follo\\' ing Shaol i n 5\ d e:
Aft er nine yca rs had passed , Bodhidharma wished to return 10 til ( \\'(o's t,
to Ind ia, so hc commanded hi s dis(:iplessaying. -The lime is ncar: ('acll
Of),OlI shou ld SOIY whal you have allai ned ,- At the lime Ihe d isci ple Daofu
rcplied , -As I s('e iI , Ih' funct ion oflhe Dau consists in nut attachi ng 10
scripl u res a nd nOl bci ng apart from scripl ures.- The maste r said, -YOII
h:l\,(' gOll en my ski n.- Thc nun Zongchi said, - My u nderstandi ng now is
Ihal il is like I hejoy of seei ng I h(' Buddha-land of Akljobhya: it is f(!h at
Ihe rirst glance, bUI nOl Ihe second glance,- The master said. hayc
gOll en til )' fl cs h.- DaO)' u said . - The fOllr cleme nt s are at 1'001 e mp ty, and
Ihe fi ve sk(//ulhflS have no exislence: from Ill)' poi nt of d ew, t herc is not a
si ngle d Ii a nlla I Iial cou ld be al I ain('(I.- Ti le masler said . "You h a\'c
gOl I en tIl y bones.- Fi nall y J lui ke, aft er making a prost rat ion, JUSt stood
al Il is place_ Tile ma sle r sa id . - You Ila\'e gOl lell my ma rrow. - 26
In this Song-pe riod texl , Uodhidha rma' s ra nking of h is studellls is ex-
pressed metaphorica l I)': J-Iui ke's si le m a nswe r carns him t he sai 111 's - maITOI'''-'
(sui), namel y, the essence of Bodhidhar ma's leachings. Cclllu ries later Ihe
sa inl 's words we re gi \'e n a rad icall y di ffe re m i nte l-pretation . With lhe growth
of the 511 aol in marlialtradition, the "ma rrow" was ta ke n li tel<l ll y as the name
o f a secret manual- the Marrow-Cleansing Classic (XiSlli jill&1-which Sodhi -
dharma supposed I)' had handed to hi s chosen disciple. Trcasuri ng lhe sai ill'S
arcane g), mnasti cs, t hi s treati se had re mai ned h idde n for more than a mil -
lennium. Then during the s(: \'e mcclllh century it miracul o usly e merged 1.0
innuence t he late imperia l ma rti a l a rts.
Charting the de\'c!opmentofthe Bodhidha rma myth, Shaolin SIdes also
un l<l vcI t.he e \'ollilion of hi s \' isua l re presentations. An e ngraving dated 1209
depicts the barefoot sa int holding a shoe in refe rence 10 the legend of hi s res-
urrection (fi gure I)Y Afte r Bodhidha nna's death, the legend goes, a Chi -
nese emi ssary 1.0 cemral Asia me t the saint, who was walking barefoot and
carr)' ing a single shoe. Bodhidharma expl a ined to the sta rtled diplomat that
he was heading back to hi s na ti\e I ndia. Whe n the e missa ry ret urne d 1.0
Thc Monastcry
FtG. I . The Shoe-Hold ing
Uodhidhal'ma on hi s way .o .he
West ( 1209 Shaoli n s.ele).
China a nd told Ilis stor)" Bod ll idlla rma-s gra\'c was prompt l), opened. It was
rou nd to be empt), except ror thc othc r s h o c . ~ 8
The shoe-holding Bodhid harma became a standard mOlirin Chan an.
Another thineemh-cenuu-), image tha t became ubiquitous showed him rid-
ing a rrag il e stalk across the Ya ngtze Ri,'c r' s might)' wa\'es (figure 2),:!9 Icons
or the Reed-Floati ng Bodh id harma te nd to ponra)' the saim qui le humor-
ousl)' , I-I e spons a beard and an ean-ing, a nd the anist has taken care to
hi ghlight hi s foreign reatures: the large nose a nd bush)' e)'ebrows, This image
betra),s a common Chinese perception orthe sa int as eccentric. The pOl-bel-
lied Maitre), a Buddha, t he d i,' ine down Daoji , a nd the idios),ncralic arhaLS
(l/tollfUl) are all depicted in Ch inese an a nd literature as hoi)' rools, whose di -
vi ni l)' is masked behind an eccentl-ic racade.
50
lfi
FIG, 2, The Rush-Leaf
nodhidha rma on a [624
Shaolin stel e.
Bodhidharma's \'cncrauon at the Shaolin Monastery c ulmi nated in
1125 with the constructi on ofa special temple in hi s honor. Since the patri-
a rch was bdic\'cd to ha\"(: SpCIll most of hi s time in solitary meditation, his
sh rine was built approximately a half-mile northwest of lhe monastery
proper. Commonly known as the hFirSl Patriarch 's Hermitage" (Chuzu an),
it has been prcsclTcd to this da),. Cail ),omamcmcd with reliefs of birds, fish,
and Buddhi st deities, it is considered a mastel"piece of Song stone carvi ng . .11
With the cSlabli shmclll of Bodhidhanna's sh rine. kind of pilgri mage
or sigill-secing emerged 011 ML It included the sites associ-
ated with the saine the Shaolin r"lonaster)" the "First Patriarch's I-i ermitage:'
and-most sacred of all-the Ca\'C whcrc Bodhidharma had supposedl)'
meditated, Since he was said to ha\'c sat motionless for nine years, Bodhi-
dharma's shadow was e\'en impi-inted on the ca\-e's wall, where his image had
Thc Monastcry 17
remai ned visible for centuries." Today visitors to the Shaolin Monastery arc
shown-inside the temple-a large stone ca,' \'ed with the figu re of the medi-
tating sai nt. Supposedl y, this stone was brought to lhe temple from Bodhi -
dharma's cave, whe re his shade had been engra\'ed upon
When Shaolin monks constl"Ucted Bodhidharma's shrine, Chan was
gai ning in popularil)'. Dudng the Song period it became the most influ<;n-
rial school of Chi nese Buddhism. Chan's growing significanc(! elevated ilS
putative founder into a central position in the Buddhi st pantheon. The
sai nt's intimate association with Shaolin had significant implications there-
fore for the monastery's standi ng: Bodh id harma bolstered Shaoli n 's sanct it y.
Haifa mille nnium lat,e r-du"ing tile Ming-Qing transition period-lie also
hecame associated wit h the monastery's manialtradi\ion.
Patronage
Bodllidllat"ma grant ed Slli\olin chal' ism,,; emperors endowed the monasle ry
\\' ith \\'ealt ll . Some thirt y miles north\\'cst of Shaolin, the cit)' of Ll lo)'ang had
served as the scat ofgo\'ernment during milch of the medieval period. It was
capital oft he Eastern Han (25-220), t he \"lei (220-265), the WesternJin (265-
316) , the Nort hern Wei (495-534), and t he Sui (581-618), and it W<lS chosen as
secondary capital by the Tang (618-907). Shaolin's relativc proximit y 10 this
admini strative hub enabled it lO enjoy imperial muniflcencc, sccuring lhe
mon astcry's fortunes.
Tile first pal ron oftllC Silaolin Monaslerywas 1.11Cdc\Uut Empcror Xiaowcn
(1'.471-499), who in 495 transfcrred lhe capital ofllis Northcrn Wei Tuoba dy-
nast.y (386-534) from I)ingcheng (loday's Dalong, Shanxi) to Luoyang. The fol-
lowing year, t he monarch provided the Indian-born monk Batuo with funds 10
establish the Shaolin1cmple. Halllo, also refelTed to in the Chincse sourccs as
Fot.uo, had mel the emperor s(. ... eral rears Ix!fore. He had el"Uo)'l .. 'C1 Xiaowe n's
sponsorship e\'cr since he aITi\"cd in Pingchcng via the silk roUle around
BaLUO was a teache r of Buddhist doctrine as well as a p..'1illlel" of Buddhist
Unde r his able leadership Shaolin became a center of "eligious educa-
tion. The foreign missionary invited experts in monastic law such as l' luiguang
(487-536) and Daoping (488-559) to Shaolin.:J7 I-Ie established there a SUlra
Translation Hall (Fal"Uing Tang), where sixth-century scholars such as Ralnam-
ati (Lenallloti) and Rodhinlci (Putilim.hi ) rendered Sanskrit SCl"ipllll"eS into
Chi nese. Indeed, the fame orShaol in's translation academy wa." such thaI in 645
the great scholar Xuanzang (596-661) asked Elllpcm"Taizong (I". 627-649) ror
permission to reside there. In his petition-which was denied by the e mpcmr,
who wished to keep the eminent monk ncar hilll-Xuan7 . .ang ciu:d the achieve-
ments orBodhiruci as the rcason ror hi s choice orthe Shaolin Monastery.
Shaolin was bUl one or numerous monasteries established by the Nonh-
ern Wei in their new capital. Emperol' Xiaowen a nd Ilis successors ushered in
18 Origi ns of a Tradition
a period of spcClacular Buddhist growth in Luoyang. \Vithin decades of the
coun's being establi shed thel-e , the c ity featured more than a thousand Bud-
dhist temples, whose golden roofs, h 'C are told, dazzled the The gener-
osity with which these temples \\'Cre appointed is vividly rendered in the
contemporary Record oJ But/(lhisl MQlla.sleries i ll LO-Ja"g (547 ):
Pri !lees, dll kes, and ran ki ng officials dOllal cd slich valuable 1 hi ngs as
elephants and horses, as ge nerously as if tll C}' were sl ippi ng from
off thei r feet. The people and wea l! II}' famili es paned wilh .heir
treasures as easily as wit h [orgollen rubbish. As a resuh. Buddhi sT
[empk'S were built side by side, and slllpas rose up in row afl er row,
People compclecl among I hemsc h'Cs in making or copying lhe lluddha's
port rails. Golden siupas mal,chcd Ihe imper ial obsen , ll0ry in lleiglll ,
and Budd h iSI leci urc halls were as magni ficel1l as 1 he ioslel1l aliollsl y
was lef ul l E-bang l Palaces or [hc Qi n dynas ty (221-207 BeE) I, IV
The magnificent golde'H'oored monaste ri es or Luoyang no longer survive, In
534, with the rail or the Northern Wei capital , IllOSt or its lemples \\'(';re de-
stl'O)'ecl. I Jo\\,ever, another expression or I he Tuobas' religious rervor has re-
mained intact. During the same ),ears in \\'hich the Shaolin Monas1.el)' was
established, \\'ork began on what \\'<IS 10 become one or the largcst mon ullle nt s
or Buddhist sculpture in Asia. Thousands or Buddha images \\'Cre carved inlo
the rock at Longmen, on the outskirts or Luoyang. These gigantic stalUcs-
some are more I han twO hundt'Cd r(.'e l tall-still gaze icall)'oUi upon lhe
flowing watcrs or tilC Vi Ril'cr, unarrcCled by tile ravages of Ii me. II
Xiaowen's patronage orthe Shaolin Monaslerywas cominued b), devoul.
emperors or I he rollowing medieval dynast ies. Two notable eX;lInples arc the
Sui emperor We ndi (1',581-601) a nd lhe Ta ng e mpress Wu Zelian (1'.684-
705), The rormcr e ndowed the monaste ry with a IAOO-acre estale, which in-
eluded a water (Ow-ing the medieval period mills were a common
source or monastic income.)' T llc lallcr relt so attached to Silaolin lh;u she
buil l there a ten-storyslupa ror tile dclil'erance ofller mothel"s soul . In addi-
1 ion, the empress graced lhe monaste ry with a poem, which was engraved on
a Shaolin stele. Both can be admired at the monastery to this da)'''1
Tile prosd)' lizing errOrtS or dCI'OUl emperors such as Xiaowen have trans-
rormed central l-l enan into whal could be described as a " Buddhi st L'lnd." To
this da)" the road rrom Shaolin to Luoyang is dotted with villages lhat bear
such Buddhi sl names as Foguang (Buddha's Light ), Some twelve miles fmm
Shaolin, at Xuanzang's natl\'C village, one e ncounters a temple for the famed
pilgrim. Further lip lhe road is lhe cnonnous White Horse Temple ( Baima Si) ,
which, dating back to the EaSlern I-Ian, is reputed to be the oldest Buddhi st.
monastery in China. As one approaches Luoyang, the monumental Buddhist.
caves or Longmen become \' isible. It was within this Buddhist realm lhal, dur-
ing the medieval period, the Shaolin Monaster), prospered,
Thc Monastcry 19
Siwated on a vcncrable moulllain \\ithin rangc of an impcrial capital ,
the Shaolin Templc bc ncfi tcd from sanctity and pat ronagc alikc. Its elevatcd
localion abovc a gmcrnmclllccilleralso had military implications. Thc mon-
aster y cont roll cd thc mountain road leading from Luoyang to Dc ngfcng and
furthe r southcast. Thi s strategic significancc sCf\ed as thc background for
the Shaolin monks' carl icst imohc mc nt in warfarc.
C H A PT ER 2
Serving the Emperor
BUI)I)IIISM I'ROII!II!TS VIOLENCE. Binding the clergy and laity alike, the
fi rSI or I he Five Buddhi st Precepts rorbids ki I Ii ng a I ivi ng being (bl/. sh(l SIIl'lIg).
Tile p rohib ition applies to all sentient beings, huma ns as well as ani mals.
Il owevcr, the mora l burde n or murde r dirrers in accordance with the bcing
involved; killing a big animal is usuall y considered more serious than inj ur-
ing a small one. The murder ora huma n being is the greatest orrense; it re-
ceives Ihe heaviest re tribution in the arterlire, a nd ircommi11.ed by a monk, i1
involves permanent expulsion rrom tile monastic ordel. I
Ti le Buddl list prollibition or violcnce lias lmd significant implications for
the rdigion's alli tude toward war. Buddhism has bccnless inclin<:.'(1 than other
raiths 1.0 sanction wa l-rare. Some except ions notwithstanding, most Buddhist.
authors ha\'e rerused LO condone Lhe social or political obligation orsoldiers 1.0
fight. Unli ke I l indui sm, ror example, which allows rorwarriol'S going to heaven ,
many Buddhist scriptures have them punished in hell. The Buddhist. phi loso-
pher Vasuba ndhu (fl. fi rth century) goes as r ar as to argue thai even ir they arc
PI'CSS U red to figllt , soldiers should nOl do so, ror it is better to die tllan to kil l. In
warrare, Vasuba ndhu emphaticall y states, responsi bility is colk"Clivc, mcaning
that it is shal'Cd- nOl divided-b)' all participants. The soldier who kills and
his comrade who ha ppe ns 1101 to kill arc equally guilty, ror tlley have enlist<:.'"(1
ror the same purpose or
The l'Cligion's objection to war was translated into il5 monastic code. The
Villfl)'fI regulations or all the Ind ian Buddhist schools go into great length 10
prcvem monastic partici pation in warrarc. Monks arc rorbiddcn 10 carry arms
or joi n an army. They are not a1lowcd to fightthemsel\'cs, nor to incite olhcrs
10 fight. Even as passi\'e spectators they arc not ]X:rmiued to cntcr a baulefield,
ror they should neither heal- the sound or war nor witness il5 horrors. Chi nese
biographies or emine nt monks 1'C\'eal specific instances in which they heeded
lhese laws: In -15-1, ClII:labhadra (Qilinaballloillo) rerlls(.--d to take part in Ihe
20
Serving the Emperor 21
milital), operations of h is patron, the prince of Na nqiao, exclai ming Ihat "a
monk should not be in\"oh"ed in wa rfare," and in 645, Xuanzang declined Em-
perorTaizong's invitation to join him on lhe Korean campa.ign, citing the vi)/(l)' (1
interdic tion against. mOil ks entedng lhe bau.lefield" I
Whereas most Chinese monks doubtless obsen 'ed Ihe prohibition of
wa rfare, t here we re some h'ho-despite Buddhist attempts 10 gloss o\'er Ihe
issue-did not. Dur ing the medieva l pel-iod, some monks foughl, bUI infor-
ma tio n on Ihem in Buddhist sources is scarce. Buddhi st aulhors were rel uc-
ta nt 1,0 record transgressions of the monasti c code, preferring 10 ignore
fighti ng monks. The canon's '-ast hi sto,-iograph ical corpus contains only
scanl references to monastic im'oh'ement in \\',\I-f;4I'C. In those rare cases
where Huddh isl paflicipalion in \\'a r is mentioned, it is explained by coer-
cion on Ihe parI of secular authOl-ilies. \Ve arc ,old, for example. Ihal Ihe
fifl h-cenlLlI' Y Northern Liang monks h'ho foughtlhe Northern \Vei invad ers
\\'ere senl forci bl y to bat tle.!>
If \\'e \\'ere to rd y on I hei I' own lest i mony, \\'C \\'ould I hus bc under I he im-
prcssion that mcdieval monks rarel y, if cvcr, fOllght. I-I o\\,evcr, whal Huddhi sl
(\u\l\ol's tend to Ilidc, Ol.l lcr wril crs reveal. The Confllcian compilers of the
Chinese hi storics recordcd wit h reli sh instanccs of Hllddhist involvement in
armed revolts-they proved the dangers inhcrent in the foreign faith, For
the chaotic decade of SlIi: rang transition alone (the 610s) they n01.ed no
fewe r t l\an five rcvol t,s in wllich monks wc re involved. 6 This rebellious act i\'-
ity-oftcn wit h messianic O\'crtones- continlled \\'ell into the Tang pcriod
(618-907), In 815 a monk named Yuanjing (ca, 735- 8 15) from a monastery
acljacell t to Sllaol in, the Monastcry of I.II C Central Peak (Zllongyue si), played
a leading role in Li Shidao's (?- 815) attempted coup d 'etat. When the revolt.
failed, Ylial-ui ng was subjected to the customary ton ure. A soldier tried to
break hi s shinbones wi th a sledgehammer, but for some reason failed , The
fierce monk the n olTered assistance by spl'eading hi s legs, at the same ti me
sneering scornfull y: "YOli can' t e,"en break a fell ah 's shi n, and you c'llI )'our-
selfa tough guy, bahl"' 7
And the n t here is archaeological evidence. Late Tang man uscripts di s-
covered a1. the famed D unhuang Cm"es in Gansu re\'eal t hat mon ks had taken
an aCli ve role in fighting along China's nonhwestern borden . Dun huan g
monks we re d l-afted for mi litaly service under Chinese and Tibetan r ul e
One manusCl"ipt, for examplc, d iscloses t hat monks played a
role inlhe "Return to Allegiance A ... (Cuiyijull) which, under the com-
mand of t he Ch inese ad,"elllurer Zhang Yichao (fl. 8,1jO), brought Turfan
under Chi nese rule.!)
As to Shaoli n, its martial aspect is first attested to by another archaeolog-
ical source: epigraph)'. Engra,"cd steles dating from t he medieval peri<xJ re-
cord at least two instances in which Shaoli n monks resorted to arms: The
fi rst was in l he last years of the Sui d)' nasty (ca. 610), when they warded ofT an
a!Jack by bandi ts. The second was approximately a decade later, when they
assisted Emperor Li Shimin (600-649) in the campaigns leading 10 the
founding of lhe Tang dynasty (618-907), Thei r heroic assistance 10 the dy-
nasty earned Shaolin monks property d ghts that the steles were erected to
safeguard,
The signi fic."1nce of Shaol in's III il itary service to lhe Tang should be eval-
uated in tile context of lhe d)nasty's Buddlli st policies, Unlike rulers of the
preceding Nonhern \-Ve i and Sui dynasties, -Tang empemrs for lhe most
pan did not, exhi bit milch enthusiasm for Buddhi sm,"'u Devout Buddhist
monarchs such as Empress Wli not\\' ilhstanding, Tang history was marked by
auempts t,o curb the economic and political clout of the Buddhist chu rch.
These auemplS culminated, under EmperOl' \Vumng (reigned 841-846), in
a purge of t.he Buddhist fait h; hundreds of monasteries were dest royed
and thousands of monks forcibl y ret urned to lay life, Following thi s religious
persecution, Chinese Buddh ism ne\'er reco\'en::d the institutional strength il
had in medieval t.imes.
If it we re not for Shaolin's mi lit al-y contri bution to the dynasty's found-
ing, the monastery might have fared like cou ntless others that at best re-
ceived no government support and at \\'OI"SI were demoli shed, 13)' conlrast,
Ihe Shaolin stele inscriptions att est t.hat the monks' assistance to Li Shimin
earned I hem I he pat mnage of hi s successors, many of whom were far from
sympat.hetic 1.0 the faith . Evident.ly, the monks' disregard of the Buddhi st
prollibition of violence secured t.hei r monastery's fortunes under the Tang.
The Shao!in monks' heroic assist.ance to Li Shimin was not recorded b)'
Buddlli st. II istorians, wllo we re doubt.less disconcerted by it. Ind(."ed, itw:t s en-
graved in slonc at t hc monastery not to i nfi ucnce the behavior of fUl u re Bud-
dhists, but. to remind Tang officials of their indebtedness 1.0 the monasl.ery.
As such, the Shao! in inscr ipl ions cxcmpli f)' the sign ificance of epigraph)' as
a sourcc for Buddl l iSl h isto,' iography. Cregor)' Schopen lias observed that in
tile Indian case, "i nSCl"iplionai malc,' ials tells LI S not what some I iterate, cd u-
cated Indian Buddhisl wrole, but what a fai rl y large lltllnlx:,' of practicing
II 1-1 is insight is applicable 1.0 China: Shaolin steles re-
veal a st.ory untold in Chincse Budd hist hi storiography, one of Buddhi st
monks who sen'cd an emperor on the battlefield.
The "Shaolin Monastery Stele" of 728
More t.ha n a hundred engra\'ed stdes embelli sh the Shaolin Monastery,
monuments that span the entire histo.' )' of the monastery. Wllereas the ol d-
est ones date from the sixth and se"enth centu ries, new ones are continu-
ously bei ng carved. In 2001 , a Shaolin inscription was dedicated by the
best-selli ng novelistJin Yong (1924-), whose martial arts fiction extolled the
monastery's heroic lore, Within the bewildering array ofShaolin SlOne docu-
ments, lhe so-called "Shaoli n Monaster), Stele" ("Shaolin si bei") of 728
stands out as the gem of the entire colleClion, Thi s large monumem-ll, 3
feel tall and 4,2 feet wide-has been SllIdied by generations of scholars,I2 It is
engraved with seven d ifferellllexls, \\'tlich \\'ere authored between 621 and
728, Despite thei r d h'erse dales, the se\'en texts all concern the contrihution
of Shaoli n wa rriors 1,0 one of the earl y Tang military campaigns,
When in 618 Li Yuan (566-635) (Emperor Gaozu) proclaimed in
Cllang'an the eSlabli sllmenl of a neh' Tang dynasty, lie was far from tIle only
conl ender 1,0 the throne of the defunct Sui dynasty, Before Tang rule was
fi rm I y eSI,abl ished , Li Yuan had lO o\'crcome se\'eral mil itary leadeI'S who vied
for power. One was the Sui genera l Wang Shichong (?-621), who in 619 d e
da red llimself emperor ofa new Zheng dynasty, Wang, like his Sui predeces
SOl' S, established hi s capi tal at Luoyang and at the height of his power
conI rolled vi rlual lyall of I-len an Provine-e,
Li Yuan's second son, Li Shimin (600-649), \\'as charged with the war
against Wang. At the time, Li Shimin was titled Pl' ince of Qin (Qin Wang),
Fi ve years lat er, aft er a successful coup in \\'hie-h he eliminat ed his ci der
brother, he \\'as to succeed his father to the imperi althronc, As an cmpcror,
Li Shim in laid thc founda tion for Tang ci vil bu rea ucracy as wcll as thc d)' nas
IY's military might. He rationali zcd thc administration, implcmcnt ed a new
legal code, and led the Tang army to unparalleled military vict.ories in cen
Iral Asia. In the traditional hi slori es, which refcr to him by his posthuTlloll s
temple name of Taizong, Li Shimin's rcign is por traycd as a golden age of
civil virtue and military migh1.
1s
Li Shimin's wa r against Wang Shichong lasted al most a ycar, f!'Olll Au
gusl 620 1.0 Junc 621. Li inSlruCted his generals to refrain from attacking
Wang's capital ollt ri ght. [n$lead, lhe), we re 10 disrupt lhe food suppl y 1.0
Luo)'ang b)' occup)' ing strategic j unctions a long t he walel'ways lcading to it.
Onl)' afler sc\'cral months o f fi ghting did Li Shimin gmduall y lighten hi s
siege of Luo)oang, wh ie ll by t ile spring of621 was I'cduccd 1.0 fa minc,
AI. this point another Sui rebel , Dou Jiande (?-fi21), came 1.0 Wang
Shic. hong's rescue. Dou, who had cstabl ishcd his powcr b .. 'l sC in thc Shan-
dong-I-I ebei border n,--g ion, feared that a victory by Ta ng forces would be det-
rimental to hi s own impCl'ial ambitio ns. Therefore he accepted Wang's plea
\.0 form at least a temporal' y alli ance agai nst t he Ta ng, and in May 621
marched his arm)' towa rd Luo),ang, Li Shimin decided to confT'Ont. Do uJi-
anele first and deal wit h Wang Shichong later. On May 28 he personall), led
his armies to a great ViCIOl' y m'er DouJi ande at t he strategic pass of I-iulao,
some sixl)' miles nonheast of Luoyang (map 2), Following Do u's defeal.,
Wang Shichong had no choicc but to sUl'I'e ndcr, and onJune 4, 621 Luoyang
fell imo Li Shimi n's hamls , Shonly a fterwards, DouJiande was executed and
Wang Shichong was murdered o n his route into exi le.
11
The "Shaoli n Monastery Stele'" re\'eals t hat Shaolin monks participated
in Li Shi min's campaign against Wang Sh ichong, The texts inscrilx.:d on itat-
test that shortl ), before the J-Julao victOI')', Shaolin monks defeated a contin-
24
May 23rd, 621: Shaolin
monks capture Wang
Shichong's nephew, Renze
May 28th. 621: Li Shimin
June 4th, 621 : Wang Shichong defeats Wang Shichong's
surrenders to Li Shimin aJly, Dou li andc
i--
Yell ow River
Hulao
Luo River
Luoyang(e
+
Baigu Estate 0
.&. MI . Song
Shaol inO
Monastery
o Dengfcng
1\111 I' 2. Shaoli n 's cont ribu[ ion to Li Shimin's campaign against Wa ng Shicho ng.
gent of Wang Shichong's army lhal occupied the strategic Ml. I luan)' ua n,
whe re the monaste ry's C)' press Va ll e)' ESlate (8 aigu zhuang) was situated
(map 2). Morcow:: r, the monks lOok Wa ng Sh ichong's nephew, Wang Rc nzc,
capli\'cY" In gralillldc, the fmlLl"c e mperor Li Sh imin bestowed upon the m
allew the estate they had libc rmcd a nd appointed one of them general-in-
ch icf (Da Jitlllgjun) in his anny.
The sevcn texts inscribcd on the Monastery Stele" include a
history or t he monaste ry, a lcue rortha nks rrom Li Sh im in, and several Tang
legal dOClImellls . They shed light on the monks' military activities rrom di r-
rcrCIll angles:
Text 1: Pei Cui's Shaolin Monastery History
The longest of the sen: n texts inscri bed on the Stele"
is a detailed h islOI-Y or the monaste ry, authored in 728 by a prominent oHicial
in Emperor XlIallZong's (r. 7 12-755) gO\-e rnme nt, minister or personnel (Libu
Serving the Emperor
,>
"
shangs hu) Pei Cui (ca. 670- 736).16 Pei a lludes to t\\'o insta nces in which Shaoli n
monks resorted to ar ms, the first in the last r ears ofl.he Sui Dynasty. when t heir
monaster y was attacked by band its, a nd the second approxi mately a decade
lat.er, when t hey pa rtidp.u ed in Li 5h imin '5 \\'<U' agai nst Wang Shichong:
Duri ng t he rears of t he Daye reign pe ri od (605-616) the empire
disi nt egrated. Ba nds of robbers plundered I he po pulat ion. clergy and
Jaily ali ke. Th is (5haolin) pillaged by roving bandi!.s. The
monks resisted them, whercupon Ihc bandilS SCI firc and burned the
slllpas and courtya rd. Wit hin an inSla nl alll hc buildings in thecourl
perished in the flames. Only Ihc Spiril Silt pa ( Li ng!;l) \' isible
afar, as lofty as c\cr. The heavcnl y beings proleclN"1 it. The moul11ain
spirits blessed it. What d ivine powcr was ablc 10 accomplish l in I his
easel surpassed anythi ng known beforc.
Fift y Ii (approximately se\enleen miles) 10 monastery's norlh
west is t Il l.' Cypress Vallcy Est at e ( Ba igu slm). Crowded peaks are arrayed
t Ilerl'" toget her. Deep vallcys cun c to and fro. Piled up stone ste ps lead
to til('" clouds' edge. It ov(' ri ooks the imperial capi lltl (Luoyang). It s
highl'"st peak reaches tlte sun. Its slopes preside O\er the birds' roule.
Duri ng t ll eJin period (26:)-'120) a fOri (WII) was bui lt there. During Ihe
Qi period (479-502) it sen cd as the sile ofa cOlllmande r), (fUll). When
Wa ng Chong (Wang Shichong) llSur pe d Ihe impe ri alt it Ie he eSI ab-
I ished t here a prefect u rc called Yuanzhou. Taking :lcl\'a111 age of t he
sire's strategic location , Ilc placcd tllcrc a signal rO\\'er as well as troops.
II e assembled an a r my at Luoyi (Luoyang), and was plallllillg to sci 7.C
t he Budd hist Temple (Shaoli n).
Tile august Tang dynast), resonates Wil lI Ille Imlcyon days ordained
b)' the five phases. It is bh.'sscd wi th the grand mandate ofa thousand
)'cars. It wipes out t. he calamities caused b), Ihe evil tyrant's insatiable
avarice. I t delivers t he people from disaslCrs of extreme adversit ),.
Emperor Ta i7.0ng Wen huang [ Li Sh imi nl m;tiesl icall), arose at Tai ),uiln. 17
I lis arlll)' enGI mped at Guall brwu. 18 I Ie o pened wide r lie commanding
officer's tent [for counselors' ad,icej. I Ie pe rsona II )' led his troops.
Til e man ks ZII icao, Il uiyal1g. Tanzong. and Ille otllcrs cXamiLH.-'(i to
which of the contend ing par r ies divinc gracc was d irc..-'Ctcd. Thc),
rea Ii zed who dl..'Served hym I1S of pra ise. Tl lc), led t ile muh.itudc in
fi ghti ng t. he rebel a rmy. They petiti oned the empc ror to cxpress their
complete submission. They captured [Wang ShiJ chong's ne phew,
Renze. tile reby pledgi ng tllei r allegiance to tll is dyn'lSlr.
Taizong commended t he monks' loya lt )" and couragc. l ie rcpeat-
ed Iy issued official docu ment.s expressing II is suppon lof tllc Shaol in
:\ionasler yJ. lie graced t.l le monks wi tl l a ro),al leuer of praise, allhe
same t.ime t hat he patronized the monasler},wit h imperi al almsgiving.
l ie bestowed on the monaslcl1' fOri)' qillgof land Lapproxi matel), 560
acres], and a wate r mill. These constit me the Cypress Valley Estate
(Baigu zhuang). I'J
Pei's history highlights lhe significance of Shaolin's Cypress Vallcy
(Bai gu) Estate as the localion, lhe cause, and the reward for thc monks' par-
ticipation in Li Shimin's campaign. tl.kdieval monastic estates were usuall y
sil.Llated not in the int.ensely cuhi,'aled all uvial plains bUI ralher in the high-
lands. In addi tion to arable lands, lhey compl' ised -woods, copses, past ures,
mountain gardens, and Shaoli n farm was no exception. Be-
stowed on 1.lle monaster)' b}' the Slli emperor \Vendi (YangJian) (r, 581-601),
Ille es tate was localed soul.l leasl of Luoyang, al tile ,,'estern edge oflhe Song
mountain range (map 2). t' The sleep Winding Palh Mountain (I-luanYl.lan
shan)-so named because of I he cllt"'ed trail leading to its peaktt-towel"l.!d
alxwe l ile estal e. "Crowded peaks arc arrayed there toget Iler," writes Pei Cui .
uDcep valleys curve 10 and fro. Pi led up stone steps lead to the clouds' ed ge,
I I O\'edooks I he imperi al capil al 1 LlIoyangJ ,"
The eSlale was named afl er a deep valley, lined with cypress trees, which
ran across il. The road from Luoy:tng 10 Dengfeng pass(:.'(l lhroli gh this vallcy,
which was so narrm ... and overgrown with trees that according to nl(.'(lie"al
sou rces, vehicles could nOI turn around in i1.
2
' Thus, Shaolin's estale com-
manded a crucial pass on the road 10 the eastern capital. Indeed, its militlll)'
significance had been recogni zed cellluries before it was bestowed on the
monastery. As early as IheJin period (265-120), a fort (11111) was establi shed at
Cypress Valle)" and it was I hc sile of bilter "'<II' fare alllhrough the scventh cen-
t.u ry. To t hi s day lhe local village is named Cypress Valley Fort (Baigu wu),
The sl.rategic significance ofShaolin's C),press Valley Estale explains wh)'
bolll Wa ng Shichong and Li Shimi n were eager to capture i1. Pci Cui empha-
sizes lhat \Yang u100k adva ntage of lhe lesu\te 'sl straa!gic localion" (rllillgqi di
xifln) , placing a signal lower and lroOpS there. In addition, Ihe Sui rebel em-
ployed Cypress Valle)' for local admi ni slration. I-Ie establi shed a county Sellt
the re named, li ke l he mountain aoo,'c il, It was this military and
admi nisl rali\'c celller that lhe Shaolin monks conquered, earning Ihe grati-
wde of the futu re Tang emperor.
Pei Cui docs nOl allude 10 a Tang gm'em ment request that the monks con-
from Wa ng Shichong. I-lis chronicle suggests that it was theil initiative to auack
the Sui rebel. The monks certainl), resented Wang, who had robbed them of
thei r eHale. J-1owe\'er, strong as lheir resentment was, political calculations also
contribuled lO lhei r milital-), aClion, Pei notes that "monks Zhicao, I-Iui yang,
Tanzong and the others examined to which of the contending panics di vine
grace was The Shaoli n clerics probabl)' did nOl debate the respective
spiritual mel;t.s of the Tang rulers and Wang Shichong, but rather who was
more likely lO wi n the wa r. I-lad lhey wagered on the wrong pan)' this would
have been deu-ime ntalto their monaster}'_ Instead their choice of the Tang dy-
nasly guaranteed the prosperit )'oflhe Shaolin Temple for centuries 10 come_
Serving the Emperor '17
Whal could ha\'e befallen the monaSlery had its monks made the wrong
decision is suggested by e\'enlS thallook place more than a millenni um later.
In lhe earl y twe nt.iclh Ce llltll)' Shaolin mon ks became e mbroiled in the war-
lords' fe uds that swept lhe north China plains. They sided with General Fan
Zhongxiu (1888-1930) against Shi Yousan (l 891-HHO). As a boy, Fan had stud-
ied the martial arts allhe Shaol in tI,'(onasle r y, fot-wli ich fe ason, presumably, its
monks le nt him thei r support. The re sul ts \\'ere disastrOliS. Fan was defeated,
and on March 15, 1928, Shi sel fire 10 the monasle r)" deslfoyingsome of ilS an-
cient. lowe rs a nd halls. The names pal"lia ll y damaged Ihe Monastery
St.ele," whic. h recorded Ihe po l ilicall y aSI ute choice made by 0\ her Shaolin cler-
ics fifteen hundred yea rs
Text 2: Li Shimin's letter of May 26,621
Li Shimin himself confinned Ihm Shaolin monks had cont,ibll1.t.'()to his
campaign. On May26, 621 , three da)'s a fl e rl he Illonkscapt ured Mt. (-( uanyuan, 2/j
Li Shim in addressed the m a leIt e r of tha nks. Li "'as in lhe field. pre paring his
troops for the shO\\'do\\' n with Dou J iande IwO days later. Presumably he d ic-
taled the leller to one of his secreta ri es. The Prince ofQin did sign the le11.e r
t hough, a nd his autograph was late r copied onlo I he Shaolin stele (figu rc 3):2')
[ FROM [: The De fe nder-i n-Ch id, Direclor of I he De pa rl men! of SI ale
Affai rs, Direelor of Ihe Branch Deparlme ms of Slate Affairs in the
Shaa ndong Ci reuil and Ihe Yi zhou Cireui!, MClropoli tan Governor of
Yongz hou. Mml:1I1' Marquis ofl he Len and Ihe Ri ghI. Gcncral-in-Chief.
Area Commander in CII ief Com miss ioned wil ]I EXI raordillary Powers
FI G. 3. Li Shimi n's amograph Shi min as
copied 01110 lhe 728 Shaolin slele.
for Liangzhou, Supreme Pi liar of Slal e (slumg .. /lIIgUQ), Prince of Qin,
l Li J Shim in,
To: The Cypress Valley Fon ( Baigu WlI) Shaolin MonasTery's Dean
(slwlIgZllo). and Abbot (shllll), and their di scipl es, as well as 10 The
military and civilleadcrs, orficers, common people, and Ihe rest:
Recently, lhere has been chaos under hem'cn. in 1 he
land is there a lord, and Ihe world is fallingapan. The Way oflhe
Three Vehicles (Buddhism) is decl i n ing. This has caused Ihe
J ambud\'ipa (Yanfu) Continent to di sinlcgnllc. \\'arhorses sweep
through the land . The Central Kingdom is boiling, and the devils
arc all contending.
Th is cOLIn [I he Tang dynast yl hm. ["('ech'ed 1 he hean-nl y omens
of gm'crn men!. II upho[cl .. Ille correCI Buddllisl I rUlh. Riding 111('
phoenix and lurning Ihe wheel (11111; Sanskrit; wkm), it glorifies the
Greal Treas ure lof I he Buddhisl fail hI. Th('refore, vir1l1e will r('adl
I he common folk, educal ion wi ll i nSI rUCI I he monasl ic com munit y.
Thus, I he people will e l'ti0Y Ihe grace of release from slIrfering, and
a II wi II be favored wil II I he b(' llefil S of I lie oilIer shore.
Wang Shichong llsurped o lh('r peopl("s position. dared
oppose I he heavenl y I'd nciples. I Ie cO\'elcrl I he Dharma-Realm
(Shaoliu's Cypress Valley [slale). I Ie acted recklessly,
ti le laws of Karma.
Now, I he winds of \'inlle arc blowing far, and the Ix!acon of
wisdom is glowing ncar. Tile Buddilisl ciglll fold palll
50
is beillg
opened, and Illrougllolit ti le land Il le Buddilisl sancl uaricsare bdllg
restored. Shaolin's Master of Il le Law (jaslll), tOb1C1 Iler with the other
monks , deeply comprcllended Il le dlanging circulllst:ulces alld
adapled 10 Illem. Tile monks imllu . .'dialci y rcali 7.cd wllicit actiol1 would
yicJd I he Budd hisl fnl it. and I hey succcc<i(.'d in drawing au cxcellent
plan. ' lob1Clher, I he), returned to the Earthly Paradise (fllrl,). "111ey
caplured thaI evil bastard (Wang's nephew. Renze). and the),deansed
the Pure Lomd (jinglll). The resu Its of thei r respectful obsen';mce and
exprc.-'Sst'd loyalt ), have become known at courL Their way of a1t;lin-
menl and selr-cultivation adds further glory to their Buddhist temple.
We heard [ofShaolin's contribution] with pleasure and
apprecial ion. It surpasses imagination and words. The monastery
s hould be supported, and it s mon ks generoll sly rewarded. Rega rd-
less of cha nging circumstances. Lhe mon,lSler y should be providtxl
with fixed income.
The crisis all.he easl.ern capiLaI will be rt.-'Solvcd shonly. AI the
same lime we should urge pt:.'Ople 1.0 exert the mselves and make a
conlribution, so lhal Lhey provide exampl e to f UI lire generations.
Everyone should peacefully resli me his previous \'ocation, fon .... er
e1'tioyi ng hea\'en I)' blessings.
Serving the Emperor
Therefore I am sending to you the Supreme Pillar of State, the
Dynasty-Founding, Commandell' Duke of Deguang, l Li J Anyuan
t.o express my appreciat ion. YOLI may send one or two
commanders who made a contribution, so that I meet them. I will
elaborat e no more.
TtlE T III RTIETII OF Til E FOURTII '- IONTII [of the Wude reign
period fourt h year] 261 h,
29
On t,he face of il, Li Shimin's lcuer expresses nothing but gratitude, In
ornat. e parallel prose, charactcristic of his later ,,'ritings, ,,, the Prince ofQin
elaborat.es on t he monks' courage and loyalt y, "' hich, he promises, would be
ampl y rcwardcd. I-I owc\'er, a closct' rcad ing reveals a subtler tone in the
princc's dispat,rh. Evcn as he was prai sing thcir heroic spirit. Li Shimin
warncd thc monks to desist from furthcr mil itat' y action, sho uld
pcaccfully resume his prcvious (g-e (11/ j iu Je) is a reminder to the
Shaolin clCl'ics that III1'ir\'ocaliotl is Buddhist learning, The Prince ofQin,
\\'ho \\'as absol ut.el}' certain of his coming crisis at the castcrn
capilal ," he writ es, "will be rcsol\'ed shortl y"-",o.\ s preparing for peace, in
which context he could not to leral e the unauthorized military activities of
Buddhi st clerics. Thus the fu ture empcror's lcltcr scrvcd a dual purpose, si-
multancous\)' pra ising a nd rcstrain ing lhc Shaol i 11 monks,
Text 3: The Prince's Donation of 625
In Ili s leuer of May 26, 621 , Li Silimin \'Owcd to rcward thc Shaolin cler-
ics. "Regardless of changing circulll slllnccs," hc not cd , monaslery
should be providcd with fl xcd Four ycars latcr, on March 28,625,
the Prince of Qin fulfill ed Ilis promi sc and endowcd t ilC monastcrywith thc
Cypress Valle), Estate. Previously, undcr the Sui regimc, this samc cstatc had
already bccn bestowcd upon thc monaster),. Howcvcr, following the Sui dis-
integration and t he war againSl Wang Shichong, ilS lands \\'CI'C conflscatcd
by lite Tang regi mc. In ordcr for thc Shaolin monks to eruoy it, thc cstate
had t.o be confcrrcd upon them anew,
Tile prince's donation should be evaluatcd in tile comext of his Ilostilil.), to
the Buddlt iSl faith. On J unc 5, 621 , a da)' after hc captured Luoyang, Li Shimi n
decreed the closure of all the Bliddhistmonasteries in the eastern capital and
lhe dispersal of the ci ty's cmire clergy, with the exception of sixt), eminelll.
mon ks and nuns. 'I There is some evidence tllat tllis blow to tile cJltIrcJl was al so
fell outside of Luoyang, where the administration proceeded toconf,scate mo-
nastic property and defrock the d erg)'. '5 In 622, the Shaolin Monastery itself
was closed and its monks sem home under the pretext that its lands had lx.:en
illegall y aC'luired. The monastery was allowed to reopen two years later only
lx.:cause of the mil itary service it had rendered t he dynasty. :56
After he became emperor, Li Shimin's antipath), to the church did not
abate. Even lhough he was caref 1I1 not to sti,-opposition by an outright suppres-
sion of the religion, Li Shimin did issue a series ofunprccedcmcd ami-Buddhist
laws. In 629 he ordered the execlition of illegally ordain cd monks. in 631 he for-
hade monks and nuns from receiving the homage of their parents, and in 637
he decreed that Daoisl pdesls be giw:n precedence o\'cr Buddhist monks in all
slate ceremonies.
51
In his lalcr years, lhe e mperor did befriend one Buddhist
monk, the renowned pilgl'im Xuanzang (596-fJ6<I). I-Iowc\'cr, he sought Xuan-
zang's counsel pi-imal' il y on forei gn affairs rather than on spiritual mal1.crs.
During his ccicbral(."(ljourn(.l' 10 India, Xu."lIlzang gaint.,(\ an in-de pth knowl-
edge of weste rn lands, for Wllidl rcason lhe emperor implored ilim (unsuccess-
full y) t.ojoin his adminiSl ..
Li Shim in's pat.ronage of lhe Silaolin r,,!onastery therefore was the ex-
ception rather than Ihe rule. It resulted nOI from pious sentiments. which
the emperor had rarel y harbored, bUI fmm hi s obligation 10 reward Ihe
Shaolin monks for their mililary support . The emperm"s disdain of Ihe Bud-
clh iSI fail h underscores I he signi fi cance of Shaol in's mi I itary aCI i"il ies as I he
key to I he monast cry's prosperil y. 1 n a el i male of host il it y toward I he church,
Ihe military assistance the monastery had rendered the emperor was Ihe
on Iy assu rance of ils wdf are.
Li Shimin's donal ion to the monastery took the form of an order, which
lias atl ract.ed 1.lle al t.enl ion of legal Ili storians. As Niida Noboru has sllown ,
Tang period legal \'ocabulary distingui shed between o rders according 10
which person issued them. An emperor's order was 1enned lillg (';com-
mand "), an imperial pri nce's jiao r i nSlruclion "), and so fort h. Si nce Li Shi-
min's donal ion was issued when he was still a prince, it was 1 itled nSI ruct ion."
As inscribed on t.he "Shaolin Monastery Stele," 1his "instruction" includes
not onl)' Li Shimin's original command, but also lhe conlillunication of the
officials who carried it OUl.
1O
The monks' deci sion t.O engl'<l\'e in stone the prince's donatio n was not.
unique. During the Tang. as wel l as in later pel' iods, it was common practice
to inscribe letters of patronage on steles. Such inscriptions, oftcn sped fyi ng
the cxacllocation and sizc of the bequeathed land, were imcnded to protect
the donation from inf.-ingemelll .
lI
Occasionally, the insCl'iption included
cu rscs on any f ullire violators. In Shaol in's casc the i nscriptioll sped ned lha1.
in addition to fOrly qing (a pproximately 560 acres) of land, thc monaslery
was g ranted a WaleI' mill (slwinilln), which must have contributed to in-
come. During the medicval period, monasteri es charged ! "Cnt fees (usually
in nour) on the usage of their
Text 4: The Official Letter of 632
The legal woes surrounding Shaolin 's Cypress Valley Estate did not end
wit h Li Shim in's donation of625. As ead y as 626, Shaolin's pmpel"ly became
the subjecl of a lawsuit which concerned its sii"-c (fony !Jillgor one hundred
qillg) and legal status (should it be classified as "personal share land " (kouJen
lia n) or as "permanent monastic propen)'" (dIm/gUm slmgl illll. The case is
summadzed in a n offlci al leller (lie), signed by t hc Dcngfcng County vicc
magistrate, a nd d atcd J tl ly 21 , 632.
The official lettcr of 632 en l' ichcs Oll r undcrstanding of thc war thai prc-
ceded it by clevcn years. In order 10 assess thc monastcry's propcrty rights,
De ngfcng County orficials cxamined its military record. As conscient ious
judgcs (a nd h istori a ns), thcy gathe rcd all thc documents pcrtaining 10 the
mOil ks' pan icipa.tion in Li Slli min's campaign. TilliS, 'IK1' asccrt.ained I he d ate
(May 23, 621) ofl hc monks' C}' prcss Va lley victory, thcy \'cri fled Ihal one monk
(Ta nzong) I\'as rCI\'ardcd by appointment as a general-in-eh ief ( lJa JiOllgjllll) in
Li 's a rmy, a nd the)' collected Icsti monics of t hc monks' mi lilar), aCI ion:
Following t Il is test imoll)', wc coniac ied Yanslli Leotl nl },J b}' di spalC"h, asking
t hem to r:ross-<Illest iOIl LLiuJ Wengchong and rec-cinxl a re porl from I here
to the effl'ct that the}' had followed lip Li u L Wengl chong for questioning.
Wl' rct:eived a report to the effec:t thal:-The fac l iltal previously, in Ihe
IOlirt h mont h of Wilde 4 621), I hc monks ofShaolin
turned II [lanzholl ove r to [(,giti m:uc rul e iSI('rifled ... -
Wl' went on to lind Li Chang}' un and Ille olilcr man C"olKerned and
qlll"stiolled them. We are in recei pl ofa doculllel1llO the effecl lhal
I heir test imoll )' corroborated that of I lilli Wengchong.
We fu rt hl'r q lIes l ioned Sengyan and his fcl low monks if as I hey say
the monks ofShaolin I rcccillx l awards for I he me ril I he),
showed in their act iOIl of relurning Itlle fOrt ressl lo k"gilimal(! rule, why
nOI hing was known ofl ll e monks rct:cil' ingofrlces. III the testimony
lrcgarding Ihis maller ll ll c), staled :
mon ks , previolls ly 011 Ille I WCll t ),-se\'cIl III (hi)' of t he fourt II
morlth ofWude 4 23, 621) o\'ert ook Ihe fort ress and submilled il 10
the Sl ale. 0 n I he I h ir t iet h day of the sa me monl II ( May 26), we were
Ii oll ored lu receive a lelle r cont ain ing a decree I Ilanking us for our
efforl s. T il e lelle r conI ain i ng til is decrt .. '"C is Sl i II exl anI. F urt Ilermore, in
I.hc scmnd monlh ofWude 8 (625), we recei\'ed a decree rcturning forI),
qing of monastic b mls. The leller cont.a ining I II is decree is a lso exta 11t.
At I hat I ime, awards of offices we re con fe n'cd on some monks, bUI the
mon ks un I)' w<lnled to pursue I.l le rei igious I ife, to foll ow the
way a nd huld religious services 10 recompense tire fa\'or accorded by the
state, su the), did not pres LUne to take up those official pOSIS.-
The LShaoli nl Monaste ry monk, Tanzong, was awardc.."tl lhe title
genera I-i n-dl ief ( Da J iangj un); Zhao Xiaoza i was awarded the tiUe
upper prefecture officer [d ignifled-as-genera l-in-clriefJ; and Li
Changyu n IV".lS aW;lI'ded the tille d ign ified -as Lgene ral-in-chie f j. II
he is still here today.
Furthermore, we ha\'e obI ai ned the imperi al decree, the l prinCt!'sJ
inst ruction, the cer tificates of land-ret urn 10 t he monks, e lC. ' Ve have
examined and ver ified t hem.
15
32 Origi ns of a Trad itio n
Texts 5 and 6: The Emperor' s Gift of 724
The Shaolin monks' assistance to Li Shimin guara ntc(.xi the m the supJXlrlof
his successors. A hundred years aner lile C}'PI1':SS ValleyviclOry. the Tang e mperor
Xuanzong (r. 712-755) 1><:5to\\'cd upon lhe Shaolin r.,!onaslcry a caption in his
own calligraph}' for the "Slmolin Monaslcl), Stele" (fi gure 4). This symbolic an of
pat.ronage created a link bClh'Ccn Xuan7..ong and his \ocner.l ble ancestor Li Shi-
min, whose [cuer 1.0 lhe Shaolin monks was to be cngra\'(.'"d on the same stele.
Two brief officiallc ue rs (lie), \\'hich \\'ere t hemselvcs \ 0 be inscribed on the
Silaolin stele, announced li le beslOwal upon lile monastt!l'y of Emperor Xuan-
lOng's handwritten caption, along with Li Shimin's autographcd lellcr, a copy
of "'hich had bcen kepi in lhe impel' ial archi \,cs.
' 6
The second lellcr, dat ed Kai-
yuan, clc\'entll year, twclrtl l month, t\\'cnt }'-first day (Janl lary 21, 724), is nol.C-
worthy ror the high-ranking official ,\'ho sign<.xi it: Zhang Yuc (667-730), who
served as president or, he sc."Cretal' iat (zhollgshlll i llW.
11
Zhang issucd his lcttcr to
tl\c Sllaolin Monastery in Ilis additional capacit y as dircctor or thc AcadcJll )' in
the I-l all of Elegance and Rect it ude (L izht'llgrli(lll Xill.sItU)'IIfIII). '-lis lctter atl.ests
[ilat ti le capl ion or t he "Shaolin Monastery Stcie
K
"'as llandwri lten by Emperor
Xuanw ng,u. Furthermore, it verifies the authenticit ), or Li Shimin's
\"llicll \\'as examined b)' a team or expert s working Ii nder his
It is nOl.e\\'orthy that Xuanzong's patronage orShaolin, like his ancestor's
benefacti on, did not rcsult rrom Budd hist picl)'. Xuanzong "acted with greater
det.erm ination tllan an)' or Ilis predecessors to curtail the power ort he Buddh ist
c\ergy,"W In 714, ror example, he issued a ba n on the const ruction of all nc\\'
FI G. 4. Xu a nwng's imperial calligraph)'
on the 728 Shaolin stele. His caption
reads: -Taizollg Wen Huangd i's [U
ShiminJ l mpcrial Leite r [t o t he Shaoli n
mon ks].
monasteries, and in 727 he orde red the d ismantli ng of all village chapels. Evi-
de nt ly, h is SUPP0rL of Lhe Shaoli n Monastery was due solely LO Lhe monks' mili-
tary assistance to his predecessor.
Tile emperor's benefaCl ion of Sllaol in \\'as nOL merely symbolic. In addi-
tion 1.0 h is imperi al call igraphy, Xuan7..0ng granted iL property rights . In 722
he exempted lhe Shaoli n Monastel'}' from Lhe confi scal.ion order that was ap-
plied to all olher monastic eSlates. "I As Tonami Mamoru has suggesl.ed , it
was probah ly this confiscation orde r-\vhich Lhey so narrowly escaped-that
COll\'i nced t he Shaolin mon ks of the necessity to engrave in stone their mili-
ta ry exploits. T he "Shaolin Monastery Stele" was erected 1.0 enSll re that fu-
ture r ule rs would be as mindful as Xuanzo ng had been of the monastery's
contr ibution 10 Ihe dynasty's
Ti le conSI ruel.ion of Il le "Sll3olin MonastelY Stele" safeguarded the monas-
l.el1's forl unes, as its monks had hoped. In 798, scven d(.'cades after its dedica-
tion, the monastery was granted an officiallcuer that reiterated the st.cle's
imporl.. A sen ior government official named Gu Shaolian (fl. BOO), who began
his career as assistanl magist rate of Dcngfeng County and concl uded it as re-
gent of t lie easter n capit ai, consent ed to ti le monks' request and, in celebration
of the monasl.el)"s re novat ion, compi led a brief hisIOl)'. Shaolin mon ks, \\'rote
Gu Sllao\ian, "capl ti re bandits and sllceor t hc fait hfli l. Thcy sll ppress evil troops
c"crywllere; Illcy protect t.hc Purc La nd in I. imes of advcrsilY. This adds glory 10
Oll r Tang dynast)'."!""
Evcn dur ing I he da rkest moment. in ' [lUlg Buddhi sl hislory. I he memo I)'
of Ihe mon ks' heroism g uaranteed their safely. O n April G, 845, d uring the
height of Emperor WlI7..0ng's persecut ion of Ihe Buddhist fail h, I he governor
of Il enan, Lu Zhen , graced the Shaolin Monaster)' with a visil., which was re-
corded on a Shaoli n T hc gm'ernor's visit lIltCSI.S Ihal the monas1.e r),
Imd been spared at leaSl ti lC brunl of thc gm'crn mcnl's Budd hi sl purge. Eve n
as hu nd reds of Ol lieI' monasteri es we re bei ng desl ro)'ed , t ile Shaol i n Monas-
t.e r), cl"Uo)'cd l ilc pal ronage of IliglHanki ng off1cia Is.
Text 7: The List ofThirleen Heroic Monks
T he laSt lCxl on Lhc "Sllaoli n Monaslery is a li stofthineen monks
whose dist.i nguishcd service in baule had been recogni zed by Li Shi min (fig-
ure 5). O ne mon k, Tanzong, is already mentioned as a general-in-chief in
t. he official ICller of 632. This is a lso cited , along Wilh
monks Zhicao and Hu iya ng, ill Pei Cui 's h istory of t he monastery. Here is
lhe complele list of hi s companions:
List of Sh ,I01 i n Monaster ), Cypress Va ll e)' EsLate monks who, during the
Ta ng, Wude reig n period , 4Lh year (621), were cited by Emperor Taizong
\Venhu<l ng for meritoriou s se rvice:
Dea n (sliallg:wo), monk Sha n lill.
Abbot (Sizllll), monk Zh icao.
FIG. 5. Li st ort he thirteen hemic monks on tilC 7'18Shaoli n stele.
Overseer (dllweill(l), monk J lui yang.
Gc ncral-in-clt icf (daji(/I/gjlltl). monk Tau7.0ug.
With them. were noted for meritoriolls ser\'ice: monk Jl uhui. monk
monk Lingxian. monk Pushcng, monk Zhishou, monk
Daogua ng, munk Zhixi ng, monk Man. monk
The orficial lelter of 632 nOled that following their Cypress Valley vi c-
tory, several Shaolin monks had Ix:cn offered orricial Ix)SlS, which, wi th the
exception ofTanzong, they pol itel y declined. It is conceivable lhallhc monks
in question arc t he lhinccn lislcd in Text 7. I-Iowc\'c r, il needs to be c mplm-
sized thal lhe text ilsclfdocs nOlda lC from Li Sh imin's l imc.!.6 Ncithc r signcd
nor daled, the list of thincen he roi c monks was proba bl y compiled when Ihe
"Shaolin Monastery was erected (728), if nOl later. [,7 Thus even though
some n ames in it arc doubt less accurate (nota bl y General T<'ln zong's), others
may renect l he growth of popular lore surround ing t he monks' victory.
Military Engagements or Military Training?
The legal ,'ocabulary that c nwra ps the Shaolin inscriptions provi des precise
information: In 621, Shaoli n monks went to war fo r Li Shimin, the future
Tang emperor. The circumstances of thei r monastery being rewarded by
stale properly pe nniued no elTor. Officials at a ll govcrn ment le"els-from
the vice magist rate of Dengfeng CoUnl}' to the president oflhe secretariat-
examined the detail s of the monks' milital-y vic lory and affixed their signa-
tures to legal dOCllments confinning it. There can be no doubt. Ihen. that as
earl y as the Tang pedod. Shaolin monks fought.
Whereas the Shaolin monks' participation in warfare cannOI he ques-
t.ioned. we may still ask whether. dUI-ing the medieval period, Ihey t r a i m ~ d for
il.. Even tJlough. at first glance. goi ng to baule appears indist inguishable from
praCI ic ing for it, the 1.\\'0 arc q t\ite di fferenl_ Shaol in monks mighl or mi ghl nOI
have been trained for hallic at lhe ir temple. For example, those monks Ihal
fought mi ght have rccei\'ed maniallrain ing outside the monastery, or cl.se I he)'
might. ha\'e been trained ad hodor the milital-y engagemelll.s in which they par-
I icipaled (rathe r than heing regularl y instructed in fighting as part of I heir
monasl ic regimen). It is e\'en possible Ihat Tang pe,-iod Shaolin mon ks fought
despite receivi ng no military training.
A comparison of the available Tang and ""Iing evidel1(:e lIlay clarify the
C]ucslion. A wealth of sixteenth- and seventeent h-century sources all.cst not
only ,llal Sllaolin monks particip."lted in give n bat tles, bllt also tllal the), regll-
lart )' practiced fighting. Lat e Ming visitors to thc temple invariably allude 10
111C siglll of m ilit My cxercises and t.ll C sOl lnd of cl an king weapon I)'. By that pe -
riod, Shaolin monks had developed the ir own fighting tcchniques, which had
au mctcd re ll(Mned military expen s to t.heir monaSlel)'. The Shaolin me thod
of sta ff fighting (gllll Jiz) is a bundantl y praised in la te Mi ng mil itary lileralu re.
B), contrast, the Tang inscriptions do not allude to a fight ing technique devel-
oped b)' Ille Slwo!in monks. Indeed the)'do not mention hOIliShaolin monks
foughl , or which weapons the)'emplo)'ed in battle. Furthennore, in the pocms
and travelogues of renowned Tang literati thai visited Shaolin, no allusion is
made \.0 m i litar), tnti ning:u the temple.
Let us review whalthe "Shaolin MonaslcryStclc" docs tell us. It alludes to
Iwo instances in which Shaolin monks lY:.:son ed to arms-the first. around GIO
when tlley warded off an <lu<lck by bandits, a nd t ile second in 621 when lh(.:),
Icnlll1 i litary support to the future Tang cmpenll-, Li Shimin. That. the), partici-
patcd, Wilhi n a rclati\'cly sllon pCI-iod of ti me, ill 11110 armed con fliets could i n-
di cate that some Shaolin monks did receive regular milita ry training. In
addition, the Shaolin inscriplions lea\'c no doubt t hat one Shaoli n mon k (Tan-
zong) wfls appoilllcd a general in Li 's arm)'. Presumabl y he was thus honored
becausc of his olltstanding fi ghting skills, stre ngthening the case for regular
manial practice at the temple. NC\'e nhcless, in order to conclude lhal Tang
Shaolin monks practiced fighling, more evidence of their military training-
or at least a him of ilis necessar}'.
Such a hint ma), be providc.-'d by a short story included in a Tang antholog),
auributed to Zhang Zimo (ca, 660-741) _ Its protagonist is a historical Shaolin
mon k named Sengchou (480-560), whom Buddhistlli storiographyexl.olled as
a master of meditation (dh)'iina) _ Sengchou studied under Shaolin's Indian
fOllnder, BalLlo, who lY:.:ponedlyexdaimed 10 him, "E..utofthe Congling Moun-
Lains (i n CClllral Asia), lhe person \\110 has attained the highest understanding
of meditation is you.'''''' Ho\\'c\"cr, Zhang Zlmo's a necdote concerns n Ol Seng-
chou's prof undil y of meditation, blll hi s f1 gl1ti ng skills:
The Non hem Qi (550-577) monk Chou (Scngchou) came from Ye
(today's Anyang.l lenan). In hi s childhood shaved his head and
became a novice. Ili s classmates were numerous. \VhenC\'cr they had
free time t hey would practice wresll iug and pouncing for (' 11
ment. Because the Dhyana (Scngchou) was weak they bullied
him. One aftcranother tlleyahused him and beat llim up.
The Dhy;ina was as hamed of thi s. l ie entered 1 he hall and
shut its gate beh inc! him. Cli nging 10 fc(' t. h(' addr('ssed I h('
god wit h thc following\'ow: - Bccause I am frail , my fellow novices
dt.'spisc mI". humili;uion is 100 grcal. II would be b(' l1 cr 10 die. You
arc famou s for your strcngl h, so you arc 111(' one 10 help me. I will hang
0 11 10 )1)llr fect for SC\'f' 1l days. I fYOli do nOI ('ndo\\' me wi.h Sl rengl It, I
am surc 10 dic right herr rather than rcnou nce Ill y pledge.-
I lavi ng pronolllH:cd this "ow, hc procrcded.o b<. "S('cch .he f:,rod
most ea rncstly. Dud ng 1 hc fi rSI 1 wo n iglu s Ili s dedicat ion 10 Ilis purpose
grcw stronger. Dllri ng tllc sixt ll niglu, jusl bc forc dawII, V;tirap.-IJ:ti was
revealed to him. In h is hands d lc god held a largc bowl. fuJI 10 Ihe brim
wit h si ncws-fles h.
-Boyr he said 10 Chou. - Do you wish 10 bccome strong?-
- I da."
-Arc you dctermined ?"
" I "
am.
Ca n you cat sinews-fl esh?"
cannot."
"Why?- inquired the dci ty.
"Monks arc supposed to I'Cnounce meal."
In response, the god lifted hi s bowl. and with hi s knife
1.U force the sinews-flesh upon Sengchou. AI firsl Ihe DhY;-llla Master
refused to accept. bUI wilen li le god tl lrealened Ilim wi lh his vlljmclub
(jill'gflllgcllll). he wa s so terrified Ihal he did cal. In a short while he
finished his meal, whe reupon the god said 10 him: -Now, you arc already
extremely strong. Ilowevc r, rou should full y uphold the [Buddhi st]
teac hings, Bew'lre!-
Si nce il was already dayli ghl . Sengchou returned 10 his room. Il is
fel low novices all illlerrog<llcd him: "Scumbag! \Vhere ha\'e rou been
just now?!- Chou did not answer. In a shon whil e they all wellllO the
ha 11 for their common meal. Afler eating, th<.')' ag<lin elllenainl."{i
themselves with fighting. The Dhy;:l.na said: ha\'e strength now.
I suspect nOl the same kind as )1) urs.- The n he fl exed his arms, revealing
his powerful si news and bones. l ie looked practically like a god.
Serving the Emperor
Before I hey recovered I.hei r senses, lhe DllY;-lna \1aSler said, ;' 1 will
give you a demonstralion,- whe reupon he elll ered lhe hall and Slarted
walking hori zolllallyon the walls. l Ie advanced first from the (!;L"t, then
from west, a tmal ofsC\eral hundred feel.. Then he leaped upwards, his
head hitting the ceiling-beams se\'erallimes. Finally he lifted
I housand pounds. [>9 l lis figlu ing was swi n and powerful.
Those who bel itt led him prost rat ed t Ilemseh-cs on the ground,
Iheir sweat trickling. No one dared face up to him.60
37
The violence and abuse recorded by Zhang Zhuo seem hardly fit for a Bud-
dhist t.emple. Nei ther arc the manial exet'cises he describes appropriat.e for
Buddhist monks. Still , if hi s story reflects historical circumstances, the n
fight ing \\'as pract iced in some Tang period Buddhi st monasteries. It is possi-
hie, therefore, that medie,al Chinese monks-either at Shaolin or in other
t.e mples-not only participated in Waf, but also trained for it.
Martial Deities and Marti al Monks
Zhang Zhuo's story of monk Sengchou could have been rejected as pure
fiction-neither relat ed to 1\uddhist practice nor to Shaolin lore-ifit were
not for an intrigllingmotifit shared with both . V;yrap::-u.li , whose divine help
Sengchou sought, figured in 1\udd hist mYlhology as a military god who be-
stows st re ngth. Moreover, we know that at least in later periods he had been
worsh ipped in thaI vcry capacit y at the Shaoli 11 Monastery,
I t is slriki ng that a rei igion as intcnt on lX!ace as Buddhism would arrive in
Ch i na (''CJuipped wit ll an e ntire gallery of marti al gods. 1\uddhist iconognlphy
reveals to us an unexpectedly violetH aspcct of the faith, The 1\uddha is uSlla II y
nan ked by heavily armed, ferocious-looking dcities who tl"rlmplc demons un-
derfOOl.
61
V-urapa 1.1i (Chinesc: Ji n 'gang (shc n Ix: longs to thi s category of di -
vine wa rriors. As indicated b)' his name, his weapon is Ihe myt hic vl/jm, or
thunderbolt (jill'grmg in Chinese). 1\)' the time it was incorporated into the
1\uddhist. arsenal , the magic insLI'lLtne m had e tyoycd a venerable history, The
Hindu god Indra had cmplo),ed thc vlljm to vanquish the cosmic dragon
The god's annamenL had assumed di\'erse shapes in visual an: the
sword, the spear, the staff, the discus, a nd two trans,'ersc bolts that Cl"OSS each
other. Most commonl y, howen;r, the tHym was imagined as an ornamellled
short scepter, sometimes resembli ng a nower (figm'e 6),6-'
V.y rapal.li, the vrym widder, has been worshipped in China eithe' as one
deit), or as two fearsome spiti .... -the so-called "Two Venerable Kings"
(Erwangzun)-that stand guard on each side of temple gates, I-lis iconogra-
phy high lights his bodi Iy strength. Un Ii ke other tutelary d ivi nities, i
is nOl clad in armor. I-Ie wears light clothes, rC::\'ealing his sinewy physique,
I-lis slLI rdy chest is exposed, and his muscular arms e mbrace his iconic
FIG. 6. wielding a fl owcr-
like THljm in a nim h-ccm ury
pai ming rrom Dunhuang. (C
Copyrighl I hc Trllslccs or I.hc
ilrilish Musc um).
FI G. 7. muscular ph),si (lue in a Tang SIal ue.
wearxlIl (figure 7).61 images," notes an an historian , "carry bLll
scamy dress, no doubt in o rde r to pe rmit full exh ibition of the extravagalllly
exaggerated His na ked stre ngth has likely been one reason for
Vaj rapa l,li 's appeal to martial arti sts-whethe r t he fictional monk Sengcho u
or l he histol-ical Shaolin walTiors.
Chi nese literature hi gh lighted the raw strength t hat e ma nated from lhe
di vi ne wa rrior's icon. Here is a sixteemh-centll ry a uthor descri bi ng a pair of
Vaj rapii l.1i 's molten statues:
One has an iron face and s teel whiskers as ifali\'e;
One has bush y brows and round eyes Lhat st."Cm real.
On the left, the fi st bones like raw iron j ut om;
On the ri gh t, the palms are cragged like crude bronze.
" 0 Origi ns of a Tradition
Golden chain armor of splendid Iusle .. ;
Bright helmets and wind-blown sashes of silk.66
Guardian deities such as V<9rap'l.l.li ha\'c \\'011 their tutelary poSlS due 10 their
familia rit y with the enemies oflhe faith. All too often they began lhcir carccrs
as lowl y demons \\'ho had been conn:ned to Buddhism \.0 fighl their own kind.
As experts on c\' il, they \\'crc considered iLS most effective antidotes. "Figures
origi nail )' r ullclioning as wriles Sl.rickmann. "Ilave hy
t Ilc carl y medicval pcl' iod become IIOmenpa! IIi<: protectors against I he vcry ail-
ments which previ ously, in their old, une nlightened, pre-Buddhist days. Ihey
had themselves V-urap;i l,li 's murky origins of a fiend arc betrayed
by his I.ille of 1Jojr(l-),oH,ftl Vin 'grl1lg )'tfho), idem i fyi ng hi m as a I-I indu spi rit,
I-li s conI radi ctol' Y I ra ilS of a demon 01U1 a demon qllel lel' arc s"gges1.cd by tIle
fe rociousness of II is visual re presenlalions, Ille fil'e halo sl' J'I'Ounding his head,
tIle \\' ide-ope nedj aws, and tI le prot n,ding fangs (compare figl ' res 6, 7, and 8),
The notion thaI V-urapa l,li 's vigor coul d be bestowed IIpon his devo1.ees
was not the product of Zhang Zhuo's lit erary imagination, BlIddhist scrip-
t ures attestli lal Ille god had been worshi pped as a provider of strength , even
though they refe r 10 him by one of his other na mes: I ii r ny,u)a (Ch inese: Na-
luoyantian, or Na luo), an), TIle la tt e r Il ad been used as a n honori fic of several
Indian deities, (including Vishnu), In Chinese l3uddhi st lexts it was com-
monl)' applied 10 denoting e ililcr the single warrior, 01; when he
ass umed hi s dual form, the one slanding gua rd on the right. ,iII
Originally, Nii riiy.lI.1 a's powers we re sought by magic means. The Sulm of
Ihe Assemvltd Charms ('I'uo//loni ji ji1lg), wh ich was compiled in Ch ina on the
basis of largel y Indian material s in 654 , incl udes two of his magic formulas,
complete with \'e rbal spe ll s (Sanskrit : manlra; Chinesc: z.ftou) and hand sym-
bolisms (Sanskrit: lIludrn; Cll inese: )'inxiang), Tllese cllarms gua ramee the
practitioner lhe " bound less powe rs" (wllbiflll Ii) of Nanlyal,la , so III uc h so th al.
he will be able lO "mO\'c mountains a nd chur n oceans,"&J
Magic ga\'e way lO supplicalion in alieaSl somc Chinese Buddhi st l.ext s,
In hi s lJicl;ona I)' of Ihe BlUftlhisl Canon ( Yiqie jing Jill)'i), I-lui Ii n (737-820) cx-
plains thal Narayal,la's powers coul d be elicited th rough prayer, Much like
Zhang Zhuo, the Buddhist amhor emphasizes that earneStness is thc key 1.0
the god's grace, ''Those who wish to obtain great strength apply themselves
t.o the nou ri sh ment of all li ving bei ngs. I f they earnestl y beseech I Naraya 1)011,
t.he)' all obtai n d i\'i ne slrenglh" ( Rllo jillgcile"g qitlao, duo 11110 shell Ii Je) ,70
The Buddhi st conception ofNarayal)a as provider of strength in flue nced
Shaolin reli gious practice, Archaeology pm\'es that lhi s deity had been wor-
sh ipped at the monastery for his mighL A lwei fth-century stele, still eXlanl. at
the monaster y, depicts the powerful divi ni ty brandishing his uajra (figu re 8),
Commissioned by Shaol in's abbot Zuduan ( 111 5-11 67) , the stele features
one of Na ra)' al)a's magic fonnul as, as copied from the Sufm of fhe Assembled
Charms, A bl;cf explanation follows:
Fig. 8 . TlI'elft h-centur), Shaoli 11 stele
Accordi ng [0 Lhe sc ript ure, Lhi s de it y is a manifestat ion of
Ava lokit eSva ra (Guanyin). I r a pe rson who compassionatel y nourishes a ll
li ving beings employs thi s ldei l),sJ c harm, it will increase his body's
51 rengt h (umgz.lw IIg slum Ii). It fulfills all '"0\\'5, be ing mOst efficacious ....
Therefore those who study Nar;iyal).as hand-symbolism (mudml, those
who seek hi s spell (mal/1m), and those who sea rch for hi s imag(! are
numerous. Thus "oc ha\"c erected Il lis siele 10 spread 1 his 1 ransmission.
Stele re-erecled (dlOlig .f!umg) by Shaol in's abbot Zudnan.
71
Even t. hough Zuduan's slele quot es from the SlIlm oJlhe Assembled Charms, its
undcrsl.andi ng of t he powers bcsto\\'cd by Nar."'i},.u.la differs. The Surra prom-
ises t he possessor of Na ra)'al,m's cha rm t hat he \\,ill be endowed wit h "bound-
less po\\'ers" that arc 1/01 embod ied in his person. The)' arc abstract magic
inrtue nces 10 which presuma bl y he has access. B}' contl'as\, the Shaolin
st.ele-like Zhang Zhuo's StOI' ), of the Shaoli n cleric Sengchou-Iocalizes
Na ray.u,la's Sl re ngt h wi t hi n the pra, tit ioner's ph)'sique, Zuduan promises II is
Shaolin readers nOI intangible magi, abili ties bUI increase of Itheirl
hody's Sl re nglh" (unglJumg sht>1! Ii), I-Ie vouches Ihal I heir sinews and bones
wou ld grow Sl ronger,
The Shaolin stele re\'eals, the re fore, how marlialmonks transformed a
magic forlllula 10 suil thei r physical t ra in ing agenda. Fighl i ng mon ks such as
Scngcholl in Zhang Zhuo's anecdote we re not interested in ethereal magic
abilities, Thei r objecti ve was more concre te: The}, requi red lougher muscles
I ha t. would e nable them to be u er pe rform t he i r Illi I itar}' exercises. Zud ua n 's
Sllaolin stele aueSlS that they sought tlli s pll)'Sical goal Willi the ancien t, pro-
vide r of Budd hi sl magic power, Na ra)'<u.la.
Even I Iioligh it dales from ti le Ji 11, Zlldllan's stele shows lll,ll tll<: Shaoli n cult,
of Na ra),a l.la origi naled prior to tli at lX! I' iod. The stele is plt!scnu: .. 'CI as "It!-cn,:cu::d
by Zudllan," sllggc..'Sli ng that t hc monastc!), had feallllt!d a similar icon of this
martial dc il y i n earl ier timcs. How much earlier it is impossiblc to sa}'. Howc"cr,
considcri ng the cvide ncc of Zha ng ZhllO'S stor}', it is conceivable that during the
Tang peri od , Shaol in monks wOI'sllilX!d Nan!}'lIl.la. If so, martial m}'tholog), had
been rdated to monastic ma nia l praclice as earl )' as medit...>va l ti mes.
Meat, Wine, and Fighting Monks
One clement in Zhang Zhuo's sto.' ), re mai ns to be noted: the connection Ix:-
twee n fighting and the consumption of meat. As a pl'erequisite fix strengthen-
ing Sengchou, demands tha t his demtee vi olate a primar)' article of
his faith by consuming animal nesh .. When the monk refuses. the Buddhist
god himsclfshm"es the forbidde n food down his throat. The association of mar-
tial monks with meat was to re main a permanent feature of martial litera-
ture. Novels, pla)'S, and more recentl ), films a nd television serials have i nvariabl)'
poruayed fi ghting monks as meat gobblers (a nd usuall y wine guzzlers as well).
From lhe Tang per iod all through the th'entieth cemury, fict.ional manial
monks have delighted in nothing l)Cuer than alcohol and ani mal flesh. The
significance or meal in the fi ghting monk's ethos has been such Ihat we wi ll
hriefl y stray rrom our chronological rrame to discuss il synchronically-in
sources ranging rrom medie\'al times to lhe presen1.
Vegetarianism, we should hasten to not.e, is not universally observed by
Buddhist, monks. Earl y Buddhist scriptures a1e not unanimous on Ihe monas-
tic diet,: Whereas some Mahayii na sutras do advocate abstenlion rrom ani mal
nes ll , compilations or monasti c lah' ror tile most I),;'J"\ do nOI prohihil meal per
se. They only instruct monks to rerrain rrom eating animals thaI havc been
siaugill ered exprcssly ror tl lem. (As long as t lIe ani mal lIas l)Ccn bl.llcllered ror
ot hers it is pe rmit ted ror t.he cleri cs as h'ell.) The inconsistency or t he lileral u re
has becn rdl ect,cd in the d i\ergencc or pracI i("c. I n most Theravada counl rics,
mon ks do cat meal.. By contrast, Chinese Buddhism has l)Cell closely linked l.0
vegetariani sm. Beginning in Illedievaltimes, the abstention rrom meal has
formed an imporlant aspect of the idemit y or Chinese Buddhisl.s, being ob-
served not only by monks but often by lay believers.
it
Tang readers or Zhang
Zhuo's slory would ha\e been startled thererorc by the Buddhist god 's insis-
l.ence Illal Ilis devot ee transgress a deflni ng tenel or t heir religion.
Why then ,,'ere Chinese fi ghling monks imagined \0 reli sh ani mal fl esh?
One reason has been the assumption thalllle<lt is indispensable ror physical
slre ngt h. To thi s day there arc those who, believing thm athletic achieve-
ments re'lui re a meal-based d iet, surmi se that Shr\Oli n monks consuille il.
Il owe"er, t ile lileral), motif of the carni vorous figliling monk al so mi lTors
another sUPIXlsilion, that those who violate one monastic prohibition (or
wa r) arc likely 1.0 transgress anOl her (of meal). Occasionall y, the 1\\'0 vi ces
arc metaphoricall y combined, as the s<\\<\ge monk is imagined reasling on
the fl esh of his fallen enemies. Befo re he heads for baltIc, the monkish pm-
tagon ist of DongJ ieyuan's (fl . 1200) medlc)-pl ay, Stol)' of Iltl! H'islem Witlg, ex-
claims, "Today I'll ha\'e meat to cal. ... I' ll mow down the thie"es with my
sword. Let them be past ry fillings for our In the popular imagina-
t ion, t he cruelly of fighting has become indistinguishable rrom the brlllality
or a carni\'orous diet.
One or the mOSL memorable fi ghting monks in Chinese literature is Lu
Zhi shen, protagoni st or the earl y Mi ng no\'el Willer Mll fl"rill (SllIIillll zit/ifi ll) (ca.
1400). Also known as the ''Tallooed (i-Iua I-I eshang), Lu is ordained at
a Shanxi prm'ince monastely, where historical fight ing monks practiced l.ht:
martial arts. This is the Ml. WlIlai monastic complex, t he bravery or whose
fighting monks-as we will see below-had been celebrated rmm the nonh-
ern Song (960-1127). The nO'.c1 has Lu Zhishen consume meat and wine in-
side the temple. When he goes so far as to rorce animal fles h into the mOLl ths or
his scandalized rellow monks, he is thrown out or the monastery and assumes
the career or an itinerant manial ani s!. The fighting monk's adw:ntures lead
him eventuall y to the Ilcroie band of rebel s \\,110 live by the "' Waler Margin" at
t.he Liangshan Marsh.
The novel highlights Lu's dicta.-y transgressions, having him dc"ou r dog
mea!., which, though consumed in p."1rLS of China, is shunned by many Chi-
nese. The poputar Chinese religion I-cgards dogs as ritually polluting, for
which rcason it al so considers lhem magically ]Xllent. In Taiwan, for ex-
ample, canine deities arc the subject of nightl y \\'orship, and dog flesh is
some times utili zed in black magic?1 Thi s does not deter the carnivorous Lu
Zhishcn , who eagerl y consumes all meal. The Il<u-ralor exploits the lit erary
topos of the m{:al-caling monk for all its \\'orth, savoring each det.ai l as the
dog- hungry Lu lhruslS bOlh hands into the animal 's cal'cass. II is no accidenl
lhal he has hi s savage protagonist gami sh hi s meal with garlic. which, like
meal , is sllu nned b)' CII inese Budd Ili slS: Q
Lu consumed ten big bowls orwinc. -11:we you any mcat ?- he asked. -1
want a platter.-
- I had some beer earli er in the day,- replied the propri(>wr, - but it's
all sold OllL-
Lil Z!lisllell caugll! a wllirrort lle rragrance or cooking meat.
went into the yard and round a dog boiling in an earthenware pot by thc
compound wall.
MYou' vc got dog mea! ,- he said, - Why don' t YOli scllme any?-
- I t !Iougllt as a mon k ),Oll wouldn' t cat it , so I d idn' t ask.-
- I've plent )' or mone), here.- Lu pulled out some sil ver and handed it
over. MBring me halr,-
The proprietor cut orr hair! he dog carcass and placed it 011 the
table wit h a small di sh or garlic sauce. Lu tore into it delightcdl y with
bot II !I ands, At II IC same 1 ime Ilc conslllllcd ;molilcr tCII bowls OrWiIIC.
l ie round 1 he wine \'er y agreeable and kept calli ng ror more.
76
Lu's dictary misdemeanor was ta kc n up, si x Illlndrcd years aflcr the novcl 's
composition, b)' a movie that ponrays Shaolin monks as dog eaters, Produced
in 1982, the film Slwolin Tem/)Ie (SJwolin S/) has played a Significant role in the
monast.ery's modern hi story. Among tllc biggest blockbusten; in mainland cin-
e ma history, it rea tured some orthe grt.'atest Chincsc manial artists, most nota-
bl)' the legendary Li UCt Li ) ( b. 1963), who by the age or eight(.'Cn had
five times earned the title or All -Round National Champion, At the tender age
or eleven, Li had perrormed at the Whi te House as pan ora Chinese manial
ans tOll 1', which figured in the hcsitant bt.-ginnings or diplomatic relations bc-
tween China and the Unitcd States. Eight }'ears later, he was cast in the movie
Shanlin Temple as a monk, appeal' ing sidc by side witll some of the monastery's
own martial artists. The movie, which was filmed on location, aroused tremen-
dOllS imerest in the Shaolin rliionastcr)'- Followi ng ilS screening, thousands of
aspiring martial arlists nocked to the temple, initiating the construction of
Serving the Emperor
dozens of fighting schools arO'und it. Thus, reality imitated fictiO'n, as the suc-
cess O'f a movie O'n ShaO'lin cO'ntdbllled to' the mO'nastery's revival.
77
Playi ng a m<uO'r role in the monastcl"}"s modern histO'ry, Siwolin TemJ)lefur-
nishes a striking example O'f histO'dcal cO'ntinuit),. The film's subject maile r is
the monks' histodcal assistance to Li Shimin, which took place thirteen hun-
dred yea rs e"lrlier. I ndeed, the mO'vie features t Ilc aUlllentic SllaO'lin MO'nasl<;ry
SIde of 728, willI which \\'e ha'e been cO'ncerned in prcccding pages. This is
not. to say t.hat hist.ory is nO't fiCliO'nall y embellished. In the mode, the mO'nks
do not. merel y fight for Li Shimin, butthc:.1' also save his life. In gratitude the
emperor t. ravels t.o ShaO'lin, where he himself exempts t he monks from their
fait h 's diet.a ry rul es, permit ling Ihem to consume meal.. The pol it ical sanct ion
is joi ned by a theolO'gical one; after they feast on dog meat , the mon ks pro-
nounce, "\Vhen lhe Buddha is in }'our hean , meat and wine are nOlhing."
The Sl ubborn recul"I"cnce of meat eating in fighting monks' fiction-from
Zhang Zhuo's Tang pe riod stor)' of monk Scngchou to the 1980s movie Siwo/in
that it might not be hi storicall}' un founded. Perhaps literary
carni\'orous monks had been rashioned after 1"1'(/1 Shaolin warriors. If so, at
lcast some Shaolin monks disregarded not only 1 hei r rait h 's proh ibit ion of wa r,
but also its proscription or meat. In his Historians Cmft, Marc moeh notes that
it is sometimes userul 10 conduct hislorical imest igat ions b.ackwards"-from
tile present to the past-" ror Ihe nOli ural progression of a II research is fiOill the
best (or least. badly) unde rstood to I he most We may therefore fol-
low II is clue and begin our inCJui ') ' i mo Sllaolin dietary II iSIOI), b)' an exami na-
t ion of the monasl.Cly's curre m conditions.
In a series or essays published in the Californi a-bascd magazine KUlig FII
To; Chi, Gene CII ing has unraveled the complexities ofl he Shaoli n comlll unit)'.
The title 'Sll<Iolin Monk'" lias been assumed by practitioners so divcrse thaI. it
stret.clles our vcr)' understandi ng of Huddhist monasticism. Thc Sllaol in fra t.er-
nit y includes alleast rOllr disciple t)' pes. At t he core sta nd Buddhist-ordained
clerics who resi de inside the histori cal monastcl), itself. Theil thc.e is thc much
large r cat.egory of Shaolin-ordai ned mon ks, who, having graduated fmm the
monastery's martial program, left it to pursue a n itinerant military career,
of len opening lip their own Shaolin manial schools. A third monk"
group is made of professional mania I a nisl.'i, who ha,c ne\,(:. b<..'Cn ordaincd as
Huddhisl clerics, but ne,'(: nheless-si nce the)' belong to lhe monastery's per-
forming company-don mO'nastic robes. Sometimes dubbed monks" or
"pelfomlance monks," they appeal eithe r in local sllows for tourisl.'i or i n in I.e.--
national tours. Finall )" there is the '<1st category of lay disciples (s IIjia dizi) , ac-
complished manial arti sts who ha,e been trained at the monastery bm ha\'e
ne\'er been ordained as Buddh ist clelics (wh ich the)' do not presume to be) .
Many of the lauer were hom in the mO'naster)' s De ngfeng County vicinity, and
their f ami lies ha,'e been practicing ShaO'I in fighting for generations. I nd(:ed,
some of the greatest masters O'f the ShaO'lin fi ghting style are lay practitioners
sLich as LiangYiquan ( b. 1931) and Liu Baoshan (b. 1931).79
A .. to Buddhist dicta.'y laws, Lhey a rc kept by the first lype of Shaolin-
residing clerics onl y. Meal is IIQI provided in loday's Shaolin Te mple. and
Buddhist monks who live inside the monaS1CI'y adhere 10 a vegetarian diet.
By contrast, most olhe r Shaolin disciples a re openly carnivorous. Lay pracl. i-
doners of t he Shaolin mania I arlS for the most part consume meal. Even
more striki ng, Shaol in-ordained monks do so as well. Among the figlHing
monks who ha\'c lcrt the monast CI) ' lO open private sch(X}ls, ma ny-though
not. all-do cat meal. These lough mani a l artists continue 10 present them-
selves as monks, donn ing Budd hi st unifonns, all the while consuming ani-
mal nesl . Indeed li ley gi \'c 1,lle i mp.'ession tllat carnivorousness is an inl.egral
element or the mania I monk's (:VII Stmg) ethos. When inlervie\\'ed ahout their
dietary habit.s, Lhey explain that Shaolin fighting monks have always con-
sumed meal, someti mes citi ng t lIe legend celebraled in I he film Shovlin 1f llljJlf,
according 10 which il was Emperor Li Shimin \\'ho absolved the monks rrom
Ihe rule orvegetarianism. lndecd, it is hard 10 knowwhelherlhi s novel apol-
ogy for carni vorousness preceded the movie or originated with it.
As Ihe Shaolin communit y int ernationalized, its dietary customs spread
overseas, In recenl years sC\'cral Shaoli n fighti ng monks emigrated 10 Ihe
Unit.ed Slat.es, where the)' opened mani al arlS schools, Nowadays, "Shaolin
Tem pies" can be round in places as d i,'ersc as Cupert ino, C.1li rornia; Ilousl.on ,
Texas; and New York. At least some arc Ileadcd by Shaolin-ordai ncd fighti ng
monks wllo arc 01X! nl )'carni\'orous. Yanming, rounderortllc Manhll1tan Shao-
lin Temple, rorcxample, ealS meat, d rinks wi ne, and is malTied 10 bom, all the
while presenting himsclras a Uudd hist monk and donning monastic robcs. In-
deed, Yanming's Shaolin ide ntil), is impon ant nm onl y ror rel igious reasons
bUI also ror business oncs. It is b)' vinuc or hi s being an alllhemic "Shaolin
monk" thai Yanming has been able 10 all raCI manial students. among Ihem
sll ch cclebl-illCS as the rap music sUIX! rslar RZA orthe band "Wu: ra ng Clan ,"
named arter the Ch incS(: Wudang mania I school. i!U
Living as he docs in thc remOlC Uni ted SlateS, Yanming's dietll1')' I rat1S-
gressions do nOl threalen his rei low monks who stayed at the monaster),. I-low-
ever, ot her carni,'orous "Shaolin mon ks" reside in t hc monastery's \' icini t),.
wllere t hey come i 1110 dai Iy contact witll il.'i \'('! gelarian i nhabitanls, The
il.y or ordained monks who Ila,'e lefl the monastery are making a living in
DengrengCoulllY. Their mania I scl lools are sillJatcd around tile temple. where
thcy regularl y comlX: le with reside nt mon ks. Simi larly, when they arc nOt tou r-
ing ra rawa), counu-ies, Shaolin "perronning monks" reside at the temple. rrom
which the), sneak Olll ror meal snacks in nearby reSla urants, Finally. lay disci-
ples comc and go to the temple to meet and train witll uleirold masters. Thus,
Shaolin-residing n:gelarian monks come into close contaCl with other types or
Shaolin practitioners who do eat meal.
The proximit y or Shaolin Buddhi st monks to what could be described as
"semi-monks," "hair monks," 0 1- "rake mon ks" has been one reason ror Abbot
Yongxin's (b. 196,1')) deci sion lO physical I)' remO\'e the latter's residences rrom
the monastery's vicinity, When he assumed his leadership position in 1999,
Vongxi n expelled from the monastel'y sc\'eral high-profile carnivorous fighting
monks, Backed b)' the He nan provincial authorities, he proceeded in the fol-
lowing year with an ambitious plan of dismantling hundreds of schools, restau-
rants, gifl shops, and reside ntial sll."1cks from the temple's surroundings, The
controversial project, which was cl' iticall}, revieh'Cd in the foreign was mo-
ti\>ated in part b}' aesthetic considerations, Li ke fellow-minded government offi-
daIs, Vongxin wished 1,0 restore Shaolin to its pdstine beaut y, valued not onl}' in
its own ri ght hUI also as a means of secm' ing the temple's hid to hecome a
UNESCO-recogni zed World J-1c"itage Site,81 l-I o\\'C\'er, religious concerns con-
tributed to the relocation project as ,\'ell. Apparentl y, Vongxin was a1t.emp1.ing
to create a physical boundary bet\\'Cen his Buddhist sanct uar}' and the larger
Shaolin communit)" which docs not, neccssal' il ), ildhere \.0 monastic laws.
Equipped with the example ofVongxin's purge, we may bt.'gin our "back-
wa rds" joume), in time with a similar att empt to plII' ify the Shaolin Monas1.ery
Ihal \\'as ordered by an empe ror t\\'O and a half centuries earlier. In 1735, the
gove rnor-gene ral of Henan and Shandong, ",,lang Shijull (?-1756), repor1.ed 10
Ihe I hrone his plan 10 renova te the Shaol in Temple. The ga.'ernor-general i n-
duded in his memorial detailed draWings of the planned reconstruction. It
was perhaps I)'pical of t he reign ing emperor, \\,ho prided himself on reading
government documents lat e into the ni ght, that he did not perfunctorily ap-
prove t he plan. inst,ead, t he diligent Vongzheng emperor (reigned 1723-1735)
carefully reviewed tile ske tches with :In ere not to t heir archit ectural elegance,
butlO their implications for the monastery's supervision. The temple'S n:. x:on-
sl ruction, the sovereign ordered, should be execllled so liS 10 gel rid of fake
mon ks, who \' iolale monasti c regulations:
\Ve have inspecled I he d a nd not iccd that therc arc t\\'ell t )'-II\'C
gate-houses, which are localed at some distance from thc monastery
proper. Li ke sla rs scal tered far apart , none is sit uatcd wi t h in I he temple.
'I'll rougiloul ou I' empi re, il lIas always been tI le casc tl lat mosl subsidiary
sh ri li e mOil k-I )'pc.-'S do nOI observe monasti c rt."gulations. Doing evil and
cl'eati ng d iSI u rbances, the), a re Buddh ism's in fe rior sorts, Today, as I he
511aoli II is undergoi ng renovation, and it is becom ing Olle
Icmple, 1.llese subsidiary Sll rinc mon ks sllould not be allowed to stay
outside of it, where they arc hard to supe rvise and
According to the ciglllcclllh-celllury emperor, corrupt monks did not reside
inside Shaolin proper, but in scauered reside nces in its vicinity. This is not un-
like the modern situat ion where most carnh'Orous practitioncrs-on:lained
and lay alike-live in pl' ivate Shaolin manial school s, which arc spread
throughout Dcngfeng Count)'. The monarch all udt.'XI to these unscrupulo us
disciples as fang/au ullg ("subsidiary sh dne mOil ks"), In the Buddhist idiom of
late impcrial timcs, the lenn fimg/oll designated either a monastic building
or-as the emperor had in mind-a semi-independent shrine, located in lhe
peripher)' of a large temple. Such subsidial-Y hermitages wcre established to en-
hance lhe wealt h and prestige of Ihe parent temple. or, in case it was over-
crowded, to proddc il Will i additional housing space. As carly as I he s(. ... 'cntc:..--enlh
ccntuq', some monastic leaders \\'cre apprehensive of religious transgressions
committed in subsidial)' sill-ines. Monks in branclllcmplcs wcre more diffic ult
to supervise lhan those residing in large monasteries, for which rcason some
deries object,cd 1,0 lhe cSlabl ishment of fang/Oil. Tile Villa),a Dul i (1601-
1679), who scrn:d as abbot of lhe Longchang Temple on Ml. Baohua, JiangslI ,
lamentcd, "I ha\'e obscn'cd llial , C\'c l),h'hcre, ancielU monasteries are estah-
lishing subsidiar y sl u' ines (fang/ou), d ividing Ihe monaslcry's operalions, anel
initiating nc\\' entcrprises. As a resuh, sclf-cuhi \'alion is no longer pure, and
t he monks cease to obsc ..... c monastic "egul ations, so much so that the templ es'
bells and drums arc silcnccd, and thc monastcries
II. is possiblc Ihal thc Yong-.dlcng cmpcr(lI"s ol'der to remoo.'e the sca11.ered
hermitages from Shaolin's periphcry \\'as due 10 a principled
lar 10 abbol Dul i's-Io I he "subsidiary slu-i ne" (ftmgrou) instil ution. I-Iowe"er, i1
is more I ikely I hal in addil ion 10 a general concern wil h the Ix:havior of Sll bsid-
iary sllrine monks, Ihe emperor was informed of spl.'Cifk transgressions com-
mi11.ed by Shaolin-ordained clcrics. As early as the sixleemh century, a
high-ranking official named Wang Shi xing ( 1547-1598) accused Shaolin
monks of ealing meal and dri nki ng wine.
8 1
J n I he ensuing Qing period (1644-
1911), the monastery was rc:."gu larly blamed for religious violations, which we re
somclimes attributed 10 its own monks and somctimes to those occupying ils
peripllel)'- In 1832, for cxample, a Dcngfe ng Count y magis! rale issuc:.xl a stricl.
wa rning to the Shaolin Monastery concerning thc Ix:havior of ils subsidiary
sllrine monks, whom lie accused nO! only of dictary lransgl'cssions, blll also or
sexual offenses. Shaolin-affi lialed monks, magistrate lie Wei (ft 1830) charged,
engage in drinking, gambling, and whoring:
Si li ce allcien I I il1lcs. Ille $llaol in Monaslcry lias been a famous temple.
Ever)' where, there is nOI a monk who docs nOI look up 10 it. Its rl.-'Sidcnl
derks shuuld st ricti), adhere 10 I he Budd Ii iSI c<xle and carerully rollow
ti le Pure Regulatioll s. tllereby displaying tl leir respect to the monastic
cOTllmUnilY, and thei r reverence to its laws.
Now. we have been hearing recentl y tlial lShaolin'sl various
subsid iary sh ri lie mOil k5 (fallg/oll selig) have bl.>en regularl y interact ing
with I he laity, a nd have been she lte ring cri minal s. Some im'ite r riends to
dru n ke n panics. Ot hers gamble in groups, or even gang together to
bri ng over prostitutes. The), collude sccreLl y and col laborate in all sorts
or evi I. This is ext remely haler ul. 8!.
E\'(:n t hough he politc.ly refrained rrom condemning the $haolin monks
themselves-reserving h is critici sm for their sllbsi diary shri ne colleagues-one
gels lhe impression tllatlhe magistrate had tile former in mind aswell. Afterall,
I-Ie Wei addressed his admonition 10 tllc Silaolin monks, not to their affiliates.
It appears, therefore, that his opening all usion to "subsidiary shrine mon ks" was
meanttosa\,e face for the Shaolin monks. Indeed, as the letter unfolds, the dis-
Ii nClion between "monaslel-y monks" and "subsidiary sil rine monks" blurs. The
magistrate forch'arns all Shaoli n monks-residents and affiliatcs alike-that
tll ey h'ould bc severel y puni sll(.'d fOI- theil- religious I ransgressions:
After t he monks ... read Ollr order and are informed of ilS contents,
t hey shou ld all pu ri fy their hearl s and cleanse Illeir mimls. Each ont'
should burn incense, cultivate thc wa)'. and chant the sutras, as \\'t'll as
plough and weed tllc land. As 10 II IC various t)'pesof la)' prople. tht'
monks are forbidden to colludc Willi Ihem in secret. Nor are lhe monks
allowcd to interfere in OUI sidc mat ters, l!arboring ("rim ina)s, and
i nst igat ing trouble. 1ft hc), darc purposely disobey, and It heir c-rimes J
happen to b ( ~ exposed, wc arC' sure 10 considcr Ihe m more serious and
punish them accordingl),.
As to tl\(! lay peoplc, t llC), sl10uld nOI bC' pennilt cd into the monas-
[(' 1)', ... Te nant fanners should reside elsewhere. They should not be
atlowed to livc near thc monks.
8G
Thc magisl rat.e's warning suggCSLS I hal hc \\'as primarily conccrncd wit h
publiC ordcr, not monasti c law. I l is ed icl is rcpletc with rcfcrcnccs to hiddcn
crim ina Is, which he claimcd wcre sheltc rcd at thc Sh:lolin Monaslcry, In lhis
res pcct, I lc \";Ici rescmbled olher officials who wcrc conccnlcd wit h viola-
I ions of Huddhist. law only so far as thc), provcd lil all hcir pcrpCtralors wcrc
fakc monks and as such pronc to scdition a nd crimc. Wc will scc below thaI
throughout. t.he Qing pcriod the go\'c mmc nt was apprchc nsivc-wilh somc
reason-tllat graduatcs of Shaoli n' s mi litary program would join sectari an
rebels. In 1739, for cxamplc, the higlHanking Mongolian official Yac rl.u (?-
1707) mcmol-ializcd thc Qian long cmpcror (I'. J736-li95) thai '" thc slUrdy
you ths of J-J enan are accllstomed to viole nce, many studyi ng the mania I arls.
For example, under t he prctcxt of teaching the martial ans, the monks of
thc Shaolin Temple h",c ocen gathering worthless drcgs. Violcnt CIiminal
types wi ttfu tty study c\,il c ustoms which Ix:comc a fa shion. I-Ietenxlox seClar-
ians targcl such crimi nal s, tcmpting them to joi n tl lei r secLS, thcreby i ncreas-
i ng thei r IllI mbers."'ij7
The political concerns of go\crnmcnt bureaucrats such as I-Ie Wei and
Yae rtu could cast doubt on the objectivity of their religious allegations. It
could be argucd that officials accused Shaolin monks of violating Buddhist
law only because they wished to convince the thmne that Shaolin was not a
genui ne monastery and hence that it posed a political threat. It is sign iflcam,
therefore, that infonnation on Shaolin reli g ious transgressions is provided
not only by outsiders (go\'ernmelll official s) but also by insiders (monastic
;0 Origi ns of a Tradi tion
office holders) . As earl y as the Ming period (1368-1644), Shaolin monastic
authorities we re struggling to stem breache s of Buddhi st law a mong their
cong regalion, weeding out monks h ' II O violated the monasti c code. In 1595
t.he monaslcl)" S slI pcl"i lllcndenL" Uians;)-\\'Ilo wcre responsible for monas-
lic discipli nc-cngran:d in Slone a \\a m ing 10 their fellow cle rics not 10
transgress Buddhist la\\'. The inscr ipti on they authored implies thai disre-
spect. for the monasti c code was relaled 10 Shaolin' s un ique position as a mili-
tary te mple; because lhe manial a,-L" \,'ere praCliced al the monastery. it
aU.racl.cd monks \\' 110 disregarded Buddll ist la\\':
Since ancient [imes , [ l i e Shaoli II Chan lias been a n ral
Bucldhisl lemple. II ranks firSI among Ihe world's famous monasteri es.
I lowL ... er, cullu rc (Wf'II) and warfare (WII) a rc cull hltl ed there IOget her.
and crowds of monks flock 10 il . Thus, there are some among the m who
pay no respen 10 monastic regul;ui ons .... From now onwards. whe n-
ever cases occur wl.ere tl.(' code is hreacl ' f'd and tl.e re gulat ions arc
violated : If tl.c t ransgrcss ion is small, II .e offende r will be fort hwitl.
plLnislled b}' the abbot ; if the transgression is se rious, it will be re port ed
b}' t he mon ks who hold office at t he lime 10 I h(' COllnl )' alit hodt ics. and
the offe nder will be punislwd in accordance wit h the law. 1ll!
We a rc now ina posit ion 10 eva luate I he evidell et:.. ,-litera r y, el hnograph ic, a nd
h istor ical-ofShaoti n die tary practi ces. Ikgi nning in t he Tang pe riod and a II
through the twentieth ce lllury, fi ction and dra ma associated fi ghting monks
with the consllmpt ion of an ima l fl esh. In novels, shon stori es, plays, and more
recently movies, ma nia I monks arc invariabl y de pictcd as 1llcal gobblcrs. Field-
work conduCled at the Shaoli n Temple a nd its vicinit y COIToborales lhe lesti-
mon)' of fict ion, 1'C\'ca ling thal C\'CIl as thc), prcsent the msel ves as Buddhist.
cler ics and don monastic robc s, most monks who havc lefl the monaste r ), to
pu rsue a marti al carcc:: r (lOCal Illc:.:al. Fina ll )" gO\'e rnme nt docume nts and mo-
nastic cOI"I'Cspondence- from the Ming and Qing periods alike- auesl lhal.
some Shaolin or Shaotin-affi li ated monks transgressed Buddhist di etary regu-
lations. We may conclude, therefore, tllattlll"OuglloUl mOSt, if nO\. all , of Shao-
lin's hislor ), meal eati ng has been closel y rel atc. -'d to the fighling mon k 's ethos.
T his is nOt to say lhal mea t has been of le n consumed insitle the temple .
Throughoul mOSl ofShaolin' s hisLOr)" carni\"orous monks have resided amund
lhe monaslery in tradilional subsid iar)' sh rines or in m<xlel"ll manial a1"lS
schools, a nd thei r religious tra nsgressions ha\'e take n place oUfside the lemple
prope r. Admittedl)" the l'C werc a lso times- such as after the Cultural Revol u-
tion-when disciplinc was lax and meal was eaten inside the monastery. How-
c"er, for the most part it was cl"Uo)'cd b)' wandering fi ghting monks who had left
thc monastcr), to purslle independent mania l ca ree rs" In this respect the fic-
tional figure of Lu Zhi shen is particularl ), ill uminati ng ofhiSLOrical conditions.
The carnivorous "Tauooed of t he carl )' Ming no\"c1 Wafer Ma rgin is or-
Serving the Emperor :) I
dained at a Ml. Wutai monastery, bUl abandons it for the freedom ofilinerant
military adve ntures. I-Ie is no different, lherefore, from countless Shaolin-
ordained fighting monks who hme been earning a li ving outside the temple,
consuming forbidden foods in ta,em s from De ngfeng County to New York
City.
Whether they han! recei' ed mart.iallrainingornOl , wandering monks have
often t.ransgressed monaslic regulations. Chinese Buddhist history has known
a speciallype of del'ic occupying li le fl-inges of tile monastic communit y, who
leads an il inc rant Ii fe. Often ,eneraled by the lait y as miracle workers, such wan-
dering monks engaged in Ilealing, fon unc.. .... lell ing, and tile Ii kc. Tileir eXl.raor-
dinary pO\\'ers we re bdie'ccl 1.0 be inlimately related to ext mordi nary behavior.
for ,\'hich reason perhaps they often breached monastic law, especially the di-
clary regulat.ions forbidding meal and h' ine. Therefore, such folk thaumatllrges
were somelimes referred to as "crazy monks" (dion selig), monks" (jng h,,-
shal/g) , 01' '\"ild monks" (ye heslumg). Beginning in the early medieval period,
their hagiographies were included in such coll ections as I I\lUiao's (497-554)
Biogmphies of Eminenl Monks (CaDSellg Z/IlIOIl), and they continued 1.0 figure in
CII inese rei igiolls I ife all I hrough the modern period, ,\'hen I he)' were referred
to as "meal and monks" (iillroll hesJumg). One oft he most famous of these
eccenlric sainls was tile Song period Daoji (?-1209), also known as CrazyJi (ji-
dian), \\' 110 liaS been celebrat ed post humousl y in an enormous body of ficlion
and drama, becoming one of the most beloved deities in the pantheon of Chi-
nese popular religion."'J
We may note in concl usion thalthe connection between fighting monks
and the consumption of meat extended 10 their heavenl y palrons. Medieval
sources indicate Illalull li ke mOSl Buddh ist divinities. guardian deil ies we re oc-
casionally profrered ani mal flesh. In an ediCl dated 513, lile piously \'egeta rian
emperor Liang WlIdi (I'. 502-519) forbade a nimal s<luifkes in all temples,
whethe r admini st rated by the Slate or b)' the people. One clause alluded to
those Buddhi st monaslel-ies and nunneries where d(;(.'rs heads, mUllon, and
the like we re offered 1.0 such fi ghling deities as the Four Lokap51as (I-Iushi Si
Tianwa ng), guardian monarchs of the Four Quaners. The dCCI"ee
thaI. such blood saCl"ifices were nOluncommon. Evidemly, hem'enly warriors
were imagi ned to relish animal flesh no less tha n their earthly cOUlllel-pal"ls.!!O
Conclusion
The Shaolin Monaslel-y military aCli vities can be traced back to the sevcmh
cemur)'. Around 610, Shaolin monks warded ofTan attack by ba.ndits, and in
621 Ihey participated in the flilure emperor Li Shimins campaign against
Wang Shichong. who had occupied thei r Cypress Valley Estate. The t\\'o baules
share a common connection to properly: In I.he former, the monks protccted
their temple and in the latter they fought for control of their agricultural
,>
,.
wealth. This common feature offers a due for understanding the Shaolin mar-
tial tradi tion. As amuellliandoh'ners, Shaoli n monks fought 10 protect their
capital. Buddhist military stre ngth \\'as in Shaolin's case an extension of cco-

nom Ie power.
I-lad the Shaoli n Monaste ry been silUaled in a remOle comer of the e m-
pire, its military aCli\' ilies \\'ould ha\'c n::mained unnoticed. It was the proxim-
ity of the te mple 1,0 lhe imperi al capital of Luoyang lhallransformcd its local
batt Ie into a campaign of national sign iflcance. Sllaol in's slral.cgic local ion on
a mOll ll!ain road ic."1ding to the eaSlc m capital embroiled its monks in a politi-
cal struggle of far-reaching consequences. Geography played an importanl
role in I he fonunes of the Shaolin milit al' y tradition.
The monks' milit.aryse rvices to the Tangsecll red their monaslery's wealt h
under its regime. Their aSltll e choice of Li Shimin o\'er \"'ang Shichong earned
Illem tile gral il ude of an emperor and Ilis migllt y dynast)', Most ' I:lng emperors
were nOI enll ilisiast ic abOlIl Il le Bllddllist fait h, Tlleir geneI'm IS pat mnage of
the monasl ery resulled from Shaolin's support of t he dynast y's fOllnder rather
Ihan from religious piety. The monks' d isregard for the Buddhist prohibition
of violence \\'as I herefore the \'el)' source of their monastery's prosperity.
Cerlai n t railS I hal we re to characteri:t.e the emire histor), of Shaolin fighl'
ing are percepl ibte already in Tang sources, )oirst is the associat ion oflhe fight
ing monk's et hos \\' ith the consulllpl ion of meal. During the medieval period,
some Sllaoli lh lrfitiated monks probably violated Bllddhist dietal)' law by cal
i ng animal nesll, e\'en t.hough tllei r tra nsgressions I ikC\ y look place o U1.side the
te mple proper. Second, Il le con Ilecti oll bel wc...'Cn monast ic martial practi ce and
the vcneration of Buddhist milit:u), deities can be traced back to medieval
times. It is likcl}' that as earl y as the Tang period SII<lolin monks beseechcd the
divine wa rrior to suppl y them with physical strcngth. Mon:; pCrli
nently, tile Buddl lisl guard ian providcd thc monks witll reli giolls sanction for
\'iolence. I f the Buddha h imscl f required t he protcction of figlning dcilies, his
monastic com mun ity ccrtainl y needed the protcction of fighling mon ks.
These simi tal' ilies notwithstand ing, Tang Shaolin monks d id nol. invcllL
t he fighting ledmiqlU!s for which their monastery was to become fa mOlls cen
wries lat.er. We will sec in the foll owing chapter thai by thc mid Mi ng period
( 1368-1644), the Shaol in martial arts were laudcd t hroughout. China. I-low
ever, mcdicml sou rces do not alludc to spcd fic Shaol in fighting melhods. In
dced lhe)' neither mention how Shaolin monks fought , nor which weapons
Lhey employed in battle. Atu' ibllling thcir dcsCt:ndants' mania I ans 10 Tang
Shaolin monks would be anachronistic.
PART II
Systemizing
Martial Practice
(900-1600)
C H A PTER 3
Defending the Nation
By T il E SECOND H ALF or the Ming pcriod ( 1368- 1644), Shaolin's military
repul al ion Ilad been fI nnly establisllCd. A flood or sixleenth- and sc"enr.eenl h
cenl u ry sources at teSt,S the fame or t he Shaoli n man ial arts. Late Ming aut bors
leave no doublthal ma rtialtr<l ining had Ix:e n rull yinlegrated into the monas-
tery's regimen, and thaI its monks had created t heir own quintessential fight-
ing techniques.
The lale Ming pe ri od witnessed 11 tremendous growth in commercial pub-
lishing. The burgeoning consumer economy required new types of primed lit.-
eral.u re: travel guides and enq dolx:dias, memoirs and local hislories, mil il <11' )'
treatises and marlial arts manuals. no less than a great variclyofficlion-nO'.'ds
and short. stori es alike. 111e Shaolin manial ans figure in each and e\,el1' one or
these li t.e rary genres. Ti ley arc cclebmtc:..'d in t he wri tings orgenel<lls and mar-
t.ial arts ex perls, sdlolars and Stalesmen, monks and poelS. By the si xleell lh eell-
I.u ry, Shaolin fighting tcchniques were recorded in every corner or the empi re,
rrom Yun nan in the remote somli westto Zhejiang on t he eastel'll seaboard.
JUSt, how famous t he Shaolin mani al an s had become is indicated by
proverbi al refen:.: nces. Casual allusions to Shaolin fight ing appear ill e"el,)'
type or latc Ming fini on, rrom talcs inlhe classical language to shon slories
and nO\'c1s in the \'ernacul ar.
'
When fi ctional tough guys brag lhat their tech-
niques arc superior to Shaolin, they re\'eal how well-known the lauer had
been. "The Shaolin slarr is onl y good ror beating up rrogs,n proclaims a pro-
tagonist or the Plum ill Ihe Goidell \laS!! (jill Ping Me;) (ca. 1600), pmving that
the monaster y's martial arts had become a household n a m e . ~
The Ming evidence d ifTers rmm the precedi ng Tang sources not only in
scolX: but also in t he precise infonnalion it provides on the Shaolin fighting
techniques. We cannot properl y speak or "Tang-period Shaolin manial arlS,"
since we do not know !lowse\'emh-centlll' y Shaolin monks rought. By contrast ,
we can desCI; be the late Millg Shaolin comb.'1t melilods, whidl attracted to the
monastery military experts from across lhe empi re. By t he sixteenth cent ury,
56 Systemizing Pracli<;c
Shaolin monks had dC\'eloped quilllcsscmial fighting techniques that warrant
t.he term "Shaotin mania I arts,"
What had happened between the Tang and the Ming? Did Shaolin monks
practice figilling during the lengthy pcdod that separated I heir mi litary assis-
tance to Li Shi min from the SiXlcclllh-cemury flowering of their manial arts?
The available sources do not pennil us to answer tllis question with ccrtainlY.
NC\'erulcless, lIlc)' do indicate ti le possibility of a conI inuOliS mi lila.-y I.radi-
!.ion. It appears likely lhat Shaolin monks did e ngage in martiailraining-al
least. inlcrmincnti y-duri ng 11 \e Nonllcrn Song (960-1126), the Jill ( 1115-
1234), and I he Yuan (1271-1368), We ha\'c mentioned in tbe previous chapter
a Iwelfth-celllul), stele dedicated t.o evincing that tbe m.onks had
been \\'.orsbipping t be !.lucia I)' d ivinit y in t be c.ontext .of military training. and
we \\' ill sec bel.oW tl lat in tI le f.ourt (:e lllli century tll ey res.orted t.o anns. de fend-
ing t.beir temple against the Red Turba ns (I-I.ongjin) that pillaged I-Ie nan. In
additi.on, tllere is tile cirClllllst ant ia l evidence .of fict i.on; we will sec in chapter
4 Ihat fic ti.onal fighting m.onks had been celebrated in popular l.ore as carl)' as
Ille twelftll cent 1111'. Assllilling that t Iley Il ad been faslli.oned after (fa/warri.ors,
Ihe martial ans figured-cither a t the Sha.oli)) Temple.or in .01 her Buddhist
m.onasl.c ries-cent HI' ies bef.ore ti le bl lrst .of t he Ming interest in them.
It is imp.ossible toO ascerlain whether. pri.or 1.0 the Ming peri.od, the 1ll,1I1ial
art s had been as fully integratcd illl.o the m.o\ll.lSlcliS regimen. I ic)\\'c... 'ver, it is
pr.obablc t hal t hey figured there, al leaS! sporadically, This is suggcs1ed n.ot .onl)'
by lilC available lwc1f1 II- ll lr.ough f.ollI1eemll-CeIlt1l 1)' s.ources bm als.o '' I he \'el)'
complcxity and ricl lncss .of ti le r .. 1 ing cvidcncc itself. Tile si xtcemh-cem ur)' Sha.o-
Ii n military systc m W'lS s.o e lab.orate lhat it was likel y the product .ofa Icngthye\'Olu-
lion. Conlcmp.ofal)' Illi li lal), expens , aI any nne, were convinced lhalthe Sha.olin
monks Ilad been 1X)lislli ng tlle ir art f.or CCllllllics. Ming li leJ<uun:: abounds with
such statemcnts as "lhe Shaolin fi ghting techniques have er!j.o)'Cd f.-une from an-
cient limes 10 the Some authors e\'en argued IhatShaolin's ren.own
no longerj llslificd, si nce its fighting monks we re no match fOl' their ill uSlri.ous an-
cestors. The renowned ge neral Yu Darou ( 1503-1579), for example, belic... .... ,{.'(11hal.
Shaol in clerics "hm'e lostthe ancicnt Sc."Cre lS of their I manial]
Late Ming Shaolin monks praCliced various fighting meth.ods. The)'
Irained in Ihe di\'c rse techniqucs of spear fighting a nd unarmed hand c.om-
bal. (quail), and thcy ca ... ied to battl e a va ri ety of weapons incl uding steellri-
den IS (gtlllgdw) and hookcd spears (gollqillllg). Howe\'er, Mi ng s.ources leave
no doubl lhat lhe weapon in which the)' speciali zed-indeed lhe .one lhal.
made lheir monasler), famous-was til e staff,
Cheng Zongyou's Expositioll of the Origillal Shaolill Staff Method
The earliest extant manllal of the Shaoli n manial ans was dedicated 10 slaff
fighti ng. Tilled Exposilioll oJ Ihe Original SJlllolill Siaff Mellw(/ (SJuwlill gllllJa cha /l.
Defending the Nation :,)7
zong) (herc.'1fter Sluwiin SlajjMelhOli ), it \\'as compiled around 1610 by a militalY
expert named Chcng Zongyoll (Style: Chongdoll ) from Xi uning, I-Iuizhou
PrefeclUre, in the soulhem pan of today's Anlilli. Thc Cheng family belonged
to the local gemry, and ilS late Ming me mbcrs induded scveral noted scholars
and degree holders. Howe\"er, Zongr ou's i lllerCSlS, like those of several hrolh-
e rs and nephews of hi s, were not in dassical learning but in the mililal) ' art.s.
We possess a description of the entire Cheng household-Zong)'ou and his
hrothers-demonstrating manialtecllniques allile local yamen, as well as an
account of an eighty-man mil italY force, trained by Zongyou and made up en-
t irely of me mbers of Ilis estat e. 1
Che ng Zongyou was neithe r a bandit nOI a memher of the l\ling he redi -
tary military, two groups \\'e might expect to have mastered the martial aJ"l.s.
Rather he \\'as of literali background, and his acquai ntances included re-
nO\\' ned scllola rs.
r
Slill , martial an.s "'e re Ili s passion , which was shared by
some ot Il er membe rs of h is class. The earl iest ext a nt maJ1\ lal of t he "i nlernal
scllool " (1/ f'ijia) ofrtglll i ng, for example. was compiled by I-lllang Ba ijia ( 1643-
?), SOil of the re nowned scholar 1-luangZongxi ( 1610-1695), and seven teenth-
century methods of spear fi ghting we re recorded by \,,111 Shll ( 1611-1005),
who was also a poet and a lit e rary criti c. These literati were often trained in
fighting b)' instructors of lowe r social status. Their contribulion 10 martial
art s hi story lies in recording techniques that , having originated aillo ng the
un leuered classes, would ot he rwise have been losl.6
In addition to hi s SIUlOlill SltlffMelllOli, Che ng Zong)'ou compiled an ar-
che ry manual tit led IlislDlY oj Arrllt'r)' (She slli) (preface 1629), <I S well as trea-
tises on the tech niques of the spear, the broadsword, a nd the crossbow. In
IG21 he issued the latte r three. togethe rwilh his ma nual ofllie Shaolin staff,
ina COIll bi ned ed it ion titled Tedl1lifJue5 jor AJter-Fal"lIIillg Pastime (Ceng )' 11 sheng
ji) .' The rclati\'e length of the manuals included in t hi s handsomely illus-
trated book lea\'cs no doubt thaI , as Che ng himself acknowledges, thc staff
was hi s weapon of choice. Indeed, thc S/1ll01i1l Stajj Method is as long <IS the
mher t hrce manual s combined.
Cheng' s familialilY wi lh stalT fighling was due to the lengthy period he
spenl at tllC Shaol in Monastcl) '. According to hi s own testi mony, Ilis appre mice-
ship there laslcd no less then ten rears. His description of the training he re-
ceived re\'c.'1ls that the monastery re ndered lale M ing society tIle uniq ue service
ofmal1;al education. Thc Shaolin eSlablishmememe rges from his w,itings as a
mil itar), academy, where clergy and laity were trained together in stalT fighting.
JLl$t how big this academy was we gather from General Yu Dayou, who was given
a demonstration there b}' a thousand fighli ng monks.
8
Cheng writes:
The Shaolin l\Ionastery is nestled bet ween two mountains: thal of cullllre
(well) and that of fi ghting (WI/). Indeed this monastery has transmitu.>d
lhe melhod of staff fighting and tll(: doctrines of tile ellan seC! alike, for
whidl reason gentlemen throughout the land have always admired it.
58 Systemizing Prac! kc
Since my youth ' was de Lermined to learn lhe martial arts. \Vhen-
e\'er I heard of a famous leacher ' wouldn l hesitate LO ua\-c! far 10 g'ain
his instruction. Therefore ' gathere d lhe necessary lran!1 expenses, and
jour neyed to the Shaolin :\10nastel) ' wll(!rc , spe lll , all in all, morc than
t.en years. AI. first I sen 'ed :\'Ias ter ' Iongj i, who was toleraJU enough 10
admit me illlo hi s class. Even t hough I gained a ske tchy understanding
of t he tech n iq lIes broad out! ines, , didnt maste r it .
At the time :\'Iastcr ' long-Lhuan was already an old man in his
eight ies.!I heless h is starr Ill(!t hod was supe rb. and t he monks
venerated him the most,. Therefore ' turned to him as my next teacher,
and eadl day I learned new! hings I had ne\'t'!r heard of before. I n addi-
tion, I IX!flienderi the 1\\'0 :\1astcrs Zongx iangand longdai. and I gained
enonnously from pract icing wit II t Ilem. Later I met Master Guang'an. on('
of the best experts in the Buddhist technique. l ie had inherited I long-
zhuan's tech niquc in its cnt irelY, and had C\'en imprO\'ed upon i1.
Guang'an tutored me personally, and ren!<llcd to me wonderful subtleti<..os.
Laler I followed him Ollt of t he monastery and we t ra\'cled toget her for
several years. The man'Clous imrica!"}' of the staffs Iransfornmtions, the
wonderful swiftness of its manipulations-l graduall y became familiar
wil h Ihem, and 1 attained sudden enli gill enment (hm). I chose thi s field as
my specialt y, and I brli('\'C I d id have some achiC\ement.s.
As for arc her y, riding, and tile a n s of sword and spear, I paid quit l!
some at le ll l ion 10 I heir im'est igat ion as wel l. hO\\'c\'cr by I hal time InY
energy of Il a I f:a-li fel ime Ilad alrcad) beell Speili. My great unck, the
mil il ary Sl udenl Yu nsllu i and my ncpllcws Junxill ;[Ild I he NOl I iOllal
Uni\'ersilY SI mlenl Ilancilu Ilad SI ud ied Wil lI Ill C Ollce al Shaolin. They
poi nl ed OUI Illal so far I lIe Sllaoli It stalT met Ilod Ilad bCCl1 trallsmitted
onl y orally, from one Buddhisl masle r 10 Ihe !lex .. Since I was the first to
draw illus l ral ions and compi Ie wr il Icn fornlllias for ii , I hey suggested I
publish these for I he benefil of fr iends. AI firSI I declined,
sayi ng I \\';.IS nOI equal 10 the lask. BlIllhen illuslrious gemlcmell from
all over tile land started comme ndi ng tl lc supposed meri ts of my work.
They e\'Cn blamed me for kee ping it secrel.lhereby dcpriving Ihcm. So
finally I found some free lime, galhc red lhc doclri n(.'S handed do\\'n to
Ille b)' teachers a nd friend s. and combined lhesc with what I had
lear ned from my own ex pt:ri e ncc. ' commissioned an artisan to cx(."Culc
the drawings, and, e"en though my wriling is somcwhal \ulgar, I added
10 tile len of each drawi ng a rl lyming forum I .. ( gej ue) .
Together these drawings and formulas COIlSli ulIC a ' olumc, which I
litled: Exposilioll oj Ille Origillal S/woli ll SllIff Method. Just casl ing a
at one of the drawings would probably sufficc to figure Ihe posilion
depicted therein. Thus t ile reade r will be able lO sUidy li lis mClhod
wit.hout t.he ai d of a t.eaclle r. DespiLe an app .. rclll simpl icilY. each
sent ence captu res Ihe secret of"inol"}, and de fcal, each drawing harbors
the essence ofmovemem. E\"en t.hougll stalT figlll ing is called a trivial
art, ilS explication in t. his book is the result of a st renuous e ITor! .
If this book serves like-minded friends as a raft them to the
ot her shore [of enlightenment], if they rel y upon it to st rengthen the
Slate and paci fy it. s borders, thereby spreadi ng my teachers' method and
enhancing its glol)' . ret .lIlOt her of my goals would be accomplished. II.>
Cllcng's hopc lIlatll is Slmo/in SlaJJ MelJu)(1 \,ould c nllancc tllc fa mc of h is
monastic instructors \\las not frustratcd. Shonl)' after thc manual 's puhlica-
tion, thc rc no\\'ncd Mao Yuan}' i (1549-ca. 164 1) commcntcd. "All fighting
tcchniCJucs dcri\'C from staIT mcthods, a nd all staIT mcthods dcrivc f!"Om Shao-
lin. As for I Ilc Sllaoli n mctllod no dcscript ion of it is as dctailcd as ... Cheng
Zongyou's E;..1)()silioll oflhe Ol'igilllll Shamjll SlaJJMelho<l. "II Mao was so imprcsscd
Wil li Cllcng's manual t.lmt Ilc incol' poldtcd it almost in full int.o his cncyclope-
di c TI"l'al iSf of Mililmy PI"'/)(lmliQIIS (lVulJti
Chcng's cxhausti\'c prcscntal ion ofl hc Shaolin staffmcthod begins wit II a
dcscripl ion of t hc wcalx)Il. I-Ic providcs spcd fications for the lengt h, weight ,
and mat.crials to be uscd in I hc prep"ral ion of t he sta IT. to \\'h ich, Ii ke most lat.c
Ming military cxpcrl.s, hc rcfc rs as gUll. According to Cheng, the stafr can bc
made cit hcr of " 'oocl or of iron. In I hc formcr case its rccommended lcngth is
8 to 8.5 rhi (which in I hc M ing would mcan approximatel), 8.2 fcct to 8.7 fcct),
and it s wcight 2.5 to 3 jin (approximately 3.2 pounds to 3.9 pounds). Thc iron
stOlfI' is slightl y shoncr (7.5 rhi. or approximately, 7.7 fCCI ), and its suggcst.ed
\\'ciglll belwcen 15 and 16 jill (approximatcly 19.51020.8 pounds).13 Chcng also
discusscs 111e t)'pc or limber LO bc used in lhc preparation oftllc wooden staff:
As I he regions of t he cOllnt ry \'a'1', so do I he I ypcs of wood. As long as
I lie wood is solid and dense, as long as il is bOI II lIard and pliant.
growing I Ilinltet" a nd tIl in ncr frolll I lIe base 10 I lie I rt-'Clop I ike it mousc's
tail, it will do nicel y. A st raight pole Ihal is nalurall y frcc of scal'S ;md
It odes would be preferable. By ifil le slaITis produced by
cleaving or sawing, i1. will eas il y break along the ve ins."
Cheng distingui sllcs beLwccn fift }'-thrcc individual staff positions (Shl),
cach of wh ich he reprcscnts by a drawing, accompanicd by an explanatory
"rh}'111ing fonmila" (fi gure 9). Indi\'idua l positions are strung toge ther into
practice sequc nccs called lush; (sequcnce of positions), Intricate diagrams
guide thc pracLi liom.: r in the pCI' fonna ncc ofLhese sequcnces, which simulatc
thc kind of motions that characterize a real battle (figure 10). Finally, sevcral
praclice sequences combine into wha t Chcng calls a "mcthod" (fil). All in all,
he lists five different methods of the Shaolin staff: Li tLlc Spirit ()'CdUl),
Big Yak\,a Spi t;l, )-1 idden Hands (Vi nshou), Pushi ng Staff (Pai gun), and Shut-
tling [Staff] (Chuansuo). The Pushing Staff diITcrs from the other four meth-
ods in bei ng a technique of dual rmher than solitary practicc, and both thc
It
1]
(\ft c(Q'l oJ-I' f'
-"
,

it ,. 1;-
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fr, 1 i}
-t " Hoit., 1:?-
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It! 1t\
"?

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if] G'il'
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1il

'il A ..
T
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f.L v.f-
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F 1(:. 9. The MUfti ng-Slcc\'c Posi tion- from Cheng Zongyou's 1621 SlwO/ill SllIJJ /lie/hod.
Pushing StafT and t he Shuuling ISlalT] differ from the remaining three in
bei ng "free methods Wilholll fi xl.xi posit ions
n
(II 110 Jll WI/. dillg
Accordi ng to Che ng, the 11,'c methods all originated at the monastery. In
this respect, it is no accidellllhallhc word (wI/g) figures in the title
of his manual: Exposilion '!flhe Original S/ulOlill SilljJMeflwd. Cheng's goal was \0
expound what he a rgued we re the authentic Shaolin techniques, as distinct
from the numerous methods that--<:\'c n as thcy carried the monastery's
name-were far remm'ed from its ol-iginal tcach ing_ His agenda mi rrors the
fame the Shaoli n Monastcl-Y had acqui red by thc carly se\'entecnth cent ury, If
it were not for the monastc ry' s re nown, practit ioners of other tcchniques would
not have capitalized on its name, a nd Chc ng woul d not have becn prompted to
present the oliginfl/Shaolin mel hod,
Thus, Cheng's S/uwiin SJaJJMellwd rc\'cals a landscape fa miliar in loclay's
Defendi ng the Nation

tl
I
I
I
I
i
'--
I
,
I
. _. - -- -
---
FII . 10. Praaice sc(llIcnce frolll Cheng Zong}'ou's 1621 S/Uloli" SJ(lff Me/hod.
,
61
,
,
,
, ,
"
world of manial ans: onc of cOIllI>cting schools, each professing to be the sole
in he rit or of the same ori gi nal tcaching. The .-i\"lr), bet\\'een manial experts
all daiming possession of t1u authcmic Shaolin Icaching is most app..'lrent in
the '"Qut:stions and section of the SIIllOIiIl Siftjf Mefhod, where Chc ng
addresses the following quer)" posed b)' a hypot hetical ql lcsl ioner:
"Today, there is no sho nage ofShaoli n And reI their
methods all diffe r. I low could it. be dUll by Clloosinga teacher,
a praclitioner ends lip being taught a diffe re nt
I replied: "The teach ings all de ri ve from the same source. I lo\\,(.,,\'cr,
wit h t he passage of lime people turn t heir backs 011 it. T<!achers esteem
llllUSUlI I Illet hods, and prefer st.range tccllniqucs. Some l ake 1 he
opening sect ion of Illis prac t ice seqll(!IlCC (III) and mix it wilh 1 he closing
section of IllaI sequence. Ot llc rs take Ille dosing sect ion of Ilwl Sf'(Ill(! Il<:e
a nd mingle it with the middle sCClioll of IhisscqU<!I1C(!. So much so, lhal
what w,.\s originally one seque nce is I ransformed i 111 0 t wo. Th us leac h<!rs
confuse the world, and t he prac titioners as t ray, a l l for the sake of
fame a nd profit. I am much gri e\'cd by t h is situa ti on, and it is exactly for
thi s rcason t llat I st r ive tOSCI
Thl'Oughout his manual , Cheng Zong}'ou \\'Ca\'cs together the l<mgl.lage of
ma rl ial perfect ion and t he id iom ofspi"itl.lal aHainmenl. I-Ie refers to the Sbao-
lin staff met hod as the "unsUl' passed Huddhisl \\' isdo m (Bodhi)" (wltshallg
PUll), and he descr ibes his own mastery of it as en light en men1" (dUll) ,
lI e not.es that Shaolin monks consider martialt nl ining a tool for rcaching the
"other shore" or liberation, and he expresses the hope that his own ma nual
wou lei sen'e as the "Uuddhist rart .. thai \\'ould carry his readers 10 Nirval.l a, li We
need not necessarily doubt t he sincerit y of hi s Buddhist sent iments, I laving
spen I. more t lmn ten yea rs al the Shaol in Monastery, Cheng probably did associ-
at e martial trai ning \\' ith rei igious selr-cult iv;uiOIl , In this respect , his Budd h iSI
vocabulary was more than a mere ornament to the core of his military I heot")"
Cheng Zong)'oll hardly d istinguished the mastery of h is mania I art from Ihe
mastery or the mind that Ic. ..d to libe ration, The discipline and dedication lhal
we re necessary ror the one were equall yconduci\'e to the mhel',
Monks and Generals
Although his was the most de tailed exposition of t he Shaolin staff, Cheng
Zongyou was nOt the onl }' expen to discuss it. On t he contrary. references 1.0
t he Shaolin techniques or staff fi ghting appear regularly in late Mi ng mili-
ta ry encycloped ias, beginning with Tang Shunzhi "s ( 1507-1560) Treatise 011
Military Affairs ( Wu bian), WI' iucn somc sc\'enty ycars prior to the publication
or Cheng's manual.
18
Othcr mi litary compilations that feature the Shaolin
stafr include New Treatise on Mililar)' EJjicil!1lC)' (jixiao xinsltll) (ca. 1562), by Ihe
renowned general Qi Jiguang ( 1528-1588); Treatise oJ Military Prej){I/"{ItioI1J, by
lhe abm'e- memioncd Mao Yuanyi; and Rf!Cort/s oJ Military Tartics (7Jumji), by
the mili ta ry commandcr I-Ie Li angchcn (0, 1565), The latter composition in-
dicates a spread or the Shaolin marti al arts within monastic circles. It nOles
that t he monastery's stan method has bccn t ra nsmitted to the monks al.
Defending the Nation 63
1\1 "" 3. "'l ing ce nters of mOnaS! ic fighting.
6eijinll
Wutai
T:tiyuan '
Zhcngmou

Funiu Shaolin
I
Mount Niu, b)' which it probabl y refers to the monasti c celller on Mo ulll
Funiu, llenan (map 3). 19
L.'l.le Ming militar), expens usuall y heap praises on the Shaolin staff
method. QiJ iguang, for instance, I isIS it among the famous fighting techniq ues
of his lime, and ~ ' I a o Yuanyi concludes that it has sen'crl as thc source for all
other stafT st),les. I-Iowew;r, the information to be gathered from uilical voices
is no less significant. Martial anisL<; who di sappro\"(,.'d of the Shaolin method
provide LIS with detai led i nfonnation 011 it. Til is is especial I)' truc of those mi li -
lary experts that found fault with the Shaolin c mphasis on the stafT, for Ihe)'
offer lhe st.rongest testi mOil )' of its celllralit)' in t he monaster), 's regimen.
One expert who objected to the Shaolin concentration on stafTfighting, ar-
guing that it resul ted in neglect and e\'en distortion of training in other weap-
ons, was Wu Shu. Wu was bom on the banks of tile Lou Rh'cr (nO'wcalied Liuhe),
in the subprefcclUrc of Taiqiang, some thin)' miles northeast of Suzhou in
[()(lay'sJiangsu. Like Cheng Zong}'ou, he \Vas of literati background, and unde r
his other name, WlI Qiao, he is known to liS as author ofthe Poefic Conversafion_l"
Around Ilu Fireplare ( HeiLu shillllfl).:>tl As a roung man, Wu studied spear fighting
with other gentry fdends, one o[h'hom, Lu Shiyi (1611-1672), was 10 become a
renowned Confucian lhinker. Tllcir inSlruClOr was tIle itinerant manial anist
Shi Dian (/wo:Jingyan) (ca.
Wli practiced the spear throughout his adult life. In 1678 he summari zed
his st.udics in an anthology titled Arm Exercises (Shaub; Ill), which includes seven
eli ITcrcnl. spear manual s. One of lhese, tit led S/Hwr Melil()(i from, fhe Dreallling-of
Foliage I-Ifill (Menglii lang qiallgj;'), is aHribuled to the Shaolin monk I-Iong-
zhllan, whom Che ng Zongyou me ntioned as his slaff leache r. Even as he
incorporated I-Iongzhuan's manual into his anthology, Wu was highly cri tical
of the Shaolin method it re present ed. "Shaoli n Imonks] do not lI nderstand
spC<lr fighting al all ," he exdai meet. "I n fact , t hey employ I heir SI afT tech niq ues
for the spear."n In oilier words, bcrause they Q\'eremphasize staff lraining,
Shaolin mon ks fail 10 take advantage of I he spear's IIniqlle featllres. as WII fll 1'-
Iherexplains:
Tile Shaolin starr mel hod lIas didne origins, and it lIas el-yo}'ed fame
from anci(' nl times 10 the prf'Senl. J myself have been quite im'olnxl in
it . J ndeed, it is as II igh as I lIe moun I ai ns and as deep as 1 he seas. It Cll n
trul y be called a -s upreme Il.'f'hnique.- ... Still as a weapon the spear is
ent irel y d ifferen I from I he st a rr. The ancient prO\'erb says: -The spear is
t lIe lord of all weapons. I lie staff is an attendant in it s estat e. Illdeed,
this is so .... The Shaolin monks haH! never been aware of this. The}'
treat tllC spcar and tile st aff as if tl ll.'}' were si mila r weapol ls. 2'
Whereas \Vu Shu disappro\'ed of the monks' disregard for weapons other
than the staff, another military expen , Yu Dayou, was uitical of their staff'
method itself. Yu is known to us as a successful general who sel"W;d as re -
gional commander on fi\'e of China's frontiers. I-Ie was bol'll into a military
family inJi l"Uia ng, and his brillia nt military career was due in large
meaSll re to hi s conll-iblilion to the suppression of piracy along eh in a's sOlllh-
east.el'll coas!.,tl Yll di stinguished himself not only as a strategi st. bm also as
an accomplished martial ani sL He specia li zed in a staff method called 'Jing-
chu Long Sword" (j ingchu changjia n), a nd hc compiled a manual of stafT
fighting, titled Sword Classic (jilll! )ing), wh ich won praisc from cOlllcmporary
milit.ary
I ntdgued by Shaolin's renown, Yu tra\"eled tlle l"C around 1560 to observe
lhe monastic fighling tcchniquc, blll he was, according to his accoum, deeply
disappoi llled. Thc monastic a n had declined so much, he claimed, thal he
ended up leaching the monks his OWlllIlartial techniques" In the following ac-
counl of his \' isitlo lhc monastery, Yuuscs the word Uiml) for the staff,
as he docs in lhe tit.le of his Slaff
I had heard t.hat. t.he Shao[in :'-.Ionastery in I lenan possesses a divinely
t.ransmitted met bod of fenci ng Uijin /I) lstaff fighLingl, Later, when I was
on Illy way back from Yunzhong (in Shanxi), I followed th(! path to the
monastery. :'-.1ore t.han a t.hOlL-;and lShao[i nl monks considered them-
S(!kes in t.his lstafTl method, and t hey all came Otlt to demon-
strate it. I realized that t he monastery llad already lost tile ancient
secrets of the art, and I openly told them so. The monks immediatdy
expresserl their desire to be instructed, to which I responded: "One
must dedicate years upon years to maSH!r t his techni<[ ue,M So they chos(!
from amongst them twO young and courageous monks. one named
Zongqing, the ot [lt:r Pucong, who followed me to th(! South. and took
up residence inside my military barracks. I taught them Ihe True
Fonnula of the Yin and Yang Transformat ions, 't7 as well as the profound
and illuminating imperati\"es.
After more than three years had elapsed , the twO said: - We haw'
been here long \\'c beg permission to rct urn in order I hat we
ma}' teacll ou r fellow mon ks what we han' learned. Tl lis way fyollr]
method will be transmitt ed for e\'er and c\er.M And so I let Ihem go.
Tltirteen rea rs swift Iy passed, and suddenly one day my gatekeeper
announced t hat a mon k was wish ing to sec me. l ie was allowed in. and
10 and behold It(' was Zongqing! J Ic told me that ptl(' ong had already
joined tile ranks of divine beings, and tllat on ly lie, Zongqing. had
returned to t he Shaolin Mon:tst et1'. wherc he taught t he Sword Fonnu-
las (s tafTformulas) and Chan Regulations. Amongst the monks. almost
a hundred achi(.'ved a profound kllowlcclb>"C of the technique. Thus it call
be transmitted for e\"er and c\"er!211
65
Gene ral Yu was under lhe impression that his slaffmethod would be 1rans-
mined for gencral ions at the Shaolin Monastcry. Did he O\'creStimalc his im-
pact on the Shao\in traditi on? All examination of Cheng Zongyou's manual
reveal s lhal. the staff lechni<1ue he learned at Shao\i n , some fifty years after
Yu's \'isil 1.0 the monastc t' y, was emircl y different from the one ollliined in
Yu's Sword Classic. The twO staff sty!cs-thattaught by the genel'al and lhat
sUidied by Cheng-vat' y in e\'e t' YLhing from t he names ofmcthods (fa) and
positions (sId) to the rh)' ming fonnul as a nd illustl<\tions.:!9 Funhermore. we
can t.race at. least some of Lhe nome nclatu rc in Che ng's SIUIOIiIl Staff '''''eflt od to
a milit.ary encyclopedia that alllecedes Yu's e ncounter with the Shaolin
monks. :W Clearl y, an indigenous tradition of Shao\in staff fighting, which
predated the general 's visit to the monaster)', continued to thrive there long
afterwards.
General Yu misj udged hi s innl1e nce on Shao\in fighting, blll it is not im-
possible t.hat he left some mark on it. A hint is providc..xJ by the following pas-
sage from Wu Shu's Arm Exercises, which wascompilcd approximately a huncir(.-<:I
years after the general 's \'isitto the Shao\in monastery:
The Shaol in :"'Ionastcr y has a SI afT figlu ing m CI hod calk"{i MFin! Tigers
Interception"' (Wuhl! Ian). - One strike down, one strike UpM (Ji flu Ji jie)
is all t here is [0 it. 51 riking down, 111(: s tall should reach the ground;
stri king up it should pass one's head . II is a simple mClilod, and liu!re is
not hing spectacular abOLIt ii , almost like a farmer hoeing the soil. Still.
by practicing it long enough one ;11 t ains refineme nt . -Slri king down and
up:' one obtains SI re ng! II. [\,(: n t he other Simolin techniques arc all in
awe of this mel hod. It canllot be I,aken li glilly j ust h(!causc it is so
si mph:.
Wli Shu highlights the formula "one stri ke <10\\' 11 , one strike up" as char-
actcrist ic of the "fi\'c Tigers 1 Iltcrccpt ion." The same formula figu res prom i-
ne nt.! y in Vu Dayou's Sword Gllssic, fOI' h' hicll reason it is I ikeJ y that tile il1(!t hod
the ge ne ral taught is none other lhan the one \Vu Shu describes. If Tang
I-I ao, wllo formulat ed t Ili s hypotllesis, is correct, then by t he lat e seventeen til
century the Shaolin monks had been e ngaged in t\\'o s),stems of staff train-
i ng, one recorded in Che ng's Siwoli 1/ SIll!! Melho<i, which predated Vu's visit to
their monastel)' , and the other ca ll ed by \Vu Shu Tigers Interception,"
Wllicll tlley learned from tile Ming
Leaving aside the CJlI cstion of VII Da)'ou's precise infl ue nce on the Shao-
lin martial arts, hi s association with the monaste ry re"eals a connection Ix:-
tween twO segments of late Ming societ y, which schol arship le nds 1.0 regard
as CJuit.c distinct: the Huddhist s(wgllfl a nd the military. General Vu lreat ed
Shaolin monks as fellm ... professionals, with \\'hom he conferred on the tecl!-
n icalities of Ili s fie ld. II is conception of their monastery as a military instil.u-
tion enriches our unde rnanding of lhe multifarious rolcs thaI Buddhism
pla)'ed in late Ming society."
According to Yu's account. he instniCLed the Shaolin monks. In Olher in-
stances Sllaol in monks sl.ared lIu!ir manial expeni se with lllembers of the mili -
tary. The c1earc.:st example is thaI of the mid-sixteemh-celllury campaign
agai nst piracy, during wllid. mi li tar), officials in tile Jia ngnan region ca lIed on
the Shaoli n monks for help. The monks who responded andjoilK'CIthe war did
not forsake their reli giolls idemity. Rathe r tha n blending in with the other sol-
diers, the), formed tl leir own monastic units. I-I owe\'er, at least one deric was of-
fered a position in the military a nd consequentJy returned to the laity. This is
the seventeemh-century Shaolin monk Liu Decl la ng, who was appointed mo-
bile corps commander 0'01l)i )iflllgjllll) in the army. Even aftel' he abandoned
the monastic order in favor of the officer COI-PS, Liu maintained comaet Wilh
hi s Buddhist alma maler, accepting as stude nts Shaolin monks who sought his
inst.ruCiion in spear fighting. '!
If Shaoli n monks conferred with generals, they also associated with the
eme rgi ng community of martial artists lhat did not belong to the military. We
met. two literati members of thaI community, Cheng Zong)'oll and Wu Shu. A
t.hird one, Cheng Zhennl (n. ca. 1620), receh'ed his military education not al.
the Shaolin Monastery but at anothe r Budd hi st center, Mount Emci in Sich-
uan. Che ng traveled the re to gain the instruction of monk I'u'en (fl. ca. 1600).
whose spear technifjues he latel' l'ccol'ded in his Emei SjJear Method (Elllei
qi(mgfa)Y' I-Ie notes that Pu 'en rccciwxi thi s tcchnique from a divine being. for
which reason, perhaps, the monk was reluclant to part with it. Che ng was
obliged to spend two years gathel' ing fireh'Ood before Pu'en was convinc{.xl of
hi s sinceri ty and revealed to hi m the 1ll}'StCl'ies of I he
01e ngZhe nru \'O}'aged far to be 11i1Ored by the best spear masler. In Ihis he
resembled ot!ler laIC Ming mania I aniSL<r-monks a nd alike-who
led an it ine rantl ife. "Liu Declmng . .. \vas unl .. Ippy \\'il ll II is [spearllechniq li e,
which he considered far from perfect. Therefore, he Iraveled all over lhe land
until he oblained his Pu'en "jotll'lle)'ed al l o\'el" lhe land, bUI could fi nd
no ri val "; Shi Dian I.l(wded from village 10 village in scan:h OfS1Udenl5; Cheng
Zongyoll spenl se\'e ra l rea rs on the road \\' ilh hi s Shaoli n men lor Gl.lang'an;
and Ihe Shaolin monk Sanqi Yougong (?-15' IS) is said 10 have acqui red more
limn a Illousand 51 ude nl.s in Ilis eXle nsi\e wa nderings IllrOtlgh I-Ie nan, I lebei.
Sl,andong, andJiangsu.
S7
Thus, laIC Ming marlial arli sts we re o n e n on the road , or as t he Chi-
nese would h,\\'e iI, "on lhe wale r." Sixteenth- a nd se\,enl centh-cenlll ry all-
thors allude to martial arti sl. s in the context of t he and lakes"
(jirlllghu),:Ji! \\' hich te rm des ignated all I hose \\'ho earn a tra nsicnt I i\'cl i hood:
acto rs, storytell e rs, forlune-Iellers, a nd the li kc. Did martial artists, like
ot he r "ri ve rs and lakes" itine ra nts, travel for economic rcasons? At firs t
glance it would appear lhal military expcrts j ourneyed for education al
goal s, to st ud)', leach, or leSI I heir St rcngth against wonhy r ivals, I lowe\'er,
thc c ul t i\'at ion of professional skills is hard to scparate from financ ial con-
side ra t ions. Prcsllmably, LCaci lcrs we re re mune ra tcd by studenls, and COlll-
pet it ions could take the fo nn o f public pe rfo rma nces paid fo, by specta lors.
in t h is respcct , sourccs on the n inetccmh-cclllul-y ma rt ial com IllU nil y cou Id
shcd li ght. on ilS sixlccnlhccntul-y a ntccedent. In his Cnllecfeti TaIN.'! 011 fhe
I?ivers aml ' . aNt.'! (jiang/Hi congtlll/), Yun Youke (fl. 1900) descri bes in vivid de-
tail l he \' agrant li\'el ihood of martial artists. Some sen e as ar mcd
(baooiflo), who accompany goods intra nsil ; others j ou mey to lowns a nd vi 1-
lages, whe re on t hc local market da}' the}' "sell t heir an" (11I(li)'i) in public
displa}'s of martial dexterit y, "
itineranc}' crea tes a link betwee n late Ming marti al artists and their late
Qing sliccessors. h also associates both groups with uleir fictional re presenta-
tions. For as carl}' as Tang pel' iod fi ction, the iti nerant real m .of t ile 'rivers and
lakes" has becn the inevitable em'i mn me nt for the hemic dt..>cds of the kni ght-
eHam (xiaNe) . Indeed , in "manial a n s fi ction" (WUXill Xilloshuo), the and
lakes" no longer signify a manner oflhel ihood, much less a mode Qflranspor-
talion. i nSIc."1d, they symboli ze a real m offreedom, whe re the laws .of fami Iy, SQ-
ciet)'. and state no longe r appl y. Situated berond e\'e r)d ay Ii fe, it is in l he "rivers
and lakes" that the dreams of knight-erra nt ry arc fulfi ll ed .
'u
The Piracy Crisis
Lnc Ming military cxpcnsh'cl"e convinced thatShaolin monks had been prac-
ticing t he staff for cClllul-ics. Che ng Zong),oll , Wli Shu, Yu Dayou, and Qi Ji-
guang concurred that "the Shaolin SlafTmelllod hascnjo}'cd fame from ancient
t.imes to lhe Why, then, \\'( I"C they the firSI \0 record it? What hap-
pened in tile sixt.cclllh cenUlry 11la1 explai ns t.lle sudden interest. i n the Silaol in
figllting rcdlni'lllcs?
The tat,C M i ng g rowli l of ti le publi slli ng inei ustry could provide a part ial
explanation for the Simolin mani al ans being recorded allhalli mt:. Those
printed genres lilac. document ed fi gllting tcchniqllcs-martial arls manuals
and vernacular fiction , for example-came inlo their own during lilt! six-
teenth and seve nt eenth centuries, This is especiall y true of a genre Ihal is
c rit icall)' i IllIXl rt ant for ti le Sl ud y of ma"t ia I arts 11 istory: mi lilar), encyclop e-
dias, The lai c Ming witnessed the publicat ion of la "ge-scale mili tary COTll -
p e ndiums, in which a wide va"ie ty of manial topics-f,'om cannons and
\\'afships to fe nci ng and sparring-were d iscussed, II These prinl ed compen-
diums provided the slage for I he disc ussio n of the Shaolin staff:
Anot he r, more sig nifi canl , reason for I he growi ng int erest in Shaolin figh t-
ing was t he decl ine of I he regular Mi ng arm)" B)' the mid-si xtt.'Cnt h cenl II ry, I he
army was in such dire Sl rails thai "Ihe defe nse installa tions of lhe e mpi re, al o ng
wit h thei r logistical fra mework, had largcl)' The si tuation was so
gnwe tlmt in 1550, the Mongol prince Aha n was able to loot the l3ctiingsuburbs
frecly. The dete ri orati on 0 1'1 he hereditary Mill g army was reflected in I he at I.ell-
lion paid to a large va ri el)' o fl ocal troops (xiong bin!,:) that could be recruited to
supplement it. Mili tary analysts commented 0 11 the fighting skills of such di -
ve rS(; groups as mOLlntai !leers (from I lcna n), stone throwe rs (from I-Iebei), sail -
o rs (from Flti ian), and s.'lh worke rs (from se\'er .. 11 provinces), 13 As for the Shaolin
mon ks, particul ar auemion was gi,'e n to fheir military ca pa bili ties followi ng I he
mid-sixleemh-century campa ign- in whi ch they took part-ag<linst piracy,
The 1510s and 1550s witnessed pirate raid s on an unprecedemed scal e
along China's easte rn and somlu . .'a stern coastS, The pirates, knowil as wokoll (J il.-
c rall y 'Japa nese ba ndi tS"'), included, in addition to J apanese and other foreign-
e rs, la rge nu mbers of Chi nese, who were imo l\"(."(1 in ill egal O" .. erseas trade, Their
auacks were cspecially S(; ,cre a long the Jiang na n coaSt, wl lere they pillaged not
o nl y thc coumr )'sidc but e,cn wa ll ed c ities, In 1554 , for exampl e , the cil.y of
Songjiang was ca ptured and itS mag is trate put to death, The go\'emmem en-
coun tered t rcmc ndous di ffi culties in itS attempts to control the si tuation, p..'l rtly
becausc thc local autho,' ities we re the msehes ill\'ohed in trade with the bandits
and panly because of thc decline of the regul ar military, It was not before the
1560s whc n order was restored to Jiangnan, panially t h rough the efforts of the
aho ve-mcntioned generals Yu Daroll and QiJiguang.
"
Scvcral sixteenth-cemury sources attest th at in 1553, d u ring the height
of thc pirates' raids, III il ita,' y officials in J ia ng n a n resol \'ed to mo bilize Shao-
lin and other monastic troops. The mostdetai1cd account is Zheng Ruoceng's
(n. 1505-1580) "The Monastic Armies' First Victory" ("Seng bing sholl jie
ji "), induded in h is The Simiegic De/e1l$/! of Ihe j i(lllgnml Regioll (ji(JlIglI{/)/ jing
iiiI') (preface 1568).1:; E,'en though he nc" cr passcd thc cxami nations, Zhcng
gained tllc csteem of hi s contemporal' ies as an cxpert geographer of China's
coastal rcgions. For this reason, he h'as selccted in 1560 as advisor by I-Iu
Zongxian ( 1511-1565), who was then the slIpl'emc commander ofl.he armies
in FLuian, Zhejiang, and the SOllthern Mctropolitan Region (t.oday'sJiangsu).
Zheng's tenure in I-Iu's headquarters must h,\\'e cont ri buted to his familiaril.Y
with t he campaign against piracy, of h'hich Bu was in chargc,lf.
Collating Zheng's and other late Ming account.s, \\'C can ascert.ain which
orficial initiated Ihe mobili7.ation orfighting monks: \Van Biao (l1flU. LUYl.lan)
( 1498-1556), \\' 110 sef\'cd as vice commissioner in cllicfin the Nanjing Cilief
Mililary Commission.
11
We can also pinpoint mlcast fOllr battles in which mo-
nastic troops l><'t rt icipated. Tile first took place in Ihe spring of 1553 on MOllnl
Zhe, \\'hich conI mls I he ent ranee frOIl) the 1-lang1.holl Gil l r. th mugh the Qian-
lang River, to I-Iang:.-.holl Cit y.1I1 The remai ni ng 1 hree \\'ere waged in the canal-
stre\\'n I-iuangpu Riv(!r delta (which during the Ming belonged 1.0 Songjiang
Prefecture): al \Vcngjiagang (Jul y 1553), at Majiabang (spring of 1554), and at
Taozhai (aulumn of 1555).19 The incompetence of all army general led to a mo-
nastic defeat in the fourth battle, following \\'hich the remains of four nillen
monks were ensllrined underneath the MStupa of t he Four l leroic Monks" on
ML She, some twe nt y miles south\\'Cst of LOdlly's Shanghai (map 3): ....
The monks scored thei r biggest victor), in the Wengjiagang bailie. On
Jul), 21 , 1553, 120 fighting monks defeated a group of pirates, chasing the
survivors for ten da}'s along the twe nty-mile rome somhward to Wangjia-
zhuang (on t he Jiax i ng J>refeCl u rc coast). There, on July 3 1, the very last ban-
di!. was disposed of. All in all , more than a hundred pirates pel' ished, whereas
the mo nks suITered four casualties onl),. Indeed, the monks look pil. y on no
one in this bat lie, one employing his iron staff to kill an escaping pinne's
wife. (Zheng Ruoceng docs not comment on the monks' disregard for the
Buddhi st prohibition on killing, e,'cn in this instance when the murdered
woman presumably was unarmed.p l
NOl all the monks who panicipated in the Wengjiagang vinory came
from !.he Shaotin t\:lonastcl' y, and whercas some had previous military expe-
ri ence, others presumably wcre trained (Ili hoc for thi s battle. I-I owever, the
cleric who led them to victol' y did rccci,'e h is militar), education at Shaolin.
This is Tian)' uan , whom Zh(!ng extols both for his martial ans skills and for
his strategic genius. He elaborates, for instance, upon the ease with which
the Shaolin friar defeated eightccn I-Iangzhou monks, who challenged his
command of the monasti c troops:
Tian),uan said: ~ 1 am realSllaolin. ls tllerc an}' manial anin which you
are good enough to justi f)' your claim for supcriorit}' o\'er me?- The
eighteen [ llang-LhouJ monks chose from amongsllhem eight me n 10
challe nge him. The eight immediately atlacked Tianyuan using 1 hei r
hand combat techniques. Tian),uan was standing at thaI mome nt atop
t he open terrace in f rOil t of t he hall. I li s e iglu assai lams 1 ri(!d to dim b
the SI ai rs lcadi ng to it from t he COliri yard underneal h. I lowe,"cr, he saw
them coming. and st ruck Wi l h hi s fi sts, blocking them from climbing.
The eight monks ran around 10 ti le Imll 's backentram:e. Then,
armed wit h 5\ \'01'(\ 5, [hey charged through the hall 10 t he terrace in
front. They slas hed their weapons aI Tianyuan who, hurriedl y grabbing
the long bar that the hall's g<lI e, struc k horizomall y. the}'
did, tlll_"'}' could not get into the te rrace. They on Ihe contrary,
overcome by Tianyuan.
Yuekong (t he challengers' leader) surrendered and begged forgiw-
ness. Then , the eighteen monks proslral ed IliemS(' ln'S in frOll1 of
TianYllan , and offered t llei r submission. r:t!
The description ofTianyuan's manial skills would probably ring fa mil-
iar to readers of mart ial af1.S fi ction. Several mOlifs in Zheng Ruoceng's nar-
rative became standard features of this late imperial , and modern, lit erary
genre. Manial arts no\'c!s (a nd more recentl y films) commonly celebrat.e
empty-handed, and si ngle-handed, Ilo\\'e\'er, from Zhe ng Ruo-
ceng's perspect ivc, Tian)'uan's manial skills we re no flclion. The sixt eenth-
century military anal yst was so impresscd \\' ith the Shaolin monks ' fighting
abilities that hc urged the gove rnment to make regular use of monasti c
anlHCS:
In toclay's martial arts, there is no one in Ihe land who does nOI yield 10
Shaoli n. Funiu l in Iletlan] should be ranked as second. The main
reason [for Funiu's excellence] is thai il s monks. seeking 10 protect
tll elllsel\'c' -'S agai nst tile miners. siud ied al Sllaol in. Tl lird comCS WUI"i
[in Shanxi]. The source of the Wutai tradition is the method of the
"Ya ng Family (Yangj ia qiang). whi ch has been lransmilled for
brc nerat ions in the Ya ng famil y. Togethe r. these 1 hrce centers]
comprise hundreds ofmonaste ri cs and countl ess monks. Our land is
beset. by band its inside and barbarians OUI side. I f I he government issul.-'S
an order for ltli c'-'Se monks'J rec ruitment i1 will win cvcry
Zheng's call ror t he recruitme nt ofShaolin monks illustrates the impa.ct
lhal the piracy campaign had had on tJl e ir monastery's fame. The pirates' at-
lacks on China's coasts constituted a national crisis, which was discussed on all
levels or gove rnment, rrom local authorities in the numerous affected counties
1.0 the highest echelons orimpel-ia l burea ucracy. Shaolin's contribution to this
campaign re\'erberatoo through Ming officialdom. The monastery's victories
were recorded in numerous documents ranging from local gazeueers and
standard histori es to works orflcti on, 1rShaoli n's assistance to Li Shimin was
t he source or its Tang peri od fame, then the piracy campaign secured its Mi ng
peri od renown,
The Shaoli n's piracy wa r \\'as to inspil'e Ch inese monks ror centuries to
come, Faced withJ apa nesc aggression in the I 930s, Chinese Buddhists reca ll ed
the monaste ry's VicIOl' )' O\'e r the so-call ed bandits" (wokou), In 1933,
t he e nt husiasticall y patl' iotic mon k Zhen hua all thon;d a Hisfor)' oj M OllflSfi(
lionfl! Defense (Sengjifl hugltO slli ), rall ying his [elIO\\' Buddhis\.s to fight the J apa-
nese invade rs. Arguing that in ti mes or national crisis it was permissi hle ror
monks to fight , Zhenhua cited Shaolin's heroic contri bution to the sixteenth-
c.en tury pi racy campaign.! .... By ti le 1\\'entie \11 cenlury, Il le monastery's military
legacy provided a precedenl for Buddhi sl warrare.
Patronage
Eve n though the pi racy wa r was Iheir mosl ramous, il nOI the only cam-
paign in wllicll Sllaolin monks look pa rI , Ikginning in Ihe firsl decade .or the
sixteenl h cenl ury, Shaolin warri ors \\'cre regularl y drafted 1.0 qllelllocal II n rest
in nOl'l h Chi na. In 1511 , scvenl y monks losl their lives righting Liu the Sixth
a nd Liu tile Se\'e nlh, whose bandil a nniesswepl th rough I lebei and I le nan. l n
1522-1523, Shaoli n fighters ballied I he miner turned bandit Wang Tang, who
pil laged Simnd.ong and I Icnan, and in 1552 tlley parl ici l'>.:1ted in the g.overn-
me nt ofrensive agai nst the I le na n .outlaw Shi Sh,mgzhao, :..6
The monastery's mili tal), support of the M iug COlli inu(:d into the dynast y's
lu rbule nl. lasl. years. Duri ng the Sha.olin m.onks were fepe.ncdl y enlis\.(xl
1.0 tllC doomcd campaigns agai nSI. ti le swell ing rebel armics that by 1644 were to
topple the d)'nasly. We will sec in chapter 7 that the monks' loyalty 1.0 the regime
led 1.0 thei I' monastery's destructi.on by its ad\'ersaries, In 164 I the bandit leader
Li Zichcng (1605?-1645) marched his re bel army into He nan, whel'e togethe r
with the local warl.ords he annihi lated t he Shaolin fighti ng f.orce. Shaolin's for-
Ui nes were intimatcl)' rel ated to tllose.of the dynasty it llad stead rastly served.
EpitaphS of ShaD li n fighti ng m.onks prO\' ide us with important information
on thei I' III ilitary to the M ing. Shaol in's Stupa Forest contains at least rOLl r
stupa inscriptions ded icat(:d to fi ghting monks. TIle memorials or tw.o
Wan'a n Shungong (1545-1619) a nd Benda ( 1542-1625), nOte that they "gained
meri t in baule," without specifying in which. Another inscription n .. ... 'eals that
monk Zhufang C'l ngong (1516-157'1) commanded the firty Shaolin warri.ors
that participated in the go\'cnunent ofTe nSI\'c agai nst Shi Shang'l.ha.o. A r.oll nh
anests that monk Sanqi Yougong (?-1548) was sent as rar as Yunnan in the re-
mOte SOUlhwestto qudl tr ibal unresl. I-lis manial exploits had earned this Shao-
lin wa rrior the mili tary p.osition.of chicf supeni sing regional commande r. !,7
Shaoli n's military assistance to the state won prai se rmm its highest-
ran king orficials. Du.-i ng t he 1620s, the vice censor in ch ief, grand c.o.ord i na-
tor for I-I e nan , Cheng Shao Uinshi 1589), visited the monastery and dedicated
a poem to its fighting monks. Weaving together Buddhist and military imag-
e ry. lhe vice censor in chief argued lhat war on behalf of the stale docs not
contradict lhe Buddhi st prohibition of violence. On the comrary. Shaolin
monks attain lhe " fruit s of cn li gille nmc ill" by their military protection of
the people. The)' arc able to "transmit lhe lamp"-that is, propagat.e the
Buddhist message-by their he roi c conlribution \0 national defense:
I tnperia I decom! ions for bandit r y suppression fill' tIle 1 rue r ruiL" of
attalllment,
Nat ional defpll se and world pacifica. ion (Il l' 1 he lamp-l ransmission.
Under a prosperoll s reign. emcrg(!llcics we need nOI fear.
By loyalty and heroism Vairocalla spreads Ihe
The Shaolin monks' supporl of the regime eanled them nOI only words of
praise hUI also malcrial lx:nefits. 1 n 1581 a nd again in 1595, Dengfeng Col ml )' of-
ficial s issued formallellers, exelllptingShaolin's lands from taxal ion, BOI h let leI'S
\\'ere engraved in slone al the monaSICI) ' \0 cnsure its lax-free standing undel' fu-
lure btl reaucnus, I nlcresl ingl y, I he 1\"0 docll illents specificall y wnl'il low-ran ki ng
clerks nOI 10 exact money from I he monaslery for tlleirown pockets,
Dengfeng C.ollnl}' officials granted Shaolin tax breaks on the basis of the
monast.e r y's milil.u)' record, Their leiters provide important infonnation on
the 1l10naSI.CI), 'S i nvolvcment in warfare, for tl u'!}' list one by one the campaigns
in which iLS monks look part :
During theJi.tiing (1522-1566) reign. the Lilt bandit s. Wang Tang. and
I he pirates, as well as Shi Shang-I.hao ami others created \'ioknt dist ur-
bances, Th is monaste ry's fight ing mon ks (WII seug) were repeatedly
called upon t.u suppress tllem, Ti ley courageously killed t he bandit s,
man)' ea rni ng t.lle merit of putt ing tl lei r lives on Il le line. Thus this
monaster y's monks have rel ied upon culture (wen) and warfare (WII)
alike to prot.l.'t:tthe state and strengthen its army, They arc not like
mun ks in ut. ll el' monasteries til rougllout ti le land. who merel y conduct
rit.uals, read the Sut.ras, and pray fur the e mperor's long
Word of the Shaolin's mel-itOI-ious sen ' ices had reached the impe.-ial palace it-
self Emperors, empresses, and eunuchs vit."rl wit h each olhe.- in patronizing
the monastel"}" In 1587, ror example, the Empress Dowager Zishcng commis-
sioned a special woodblock edition or Buddhist scriptures in 637 cases, to be
kept at the Shaolin Monaster}'_ The empress dowager's gift was announced in
an imperial edict by her son, the reigning emperor Zhu Yijun (.-. 1573-1620),
In his edict, the emperor al luded to the Sllaolin monks' military service to lhe
state, "Buddhist sniptures," the emperor wrote, "are not without merit for the
defense of the state and the protection or the people_"oo
Several decades earlier, the mQSl p(J\\'el-rlil e unuch in Emperor Zhu 1-IQu-
zhao's (r. 1506-1521) COLIn, Zhang YQng (1465-1529), lavishly supported the
mona"ter y. Zhang might have becQme acquainted Wilh ShaQlin through his di-
verse military responsibilities chief or the capilal garrisQn and direclor of lhe
imperial milital), training CQI-PS, amQng Qlhers. Around 1519, he donalerllo
Shaolin a gilded S\.atue Qf the mQnaste l)"s patron sai nt B<xthidharma. I-lis gift
may be admired 1.0' this day inside ShaQlin 's Slanding-in-lhe-Snow Pavilion (Lixue
I ing), which name recalls 1.1le tdals undergQne by Bodllidllarma 's disciple; I-Iuike
was g uided to' enlightenment when standing motiQnless in the snQw.CoI
It mi ght. ha\'C been Zhang YO'ng,\'I1Q suggesled 10 the e mperQrlhal ShaQlin
monks be invited 10' lile palace, We knO\." tllat ZlllI I-IQlIzhao e mployed Sllaolin
monks at the Lt!opard Quarter ( BaO'rang)-the pleasure grounds he built
Ilimsc1f \\' it.llin Ille fO'rbidden city. I t. is unclear \\,llal tIle monks' role wil hin III is
private palace was, whethe r t.hey sen'ed as bO'dyguards, OJ whether Ihe em-
perO'r was fascinaled wil h t Il e ir re li giOlls pO\\'ers, as lie \\'as wilh Tibelan Lamas.
At any rate, I hal I hey sc r\'(:d I he empe rO'r in his privale cham bers indicales I hal
Shaolin mQnks cl"UO)'cd unprecedenl cd access 10 the imperial Ihrone, main-
I ai n ing an inl i male cO' nnect iO'n wit.h t he re ig n ing emperor h imsel f. fI.!
The Ming dynasl)"s palronage O'fShaO'lin is apparenll o Ihis day in Ihe
monaste r y's splendO'r. The cO' urt 's financial supPO'rl ushered in a pe riod of
spectacular g ro\\' 1 h at til e mO'naSlel")'. Many O'fShaO'I in's most impressive monu-
ments were buill during the sixteenth and early sevent eenth centuries. The
largest. numbe r O'f stupas (mO're than 130) in ShaO'lin's Stupa Foresl dale from
I he M ing, as dO' t he largest numbe r O'f inscribed steles (more limn Ih in)'). Shao-
Ii n's biggest s t.ructure, the "ThO'usa nd Buddhas' Iiall " (Qianfo d ian) was con-
s t.ruct.ed in 1588 to' IIO'use the emprcss dO'wager's gift O'f Buddl lislscriplures. It.s
magnifi cent fresco O'f the '- Five Il undred Arhats" (Wubai luohan) was likcl),
drawn by CO'urt painlc rs.
6
' Thus, ShaO'lin's gr and an: hiteclUre was large ly lhc
product of Ming be ncfaCliO'n, itself due to' the mO'nastel)"s military suppo rl of
t.he dynasty.
Other Monastic Troops
I n the spring of 1512, the gO\'C\' nme m im'esti gatcd accusations of bmta lit y Icv-
eled against an imperial anny deplO'red in I-Iuguang (today's Hunan and
Hubei). It was alleged that the impe l-ial rQrces-made of regular army units as
well as monastic troops- loQted the civilian population, The soldiers, lay and
clerics ali ke, were so rapacious that thcy were "wQrse than roving bandilS.
nCoI
It is not sU'l) I-ising that we dO' nQt know to' which monastery lhe rapacious
fighting monks bdonged. OUl-ing the late Ming, the term u"(X)ps"
(sengbing) was widel y applied to' martial mQnks all O\'er the e mpi re, from Fluian
in the sOUlheastto Shanxi in the nQrthwest, rmm Yunnan to Henan. Recall that
in his "Monastic Armies' First VictQI-y," Zheng Ruoceng alluded to various Bud-
dhisl units that contdbulCd to the pi racy campaign, incl uding eighteen I-Iang-
zholl derics who challenged the leadership ohhe Shaolin monk Tianyuan.
Perhaps the disLaIll memOI)' of a monk turned empcrorcomri bul.cd to the
lale Ming vogue of flgln i ng monks. Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), founder of
lhe Ming dynasty, began his carceras a novice at the Huangjuc Monastery. in
Fcngyang, Anhui. There is no evide nce that ZlI lI, \\'ho entered lhe monastery
when he was sixteen, practiced the mania I arts there. Still, we do know that
after leavi ng t.he monasl,c l), at t\\'c llt )'-llirec, he became the commander of an
army I hat look o\'cr the Chinese cmpirc.
f6
ZlIu's example mi ght have inspired
01 her mon ks, or al least fad litatcd gO\"crnmcnl tolerancc of tllcJll.
Bc lhal as il ma)', laIc Ming fi ghting monks \\'crc so common that thcy
aroused criticism wili l in monastic circles. Tile renO\\' ned Buddhist tllinker
from FLUian, Yuanxian ( 1578-1657) condemnl,"() thei, di sregard for the reli-
gion's prohibil ion of kill ing. "Olll' ing I he Yuan period upheaval in Quanzhou
rrIUianJ," Ihe emi nent monk wrole, "I he officials \\'ere corrupt. ThL')' forced
monks 10 hccomc soldicrs .... Alas! Among loday's monks there are many who
do nOI wail 10 bc coerccd, bUI bccome soldiers ofthcirown accord. This is a sign
that thc Buddhisl Dharma is being cXlinguishcd !"f06 Yuanxian proceeded 1.0
vc nt his frustration in a dramalic verse titled on Monastic Troops"
("Scngbing Ian"):
The Sentient So\"ercigu's [I he Buddhal f!los l rule prohibits killing,
Animal siauglll er is also repri manded.
The ancie nts warned us nOllO uproollid nggrass,
11 01\' much more so joi n armies ror mass slaughler.
I leads uplirted, shoulders flexed. I hey emerge rrom 1 heir mon:lSH:! rk"S
Only longing ror baIlIe, like Ille Asura De\il s.
Their Iilonastic rob{."S they eas il y discard rore\"er,
Clad in armor,t hey wield baltic-axes.
Loyalty a nd cou rage, they have none whatsoever,
Out of obs{."Ss i\'e cl"<wing on ly tllt.1' bring d isasle r.
Sword-mOll Ilta ins, dagge r-trees, spread before t lleir eyes,
Wl lite bones strewn o\'er sllri veled-grass slopes.
Eve n worse, t.he acute pains of the three torture realms,67
Last.ing fora thousand lives, a Ilundred t.>ons.
Alas! Why aren'tthey enlighte ned,
Destroyi ng themselves, like moths n)' ing inlo fire.
At Morning, when rou wa ke and scratch your llead, examine yourself,
The Senlient Ru ler ma), sermon forever, yet he alone C'.in', sa,e you. foll
Ming aUlhors consi dc rcd Shaolin monasti c troops the best; Funiu fIg ht-
ing monks rankcd sccond, and thc Wlilai ones th ird , To these centers o f
Buddhi st fi ghting could bc added thc mo nasti c complex on MI. Emci, Si -
chuan (map 3) , 1-IO\I'c, 'c r, fi glning on a sma lle r sca Ie was practiced in numer-
o us o thcr tcmplcs as well. Indi vid ua l monks practi ced the martial arts in
vario us shrines, wh ich wc rc not neccssaril y militari ly renowned, !-luang
Zongxi rccall ed accompanying thc Int crna l School martia l anist Wang
Zheng nan (1617- 1669) to the Tianlong in Ning ho, ZhcJiang,
One monk t.he rc was ramcd for his martia l skills, a nd 'Va ng Zhengnan pro-
ceedcd 1,0 t.cst h is stre ngt.h and dc rcat him,&9
It ineraney crealed a I ink bc t \\'Ccn va l' ious cent crs of monast ic fight ing. The
man ial arl s did nOI e mcrge indc pc ndentl y in cadi mo nastery, Rather. travel i ng
mo nks sprc."ld Ihei r fi gilling tcchniqucs from one te mpl e 10 another. Zheng
RlIoccng not cd thaI thc Funiu monks cxcellcd in fight ing hecause they had
bccn t. raincd al thc Shaolin Monastc l)'. I-Ic Li a ngchen fu r l her spt.'Cified tllat
I IICY Ilad becn i !lSI rUClcd tl lc re in st a IT fi ghting. 1-lo\\'C\'er, infhl ence be twt.--cll til e
two monaslc r ics did nOI go onc way o nl y: Shaolin's a bbot Hua nxi u Changrun
(?-1!J8!J) had sludicd undc r the Funiu mastc rTanra n Pinggong (?- 1579)?'
T Il c Simol in SI a rf cxpc rt Bi a n(hln (?-l SG3) cxempl i fies iIi nerant mon ks'
role in sprcad ing mo nasl ic fi g hl i ng. Thc ma rt ia l mo nk Sl lid ied sla O' fight ing
and hand combat al Shaolin undcr a Tibc ta n mastc r, who was notcd in the
mo nast.e l")"s rccords no t onl y ro r hi s fi g ht i ng ICell niq ucs bUl a Iso for h is effec-
ti vc fund-rai sing sk ills.' l A fle r g r adua li ng from the mo nastery's mi lil aI'), p ro-
g ram, Biandull travelcd bc twcc n his a lma mate r a nd Ihe Sichuan cemcrof
Buddhi st. fi g hting on Mt . Eme i, whe rc likel y hc ta ught Shaoli n figh ti ng lcch-
niqucs. ( I lc passcd away in Sichua n a nd was brought back for imenne lll at
Shaolin by his disciples.)' 2
Biandun an' i\'cd in Yunna n as well. Chc ng Zongyou notes that the ma r tial
mo n k sowcd a Miao person thc re, whercupon t he Miao people \'enenned him
as a god ." Thc YunnanJiz.1l MOlln/aiu H iS/OJ)' (jiz.1l sluw uli) incl udes a biogra-
ph)' of Biandun, whi ch na n-atcs how hc c mployed V'!i rapal.li s spell " to
s ubdue local bandits (and ghosts). We 11<\\,c seen a lx)\"e that had been
worshipped at Shaolin in the COntext of ma rti a l t rai ning. The fea rsome d eil y
was believed to c ndow his ma rti a l dc:.,\Olees with extraord ina ry physical
st rength. It is likel y t herefo re tha t, a lo ng wit h spell, Biandull had
transmi ued Shaolin figilling tcchniques to tlle J izu Mountain mo nks.i'
When t hey would hit thc road , lay ma rti a l a rtists a lso sojou rned in le m-
pI es . Throughout Chinesc histol' y, tc mples functioned as inns, Buddhist and
DaoiSl mo nastcl' ies as well as tc mples of the popular rel igion offe n'.."d she lt er to
the noating mc mbers of thc "1' i\'Crs and and cler ical alike. In 1663,
when he arri ved to Kuns han,Jiangsu, the itincrant martia l a rtist Shi Dian, who
was not a monk, star ed ror two rc.'lrs atthc local Re turning Kindness Temple
(Baobe n si), wherc hc taug ht his e nthusiastic genu), stude nts Wu Shu and Lu
Shi)' i spear fi ght ing.;!,
l c mplcs offered manial anisLS not only shel ter, but also space to de mon-
strate lhei r art. '"Temples," h,.-ites Susan Naquin, "\\'Cre ovcrwhel millgl)' lhe most
important componelll of public space in Chinese cities in the late-i mperial
era. "7,) Martial arLists often made a by giving public performances on
temple groull cl". Like olhe r ".-j"crs a nd lakes" artists-actors, singers, and
slOrYI,d lc rs-lilcy tra\"clcd from one sllr ine 10 a notl lcr, pel-forming on such hol-
idays as the local god's binhd.1Y. A sc\'c nlcenth-ccllIury pilgrim discovered al
t.he Shanciong l c mplc of the Easlcm Peak "some lell wrestling platforms and
[hcalrical stages, each anraCling hund n::ds of spectators ",ho cl tL"tcred Ii kc ht.'Cs
o r anl,s."1"1 "I n C\'CI)' city t,emple fair," obscrvcd the latc Qing Yun Youke, "t here
arc mart ial a rti sts demonstrating theil' an ,"";8
Mart ial art iSIS perfonned in te mples on holidays and temple fairs. After
tllei r sllo\\' tlley would collcct money rrom the audience or sel l pills and oint-
ments, \\'Ilidl wcre supposed to make Ille il' clienl.S as st rong as the)', the seller's
pllysiCJlIe proving Ille efficacy or Ilis mcdicine, In addition, some mili tary ex-
perls orrered classes in temples on a regillar basis, To thi s day, Taiwanese mar-
tial artists leach in neighborhood a nd village temples. Likewise, the
se, 'enteent ll-centur y \Vang Zhe ngnan tall gllt his internal martial arts at the
Ningbo Iron Uuddl.a (Tie ro) Temple bccallse, \\'C arc 101d, ';his 0\"11 hOll SC was
1.00 small."7!! Thi s rare gli mpse int o an unlellered mart ial art ist's Ii fc is given us
by hi s I iterat i student, (luang Raij ia,
As distinc t. rrom [ocall.emplcs whe re martial arts ,,"ere performed, the big
cente rs or monastic fighting each me rits a st udy in il.s own righL Ilere arc onl)'
a few comments on some or tl lem:
Mount Wutai
The "fou r Creal (Sida ming sha n) occupy a central place in
CII inese Uuddllist sacred geograpll Y. Each is associated with the cull. or a Rodh i-
samra , who is supposed to be manirested t here. Mount Wmai , in Shanxi Pro\,-
i nee, is considered tile abode or the Bodhi sattva of wisdom, l\-laI1jusri (Wensh u).
As earl y as the fi rst celllur ies CE it had attracted pi lgrims who soughlthe d city's
epiphany. The moumain IIOUseS dozens or monasteri es, some of which dale
back to thc carly medie\"al period.
The military activities or Wuta i monks resulted in part from its strategic
location on Chi na's northwester n border. The mountain r ises over nine
thousa nd reet abO\c t he cit y orTa i), ua n, in a n area which has seen conStant
fighti ng beL wee n Ha n Ch inese a nd nomadic centra l Asian people. Indeed,
the earli est recorded inSlance o rWutai im'oh'ement in warfare dales from
the twclrth-ce nturyJurchen im<lsio n, whe n its monks participated in the un-
successrul campaign to sahage lhe Nort hern Song dynasty (960-1127),
In 1126, <Iu l' ing the e ight-momhJul'che n siege of Taiyuan, two gener-
al s, Wu I-Ianyi ng and Yang Kefa, soughl WUlui military support. Their n; -
q uests we re gramed by the mountain' s abbots, and Wmai fighting monks
participated in the doomed campa ig n to sa\'e t he cit)" Two clerics, Li Shan-
nuo and Du Taishi , \I'e re e\'e n appointed generals" in the impe-
rial army,lIl
The courage of one WlIlai fl gluing monk earned h im a biography in the
"loyal herocs" secljon of lhe official Song /-/;s/o1)'. The monk, Zhenbao, held the
governmelll.-appoillled !X'silion of "ch icf monk" (seng'JuIIW for t..,It. \VtIlai. Dur-
ing lhe dyna'i ly's desperate last months he h'as summoned to Ihe capital Bian-
liang (Kaifeng) formil ilaryconsultation. EmpcrorQinmng (reigned 11 26-1127)
heseeched his hel p, and Zhenhao promised 10 do hi s He relunH:"xllo the
mountain, galhered his monastic troops, a nd \\'enl to war, onl y 10 he defeated
and taken capt i\'e. Zhenhao's J urchen capt ors \\ele \\' ill ing \0 spare him, but he
refused 10 collaborate. "My reli gion prohibits lying, \ he cou rageous mon k said,
"1 had alrc."\dy promised the Song empe ror that 1 will fi ght for him to the death.
Was it llle rcly a boasl Only then was he execuled.
ilt
As Ma M ingda has shO\\' n, Wlll ai's mil il al), fa me is mi rml'ed in !X'pliia r lit-
e ral ure. Ming fi clion ex lois se\'eral fi ghl ing monks \\'ho al'e associa1< ...d with the
Ill ounlain. The Wa/er Margin's (ca, 1400) heroi (' Lu Zhi she n resides at the Ml.
Wulai 's M,u1j usri Temple, and I he )'allgFamily Crllrmls (ca, 1550) Yang the Fi ft h
(Yang \Vulang) leads his !l w! .. thousand-slmng monkish ann )' from t here in
sllppo rl of h is brol he rs.ii' We h' ill retllrn beloh' 10 ! hese (jCI ional warrior mon ks.
Il ere suffice il iO nNe Ihal their legends can be tmced back through d rama
and oral literalure to I he I wei flh cenlury. Evidenll y, short ly after their 11 20s as-
sislance 10 I he Norl hcrn Song, Wut ai mon ks had been celebrated in Southcrn
Song (1127-1279) lore."l
Mount Emei
Ori ginal I)' one of Dao ism's eartlll )' paradises that were known as the ';ca\,e
(dol/g/ian), Ml. Emei was sanctiont..'ti by the Buddh is! tradi tion du ring
the Ming period , whe n it was chosen as one of the religion's Greal. Moun-
tains ." It is ded icated to the cult of Samamabhad ra (Puxian), and it ho uses
dozens of temples in honor of the Bodllisatt va.
During the tale Ming, bo th spear and e mpty-ha nded fighting were prac-
ticed al Emd. Infonnation 0 11 the fonne r is provided by the Ellie; S/)I;'(tr Me/hod
(Emei qiflllg/fl), wh ich the spear expe rt Wu Shu con sidered worthy ofi ncl usion
in his Arm Exercises (1678). The manual expounds the tt..'Chniques of tile Emei
Master Pu'en (n. ca. 1600), as recorded by his lay student Cheng Zhenru (n. ca.
1620).!l6 As for Emei hand combat, it is cele brated in Ta ng Shull zhi 's (1507-
1560) "Song of t he Emei Monk's ("Emei daorell quan ge"), which alludes
to Shaolin's mili tary rc nO\\' 1l as \\,<:: 11 :
Tile Buddha is an experl. magician : maste r of mall)' techniqut.."S,
Shaolin hand combat in the e ntire world is hardl ), equa it.. "tl.
This monk demonstrates e\'en grealer new marvels,
For in lhe mountains depth, Ihe while monkl."}' had instructed him.
That day, at. the thatched COttage, cri sp autumn sky,
Thin frost, li ght breeze, 011 the tranquil withered willow.
Suddenl y his hair 011 e nd, a foOl strike,
Rock cliffs splinte r, causing pe bbles to ny.
Speed ing I ike the d ivinc woman's mag ic simi li e,
l ie coils like [he Deva dance rs nappi ng t heir kingfisher
and sand spit t ing. a ghost mocks me n.
Bea rclcd and teet h g rinding, a X uan catches beasts.
Embodied we ask: Is he forml ess?
he turns heels over head, 1"C\'ca li ng hi s clbows .
.. .
I lis man-els not ret ti le pcrforma nc(' is on: ...
I I is brp,U h ing i mperccpt ibtc, guardi ng Ilis primordial qi.
The monk's transform:u ions an' unfa thomable.
Back on his meditat ion mat , like a wooden statue, Sf,
Tang's poem is re plele Will i Huddllisl all usions, from the ])c.:va dancers who
flap thei r kingfishe r slee\'es 10 the Buddha \1'110 is a n expert magician, More-
over, il creates a I ink bet \1'Cell milit.ary t mi ning a nd rei igious discipline, associ-
,\ling the monk's ma nial pe rforma nce with meditation, The Emei \1',IITior's
"unfathomable transformations" lead him from the smashing of rock dins to
the CJlI ie l silting "I ike a wooden slatue," Tang implies there fore that the mon k 's
fighti ng lechniCJlIes \\'CI'C inlim:lI e1y rel ated to his 1'Cligious practice. In this n:: -
speci lile poe m evi nces a Ix: n:e ption of manial trai ning as a form of Buddhist
se If-cul t i val ion.
Th,ll martial practice could be rel ated to a spil'ilual CJ uesl is hint cd by
other poems as well. In his "Song of the Sha Fist
n
rShaquan Ge"), Zhang
Yongqua n ( 1619-ca. liOO) extolled the bare-ha nded techniquesoflhcJiangsu
martial artist Li L'uuia n. Borrowing from Ta ng's \'el'Sc of the Emei mon k,
Z ha ng was more expl icit in associating Huddhism and figilling, I-Ie tells us that
Li "di scoursed upon hand combat as if discussi ng Cha n," Indeed his manial
an is squal'Ciy equaled witl l Budd hist meditation (slImiiIJlti; sal/me;):
The old man ofMl. Yu
87
Li Lal1 ti an,
At scvent)" dwi ndli ng tangles of wh ile hai r.
In a faltering step he becomes a nobleman's rela iner,88
Di scoursi ng upon hand combat. as if discussing Cllan,
At. t he A rtemisia-\Vilds II all lie dis plays Ilis dexlCri l)"
Crags about 10 splinte r, sand aboullo ny,
Soari ng, he is li ke a falcon reac hing the hea\'e ns,
Crouching, he resembles a Xuan catching beasts,
I hear that this is the Sha Family :\Iethod,
Disdai ni ng the '" rivers and lakes.- alone wonhy of praise.
I lis elu msiness conceals an art-deep medit ation,
I lis ad roit turns joi ned togel her-six-nowers form,llion.
89
The movements a re no difTere nt from the di\'ine
The coiling is ident icat to nutt c ring silk brocade.
I lis fOllr limbs made boneless suppl e.
I lis empty fist ha rdened into a battleaxe,90
79
Li Lantian was not a monk, and his bare-handed SI}'1e did nOI originate al a
Buddllist temple.
lIl
Tim! Zlmng Yongquan diose 10 desnibe II is Sha Fami Iy Fisl
in rdigions t.erms indicates Ihal the association of Buddhism and Ihe martial
arts \\'as not limited 10 monastic d rdes. \Vhel her Ihe}' bcIong<,;d to t he clergy or
to I he lait }', some practit ioners im'eslcd Ihe martial al' IS wil II a spi rit lIal signi fi-
cance, wll iell ,\'as expressed in Bllddllist Icrms.
Mount Funiu
In the popular imaginalion, mllllllg has oftcn been associated with
crime. From Calirornia gold mines 10 Guangxi coal pit s (whcre the -nliping
rebell ion began), III iners lli\,'e been IXlrl ra}'ed as a n Illlf lll}' bl lnch, at best ad-
ven tll reI's in search or eas}' mOlley, al \\'orsl rul h less gangslers, Such pe rcep-
tions have al so been applied 10 Il e na n miners, for whom-a Ming author
t.ells lIs- "mining was a "ocalion, and killing people was a means of livcli-
Perhal)s ror this reason, Zhe ng Ruoceng attributed the Funiu
monks' military activities 10 thc dangers posed by gold hUIHers, In order 1.0
protect themselvcs againsllhe laneI', he explained, Funiu monks had sought
Shaolin martialtraining.
'I1
To Ihi s day, gold iSSlili excavated from the slopes ofMt. Funiu, in rcmote
southwestern Song County, Ile nan. During the Ming pel' ioel the moulllain
reatured se\'cral Huddhi sl monaste ri es, the mOSt fa mous of which was the
Clouds ClifT (YlInyan) Temple. Founded during the Tang per'iod by monk
Zizai (n. 627), the Yun)'an Monasle ry fJOlIl-ished undel' Ming nile. It was de-
stroyed during the dynasty's turbulent last years, when Li Zicheng's n:: lx:l
arm)' admnced th rough Henan.!/:' The bandit leader I ikcl y deteSled its mon ks
because of thei r stead fast suppon of the dynast y.
In September 2001 , I joined a small Shaolin expcditionlo Moulll Funiu.
Shaolin mon ks were CUI-ious aboUltllci r old brelll ren, and tIl e local alilhorilies
wished to develop the mountain's tOlil-ist industry after the successful Shaolin
model. The renowned Buddhi st archacologist Wen Yucheng also joined the
Irip.!I<>
The remains of lhe Yunyan Monaslery arc situated just under MOllnt Fu-
niu's six-thousand-fOOL Longchiman Peak, The temple was originally made of
two sections: Lower Monastery and Upper Monastery, The former sti II features
a Ming period hall , now serving as a ,' illage shrine, Ofthe latter nothing is left,
wilh lhe exception of a six-fOOl-La ll tilting stele situated at the ed ge of a corn-
field. Daled 1518, it. nan-alCS lhe monastery's history from ils Tang founding
through lhe fifteenth cenulI"}'-97
A small hamlet is situated at lhe sile of the Upper Yunyan Monastery. It s
people. who welcomed us h ' ilh hOl WaLer and sugar, showed ti S a pressed-carth
terrace, whe re, Lhey said, llie monks had pract iced fighting. During lhe Qing
period some monks relumcd to lhe monastery, \\'hel'e marliailraining appar-
e ntl y lasted I hrough lhc 19505.
Conclusion
The laIC Ming was the heyday of Chin esc monasti c armies. Fighting monks
could he fou nd in C\'CI) ' cOnlerof , he empire, fmm Shanxi 10 from Zhc-
jiang to Yunnan. The stalc's tolerance of them ,,'<'s d ue in part t.o the decline of
t he professional Mingarm)', which compelled the go\'ernmenttoemplo)' other
military forces, including monast ic troops.
Of "II monastic armies, Sll<lolin's was considered the best. Begin ning in
the fi rst decades of the sixteenth ,entury and all through the dynasty's last
),ears, Slmolin monks rendered dependable military service to 1he stale. The)'
parlicilxlt.ed in local campaigns agai nst Ilenan ou1la\\'s and bandits and fought
maraudi ng pirat (;S along Chi na's southeastern coaSl. Their COI11 ribut ion to na-
tional defense earned Shaolin monks not only resounding appl<1use but al so
state pat mnage. TIle lale Mi ng witnessed spectacular growth <1t the iIlon aSlery.
as high-ranking officials and members or the imperial family vied with each
ot her in supporting it.s renowned fighting monks.
Ir thei r relations wil h the star e resembled those oflheit Tang anceSlors in
that in bot.h instances military sel' vice resulted in state palmnage, the differ-
ence betwee n Ming and Tang Shaolin monks concet'ned fighting technifluc.
There is no e\' idcnce that sc\'emh-ccllllll'y Shaolin monks-who presumabl y
carried to batLie common Tang weapolll')'- had Cl'ealed lheir own combat.
method. By cont rast, Ming period Shaolin monks de\'eloped a qui messcmial
staff t.ech nique, which is desCl' ibcd in dc tail in contemporary lilerall\l"e. This
fighti ng method did nOl emcrge at the monastcry in one day. It was the prod-
uct. or a lengthy e\'ollilion, which cui minated in the si xteemh century, when it
was abundanLly prai sed by militar),expcns.
The techn iques or the Shaolin starr were im'ested in some cases with
spi ri tual significance. Cheng Zong)'ou expressed the hope that his manual
would lead hi s readers to the shore or enlighte nment. For hi m, I.he arduous
process or martial self-culti vation was indistinguishable from the fluesl for
religious liberation. Evidentl )" the Shaolin martial arts served as a tool for
Buddhisl sci r-rea li7 .. 'ltion.
The Ming period saw the emergence not only of a unique Shaolin manial
an, but also ora martial arL'\ communit), to which Shaolin monks belonged.
This noating communit), of "I-i\-e rs and lakes" was made of itinerant manial
arti sts who traveled in search of teachers, sLUdents, a nd spectators. Whether
they belonged to the clergy or the laity, members of this community often re-
sided, performed, and taught in temples-Buddhist, Daoist, and those of the
popular reli gion. Considerations of lime and space created an inextricable
lin k between temples and the martial al-L". Whate\'er hi s beliefs, whicht:ver the
temple, the martial artist found tlle re the feslival occasion and the puhlic space
necessary for the pe rfonnancc of his an.
CH A PTER 4
Staff Legends
THE STAFF WAS NOT Ihe onl)' \\'eapon Ming pe riod Shaolin monks used.
Conte mporary lil e ralure alludes 10 olhe r Shaol in a rllls a nd fighling melh
ods. Wu Shu's A 1'111 Extnists includes a spear ma nual all ribul ed to I he Shaoli n
monk I [o ng;r.hllan, Tang Shunzhi alludes 10 Shaolin unarmed hand combal
(quail), and Zhe ng Rli oceng notes that in addition 10 staffs, Shaolin Tllo nks
carried to baIlie sleell ride nls and hooked spears. Even I he grelil esl advocate
of the Shaolin staff, Che ng Zongyou. acknowledges Ihal by the earl )' seven
1 cen 1 h cent ur)" Shaoli n monks began pract ici ng empl yhanded com ba I. I
Still , e\'e n authors who auribule weapo ns 01 her 1 ha n the staff to Shaolin
lcave no doubt tllat tl lc monksspccia li zed in i1. Wu Sllu u ilicizes Shaolin cler
ics fo r appl ying the techniques of lhe staff to spea r fighting, and Zhe ng
Ruoccng's illustrations of their deftness invari abl y cOllccm staffs or stafflikc
weapons. I n one anecdote, lie celebrates the skills ofTi a nyuan, who e mployed
a door bar as an improvised staff, and in a nothe r, he tell s of mOil k Guzho u,
who used a real staff to beat up eiglll assailall ts. The second story features
military official Wan Hiao, who initiated the mobili za tion of Shaolin monks
againsl t he pirates:
82
The three provincial offi cers (sans;) mocked LlIYllan [Wa n BiaoJ:
on k.s are usciess, 11 1<:)' said. do you Iionor tllem LlIyuan
told tllem or t.lle cultu ral and m ilitall' accomplish me nls or some mon ks.
The three provincial offi cers suggested they bel wine on iI , so Luyuan
arra nged a banque t al I he Yongj in Gate [in I langzhou]. The thrcc
provi ncia I officers came, and secrell y ordered eiglil mi lilary ins1 ructors
to lie in ambus h. They urged Lu), uan to invite an e mine nt monk to fight
them. Lu)'u<l n invited Guzhou, who didn' t know what it was all about
and happily came.
Whe n Guzhou arri ved, the eight militall instructors, each armed
St.1. ff Leg ends
with a staff. pou nced on him and starl ed hitting him from a ll sides.
Guzhou was completely unarmed and he employed the sleeves of h is
mo nastic robe to evade t he blows . One oft lie staffs gOt caught i n hi s
sk-'t:\'e. Guzhou effo rtlessly snat ched it , and slarl ed hilli ng back hi s
Employi ng h is Haff, he installll y th rew all e ight of them 10
the grou nd . The I hree pro\<j ncia l officers burs t int o applause.
Vajrapat;ti's Legend
83
Rel igions lore, no less than mililfll' y and historical \\'rit in!,'S, att csts to the s\.aff's
importance in the monastelY's regi men. OlJl'ing the period, Shaolin
monks changed the image of their t luelary dci t}' arming him \\,i\. h a
St afT. Visual represent at ions also knO\\'11 as Nadiyal,1a, show t hat all
through t he t\\'el fth cent III)' Shaolin monks e nvisioned him holding the Tlajra
(sec fig ure 8 in chapt er 2). 1-I00\'ever, a Millg period legend replaced his iconic
\\'eapon ,\' itll Shaolin's quint cssential one, According to the legend , V'!irapa1)i
,\'as i ncamal.ed at Sitaoli n as a lo\\'I}' sCILll ion, \Vlle n the 1ll0naS1.el), was at tncked
by band it. s, he e me rged f ro m the kit che n and, wield ing a d ivine staff, rc pelk'(l
tlt e aggressors, Tl lc India n Vflj ra-Iloldcr, Vaj ra pal.l i, was t llllS 1 ransformcd into a
Sl afT cxpert , progenitor or ti le monaster}" s re nowned staff techniques.
Sitaoli n's legend or V;y rapat) i ti le SLa fT wiekler survives in sc\'eral versions:
Che ng Zongyoll's SIUlolin S/aff MelIUNf, Fu Mei 's Song MOlln/ain Book (pre race
IG 12), and t.wo sevent.eenth-cent m y gaze tteers.' I lo\\'c\'er, the earliest e"ide nce
is cpigraplt ic. A 1517 stele cont ains a \'e rsion ofl ile legend alll honx i by the
Shaolin abbot \'\'enzai (1451-152'1). Tilk'c:l ''The Deity <1 ra)"ll)<I Protects th e
1--<'1w and Di spla)'s I l is Di vinit y" ("Naluo)'a n she n hura shij i"), the stele is en-
gra\'cd wit h the d i\' ine warri or's image, re placing his shon utljm with a long
staff (fi gure II ):
0 11 t he twell ty-sixth da)' o f the third mont h o f the Zhizheng period' s
elevent II , :(i llmao, year (Apri I 22. 1351). at the si hour ( betwee n 9 A . M .
a ll d II ,\.M.), whe ll the Red Turbans (1Io ngjin) uprising in Yi ngzhou Lin
mode rn western An hu iJ had j us t begun . a cro\\'d o f bandits al
t.he mOll as ter y. There was a saint (slu!IIgxiall ) at Shaol in, who up unl il
t.he n had been worki ng in the mo nastel),'s kitche n. Seve ral years he
dili b'l! ntl )' carried firewood and te nded the stove. I lis ha ir di shev-
eled, an d he went. bare foot. Wearing o nl}' thi n trousers, his upper body
was exposed. From morni ng till ni ght he hardl y ull ered a word , a rous-
i ng no in te rest a mong hi s fellO\\' monks. I li s sur name , nati,'e place, and
fir st name, were unknown. l ie constantl y culti va ted all the deeds o f
e nli ght.enment (wall xi llg).
That da)" whe n the Red Turbans approached t he mo nastery, the
BodhisaUv.1 wielded a stove poker (lil/Og!lll), and he stood mightily a lone
84 Systemizing Pracl kc
FIG. I I . Abbot WCIl7d1.is 15 17 V:y r ap:it.lis ( Na r:. lya l.la) stele. Note I hal the divine
warrior's v{ym has been replaced by lhe staff.
atop t he ion)' peak. The Red Turbans we re Lerrified of him and escap<.>d,
wh ereupon he di sappeared . People looked for h im. but he was s(.>cn no
mo re. O nl y then did they reali ze lhat he wasa Bodhisattva displaying
hi s d ivinit y. Tllereafl e r. lIe became Shaoli n's prOlccLOr of the law (hufa) ,l
a nd ou .: upied the seal of t ile monastery's "guardian spi fit (qiela/l
The legend is nOLunrei aled LO hisLOrical c\"cnlS. The Shaolin Monaslcrywas at-
tacked by ba ndits during lhe 1350s Red TUI-ha ns' uprising.
6
As Tang I-lao has
St.1.ff Leg ends 85
demonstrated, the allack on the monastel-y proba bl y LOok place not in 1351 (as
the 1517 inscription has it), but rathe r in or around 1356, during the Red Tur-
bans' nonhen l olTe nsh'e, in the course of which the rebels captured most of
Henan, ineluding Ka.ifeng city? That the monastery was pl undered and cvcn
partially destroyed by t,he Red Turb.'l.IlS (or by other b..ndilS who took advan-
tage of t.he rebellion) is anested by t\\'O fourlcclllh-cemury inscriptions (one
dat.ed probably 1371), which celebrate ilS restoration during the first years of
Ming rule, as well as by two epitaphs, dated 1373, forShaolin monks who lived
through t.he re\'ole"
Even as fou rl eenth-cenhlry sources con firm Ihal Ihe Shaolin Monastery
was attacked during the 1350s, their \'e rsion of e\'ems differs fmm that ofthc
sixtccnth-century legend. Whereas the laller has a slaff-wielding dcity leading
the monks to vicl.ory, t.he fonner depiclS a monaslic defeat. Accordi ng to the
carl )' Ming sources, t.he band its capllired t.he monaslel), and wreaked havoc
upon iI , peeling orr the gold coating t he Buddha images and b"eaking the stat-
ues in searcl l of llidde n treaSllres. TIle destnwtion \\'as so IhorOl lgh that tI, e
mon ks were forced to abandon the monastery. Tang I-lao concl lldes that they
could not have retumed to Silaolin p"ior to 1359, \\,llen I he gove rn me nt 's <:01111 -
t. croffensive, led by Chagha n "[emili', forced ,he Red Turbans Ollt of I le nan Y
Tile legend elaborates t he d ivine st,a ndi ng ofils SI alf-wielding protagonist ,
as (alias Na ra)'al)a) is ele",ned to t lie posit ion of a Bodhisalt \ '<1. Some
ve rsions sjx:cify thal he is an inca rnation of the Bodhismlm AvalokilcSvara
(C uan)'in), who is sllown in a bubble a bove Il er fearsome aVaiar i n Shaol in works
ofar!. (figures II and 12). Even be rore tllcycquipped I.l legod wil h I heir weapon,
Slliloli n monks Ilad st.ressed t lie identit y i a nd Avalokitesvara. Shao-
lin's I.wclfth-cent.ul) ' abbOl , Zudua n, noted, 10 the sCl"ipture, this
dcit)' is a manif(.!Stati on or Avaloki tcSvara:'lu As A'de points OUI , the
scripture in 'luest.ion is Il le infl uential Lotus Sutm, Wllicll teaches lhal lhe Bodhi -
saUv<t assumes whic hC'oe r fonn would be conducive to spreadi ng I he dharma.
For example: "1'0 those ",110 can be cOIl\'e)'Cd to deli\'emnce by the body of the
spiri t who grasps the vai l'll he preaches Dharma by di splaying Ihe
bod)' oft. he spil;l who grasps the vaj m:'!!
V-U rapal.li is not onl y d e \<l tcd to a Bodhisattva ra nk, he is al so given a
specific pOSt: the monastCI-Y' s "guardi a n spiri t"' ('lie/all Site/I), Ming authors
note thal t his office di stingui shed Shaolin from other Buddhist temples,
whe re another \'ali am deit),-Guangong-hcld Unl ike Guan-
gong is not a deit y of Buddhi st ol-igins. I-I e is a th ird-century general whose
vc ncra tion ori gi nated in the popular reli gion a nd emhed in a Daoist ritual
comexl. The heroic general was probably incorporated into the Buddhi st
pamheon o f divinities no earli e r tha n the Song period, when a legend
emerged of hi s posthumous e nlighte nme nt. Accordi ng to the lege nd , Guan-
gong's departed spil;t was led to sah'ation b)' the historical monk Zhiyi (538-
597), whe reupon in gratitude it mlunleered to officiate as the g uardian deily
in the la uer's monastery.1S To thi s day Cuangong occupies the post of lute-
'JCIC,\C UC;)(I 01 5! dll UlOIF'\)O CJc.\P I!':t 0lc,\V C,\III..'S!111>O\1 al i i
')l0N 'iluOS ' I III d OH: (CJclIl1l!::-I 5C 0 1 PdJJaj;)J) }i U! PP!''':IJCIS al lJ. ' 1:: I
"
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St.1.ff Legends 87
lary deilY in mOSl Chinese Buddhi sllemples, whereas V.yrapal)i h.olds lhis .of-
fice at the Shaolin Monaslery,l1
Even as 's di vinilY is magni fied , il is Ilidden behind I he fat;ade.of a
lowl y menial. The staff-wielding her.o begins his career as a kitchen hand, clad
in rags, Unnnticed by hi s fc\IO\". m.onks, he is a sai nI in disguise, Walking bare-
fonl and wearing thin trousers, hisappcarance is nOI merely llUmble, il also con-
lradiCI,S monastic regulalinns, The futtu'e guardi an spiril Buddhist
tonsure, naunling "dishC\'c\ed As sllch, the IUlelary god.of the Sha.olin
martial ans resembles otller Cllinese Iinl y fools, \\'hose ilY is masked Ix:llind
sllabby clotlles and eccentl' ic bclIavior, I-l iddc n sai nts such as Daoji. nicknamed
Crazy Ji Uidian), appeal-ances and accepl('"'(1 norms .of Ix:havior.' .';
rapi'u:li 's myth is panictllarly re mi ni scenl .of I-Iuineng's (638-713). Ac-
cording In Ihe ninth-cenlury Plaljorm SlIlm oj Ihe Sixf" Pafriardl, the greal
Chan mastcr began his illllsll' ious carecr as a sc ull inn Ireading Ihe pestl e in
I he monasl CI) "S kitchen. 113 )-l is hagiography mighl I hercfnrc have i nfl uCIl ced
Ihe Shanlin myth, whose prolagnnisl carr ies a sou\'enir from his kit.che n
days, a stove poker (/uwgulI), I n I he muscular sainI'S hands I he kilche n IIt ,e n-
si l is transformed into a fighling slall, whereby his menial .origins are skill-
f Ll tty associat.ed Wil h Shaoli n's qui III esse nl ial \\'eapon,
i 's I ransformation from a tJ(ljm-holdi ng deil y into a SI aO:wie kli ng
nne was accomp.'1nied by an accidental ),el far-reaching change in his ide ntity,
All through the 1520s Shaolill mon ks re fcrred \.0 thci rt utclMydeil y as
.or, usi ng his .other name, Na riiY<lI.la, Il owc\'er, se\'eral dccades ]al el', the), sla!'l ed
calli ng h illl K iql nara (jinnaluo), whi ch nallle originallydesignaled scmidi vinc/
scmihuman hca\'cnt)' musicians,' 7 III Il indu and Buddhist lilel<ltul'C alike, the
K i ql nal'as Ilave nOllli ng 10 do wilh wal' fal"C, and tile only reason for their associ-
atinn willi lile Shanlin martial arts was tll c si milarit)' .of thei I' Ch inese name, Jin-
nalun, with Narfl)'<ll.la's, Naluoyan. As A' de suggesl.'i, Shaolin monks confus("d
the I.wn deities, l ransfonning i (jingang she ll), through his mhe r name
Na ra)'al)a ( Nalu.o)'an), illlo Ki1111lal-a (jinnalu.o).' H
The earliest evidence ofa change in Vajrapal)i 's idemily dalcs from 1575,
when a Shaolin inscripti.on alluded t.o the monastcry's stall-wielding hel"O as
Kil11nara. In accordance with the Lolus SUii'll, whi ch mentions four Kiqlllara
kings , the stele depicts four tutel a l' ), divinities, each armed with a stafr.
'u
In
1610, Cheng Z.ongynu cominucd the new tradi tion, alluding t.o Ihe proge nitor
.of Shanlin fighting as Cheng's nalTath'e makes all explicit connec-
I.ion bel\\'ccn lhe gnd's and the mnnks' fighting technique:
Du ring lhe Zhizheng pe riod (1341-1367) of the Yuan Dynasty the RL--d
Troops (1Iongjun) revolted. The monastel) ' was badl y ra\'agL"t1 by this
sect. Lucki Iy,jus llhen somebody came OliL of Lhe monastery's kildwn
and reassured t.he monks saying: "You should all be calm, I will ward
them offmyselr.- Wielding a di vine stafT (sIren gUll), he threw himself
inlO the stove. Then, breaking OUl, he emerged from lLhe slO\'e], and
stood astride Song :\'toumain and lhe - Imperial (Yuzhai). The Red
Troops disimegrated and wi thdrew.
The monaslcl1"s residems man'f'Jed althis CH!I1L A monk addressed
t he crowd "Do you know who d rO\1;! away the Red Troops? l ie is tht'
(Guanyin daslli ), incarnated as Ihe Kil11nara
King Uinnaluo wang) ."' Therefore they a wicke rwork statue of him,
and to this day they continlle to praclice hi s LfiglningJ
Cheng Zongyou's \'crsion of lhe legend contains a curious clement:
Kiq1llara, he .ells us, llll"c\\' himsclfinto the SIO\'C from which he eme rged 10
stand astride Mt. Song and the Ml mpcrial Fort," Situated atop Ihe Shaoshi
mounl.ain peak, Ihe "Impe rial Fort - i s five miles away from jIllll. Song.
21
Only
a giant of supcrnonnal di mensions COLI Id Il a\'e stood astride bot h, i ndicat in g
that inside the blazi ng sto,'e Ki J1l1lara un(\el'\\'e nt a process of magic transfor-
mation, Tllat tllis is\\llat Clleng ZongrOl I had in mind is confirmed botl1 b)'
the \\'Oodblock illustration that accompanies hi s text (figlll'e 12), and b)' Fu
Mei's version of the legend, wh ich specifies that Kiql nam's ';figure \\'as trans-
formed (bin m:iug) and he gre,'" se,'eral hundred feet ta II. "2'.! Ki qllla ra's giga n-
tic proportions explain wh)' the te rrori zed bandits di spersed upon seeing
him, lI e was revealed to them not as a mortal but as a deit )',
111e significance ofV;vrapal,l i, now callcd Kiqlna!'a, in Shaolin's pantheon
of divinities is att.ested b}' numerous icons, Wllidl arc still extant at the monas-
ter)" Sitaolin's Standingin-lhe-Snow Pavilion con tai ns a (sc... .. \'emeelllhcellt u ry?)
statue of the slaff-brandi shing deil )" a nd the monastery's White-Alii red
Mahf\sattva lI all ( Hai)'i dashi dian) is decorated with a nineteenthcentury
mural of the gigantic treading ML Song and the Fore" Fur-
thermore, by the cightcemh ccnlury at lhc latcst, Kiqllla nl was accordcd his
own rit.ual spacc when a chapel was e rected in hi s honol'. A wickerwork st,nut:: of
t.he deily occupied the center of a Hall," \\'h ich also contai ned bronze
and i ron icons of lhe deity (fi gurc 13). wickerwork sculpwre is mcmiont,.xl
already in Cheng Zongyou's sc,'clllccmh-cemury S/WQUII Sfaff Met/u)(f, which
specifics that il was \\'O\'cn b'l the monks. Howc...,'er, a cemury later the common
view was lilat tllc god himscl f sculpted it, for which reason tllc Ii kencss wa s accu-
rate, t l This addition to thc Kil11 nara legend mirrors an anxicty. nOt uncommon
in Chi nese rdigion, conceming thc truthfulncss ofa deity's image. The myths
of several eh inese dei ties 11a\'e tlleir protagon ists create tllei,' own icons, proba-
bl y to relieve the Ix: liC\'crs' concern Icst they pay homage to a wrong
Kiqmara's sdr-made wickerwork statue no longer survi,'es, In 1928. the emire
Hall bumt down when Warlord Shi Yousan set fire to the monastery.
The shrine was reconstructed in 1984 a nd agai n in 2004. and it houses three
new statues of the deity, who is the objcct of a rcjlT\'enatl.'"CI religious CUh,26
Shaolin's legend of its tutelal-y deity penetrated the local culture of sur-
roundi ngvi llages. A late eighteenth-ccntury manuscript discovered in Changzi
County, southeastem Shanxi , near the Hena n border, reveals that Kiq1nara's
St.1.ff Leg ends 89
F,G. 13. Vaj rap" I) i's
(Kill1nal-a) Qing Shaolin
SlaiII C; woodblock illusl m-
lion from Ihe 1718 Sluwfh!
5; Ul i (II iSIOI' Y of Ih('
Shaolin Monaslery) .
heroic defense or the monastel-y was staged there as pan of the three-day sai
ritual operas. I n t he village drama \'ersion, the monastery's guaHli an spirit. ap-
pears in t he aboot's drcam wa ming h im of t he approaching l.h'lndi ts' auack
and urgi ng him to seck hel p with his lowl)' kitchen menial. The laner was en-
acted b)' a ),outh masked with rour heads, six arms, a nd protruding tusks, One
differe nce between the play a nd its Shaolin source concemed the god 's
weapon. was anned with a ba llJeaxe instead ora
was not the onl)' Buddhist deity whom Shaolin monks
armed with their own weapon. The Shaolin monastel)' s Buddhas
I-Iall" (Qian ro dian) contains a n enonnous wall painti ng or the" Fi ve Hundred
Arha ts" (Wubai luohan), dozens orwhom arc equipped wit h staffs. In Ihis mag-
nificent painting, which dates rrom the early se\entl."Cnt h century,28 ap-
pear in nume rous shapes and rulfiU dh'erse runctions. Some are adorned with
metal rings, identifying them as the Buddhi st ring staff, t he xizlulIIg (Sanskrit:
FIG. I ". Staff-widdl ns: arhat i 11 a SC\'CIlICCIlI h-ccllIlI r y Shaolin frc':Sco.
klwkklwm). Olhers scrYc as walking slicks or carrying poles. I-I owe"er, in the
hands of many a rhau, the sLaff assumes t he aspect of a weapon. Consider, for
example, the one wielded by an awe-inspiring arhat whose pl"Olrudi ng nose,
large eyes, and bush)' c)'Cbrows exempli r y the tendency of Chi nese anis\s \0 ex-
aggerat.e the fon::ign features of the Mahaya na sai nlS (flgUl"c The staff's
motion, no less than its proprietor's muscular arms, suggest that it is used for
combat, a nd the fearsome ti ger cOllu-ibmcs to the martial atmosphere. Evi-
dell tiy, Simol in monks projected thci r mania I an into the rea lm of tile Mahayana
divinities.
Why did Shaoli n monks aSCI-ibc t lleir fighting tccl lniques to Buddhi st dei-
ties? On one le,'elthei r atu-ibmion to the gods enhanced the prestige of the
Shaoli n combat methods. Declal-ing that a techn ique originated in heavcn is
equivalelll to praisi ng it. Presumabl y fOI- this reason, military experts such as
Yu Darou and Wu Shu noted that the Shaolin stafThas divine origins, thus re-
St.1.ff Legends 91
"ealing thei r familiarity witl l ilS etiological mYlII , On a nother level, manial dci-
ti es such as exone rated the mon ks from their responsibility for the
crealion of miUta.' y techniques, In this .'espcct their legends could be read as
Buddhist apologies for the monasti c exercise of violence,
As Paul Dcmicville has slloh' n, Budd h ists, like olher people, have found
ways to j lIsti f y violati ng thci r o\\' n principles, E\'e n though the reli gion up-
holds peace, its vast I iterat tlrc contains an c nt ire arsenal of j usti ficat ions for
wa r, One sut ra tells how thc Buddha in a previous life ki ll ed several Brah-
mins who we re slander ing Mahaya na tcachings, The text explai ns that in any
casc they we rc {:ach an icc/ullllikfl-one incapable of salvation, '1 AnOl.her
sulra has t hc Bodhisall\'a li ft hi s spear against the Buddha 1.0 dem-
onstrate thc illusory nal.tlre of all things, Since c\'eryt h ing is e mptiness,
M;u\jusri and t.hc Buddha arc equall y ulll'cal, a nd neither crime, nor perpe-
I ral or, nor vicl im could cxisl. A not hcr i ngc nio us (;xc use is "compassional e
killing." When no ot he r way to pre\'e nt a crime is available. it is permissible 1.0
kill the ,,'ould-be criminal, reli cving him or bad karma and punish mcn l in
the a fl.e rlife. 1'\\'0 sutras havc the Buddha in a previous life kill a bandit who
is about to commi t murdcr. l nstead orendll ring tOrl ll res in hell, the bandit is
tll c n re bo rn in Ilea\'e n. Sllch "compassiona te kil li ng" is accepta ble only whcn
it is motivatcd by pure intentions, namely ,,'he n one knowingly shoulders
upon himself the future puni shme nt that awaited the would-be sinner, as
As,u1ga (fourth or fifth century) emphasizes in his ikxfltisflfflifl-bltiimi:
- If I ta kc tllC Ii fc of t Ilis SClit iellt bei ng. I III}'ScJ f may be reborn as Olle of
t Il c crcat ures of ll cJl. Better l itat I be rebonl a crealure of Ilclltha.lt hal
Illis living bci ng II:wi ng comlllit ted a (i<.-cd of i IIIl1l ediale retribut iOlI,
should go st raight to hel Wit h sll ch a naIl ilude, I he Bodhisatl\':\
asccna i ns t hat t hc thought is virtllolls or indeterm inate and t hen,
fecI i ng cunst ra ined, wit h on I)' a I houghl of me rcy for I he cOlIscquellc(;,
li e takcs t llC life oftllat living being. Tl lere is no fauh . but a spreild of
much
These excuses for violence did not e me rge in the e plle meral world of BucJdh is\.
ethical discourse, but in response to histori cal conditions of warfare thaL elll -
broil ed t he monastic community. When pacifi sm was deemed impractical ,
Buddhist authors fOll nd ways to condone war. r ... ledie"al Indian Buddhi sts rc-
sponded to illlerstale violence by endorsing t he king's dut), to wage war in de-
fense of his subj ects,'l and as recentJy as World War II , "compassionate killing"
was inmked b)' the .' i\'al Asia n powe rs, The J apanese e mployed the Buddhi st
concept to justi fy their im .... sion of China, a nd the Ch inese lIsed it to sanction
thei r resistance. Chincse monks who had bccn trai ned as manial artists evcn
joined the guerriUas thatfoughttllcJapancse
Drawing on Ill )'lhology rathc.' tha n philosophy, Sllaolin'sjustification of
violence is different. Instead of hai.'-splitting argume nts, it is a manial god's
92 Systemizing Practkc
personal example that vi ndicates Buddlli st mi litary action" IfVajrapiil)i can d e-
scend from hea\'en to defend a Buddhisttemplc, then by implication his Shao-
lin devotees can resort to anns as h'ell " TIlat hi s legend wllsread in this way is
indicated by several hymns (WII) in honOl" of the stafT-wielding dcity" The
hymns seek moral grounds for the god"s military action in tIle Buddh ist vin ue
of loving kindness (ci; Sanshil: 1Illlill"C)'ll )" They suggest lhat t he protection of
t he Buddhist, faith--c'"en ifilin\'Oh'esviolcnce-isan aCI of compassion . Cheng
Zongyou's brother, Yinwan, who autl lored one Il ymn, summari zes the argu-
ment,: lie \\' I"ites, "is cultivated tllrough hel"Oism" (ri i )'ong
)'(lIIg). :u;
Fictional Staff-Wielding Monks
St aff fight i ng occupied a cent ral place al the Shaol i n Monastery, bot h in the
lives of its resident monks and in the illyl hs ofit.s t ute]ary deities. 1"lowever, it
\\'as nOt limit ed to thaI monastic cin:: le. Late Ming milit ary expert.s were in-
t ri g lied by Sllaolin staff lecllniqlles, precisely becallse of the weapon's prom i-
nence in common military training. CO\ernment troops, such as Yu Dayou's
and QiJiguang's, we re regularl y instructed in the art of the staff, \\'hich was
considered useful not onl )' in ilS own right but as an introduction 1.0 other
fighting met hods. Yu Dayou expressed I he common view when he wrote that.
"s taff training is comparable 10 the study of the four books. The hooked
sword, the broadsword, the spear and the rake resemble each one of the six
classics. When the four books arc understood, the underlying principle of
tile six classics becomes dea.". If one can Il and Ie tIle sla fT, he wi II aeh ieve pro-
ficiency in t ile methods of all otller sharp weapons. "37
Widel), used in the lale Ming mi lilar)" the staff was farf.om being the mo-
nopol y ofSltaol in monks. Sti ll , popular perception associated the weapon wit h
the Buddhi st dergy. T llis docs not mean that all Slaff expe,t.s were believed to
be mon ks, bUl thal. fighti ng monks were usuall y imagint.xI as staff expens. Evi-
dence of this common perception in Ming society is provided by fiction and
drama. Nm'cls and plays thal were written during the e\"Cn during
t.he preceding Yuan and Southern Song-periods depict fighting monks as
staff experts. Four wdl-known examples come to mind: I-iuiming of the ro-
mamic comedy The Hblern Wing (Xixillllgji), Lu Zhishen of the manial
novel H'aler Margill, Yang the Fifth (Yang Wulang) of the military saga }}i"lllg
F(llI/iI] Genemls, and, most bclo\"ed of all , Sun Wukong of the mythological epic
The j oaml!)' 10 Ihe Wesl (Xi)'oll ji).
Suo Wukoog
Probably the most famous Buddhi st warrior in Chinese literature, Sun
Wukong figures in a bod)' of legends sUITounding Xuan:f...ang's (596-664)
historical journey from China 10 India in search of Buddhi st. scriptures" The
St.1.ff Legends 93
legends, which can be traced back to the SOllg pcriod, cvolvcd lhrough a se-
ri es or prose narratives and pIa)"!;, culminating in the sixteenth century in
one or the masterpieces or Chi nese fi ction, The j Ollnll!)' '0 Ihe H-esl. Ge nerall y
believed to have been authored by WlI Cheng' cn (ca. 1506-ca. 1582), Ihe
novel se rved as a source ror an enonnOliS body or oral lite ra lu re and drama,
securing Sun Wukong's position as a poplilal- literary a nd (Ii-amalic hero, as
well as the objeCl or a reli gious clllt, rOl' ccntlll-ies to
Sun WlIkong's role in the j ourney 10 ' he H"I!sl cycle is Ihal or prolecl.or 10 his
master Xuan7.ang. Throughout thcir pilgrimagc, the t\\'oarcallacked hycounl-
less monstc rs, whom Xuanzang is unable to count er, bOl.h IlCcausc hc is physi-
cally reeble and because he is morall y commi1tcd to thc Buddhist prohibilion
or violence. It is therefore hi s "Monkey Novice r-.'Ion k" ( 1-10 11 Xingzhc), as Su n
Wlikong is lilled, who shoulde rs the ,'csponsibilit y rO!o thcirdefcnsc. which hc
adm irabl), perfOl'llls tl lrollgll tllc lise of a magic \\'eapon. The fearl css mon key
is a rmed \vjth a divine staff (bang),'-) \\'hich hc obtained atthc Wale r CI),slal
Palace or I he Dragon King of t.he East ern O C(' ''a 1l (fi gurc 15). As indicalt.'(1 by ilS
name, "As You Wish, Golden Rings Clasped Staff" ( Rll yi jingll bang), Ihe
\\'eapon com plies Wil li it.s propl' ietor' s \\' ishes, cha nging its si ze al will . lIS ft:."g ll-
lar ope rat ionalle ngt h is two zhang (approximalel y t\\'elll)' fect), bill il can be as
I iny as a needle, Ilidcle n inside Sun "'/ukong's ear, or as ta ll as the heavens.
Sun Wukong can change not only his staffs dimensions, but also his own.
Mastering I ransformal ion magic (biall), lhe heroi c monke), is capable of assu m-
ing at will any sltapc or size:
[Sun Wukongl lldd tile treasurc [ll le starn in Ilis 11:llI(ls :llld called out,
and al once il shrank to the size ofa tiny
embroider), needle, small enougll 10 be Ilidde n inside Illc ca r. Awe-
Sl ruck, the ilion keys cried, King! Take il Ollt and pia)" wit It it some
rnore," Tile }Ionkey King took it oul from Ilis car and placed it 011 hi s
palm. bigger, he shout ed. a nd again it grew to the
I.hi ckness of a barrel and more than twenl), reel long. l ie became so
delighled playing wi th itthat hej ul1lped onlO the bridge and walkt.xl out
orlile cave. Grasping 1.ll e treas ure in Ilis ilands, li e began to perform the
magil; of cosm ic im ilalioll. lie be nl o\'er and cried. and at 011C(!
gre\\' to be lell thousand reettal!. with a head li ke the Tai Mountain and
a dH_'Sllike a rugged peak. eycs like li ghtning and a iIlomh like a blood
bowl , and leeth like swords alld halberds. The starrin his hands was or
such a size that ils top reached the thirt y- third l lea\"Cn and ilS bOIlOI11
t.he eight.ee nth laye r or lid!. Tigen., leopards, wol\"cs. and crawling
cre.lt.ures, a 11 t.he monslers or the moulltain and the dcmon kings or the
SC\'Cnl}-IWO caves, were so lerrified I.hatthc), kowtowed and paid
homage 10 the key Kill g in rear and trembling. Prt.'Scmi y he revoked
his magical appearance and changed 1.he trcasurc back illlo a tin}'
embroidery needle stored in his ear. HI
9"
S)'li lClllizing Manial r racli ce
FIG. 15. Sun Wukong's SI;\ff; lai c Ming (ca. 1625) woodblock illustrati on
TIle superlmman dimc nsionsof the slafT-wiekling monkey remind LIS of another
stafT expert, who likewise could cilange his size al \\>ill. Tllis is, of course, 511<10-
lin's guardian spi ri t, (alias Kil'!l.nara). who emerged from the monas-
t.e ry's s l(}\'C as a gia nt, standing a. .. tddc the ML Song peaks. Sun \Yukong similarly
changed his appearance, in one ins tance after being smell(.""(1 ina sto\'e (1X! long-
ing to Lanzi 's alchcmicallaboralory). 11 Which of these staff-hrandishing de ities
inspired the other's myth? Did lli ej otlNlI!)' (Q 'lit! cycle sene as a source
St.1.ff Legends
for dl e hagiographic litcraturc of the Shaolin Monastery. or. convcrsely. did
Shaolin monastic legcnds innuence no\'d s and pla)'s celebrating Sun Wukong?
I f the Sun Wukong and legends are related. it is likely that Ihe
former innuenc(:d the lauer. When:as V-Urapal.li was armed with Ihe Shaolin
staff in t.he sixteenlll cenlUl)" tile di vine monke)' wielded the w(.'<tpon as early
as the dlineelllh. 11le c."1 r1 iest eXlant \'crsion of his ad\'enl ures, Ma.HeroJfhe
Lmv, Tri/)ifakfl oj Ihe Creal Tfl llg, Procures Ihe Scri/)IU/.,.s (Dfl 'fimg S(lnZllllg Joshi qu
)ing)i), is belie"ed by mOSI scholars lO have been authored during Ihe Southern
Song, approxi matel ), tllrcc Illllldred rears bcfOl'e t.ll ea ppcarance ofVajrapal,li 's
Shaolin legend. Tile hagiograpllic lilerature of a Buddll ist mil ita!'y temple was
in flue need t.hen by popu lar lil e l'ature,
Huiming
If Sun Wukong is a supe rnal ural being \\'Ilose YOII \Vish, Golde n Rings
Clasped yields 10 his wishes, I-Iui ming is a n ol'dinar), cleric, whose iron
staff (Ii('b(wg) is no magic weapon. Sti II , Iluimi ng's maslcl)' of sta ff fight ing is
suell tllat Il c cmploys il to sa,'c I \\'0 of I hc most beloved flgll res in 1 hc history of
Chinese lil.eralure: Zhang Gong and Cui romantic protagonists of
Wang Shifll's (ca. 1250-1300) ulju pia)' Siol)' oj 11/ (' H'l-sll'm Willg ( Xi:o:iollg ji ).
Wang c\aborat,es on his protagonist 's addiclioll to mcal no less than on his
fighting skill s, combining the t\\'O vices in zestful parod),. In order 1.0 spicc hi s
vegel arian fare wit h fl esh, he te ll s us, t he monk goes 10 ballJc.
13
In Wang's play, the romantic Zhang and Cui are stra nded in a monas\.e ry
thaI. is besieged by bandits. The staff-wielding I luimi ng saves thc da), by break-
ing I.he block."1dc and calling army units to the rescue. I lo\\'c\'cr, Wang was no\.
the first.lo assign the monk this role. Wa ng's SIOr)' oJ'lte Willgdc riw:s
from an earli e r \'e rsion of Ihe laic wr itte n in the z.lllIgrmgdiflo (all-keys-and-
modes) ge nre by Dong Jie),uan ( Master Dong) (fl. 1190- 1208). Sometimcs
known as DongJitylUms Slory oJlhe 'Ving, this early vel'sion alrcady fca-
I.U res a st.a IT-wieldi ng cleri c named Facong, whose rol e is lliat of s,aviol'lo thc ro-
mantic couple. Morem'er, the %hugo1lgil/(lo \'ersion elaborates on his mastcry of
the weapon more tha n the %(lju \'ersion does. DongJ k,), uan dedicatcs an e ntire
song su il.e to Facong's vinuosity in staff fighting. I n the followi ng poem, for i n-
stance, the monk reli cs on hi s staff-which he manipulates fmm horscback-
1.0 defeallhe bandit leader, FI)' ingTige r (figure 16):
Fa cong uses an iron staff.
Flying Tiger uses iI steel axe.
One smiles t.he monk with hi s axe,
One attacks t.h e tiger wit. h Ilis stafT.
Flyi ng Tiger excels in ofTensi\'e jabs,
Fa cong's superb with defensive parries,
Fa cong has the upper hand,
Flying Tiger t. ries \.0 escape. II
......
IG, , fi. I-Iu iming maniplli at ing the staff f!'Om horse back; woodblock ilh!s! I'm ion
d:ued 1498,
Even as he lc;n-cs no doubl lhal his prol agonisl speciali zes in staff fight-
ing, Dong Jic), uan supplies him with olher \\'capons as well. In addition 10
the sta rr, Facong is armed Wilh a whip and a "prohibitions' knife" (jiedao;
Sanskrit: sflslmkfl). Mentioned a lso in Wang Shifll's %ftjll version, 1he lauel'
has a Huddhi sl provenance. Monastic regulations li st the "prohibilions'
knife" among l he monk's "eightccn belongi ngs" (shilHl lUll) , which include
such items as soap, waler boule, mal, begging bowl, and the Buddhist ring
starr (),;:I.!lfl1lg). Ol-iginally intended for such tasks as shaving the head, CUI -
ting t he finge rnails, and mc nd ing clothes, the "prohibitions' knife" was o nl y
a few inchcs long, I-I o\\,c\'c r, Dong Jicyua n' s li tcrary faner has e nlarged illO
tile size of a l ilreefoot dragonsla), i ng SWOl'd, 15
Lu Zhishen
Thi s fig hting monk has becn me ntioned twice be fore, fil'Stas an exampl e
ofLhe li te rary topos of the mcaH:lting fi ghti ng-monk- like I-Iuiming, Lu de-
I igh ts in not h ing belle r t lmn a n ima l nesh , especiall )' dog meat-and second
because of his affiliation with the r>.h, Wmai monasteries, which probably re-
nects thei r military re nown , We ha\'e seen that historical Wmai monks did
go to wa r, and thei r he roism was mirrored in popular literat.ure, We turn
now to the valiam monk' s t)'pical weapon: the stafT,
Lu Zhishe n, also known as the "Talloocd Monk" ( I-Iua I-Ieshang), figures
in the enonnously popular no\'cI of physical heroism, Margin (Sltwhu
Z/UlfIf/) , This early Ming no\'cI del-h'es from dramatic and oral antecedents,
which can be traced back to the Southern Song_ It is noteworthy that. e"en in
St.1. ff Legends 97
the earliest versions or the Slory crcle, Lu is anned with the staff" A Southe rn
Song list or \.opics popular among SlOI"Ylel lers classifies the "Tattooed Monk"
storr in \.he category or "Slaff" (ganbnllg) tales" IG
Like 1"l uiming, Lu Zhi shen is equipped \v itli a "prohibitio ns' knire" in
addition to hi s \,'eapon or c hoice, the starr" In the period novel, tlie lat-
te r is cast iron and we ighs SiXl}'-lWO jill (appmximatel )' eight)' pounds), or
rour times \. he wc ighl rccommc nded by Chc ng Zong)'ou in his Shaolin Staff
ll'letltod" The starr's improbable \,'ei ght likel )' is meant to highlight its propri-
etor's ex\. raordi nary stre nglll" I ndecd, tll c tattooed mon k is so strong that lie
wishes hi s st,a rrwould bc c\"e n hcavie r, as hc cxplains to tbc blacksmith:
- Inecci a 'Chan st afT' (dulli ::.IulIIg) and a ' prohibilions' knire' (jiedao).-
sa id Lu Zhishen. - Do YOLI ha\'c allY firSH"ai C melal ?-
"1 do indecd. I low hcav), a slafTand knirc do )'ou wa lll ? Wc' ]] make
the m according to )'Our requ ircmclll s.-
-The stafT should bc a hundrcd jin.-
toO hcavy.- t hc smilh laughf' d. - I could make it ror }'ou. btl1
)'Ou' d ne\'er bf' ablc 10 wield il. E"t'll Guangong's broadsword (lao)
wasn' t more than ciglll}'-onc jill!-
- I'm e\'f' I1' bit as good as Guangong,- Lu Zhishe n bursl 0111 impa-
ti cntl )'. - llewasonl Y:l man , 100.-
"' I mean well, Rcve rcnd. E\'cn rort y-fi\'e jill would be \'cr)' he t\'}':
- YOLL say Glia Il gong's broadsword was cigll1 ),-one jill? Ma ke 111<: a
staffof that weight, thcn.-
-Too th ick, It would look ugly. and bc cl ums), 10 use. Take
Ill)' ad vicc, Ict llIe lila kc you it sixlY-1 WO jill e lla n Starr or bUl"llishcd
llI et a I. 0 r COLl rse, i r it's 100 he t\')', don' I blamc mc. k17
M i ng visual re presentations of Lu Zlli shc n 1"C\eal a liny crcscelll at. one e nd of
hi s weapon (fi gure 17). A si mila r design is di scerniblc in a few of l"luiming's im-
ages (figure 18), as well as in those of a nother fictional staff-wielding cleric:
'"Sha Mon k" (Sha i-ieshang), wllo fi gures as a secondary character in the JOllr-
ney to Ihe West (fi gure 19). So far we ha\"c nOt mentioned Monk," whose
name-li te rall y "Sand Monk"--de rin:: s from the Buddhist "God of tile Deep
Sands" (She nsha she n). In lhe sixteenth-ccntury nO\"e1, t he wea pon of the
"Sand Monk" is re rclTed to as "PI"Ccious Staff" (baozlwlIg) as well as
Fell i ng Staf r" (xitlng)'tlo zlumg). 18 I me rcstingl)" in all thl"(.'(: cases-Lu Zhishen,
Huiming, and "Sha Monk"-lhe crcsccnt is pc rcept ible in some of the fight ing
mon ks' \'isual re presemalions, blll it is not mc ntioned in tile wri tten n ar rati\"Cs
celebrating them.
Future rcscardl may dctc n n ine thc ol"igins of the crescemshape, which is
visible in some Ming pe l"iod illuslrations of the sta rr. He re I will me ntion on I)'
that an idenlical dcsign is common in a wide va ri ct)' of twentiel h-cemury mar-
tial arts weapons, whelher or nOl thc), a rc wielded by Buddh ist cle l"i cs. The
98 Systemizing Pracci<;c
FIG. 17. Lmc Ming
woodblock ilhtSl ra-
I ion or Lu Zhishcn
mani pulating I Ill'
staff.
cn:scen t.'s signi ficancc in contemporary weaponry call be gaug<..-'d by its appca r-
anee i 11 the names of slich inSll"lLlllCIll S as the "Crescent-Shaped ()'W!)'C/) Spade,"
"Crescent-Shaped Spcar,- "Crcsccill-Shapcd Battle-ax," and

Yang the Fi fth
Protagonist of the late Ming no'"cI )'tmg Fllmii)' Gel/era/s. Yang til e Fifth
(Yang Wulang) shares with Lu Zhishcn a Wutai connection. and wilh Sun WlI-
kong a magic weapon. Joining the BuddhiSlorderon Mt. Wutai , Yang the Fifth
leads a monasti c anny from the re in slipponofhis heroic Yang fa mily brothers
and siste rs. In the two sli ghLl ydilTcrclll ,"ersions of the no\'el, he is armed Wilh
a battleaxe as well as a "Dragon-Fel ling Starr (xitmglong blll1g,. which, as its
name suggesls, subdues the mythic creatures.
w
St.1.ff Legends
" . ..
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FIG, 18. I-I uimi ng brand ish ing th e slaff; woodblock iliusl ra lio n
d alcd 16 14,
99
The rung Fami,>' slory c)'CIe c\'oh'ed around the histOrical figure of th e
Nonhe rn Songgene ral Yang Ye (?-986), who was followed byh isson and gl"a nd -
son in sen 'ing t he dynasty's causc. h dc\'cloped t hmugh Sout hern Song oral li l.-
e raLLlIY; a nd Yua n dra ma, culminating in the two \'ersions ofth(: Ming novel. It
is noteworthy that the cycle's monki sh protagonist is arm(.>d with a staff al ready
in its earl iest versions. Along with Lu Zhishe ns story '1he Tattooed Monk,"
"[Yangl the Fiflll Becomes a Monk" is classified ill a Southern Song list of oral
tales in th e category of "staFr' (ganlHmg) tales, 51
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F [G. I g- Late Millg woodblock iBnSI mlion ofSha Monk wieldi ng I he starr.
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St.1.ff Legends JOJ
The Origins of Monastic Staff Fighting
Ming pe riod popular lore extends the connection between fighting monks
and !lIe stafT beyond Shaolin's h'a lls. En: n though Sun Wukong, I-Iuiming, Lu
Zhishe n, and Yang Wulang are notaffiliated \\' itll tile monastery, a ll four wield
the weapon. Two of these fictional slafT-h' iddi ng mon k. .. are associated wit h I he
WUlai monasteries, and 1.\\'0 others are not connected to a historical center of
monasl ic fighti ng. Take n logelile l-, liley indicate IIlal novelists and playwrights
conceived of tile staff as l ile quintessentia l Buddl l is! \\'Ca pon, regard less of mo-
nastic affiliation.
The na nat ives of lhe four fi ctiona l monks can be l raced back to the
Southe m Song, slfe ngthe ning the impression gained from military lite ra-
lure thaI monast ir st aff fighting ol' ig ina ted earli e r I ha n I he Mi ng, Sixt eent h-
century generals suc h as Yu Darou a nd Qi Ji gua ng insislc.. "(1 thaI Shaolin
mon ks had bee n pracl ici ng the sta fT fOl' cenl ur ies. Sun \Vukong. I-I ui mi ng,
Lu Zhi she n, and Yang Wulang e mploy t he \\'eapoll in t hei r slory cycles' ea d i-
est extant ve rsions, whic h date from the , hirl eenlh century. Assuming that
these charac te rs have been fashioned after 11'al monks, slafT fighting had
been pract iced e ithe r at Shaolin, or in othe r Buddhist monasleries, as early
as the Southern Song.
Why did Shaolin monks, or othe r Buddhist monks, choose the s!.llffas
tlleir weapon? Some scllolars sought a n a nswer in \\' 11(\1 Illey conSl r ued as Ihe
\\'eapon's defensive CJual il)', which supposedly accords wilh Ihe Buddhist pro-
11 ibition of violence. The staff cannot injure or kill , 1 hey c laim, and il. is used
for scl f-defe nse o nl y. Cheng Da li illustrates I he a )-gume ll1 : Hthe sta fT is a bl UtH
inst rume nt, wh ich, morc..'O\e r, is made of wood. Its power to kill and iqj ure is
fa r infe rior 1.0 those of the broadsword , the sword, a nd olhc, mcta l sh arp
weapons. Evidc ntl y, usi ng thc woodc n staff is rcl ati\'e ly appropriatc 1.0 the
position or Buddhi st d isciples, who arc pc rmi tted to c mplo), the martial ans
ror I illl ited pu rposes on [ y . " 5 ~
Cheng's argument cannot be d ismissed as irrelevant for the monastic
choice or t ile wcapon. Wlu:.: n it is made of wood t[ le Sla fT is indecd less dan-
ge rous tha n ot her weapons, a nd ror thi s reason perhaps some mOil ks pre-
reJTed to li se it. The problem is, as Che ng acknowledges, tilat the Shaolin
weapon was Orten forged of iron, j uSt [ike the heavy rods wielded by the fi c-
tional mo nks Sun Wukong, Hui ming, Lu Zhi shen , a nd Yang Wulang. It was
therefore a lethal inst rume nt, with a ca pac it y to kill that is attested by mili -
tary li te ralllre no less t han by fi ction a nd drama_ Moreover, we need not as-
slime t hat fi ghti ng monks we re concerned with the Buddhist prohibition of
violence, whic h they d isamwed by going 1.0 battle. Rccall forexa mp1e the six-
tee nth-century Shao[i n monk who employed a metal staff 1.0 annihilate an
unarmed pirate'S wire.
The stafr's presumed defensh-e Clua lit y provides therefore no more than
a panial explanation ror its use by Budd hi st monks_ It mi ght be more useful
102 Systemizing Pract kc
to examine t he starrs place in Buddhi st history, for its military role might
have derived from earlier functions the tradition assigned il.
T he Ring Staff
Long before it \\l as relied upon for fi gilling, the staffser\'ed as the emblem of
I.he monk. Monasti c regulations, \\'hich \\ere translated into Chinese d uring
t he earl y medi eval period, prescr ibe a staff as among the "eighteen bc1ong-
i ngs" 1.1lal. a monk sllould Ca IT}' in ti le perfonnancc of Ilis duties. Tiley also or-
dain its exact shape, which dirTered from that of lhe fighting stafr. Instead of
an unadorned pole of equal l.llickness Illl'OUgllout its lengt!l , the st.aff decreed
by monasti c law was decor<tled ,II one e nd \\' ith l WO 10 four metal loops, from
which hung be twee n six to twe h-e metal rings (figure 20). in Sanskrit
khakklw/"{j , Ihi s ring staff was called in Chinese transliterat ion xiqiluo and qi-
h('/f/1I. More commonl y, hO\\'e\'e r, il was kno\\'11 in China as xizJ/f/1Ig (xi staff).
The \\'ord ;I.-i, mean ing I in or pewle r, may allude 10 I he melal of which the ri ngs
\\'ere made, or onomatopoeicall y 10 Ihe sound the)' emilled. In his Trallslated
Buddhist Tfl'lII illol ogy (F(I1I),; mi1ll;),;)') , Fayun ( 1088-1 158) explains that ';the xiqi-
1-110 is cal led xi UW1II;, bec;ulse wllcn raltled il emi ts a xi.'!:; sOt lnd. For this reason
the S(ll"TIiistiviir/fI-villfl),fI namcs il 'Soundi ng Slaff (sllt?llgzlu/IIg,."""
fayun's etymological analysis of the x;z.lulIIg sluy,\'s the signi flcance that
Buddili sl scriptures accord its ringing. Monllstic regulation s provide three rai-
sons d ' cl. re for the ring staff, IwO of which depend on the chimingofits rings.
first, t he ringing produced by shaking the starT c:ln scare away snakes, scorpi-
ons, and other dange rous beasts. Second, it can ale n a donor to the presence
of an alms-begging monk at hi s door. The third function is not. related to the
starT's acoustics: I ike any wa lking sti ck, the ring st.aff can offel' support for old
and sick monks. These practi cal functions arc accomp.'lnied by lhe symboli c
Significance t hat Huddhist monks a uached to t he staff's varying Ilumber of
loops and rings. One sniplllre recommends, for example, four loops, symbol-
izing "the st:\'e rance from the four types ofbinh, meditation on the four trlllhs,
cu ltivation of the four fonns of equanim ity, e ntrance into the four dlt)'cil/(ls, lhe
purifical.ion of the four empt y jr(.'gions] , the clarification oflhe four areas of
thought, t he fortification of the four proper forms of diligellce, llnd allain-
men t of the four di vi ne powers."51
Numerous references to the I-ing sta rT in medie\'alliterature lluesllhal at
least some monks followed monastic rt.'gulations a nd carried il. As John Ki e-
schnick has pointed out, biographies of emine nt monks use such expressions as
"picked up his ring staff" to signify that a monk set on a journey, and Tang po-
elry alludes to the "crisp sound of the ring staff on a snow-covered path:'!;5 Occa-
sionally, the ring staff signified by metonymy its clerical owner, as when Bai J uyi
(772-846) wrote of the '"" I-ing staff climbing 1.0 t he monastery on Simi-
larl y, visual works of art rt:\'eal thatthe ring staff, like the alms bowl, b<.'Came a
St.1.ff Legends 103
FIG. 20. Tlw ring stalT
as t he emblem or t he
monk; dl' tail ora
Xixia pcriod ( 1038-
1227) wa ll painling
rrom the Vu lin Cavcs,
Gansu.
monk's symbol. I)aintings of Huddhas a nd 130dhisau\'as of len have the deity's
monkish auendant carry one or both of these monast ic insignia, The Bodhi -
sauva of Medicine Yaoshi ), fOI- instance, is flanked in an enor-
mous fourteenth-century wa ll painting by twO monks, one can'), ing the bowl,
the other displa)'i ng the t-i ng staff. An earl ier, X ixia period ( 1038-1227) com-
position of the Hodhisau\'3 Maiuusri (We nshu) has one monk caJT)' ing both
e mblems (figure 20). The t-ing staff wasc\'en incoqxH<ned into the iconography
of deities. 111e Bodhisau\<l K.5itiga rbha (Di 7.a ng pusa) is usuall y de picted as
brandishing it.
The emblematic Buddhist staff was not always fashiont.xl in accordance
with monastic regulations. Some clCt-ics rc tai ned it as a symbol of ,'cl igio us au-
thority, even as Lhe)' di spe nsed-for practical or Financial reasons-with its
rings. An impressi\'e se\e nl(."C mh-ccmm-)' ponraitofthe monk Yinyuan (1592-
1673) shows him holding an enonnous wooden slaff tllat is not adorned with
the pres(Tibed t; ngs (fi gure 21 ). Yinyua n's seated posture, like his serene ex-
pression and grand monasti c robes, suggcsllhat the SlafTsel'\'Cs him not as a
weapon, but as a symbol of rei igious authority. I-I ow(."' .. e r, devoid ofiL .. ri ngs, his
emblematic staff is identical in shape to the one fi ghti ng monks e mployed in
11\ )f
z
~
l'
.fit
II!
tI
II
l:I. ~ ,
#
A f
i
j
ii
~
~ "=
1:
;f
"ill
.. ~
A,
'f:

FIG. 21. The slaffas the emblem oflhe monk; japanesc
portrait of the Chi nest': mon k Yin)'ua n ( 1592-16i3).
St.1.ff Leg ends 105
combal. !-Iere, the n, we percehe a con nection bet\\cen lhe ring staff and the
fighting stafr. Slightly altered, the Buddhist symbol is indistinguishable from
the monastic weapon.
The Magic Weapon
The si milarit y or the l"ing staff and the fight.ing st.aff extends beyond t.heir
shapc. Occasionall y thc 1\\'0 poles ha\'e been It'iecl for the same purpose. To
this day, Sllaol in monks somctimes employ tile ring slaffin martial demonstra-
tions. Even more intriguing, the Buddhi st emblem has been used as a mogi(
weapon. Beginning in the medieval peliod, lhe ring stafffiguJ"ed in rilual war-
ra rc. In this rcspeclllie monastic symbol is not unique. The staffhas been ac-
(ordcd magic qual itics in IlIllllerOlIS cllh Ilres, \\'I lerc il has served as a sym bol of
religious and polilical allthorit y. COIllp;:II-ati \'e anal ysis could therefore sli t-xl
li ght on its Buddhist significance.
Ti le slarf lias been used as an insignia of office across reiigiOi ls and polili -
c il bounclaries. Egypl ian priests and Roman augll rs \\' ielded iI , jl lsl as loda)' il
serves as an emblem or Cat holi c bisiiOPS (\\'IIOse crosier is nook-shaped).!).'1 In
tllese clerical inst ances Ille st arr signifies religious i.l utllOrit )', but in a polil ital
cont.ext il symbolizes sOI'ere ignl)'. In West ern kingshi p the scepter is borne b)'
the sovereign in his coronal ion ceremon)" and in anciell1 Israel il \\'as carried
by the chiefs of the nalion's tweh"e tribes (for which reason the I lebrew word
II/o'leh has two meanings: slaffand tribe). 01 her rulers in the ancient Ncar Easl
likewise bore the slaff: Il ittite, Phocnician, Babylonian, and Assyrian kings
wielded it, as did tile pllaraolls of ancien 1 Egypt. 00 PIccisely because ils p u rport
has not been limited to a given cuhmal context, it is tempting to imcrprel the
staff ps)choanalytically as a phallic s)' mbol.
In lhe ancient Ncar East, lhe king's slaffwas belicvcd to have been be-
slowed upon Ilim b)' a god, wllo lhereb), imparled to Ililll some of his divine
st re n glil. Traces or II I is MesopOlamian and Egyplian belief arc visible in the
Hebrew bibl e, where Moses' slaffi s alluded lO twice as ~ G o C r s staff." Beca use
of its di\' ine pro\'enance, lhe prophet' s emblem is endowed with supel"llalLl -
ral powers. Moses relics on itlo bling lhe plagues upon l he Egyptians and to
t ransrorm lhe sea illlo dry land, releasing his people from Eg)' pL611
Ir God besLOwed hi s Slarr on his chosen prophel, the Buddha equi pped hi s
ravori te disciple wil h his. According to a legend thatenjo),ed tremendous pop-
ulari t)' in Chi na, he lelll his emblem lO monk Mulian (5..'l llskrit: Maudgalyii-
),ana), who emplo),ed illo break lhrough lhe infernal n .. .ogions. Combi ning the
virtues or filial piel y and Buddh iSl cel ibacy, lhe legend has il.'i mon kish protag-
onist descend lO ti le nelhen l'Orld LO rescue h is mother, who is being punished
the re for her sinful life. Anned with lhe Buddllas magic weapon, the monk d e-
feats the demonic wardens or the unde rworl d, smashing open the gates of the
106 Systemizing Practkc
Avid I-lei I. I-I is staff enables hi m lO rescue hi s mOlher,jusl as t-,'Ioses' permiued
the prophel to delh-er his people_
One of lhc carlicst pel-fonnance \-crsions of Mulian's journey is the Tang
period alternating prose and \-erse nalTali \'e T mlisj Ol'mOfioll Texf 011 Maliiimalldg-
flO-ii)'fw{/ Resruing /-lis Mofher from fhe UmlenvorlfJ (Damllqiollliamllingji(1II jill/lI.lt bi-
fll/ wen) _ Originally pCI-fonncd by SIOI) ' lellcrs, Ihc narrative explained how to
activate the staff's magic_ To release his emblem's formidable force, Mul ian "rat
tled" ()' ao) or "shook" (zhell) ilS I-ings_ \""hen thc monk the ring staff,
gliOSIS and spirits \1'Crc mOll'cd dOII'n on Ille SpOI I ike slalks of hemp_" Simi larly:
With one shake slalT, thc bars and locks fell from l hdl'sJ
black walls_ On the second shake, thc doubl e oflhe main gale
flew open_tO!
Mulian's legend has lremendous popularil Y in Chinese drama, where
its performance has been invariably embedded in a rit ual complex. MlI lian
pla)' s are lIsuall y pc I-formed on I he occasion of ,lie Cllost Fest ivai (Gl lijie), also
knmvn by its Buddhisl name Yulanpen, II'here t hey are intended for the sal va
t ion of communil Y members who died premalurely_ Otherwise they are staged
as pan of an indil' idual's fllncrary rites, for the redempt ion of'his soul ,flo! Some
times the morlllary play is pe rfonned by ritual speciali sts, Buddhist or Taoist,
instead of' professional actors. The priesl dOlls Mil l ian's robe and, wieldi ng his
divine staff, smashes a sand or pape r rcpli ca of hcll , thercby deli vering the de
the ring staff still fi gures as a magic weapon in Chinese religion
t.oday.
Whereas Mulian wielded the ring staff in his harrowing joul"ll e)' to hell ,
others fl ew on it to hea\-cn. Like European witches who believed to ride
on sticks and brooms, Chinese monks we n! imagined soaring oillhe ring staff.
As early as the fOllnh century, Sun Chuo (ca. 310-397) compared the Taoist
mode of' fl ying on a crane lO lile BuddlliSl style of riding tile staff:
Wang Qiao drove .. (r..me and soared 10 Ihe heaven,
The Ari latS flung their starfs and lrod I he air!H
In medieval poel!)' lhe fl ying slaff became a symbol or liberation rrom
eanhly toils. Du Fli (712-770) dreamed or "fl ying the r ing staf'rall'ay rrom
the world ofdllst,'" and in Lilt Zongylta n' s (773-819) vision:
The I mmorlal s' Mounl.ain isn-l subj eCll.o li le appoilllcd officials,
There you can freel }' soar to the sky, fl ying the ring slafer,.;
The term "fl ying slafr (feixi) figured so pmminently in medievallilera
lUre that it was e\'ellluall)' applied lO itinerant monks_ In his encyclopedi c
Buddhisf EsSl!nfiai s (Shishi )'aolall) (prcracc 1020), the Buddhist lexicographer
St.1.ff Legends 107
Daoche ng explained lhat "the d egantte rm for Buddhi st ilinerancy is 'flying
staff: This is because whe n the eminelll monk Yinfeng tra\'cted to MI,. Wmai,
his route passed through I-l uai xi Province (in the upper I-Iuai river vall ey),
[where wa r ragedl l-l e hurled hi s stafr, rose into the air, and flew faoovc the
war zone]."(,(, According 1,0 the Buddhi st hi stori a n Zanning (919-1001), the
monk soared above the opposing annies to convince them to lay down their
anns. 11 is aerial joul"Il ey was the refore a fi ne example of Buddh ist "expedi-
en t. means" (Sanskrit.: 'IIPii)'fl; Chinese:fimgbiflll), which were meant to inc ul-
calc IJle vi r l.ue of peace:
Du ri ng t he Yuanhe reign pe riod (806-820) Yinfeng announced he
wou ldjournt.1' to WutaL I lis roule passed through Iluaixi PrO\'ince,
which was then under t he COill ro l ofWu Yual1ii (rt . 815). ReI}' ing on 1 he
strength of his arm}" the latter delied Ihe emperor's orders. Gon>rn-
ment troops we re to COUl1lCr t lIe rebel . Thc IWO sides engaged in
bait If', but none could prevail o\"(' r the oll)('r. -1 will PUt an end 10 lhis
milt llal slaughter; Vi n feng said, whereupon he hurl ed his slalT in 10 1 he
air, soan:d upwards, and gmcefull y flO:ll ed bf'h ind rids stalT] . When he
flew above t he opposing armies' formoll ions, and a ll t he soldiers saw a
monk soa ring to heavcn, they inslant ly drew Iheir weapons back into
tl.ei r scabbards.f>1
Sun Wukong's Ring Staff
Tll C magic auribulcs of tllC r ing staff a rc not IK'Ccssaril y relevant fOI" thc stafr's
choicc as wcapon. Monasti c wa .... iors wc rc probabl y concCl"llcd Wilh the df<::c-
tivcness of tllC unadorncd fi gllting staff more than wit ll tllC supcl"Ilonn a I <1 ua l-
ilies of its ring-ornatc predeccssor" I-I owe,"cr, ring staff legends did influence
the depiction of fi ght ing stalls in nO\"els and plays. The magic aura that en-
wraps Su n Wukong's "'As You Wish Staff,n Sha Monk's HDe mon- Fcll ing Staff,"
and Yang Wulang's ' Dragon-Felling Stafr deri,'es from the d ivine powers that
the Buddll is!. tradition accorded tl lC ring stafr.
The clearest indication of a lite rary connection between the ring staff
and the fighting staff is provided by the e\ol ution of Su n Wukongs anna-
tll ent withi n theJour1H!)' /0 /he cycle. I n t hejourneys earliest extant ver-
sion, the monkey's weapon is the ring staff. The Southe rn Song Mas/eroJllte
Law, TrifJilalUl oj Ihe Creal Tang, Prom res Ihe Serif)lures descri bes it as a "golden
rings staff" (jinhlUlIl zhang) or "golden .ings ri ng staff"' (jil/hull/l xizlulIlg)!.8
Only in later re nditions did the rings d isappear, giving way to the unadorned
and efficielll fighting staff, refe rred to as gun or lNlIIgfJJ However, even as de-
picted in the cycle's latest ,"e rsions, Sun Wukong's "As You Wish, Golden
Rings Clasped, Staff" (Ru)' i j i ngu ba ng) bctra)"S its Budd hist ancestry. for it is
bound at. each end b)' a golden ring?O It might not be too fanciful to see in
these binding rings (gil) a reli c oflhe ring starr's original loose ones (ltuan) .
If so, lhe resonance betwee n lhe names "Jinhua n zhang" r Colden Rings
Starr") and "J ingu bang" ("Colden Rings C1asl)ed Staff") is not i ncide nlal.
In its divine Sun WlIkong's original ring stafT resembled the
magic weapons wielded by Mulian and Moses. According to theSouthcrn Song
iHnsler of IllI! L([w, it was bcsto\\'cd upon II illl by Vasraval.la of Ille Non h, Maha-
brahma Dcvarija ( Bcifang Pi shamcn Dafan Tianwang).71 The slafri s impreg-
nated with such ext raordinary po\\'crs lhat it can be brought 10 life. In two
instances the monkey lransfonns it into supcrmu ural creatures Iha\ fight on
his behalf, once into an iron dragon and, on another occasion, into a
spirit, " its head touc.hing the sk}' and it s feet the earth, and brandishing in it.s
hands a Demon-Felling Club."n This magic, not uncommon in ChinCSt! Bud-
dhist lore," is reminiscent of the biblical miracle, in which the prophet trans-
formed his staffinto a Ill )'t hic snake:
And the Lord said to and Aaron, - When Pharaoh says 10 rOil,
. Prove YOLlrseh'es by worki ng a miracle; then }UU shall say to Aaron,
'Takf" rOll!' stafTand cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a
Sf' rpent (lfI'lIjll).- So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as
Lo rd commanded ; Aaron cast down his starr before Pharaoh and hi s
servants, and it became a serpent . Then Pl lafilOl 1 summoned thewise
men and till' sorcerers: and I he)' also, the magicians orEgyp .. did the
same by tlleir secret ans. For every man cast down llis sta rr, and they
beca me serpenl s. BUI Aaron's starr swallowed up t hd r starrs. 71
Conclus ion
We may not be able to ascertain why Chinese monks chose the staffas Iheir
weapon. i-iow(;\'e r, it is likel y their preference was due 10 its Buddhi st signifi-
cance. tvlonast ic regulations inst.-ucted monks to carry a staff, which gradu-
ally became a sy mbol of their religious authority. Buddhist literature and
popular lore accorded magic powers to the e mble m, which was originally
adorned wit.h rings, bUl somelimes fasllioned witllom tllem. Pedlars because
t.hcy rcgular! ), carried il, fi gluing mon ks who went to battle transformed the
st.aff illlo a weapon.
Wh iche\'e r its ol' igins, the Slaffbecame so prominent in the Shaol in's mi li-
t.ary regimen tha t. it innuenced the monastery's lore. According 10 a Ming
Shaolin legend, the god was incarnated at t he monastery as a lowl),
men ial equipped wi th a divine staJT. When the monastery was attacked by ban-
dits, he repelled them with his emblematic weapon, The legend illustrates the
reciprocal rclalions between martial m),tholog)' and martial practice in the
Buddhist tradi tion. On lhc onc hand, violent deities such as inspired
Buddhi st military training, prO\' iding ph)'sical sLrcngth to martial monks and
St.1.ff Legends 109
religious sanction to monastic dolence; on the other, fighting monks changed
the i mage of thei r tutelal), didnities to fit their own martial train ing. In this in-
stance, the ancient vajrn. holder, V<9rapal:li , was transformed into a staff expert,
progenitor of lhe rcnowned Shaolin figilli ng tech niCiue.
I-I is lransfonnal ion into a staff expert h'Quld not. be tile last in Vajrapal.li 's
Shaolin carcer. T\\,cnlielh-cenlUl) ' images of the tutelary di vi nit y rcveal a
clenched fist, anesting to his maslcl)' of cmpty-handed fight ing. As we will see
in t he ncxt chapter, by the eightccnth century hand combat (quail) gradually
eclipsed tile starr as tllc dominant fonn ofSllaoli n fight ing.
PART III
Fist Fighting and
Self-Cultivation
(1600-1900)
C H A PTER 5
Hand Combat
M A RT I A L TECI I N IQU ES MA \' require centuries to e\'ol\'e. Shaolin mOil k.s had
been praci ici ng t he slarr ror s(.,,'era l hund l1!d yea rs berOl'C i, \\'<lS la udt-x) in lale
Ming literature as an oliis ianding fi ghting mcthod, Si milarly, ,heir barc-
handed tcchni'llies-now ramous Ihe world over-have been unrolding for
some rou r hundred ),ears. As carl )' as Ihe six' ccll1h cen, U!)', some Shaolin
monks praci iced unarmed ri glll ing; in the course of tliC SC\'C1l1 CC1l 1h, 1 hey dc-
veloped sophisti cated empl y-handcd tcchn iqucs, and by thc mid-Qing pcriod
(the cightcenth and carl y ninctcclllh ccnturies), hand combm (qllrm) had
ecl ipsed the starr as the dominalll form of Shaoli n mart ial train ing.
The te rm qlUUJ, which I re nder "hand combat," means li terall y Dur-
ing the laiC imperi al peri od it designated unarmed righti ng techniques, all of
whid! made usc of legs in addiliolllO arms; kicking rigures prominemly in all
'flum styles, in which sense " hand combaC is mi sleading, " Boxing," which has
also been used asa rend ilion of q"rw, surfers from the added disadv<lll1agc that
it connotes a speci fi c Western sporL I haw; opted t llercfol'C for combat,"
but where it sounds tOO awkward-espcciall y in the names of individua I Sl yles
- I have ,'Csorled to the
The earliest reference I am aware OrlO Shaolin hand comh..'lt occu rs in
Tang Shunzhi 's (1507- 1560) poem "'Song of t he Emei Monk's Fi st," wh ich ex-
tols not onl y t he Emei monastc,' ies' cmpt)'-handed fight ing, bLil also t he
Shaoli n's.l Howe\'er, in his comprehensi\'e Trellli.seoll MililllryAffair.s ( 11'11 biall),
where he lists COlllemporary bare-handcd styles such as "[ Song Empcror]
Zhao Taizu's Long- Rangc FisC (Zhao Ta izu changquan) and Family
Fi st" (We,uia quan), the same amho" docs not allude to Shaolin, indicating
that lhe mo nastery had not dc\'cloped as ret a recogni zcd cmpty-h andcd
style, In the milita,' y enc)'clopcd ia, Tang, li ke othcr sixtecnth-ccntury mili-
ta ry ex pen s, alludcs to the Shaolin
Several decades late r, allusions to hand combat bcgan to appcar in thc
113
114 Fist Figh li ng a nd SelfCullivalion
t ravelogues and poems of late Ming visit ors to Shaolin such as Wang Shixing
(who explored it in 1581), Cong Nai Uillshi 1601), Wen Xiangfcng (jinshi
1610), and Yuan i-iongdao (\\110 visited t he monastCI"}' in 1609). I-I owe\,er, it is
hard 10 gauge the imponance of una n ned fighting in Shaolin's regi men
from t11cir poctic compositio ns, h'hic h \,'cre meant to convey the monastery's
ambiance, not to analyze its mililal-Y
Curi ollsl),. the dearesl ind icati on lhat late ro.'ling Shaolin mon ks were
turning thei r aUClllion to hand comba t is provided by the most vocal expo-
ne nl. of their starr me thod, Cheng Zong},oll . In hi s Sluw/in Sf(ifJ Method (ca.
1610), the starr expert has a hypothetical interlocut.or ask: Wh)' do Shaolin
monks practice ba re-handed fi ghling? Che ng's answel' acknowledges that
some monks we re seriousl)' engaged in hand comb,.t, even as it leaves no
doubt that, for t.hem, it was a ne\\'I)' acquired fighting st),le. Furthermore.
Che ng explains that throughout China, e mpt y- ha nded techniques are not
)'el \\' kldy practiced, which is precisely ,,'h), Shaoli n monks explore thcm-
Illcy wis ll 10 develop Iland combat to tllC same Icvel ofpcrfectioll as tll cir an-
cient staff me thod. Che ng's reply associatcs thc Shaolin invcstigation of the
novd ma rti al a rt with Buddhist sclf-cuhi vat ion :
Someone may ask: -As to the staff. the Shaoli n Ime thod ] is admired.
Today there a re man)' Shaolin monks who pract ice hand combat ('1111111).
amI do not praci ice sIan'. Why is I hal ?
I answe r: The Shaotin slaffi sca ll ed Ihe Yak:;m (Yccha) fmelhod]. It
is a sacred transmission from Ihe Ki ng (jiunaluowang)
(Shaoli n's tutelary dcil)" To I his da), il is known as -unsur-
passed wisdom (Bodhi r (wl/shallg PI/II). B)' conI rasl . hand com bill is nol
ret popu lar in I he land ('lllflll ),011 Iuti s/u!IIgxil/g JUlinel). Those I Shaolin
rnon ks ] wllo specia lize in il. do so in order 10 I rallsform il. I ike the staff.
[i 11 1.0 a "eh ide I for reach ing I he 01 her shore Lof e nl ighten ment j.-l
T he Hand Combat Classic and Xll anji's ACllplllldllre Points
Which shape did se\'Cllleemh-cemllrY Shaolin ha nd COmballake? A possible
answer is prm' ided by two Qing pe riod ( 16<14-1911 ) manuals, which purport. to
record il. The two treati ses, which share si milarities so striking lhatthey have
been treated by scholars as two \'c rsions of one work, circulated in Qing manu-
script. editions before being published in Shanghai dUl'ing t he Re publican era
( 1912- 1949) . They are: Hand COII/lxli Classic, COllff/ioll of I-land Combal Mel/lOlls
(QlUlII jil/g, QUWI fa bei)'tlQ), with a preface of 1784 by Cao (-Iuandou (style: Zai-
dong), and Xuanji's &cret Transmission of Acupunc/ure Poillls' Hallli Combat FOr1l1u-
las (X1UWji mis/lOll xuedao qUflIl jue), which carri es a n undated preface by one
Zhang Ming'e.
The Hand Combal ClllSsic and Xuanji 's ilcll/nmc/ure Poi Ills trace thei I' military
Il and Combat I I;,
FIG. body
method orthc
Shaolin monk
in Xru/IIji'j
"rlfP rmrl IIrf' Poi il Ls.
techniques-through an almost ide micall incage orlay pranilionel"s-LO the
Shaolin Monaslcl")'. In his l i84 preface to Hllllli Cnmbtlf Clllss;r, Cao I-Iuandou
explains t halthe manual he annOlatl.xi had been authored more than a cen-
tury earlier by one Zhang Kongzhao (style: J-Ie ngqiu). I-Ie runher notes lhat
Zhang Kongzhao sllIdied hi s Shaoli n method wit ll Zil ang Ming'e, who is gi\'en
as author of t he preface to XUflnji's Acu/J1l11rlure Poi"rs. The latter manual also
mentions Zhang Kong-.l hao's name.!. Finall y, preced ing these lay disci ples, the
two manuals ide ntify the same Shaolin cle ri c as the source ortheir teachings.
This is t he monk Xuatui, whose na me appears in the title X1w l1ji's ACII/nmcru re
Poil1rs (fi gure 22) .6
T he /-If/lid Combar Qllssir's and XUfll1ji's Acu/JUnrrure Poinrs' clai ms of com-
mon ori gins are borne out b)' their teachings. The two ma mtals expo und lhe
116 Fi st Figh li ng a nd Sel f-Culli valio n
same fi ghting principles and employ an identical martial vocabulary. There
is also textual convergence-almost half the text, as well as some illuSLra-
tions, are identical. The re is no doubt, the n, tha t. Ihe two books do nol. me rely
re nect the same oral tradition, but also de rh'e fl-om t he same written Le Xl.
7
Judging by Cao I-I uandou's dating of Zhang Kongzhao, this ori ginal manual
of I,he Shaolin style must ha\'e been authored in the se\'el1leenlh cent ur)'.
The Republican pel-iod witnessed the publicati on o fnuflle rous treatises
I.hal. , j Wit. I ike J-Jand Combnl Classic and XU(l nji's J\ rlljnmcfll re Points, clai m 10 re-
cord the origi nal Shaolin Fist. The most famous is Serrel Forumilis oj flip Shoolin
J-Itmd Combal Mel/wd (SlulOlin qUIlIIS/1Il mijll/!) (I915), which is still regarded by
some as an aUlh(:mic composition. scholars have shown that most of
these publications have nothing to do \\,ith the monaste ry. Serref Fonn/l ills, for
example, expounds a sOllthe rn Chinese style knO\."n as the I-long Fist (I-Iong-
CJuan), \\' hich is relat ed to Shaolin by legend onl),. AccOI'ding 10 laI c Qing lo re,
(he I-long Fi st \,'as creal ed by Shaolin monks \\'ho fought 1 he Mandlu invaders.
Tile latter sUPIXlsed ly bUl'Ilt ti le 1ll0nastel)', \\'llCrcupon the monks escaped 1.0
(he sout h, \\'he re I hey established t he I-Tong Fist linl."age. We will reI \lrn 10 Ihis
legend, wllicll was celebrat ed in nine tccntll-ceIl1(11)' ficti on, Triads' li1.erall l rc,
and manual s of southe rn style fi ghting. Ile re, suffi ce it \.0 note Ihal i1.s influ-
e nce on &-('/'1'1 Form IIlf1s belies ti le lat ter's aut he ntici t)'.
Whe reas most Re publican Shaol in ma nuals deri ve from laI c Qing lo re,
//alld Combal Qassir and XlUmji's Aru/lulIrlurf J-'o;lIfssharc a se\'emeenl h-cenl u 1')'
rrame or rdere nce. The mart ial techn iCJues they me ntion were pracliced dLi r-
ing the late Millg, and even the legends they paraph rase date froilltilal pe ri od.
Conside r, ror example, t he open ing paragra ph of //f/IIlI Combtll Clllss;r:
The hiswr yor hand combal ori gin:u ed :tll he Shaol in Monaslcry.
si nee the Song empe ror [Zhaol Tai zu slmlied I here, I he monaslcry's
rame spread throughoul I hc land. Thereart e r, I here have been
Fami ly S(.-,\'c nt Y-1 \\'0 PoSlu re Moving Poslure Locking
For m," "Twen t)'- fou I' 'I'l l rows Pat on I lorse, Evasive
and Posturcs Close- Rall brc Lli l iong's hard
Sha ndong Li Balli ian's leg Icch Ilique, Eagle Claw Wang's grappling
tel:llnique, <lnd ZllangJingbai 's sl.riking ledlnique. These
arc <I ll famous throughoull.he lall(1. each having il'> own wonderrul
aspccts. I lowe\'e r, the), are all gui It )' of either emphasizi ng the top /0 the
neglel;l or til e bonom, or 1.lle bottom 1.0 tIle neglect or the top. Eve n ir
one sUl;l; essrull ), relies on li lem 10 ove rcome a n opponent, thc), GlIlnot
be considered perfect in ever), respecLlI
The entire paragra ph has bee n bonuwed rrom tile sixteenth-century gen-
eral Qi Jiguang's Esselliials oJ Ihe Hand Comix,l Gassic (Quail j illg j;e)'ao) (ca.
1562).10 The on I)' diffe rence concenlS the Shaolin's role in the e\'Olmion of
bare-handed fighting. The late Ming gene ral did not associate t he monasle ry
Il and Combat 117
with empty- handed techniques, me mioning their staff method instead. Fur-
the rmore, QiJiguang did not relate the Song dynasty founder, Emperor Zhao
Taizu (reigned 960-975) to the monastery. r.,'ling period lore all.ribuled 10 the
emperor a popular bare-handed tcchnique known as ;'; Zhao Taizu's Long-
Range Fist" (Zhao Taizu changquan). As befitting a Shaolin manual , Hnnd
Comvnl Qnssir twisted the lege nd, Ilaving the emperor st udy his met hod at the
monastetyll
The late Ming cont.ext of Hnml Combat Ckus;( a nd X,ulIIji 's Ar:ujJUl1rt llre
PoinlS suppo rt. s Cao 1-luandolt'S 1784 claim that the manual he annotated had
been autllored more tllan a cetltuty earlie r. It \\'ould seem that tIle two manu-
als deri ved from an earlier I,ext tllatllad been autllol'ed around the Ming-Qing
transition. Funher supporl for thi s time frame, as \\"CII as for the manual's
Sllaolin provenance, is provided by tIle name to which bOl h manuals
allribute Iheir teachings. A 1631 Shaolin stele inscription alludes to a monk
named as a dllliffilm (superint e nde nt ), \\'hich term was commonly ap-
plied 10 mililary appointees in the monastery's internal admi nistration. It is
Ii kc1)', therefore, I hal i was a se\,enteent h-century Shaol in fighti og mon k,
as asserl ed by the treatises tllat pllrport to record his teacllings.
12
1ft lie Slmolin method recorded in botll manlll.lls dates from as early as the
se\'Cnt.eent II cenllll)', we arc st ntck b)' its complex it y. //allfl Comval C{assir and
XU(ll/ji's Ar lljJUll rlu re POinlsdepict a soph ist icated fighting system. They expOi lnei
underl yi ng principles such as "the \\'Cak defeating the strong" (1'110 di qia I/g) a nel
"the soft subduing the hard" (roll slll'l/ggal1g); th<.")' analyze fundamental tech-
n iques such as stepping (vu), throwing (/ip) , seizing (na) , and th rowi ng ofT bal-
ance by hooking the 0Plxment's legs (gllall); a nd they provi de detailed
instructions for the prolx: r maneU\'e ring of each body part: the head, e)'es,
neck, shoulders, arms, hands, c!test, waist, bUllOCks, legs, knees, and fect.
'111e twO manuals concur that in certain insta nccs hand com-
bat can O\'Cl"Come long-range hand combat" (lu(IIu/a sheng dumgql/(m), for
"s hort-range makes it easier to reach the ad\"ersary's The /-/"nd Comb"l
Qassiri ncludes an e ntire text- missing from the other manual-titled "Com-
prehensive and Ot-iginal Trcatise of the Shaolin Monastelfs Qose-R{mge Fist
Body Method" ("Shaolin si duanda she n fa tong zong quan pU")," For its ]><"11"1,
XUflnji's Acujmnrl llll! Poinls elaborates on a nothe r short-range style called "Yue
Famil)' Close-Range FisC (Yucjia duanda),' 5 The e mphasis both manual s place
on "close-range hand combat'" is t)'pical of late Ming and early Qing military
literaUlt"C, which usuall y distinguished Ix: tween two types of hand combat:
"Iong-range" (dltlngqlllln) and "d ose-range" (luanda), Sixtt.."Cnth- and st..'"\'emcemh-
cemury military eXlx: tlS allude to \<I t;ous short-range styles including "Couon
Zhang's Close-Range fisC (Mian Zhang duanda), " Ren Family Close- Range Fist"
(Rel1iia duanda), and "Liu rFamil yl Close-Range Fist" (Liu duanda)Y;
As suggested b)' its title, XUll llji's ACllj )llndllre Poinls, tile second manual also
expounds the techniques, attributed to the Shaolin monk, of striking the oppo-
nent's cavities, or acupuncture points (xlledao). The concept was borrowed from
II'
Fist Fighling a nd SelfCullivalion
t radi tional medicine, where it described sensiti\'c spots along the body's inter-
nal ci rcuits of energy (qi). Acupuncture treatment is applied to these points,
which arc not only recepti ve to lI-eatme m but also susceptible 10 It is 1.0
t.hem, lhe manual explains, lhal lhe accomplished Shaolin warrior directs his
blows. The author employs lhe ZJwflllgzi mClaphorofCook Di ng to explain Ihe
tcchnitlllc. TIl{: lcgcndal)' cook's knife remained as gOlXI as new, t:\'C1l after
nineteen yc."1rs of bUldlcl-ing, rOI- it had alh'a),s follO\\'Cd the nat ural cavities in
t.lle oxen's body. Hand combat should simi larly target acupuncture points:
T he book [Zlwflllgu'l says: "stri ke in Ihe big hollows, guide lhe knif('
through the big Wh)' does il sa)' so? when Cook Di ng
nil up oxen he no longer saw Il le whole ox."17 I sa)' i. is. he sanH' wi. h
ha nd comba!. Wh),? Because I a m looking ror m)' opponcnI'SSOrl poi1l1s,
arupunet lire poi1l1s, and I hose rorbidden 10 Sl rike and I engr;l\'e 1 h(m
in m}' mind's q'e, For this reason, Ihe momCI1I I lir, m)' hand. I am able
10 targf' t m)' opponent's poilll s, and Sl r ike;u his arupunet ure
poi nts, "no longer seeing the whol e
Ti le manual ident if-ies aCILplinCt lire poi nt s I he slri king of wh ich wi ll ca lise
immediat.e or postponed dea th, as we ll as those leading to lemporal), or per-
manent para l),sis, The re is even a poim that causes the adversary 10 "cry 10
death," and another that makes hi m 10 death." (Twcnlielh-cenlu!')'
manuals of the Emei style similarly recogni 7.e a ac upunct ure
poin, " (XiflO)'(1O ).' lIe), whi ch, when struck, causes iqj tll)' and/or uncon-
,rollable laught.e r,"I!!) Thei r exact lOCal ions are marked in i lI uStnllions, which
lhe X/ulflji's Ar llpullrlure Poillii rcadcr is adviscd not to di vul ge "lest wicked
people int.entionall}' usc the m to ilyurc pc.."Oplc" (figurc 23).
EXrxHlllding as Lhc)' do a n e ntire fighti ng philosophy as wcll as its di-
ve rse applications, I-Iand Combal Classic a nd XUllllji's ACII/JIII/clllrt! l .Joill/.s fca-
lure a ri ch technical vocabula r y, as the laucr's pl'crace demonstrates:
There are va r ious hand combal SI )' Ies. cadi witl l il.s own strcngl h:
Sume excel in palm mel hod (z./wlIg): The MAccording Palm,"
ippi II g ng Palm.- MSa lul illg Pa lm," "Obsl fUeling
"Si ngle "Double and
Palm" all dirre r,
Some excel in fi sl meL hod (llltall): The MAccording Fisl," "FI ippi ng
Fist,'" "Supporting Fis t,- Fisl ,- "Pulli ng Fisl,- "Shearing
Fisl,- and "Reve rsing Fisl- all dirre r,
Some excel in el bow method (d/OII): The Elbow.- "Accord-
ing Elbow," "I lorizontal Elbow,- "Straiglll Elbow," Elbow,-
Elbow,'" and "Back Elbow- all val)'-
Some excel in bod)' method (shell): The Body,-
ing Budy,'" "Stretching Bod),,- "Contracting Bod),," Body,-
Il and Combat
Fl c. 23. War ning to reade rs not to d i\tlige rata l poi nl.'i in Xrwlljis
ACIlPll11CII/ rt Poilll5.
"Dodging "Growing and MLeaping Bod( are all
di ssimilar.
Some excel in knee mel.hod (xi): The kLdL-Thrust ing Knee, "Righl -
Thrus ting Knee," "Kneeling Knee.- kBack Knee,- "Contracti ng Knee,"
and "Receiving Knee- are all di stinct.
Some excel in leg method (/11/): The MSinglc Leg,- "Two Legs,-
"Changing Legs," "' Spinning Leg.- "Drilling Leg,- "Thrusting Leg.-
"Foll owing Leg,- "Facing Leg," and "Upside-Down Leg- are all
Some excel in step method (bll): The kLong "Short Ste p,-
"Angled Step,- Step.- kDodge-Lean-Back Step.- "Re,erse Ste p,-
11 9
120 Fi st Figh li ng a nd Self-Cullivalion
"According Slep,- "Exchangi ng Step,- - Tracing StCp," -Full Step,-
"Emply Scep,- "Cur ved Sle p,- - Direc t Step," and -Cyli ndric;!1 - arc
all
The XUflnji's Ar:uj)uIlClure PQ;lIls' d isCllssion of va rio LI S palm postures is ac-
companied by an illustra ti on lhal betrays Buddhi st infl uence (compare fig ures
24 and 25). AI leasl in ils grapll ic design, ifnot in its specific finger positions.
t. he variOlls palm stances resemble the depiction of symbolic hand gestures
(Sanskrit.: lIludrii; Chincse: )'im.:iflnlfj in Buddhi st script ures. The pall.crn ofa
hand eme rging from a cloud, or a 10tllS, is shanxI by hoth. We know of course
Illal hand gesl urcs wert> pract.i ccd at tile 511aol in r-.'Ionastery, not on Iy hecause,
as MicllcJ SI rick mann Ims sllown, tl lcy "'ere a n integral clement ofTantric rit u-
als (I,'hidl had a pcn 'asi\'e in flucncc on e h inese Buddhism)? but more spt..Yif-
icail y because Ihey figured in the Shaoli n's V'!irap;"l l.li cult . Recall thaI in his
I \\cJ ft II-cenlury V-Urap.'l I.l i stele, Shaol in's a bbo t Zl.Id llan noted that the Ill art ia I
deit. y's I)()\\'e rs \I'e re in\"Oked t.h rough palm signs a nd oral spells.
Follo\\' ing I hei r exposit ion of ha nd combat pr inciples, the t \\'0 man uals
dela it sped fic fighl i ng st )'Ics, fi rst of which is the M Dr unken Eight-I mlllort a Is
Fist" (Zui baxian quan) (fi gure eight Daoist immortals have been
borrowed from lai c Ming lore, in whi ch the), were depicled as carefree, often
Fw. 24. Palm
postures bctl"a)'ing
'f
.tL
t he influence of
,t
'J" ;!it.
'f
t{l
Huddhi st Inulims
(from X1/{wji s
Awpu/lClllrt Poi /l ls).
'f
.tf

-not
'UI
",. In
-t .

I land Combat
ill
*
m
_til
FIG. 25. Hudd hist hand s)'mbolisrn (mulirru).

til
*-
" JJ
1 21
lascivious, d ru nks. Nm'els and pla),s usually associa te each of the insouciant
sai il lS wit ll a gi \'e n emble m: a flme, a ([ ower basket, a gourd, a whisk, etc. The
ma rl ial a rli sL mimics wielding the icon in his trai n ing routine, which, even
as it. appears intoxicated , is pe rfect l), sobe r. The Eight- Immortals
Fist," someti mes refe rred to as the "Dnlllke n Fist ," is still pt<lcticed tod a)'. In
recem decades it has become interna ti o nall y renowned through J ackie
Ch a n's (Che ng Long) (b. 1954) theatrical re ndition in h is blockbuster movie
Umnken Masler (ZIIi quan) The st)' le's occurrence in /-land Combal
Classic a nd Xllflllji's ACllpull c/ llre Poill/s might indicate that it has been prac-
t iced at t he Shaoli n Monaste r), since as carl )' as t he se\'enteenth century.
Another st), le depicted in the two manuals is the "Confound ing Fist" (Mi-
Cluan), so named because its Cluick a nd unexpccted mO'\'es "arc impossible for
the eyes to follow . "Confound ing is the likel)' ancestor of the model'll
style known as "Confounding-JIlick Fist- (Mi zong qua n), which si milar name is
matched b)' a n identical et)' molog),. Accord ing to olle twentiet h-cell lll l)' expert,
the "Con fou ndi ng-Track Fist is so called " becausc its ull ique footwork deceives
t. he adve rsary's In reccnt decades t he modern style has become intema-
lionall y famous bccause of a sCl' ies of movies ccle brati ng its legendary practitio-
ner I' l uo (1869- 1909), Brllce Lee's Fists if Fill)' (1972) and Li Lianjie's
122 Fist Figh ti ng a nd Self-Cultivation
\

Flc. 26. Tlt e MEigltt-lrnmonals Drunken Step- in Hand Colllhal
Classic.
(jet Li ) Fealiess (2005) ha\e famili ari zed Western audiences wilh I-Iuo's 'Con-
fou nding-Track Fist."
T he modern sl)<Ic is also rcfe n-cd to b)' various other names, some of which
arc homophonous with Mizongquan (Confoundi ng-Track Fist) but di fTer from
it semanticall y, being wl-iue n in other characters. It is known as the "Tantric
Fist"' ( Mizong quan) and the "Wild-Beast Fist" (Nizongqtk'ln), as well as '"Van-
Qing Fist"' (Yanqing quan). These d hersc ti ues suggest that the technique has
evolved, alleasl paniall)" withi n a n i II iterate environment. By the ti me its prac-
titioners sought to wr ite it down, the), \driousl)' interpt'eled its phonetic pro-
nunciation:
Iland Combat 123
From anolher angle, the technique's dil'erse appellations reflect the large
body of lore lhal grew around iL Mizong quan is surround(.""(1 by legends, many
of which associate it with the Shaoli n rll{onastery, Accordi ng to one, the tcch-
nique was crealed by a Tang pedod Shaolin monk-in some l'Crsions lIe is the
monastery's wtclary deity V-urapal,l i Uinnal uo) himself-who was so im-
pressed wilh lIle agil ity of an ape-Ii ke creature t hat he named his fighti ng I.ech-
niC]ue after him: "Wi lei-Beast Fist ~ (Nizong quan), Another I radiI ion associates
I he histori cal monasl,ery with the fictional protagon ists of the M ing novel Water
Mmgin. The heroic LuJunyi is said to hal'e developed thi s deceplive met hod at
Ihe Shaolin Monastery and later transmitted it to his disciple Van Qing. When
I he oul law was escapi ng from gOI'ernmenl troops to t he 1).;.ndilS' haven al Li ang-
shan, he relied on it, to hide hi s foot pl' ints in the snow, calli ng it t he "Con found-
ing-Track Fist" (Mizong quan). Van Qing' s d isciples nam(."{llhe lechniquc in
honor of thei r masler, "Van Qing Fist ," but in deference to its Buddhist prove-
nance referred 10 il also as the "Tantl' ic Fist" (Mi zong quail),
The repeated allusions 10Shaolin in the legends surrounding Mi zongquan
(Confounding: rrack Fist) suggest Ihal the monastery might have played some
rol e in its evollll ion. Furlher supporl for Ihis hypothesis is found in Ihe little \I'e
knO\I' abolll Ihe modern slyle's hi sloricall ineage: Scholars usuall y Irace the
tech n ique 10 an eigilteelll.h-ccniury Shandong mart ial artist nanH',:d Sun ' long
(slyle: Li Kuan) \\'ho might have studied at lhe Shaolin MonasleryY II is possi-
ble, I herefore, I hal I he M izong quan (Confounding: ['nlCk l-iSI), wit h lI'hich we
are familiar loday, deri\'es-alleast pal1.ially-from the Miquan (Confounding
fi sl) recorded in //(111(/ COII/lml Gassicand XUflllji's I\ru/JUlI('tllrt! /.Joillls.
A t.hird fighting style, desnibed in IImnl Combtll Gassic btl1 missing from
XI/a nji's I\ rll jJunclure Poinl.s, is the Plum Flower fist (Meihua quan), which is char-
acterized by a five-positions fcct romine, named after I he flower's fi\'C pcta Is, 211
E"en t.hough it figures prominently in today'sShaolin n:.. -gimen, the Plum Fl ower
Fist probabl)' did nOl ol' iginate al the monaster),. That il is memioned in Hand
Combat Gassiconl)' (and not in XlIlIllji's Aru/nwcl1lrt Poillf.s) mighl i ndicalC that it
was nol. 1).;' 1'1. of tile ol' igi nal scn:! mcemll-Ce ntul' )' Shaolin text, which had servcd
as t.he manuals' source. furthermore , studies of other Qing period manuals-
as well as t.he Plum Flowcr practitioners' famil )' genealogies-suggeStlhat Ihe
I.ech n ique was original I)' dC\"cloped in Xm.hou,Jiangsu, by membel'S of the Zou
famil)', who l ransmiucd ilto Henan, on their way to Hebei, around l 7 0 0 . ~ J It is
likel)', therefore, tha t the Plum Flower Fist was incorporated into lhc Shaolin
mania I ans-and imo Cao I-Iuandou's Hallli Combat Classic-no earlier Ihan
lhe eiglucenlh cellllll')'-
Whelher or not Shaolin monks practiced it in earlier times, the Plum
Flower Fist was finnl )' entrenched in their monastery's vicinity by the mid-eigh-
I.cemh centul')'. Ti lled / IlIrOlill('l iolf 10 Marlilll Pmclice (XiwlI xu), one of the style's
earliest manuals was authored by a Henan military expert named Yang Bi ng
(b. 1672) who had ranked third on the go\'ernmem's highest mililar)'examina-
lion and had sened in the metropolitan garrison, Yang rumpi led his Plum Fist
124 Fist Fighling and Self-Cullivalion
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SHANDDNG
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.......
,
,
HENAN
,

@
,---, ... _,-_.-'
SMcII,_
M,\,' 4. SOIllC Il c nan associatcd wit h t he Qing manial an s: Tati i QU;1ll originawd
al Chc tyiagou; Wang Zongyuc . aulllol' ofTatii Quan classics , lallglu al Luo),;l ng and
Kaifcng; Chang Nai 7. hou COIll I)()scd his Ill arl ia l a ns Il'cal iscs al Sishlli ; Ya ng Bing
compiled his Plllm Flowcr manuals ;\t Nei huang Count }': a nd nagH;! 1';11111 fi gured in
1 hc Upri si ng at I I Ha ,
treatise in 1742 aft.er he had relircd 10 his native 13alizhuang village, in Nei
huang Count)', northe rn I le nan (map ' I), Sc\'eral decades laler, t he tech niqllc
\Vas men tioned in offkial re pons of rebellious activit ies in I he province: Mem-
bers of t he failed 1813 Ei ght TI-igra ms upri sing in Ilua Count )" norlhern
I Ienan, siudied the Plum Flower Fisl., t
One reason for the re lati,'e wealth orin formal ion on Plum Flowcr history is
the method's association with the la te n ineu:..'e mh-cemury Boxel-upr isi ng (Vihc
quan). Hy that time, the term '" Plum designated nOI only a tt.'Chniqlle, but.
also an orga ni zation. The north China plai ns witnessed the spread of Illi lilaI'),
brotherhoods with reli gious O'.enones, which were someti mes refelTed to as
"Plum Flower FistAssociations (qllalllw; )", a nd sometimes as HPlum Flower Fist.
Reli gion (qualljiao) ."' or these groups-wllich combi ned mania I prac-
tice witll rei igious \'e neration of \'al iant deities sudl as tile J Olin/I!)' fo fhe he-
roic Sun Wukong (Monkey)- pla}'C:.: d an imponam role inlhe eadyswges oCthe
antiChristian Hoxcr 1"C\'olt, arousing lhe attention of scholars, whose fiel dwork
has uneanhed Qing pel-iod sources on the Plum Flower Fist.!!:!
We may conclude our brief comme nts on Hllnd Cnm/mf Cla.ssic and XlIllnji's
ACIt/Jltllclure Points with Cao Huandou's 1784 introduction to the laueI'. Cao's
autobiographical pI"Cface sheds li ght on hi s social hackground, wh ich was
probably shared by other lite rate ma nia I a nislS_ The Shaolin practitioner was
born into a ramil y or small landowners belongi ng to the lower echelons of the
local ge ntry, The clan was promine nt e nough to ha\'e its own school, wh ich
Cao alte nded, and the immediate fa mil y was sufficiently alTluent for his father
to hire him a pri\'ale mania I ans instructol-, with wi 10m the boy pracliced afte r
,
,
,
,
Iland Combat I
,>.
"
school. Nevenheless, C"10 repealed I)' failed lhe licemiale exams, and hence he
could nOl aspire lO an educalional , lelalone a gO\'ernment, career. 'Ie chose,
lherefore, the martial arlS as hi s ,'ocalion:
I land combat is an excellelll method for prot ect ing one"s body and
pre\'cllling humiliation. It originaled al the Shaolin Monasler y.
fellow townsman Zhang Kong-Lhao once mel a myslerious person (Jinn!)
who t ransmi[ [cd i[ [0 him. Tl tis tcclmique alOIH! readies divine subtlety.
A[ the [i me [here we re man)' wllo St udi ed ii , but only three who
rcceivcd [;"1as[er Zhang'sl authentic transmi ssion: ChengJinglao. 1111
Wojiang, and Zhang Zhonglue. Afterward il branched inlO nume rous
suhslyll's. gradually losing [he original m(!thod. Sometimes. gifted
prart i[ ioners rise [0 promincncc, and. for a whil e, become famous.
J lowe\'er, for [he most part , the), strain their musdes and expose Ihdr
iX)Iles, waste [heir energ)' ("i) and usc force. None oflhem has heard of
;"1a s[er Zitang's tech n ique's ingrn iOlls applinu ions. of tile subll et), of il s
Ii mil less [ransformat ions.
Pract ici ng [he ;"'{aster 's lland combat Ill r tl lod. one guards his spi ril
be[l\'('en [he e)'ebrows , and d irects his "i to the lower bell),. Fighling, il is
like a beautiful woman plucking flowers. Resti ng, it n:sembl es a lil eralus
hl )'ing down his brus h. It could be compared to Zhuge Liang's (181-234)
scl tolarl), cap and feat hc-' red fan , to Yang YOll'S (221-278) eleganl sash
and dignified robes. I low could it poss ibl y have sharp edges?
We are four brothers in my famil )" me being thi rd. My eld<."St
brother is Yanchull , 5t)'I(' Pei yu. 111 our native village the weak were
insulted and t he few bullied. I was always afraid of bei ng abused, and
llterefore I was devoted to tile martial art s. My fatllcr did not objccl to
Ill)' train ing. On tile contraq', lie invited from afar an olll$l.andi Jig
martial artist to teach me. At the timc I was thi r tccn, and I studying
the class ics in our clan school. When I wou ld rCllIrn from school I would
practi ce wit It him.
When J was eight een I obtaincd Mastcr Zhang Kongzhao' s lhllld
Comhat Classic (Qlla /I )illg) , wh ich he compi Icd wh il e scn 'i ng under my
da n's remote greal-unde in I luguan Count y (in Southeastern Shanxi,
near I lenan' s border). I lOok it with me lO school and im'estigatL't1 it day
and ni ght, treating il as if I had obtaincd a rare treasure. When I arri\'ed
at tlte "LShaoli n Close-Range I land Combat ] Tcn Pr inc iples ofStrik-
i ng, my resolution was fi I'm and my spi rit conccntratc..>d. I pondered il
strenuously, until sudde n I)' I dreamt that two old men cxplained ilLO
me. Tltereaner J dreaml abOllt lilem sCl'e rallimcs. My body grew
suppler and m)' hands became livelier. mind grasped the subtlety of
"cultivati ng qi" (/iallqi) .
When J reached twenty-eight. because I had repeat<.>dl )' taken the
licentiat.e exa ms and fai led, I left Ilome and looked for success
126 Fi st Fighling and Self-Cult ivalion
where. Ilowe\'er. on se\'eral occasions I sulTered illness and was
t.O reulm. Thereafter I dedicat ed myself LO the pract ice of Lhe manial
arts. I wandered alt over the Yangtze and I luai river basins, the coastal
regions. and the South. I encoulllcred numerous people. I cannot C\"en
count alt the formidable ad\'ersaries I fought. Luckil}' I was nC\"er
defeated. Now I have reti red to Illy nat home. As I t hink of things
past, I still feel that Illydisquiel has nOt dissipat ed , for which reason I
deeply conceal Ill)' self.
Since Illy friend s atl wished for me to dissemi nate this teaching. I
could not poss ibly keep it a sen el 10 myse lf. Therefore, using what I had
obtai ned by dail y practice, I copiously annOlaled the /laud Combal
CI(luic. I illust rateel eadl posit ion wit II a drawing .... ny
lller!'1 yeast ing a glance the rc ade r can unde rstand it. making it most
suilable for pran ice.
I low(':\'er, Ille subllel), of t he Ill et IlOd's appl kat ion depencls (' nt irel),
on "' internal strengll l"' (lII'ill). It GlIlllOt be exhausted bywords. Ukean
old hunchback who catches cicadas," li ke archerYangYouji who shot
When one's resolution is not dist racted , whe n his spirit is concell-
I raled, he will begin to acqu irf' t he agilit y of "' mi nd concehing. hands
responding"' (dl'xi ll Ji llgslwlI). At this point there is Sllre to no stra ining
ofmll scics nor exposure ofbol1es. Would not this be almost like tracing
Master [Zl tangl Kongzltao's aut he nt ic transmission to it s source?
I have respeci fully prefaced t he ma nual' s origi liS; the time: Qiall-
long's rei gn's fort r- n illt II , jiacltl'tI )'Car (178'1), auspiciolls mid-tent h
month . Cao Iluancloll , style: Zaidong.
Y
'
Cao I luandoll 's prerace re\'c:tl s the multi rarious mles the manial arts have
pla),ed in hi s lire. I lis initi al ime resl was due to the viole nt atmosphere in his
na ti\'e village, whe re the weak we re bullied and humiliated, bm he also prac-
ti ced ror medical reasons ( he had surre n.xi repeatedly rrom illness) and as a
form of self-cullivation. In addition, Cao aspired in his mania I practi ce for
whal. could be desCl"ilx::d as anisti c perrection. I-Ie docs not hide his cOllle mpL
for crude lechn iques lhat rei}' on rorce on I)' a nd inml\'e "' stl<lini ng muscles and
exposing bones .... These arc fal- infe l-ior to his ()'""n sophisticated fighting sys-
lem, wh ich resembles a '"" bealiliful woman plucking flowers ... a I ite ralUs laying
down his brush .... Finall)" reli gious O\'enones are nOt lacking either. Zhang
Kong-Lhao rccein:s his le."1chings from a "myslerious person" (),irclI), and Cao
J-iuandou is insl nlCled in the a rt of the Simolin Close- Range Fi st by di vine
epiphany-venerable teachers appear in his dream, following which "hi s bod)'
grows suppler and his hands b(."Come Ii\'e li er, as Ili s mind grasps the subt.let y of
qi-Lraining (Iillllqi )."
Cao J-Iuandou authored hi s preface to /-Illllll Comlm, Classic in 1784. Fo ur
decades laler, in 1828, a prominelll Manchu official named Lin Qing (1791-
1846) \'isiled lhe Shaolin Temple. By then, bal-e-handed techniques had com-
Iland Combat 127
plctciy cclipscd the monaslcry's ancicnl slarrmc lhods, and inSlead oran armed
display, lhe disli nguishcd gUCSl \vas clllcnaincd by a sparring dcmons\.ration:
In the ewni ng \\-e ret limed to the 5haolin \ 'Ionastet)', and paid our respe<:ts
at the Jin naluo I Iall. The deity's image i. .. mOSt awesome_ l ie W(!"".;lrs thin
gannems. and wields a sto\"C poker (/IIWgUII). Tradilion has it thaI once he
displarcd his di\<inity and warded olTbandit.s. Today he is I he monasTery's
guardian spirit (qiefulI). Praying to him is itwatiahl ydTicacious_
I proceeded to ask the monks about thcir hand comhat method
(qllmlfa). but they reruSt: d to litter a word about il . I madc it dear lhat I
had heard ahout the 5haolin Fisl long ago, and 1 knew il had becn relicd
upon solely ror guard ing monast ic regulal ions and prOl <."(" 1 ing 1 he
ramous t.emple. Thcrerore t hey need nOI make prClct1("c_
The abbol laughcd and asscnted. l ie scic("led SC\-eral slurdy monks 10
perrorm in rronl or the hal!. Thcit-- bear-hangings and bird SI
wpre indeed artrll!. After tile pf'l"fonnance Il le monks reI realed. I sal facing
\11. 511<1oslli 's 111 rep peaks, whidl rcsemblrd a sappl lire 1 ripod. \Val ching
1i1p shaded foresl s, misl Y mouillains, and emerald green 1 hkkels, Ill y \Xt<iy
and spiril were equall y al peace. J resoh"Cd 10 Slay
Publi shed in 1849, Lin Qing's account of his visit WlIS accomp<lIlicd by a
woodblock i Iluslnu ion ofShaoli n mon ks praClici ng hand combat. The mart ia I
artists were sllown undcr lhc giganlic slladow of I heir 1 utciar), deil)" Vajrapa t)i
(Kiqlllara), who slill wieldcd his Slarr of old. Thc Manchu official, in ccrcmo-
nial cap and robes and surroundcd by his c nlouragc, appeared in thc piC1 urc
as wcll. Apparently Ilc was fascimllcd by l.he performancc, Whcreas lhc c ldc li)'
abbot rcmained Silting undcr lhc hall 's L-aves, Lin Qing rose fmm his sca l 10
watch thc marlial arli slS up close (fi g ure 27).
Lin Qing's woodblock illuslralion leads us to a nolhc,, morc e laborate,
artwork, which depicls a similar scene: Shaolin's White-Attircd Mah5. sallVa
Hall (Baiyi dashi dian) is dccoraled wi lh an early ninelcell1h-cclllUl"Y mural
or fighting monks, who arc dcmonslrating their bare-handcd skills to visil-
i ng d ign itarics, probably govcm mcnl omcial s, TIIC guests, identified by the ir
flLlcLles, arc entcrtaincd by lhe abbol in a central pavilion, which is sur-
rou ndcd by t hc perronn ing a!"lisls (figurcs 28 and 29), The gorgeous frescO
was execuled Wilh such allcntion lO delail lhat some modem practitioncrs
are able to identify in illhe bare-handed pOSlures they praClice
Ming Foundations
By thc time seventcenlh-centul' y Shaolin monks were llIming their atlemion
to it, hand combat had alrcady becn highl )' dc\dopcd_ The Ming iX=riocl wit-
nessed the emergencc or indh-idual bare-handed slyles, which were identified
128
. - - -..
--'"7-;,0; t'":;
,.
Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cult ivalion
FIG. 27. Shaoli n mon ks demonstnlti ng t hei r fist ICdllli(luc:s 10 I hI' Manchu official Lin
Qingj woodblock illustnllion daled 1849,
by their own training routine of fi xed poslUons (sll/). Late Ming military
e ncyclopedias-the \'ery same compilations that lauded the Shaolin starr-
e numerate 0\'(:: 1' a doze n quan styles, includi ng M r Song r Emperor Zhao Tai zu's
Long- Range Fist," "Colton Zhang's Closc Ra nge Fist," "'Acol yte Worshiping
Guanyi n Miraculous Fist (Tong-.l i b.. 'l. i gua n)' in she n qua n), MZhang Fei M irae u-
lous Fi st'" (Zhang Fei she n qua n), "Sun Famil )' Armored I-ISt" (Sunjia pigua
quan), "Ruler's Fi st'" ( Bawang qua n), "Six-Step Fist" ( Liubu quan), "Deco)' Fi st"
( E qua n), a nd "Monkey Fist" ( I-Iou qua n},tO B)' the carl )' sixteenth eemur)" at
lcast some fighting schools alread)' had handwritten, if not published , man u-
als. In his Trealise Oil Mililfll)' Ta ng Shunzhi (1507-1560) quotes from a
handbook of the "' Wen Famil )' Fi sl."t t
The most comprehensh'e account of Ming period unarmed fighting is
Qi Jiguang's ( 1528-1588) Essenlials of IlIi! I-Imlll Comhal Classic (QUlIII ji ng
jie)'(w), i nduded in h is New Trealise of Milila I)' Efficient)' (jixiao xillsltu). Qi was
among the most successful a nd innovath'e generals of sixteenth-century
Chi na. I-Ie played a moUor rol e in the suppression of piracy along China's
southeastern coasLS and in the pacification of its northern borders. In his
Ft(: . 28. Shaolin monks ]>crfonni ng for \' isit ing dig nita r ies: carly nincll..'CnI h-CC'- nll u,}'
Slmolin fresco.
t' ./
Ft G. 29- Shaolin mon ks perfolllli ng for \'isi ting dignita lies (detai l).
New Tre(l lis oJ Miiilmy EJjicienC)" the re nowned general covered every aspect
of mass wa rfare, from the selection a nd tra in ing of troops to discipline. com-
mand. tactics. logi stics. and \\'eapOIll-}'. The book did not regu rgitate earlier
military compilations- it \\'as based upon llie commander's hard-won expe-
ri e nces in the bauJefield. Completed in late 1561 or early 156<), New Tref/ lise
alludes to campaigns won by Qi on ly a feh' montllS earlier.12
Qi 's Esstnfif/Is of Ihe I-If/nt! Com/XlI ClflSsic is not only a surw .. '}' of conte mporary
bare-ha nded tedllli'lues, hut also the earliest extall\. manual of a given style.
The ge ne ral sun'e}'Cd sixteen spmTing methods, all of whi ch, he concl uded ,
were ;'guilt y of eillier empllasizi ng I he lOp 1.0 tI le neglect of t he hot tom, or tIle
hOl.lom t.O the neglect. of lhe 10p."I' To amend the deficiencies of indi vidual
styles, Qi created a synlhesis. I-Ie chose \\'hal he considered Ihe Ihiny- two Ix:st
postures of all slyles, explicating each with a n illustration and a rhyming for-
mula. I-I is t reat ise is t Ile re fore a llandbook of II is o\\'n standardi zed hand COIll-
bat technique.
I-land combat , Qi J iguang argued, could Ix: used fO!' troops' t raining. The
experie nced gene ral was \\'ell aware I hal ba re-I la nded met hods were ll scless i n
Ihe banleflcJd . lI e suggesled, howe\'er, thai the}' \\'ere not without merit in in-
Sl i II i ng courage. Morem'er, bare-Imnded pract icc \\'<lS a good start ing point for
armed tmining: "In Qi writ es, "the ha nd, stafr. broadsword, spear,
fork, d em', two-edged s\\'orcl, I \\'O-pronged spear, bow and arrow, hook<:d sword,
sickl e, and shield all proceed from barc.. ... ha nded techniques to train the bod)'
and Ilands. Ha re-Ilanded techniques arc tIle foundat ion of" the ma r t ial arts."1 1
A similar a rgument is c:..'c hocd by QiJigua ng's contcmporary I lc Liangche n (fl.
15G5), who held that "in practi cing the manial arlS olle should Ix:gin with
hand combat and pluceed to sl<lfftrai ning. Whe n tile methods of fist and staff
a rc understood, tllC sword, spea r a nd a l I otller tCc\lniques wo uld Ix: especi all)'
cas}' to acquire:'ls
Qi was critical of fl owe r y IXlStures that were aesthe ti call y pleasing but. had
no combat implications. Eflicicncy in baltIc was mOle significant than Ix:alll.}'
of per formance. Furthennore, in aClua l confrontation it was necessary to go
beyond the fixed training fon ns. The general quoted a common mart ial arts
saying: '" Withollt obviolls pOSlures or ledln iques, you will be effective with one
move; if you do make the mista ke of posluri ng and posing, )"Ou wi ll be ineffec-
tive with le n Douglas Wile has demonstrated that Illis view was shared
by another sixteemh-celllul-y milila ry expert, Ta ng Shunzhi ( 1507-1560):
"The reason for postures in the ma rti a l arts," wl-ites Ta ng, to facilitate trans-
formations .... Fonns comain fixed poslures, but in aClual practice the re arc
no fixed IXl stures. Whe n a pplied lhey become fl uid, but still maimain the ir
structural characteristics."17
Even though martial a r lS hi Slol-ia ns una n imously praise it, Qi was am-
biguous about his Essenlials ofllu /-land Commil ClaS5ic_ As the commande r of
regular armies, Qi 's mai n i me re st lay in weapons instruction for mass troops .
The bare- handed skil ls of ind h' idua l artists were not as significant. and might
Il and Combat 131
eve n have been suspect for their associ ation with the lower classes. Qi 's ap-
prehe nsi on of sparring is obviolls from the rel ucta nce with which he in-
cluded it in hi s New Trea/ise 011 Mili/a,.y Efficiency. I-l is hand combat manual
was insened into the book's last chapte r, pteceded by a disclaimer:
handed leciltliflues seem irrcl e\<l.tllI.O the art of mass warfare. ex-
e rcising the limbs and habilliating the body 10 effort arc the foundation of
pri mary mi litary studies. Tllerefore h'e keep r tlli s ma nuall al llit! hook's end.
10 round off our military !ll(:lhod.",s T\\emy years lal e r, whe n Ibe hiller gen-
cral , who had been rcl ie\cd from office, sat dO\\' tl to revise hi s writings, he
decided t,o exc isc hand combat from tbem a hogetbe r. In 1581. he dele1.tx l
thc RUin/i als of /he 1land Comba/ Oassi( from Ihe-nowadays rarely read-
fOUl"I. ccn-chapt e r \'e rsion of the New 7'rm/ise 011 Milila,)'
As Ma Mingda has suggested, lhe d istinct ion between the earl y versio n
of the Nrw T,.m/ise (which includes ha nd coml).; , t) and the later one (from
\\'hich it, is omill cd) might be relat ed to Ihe d isparity in Iheir author's age.
When he compilcd his ol"i g inal book, Qi \\'as a young man of thirt ),-four. He
was surrounded by Illarl ial art iSlS, wllose bal"C-ha nded 1 echn iqlles int riglled
him. At the time, the e ne rgetic cOlllma nder probabl y practiced hilll sclf and
achieved some prof'icienq ' in QUfl1! fi ghl ing. By cont rasl. Ihe fifi)'-five-yea r-
old ge ne ral who revised hi s wril i ngs was al ready conl elllplal ing hi s legacy, in
\\'Iliclllile re \\' as no place for (hlbiOiI S popular
Informat ion on Ming hand combat is also provided by gelH"Cs other than
military encyclopedias. The prolife ration of SiXlt.'Cnlll-Celllul), bare-handed
t.ech niques is auesled to by popular finion: nlf PI11111 ill lite CoMe" \'r,se (jill HlIg
Mei) (ca. 1600) alludes to a st)'le of ha nd combat called "Dong Family
( Dongj ia CJuan)/,1 and the hlilldl"Cd-chapter j Ollnll!)' (0 flte H"s( ( 1592) has t. 'ven
the CJuilll.cssemial staff wa .... ior Sun Wlikong fighl wi th hi s fiSIS, Whe n he is de-
prived or his weapon, the valiant monkcy rCSOl"ls to ha nd combat , giving the au-
thor an opportunity lO display his familialit)' witll tile contempOl-a ryjargon of
"POSUlI"CS" (shi and jim:i), "Long-Range Fist"' (dlllllgqutlll), a nd ';Closc-Range
Fist" (dlUlllqllf/IJ):
Ope ning wide the "Four Levels Postufe": !.:!
The doubl e-ki cking reet ny up.
They pound t.he ribs and chests;
They stab at galls and hearts .
"The Immort al pointing the WarM:
MLao Zi Riding the Crane-;
J lungry Tiger Pouncing on the Pn.,,},- is most hurtfu l:
MA Dragon Playing with Waler- is quile vicious.
The demon king uses a "Serpelll Turning Around-;
The Greal Sage employs a - Deer Letting Loose its I lorns.-
The dragon plunges lO Earth wi th heel s upturned;
The wrisltwists around 10 sei ze I leave ns bag.
132
A green lion's open-mouthed lunge;
A carp's snapped-bac k nip.
Spri nkling nowers over I.he head;
Tying a rope around the waist;
A fan moving with the wind;
The rain down t.he nowers.
Fist Fighling and Self-Cullivalion
The monst er-spirit then mes tilC - Guanyi n Palm,-
And pilg rim counters with the -Arhat Fecl.-
T he" Long-Rangt: Fi st.- st rctching. is morc slack, of
I low could it compare with thc "Close-Range Fist 's- sharp jabs?
T he two of them fought for many roumls-
None was the stronger, for they are
Possibly !he clearest indication techniques hecamc an
int egral clemen! of lai c Ming cultlll'e is provided by encyclopedias for daily
usc. T he sixteen! h century wit nessed the emergence of a new gen rc of housc-
holel manuals, which we re int ended not only for the male burea ucrat ic clit,c,
but al so for ol[ler segmenLS of society tllat had received a modiclllll of edt tca-
tion: women, merchalHs, arti sans, and Ihe like. Sometimes referred to as
Compll'll' Books of M)'riad 'n nlSUrtS ( H'l11l000 (I'WlIsh II) , I hey covered ever), aspeci
of knowledge necessary for maintaining a household, from practical advice
on Illak ing a Ii ving to educat ion, ritual , and enlerlai nlllel11. Generously ill us-
trated and of len published in simplified or shonhand characters, the ency-
clopedias fealu red enlries on such diverse topics as fanning, li vestock
breed ing, trade, arit hme ti c, d ivinat ion, nutrition, heah h, calligraphy, III usic,
jokes, and e\'en romance.!> l
I louse hold encyclopedias also de\'Oted space to hand combm, which was
considered useful for health and self-defen se. The 1599 and IG07 editions of
the All-Purpose Comyl H'll)' ( H'll1l)'ollg z/umgumg), for example, I ist.s one by one
lhe famous bare-handed lecl\ll iques of the day such as r Zhao] "1:'1 i ZlI 's Long-
Range fi sl,- "\Ven Family Moving fi st," MSa nd-Washing-Wa\'es f isC (LangH-
taosha qua n), and fi st- (Qingqiang quan). For their readers'
benefil, the edi tors selected cho ice positions from t hese varyi ng styles, expl i-
caling each with a rhyming fonn ul a and an ill ustration. !." [videmly, such
manuals as All-pjlrpose COITecl Wa)' mirmr the growing popularity of bare-
handed fi ghting, even as they contributed to its di ssemination,
Ming pet;od unanned techniques, which are recorded in sixteemh-
century literature, sen'ed as the foundation for new bare-handed styles thaL
emerged in the ensuing centut-)', Some of tile most imponant. manial systems
with which we are familiar toda)'--:r aiji Quan (Supreme Ulti mate Fist), Xingyi
Quan fist), and, of course, Shaoli n Quan-originated in
the transit ion period, ForOll!' purpose, it is
significant that much o f thi s dc\'e!opmcllt took place within range of the
Shaoli n Monaster y,
Iland Combat 133
Other Fighting Styles
In the winler of 1930, pioneering manial arLS historian Tang I-lao ( 1897-1959)
traveled to Chen Famil}' Vi ll age in Wen Count }' of northern
I-I enan. Tang, whose research combined textual scholarship with fieldwork,
was searching for mal.edals on lhe odgins ofTaiji Quan, which was known 1.0
have heen developed atlhe village. He uneanhed there IWO Qing documents
suggesti ng thal lIle foundations of lile \\'orld-renowned tecllnique had been
laid in the se"entee nth cenlur}': a fami I}' h istot'}, thaI attri but.ed t he Chen ba re-
handed st)'le 10 t.he dan's nimh-generalion ancestor, Chen Wangting (ca.
1580-ca. 16(0), and a poem b}' the lauet' describing hi s invention of a qll(/ll
technique. Mosl sc.holars ha\e acccptcd Tang I-lao's view t hat Chen Wangt ing's
marlial arl was cil her thc samc as-Ot' lhe immcdiatc ancestor of-t he Taiji
Quan \\' ilh \\'hich \,'e arc fami li ar toda}'. c\'etlthough in Chen's surviving writ-
ings I he te rm /(jiji docs not
Chcn Wangting had sen'cd as an official in the d)'nast)'. During
the 16lOs and 1620s he had bcen appoi nt ed regional inspector for Shan-
dong, Zhili , and Liaodong. He also had firsthand bailie experience, having
participated in several militar),confrontalions \\,;th the Manchus along the
nortllern borders. B)' tile Qing invasion of 1644, Ilo\\'e\'er, he was living in re-
tirement at his native vi llage, where he dedicated himsclfto the perfection
or his bare-handed techniCJue. Musing on his experiences, he versified ,
sigh, as I think of those ),cars; Wh CIl , dad in armor and wielding a spear, I
swept awa)' t he bandits' hordes, repeat(.'d I)' pUll i ng lIl)'scl fi n danger .... Now,
old and withered, I havc not hing \Cfl blll lhe I Daoisl1 book Yellow to
keep me compan)'- \-Vhen bored, I in\'cnllechniCJ ues of hand combal ('11/(1/1);
during the bus)' season, I lill the land; taking advantage of Ill )' leisure, I in-
st ruct a rew di sciples and descendams, enabling them 10 become easil)' as
strong as dragons and ti gers."!>8
Chen Wangling cn:: ated hi s st),lc in the vici nil)' of the Shao-
lin Monaster),; his nali\'e Chenj iagoll village was located approximalc1),
thirl)'-fl\'e miles norlh orthc tcmple (see map ' I). MOI'eO\'c, he laid thc foun-
dations of Taiji Quan during t.hc \'ery samc period, the seventecnth celll. ur)',
whe n lhe Shaolin monks wcre turning their attention to hand m mbal. It
should not comc as a surprise, lilcrefore, tllat Il is Taiji Quail sllared common
lrails-such as an cmphasis upon hand combat" (dllanc/a)-
with Shaolin Quan. The term laij; (supreme ultimate) figures ill Shaolin's
Hand Comval Classic (figure 30), JUSt as the monaster),'s legend of lhe stafT-
wieldi ng found its wa}' into the Chen famil)" s militar), writings.
Ltl
"Most people," wri tes Malsuda R}'uchi , that Taiji Quail and Shaolin
Quan arc complete.i), d ilIerem fonns of hand combat. AClUall),. in t.heir basic
poslUres, hand methods, leg methods, and other fighting aspects, the two
st),les are emire.i), alike:'oo
Taiji Quan was not the onl}' st),le that emerged at the Shao-
134
--
Fist Fighling and Self-Cult ivalion
FI(;. 30. The "Suprcmc
Uhilll;u c Eigl u Su'ps" in
J-/mltf CoII/ImI Clll.uic.
[in Monasl.ery's vicinity. Beginning in the seventeenth cemury. and all
th rough the Qing period, I lcnan was a hotbed ofmarlial ans. Along the Yel-
low Ri\'e r basin (from Sha nxi through Ile na n to Shandong), numerous fight.
ing sl)'lcs emerged, ma n)' of lhe m in lhe COllteXl of sectarian rebellion. The
intimate conncction bClwcen mania I an and religious scclariani sm in t.he
nor th Chi na plains is allested b),collllllon nomenclalure. We have seen above
t ha t Plum Flower was the namc of a ba re-ha nded st)'le (qllllll) as well as a reli-
gion (jiflO), and our earliest evide nce of Eight-Trigrnms Pal III ( Bag ua Zh ang)
comes from the reli giolls upi-ising oflhal name. In 1786 and again in 1813.
the Eighl-Trigrams sect n:.: bclled in Hebci a nd Nonhern Henan. The confes-
sions of its caplllred members, man)' of whom came from Hua Count y.
Henan, provide us with the carl ieSl accoulllS of lhe bare-handed St)'1e of lhat
name.
61
Anothe r unanned st}'1c tha t fi gured in Qing period Henan is Xing)'i
Quan ( Form-and-l lllelll Fist), also known as Xin)' i Liuhe Quan (Mind-and-
illlelll Six- Harmonics Fi st). Qing period manuals and fa mil)' histories sug-
gest lhat il was c rcated b)' Ji Jike (n. 1(50), who was a native of He nan's
neighboring Shanxi prO\ince. Ji is said lO ha\'C created his e mpty-handed
st),le onlhe basis ora speal' melhod, in which he had excelled. Following the
Iland Combal 135
Manchu conf]uest, he was re poned to hm'e said that bare-handed fighting
was more appropriate than anned combat for peaceful times. By the e igh-
teent,h cemury, at any rate,ji' s Xing}' i Quan had been transmitted to He nan,
wher e a local subs tyle emerged. One of the earli est exta11l Xingyi treatises,
Mind-and-/ ntent Six-/'/al'1llOtlies Fist's Mal/Il al ( Xi ll)'i Litlhl! QUflll 1m), was likel y
authored in He nan, whe re it \\'as disco\'ered by Tang (-lao in the early twe nti-
e th century, The manual can' ies four pre faces-dated 1733, 1735, 1754, and
1779-all by Henan authors, a.>
According 1.0 some Xingyi manuals, ji ji ke had spe nt more than len years
at the Shaolin Monas t.ery, where he studied-and ("'"\'en taught-fighting.f.'l
Howeve r, this claim s hould be treated cautiously. \Vhercas the fi ghling style's
Henan con nect ion is ce rl ai n, its founder 's personal affiliation with the mo nas-
te ry should be f]uestioned, if for no othe r reason than because it is a suspi -
cionsly reculTing mOlif in the hagiographi es of nume rous martial artists.
During the Qing pe r iod, a Shaolin connection appears \.0 have become a pre-
rc'pli sil.c in t hc 1ll)'1 hology of I he mal' l ial arts, as , he inventors of new fight ing
styles werc supposed 10 ha,'c traveled 10 the monaste r y and mastered ilS lcch-
n if]ues before creal ing I hci I' own superior ones, The legend;'li'}' founder of the
Internal School Zhang Sanfeng (fl, 1400?), is said \.0 have thOroll ghly
studied the Shaotin sl)'le be fore '" revcrsing" il s principles.
t1 1
Similarly, Wang
Lang (fI , scvcntcc nlh ccntury), presumed creator of the Pnlying Mall1i s Fist
(Tanglang Quan), is believcd 10 Il ave rcsidc:.'CI a l the Shaolin Monaslery, where
he was repeatedl), defeated by its o Ul.'it a ndi ng mania l a rti sts, Leaving Ihe mo n-
as tery in despair, \Vang spe nl sC"eral r ears on the road , umil hc happened one
day upon a praying mantis catching a cicada, I mitati ng I he inst.'CI's foreli mbs,
he inve nted hi s unif]uc st),le, whereupon he returned to Shaolin and finall),
overcame h is monasti c rivals of old,tl.!'t
I f we turn our auemion from the considcral ion of indi vidual styles to Ihe
examination of literature, we arc agai n struck b)' He na n's Significance, Even
though, as we will sec below, imponant bare-ha nded treatises wel'e composed
e lsewhe re, some of the most influe mia l o nes were authored within a day o r
t.wo's mule ridc from t he Shaolin r"lonas tcry, Cha ng Na izhou (fl. 1740) penned
hi s martial arts t reatises at Sis hui , some thin)' miles nonh of the mo naster y,
and Wang Zongyuc (fl. 1780), albeit a Sha nxi nati ve, probably authored his
t.heoretical i Quan essa}'s either i n Luo)'a ng or in Kaifeng, where he resided
in t.he 1790s, f.6 Likewisc , Chen Changxing (1771 - 1853) and Chen Xin (1849-
1929) compiled their Taiji manual s in I-Ie na np a nd, as we have seen, Yang
Bing (b. 1672) authored his Plum Flower one in the province's Ncihuang
Count)' (see map 4), The X ing)' i manual Six-f/arlllolll'es Fist was
probabl)' wriuen in the province as well. We may conclude, therefore. that
Shaolin hand combat prospered in a regionthatllad played a m<!ior role in Ihe
evolution of Chi nese bare-handed fi ghting.
The late Ming and the earlyQing were ph'otal periods in the IlislOryofChi-
nese hand combat. Drawingon earlier, Ming period qUil l/techniques, the 5even-
136 Fist Figh li ng a nd Self-Cullivalion
teemh cenlUry witnessed the emergence of new bare-handed slyles, which,
three hundred )'e. ... rs later, \\'c re to spread all m'cr t he world. The origins ofTaiji
Quail, X i n g ) ~ Quan, and Shaolin Quan- the earliest vestiges of which are re-
corded in /-land CQII/bal Qassic and Xu(mji$ AClI/J!lnClurt PO;lIls-can he Iraced
eq ual I)' to the Ming-Qing transition era. Thei remergcncc was a{:companicd hy
I he art.iculal.ion of a neh' martial arts phi losophy a nd mythology, 10 which we
should now lurn.
CHAPTER 6
Gymnastics
LAT E MI NG Shaotin monks did not tllrn their att e ntion to hand combat be-
cause it \Vas m it it aril y erfect ive. In reat comb.'l l, b.'l re -ha ndcd fi ght ing was not as
useful as the staITthatthe monks had been pnlclicing for celllilries, not nearly
as lctlml as swords and spears llmt tile), had ah\'a}'S employed in baule, and ccr-
t ai nly not as dangerous as firc:.'arms that, having been i Iwe nl c... '<1 in China several
centuries earlie r, were being reintrod uced to il by the Portuguese in the six-
t.eenth cenlury.1 Rathe r, Shaoli n monks \\'e re intrigued b)' the philosophical
and medical dimensions of the new bare-handed slyles. The lat e Ming and
early Qing techniques of Shaolin Qua n, Taiji Quan, a nd Xingyi Quan were
couched in a rich vocabulary of ph}'Siological a nd spi rit ual self-culti vation.
They were marked by a unique s)' lllhesis of marl ial, Iherapeut ic, and reli gio us
goals. Pnlclilioners were no longe r in fi ghting only. Thc)' we n:: moti-
vated instead by conside nllions of health, at the same lime that they sought
spiritual reali zat ion.
In lhis chapter we examine the late Mingand earl y Qingsynthesis offi ghl.-
ing, heali ng, and reli gious sclf-culti\<tlion. We begin with a Qi ng aficionado of
Shaolin figilling whose passion for the a n had bee n spur red by therapeutic
concerns, and we proceed to examine the ol-igins of the exercises he had slUd-
ied at. the monastery. QUI' im'estigation leads us backwa rd in t ime to an ancielll
gymnasti c tradition called dao)'ill, which during the late Ming had b(.-cn inte-
grated into hand combat. iJao)'in calisthenics had largely eml\'(.-'d withi n a Daoist
context, and they served as a \'ehide for the religion's impact on the manial
Unli kc the ledln iqucs of the Shaolin starr, wll ich were e nwrapped in a Buddhist
mythological framework, hand combat drew on Daoist self-cultivation. During
the late imperial pCl'iod, Buddhist monks at t he Shaolin we re
trained in empty- handed st)' les that harked back 10 Daoist physiological and
meditati ve methods.
13i
138 Fi st Figh ling a nd Self-Cult ivalion
An Official- Cum- Martial Artist
Wa ng Zu)' uan (ca. 1820-after 1882) might ill ustrate the il1lercst of somc Qing
officials in manial praClice. A scholal-of some reputation and thc holdcr of a
minor bureaucrat ic POSt, ,"Vang \\'as an amateur martial artist who had becn
practicing si nce h is early teens. I-lis demtion to his hobby was such thaI. in his
Ihinies he I. ra\'clcd t.o the Shaoli n Tc mple, \\'hcrc hc st udicd for several mont hs.
Thc training Wang receinxl at thc monastc ry stoocl him in good stcad in his
lat er yea rs. Still a low-ranking burcaucrat in his six tics, hc notcd, I
chase my super iors, rushing be hind thc m, I am as light-footcd as a young man.
i-Iastc ning to kneel down for sacrifi ce, I have ncvcr failed in propricty, This
may dcmonst ratc the strcngth I havc gai ncdl by Ill)' martial practice]."2 Thc
Shaolin mania I a .... s provided at least onc Confucia n official with thc stami na
necessary for the perfor mance ofil is I' itllal dulies,
\\'llicll martial arts d id Wang st lid)' al Sllaoli n? A I ikcl), answcr is providcd
by a manual hc publishcd in 1882, wh ich hc I il lcd IIluslmlnl EX/JOSilioll oj Inlallal
'I lmiques (Nrigong Ills/mo). Thc t rcat-isc \\'as nOI authorcd b)' Wa ng, It had bcen
iss ued as cady as 1858 b)' onc Pan Wei l' u unclcr another name: Tf'rli-
"//;qll es ofGumrling Life (H'I>isheng )yIOS/Hl ). Ilowcn: r, \\'hen Wang happe ned upon
it , hc rcalizcd it was idcntical to a manuscript hc had obl aint.'(J atthc Shaolin
Monast.c ry in 1854 or 1855. Ilc t.hcrcforc published Pa n's manual ancw, rcstor-
ing its or iginal Shaolin title: IlIllstmtfYl EX/JOsitioll oj /"'I'n/(/I
Wang' s manual out Ii ncd sc\'cral sets of gYlllnasti c excrcises that i mcgral.cd
limb mO\'c mc nLS, breathing, Illassage, and mcditation. One training program,
"f ormulas of thc Di vided External r fc nxing waigong j uc" ) in-
cluded scvcntcen exerciscs, wllich were assigned (:adl to a di ffcrem Ixxl)' part :
thc mind, body frame , head, facc, cars, eyes, mouth, tonguc, teeth, nosc,
hands, fcct, shouldcrs, back, abdomen, loins, and kidneys. arc a fcwex-
amples in a translation tha t was made by the Westc rn physician John Dudgcon
as earl )' as 1895. Althc time Dudgeon was leach ing a natomy and physiology at.
the Tongwc n Academy in Ikijing. Apparc nt l), he practiced the cxercises wi t h a
local i nslructor:
111': ,\ 0: I. - Close the ears wit h the hands, ICI I he index finger fold
i l.sel r on tile midd te one and ti l nun Ille two bones at tIle ba(' k of the
skull with Ihe index finboc r 1.0 make the m sound, This is called
sou nding the drum: Note: This is to remrn'e Ihe harmful
air rrom t.he pool - acupuncture opening in the region oflhe
mastoid. 2. - Twi sll.he neck wil.h the hands and glance back to the
rigtl t and len and alli le same time rolal e tI le slloulders and arllls
twenty-four limes each-to re move the obstnlctc..>ci air in the stomach
and spleen . 3. - Inlerlock ti le Ilands and grasp tIle back of the neck,
t.h en look upwards and let the hands wreslle with the neck-to
remo\"e pain of the shoulders and indisti nctness of \'ision,
Gymnastics
THE FACE: Rub the hands until hm, then rub the face with them, high
and low, aU over, no spot to be left un-rubbed; then spit on the palms
and rub them warm and appl y them several limes 10 the EKe. \ Vhile
rubbing. t he breath , by tile maul h and nose, is 10 be dosed. The aim
Ofl his exercise is 10 brighten I he countenance. The more rou rub Ilu!
better the color. Thi s is I.he cure for wrinkles; with Ihis aClion you will
have none.
Til E EA R: I. - Place I he hand.;; 0\"(: 1" the ears, Ihen ruh I hem righl and
left and upand down st:\'Cral times. Tl lis is 10 Ileardistincll yand
prevent deafness . 2. - Sit Icvel on I he ground wilh one leg benl and
the Qt her extended. St rctcll fori h Il le arms Ilori rolllall), wil h I he
hands perpendicularly towanls I he fronl as if pushing a door, and
twi st the head 7 limes to each sidc, 10 cure ringing in Ihe ears. I
139
The exercises arc not di rectly related to fighting. App<uently, while at the
Shaolin Temple, Wang st udied methods that \\'ere pl' im' lIil y I herapellt ic rat her
t llan martial. Instead of Iland comba t, the !lIllslmlni EX/KJSilioll oj !lIltn/al 711-
lIiqltes t.eaches t he preve nt ion and cure of disease. Occasionall y, the text goes as
far as intimating the iXlssibilit y or immortalit),. The connection to fighting is
implicit onl)'; to the degree that the exercises contribute to one's health, they
will al so provide a roundat ion ror his manial trol in ing. It is inst i" uctj\'e therefore
that. accordi ng to his own testi mOil )' \.Vang's mart ia l practice was mot iVllt<:d by
tllerapelilic considerations:
As a child I was weak and was al ways red medicines. My Iale f:11 her was
conslanlly worried aboul m)' Ileallil. During IIIC Daogu:tllg jiflwu year
( 1834) , when I was thirtecn years old. J accompanied him 10Jiangxi.
where he assumed Ihe POSI of la x circuil inl cndanl . AI Ihe time a guard
commander named ZhouJiaru. rrolll Lai yang lin Shandongl was
s laIiOlH-'d there. J Ie excelled in figh ling and was praclicing the Si/lews
Tmll4omwtioll C/fI.ssic ( Yijilljillg).
:\Iy late father had him leach me, and withi n less Ihan a rcar I
signi fica n11)' rega ined Ill y SI rengl II and was able 10 Ii fI ten JUII (approxi-
malely 300 pouml s). Dluing the xiI/chou year ( 1841) I re turned to m)'
native town [F us han, Shan dong I to preparc for the exami nal ions. I
traveled together wi lh I he Lai ), ang [marliaI arlistJ Xu Quanlai , and I
thorough I)' stud ied hi s tech n ique.
Du ri ng the X ian fen gjifiJill (18!J4) ycar, I starcd with my late cider
brother in Guanzhong (Shaanxi). where I mctthe Li ntong natin! Zhou
Bin. Zhou was the mosl famous martial artisl in Guanzhong. I rrcljucntly
traveled with him, and we alsoj ournc),ed logether 10 I lcnan, whcre we
visited Ihe Shaolin Temple. \\'e sl ared tllere for ovcr tl lrce months, and
olJLained the monastery's IIl!u/mud {Expositioll} oj Intenwl '1edmiqus
(Neigollg t il) as well as spear and starr manuals before hC'dding back. ~
What was the source of the gymnastic exercises \"la ng studied al lhe Shao-
lin Temple? Did they odginalc allhe monastery or wcre they adopted from
elsewhere? 10 answer this questi on h'C Illllsljolirney two thousand years back
to t.he origi ns oflhe Ch inese gymnasti c tradi tion.
Ancient Foundations
Chi nese gymnasti cs has been illlimalel y re lated \0 medi cal practice. As
earl y as the fi rsl c:cnhll-ies Be E, physicians recommended calisthenic exer-
cises called d(IQ),ill (guiding a nd pulling) as a \001 for the prc\'cnlion and
c ure of disease. Vao)'ill gymnasti cs combined limb movements with hrcal.ll -
ing techn iques. The exercises \\'crc considered beneficial fo,' "nourishing
I ire" (),fl1lgsheng), and the)' we re pract iced in ion wit h ot her me t hods
- dieta ry, phannacolog ical, hygie nic, a nd sexual-that were intended \0
protect a nd increase vi talit y. A brief Zltu(llIg1. i passage dating from ca. 200
BCE illustrat es tile t rad ition' s goal of longevit y:
To pant , to puff, to Ilail , 10 sip, 10 spit Oll l tile old hreath and draw in III{
npw, pract icing brar-hangings and birdst retchi ngs, ]ongc,il y his only
concern-sllcl l is Ille lifr fa,ored by t ]1(' scllolar who practkes gymnas-
tics (r!I1O) jll) , Ihe man who nourishes hi s body, who hopes 10 Ih'C 10 be as
old as ]>engzu, for more Ihan eight II1Indred years.
fo
WII,u is me rely parapllrased in lhe LJllumgzi is elaborated upon in recenliy dis-
covered manuscripts. Arc haeological excavations in tombs dating from Ihe
mid-second century BCE have unearthed I wo manuals of cal isthen ics: the }.Jull_
illg Book ( )'illshu) and lhe handsomel y dmwn Jl/uslralions of Gllillillg alld 1.J.llllillg
(Dao)'in Ill ), showi ng tha t as earl y as the Western Ila n (206 BCE-8 CE), thera-
peutic gymnaslics had bee n hi ghly de,cloped. The twO handbooks o mline
dozens of dflO)'in stn:: tching and bendi ng exen::: ises, Wl lich wele recomme nded
for me n and women alike. Most excrciscs wel'c pract iced from a standing JXls-
lu re, but some wcre concillct(:(i sitting. Thc m:yority wel'e i)'"lre-hand<.:d , but
others made lise of a pole and possibl y a ba iL One feature dllO,),ill gymnastics
shared with late impnial hand combat was the naming of indi vid ll allraining
romi nes afler the animals they pllrponedly imitated , In addition 10 Ihc bear
that. is memioncd in the Zll1lllllgU, the llIustratiollS of Guitling and 1.J.lIllillg d e-
scribes cra ne, monkey, gibbon, mcrlin, dmgon, and possi bl y tunic poslUres .1
The Weslem Ha n manuals assign speci fi c exercises for the c ure and pre-
,'e ntion of gi,'en illnesscs. They allude to the treatment of such pathological
condi tions as "fe,'cl' ishncss," '" upper-side '" illler-
nal hotncss,'" and " knee The Pulling Book recommends the following
cu re for stiff shouldcrs: '" Ifthc pain is located in the upper part fofthe Slloul-
de rl one should rotate it carcfull y 300 times, Should it be found toward Ihe
bac k, the n onc should pull the shoulder to t he front 300 times,"9 A sim il ar as-
soci alion of specific cal isthe nics with pa rtic ular healt h di sorders lasted illlo
Gymnasti cs 141
the Eastern Han (25-220) whe n the re nowned physician I-Iua Tuo (ca. 190-
265) created "fi "e-ani mals" exercises, each intended for the relief of a d iffer-
ell t set o f symptoms:
Wu Pu ofGuangling and Fa A of were bOI h pupils of I lua
Tuo. Wu Pu followed exaclly Ihe ans of I lua so Ihal hi s palients
ally gOt well. I lua Tuo lauglll him I hal I he body sllould be exercised in
e\'crypan hUl Ihal Ihis should nOI be: o\'Crdonc in any way. MExerci se,M
he said, Mhrings aholll good d igesti on, and a free nowoftllc blood. II is
1 i ke a door pi\'ol ne\'cr rOIl ing. The re forc I hc ancient sages engaged in
d(l()yill exe rcises, Lfor examplcJ by moving Ihc head in the manner ofa
bear, and looking had. Wil holll lurn ing lhe ncck. By stre tching ;It the
waiSI and moving Ihe d iffercll t joillls 10 Icft and righl onc can make il
difficuil for people [ 10 grow) old. I ha\'C a metluxl,M said I Ilia Tuo.
" known as llu! 'play oft hc fh'c ani ma ls; Ihc ti ger. the deer. Ihe bear. the
apt'" a nd t he bird. It can bc used to gCI rid of diseases. and il is be neficial
for all st ifTness of t he joint s or an klcs. When t hc body feel s i II. one
sll ould do 0111' of t he exerciSC' s. After perspi ring. one wi IJ sense the body
grow light a nd t he stomach will manifest hunger.
M
Wll Pu followed this
advice II i ms(' lf atl d att ained an age greater t Itan ni Ilet y }'CI wit h excel-
lent hearing, vision, and leclh.lo
Breat.hing techniques were an integral cleme nt of (illO)"ill gymnasti cs. Since ex-
ternal ai r ('Ii) was considered vita l for the body's proper functioning, it was lx;-
lic\cd t.hat t.he more a person obta ined of it the belieI'. Practitioncrs usuall y
inllalcd tllrougll t. llc nose and then shutthcir momhs. tl)' ing to hold the air in-
sidc t.hei r bodies for as long as possible. Various methods wel'c devised for ca [eu-
lating the time a person shoul d hol d his breath. Somctimes it was measul'(:. xl
agai nst a fellow practitioner's non nal breathi ng, it bei ng rcconllnen(k.-xltilal il
be held for as ma n}'as l\\cl\'e or more regul ar btX:athing cycles. Theair was 10 Ix;
ex haled slowl)' a nd ge nt l)' through the mouth, the a mount going Out Ix;ing
smaller t.ha n that wh ich came in. I n addition to these u.."Chniques of brea(liillgair,
some practitioners app.'lrelllly a(e a ir. Medie\'<11 te..xtS describe tIle immol1als as
fcedi ng on pure breaths rather than on coarse foodstuffs such as grains. As
J-Ienri Maspero andJosepll Needham ha\'eshown, some adepts probably learned
to push ai r illlo their intestinal 1I'<1C1. This was perhaps one why swallow-
i ng saliva figures in dao)'ill gymnastics-it made it easier to gul p down ai ...
11
Whether it was pumped into the respiratory canal or digested illlo the in-
tesl.i nal tract, the extema l a ir had to be circul ated inside the bod}', nourishing
its \'arious parIS. The breath was gui ded therefore by meditation in prescribed
i nt.e mal routes. One or its destinations was tile so-called " lower cinnabar field "
(dalllirm) under the which was chosen in pan because of its DaoistsignifI-
callce. Reversi ng the natural process of aging was tile goal of DaoistadeplS, who
auempt.ed to regai n their vita lity by re turning to the ir e mbryonic origins. By
142 Fist Fighli ng and Self-Cult ivalion
s ubvening b iologica l time it was jXlssible to regai n t hc fctus's limitlcss potc ntial
for growlh. Si nce the embryo \\'as fed thro ugh thc umbil ical cord, it was neces-
sary to emulate him, breathing through thc na\'e l.
t2
Titlcd t"Cspira-
lion" (Iaixi), lh is physiological praClicc ha rked back to thc fccund imagcr y of
t he infant in the Daoi sl Hhy am} ils Power ( DnOIle jing) (ca. founh cent ury BCE):
One who possesscs vi r tue in abundance is comparable 10 a new born
hahe;
Poisonous i nsect s wit lnot sl ing il ;
Fe rocious a nimals willnOI po unce on it ;
Predatory birds witlnot swoop rl own on il .
It s hones are wea k and ils sincws suppl e re i its hold is firm.
It dm .. '"S nOt know of tIle union of ma le and rema le yel its male me mber
will
T his is because its virili ty is at ils height.
It howls all day ret docs nOI b('col11(' hoarS{' :
T his is becausc it s ha r mony is al its height.
To know harmon}' is called t ll(' consla nt ;
To know t he constant is caUrd
Morc than a millc nnium a ft cr its formulat ion, respirat ion" was to
innue nce t ile lat.e impe ri al ma ni a l a n s. T he term fiel d " fig-
ures in late Ming and carl )' Qing ba re-ha nded fight ing Styles such as Shaoli n
Quan, TaUi Quan, a nd Xingyi Q ua n. The re, however, the navel's significance
is cx plai ned not onl y i n te r ms of breat.hi ng bUI also ill ten ns of Illcchanica I bal-
a nce. Quail practitioners consider the na,cI as t. hc body's rentel of gravity, a nd
t hL")' recomme nd l.lIl"I1ing from ii , ra the r tha n from the cheSI or shoulders.
Thi s emphasis upo n the lowe r a bdome n is related 10 the significance of th e
legs i n Chinese fighting. Unlike Wesle rn boxi ng, whi ch makes usc of the an ns
on I)' (a nd in which the chest is often the ceme r ofattcmion,) ql/(II/tcchniq ucs
make abundant usc of ki cking.
U(IO),ill brea thing teci lnifJues unde n ,c lll a sign ificant transfonnation dur-
ing the med ieval period, whe n the e mphasis shifted from the manipul ation of
external qi (a ir) to the circul ati on of intemal 'Ii (t he body's inbom vitality 01" en-
e rgy). Per haps because hold ing the breath for prolonged pcriod s led to acci-
denIS, pracLilioners tumed the ir atte nti on to thc flow of one's own "primary
,'itali ly" ()'ltanql), which was bestowt."tI ujXln each pcrson at birth and was con-
side red ide nt ical to the pl-imord ia l e ne rgy and canh. One could ei-
the r foll ow b}' med itat ion the natura l fl ow of e nergy wit hin the Ixxl)" or onc
could actively a lter its course, d irecting it to specific locations. T he internal qi
could be guided, for example , to a n a iling arca, t hcreby curing iLl I T hese tech-
nifJues we l"C to exert a profo und influe ncc on t hc later cvol ution of una r med
fighti ng. In latc impe l-ia l ha nd combat , thc martia l artist concentratcs his in-
ternal energ)' for defe nshc and olTensi,"C pur poscs a likc. He may muster his 'Ii
Gymnastics 143
FIG. 3 L. Massaging and
qi drculalion in Ihe
ll'callncllI orindigcs-
Lion, rl'om Ilw 1578 /lrd
PJIfJI' lIix's MarrQW
(ClIijfllg slli ).
1.0 receive a blow, the .. eby lessening the pain and possibly p .. t. .... 'eming iqj ury, or
he may direcllli s internal powe r lO augmem tIl e strength of an llllack, ro .. ex-
ample, a performe .. who smashes Slones with hi s bare hands is said to have cir-
culated llis qi int.o his palms.
TIle imernal ci rculatio!) of qi was facil itated by massaging---cithel' self-ap-
plied or pel-formed by others. Massage was I'died upon to ctll"e a varicI.)' of
health disorde rs from obstructi ons to the internal flow of breath to irtiured
te ndons a nd dislocated bones. It was also used to warm up the body, spreading
c ne rgy to its outer layers, so tha t the skin woul d retain ilS Us ually,
kneadi ng was combined with qi ci rculation as in the following rcmt."(ly for indi-
gestion, from the sixlecmh-celllul-y Retl Phoenix's Marrow (Qlifollg S'III) (preface
1578): "Onc should lie stra ight, facing upwards. He should apply massage wilh
both hands to his upper and lower alxlomen, I-Ie Sllould circulate his qi 0' 11 11(/1)
thereby capsi7,ing the ri,'cr and churning t he ocean six ti mes
n 16
(figure 31),
Thc Z/l'IulIlgzi's refe rence to the Chinese Methusela h Pengzu (who suppos-
edl y lived eight hundred yea rs) ind icates that as early as the fi rst centmies BeE,
gym nastics were considered user ul not onl )' for safeguarding one's nat ural life
span but also for ushe l-ing divine longevit y. Some pre-Qi n autho!1i expl icitly as-
sociated qi circulation with the quest for transcende nce,' 7 During the ensuing
144 Fist Figh ling a nd Self-CuI! ivalion
medieval period, the supcmonnal effi cacy of physiological exercises was fur-
t,he r elaborated, as daoyin g)' mnaslics \\'Cre harnessed 10 the search for immor-
tality. This evolution look place largely within t he COnlc-xt of the emerging
Daoist faith, which incorporated lhe ancient gymnastic tradition into its reli-
gious regime n. Daoism integrated calislhe nic.s with olherdisdplines----eth ical,
riwal , mcdilati\'c, and alchcmical-thalled \0 transcendence. Even as 1 re-
tained their t he rape utic imponancc of old, (/(lO),ill exci-cises wcre now pan of a
rei igiolls system I hal was directed lOh'ard ete rnal Ii fe.
The signifi cance of physiological cul tivation in Daoism ultimately de-
rives from the centrality of the body in the religion's conception of immor-
I al it y, AsJ oscpll Need llam liaS e mphasized, \lle CII inese d id not conceive tile
possi bi I it y o f et e rnal life e rUo)'ed by a d isembodied soul , For I hem, I iberat ion
look the form of';mal,c rial ofa biological
Daoisl immorlals (;I.ian) were nOI spirilual beings. possessed physical
bod ies, a Ibei l more rell ned I han Illose of ol'd ina I) ' creal ti res. By an a I'd UOLI S
process of self-cull ivaI ion, I he i mlllorl als t ra nsfOl'lned lliei r perish able and
heavy bodi Iy bu ildi ng blocks into durable a nd light subs\ ances-so I igh! they
could ny. II is exact I)' because Daoist e te rnal life , .... 's not mcrel y spirit ualt hal
spiritual sel f-cultivation d id not suffi ce. In order to e njoy liberalion , it was
necessary 10 creal e wi t hin ti le mortal bodily frame a nc\\' physiological e ntit)'
I hal \\'ould ascend i nlo i mmoJ"lal it y. l lence the Daois! signi ficance of physio-
logical exercise-gymnastic, sexual , dietary, a nd alchemical.
' 9
Wh)' did Chinese conceptions of immon alilY differ f!'Olll Western ones?
Why did I he former e nvision "mate ri al immoJ"lalily" whereas the lauer imag-
i ned "s pi ri lual ele rn it )'''? The answer is rel a led 10 fundamentally di verse con-
ceptions of nature. The Chinese did not establi sh a dicholOmy of spirit. and
ma uer, of god creator and created world. For t he m, t here were only grada-
lions of spirituality, which se parated refi ned beings such as the immortals
from gross matler. From another pe rspecti ,'e, t he body cOlllained numcrous
spirits that were bdie,'ed to dispe rse upon death. To prescn'e a post.-mortcm
personal idemity, il was necessaty to sustai n t he physical body that held lhem
together, as He nri Maspero has noted:
If the Daoi sts ill their search for longevit ),. cOllcein:d it 1101 as a spiritual
but as a material immortalit y, it was not as a delibcrate choice betwL"C1l
different possible sol utions but because for the m it was thc onl), possiblc
solution. Thc Graeco-Roman world earl y adoptL"{llhc habit of sctting
Spirit. and in opposit ion to one another. alld the religious forll1
of this was t.be conception ofa spiritual soul attachcd to a material bod)'.
But t.he Chinese never separated Spirit and Maucr, and for them the
world was a continuum passing from tI le \'oid al tl lC onccnd to thc
grossest mancr at t.he other; hence never took up this anlitlwtical
char-Ine r in relation 1.0 matter. MoreU\e r. tl lere werc too man}' souls in a
man for an)' one of them to coulllerbalance, as it were, the bod)'; there
Gymnasti cs
were two groups of souls, t.hree uppe r ones (hUll) and s(."\'en lower ones
(/)0), and if there we re d ilTe rences of opinion about what became of
them in the Ot her world, it was agreed that t hey se parated at death, In
life as in death, t hese multi ple souls were rat Iler ill -defi ned and vague;
aft.er deat h. when t.h e dim litt.le troop of spi r its had dispersed, how
could they possihly be re-assembled inlD a unit )'? The body, on the
cont rary, was a un it)" and served as a home for tl l(!se aswell as other
spiriu. Thus, it was on I)' by the pe rp<!lu;ltion of the body, in some form
or Ot her, t hat one could conceive of a conti nuat ion of the living person-
ali t y as a whole. c'V
145
Tll is is not 1.0 say t.l tat. Il le body li tal was to e te rnal bli ss \\'as the one wit ll
wh ieh \\'e were e ndowed a t bi rt h. 1 nstead, prac ti t ioners endeavOJ'ed to create
a new body \\' irhin the bod}'. The}' fash ioned a n internal luminous e mbryo
t hat \\'as to he li berated from the confi nements of the external body like a ci-
cada breaki ng out or its cocoon. The immortal inner IXldy W<l S much more
refi ned tha n the exter nal one. It was, as it \\'e re, a purified version orthe lat-
te r. St ill , as "spi rit uat " as it might have been, I he imlllortal embryo was largd)'
const ructed rrom rhe physiological buildi ng blocks or the external bod)', Bi-
ological rejuvena t ion was t he re rore a precondition ror Daoist sci r-c ulti"at ion:
"For most medieval Daoists aspiring to illllllonalit y," wriles Anna Sei del,
"the re was no myst ical wa}, a round some kind or physict l preservation or res-
t.oration or the
Dive rse me thods existed ror the preservation or the IXldy, The Daoisls
pioneered alcllemica [ [a borat ory resea rch on substances I hat migllt inc rease
vitality. Ge I long (283-343) conside red calisthe nics a n in rerior method , be-
l ievi ng that ci IlIl aba r (daTI ) coul d be ma n ipu la ted into a n cI i xi ... DC/oyill could
prolong one's rea rs, he noted, but unlike t he elixir it could not prevent death.
Most. Daoi sl. m}'sti cs, howe\'c r, d id recommcnd cali sthenic u-aining al. the
vc r}' lcast as a pre pa raLOr}' stage ror more clabor.ne alchemical and medi ta-
t ive methods. In ma n}' Daoist schools the tr pical pr.lctice consisted or "d ua I
cu ltivat.ion," combining physiological exercises wit h tech niques or mental
conce ntration. In Daoist <'i nne r alche my" (lleilitlll) the adept joins elaborate
med itations wit h me thods o f controll ing the imernal flow of bod ily sub-
st.ances: breath, saliva, a nd semen, concocting with in h is own body an inner
el ixi r. AsJ oseph Needha m has noted, the process was not purely mental, for
it. had a concrete ph}'siological aspect. was born lI pon li S," he writes, "thaI.
we we re face to face with a ph}'siological (i ndeed at bottom a biochemical)
el ixi 1', t.o be prepa red b}' ph}'siological, not che mical, methods, out of physio-
logical consti lUellls alread}' in the bod}',"2:j
One of the earliest texts to combine ph)'siological training with medi ta-
tion was the SCli/J1ure of 111 )'elLow Cour' (HUal Igl illgjillg) (ca, third centlll'y CE),
which, thin een hundred rea rs aftel- its compilat ion, infl uenced the late impe-
ri al ma rti al a n s. (Recall that the probable founder of Taiji Quan, Chen
146 Fist Figh ling a nd SelfCullivalion
Wangli ng, alluded lO il as a source of inspiration.) The Scri/)fllre a/fhe Yellow
COllrf outli nes lechni'lues of bn.""a lh ci rcul ati on tl lat are coupled with viSlla Ii 7.a-
l ion of the body's illle d or di vinilies, By nOlll' ish ing h is corporal deities the
adept is able to produce \\' ilhin ll imself a d ivine e mbryo that ascends into im-
mortal ity, The sCI; pt,ure 's language is esole d c, describi ng t he physiological ci r-
culation of bodily n uids as a celeslia l jounu. 1' th rough t he heavenly pa laces of
t hc body's illle rnal d i\' inilies. The follO\ving br ief excel' pts (in Paul Kroll 's
t. ranslation) describe the Sh'allO\vi ng of sali va ("numinous I iq tlor") followed by
med italion on a splee n goddess (" the pe rson with in the yellow court");
Thl" mout h is theJade Pool , the Officer of Creat est A.cord,
Ri nM' wit h and gul p down the numi nous will not
encroach;
One's body will engender a liglued fi or('scencc, breat h redolent as orchid;
Oti C turns back, ext i nguishes I he huml red mal ignil ics- one's feat Itrcs
refi ned
Wit ll practice and attention, culli val e Ill is, climbi ng 10 Ihe I)alace of
Ample Cold [where thl" moon is b.uhed [,

Tile person wit II in t ile yel low coun wears a polychrome-damask j ackel,
A vola nt skin of pur ple fl oweri ng, in gossamer of cloudy \"ilpOrS,
Venn ilion a nd azu re, wit It green wil Itcs, num inous boughs of halcyon

Eve n as I hey suffused dtloy;n gym nasI ics with a rich 1ll)'St ica I language, Daoist
practitione rs cont.i nued to sl.rcss thc excrciscs' tllCrapcutic \'<ll uc. Clapping
t he tecth (hOUr/II), for cxamplc, fi g ures in Daoisl meditation as a me l hod for
sum mon ing tllc body' s i nl c ri or d ivi nitics. Thc practi ce ca n be traced b.ack to
Western I la n med ical lile rature, which considel'ed it usefu l for the prevcn-
l ion of loot h decay. Daoisl a uthors did not doubt thc me t hod 's hygienic effi-
cac)" l hey me rely supple me nted it wit h a spiritua l one-religion joined
medici ne rathe r than re pl ac ing
In add ition to re fin ing the ir ind ividua l qi, some Daoists sought to increase
t he ir vitality by absorbing cosmic qi. Chinese cosmology n..'Cognized several
manifestations of the pl' imord ia l qi: A fe ma le form (.)'ill) and a male form
()'fllIg), as well as fi,e energetic confi gura ti ons that were known as the ele-
men ts" (WI/xing,: wale r, fire , wood, meta l, and earth, In order to inhale I.he fe-
male and male e ne rgy one faced the moon a nd the sun respectively. Gazing a t
the five di recti ons, he or she was simila rl y blessed with the power of wood
(east), metal (west), fi re (south), wate r (north), a nd earth (center), IlTadiation
by the heavenl y bodies combined physiological, med itative. and ri tual proce-
dures. Controlli ng thei r breathing a nd swallowing t llcir salh'<l , practitioners
exposed thei r bod ies to the sun's 1<l.)'S, They medita tc.. "CI on the colors produced
on the ir closed ret inas, and they d irected t he absorbed energies into their in-
Gymnasti cs 147
ternal organs. They al so wrOle the character "sun" on a piece of paper, which
they burnt and mixed in h'aler. By drinking the potion it was possible to assi mi-
late the luminary's energy. Evideml y, the process of absorbing cosmic qi was
not devoid of magic o\ertones.
MetJux ls of qi circulation arc re neh'ed popularity in comempo-
raq' China, where they arc commonl y 10 as Qigong {which could he
rendered as Qi tccllnifJue, Qi efficacy, 01' Qi skill}. The ancient Clli ncse 1.<:cll-
nifJues are also bt.""Comi ng increasingly popular in the West. Even though the
Chinese state has auempled lO couch Qigong in terms, endowing it
wit.h an aura of secular modernilY, its practice is not de"oid of religious hucs.
David Palmer has a.-gued thai despite I he party's express ai ms, "Qigong became
a conduit for t.ll e transmission, moderni:r ..a lion and legitimization of religious
concepts and practices within the Communi st regime."27 The latent religiosity
of Qigong could even burSI fo ..... h in a messianic zeaL Emerging from Qigong
ci rcles, t. he re nO\\' ned Fal ungong sect has pronoull(:ed the immi nent arri'".I] of
the
The I'd igious aspect of Qigong is I ikdy due, at least pan iall)" 10 the hi slori-
e ll im paci of Daoi sm on dflO),ill gymnasti cs. Daoism embedded 1 he ancient ex-
ercises of qi ci rculat ion in a ri ch wlCabul ary of rei igious transcendence .. As \\'e
will see, the religion was 10 exercise a similar influcncc on the latc imperial
martial art s. When, during the lai C Mi ng and the early Qi ng, t/(lo),ill cal isthen-
ics we re int egral.ed into marl iall raining, they colored it with the spirilual hues
of Daoist self-cullivation. Even I hough the Daoisl language d id nOl shape the
aspirations of all martial arlists, il d id influence al.least sollle laIC imperial
slyles of Iland combat.
The Late Ming Synthesis
All through t he medieval 1)(: I' iOO, l/aoJin literature had not been related 1.0
I1gh ti ng. Whcther thc}' al'C pl'CserYcd in the Daoisl canon or have been disco\'-
en:d in archaeological exca\'ati ons, the avai lable manuals of gymnaslics and
breathing do not PI'CSUIllC to enhance mil itary skills. Their a"owed goals are
twO only: he..'llth and spil' itual libcration. When lillOJill was imegratLxi imo the
newl}' emergi ng methods o f hand combat, during t he late Ming and cady
Qing, it was thoroughl}' transfonned. The ancient gymnastic tradition ac-
fJuired a martial dimension, and quail fi ghting techn iques were enriched Wilh
a therapeutic and a rei igious signi fi cance. A synthesis was created of figlning,
healing, and sclf-culli \'ation.
Tang I-lao was the first schol ar to nOle the contri bution of gymnastic .. and
breathing tcch niques for the emlution of the late imperial martial arts. The
sel'elllcelllh-cellluryTa!ji Quan, he pointed OUl, was created bycombining the
M ing styles of bare-handed fi ghti ng with the ancient dllO)'il1 methods of gym-
nastics and bre..'lthi ng:
148 Fi st Figh ling a nd SelfCullivalion
Taiji Quan is a product orlhe :\'fing-Qing Iransilion period. It inhcrit<..'(.\,
developed. and created a synthesis of t he various bare-handed
styles that were practiced by the people and military, combining
t hem wit h t he ancient mel hods of gymnast ics (d(ltJ)' ;Il ) and brcathi ng
(tulia). It. absorbed [he ancient mat e rial philosophy of J ill and Jfmgas
well as t he Chi !lese fu ndamelll al medical conce pt of meridians Uillgluo)
lin which the qi f1owsJ. creal ing a bare-handed that
cultivates t he internal and t he external .... After it i llIegr.l1cd 1 he
methods ofgYlllnastics and breat hing, Taiji Quan was nOI able 10
advance t he motion ofj oinl,s ami llllL'ic lcs, Inll it was also capable of
coordi nating movement and breathing, enhancing tlu! performance of
the internal organs ... . In Taiji Quan training the three aspects of
consciolLs ncss, movement , and brcat hi ng arc harmoniously integrated.
The holistic approach to training and the emphasis upon the unit )' of
the internal and the external arc the hallmarks orTaiji Quan
Lin Bo), nan has argued similarl)' that (lao),;11 gymnasti cs transformed the
lat.e itlllx: rial mart ial arts. Unlike Ming hand comba t t hilt was i ilt e nded for figh t-
ing onl)" Qing bare-handed styles \\'Cre also meant to cure and prevent illness.
The \'ery a(lject i\'e "mart is misleading, or limi ting, when applied 10 the new
synt hesis. fighti ng is only one aspcct of the bare-handed Sl yles Ihal emcrgt.xl
during I he SC\'CnlCCnlh-cellllLl) ' M ing-Qing t mnsit ion:
During the period, Ihe variolls hand combat styles were all one-
sided. special izi ng in act llal fight ins on I}'. H}' cont n i SI, Qing qllall styles
emphasized d i\'Crsc I ra in ing, creal ing a particula rl}' 1 horough s}' nthesis
wit h t he mel hods or daoyill and )'(lIIgshellg r nourishing t he \'i t;\1 prin-
This ion was mOl ivaled b}' a double-purpose: firstl y, il
added efficacy 10 lite barc- Ilandcd figlll ing mel Ilods: secOildly, il
Sl renglhened I he body, pre\'enl ing and curi ng dise;lse .... The Qing
widespread in tegralion or (/flO)'ill I rai ni ng and manial practi ce demon-
sl thaI the recogn ition or t/flO)'in's effi cacy became more cOl11l11on.
Dno)'i /! transrunned ti le popular mart ial ans in terms of contell ts.
methods or training, and goals. The manial arL'I we re no longer fighting
methods only. They were transrormed . rather, into a physical aClivity
tl lat is variously practiced. tllat e nl la nct.'S bOI II skill and strength, and
that is efficacious in elt ring and preve nting illness. E\idently, by Qi ng
limes the martial arts evolved inlo a completel y unique method of
physical educatioll, :IO
Even though the sc\'enteemh cemlLry was photal in the imcgration of hand
combat and gymnastics, thc s}' mhesis was not born o\'Crnight. Thc proccss of
combining gymnastics, breathing, and fighting probably sp..'lnncd sevcral ccn-
turies, It is likel y that as early as the (the fiftccnth and sixtccnth
Gymnasti cs 149
cellluries), some quan styles incorporated aspects of tJllo),ill, The imegration
was accelerated wi th th e appearance ofShaolin Quan and Taiji Quan in the
last decades of the Ming and the earl y Qing (the sC\'e ntcenth cemury), and it
reached maturil Y in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. by which lime
most. bare-handed styles ,,'Cre colored by therapeutic and rdigious hues, One
indication is lhe prevalence in Qing literature of the term slrenglh"
(neili), \\rhich \\ras sought b}' Ihe " illle mallechn iques" (Ileigong) ofbrealhing,
medilation, and e nergy ci rc ulation, Wa ng Zuyuan's handbook, for example. is
t.itled J/luJ/m/ed E).1){)si/io1! oj I n/emal Tedmiqlles, and in h is preface 10 the Shao-
lin manual HfU/{1 Combat GflJSic (1784), c. ...tO I-Iua ndou explains that "the sub-
I let.y of I he method 's applicat ion depends e ntirely on ;lI/enUlI s/rmg/h.""
A Iriple synlhesis of reli gion, healing, and fighting is first allesled in late
M ing sources. Tile earl iest extant. Ilandbook tllat integl'<lIes (Joo)'in and qun n is
Ihe Sinl'1VJ TmllsjomUl/ io1! OflJSir O'ijin jing), \\'hich as we will sec belm" likely
dates from 1624. The manual ach'ocates the d ual goal of manial excellence
and religiolls I ranscencience, which it art icuiates mostly in terms of Daoist im-
morl aliI y. Ti le I reati ses Il lat foIIO\\'Cd it \\'Cre not necessari Iy as expl icit in thei r
Daoisl ori e nl al ion. Ne"e rt hcless, most did incorporate at least some asp{:cts of
(/(l o),i ll. \<\'e may mention I l uang Baij ia's In/enUlI Srhool Fis/ Me/hod ( 1676); the
1\\'0 Qi ng manuals of the ShaoHn Sl ),Ie Hom/ Combo/ Clf/Mir and X'II(mji's Arl/-
Imnr lure Points (wllicll probably dcrivc from a common se"clll eenth-cel11l lry
sou rce); Chang Naizholl's (fl. 1740) miliwry writ ings; t he eighteem h-cenl ury
Xingyi Quan handbook Mim/-mull llitn/ Six-llarmonies Fisl; and the various
Qing classics Quan.
Breathi ng and qi-ci rc ulation I.echn iqucs figure in mosl manuals. Th is as-
pect of t he (/(w)'ill tradition was proba bl )' imegrmcd wit h some bare-handed
fighling sl},les as carl}' as the Ming. A h im is pl'Ovided by Tang Sh ull zhi's
(1507-1560) "Song of the Emei Monk's breath ing imperceptible,
guard i ng hi s pri mordial 'Ii" (bixi wllsl llmg slumqi shou). In lhe ensui ng mar-
tial I itcrature of t he Qi ng pe riod c ulti vation" (litwqi) became a ke)' IeI'm.
The eightcenth-cent ury Cao I-Iua ndou clai med to ha\'e mastcl'ed it followi ng
a dream revelat ion : "I ponde red it stre nuously, umil suddenly I d rea mtlhat
two old men explai ned it to me .... My bod)' grew suppler and my hands be-
came li velie r. My mind g raspcd the subtlet}' of ''Ii Chang Nai-
zhou (fl. 1740) described the sensation of the flowing qias an e piphany: "It is
like bei ng startled in a dream. sudde n I}' reali zing the Dao, expcl'iencing an
unexpected buming sensation on the skin, cold ueeping up and causing a
shi \'er, or sudden Iy th i nki ng of a cenai n scene. The true qi, so lurbulent and
de nse, is like thunder and lightning sudde n I)' striking or smoke and flames
from a fire .... The qi issues like the d ischarge of a cannon or a bolt from a
crossbow, slriking wi th a sudde n
Qing manuals of fi ghting we re steeped in the \'ocabulary of ql: circula-
tion. Successful masters we re those who muste red their internal energy and
channeled it to the prope r action, "Making strong contact and being a fierce
fi ghte r depends on the qi or the h'hole body concentrating on one point ,"
writ es Chang The manipul ation or 'Ii implied a harmony or mind
and body, intent and mO\eme nt. Qi c ulti vation was a rorm or me ntal concen-
t ra tion, sulxluing the body to the pe rrormer's will. The idea was e.x pressed
poeticall y in the late Qing Taiji Quan classic orthe Circulation or the
Primordial Qi," he re in Douglas Wile's lranslation:
Thc mind (Ji) ami qi are rule rs,
And thc bones a nd ncsh are ministe rs,
The waist and legs arc commanders;
Thf'" hands arf'" \anguarrls .
Andthe eycs and skin arc spics.
Thc rulc r gi\'cs orders and the ministe rs act;
The commandcrs gi \'e orde rs and t he ruler ans.
Thc spies mll st immed iately r{'pOrt to the commander.
And the commander issues orders to ti lt' t roops.
RlLl er and rollower work tog{'t h(' r;
Abo\'f'" and below act in harmony,
And the whol e body is onf'" flow or qi.Y..
fi ci ion mirrored t ile be lie r tllat e ITect i\'e fight ing depended upon qi c ircul a-
t ion. The C/tlSsijiel/ Allllw/ogy of Qillg AlItf(/ol,.s (Qillg hai lei rlmo) tell s of o ne
Iron-fi st nian, who "chose a large stone slab, pOSitioned himselr, circul at.ed
II is 'Ii (yllll'li) and struck. A deafe ning crack w"s Il eaI'd, as the Slone slab split.
in lhe Memoi rs of the Tia nqi ao e nte rta inment distri ct in Beijing
similarl)' auributed the fil S of pe rforming anists 10 ime nlal energy. The fol-
lowi ng description of a martia I anist nick nl.inl<!d Chang" is notewor-
thy for the light ilthrows on the perfonne r's li\clihood ( he sold his clientele
"Powcr lncrcasi ng I)i ll s") no less tha n for the na t' ratOl"s skeplicaltone:
Tile sec re i. a 1'1 of Stupid Cllang was slone smaslli ng. The \\,(;re
large, ruu nd , a!ld smooth. Prior 10 I he perfonnam:e, hi s younger
brul her, Old Chang the Second. look IwO slunes and hit them againsl
each other, lening Ihe audience here the clacking sound. l ie then
allowed the specl alors 10 red I hem. il e, Chang circulatt..--d his qi
al hi s side. The circulation bei ng o\"er. Chang look the Slone, placed it
on the edge ofa sIOO\. and searched ror Ihe exaCI spot to be hil. Two
large cries A II ! A h! we re Ilea rd . and II is Iland struck. As ir respondi ng 10
his cries the stone broke. Slupid Chang could a lso drill with hi s finb'Cfs
into stones, smashing them.
Once the performance was o\'cr. Chang sold hi s spectators his
Nou rishi ng Powe r-I ncreasing Pi II. Accordi ng 1.0 him it was III iraculously
dfecl.i\"e-not on Iy could it sl rengLhen Lhc tendons and build one's
bones, it cuuld alsu cure all OLher ime rnal and exte r na l injuries,
Gymnasti cs
including those resulting rrom falling, figluing, a sprained waist or a
choked chest. Indeed , he himself became so powerrul only he
took it.. TrUlh is, hi s -All Nouri shing Powcr-Incrcasing PiW had no
miraculous effeCl.s what.soc\cr, but swallowing it did not cause Illtl(:h
damage cit
I:) I
IntcrnaI cncrgy could hc channeled nOI only ror offensi\"C bUI also ror defen-
sivc purposcs. Thc ahililY 1.0 h' ilhsland a blO\." is often analyzed in Qing manu-
als in lennsor qici rculalion. Ti le (. .... cenlury Sinews Tmnsjorll1(1li()/I
Clt/ssir teadlcs a systematic mctllod or qi cul\i valiOiI Illal I'esu Its ina body resil-
ienl 10 il'U ury. Training procecds rrom qi circulalion and massaging to pound-
ing or thc body wi lh increasingly harde r objeclS rrom a \\"ooden pestle and a
\vooden malleI 10 a pebble bag. The pracl ice is expecled 10 rorge a hody "as
hard as iron and so much so thaI one \\'ould be able 10 a liger's
brain \\' ith h is fist" and "cuI an ox's neck wilh hi s By Ihe mid-eigh-
teenlll century SUell melilods \\'ere common ly pract iced, as is attesled by ver-
nacular nct ion. Wu Jingzi 's (1701-1754) U1Iojjirial l-lislor)' oj til' Sd/Olars (Rlllill
waishi) cclebnu.es a valiant hero who rei ics on qi ci rcul al ion 10 wil hSland COil 1'1
torture. !U
Qing mel ilods or hardening t he body were knOl\' n by I he generic labels or
Golden Bell Armor Uill7.hong 7.hao) and Iron Cloth Shirt (Tiebu shan), imply-
ing Ihat the practitioner manipulated his 'Ii into an impenetrable shiekl.
lI
There were some, even among thc bureaucratic elil e, who bel it. '\,ed Ihal such
t.echniques could avert inj ury not only rrom bare-handed blows bUI also from
sharp weapons. A go\'ernment official named Ruan ZU1:lng (fl. 1890), who
served as ci rcuit. attendant of Xuzhou,Jiangsu, commcnted on the Golden Bel l
Armor: "wherc thc qi mo\es. C\'cn a fierce chop cannot penetrate. Bm ir onc
loses concent ration, t lle n tile blade wi II entcr. "12 Tile pll)'Sical exerciscs orhard-
ening were somelimcsjoi ned by rilual procedures. Some manial artisls en-
hanced t hc efficacy or qi circulation Wilh charms, spells, and prayer 1.0 va liant
deities. A DaoiSl pl-iest wh.o became clllangled in thc 1813 Eight Trigrams up-
ri si ngwas said \.0 ha\'c practiced lhc Coldcn Bell Armor by"swallowingcharms
and ci rculali ng his qi"' (chifll )'ll1lqi).' s Latc ninclt.'Cnth-century members or thc
Bi g Swords III il itia likewise praclic(.-d breatll ing Ledin iques and pounded their
bodies with bricks, whilc allhe same limc swall.owi ng charms that were burnt
and mi xed in waler.
ll
Hardening the body was simultaneously a manialtcch-
nique and an invulnerabililY rilual.
The associati.on .or somc qi-circulalion tecl lniqucs witll ri tual pr.ocedures
miglu suggcSt tl lal thc concepl or qi was occasi.onally col.ored with a supenlOrmal
aura. We ha\'e seen lhallhe qi implied lhings to dilTerent manial anists.
Il was a me thod .or breathing and a techniquc or mental c.oncentration, and it
sLiggesled a harmon)' or illlelll and aClion as well as an unhindered delivery .or
rorce. Il is possi ble, howc\'er, lhal some praclitioners-especially th.ose imQI\'ed
in seC'-a rian acti\' ilics-alll-ibuled lO lheit- hidden qi miraculous iX'wers as wel L
152 Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cult ivalion
An earl y Boxcr leadcr, a Buddhisl monk named Xincheng, repon<.-dly boasted
in 1899 thal "my whole bo<:l}' has Qigong (Qi efficacy); I can resiSl spears and
guns. Whcn t.he hard and precious f Buddhisl guardia nsl possess my body, lhe
roreigncrs cannOl oppose Il appears that for monk Xincheng, the te rm
Qigong implicd di vinc po\\'e rs similar to lhose oflhe guardian deities that pos-
sesscd him. If it could on ly be Lapp<:d , lile qi could make one invul ne rabl e t.o
bullcts.
If thc cxamplc of monk Xincheng is indical.ive of others, then the integra-
t ion or martial trai ning and i I1vul nerability rituals migllt have heen faci litaled
by thc cxt raordinal), po\\'c rs that \\'CI-C somc timcs a\lributcd to the qi. From
tllis pe rspectivc, lile re li giOtlsly impregnated wlCabulary of d(lO)'in might have
give n some fighl ing Icchniques a magic t\\' ist.
' 6
Qing fiction, at any rale, is re-
plele \\' it II I.ales of sllpernonnal fits ,Ilat we re accompl ished by I he It idde n pow-
e rs of qi. Considcr, for example, tilC foII O\\' ing SIOI' y of a man ial anisl \\'110 reI ies
on hi s qi to lcvilal e:
Li an Fangjun possesscd divine slrenglh (slim"). Often. during the
afternoon sies la, hr- would rei ir(' 10 a secluded room, where he wOllld sit
cross-legged 011 an iron chair. After approximatel y halfan hOllr
would Sl relcil II is arms, graduall y lift ing I he dmi I' upwards. The chai r
would floal a long lime high abo\"e ground, and Lian's body would not
Sl ir. Th is was due 10 I he COllcen! ral ion , and I he ci rculal iou, of qi (qi(lIIqi
lIei)"II,,).I?
Chinese medical theol), had the qi flow in prescribed channels calk-d jil/gfll o
(me ridians). The channels we re dOl ted with cavities (xuetlflo), wh ich wel'c points
sensitive 10 acupuncture treatme nt . The concept was adopted b)' hlle imperial
mart ial artists wllo IIc1d that the points responsi\'c to tllel-apy wCl'e eq uall )' sus-
ceptible to i'-Ull!")'. The significance of acupuncture points in Shaolin hand
combat has been noted carli e l'. The te nn Mcavities
M
figured ill the very lille of
the Shaolin handbook XU(lIljis Serre! Transmission of An l/JUI/cture Poillfs' I-land
Combal Forlll it/as. I-I owe\'cr, the concept was t.."quall )' imponant in other b .. ""Ire-
handed sl),les. It fi gured promine ntl ), in the late Ming melhod of the Ime rnal
School Fisl QUOIn), lhe fore most expone nt of which was Wang Zhe ng-
Ilall ( 1617- 1669). The two sun' iving accounts of tIl e I mernal School- i-luang
Zongx i 's epitaph for Wang Zhengnan a nd i-lua ng The II/Iemal School Fisl
Mel/wei (Neijia qlUmfa) ( 1676)-detaii some of lhe cavities it targeted. Accord-
ing to Huang Zongxi , "in su-iking opponents, "'lia ng Zhengnan made usc of
acupunClllre IX)ims-death points, mUle points, a nd vertigo poi nts-jusl. as il-
luslral ed on lhe bronze models of the cha nnc1s."t8
The imponance of acupullcture points in e mply-handed fighting is one
indication of l he imegralion of medicallheory illl.o lhe late imperial manial
arts. In some empty-handed Sl)'IeS, lhe ma nial goal oftoning the body for bailie
is indislinguisha ble from lhe medical objecti\"C of preventing illness. The
Gymnasti cs
Sinews Tmnsjormation Classic, for insta nce, ou Llines a method of hardening the
body that is supposed 10 be equall y erfecti\'e against martial ac.h'ersaries and
disease. By a combinati on of 1i ci rculation, massage, and self-pounding, the
pract.itioner is expected t.o gain "intemal robustness" (lIeiz/tullng) that would
eli minate all illness. Medication figures in th is training regimen. The Sinews
Transformation Qassic provides specific I-ecipcs for "internal robus\.ness medi-
cines" 1.0 be consumed in cOI"Uu ncti on \villl pllysical exercises_ I'.l Otller mi litary
treatises like\\'isc deh'e into medicaltheol-yand (h-ug production. The st.'Conrl
fascicle of X1umji's Secret Trall-HI/issiQ1I oj ilcupunrture Poill ls' Hmui Co mhat Fonnu-
las is ti t.l ed "The Secret Volume of Treating \.I/(;apon Cuts, Fighling
and Broke n Bones." In addi ti on to outlining eme rge ncy treatments for a vari-
e ty of \\'oll nds, it also discusses moxibust ion and pulse taking.'''''
The handbooks' IlH ...d ical ol-ientations \\'ere matched by the practitioners'
the rapeutic expectations. We ha\'e opened this chapter with the nine1.eenth-
century WangZu)'uan, wllosc manialjourncy to the Sl laolin Te mple originated
in his fat her's concern for hi s heah h. A cent my earlier, Cao Huandou's practice
ofShaolin fight ing \",ts mOL iV<l led al leasl pari iall y by medical conside rations. In
hi s preface to the Hand Combat Qassic (17&1), Cao all udes to repeated illness."1
If, however, Cao's ma rl iall raini ng provided him with a self-cure, t he n he co uld
just as easi 1)' treat ot hers. The sc\'enleelllh cent II ry witnessed the appearance of
t lie martial anisl-cum-physician. J Ie \\'110 could take tI le Ixxly apart could pre-
sunmbly pUI it back togelher. In some instances only the manial ;\11ist could re-
store his vi ctims to I heir hea lth, for he alone possessed the antidote to their
il'Du ry. We arc told t llilt one of Wang Zhengna n 's adversaries ..c . .-gained the abil-
ity t.o urinat.e only afler he apologized 10 the m3Stel, who cu.-ed him.!i2 Bi ogra-
phies of other ma rti al artists simil a rl y allude to thera pemic activilies. Gan
f engchi (fl . 1730) was a famous manial ani st who was Ix:li e\'(;d to be ca-
pable of squeezing lead into liquid with his bare hands. According to the Draft
Qi l/g Histol)'. Gan cured patients by silting wit h tllem back to b .. 'lck and e miuing
his int.e rnal energy into t heir bodies. A f(.'W decades late r, the leadel-ofthe 1774
While LoluS upi-ising, Wang Lun, earned a n iti nerant li\elihood by leaching
the manial arts and healing .... ' The Qing mania I a n ist was an expert on the
human body, which he could equall y and cure.
T he formulation of fi ghting techniqucs in tenns borrowed from Chinese
medici ne was one aspcct of the thC(wi/.ation impulse that charactcri zed the laIC
imperial mania I arts. Begi lUling i n the late M ing, ma n)' authors werc no longer
satisfied to desnibc limb mon.: ments onl),. Instead, they embedded fighting
postures in the I;ch \'ocabulal-ies of medici ne, religion, and pl l ilosophy. Manial
artists identified within their own bodies the uni\-ersal forces of ),ill and )'(/lIg,
the five elements, and eighttrigrams, im-esting the manial ans with a cosmo-
logical d imension. The intl-icate imerpla)' of)'ill and )'lmgsen'Cs in all qUlIl/ styles
1.0 illuminate the twin concepts of defense and offe nse, contract and expa.nd,
dose and open, soft and hard. Xing)' i Quan identifies the fi ve striking tech-
niques of Splitu ng fist (Piquan), Drilling Fist (Zuanquan), Crashing Fist
154 Fi st Figh li ng a nd Self-Cult ivalion
(8engCluan), Exploding Fist (Paoquan), a nd Sheari ng Fi st (J-I engquan) with
t,he five elemenlS of metal , Waler, h'ood, fire, a nd eanh respl.'"Ctively; and, as indi-
cated by its name, the Ei ght Trigrams Palm (Bagua zhang) re\'Olves in a concen-
t ric movcment around the eight confi gurations that are described in lhe Q(lssie
oJOumges ( Yiji ng) ."
The identity of microcosm and maCl"ocosm that much of
Chinese thought pcnniucd mania I aniSLs [0 I-e-enact within theirown bodies
the proccss of cosmic c\'Olution. Begi nni ng with I he firSI cent uries Be E Clm.sic
oj ClwlIge.f and c ulminating with Zhotl Dunyi's ( 1017-1073) lJiogmm oJfhe Su-
/mlll e Uililllale (Taiji III), Chincse philosophy usually descrihed the history of
the univcrse in I. crms of diITcrentiation fl-om a pl-imOl-dial unit y call ed I(liji (su-
premc lilt imal.e) . In tllis creation proccss, several slages, or fon:es, were discern-
ible, including the yi n and the ymg, t he fi \-e d eme nts, a nd the eight trigrams. In
slldl Qing fight ing st )'lcs as Taiji Qua n-\\'It ich is consciousl)' named afte r the
cosmology-the practitione r rc pealS thc process of un iversal evolutio n b)' a
prescribed set of movemc nts_ Tl lc train ing I-Ollt i ne opens in the ql liescence of
[he primordial/fliji and procccds through the interpl ay of Jill and y(l "g, five cle-
mcnts, and cight tri grams, to the profusion ofthc myri ad phe nome na. Radler
than ending in this stat c ofmuhipli ci ty, thc mani al artislthen heads back in
time to the origins of thc uni versc, reccding from thc myriad things to thc
eight tri gnuns, contracting furthe r 10 thc two cosmic principles yill and ),(lIIg,
and culminat ing in I hc tranquilit y of I(liji_
As earl y as the Ming period, the conccpt offi\"c clements was incorpOral(:d
into martial arlS literature, It appeared, for example. in Tang Shun zhi 's ( 1507-
15GO) discussion of spear Ilowc\"Cr, t he complete re-CnaCll11ell1 of
cosmic evollll.ion within the manial a ns likcJ)' appeared no earlier lhan lhe
Qing. Among its earii eStlextual records is Yang Bing's Plulll Fist manual/Illro-
duclion 10 Marl ifll Praclice (1742), in whidl he quotes \"Crbalim from the Classic oj
Changes: "In the Changes the re is the supreme ultimate (taiji ), which produccd
the two forms. These two fonns produccd the four emblcms, and thesc four
emblems produced the eight u-igra ms.-:.6 Sc\'cral decades laler Wang Zongyue
(n, 1780) l"Cpeatcd in his Taiji Quan essays the fuller vcrsion of cosmic crealion
as it had becn fonnulatcd by the Song thinker Zhou Dunyi_ Wang ide ntifies
spccific Taiji Quan postures with the e\'Olmionary stages lhc Jin and lhe ya llg,
the five elemenlS, and the eight u-igramsY
Thus, Chinese cosmology enriched the manial ans with lhe vocabulary of
a mystical union. Ilractitioners re-cnacted the process of cosmic differemia-
tion, then re\'ersoo it to achic\'c oneness with the primordial ullity of laiji. Their
spirilUal goal was explici tl y stated in late Qing manual s, such as the following
Taiji Quan classic in Douglas Wile' s translation:
Tlte cars a nd eyes, hands and feel_ being di vided illlo pairs are like Jill
and JUlIg, and thei r uniting inlO one is like {(liji. Thus the exwrnal
becomes concenl.raled in the illlernal, and the inte rnal expresses itself
Gymnastics
externally. In this way we develop within and without , the fine and the
gross, and wilh penelrat.ing understanding, we realize the work of the
wise men and sages. Wisdom and knowl edge, sagehood and immortal-
ity. these are what \\'e mean by fulfilling our intrinsic nature and
establishing life. I lerein lies the pe rfect ion of spirit and di vine transfor-
malion. The way of heaven and t lie way of humanit y is si mple sinceriIY.'.8
Tile cosmological \'ocabulary ofm}'Slical union \\'asjoinoo by lhe Daoistlanguage
of immort.alit.y. Allea .. t some Qing martial artists emplO)'ed the terminology of
Daoist "inner alchemy" (neidan) in I heir military Ireatises. They described rna rt.ial
slrengtll as Ille by-product of an inne r elixir leading 10 elernallife. Cl lang Nai-
zhou \\'(; nl. as far as claiming I hal '"" inner alchcmy" was I he foundation of manial
I raining, follO\ving the Daoisl schemc or lhr(.'"(; stages in Ihe smelt ing or the in ncr
el ix i t ~ (he firsl stage or re fin ing essence UillW and I ranslll llling il into l)J""eath (qi),
Ihe second stage or refi ning breath and lransmuling il into spil"il (slim), and the
Ihird stage or rdi ning spirit and reluming il 10 Ihe primordial mid (:':-1/). The
same stages arc OUI lined in al leasl some manllals of X ingyi Qlmn, W
Before we exami ne 1\\'0 lexls Ilial illtlstral e Ille impact ofg),mnasti cson t.he
late imperial marlial ;\l1.S, a qualirying comment is in order. I have argll t..xlthal
I he foundal ions or tal e imlX! rial bare-handed slyles such as Shaolin Quan , Taiji
Quail, and Xing)'i Quan were laid during I hc Iat C Minga nd the earl y Qing 1"J)' the
inl.cgration or Ming hand combat wit.h an ancient gymnastic tradition that had
largely (,voh'ed wit.hi n a Daoist contcxt .. This is not to sa)" however, that aspects ei -
ther of d(/o)'ill grmnasti cs or or cosmological thought did not figure in some fight-
ing tec hlliC(ucs as carl}' as ancient times. A surveyor classical Chinese warfare
goes lx:)'ond ti le scope or lilis stud}'. FenCing, hO\\'C\'er, merils a brief memion.
Scllolars lta\'c pointed out tllC significancc Ort.lle sword in Daoist rit ual .
As early as the first centurics CE, Daoist priests ascribed magic powers to the
blades the), cmployed as liturgical impleme nts. Considered the inca\'llatio ns
of dragons, swords could (I y, and Lhe}'wcre 1X! lic\'ed 10 IX! effi cacious against
wale r creatures; Cc I-long (282-343) recommcnded the daggel' as a talisman
against dragons, crocodiles, and thc like.
GU
The sword's role in exorcistic rit-
ual s was matched b)' the daboratc ccre monies t hat accompanied its produc-
lion. The forging of a divinc bl ade was conducted according to intricate
rilLlal rules resembling those tha t surrounded the concoction or the elixir.
Precious swords, in add ilion , fi gured in the relations between priest and
rule r. The Shangqing pau-ia rch Sima Che ngzhc n (647-735) preselllcd his
pa1.ron, the Tang emperor Xuanzong, with t hirteen di vine sword s, each e n-
graved Wilh the name ofa different deit y. 51
To this da}" sword dances arc a n integral element or Daoist ri tual. Their
prima'1' goal is exorcistic. Demon-expelli ng swordplay purifies the altar i n the
fundame ntal Daoisl r ile of olTCI"ing UillO). The swol-d dance ro11ows a minll1ciy
prescribed choreography, which COITclates the priest's steps with cosmic pow-
ers. Widding his magic weaJXln, t.he p.-iest pronounces:
156 Fist Figh li ng a nd Self-Cult ivalion
I hold my precious sword , whose name is Dragon Source;
I unsheathe it, it illumines lhe Nine I
Wit h the roar ora ti ger, ilcomes t1 1rt>ugll space;
It mounts on hi gh to the Great Void.
Sun and moon, wind and clouds emerge on eit her side:
Auspicious clouds of energy carr y t lie Ei ght Immonals.
When ordi na l, mort al s see it, calam it ies di s.'J.ppear;
When pen'erse demons hear it, tl leygo down to the Springs.
The ;"iost I I igh gave me t llese secret inSl.rucl.i ons:
Wa lki ng the constellat ion, I circumambul ate ! he a lt ar.
I lea\"enly Worthy Who Responds as Shadow to Ugh!.(/.!
Tllal ! II C sword can subs! it.lIte for t he priest ill Ilis grave is I he clearesl indi-
cat ion of t.hei r int i mate rel at ionship. The seeker of eterna l I ife may feign deal h
by t ransforming his sword int o a re plica of hi s body. \Vhereas Ihe weapon re-
mains entombed , he is liberated to immonali ty. Detailed guide lines for the
pe rformance of the me tamorphosis arc provided by Daoist scripl ll rcs, in which
t he adept addresses his s\I'ord: "wit h you I replace my person so lhal Ill )' bod )'
may be invisible; I am going to hide myself, ),ou \I' ill e nter my l ienee, if
t lIe sta rr was Ille s)' mbol of t Ilc Huddhist priest, tl lc sword was I he e mble m of
hi s Daoisl counterpa rt . (In Japan, hO\\'e\,er, t he sit uation \I'as different , for
sword smanship did flouri sh the re in a Buddhist (Zen) ideological COn1.ext).61
The centrali ty of the sword in Daoist reli gious practice might have con-
Iributed 10 the incorporati on of (/(IO)'i1l g)' mll astics into fenc ing. It is likely
I ha l. as carl )' as I he f'irst cent uri es CE, breathing methods, and possibly even
qi-circulalion lechniC)ues, fi gured in sword trai ning. A h im is provid{:d by a
short stor y thaI is anthologized in nut AIII/ai.s ofWfI mlfJ l /lle ( WII File rhullqi ll)
(ca. second century). Ils protagoni st is a n outstandi ng swordswoman who is
invited by t. he king ofYue to instruc t him in fencing. The swordswoman's ex-
position of t.he art is re plete with the (/aoJi II ,ocabu lary of bre;llh ing, 'Ii, and
spiri t (slum), as well as the cosmological termi Il ology of )'ill and J(lIIg:
Tlte art or swordsmanship is extremel y sub! Ie and el usive; it s principlt.-'S
are most secret and profound. The Dao has it.s gate and door. ilS ),ill and
JUlIg Open the g;.l1e and close the door; ),ill decl ines and ),(mg rises,
Wlt en practici ng the art or face- to-face combat. concentrate your spiril
i nl.er n<l II)' and give ti le impression of rel axation exte rnall y. You should
look like a modl.-'S I woman and strike li ke a ferocious ti ger. As}'ou
assu me va rious poslllres, regulate your qi, mrn' ing always with the spiri t
(shell) . Your skill shOllld be as ob" ioll s as the slin and as startling as a
boili ng hare, Your opponent endeavors to pursue }ulIr ror m and chase
your shadow, yel rou r image hovers between ex iste nce and nonexis-
tence. The breath moves in and OUl and should ne,'er be held. Whether
you close with I.he opponelll verti call y or horizontall y, with or ag--dinst
Gymnastics
the flow, never atlack fromall)" :\'laster ), of Lhi s art allows one to match a
hundred, and a hundred LO match a Lhousand. If r our I lighness would
like to test it. I can demons trat e for
1:,)7
The story of lhe Vue swordswoman suggests liial fencers espoused breathing tedl-
niques. It. mighl indicale, funhennore, lhal s\\'On:l training was considered by
some a melilod of spidlual CUlli\alion.juslas lile concepL'I of Jin and )'fmgcould
facilitate the swdy of swordplay, lhe praclice of fencing could illuminate cosmo-
logical principles. It. is inslHlCli \'e, lherefore, Ihal medie\'al fiction associated
swordsmanship Wilh lhe Daoist immol'lalil }' techniques, The Tang Slory "The
Old Man of L..'lnli ng" laoren") ccle!:H:ales a s\\'01'(1 maSler whose demon-
St mtion of t he al'l is preceded b}' a penetrating discourse of "nourishing life"
(),(lIIgsheng). The swordsman-the nalT<uor hints Ihal he is a Daoisl priesl-
performs a s\\'ord dance wit II scvcn blades \\'hich Il e dTol,tlessl}, throws and calciles
in mid-air. I-Ie concludes tile demonstration by tll!'('l\\' ing the S\\'ol'ds down , plant-
ing I hem in I he ground in t he position of the seven stars ofl he big
Wilen we lUi'll our attention from fe ncing to bare-I landed fighting, 0111' in-
vestigation is hampered b)' t he deanh of evidence. V,tarring States and Ilan liler-
at urc allude, for exam pic, to an unann(!d tcchniqllc called shollbo (lit erally: hand
combat) , which is regarded b}' some scholars as the prcdecessorof qllfll/ fighling.
Shollvo evolved pal1 iall)' in ti le contcxt of a dari ng spon of empt ),-handed wres-
tling wit II wild animals. At Illcl(!s vied bare-lu\Ilded \\' ilh tigers and lX!ars, whose
t.eeth and claws we re said t.o have been removcd prior 10 the contest. B)' 1he first
Ce nll1l)' CE, slwllbo \\'as likel}' highly de\'clop(!d , for it figured as the of
wlmtlllust Ila\'e been an clalXll'ate book. Inllis IlisIO,)' o/lhe IFonner/l l a /I ( Ilansllll),
Ban Cou (32-92) Illentions a work tilled ShOllbo, ill 110 less than si x chapters.("
Unfortunatel y, the Shollbo book li sted b)' Ban Co u is no longe r extant , and
in its absence the avai lable information on t he a rt is mcagel indeed. To the
best. of Ill)' knowledge, the exisling l'"Cfercnccs to the empty-handed sl.yle do not
associate it with lIflO)'in g)' mnaslics. I-Iowc\'c r, had we posscss(."(1 the now-lost
manual t ile piclUre mighl Ila\c been different. Wc 1J:1\'c seen that recentl), d is-
covered I-Ian manuscripts ha\e shed inva luable I ight on ancient gymnastics. It
is nOt. impossible thal flllUI'"C archaeological or tcxlUal research will likewise
unravel new infonnalion on lland combat. We maystililearn that the conncc-
tion bel wee n bare-handed figilling a nd lhcrapclllic and religious gymnasti cs
extended funher back in l ime lhan we arc currcnuy a ble to establish.
The Illustrat ed Exposition of Illterllal Techlliques
Ef}uipped wilh infnnnalion on {lao)'in gymnaslics, we may return to Wang
Zu)'uan's IIllLstmted Exposilioll o/Internal Techniques (1882), which demonsu-aLes
lhe lradilion's innuence on lhe Shaolin mania I ans. E'en though Wang was
under lhe impression Utat the Shaolin melhods he studied originated at the
158 Fi st Fighling a nd Self-Cullivalion
monaste r y, they can all be traced to earli er manual s of gymnastics and brealh-
i ng. The vadous train ing routi nes in the IlLuslraled ExI)QsiliOlI-like its immedi-
ate source, Ewmliai Techniques of Gllmding Life--derh'e from dao)'in trealises
that are pennc.lled with a Daoist \"Ocabulary. Following l :"lng I-lao, I will illus-
tratc the dmryin pedigree of Wang's techniqucs by his Brocade"
(Shie r duan jin), wh ich, as suggested by its name, incl udes \wc!w! (:..x(:.rcises .
The opening fixe rc."ld as follows:
( I) SIT DOWN, \ ' OUR n ' ES SIIUT AND YOUR MI ND (M/W;XI.V).
C LENCH \ ' OUR FI STS (troCII)' CONTBI PLATI NG Q u n : TLY
T ilE DIVI NITIES:
GIi
Sit cross-legged, simi t ing YOllr eyes I igl u Iy and d ("aring rour
mind of all t houghl s. When sit t ing Sl ra igl uen your spine: T he
shoulclnot be loose; the bod)' should nOI bend. Clellrldng
jiSIS: By clench ing Ii rml y your fisls you will be abl e 10 close I h("
gate a nd expel I he demons. COIl/PIII/llmill g By Slopping all
Ihoughls YOLI will vis uali ze Ihe divinilies (rims/un).
(2) C LAI' \ ' OUR TEETII (laJllcw) TIIIRTV-SIX T1:' I ES. EMIIRACE
K UN I. UN W ITII 1I0TII IIANI)S: Ci.l
Clap Ihe upper leelh againsl Ih(' lower leel h. making a sound. II
should ring Ihirt y-s ix times. By clappi ng Ihe leel h you will
assemble I he body' s int e rior di vinil ies, pre\'cnl ing I hem from
being dis pe rsed. Kunlu ll is Ihc head . Embrace firml y your napc
wil lt bOllt Ilands, II Ie Icn ringcrs crossed logclilcr. AI OllCC cO\'cr
lighll y you r oUler ears wil h bOI h palms. Counl silenll y ninc nosc
breal hs. Exhale and in hal c gcnll y, wil hoUl cmill ing a sound.
(3) U : n AND RIGIIT. SO UND TilE I I EAVENI.\" DRUM (Til E O CCIPUT )
,\U!) l nI.Y TIMES:
Remember lu counl n inc in halal ions and nine cxhalal ions from
Ill e nuse. Tl wse compleled . rel ease your crossed hands, and with
bUil t pa llll s cover your cars. Fold r ou I' i ndcx finger on your
middle fi nger and press il ti ghll y. Wilh rour index finger tap
repealedl y t he back of the It should sound lilt! a drum.
Repeal!.his in this same fashion with bOlh hands, tappingon the
left and on ti le ri glll Iwenl y-four timcseach for a tOlal offort)"-
eigh!. vibrations. Again, rel ease your hands and clench your fists.
(4) LIGIITLY SIIAKE". TilE I I EAVENL\' P II.LAR:
TIle I leavenl), Pillar is l ile nape. Lower your Ilead and turn your
neck. Look sideways on your shoulder. Then, Oil left and righl
shake Iwenl y-fou I' times cadI .
(5) LET TilE RED DR AGON ( TilE TONGUE) STIR Til E SALIVA. G ARGLE
TWENTY-SI X T I MES. \VIIEN TIIE D IVINE \ VATER ( Tlt E SA LIVA)
Gymnastics
FILLS T i lE MOUTII , DIVIDE EACII :\ IOUTIIFUL INTO TIIREE, AND
SWA LLOW. \VIIEN TilE DRAGON ( TilE SALIVA) MOVES, Til E TIGER
(T ilE Q/ ) NATURALLY FLEES :
The Rt:d Dragon is I.he longue. Press your palate with your lOngue.
Then sljryoLir enti re mouth-up, down, and on both sid(."S-
producing the saliva naturall y. Gargle allhe mouth lliiny-six
times. The Di\<ine Water is the saliva. Di \'ide il inlO Ihreeand
swallow, making a gurgling sound. Quiel rour mind and shul your
eyes. Gui rit: the S\"' (l.lIowed saliWI directly 10 the -Lower Cinnabar
Fielrr' below the na\"C1. The dmgon is I he sali\"lL The Tigr' r is I he
qi. \ " hen the saliva goes down, Il le qi nalurall y follows.7C1
The shavcn palcs and monastic: robcs in Ihc dra\\'inf,'S Ihat accompany Wang's
Ircalise (figurc 32) suggcsI a nuddhisl affi li ation. Nc\'enhcJess, even a cursory
reading rcvcals Ihc cxcrciscs' ol-igins in a DaoiSI-relaled b')' llll1ast ic tradition.
Staple dflQ)'illl'Olil incs arc all includcd in thc -l kche-Scclion Brocade:' Clappi ng
Fa.:. ~ p . Thc fi rsl
exercise of I he
TwelvcSecl io n
Ilrocadc in Wang
ZUyllan's 1882
//IlUlrated Expusition.
T he wra pped
I hllmbs-imilaling a
newborn baby-
betray the cxerci ses
Daoisl anccsl r y.
lfiO Fist Figh ling a nd Self-Cullivalion
the teeth and swallowing the sali"a, bn:athing and directing the qi 10 the" Lowcr
Cinnabar Field." Furthennore, the manual Wang had obk.ined at the Shaolin
Temple expounds Daoist meditation techniques: the mind" (mingxi n)
method of deal; ng the mind of all thoughts; thc techniquc of clcnching the
fists, lhat is, unwrapping the thumbs in imitation ofa ncwborn haby (t hcreby
expel ling the demons); and, most not.iceabl y, tile meditat ion of"acwalizing tile
di vi n itks" (clIlIshen) , namel y, ,; suali zing lhc body's corporal deities.
It is not surprisi ng therefore that the "Twelve-Section Brocadc" can be
t raced hack t.o earlier daoyin manuals. "The method 's original name," the text
not es, '\,'as ' Eight-Sect.ion Brocade' (Baduan ji n)."71 The laller is familiar to LI S in
Daoisl literature dat.ing alltlte loJay back to the Song period. A twelfth-century
encyclopedia of in ncr alchemy, The Pivol if/ht IVa)' (Dao shu) (ca. 1150), o ulli nes
an cad y version of t.he exercise.72 That the technique was already ridicult.xl in
Song limes is likely lhe best indication of its popul ari ty. I-long Mai's ( 1123-
1202) coll ection of lX) pular lore Slol'its I-Ie(ll"(/ b)' )'ijiflll ( )'iji(1II =1Ii) tells of an
adept I\'ho leams to his dismay t.hat the Brocade" may lead to
premature death. The troubling nel\'s is brought 10 him by his servant , who
lurnsout to be a Daoi sl sage in d isguise."
Despite I long Mai 's lwei ft.h-celll IIry warning, in bo t h China and in the West
t he "Eight-Sect ion Brocade" is st.i II widely pracliced. The gymnastic set exists in
sc, 'eral va rielies, standing and sitting.;1 The scaled ve rsion thaI Wang Zuyuan
dcscribed in his n inelccmh-ccnt lit) ' manual can IX! I .. lced back through a n COl 1'-
li er Qing manual , IlIIlIIorlalily 7eachings /0 Bnlefil/lte (Sho//. shi ("/111(111 =hen)
(1771), and twO lal.e M ing ones, Eiglll Trealises 0/1 G IUIf(/illg Lift' (ZulIshmg baji(lII)
( 1592) and Hed Phoenix's Marrow (O'ifong sui) ( 1578), all the way to a I wclfth-cen-
I.ury Daoi st encyclopedia, Ten Compi/alions 011 Clilliva/ing Perfeclion (Xillzliell shi-
shu) (completcd ca. 13(0), in which the excn:ises arc accompanied by d
The Song enC)dolX! dia attributed the kEi ght-St..'Cti on Brocade" to Ihe scmidi-
I' ine pair ofimmorlals Zhongli Quail and Lli Dongbin, whom Daois!. mylhology
had credited willi an enli re corpus of alchemical and pl l)'Siological writings.
il1
Thus, Wang Zuyuan's manual illustrates t he depth of Daoist influcnce
on the late imper ial martia l arts. By the nineteenth century, Buddhi st monks
atLhe Shaolin Temple were practicing gymnastic methods that had becn re-
corded in Daoist scriptures, that had cmhed in Daoist circles, and that had
been attributed to DaoiSl immortals.
The Sinews Transfonllation Classic
One section of t he IIhu/mll!t/ E)''/JOsilioll oj IlIlenlll/ Tedllliques is titlcd "The Sinews
Transfomullion C/a.ssic's Twd\l: IIIlIstrations."77 It incl udcs twelvc excrciscs that
are conducted in a standing posture. The first form, wh ich is call cd ''-WciI.UO
Offeri ng his [Vajra j-Cl ub" (Weillio xian clm), has been fash ioncd aftcr the d e-
it)" s iconography (compare figures 33 and 34). Wcituo has becn among the
Gymnasti cs
FIG. 33. Sh:1oli n SI:1 II1('" or
\ \'ei ' 110 (Skan<la).
161
most popular llItcla ry di vinities of Chinese Buddhism, Originall y a Hi ndu
wa lTior-Weituo is a mistra nscripti on of tile SanskritSkanda-he has been in-
corporated into t he Buddhist pantheon as tile gua rdian of monaslel' ies, whe re
his image is usual I)' stationed opposite the Buddha Sa kya mull i 's, Facing his su-
peri or, Weillio presses his palms rc\'erellll y, hi s cl ub lying hori zontally aCl'Oss
hi s el bows, just as in the exercise that bears his na me,18
Despite thei r unde niable connecti on to Buddll ist myt hology, Weiwo 's ex-
e rcises a rc al so related to Daoist gymnasti cs, The twcl\'(. .... form romi ne features
the com mon t/flO)'i n aspects of brcathing, swallowing t he saliva, circulating the
qi, and gat hering the body's intel'llal spi rits, Indeed, I ike t ile entire text of the I I ~
/uslmled Ex/XJSilioll , the l w c l n ~ exercises d id not origi nate at the Shaolin Te mple,
As betrayed by t heir li tle, they dCI' i\'ed from t ile late M ing manual Sinews Tmns-
Jorllla/ion Cla.ssic. The la ue r sUr\' i\'es in CJui te a few editions (manuscript a nd
lfi2
FIG. 3<\. -Wcillto
offering hi s [demon-
felling[ dub
M
; Dao-
guang (lB21- 1850)
ed ilion of the Sim'lIIJ
1hllls!onrwliol/ Classic.
W
I

Fist Fighling and Self-Cult ivalion
"
TE-
- 1'1;:- ."' !- "- __ .... _____ ""
primed alike) , which allcsl to its popularity in Qi ng times (see appendi x).
Weiluo's exercises were bon"Owed from a n early nineteenth-century edi tion,
for Lhey did nOt fi gure in earli e r ones?)
T he or igi nal ,"e rsio n o f the Sinews Trans/ormarion Clllssir was likely au-
t hored in t he earl yse,"ellleenth cemury. As Ta ng I-lao has suggested , the key
to its dati ng is provided by a postsCl"ipt dated 1624 that accompanies some
ed itions a nd is signed by the PUI-plc Coagul ation t.,lan of the Way (Zi n ing
daore n), Zonghe ng, fro m ML Tia mai, in Zhejiang.
80
Nothing is known of
Zonghe ng, a nd all wc can infc r a boUl h im is his self-perception as evinced by
h is sobl; fJ uc l. Th is is ma rked by a talllalizing a mbigu ity that is perha ps in-
ten tional just as it is t)' pical of Ming religious syncrelism_ The term of
t he Way" (daoren) was lIsua ll y applied to Daoist priests, bm it could also des-
ignate a Buddhist monk, and ML Tialllai held a n efJ uall y e minelll position in
Gymnastics 163
the sacred geographies of both faith s. It \\'as the she of dozens of Daoist and
Buddhi slshd nes, the most famOll s of\\'llich \,'ere the Daoist Tongbai Temple
and the Buddhist Cuotling Monaste l"y.81
This ambiguity not\Vithstanding, "Purple Coagul ation" does have a dear
Daoisl ring. Purple is thc color par excellence of Daoist mythology. It is the
elixir's hue, and by implication thc colol" of e\'crYlhing from dcities and di-
vine l:h"llaces (many of which arc locatcd within the body) \0 sacred scrip-
tures. Coagulation (ning) is a stagc in thc alchem ical product ion of t he elixi r.
and it al so dcsignatcs thc mcditativc tcchnitlues of concocting tll(!
elixir."St I"kncc, thc "Plll-pic Coagulation Man of the \Vay" could be rendered
as tile" Purplc EI ixi r Daoist ." 'I'l l is rei igioll s pc n namc is certain Iy j ust ified by
the manual ' s tcachings. The Sillt'Tvs Trwls!or",alio" Class;c is premised upon
thc Daoist notion of an int,crnal bodil y transfonna tion. Its go.:"ll is "internal
mbustness" (neizll/uU/g) that \Vi II mak(; the body rcsilie nt to iqjuI' y, that will
eliminatc all illncss, and that will ultimatel y lead to immonalit y:
TIl(' ("ont rast bet wccn intf'l"nal and eXlernal is t IIlIl bet ween robust ness
ami f'uff'cblemcllt. 'I'll' d iITercnce bel wec n robustness and enf("('ble-
mellt is t hat robustness lasl s. Comparing I h(" int e rnal and t he external.
the ('xternal mi ght be dispensed with.
I nternal robust ness is called Ii nn ness Uifln): external robust ness is
called valor ()'ollg). Finn, and simuhalleously \'a liant, is tnil y \, tlianl.
Valiant , and simuhancously finn, is trul ), firm. Finnlless and \";1101', valor
and fi rmness-by tla.'S(' an impe ri shable body of te n thousand cons is
obtained. It is the d iamond Villgflllg: Sanskrit : 1H1jm) bod)'.
An)' pract ice of i nl ernal robust ness invol\'es t h rce principles: The
fir st is called the (shollz,llOlIg). -Guarding the
is not Iling but tile accunlulat ion of qi. Ti le qi is accumulat ed by the eyes,
ca rs, nose, tonguc, body, and mind ()' I). The method's subtlet y is
apparent in the following massa ging technique: During the massage
OIlC should loosen his g<lnnenls and lie facing upward. l ie should place
hi s palms bet ween his chest and his abdomen. This is t he so-called
-ccntel'.- The ccnter is the on Iy place where the qi is stored. It must be
guardcd ...
The second principlc is called ing other At the
center of thc bod}', the essence (jing), spirit (slum), \'ital encrgy (qi ), a 11d
blood are incapable of controll ing themsel ves. Rat her, t hl.'"}, f till )' adhere
to the mind ()'I): When the mind moves, they mO\"C; whcn the mind
rests, they rest. When practicing "Guarding the the mind
should follow the palms downward Lto the abdomenJ. This is the
appropriate form ...
The t hird principle is called - Keeping it M ; L .. saging and
storing it, the qi accumulates. \\' hen the qi accumu];lles, Liw t!Ssence
(ji llg) , spirit (slum), and blood vessels all follow it. Guarding the qi, it
lfi4 Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cult ivalion
does nOt escape. it , it lasts. \ Vhen the qi is stored at the <:enwr
it does nOL spill to the sides. When the qi accumulates, strength (Ii)
nat urally accumulates: when lhe qi is replete, st rcngt h naturall y fills the
entire body. This is what called: -LThe qil is in the highest
degree, vast and unyielding, filling the space be tween 11(!lt\-e n and
Earl h. It is my nood-li ke qi .-
8
'
Despitc some Buddhi sl and e\'e n Conruci a n all usions (Ihe rormer's u(ljm; Ihe
laue r's "nood-like qi-), the lexl's Daoist ol-ie nt ation is unmi slakahle,
i ng thc Cente r" (SIIOIt1.hol1g) is a Daoi st me thod or concelll ral ive medilat ion / I
whi ch is accompanied he re by tlt e common (lflO)'illlt!c hniques or qi circula-
lion and massagi ng. Furthermore, t.he rOI-ging or robustness" in-
volves irradiation by the hea\'e nl )' bod ies, as Ihe Sillt'ws Tmnsjmll(lfioll CI(lssi r
resort.s 10 t lIe medi eval Daoist me tll ods or e ne rgy ahsOl' plion:
The sun's essence, the mOOll 'S spirit-these twO cosmic energies (ql) mix
togPt Il('r, givi ng bin II to t he myri ad things, Among the anciel11 s, I
who excelled ill absorbing these e nergies had all, afler le ngthy praclice,
attai ned immortalit)" Tl lf' tllf'IIIOd is secret, and most people do nOI
know it. E'PIl irt he), do know it , lacking finn will and constant mind,
the), are wasli ng in vain Ihei r time, Thererore, those who ha\'e maslered
il a re few.
A II I hose who engage in illl ernal I rai ni ng_ rrom I he carl )' stages of
Ira i n ing u nt i I they masler I he lech niqlle-indeed I hrollgholll their line'S
(a nd whet her bus)' or not )-rerrain rrom invohc mc llt in worldly
trlat I.ers. I r one does not tempo rari I}' sll spcnd Ili s absorptiOlI pracI icc,
t.hen it should not be difficult ror him 10 obtain Ihe immortals' way_
Those who pracI icc absorpt ion, inhalc thc essc nce of Jill and )"rmg
10 increase tlleir spiritua l consciousness (she1l1.hi)_ TIlliS slagn,ulI
substances a re graduall y eliminat ed _ and pu re ones increase dail y_ The
rlI)Tiad di seases arc prevented, and great benefit accrues,
Tlti s is til e absorption rneli lod: Ti le sun's essence should be inhaled
at. t.he first orl.lte IUllar monlh , when the moon is in ilscarliest, and il s qi
Itas been renewed. II. is possible tl len lO inl lale ti le sun's L"Sscncc_ The
moon's spi ril. sll ou ld be in llaled al tl lc fi rtccllI II or tll c lunar mont It,
when the metal and water eleme nts arc allheir rull cst. and the moon's
qi at. its most prospe rous. II is poss iblc thcll to inhalc the mooH s
Within a celllury or its compilation, the Sinews TmllSfonllDfioll Cll/ssic's method
of rorging an invulncrable body was a lready widely practiced, as auesled by
bOlh martial ans lileralUre and popul ar fi ction_ Chang Naizhou (fL 1740) al-
luded 10 the late Ming manual in his own military writings. as did WlI Ji ngzi
(1701-1754) in his nO\'eI Unofficial l-/;sfOI)' of fhe Scholars_ It is noteworthy that
both authors apparently assumed their readers' ramiliarity with the teachings
Gymnastics 165
of the "Purple Coagulation Man of the Way.K Cha ng Naizhou compared his
own external method to the Sinews Tams/ormalioll Gassic's internal technique.
and WuJingzi attributed the stre ngth of his kni ght errant p!"Otagonist Feng
Mingqi to his rel iance on il.l!6 It is perhaps noteh'orthy that the laller has
modeled after the hist,ol"ical martial artist Gan Fe ngchi (fl. 1730) with whom
the novelis t, might ha\'e been pe rsonally familiar ( both were natives) .
11, has been pointed OUlthat Wu tc ndcd to lea\'c cl ues-in this instance the
character " feng"-I.o hi s protagon ists' ide ntit y. S1
The Sinew, ., Trans/OIl/Wlio1l Gassir is the earliest extant manual that assigns
daO)'i1l gymnastics a mal1 ial rol e. Its I ikel}' autllor, t.hc Coagulat ion Man
of tile Way," was the firSI. 1,0 expl icitl}' associatc mil ita I)', tIICI"apcUl ic. and rcl igious
goals in one training rout.ine. As sudl, t.ll e manuailioids an ilnponant position
in the histol), of Chinese hand combal . From the perspect i\e ofShaolin fighting,
hO\\'c\'er, the Sinews 'nrl1ls/ormation GflSSir bears another significance, Evc n
though it had been authored outside the monaster)', the manual formulated a
legend that \\'as eve ntuall y adopt cd by the Shaolin monks the mselves, namel),
t Ilat tlICi r rnal1 ial MIS were created by tile Bllddllist sai nt Bodhidharma.
The Bodhidharma Legend
It has been poinl ed OUI that forge r)' played a signiflcalll role in the sinici z<l-
tion of Buddllism. Ikgi nn ing in t.he carl}' medieval period , Chinese autho rs
did not shy from auribuling their Buddhist wrili ngs 10 historical or fictional
Indian monks, who supposedly pe nned them in Sanskrit. Presemed as if
I he)' had been translated from lhe Budd ha' s native lo ngue, a pocryphal scrip
tures contribut.ed to lhe e me rgence of"n indig(!nous Chinese l3uddhism,lIII
That t.he c reator of lhe Sinews Transformafion Classic ascribed hi s manual to
an Indian author (and translator) is the refore not unp,eccdcllled. What is
novel perhaps is the bo ldness or his fabri cation. No less than a tho usand
years se pal"ate the "Plil-ple Coagulalion Ma n of the Wayn f!"Om the person to
whom he attributed hi s writings: Bod hi d harma (fl . 500).
The claim that the Indian saint had authored the Sinews Transformation
CltlSsic is made in an elaboratel y forgl.'d preface, which is sign(:d by the ,e
nowned ge ne ral LiJing (571-649), who had led the Ta ng army to numerous
viClori es in Chi na and celllral Asia. The gene ral explains t hat the manual has
been handed down to him from Bodhidha nna through a chain of Buddhist
sai nts and martial heroes, and that his own military achie\ements have been
due to his reliance on it. The preface sen 'CS therefore toenhancc the manual 's
pres tige. The Sinews Transformation Classic was the source ofa famous general's
. .
strategIc gelllllS:
During t.he Northern Wei Emperor Xiaomingdi 's Taihe reign period
Great Bodhidharma traveled from the Kingdom
166 Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cult ivalion
of Liang lin somh China] to the Kingdom onVei l in the northl_ lie
faced the wall lin meditationl at the Shaolin \10naster y_ One day he
addresM!d his disciples saying: Why would nOt each of r oute II us what he
knows so t hat we can evalua te II is level of sel f-cul tivation. The monks
then proceeded to expound each what he had attailU_,,(1. The master
decl ared: "So and so will receive my skin; SO and so will recei"e my fl esh;
SO and so will receive my bom!s.- Only to I luikc he said: "You will
my ma ITOW (SIlI).- People of lat er gene rations arbit raril y explained this
a metaphor for the di sc iples' depth of spiritual atlainment. Th(!}'
fai led to reali z(! t hat he meant what he said. The master's words were no
metaphor,
Afte r his nine years ofmcditation were compl cted , the master
poi nt ed the way to Ni r vana, I lis remains were e nshrined on Mt. Xiong(r
l in Western Il cnanl, Tl len carl")'ingone slloe lIe returned to th(' west.
Lat t: r, the brick wall he faced in meditation was damaged by wind and
rain , When the Shaoli n monks repaired it , tlley di scO\'ered insidea
metal case, , , , Il idden inside it were tWO scroll s, one titled Marrow
Clm IlSillg Clrusic (Xisll i jillg), the Ot he r titl ed Sillnvs Trfmsjol"l)wlifm
Classic. , , ,
The Marrow CIUI IISi lig Classic was llanded o,'e r to I I uike and along
wit h hi s cassock ami bowl became part ofa secret transmission. In lat er
gene rations it was rarel y Sf' e n, Only the Sillnvs "f Irms/orilla/ion Classic
remained as the cornerstone of t he Shaoli n Monastery, treasuring
forever t he master's vi rtue, Ilowe" e.-. because it was writt en ent ircl y in
the language of India, Shaolin monks could not full )' understand it.
Occasionall y one o r a nOt lle r would unde rst and some twe tll ), or t hirt )'
percent of it, or even fort )' or Ii ft )' pe rcent . Ilo\\'e\'er the secrets the),
Uti raveled were not ora 11 )' trans mitt ed to fut lire generat ions. Thus, each
Sll aoli n mon k int e rpreted and pe rfonned ti lC classic as he plcased.
[vcntually, the Shaol in mon ks St rayed into side pat hs, ilnd san k into
trivial itics. Tllerefore, ti le), failed to ent er ti le tr ue Dl tarma Gate of
Buddhisill. To this day, if the Shaoli n mon ks excel in mart ial competi -
tions onl )' til is is because of tllei .. limit ed undcrst.andi ng of I he Sinelvs
Tra/lSjol'lllfl/ io" Classic.
Tllere was among thc Silaolin crowd a monk of unsurpassed
wi sdom wllo l'e Oec ted tllal if ti lC Grcat Bodl lidlla r ma had lefl a
sacred !\Criptu re it could no1. possibl y contain I r iflc tl."Citniques only.
Since the Sltaolin monks could not read it , a translator had to be found.
Therefore, he held the Si"ews Tm us/oll/mlio" Classic to his bosom and
traveled fa r 1.0 all the famous mountains. Qne day he arri\"( .. "(1 at the land
of Shu [Sichuanl and climbed [ mei, whe re he enCountered the
Indian holy monk Pramiti .
oo
The [Shaoli nJ monk lold Pramiti of the
Sinews Tmlls/omlfllio/l Classic and explained the purpose of his "isit,
whereupon the Indian hol y monk said: - Indeed the Buddhist patriarch's
Gymnastics
mind transmission is contained in this scripture. I lowL"\'er, the scrip-
lure's wordi ng can not be accu ralely translat ed ror the or the
Budd ha is esoteric. By COlllrast, the sc ript ure 's meani ng can ren-
dered. It is illlelligible to t he common person, leading to saint hood.
Thereupon. Pramiti explained point b), poi nt tile Sinews Tnmsjonllaliol!
Classic, and minutely rendered il.s meaning.
Pra mil i COIl\,inced I he Sllaol in monk 10 sla)' on I he monnlai n.
where he guided him in selr-cultivalion. Arl er a hundred dars
mon k's body coagu laled illlo hardness (ninggu ). Arler anOI her hundred
dars il was replel.e lwilh SlrenglhI. Arter anOlher hundred dars il rull ),
extended. l ie had ohtained wi tat is known as Il le -SI urdincss orl he
Oiamond (lmj ra):' l ie had entered unobSlrucled Ihe realm or B\lddhisl
wisdom. Indeed t lie Tmnsjo/71wlioll Classic prO\' ided him wi l h a
ro undation.
The [Shaolin I mon k was resolved 10 sink no more i 1110 worldl y
affai rs. Therefore he rollO\\'ed t he [ Indian] hol y monk on a
10 I Ill' sac red isla nds.
91
Nobody knows wllere lI e di sappeared 10. XII
I iongke mel him across Ihe seas, and receh'ed his secrel doclrine, l ie
ha nded il over 10 I he Bushr-Iwardf' d I lero, and I hf' Uushr-Uearded
I lero handed il O\'er 10
Wilen I PUI Ille Sillews 7i"fll/sj0/71Wlioll Classic inlo pra('t icc, I ob-
lained marvelous res ull s. Ol1iy Ihen did I reali ze thaI it.s words were
:tuli lenlic a nd nOI empl )'. II is a pil)' li lal I did nOI obtaill tile secret.s of
I he Marrow Cleansillg Classic. 01 he rwi se I would han! bccn able to roam
Ihe Buddha realm. It is likewise regrett able Ihal I was Jacking in resohe.
and so, unlike Ihe [Shaolinl monk. I remai ned mi red in worldl y mailers.
I have merely relied on lhe Six-Flowers lrifle lechnique to make:! name
for myself." I wi ll be as hamed of I hi s.
Neve ... Ileiess, si nce Ille world is liard I)' fami lia r wit II 111is classic's
wonderful leacil ings. I respec tf ull}' submil III i.s pre face, explailling its
derival ion rrom bebrln n ing 10 e nd. I Ilope Il ial Il le readers would strive
afler Buddhahood. I wish Ihey would nOllimil the mselvcs 10 the
CUI1\'CIlI.iona I pu ["s uits of I.l Ie 11U man world. If Il lCY all attain
Iloud t.llen Iller would accomplisll Il lc purpose for wll icll the Emi nent
M :tsl.er Budllid II" I"I1m handed down til is classic. I r tI lL'}' Ilold thaI martial
Il eroislll suffices 1.0 make onc ramous, II iSlory f urn ishes man)' examples
or such he[" ol.. "'S . Is Ilotl.his a good enough reason to keep thi s classic?
Third da), uflhe third Spring month, Second year or the Tang Zlum-
guan reign (628) . Preface compiled by LiJing, Yaoshi.
91
167
Qing bibliographe rs we re quick 10 nOle the numerous errors and anachro-
ni sms that pro\'oo the preface was spuriolls. For example, the Taihe reign
period was assigned to the wrong emperor, a nd the Indian translator Pramiti
lfiS Fi st Fighling and Self-Cult ivalion
(n. 705) was not yel bom at the time he supposedly renden_ xllhe manual into
Chinese. Most conspicuously, the creator of the Sillews Tmllsjonllalioll Classic
treated a fi ctional protagonist of a famOll S Tang story as i fhe had really existed.
The Bushy-Bearded Hero (Qiuran ke) \\'as not a historical figure, and there is
no way he could have handed the manual to LiJing. Evidently, the "Purple Co-
agulation Man of the Way" did not get his hislOI), ri ght. The Qing scholar Ling
Tingka n (1757-1809) dismissed him as an "" ignorant village mastt!c"95
Even though l.he compiler of the Sinews TmnsjOnllafioll Oassice\'ide ntlywas
not \'ery learned, he did a ttempt some allusions to Buddhist hagiography. The
lege nd of Bodhidharma's return to the \-\'est is melltioned, as is his farewell
confe re nce in which he metaphol' icall y bestO\\'ed his marrow (5 11/) on his cho-
sen di sc iple J-Iuike. II is possible t.llat til e latter Il ad attracted the autllor's at I.eo-
I ion becallse Ille I.erlll "marro,\'" Ilad figured in the Oaoist di s(."Ourse of internal
bodily Iransformat.ion. An influenlial sixteenth-century manual of inne r al -
che my \\'as I il.lcd, for example, the Refl Phoenix's Marrow (Chijf'llg SII/). Be that as
il may, t he "Purple Coagulat ion Man of the \Va( had Bodhidhanna bestow on
h is successor- along wi l It t.he Si1lfTUS Trfl1lsjormaf ioll Classic-a Murrow QUIII S-
ing CklSsir (Xisllijing). A text bearing that title (a nd prefaced by lIuike) was
added to some edit ions of tIle Sinews Ttansjormalioll ClflSSic by tIle nine l.( . .'c n th
centur("1 Jt likel y contribut ed to the prevalence of the Ie I'm in thc
t\\'ent.ietll-century discourse of pllysical educat ion a nd national rej uvcna1ion.
Republican reformers sought to rcvitali 7'(; the nat ion's by a combina-
t.ion of t.raditional martjal arts and \'''estern spons.
97
I n case Li Ji ng's authority would 1101 suffice, thc HPurplc Coagulation Ma n
of the: Way" manipulat cd another national he m 10 enhance his book's prcs-
tige. It turns oul that the great Song geller,,1i Vue Fei ( 1103-1142) had b{:cn ini -
tiat.cd into t he mystcries or the Sinews Tra llsjorlllfl/ion Of/ssic. Th is is rCVCl! led in
a second preface, which spurrcd a w;we of all usions to the patriotic hero in
laler military literaturc, ny the e ighteenth century, Vue Fe i had been Cl"ediKxl
with the ilwcnt.ion of Xingyi Quan, a nd by the nine tecnth cClllury the "Eight,
Scction Hrocadc" and wcapon tCdl niCJues wcre attri buted to him as wcll.
u8
Thc
Sinews Trallsforlll a/ion preface is sigm .. -d by Vue Fei 's historical I ieUle nam, Ge n-
eral Niu Gao (1087-1 147):
I am a military man. I cannOI read as much as a singlc writtcn character.
I like handli ng t. he long spe ar and the broadsword. ManeU\"Cring on
Il orseback a nd drawing Ille bow make me Ilapp)"-
When the Central Plains we re 10s1 lto theJurchensJ, emperors
Ilui zong ( I'. 1101-1125) and Qinzong ( r. 11 26) were taken capti\'e to the
nort h. Prince Kang crossed the ri vc r Lto the somhJ on a clay horse, and
lhere were various disaslers i n Jiangnan. I rcspond(."(i to the call of my
comllla nder, I.he junior guard ian , Field Vue Fei , and I was
dl.'Signaled his second in command. I scored se,'eral viclOri(!s, following
which J was appointed general-in-cl lief.
Gymnasti cs
I reCalllha[ several years ago. aning on the junior guardian's
command, I went on the ofTensive, and lhen back to [
On my return route I suddenl y nOLiced a monk. I lis appear-
a nee was o[ her worldly, of [he same [ype as [he arhal.s (hwlul1I). I n his
hands he held a le[ter. The monk elllered [he camp, and entrusted me
with delivering i[ [0 [hejunior guardian. I inquired for his
reason, he relor[ed: MCeneral ! Do you know [11ll[ [lie junior guardian
possesses divine st rength (.{liellli)?- I rcplied that I did nOt , nU[ added
[ha[ I did see my commander [lie j unior guardian drawing a hundred
stones bow, which is somc[ hing an ordinary pe rson cannOI do.
The monk said: - Do rOll [h ink [Im[ [lie j unior guardian's di\' ine
s[rengl h was bestowed upon him by hcan: nr 1 answered Ihal il musl be
so, wllf"reupon he re[or[ cd : -No, 1 ga\"C i[ [0 him! In his youlh Ihe junior
guardia n Slild ied wit h me, Once Ile Ilad all ai ned eXI raord inary pow(' rs,
I exhorted him lojoin me in following Ihe Way. l ie was nOI
howP\'er, and S[ ro\'e instead for acll ic\'cmcnl.s in lile 1m man world. [\'en
I hough he will become fa mOll S, il will be hard for him to realize his
broals, Thi s is he;wen's will. This is falc. NOlhi ngcan be done aboul il!
Today, Ille general is in dange r, I lronble roulo deliver him Ihis
lellPr, Pe rhaps il wi II prom pI sci f-cxami nal ion, I hercby pl"{:'\'enl ing hi m
harm,
I learing Ihe monk's words, I complc lel y laken aback. 1 asked
for his name, bUI he did nOI answer. I inquired where he was J:,'Uing 10,
and he said: - 10 Ihe Wesl , 10 look for Masler Bodhidlmrma.- I was awed
b)' lhe monk's divine aura, and 1 did 1101 presume 10 urge him 10 slay,
Suddenl y, he vanished like Ihe wind.
ThejLlnior b'1Jard ian l"Cce ivcd Ihe leiter. I Ie had nOI fini shed
reading il whcn he broke i nto leal's. - My Masle r is a didne monk,M he
said to mc, MlftlC docs nOI wail for me, il means Il lal myelld is Ilear,M
Tl len lI e look a voluille from inside Ili s gown. and llanded il 10 me,
exhorting mc wil h the following words: -Treasure this book. Choose it
worth), di sciplc and transmit it to him, Do n011e1 the Dharma Caleof
[ntcring t.il e Way be dosed. I f til e book's IranSlll iss ion ceases, thi s wi II
a mOll nl 10 a betray;! I of the di vine mon k,-
Before severa I montlls Ilad passed, til e j unior guardian fell prcyas
predi cted 1.0 thc (.'vil prime mini ster's tnunpe d-lip charges. I am grie\"Cd
thallhe irtillslice done to the j unior guardian has 1101 bt.."Cll rt.."{ircsst..>!1.
Nowadays, fame means no more than dirt 10 mc. Thcreforc I no longer
wish 1.0 I ive in the IIll man world. I d lc ri sll til e junior guardian's com-
mand, and J do not wish to carelessly betray it. I lowc\'(:! r, I rcgrcl thatas
a mililary man I lack pe rception, I do nOI know who in this world is
capable of becoming a Buddha. and could therefore be emruswd with
lhis volumc. Since it is hard to idcmifr such a person, there would be no
benefit in r;:lIldom transmi ssion. Today I will hide this volume inside a
169
170 f ist Figh li ng a nd SelfCullivalion
brick wall on :\'h. Song Lwhere the Shaoli n \ 1onaSICI)' is locdled],
allowing a pe rson des tined to reach the Way to find it himself. Thai
person will u sc it to open wide Ihe Dharma Gale o f the " fay.
Thus. hopefu lly, I will be spa red the g uih of random transmission, and I
will be able to face thejunior guardian in heaven.
The IKclfth rear o[lhe Song Shaoxing re ign ( 1142).
Preface compiled by the resol ut e general , Niu Gao I h>jiu of Tangy in .
set'\'ing under [he command of the subduing grand fidd marshal , 1 he
juni or guardian Vue LFciJ,'J9
Ni l! Gao's preface is plagued willi 1 he same .machronisms thaI made sellol-
aI's r idicule LiJing's. The general coul d not have been familia .. wi\h the post-
humous temple name Qinzong, which \\'as bestO\\'ed II pon Emperor Zhao
1-) uan in 1161 , some I \\'e nl y yea rs a n er il \\'as supposcdly wrilleo.
loo
Some errors
a rc due 10 the author's rel iance on popular lore. )-lis portrayal ofNil.l Gao as il-
l it.e mt e-an impossibi lily j n t he case of a Chinese general (cerlai nl y one W\lO
writ.es prefacesl)-dcl' j\'CS from popular nm'cls in \\'hich Vue Fe i e mlx)(lies c ul -
t lire wlle reas Ilis uneducated I ie ut.e na nt St a nds for t he li nt ramme led powe rs of
nat.ure, This image re fl ected the infl ue ncc of t he early Ming Waffr Ma rgill on
the lat.e Ming Vue Fei story C)'clc, The frie ndship be twcen the civilized Song
J iang and tile savage Li Kui inspired ti le rc lmionshipofVue Fe i and Ni tt Gao as
portrayed in the lX1pular narra ti \'es lha t had served as a source for the Sillews
'iirlllsjol7llfllion ClfLssir,
Til e motif of Pri nce K:lllg'S day horse was likewise 001'1'0\\'(:.'(1 from lX1pula r
lite rat.ure, According to a legend freque ntl ), quoted in Mi ng nction, the flllure
Sout.hern Song empe ror hapfx!lled to be sleeping in a Kaifeng temple when the
J u rdlcn army invaded, rn le local god appea.-cd in ti le princc's dream and u rg{.d
him to escape: "A horse is wa iling for rou outside," he said. Prince Kangwoke up,
strode outsidc, and found the promised stall ion. I-Ie 1-o<.Ic sc\"(:n hundn:..'(1 miles in
one day and crossed the I-i\"(: r to the solllh, wheI"Cupon the animal galloped no
furthe r. When he dismounted, the pl-incc disco\'ercd it had Ix:en made of day.1lI1
LiJing's preface si mila rl y d rew on colllemporary nction: (-l is legend ary
Six-Flowers Formation (Lillhll a zhe n) was celebrated in mania I novels such
as Waler Mfl rgill, a nd he h imscl ffigured in a large body ofh istorica I romances
on the Sui-Tang t ransi ti on, as well as in the widely infl uential mythological
novel Invesliture of lIu Gods (Ff!ngslum Jtl11Ji).l1r.! Xli Hongke was described in
Ming-Qing lore as a Daoist priest ofmiraculoliS fighting skill s, and even the
India n pat ria rch was eulogized in conte mporary li terat ure. Bodhidhanna's
sanctit y was the subject of at least two late Ming nO\-cis: The Wanli period
( 1573-1 G 19) BodhidlUll'1luls Origins llnti Tmnsmission of fhe Lllml) (Dllmo rhu.shel1
dl1lflllti eng z.lman) and The Conversion of Ihe EllS' (VOIlgrill ji) ( 1635
The Sinews Tmnsfol'mlllioll Classic betrays therefore an intimate connection
Ix:tween martial a rts mythologyand popular lore. Its invu l nerability techniq ues
Gymnasti cs 171
are auributed to characters whose mania I prowess-or in Bodhidharma's case
sainthood-had been celebrated in contemporary fiction. In later periods, the
martial arts remained si milarl y related to popular cult ure. We have seen above
that t he Qi ng tecilllillue of the "Confounding Fist" was associated wit h the Wa fer
J"vlnrgin's Van Qing, and other protagoni sts oflhe same novel were likewise ned-
ited with fighting methods. Li Kui was celebrated as the creator of a ball.leaxc
techni'lue, and, as suggested b}' its name, the tied-wrists method of "Wu Song
Breaks Manacles" (Wu Song \.tIO kao) \o,'as inspired hy an episode in which the
handcurred hero o\'ercame armed bodyguards who had been hired to assassi-
nate him. In Ihe modern t,echnique, the manial artist's wrists are manacled ,
forci ng him 1,0 rely on his legs, hips, shoulders and ell)()\\'s.Ii)l
E\'en as he manipulat,es manial heroes such as Li Jing and Ylle Fei 1.0 en-
hance his manual 's prest ige, the aut hoI' criticizes t heirspi,"it ual shortcomings,
and his disappoi ntment is \'Oic(;"<1 by the protagonists themselves. It 's a pit )', Li
Jing exclai ms, tll<\t lie I\as remained mired in \\'ol"ldly arrairs, making a name
for himself by hi s mil it ary ach ie\,enlents on Iy. Niu Cao simi lad)' laments that
Vue Fei has railed 10 rollow h is Buddhi st master in search or rel igiolls salvat ion.
I lad lie adllered to tile monk's advice and abandoned his milital)' career, his
lire might h.\\'e been saved. The Sinews Tmnsjorlll(llioll Qfl.ssir is ma rked there-
rore hy a t.e nsion be t wee n ils (hml goals or Illi litary pelfect ion and spiritilililib-
eral ion. Olher manuals or fi ghting likewise belittled t hose who rai led to real ize
I heir re li giOUS end. The sentiment is suggested, rorex<lmple, b)' Cao I luandoll 's
cont.empt ror t hose who "strain their muscles and expose their bones, waste
thei r energy and usc Evidently, some artists consider(:.,(1the marti al as-
pecl or tilei r lecll nique secondary to tile spiritual one.
The aut hor raul t. s the Shaolin monks themselves ror fail ing 1.0 reali ze the
spirit.ual potential or the manual he had ascri bed 10 them. the Shaolin
mon ks excel in martial cOIllIX! titions Li J ing's preface reads, "it is be-
cause or thei r Ii m iled lInderstandi ng or the Sinews Trrmsfomllltion Classic." Why
then did t he "Purple Coagulation Man or the Way- auribllle his teachings to
tllei r monastery i n the fi rst place? The answer probabl y lies in tIle temple's mi 1-
itar), rame, sllch t hat new fighting techniques were orten created in reference
to it. We ha\'e seen in the pl"C\' ious chapter t hat martial artS inventors wel"C
orten said 1.0 ha\'e rccei\'ed a Shaolin education prior to developing their own
superi or fighting techniques. The Sinews Trans/ormation Classic foIlO\\'(:.>(1 a di f-
reren tsLrategy. Instead or claiming to ha\'e created a style better than Shaolin's,
the author censured the monks ror railing to rathom-as he did-the depths
of their methods. From this perspecth'c the manual's forgery is a meaSlll"C of
the monastery's sc\'emeelllh-ccllllll-y rame.
Wh)' did the "Purple Coagulation Man or t he Way" auribllle the Shaolin
techniques to Bodhidhanna? It is possible that hi s myth of origins
resulted rrom ignorance orShaolin condiLions. As an outsider to the monas-
tery, tile author or the Sinews Trans/ormation QlIss;cd id not know that the mon ks
considered the progenitor or t heir martial arts. I-Ie had assumed
172 Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cullivalion
that lheir figh ling techni'lues had been credited to Bodhidhanna, whom he
knew to be thc source orthcir Chan teadlings_ I-Iow(. \'cr, as much as conrusion
mi ght have contributed to it, his Icgend \\'as primarily due to his Daoist heri-
tagc, A" e.'1 r1y as the medic\'al period, Daoist a uthors attributed d{lQ)'in gymnas-
lic lechniques to t,hc Buddhist sa inl. The ele\'e nth-cemury Daoistencyclopedia
Seven Slips from ([ CLomly Salchel (YIlII)i qiqi([lI) i nel udes a treat ise or e mbryonic
respiration that is aSCl"i bc d to Bodhi d hanna, a nd the Slmg His(01)' lists two
breathi ng and gymnastic manuals (noh' lost) under his name:
Formula oj Emll,)'onie Respimliol! (Pulillamo /(fixi )Ile) a nd MOllk Vi-
sua/aalio" Me/hot! (Sellg P/ilidllmo ("llllxillngJfI),tV6 The Indian saint 's Daoist liter-
al lIrc must havc considerable populal-it )', as is suggested by t he crit icism
I hal had been le\'cled against it. The Yua n monk Pudu ( 1255- 1330) warned his
lay de\'olees nOI 1,0 consume ti le rake Bodllidl la nna script tl res.
I
!)7
Daoisl aUll IOI'S mi glll Il ave a lhlded 10 Bodhidha l'llla 1x.'Callse or his posit ion
as palriardl ora scilooli lial influenced tlle ir leachinf:,rs. It has been pointed o ul
Ihat Chan conlribul ed 10 Ihe (."\'olution or Daoisl meditati on, especially in inner
aldle my ci lDes, One slage or Il le inne r aldle mical process is known as the "Bar-
ri er or Nine Years," in re ferencc 10 I hc legend or Bodhi d hanna I\l(:ditaling in
front ofa wall ror Ihallenglll of time, tOtl I 100\'C\'er, in addition 10 lx:inga Chan sym
bol , Ille foreign monk mighl IliWC represenled broader Indian inflile nccs. I n thaI
case, lhe allribution of drw)'ill excrcises 10 Bodhidhanna migh1 illi rror the au-
Ihors' awarencss of IXlssible )'ogic cOlllribmions 10 Danis1 gymnastics. Scholars
ltave noted tllat. mULual borrowings bel\\'(.'Cn (/110)';/1 cali stl lenics and I ndian yoga
are not. implausible, Some Tang texIS mcntion "Bra ha manic gYillnasti cs" (/-tJ-
II/omell r/IIO)'ill) and "Ind ian massagc" ('lilll/vl/ummo). I lo\\'C\'cr, which clcments of
tile I nelian tradition migllll la,'c influe nced Chincsc gymnastics, and how cxten-
sive ulCir contribution mighl Ila,'c becn, goes beyond tl lc scope or this s1ud)'. IIJ'J
Whichcver the rcasoll for the Daoisl imc rcst in the BuddhislSaim, the Shao-
lin Illon ks Ilad nC\'er associated him with their mania l ans. All through the st. .... 'ell-
tee nlh cell tur y, thcy d early d istinguished between Bodhidhanna, whom 11K'}'
vcncraled as the pall-iarch or the Chan school, a nd whom thcy wor-
sh ilx:d as tile progeni1or of the ir fi ghti ng tedlniques. It was no earlier then
t.he mid-Qi ng t.hat Shaolin monks grnduall y absorlx."!! the Daoist legend of thc
Chan master as the source or the il- ma rtia l tmdition. As the Sh,ews Tml'.!iJ0ntlll/ioll
OrMc became wi del y IXl pular in mililar)' circles, and as the monks the mseh'Cs
began 10 practice it, they start(:d auri buting their methods to the Indian saim.
Weituo's l\\'Ch'e exercises were asCl"ilx."!! to Bodhidhanna by the mid-1850s (when
Wang Zuyua n obtained them at the tcmple), a nd s(,." .. cral dc:."Cades later another
train ing routine, "The Eightccn Arhats Ha nd " (Shioo Luohan shou), was assign(.-d.
1.0 hi III as wel l. I to Nowadays, the Shaolin arsenal reatures a weapon that Ix:ars the
saint's name: The "Bodhid hanna (Damo z.llang) is a T-shaped instrument,
the boUOIll point or which is orten capp(."!! wiul a metal spike (figure 3_1j).111
Beyond his associati on with specific tcchniques and weapons, Bodhi-
dharma graduall y emerged as the ultimate ancestor of the monastery's manial
Gymnastics
FI G. 35. The Simolin MBodhidhanna (courl csy KlIlIgFII 7(,i Clti

173
tradition. [\'en lhough Liley sLi l1 cn:: d it Vajrapal:li with theil' staff me thod, in
lhe imagi na tion of most Sllaolin monks tile I ndia n sai nt lias O\"el"Slladowed the
Indian deily as the source of thc:.: ir mi lita ry \'ocation. This pcl'ccption was mi r-
rored in popular fiction begin ning with Liu Tie)' un's ( 1857-1909) Travels oj 1..110
Gan (L(loCfln )'olyi), which traccd Shaolin ha nd combat through I-Iuike to lhe
Indian palriarch.
m
Shaolin monks e\'e muall y accepted the Daoist legend of
Bodhidharma as the progenitor of their ma rti al arts.
Religious Syncretism and the Martial Ar ts
That the Buddhist Shaolin Temple' s ma rti al arts should be attributc:.:d 10 a
Buddhi st sai m by a Daoi st is a measure of Ming syncretism, '" The three reli-
gions unite into one"' heyi) was the sloga n of the late Ming, which
174 Fi st Figh li ng a nd SelfCullivalion
experienced tolerance and mutual bolTowings be tween Confucianism, Bud-
dhism, and Daoism. To be sure, lhe te nde ncy to find common trailS in the
three faiths had exi sted in earli e r times as well. However, during the six-
teenth and l he sc\-c nleelllh cCllludes lhe s}' llcrcti stic urge reached an un-
precedented height , e ng ulfing lhe e mi.-c socie ty, from commone rs who
worshiped side b)' side lhe tli rcc rei igion's deities \0 lead ing i mclleel ual s who
arg ued t.hallhe three faith s \\'c re no 1ll00-C tha n diffe rent paths 10 Ihe same
ultimat e truth. The Ico-ConfudanJiao I-lo ng (1540-1620) advocated lhe
st. udy of DaoiSl and Buddhi st sc riplUrcs, for they could e lucidate Ihe mean-
ing of t he Confucian d assics, and Lin Zhaoen (1517-1598) advanced onc
st.cp rurthe r, arguing Ihal thc Ihrce I'eligions \,'cre cqui va lent and hc ncc in-
Ic rchangeable,l1s The spiril or I hc age was cert a in ly cspouscd by t hc "P IIrplc
Coagu lalion Man or the W a y , ~ whose spil' itual goal was phrased in tcrms or
immorlalil Y and Buddhahood alike, I-l is post.script to thc Sillt'ws Tralls/orllla-
tioll C/assiris Iypical , addressing both D.wist and Buddhi st I'cadcrs:
I have been swd)rill g t hc Silll'lvs Tm IIS/01'1I/(/lioll CklSSir beclUse I real ize
tllat in tilC t\\'O sr llool s or Budd Ilism and Daoism Il lose who sec k th('
Wa), are as numerous as catllc's hair, bill I hose who oblain il are as f't!W
as the unicorn's horn, This is due nOI 10 Ihc Wa), bei ng hard 10 achie\'C,
but to the adep ts not recognizing il sgalc, Lacking a roundalion, in
e llan rucd it at ion tllcre is tile danger or il lsanil ), : in g),mllasl ics 1 hcrc is
tllc fcar ofexllauslion; in sexual praclices Il lcrc is Ihc spcclcrof'
premature deatll ; and in d rug laking Il lcrc is II ,C anxicl), of' bcillg
parched-all bccause people ha\'e 1101 rcad Ihc ISinnvs 'Ihm,ifol'malionJ
Classic, Ift hL,)' obtain il and praclice il-irlhc)' la ke i. andcxpand upon
it-then on a large scal e they will rc nder Ihc slal c meri. orious scn'icc,
and on a small selic thc)'wi tt prolCcl self;lIld famil y. Thc fartm;rwiII by
it diligentl y lill the land, and through its praclice Ihe mcrchan. will
ear!')' heavy loads on longjollflle),s. Thc sick will rcgain hi s hc.tit h, and
t li e weak will be st rengl hen ed , Ti le ell ild Icss will a bundan.l), rcproduce,
and the old will rC\'ert to his)'oulh. The hUlllan will progress into it
Buddll a, a nd til e murlal will be Iransformed inlo an immorlal . Little
practice will bring modes l resuh s: thorough practi ce willicad to grCitt
accompl ish ments, The Sille1.vs Tmllsjol'lIInlioll Classic is indct."{1 .he world's
ultimate t reasure, I II
The Sinews Tmns/ol'lIlflliotf Classic suggests that the e mergence of the lale
imperial martial arts might han! bee n rel ated to Mi ng syncrcti sm. Its au thor's
fasci nation with the Shaolin fighting techn iques was doubtJess sustained by his
tolerance or thei r religious practi ce. An atmosphere of spi r itual ind usi\'Cness
miglu have contributed to the Buddhi st monks' acceptance of Daoist teachings
as wel l. Ir leading Buddhist thinke rs such as Zhu Hong ( 1535-1615) could pm-
mote Confucian and Daoist \'a lues, the n Shaolin monks could j ust as well prac-
Gymnasti cs 175
lice the gymnastic exerci ses of the "Plil-ple CAagulation Man of the Way""113
Syncretism penniued seif-Sl}'led Daoists to slud)' Buddhist-related fighling,j ust
as it encollraged monks to ilwesligate DaoiSl-reialed gymnaslics" A cli mate of
religiolls exchange mighl ha\"e cOllldbtued lherefore to the i 11legrat ion of dflo-
)'in and hand combat.
A fict.ional counteq)."lfl of the Shaolin fighting monks mi ght iIIust rale their
readi ness t,o absorb Daoist-inspired tedlniques" \Ve Ilave seen in previolls cilap-
ters \.hat, the I ilerary e\'olution of lhe si mian ,,'ardor Sun Wukong shared signifI-
cant si mila rities with the dC\"c!opment oflhe Shaolin martial aI'\s" Throughout
I he earl y \'e rsions of llis JOIlI'1I1!] 10 the llle" Monkey Novice Monk" Ilad bc:.'Cn
armed like the Sllaolin monkS\\' itll a stafr. Then, in tI le 1592 novel, he tried Ilis
hand in fis t fight ingj ust whe n historical Shaolin monks wcrc beginning 10 ex-
plore il.. Sign ificantly, in the Ming \"e rsion, \\'as in itiatt.-d inlo Daoist im-
mort al il y leachi ngs as wel l. A Daoist masterdisdosed to him 110t only the magic
tecll n if[ues of !ransfonna!.ion and clOI ld soaring, but also tIle mysteries of con-
cocl ing the inner elixi r. Evidentl y, the author 1X!l'ccived no contradiction be-
t wccn hi s simian prot agonist ' 5 maste ring Daoi s!. immortal it y tcchniques and his
ascendi ng to tile Western I:"l radisc as a Bllddha.
11 6
It is I ikely that Shaolin mon ks
likewise felt no compunction in engaging in gymnastic exercises Ihat bore a dis-
ti nct ive Daoist Oamr. Syncreti sm might have provided, therefore, an intellec-
tual fou ndat ion for t he lat e Ming C\'olut ion of e mpt y-handed fighl ing.
That M ing Shaoli n monks che ri shed I he sy" cret istic incl usive ness of 1 hei I'
age is visually anest,ed . Among the monasle r)"s a n treasures is a sixteenth-
centu ry stele tit led "Tile Primord ial Uni tyof the Tllrcc Re li gions and I he Nine
Schools lof pre-Qin which renders the contemporary religious
trend by a fusion of headdresses. It features an ade pt wl lo wears both a Confu-
cian cap and a Daoi st kerchief a t tile same time as he displa)'S the Buddhist. ton-
su rc (figure 36). It lias Ix:e n poi med oUlthal lolerance of otiter faiths docs not.
preclude thei r Ix:ing conside red inferior to one's own.1I7 This is ccnainly true
of the Shaoli n stele t hat reselTCS the pride of ccmer to t he Buddhist. shaven
pale, while relegating the othe r religions' emblematic headgears 10 lhe sides.
Even as they accepted t he vali d it y of mher spi rit ual palll s, Sllaolin mon ks prob-
ably regarded their own as supe r"ior.
Mythological Structure
The te nde ncy to define nO\'c1 fi ghting tcchniques in reference to Shaolin's es-
tabli shed reputation is best exemplified by the se\"c meemh-cemttry Imemal
School Fi st (Neijia Quan), wh ich was ta ught by Wang Zhengnan ( 1617-1669)
in Zhejiang. 1"lua ng Zongxi (1610-1695) a nd his son I-luang Baijia ( 1643-?)-
who left LI S the earl iest accounL,\ of the school -contrasted it with lhe Shaolin
method, which they designated "external." In his 1669 epitaph for Wang
Zhengnan, 1"l uang Zongxi wrote tha t "Shaolin is famous for its hand comba. t.
176 Fi st Figh li ng a nd Self-Cult ivalion
FIG. 36. MThe Primordial Unit }' of t he Three Religions a nd t he Nine Schools
M
as
depict ed in a Shaolin stele d ated 1565.
However, its techniqucs are chiefl y offensi\'c, wh ich crc.--a tcs oppol"lunili cs for
a n opponelllto exploit. Now the re is a nothc r school t hat is calkxl ' imcmal ,'
which overcomes mon:=mc nt with stillness. Auad:.crs arc effortlessly r<=pul scd.
Thus we di stinguish Shaolin as 'cxtcmal. ..
tt 8
The l-Iuangs aUI; blucd Wang Zhe ngn an's sc\'e meemh-cemury Inle mal
School to a mystet"ious Daoist immOrLal na med Zhang Sanfeng (fl. 1380), who
had li\'ed twO and a half cellllll-ies earl ier, According to I-Iuang jill-, Zhang had
sUldied the Shaolin st)'1c before creating his own more sophisticated me thod.
"T he Extemal School flouri shed at Shaolin.M wrote Huang B a ~ i a , "Zhang Sa.n-
feng, ha\'ing maste red Shaolin. rC\'e rsed its principles. and this is called Lhe
Internal School. ..
tt9
Very little is known of t he histori cal Zhang Sanfeng (whose
name was ol"iginall y wl-iuen with a d ifferent character for Jellg), except that he
had been acti\'e during the earl y Ming in the Daoist monastic complex on
Gymnasti cs 177
Mt. Wudang in I-I ubei. 1-I 0\\'c"cr, il is clear rrom thc carly rcoo,-ds lhat hc had
notJling 10 do wilh thc marLial ans.1W \Vhy thcn did thc I-I uangs, or Wang
Zhcngnan, attribute the Illlcmal School to thc obscurc Daoist?
Zhang Sanreng's associalion \\' ilh a militat-)' god was likely one rcason ror
his choice as cre'1t.m or the Internal School. Thc saint had resided althe WlI-
dang temple complex, which had been dcdicatcd to lhe cult ora
lhe Pcrrect Wa n;or (Zhel1wu) (also knOh' l1 as t he Dark Warrior (Xuanwu.
Begi nning in the ele"enth Cenltlt-)', some Chincse empcrors allrihuted their
successes in battle t.O the manial god, \\'ho was extolled ror warding ofT no-
madic itw,lsions. More(wer, the lhird Ming emperor Cheng-w (I". 1403-1424)
credited the martial dei ty with hi s successrul usurp.'lion or the throne, ror
which reason he embarked upon a massive temple conSlrUclion on Ml. Wu-
I-luang Zongxi, at any rale, expl icit Iy I inked I he Perr(.'Ct V,rarrior's fight-
ing techniCJlIes \\'it h I he Daoisl sai nl 's I nl ernal School. "That night ," he wrol e,
"Zhang Sanreng dreamt Ihal the Primord ial Emperor (The Perfect Warrior)
translllined the techniCJlIcsorhand comb. ...U 10 him, and Ihe fol)cM' ing morning
he single-handedly killed o\'er a hundred b .. mdit.s."122
Another, more significanl , reason ror nedil ing Zhang Sanfeng with sev-
cn I.eenl.h-cenl u fy marl ial a rl.s was his rdal ion \0 I he M i ng royal film ily. Thc
sai nt 's hagiography had several Ming emperors seeking his blessing, and in
the popular imagination hi s miracles were inexl ricably linked 10 1.he glory of
the d)' nasl)"s earl y da)'s.12' I l is reside nce 011 M1. Wudang was similarly lied 1.0
the Ming rort unes. As Yang Li zhi has shown, the Wudang monasteri es func-
tioned as a ramily shrine or the ruling housc, be ing directly supervised by
Ille illl perial palace. Royal birthdays and oIlier fami Iy events we,'e cdebra! cd
al.l.he Wudang temples, where the Daoist priests prayed for the dynasty's lon-
Wriling somc twell l), rea rs after the Manchu conCJ uesl of IG44 , the
I-luang's choicc or Zhang Sanreng as lhe founder of the Imemal Sehool-
and or Ml. Wudangas the martial arts' binhplace-amoUllled loa polilical
statement. I-luang Zongxi emplored lhe Daoi sl saint as a symbol of his Ming
loyal ism. Douglas Wile is likel y ,-iglit in hi s assen ion lhat by combining the
myth ic figures or the Perfect Warrior and Zhang Sanfeng with the rigillcous
martial artist WangZhengnan, "t llc Huangs auempted in an environ ment of
st ri ct censorship to issue a spi t-itual rall yi ng cry agai nst alien aggression."125
Huang Zongxi was among lhe leading i mellectuals of the anti-Qing resis-
tance movement . He scn 'ed lhc Ming aU through its disastrous It:treallO lhe
Somh, and throughout his lire he remain(.-d steadrast in his refusallojoin lhe
new administration. Scholars ha,"e imerpreled hi s epitaph for Wang Zheng-
nan as a political maniresto or his Ming lo)'ali sm. Huang dispensed
wit h Qi ng tt: ign yea rs in his daling orlhe martial artist, and lie voiced admira-
lion ror lhc lattcr's \"Ow or "egelat-iani sm lhat rollowed the Mi ng's demise. Wang
Zhengnan rcfused to prostilute his fi ghling skills, declining repeated invila-
tions to serve in t hc local )'<lmell . In hi s uncompromising defiance, the illiter-
ate manial anist could SCtTe as a model rOl-the scholarly elite. "' Zhengnan gave
178 f ist Figh li ng a nd SelfCullivalion
up his post and retired to his home," \\' rote I-lua ng Zongxi. who ad-
mired his skill thougllllhat because he \vas poor he could easily be compro-
mi sed. The hi gh-ranking military orfldals all p.'1id their respects, but he was
completely unaffected and ignored 111cm. I-Ie continued todig in the fields and
haul manure as if unaware 111a11lC possessed a skill that could gai n h illl an cas-
ierli\'ing .... May lhose who read thi s inscription, leam from his lifc."'2t.
I-luang Zongxi 's son , Baijia, had studi ed fighting wilh Wang Zhc ngnan,
whose tech nif! lies he recorded in hi s / lIlernal Sr/lQol Fist Mefhod (Neij ifl ql/{mJfI)
(1676). I-l is interest in the Inte rnal School \\'as kindled , like his father's, by
I he Manchu conquest. In his ad\"enlUrnus }'outh, Huangfil.s sought 1.0 rel y on
Wang's military ans 1.0 defealthe invaders: "Allhe lime I was hot-t.empered
and impel uous," he remi ni sced. ;' 1 bel ie\'ed Ilia I I he affairs of Ihe world could
not be entrusted to those contemptible Confucian scholars, but requi red
men "'ho couldj lllllP on Iheir horses and sla), Ihe enemy, jump off and cap-
lun: (he king. Thi s is the onl), life \\'o ... h li ving."' 27 The fervent nationalism of
fatller a nd son III igllt sl\ggesl 1.l lal b)' Mi III erna ' " I hey were senetl ), all udi ng 1.0
their na(i\'e land. As Douglas Wile has nowd, Ihe Int ernal School that was as-
soci at.ed wi th the indigenolls Daoi sl religion might have represemed China,
as opposed to the External Schoollhal \.,.as atlilialed with the foreign Bud-
dhist faith , and b)' implicalion might have stood for the Manchu
TIlliS, ifit ,,'ere not for Ihe Qing conquesl, wc might have known nothing
ofWangZhcngnan's marl ial arLo The Manchu t umed the allemion of
scholars such as the Il uangs 1.0 fi ghting techniques that, having originated
among the unlclI.ered masses, had been previously considered unworthy of
documentation. In this rcspect , the Ming's demise comribmed inadvertentl y
to nmr!ial arts historiography. As members of t llc eI ite lamented their fal.al dis-
dain for military training, they prO\' id(.'d us for Ihe firsl.lime wilh biographi es
of uneducated martial anisls such as thc Internal School's Wang. We will sec
below that the collapse of the Ming has enriched our knowledge of Shaolin
fighting as well. I-Iere, suffice it to note that as Qing schol ars began to invesl.i-
gate folk figll ti ng tedlniqlles, they in\'cstcc:i t hem witll mt..'(iical , philosophical ,
and religious significance. The thc..'Ori zation impul se t hat characterized the
late im perial mania I arlS was due at least paniall y to tlleir practice by mem bel'S
of the elite. E\'en though tile broade ning of the mania I ans inlo sel f-conscious
systems of thought was wcl lunderwa)' during the last decades ofMing I"l\le-as
evinced, for example, by the 1624 Sinews Tmll.sjonllafioll Ga.s.si c-it was do ubt-
less given a fresh impetus by the dynast)'s fall.
There might ha\'e been yel another moti vation for the Zhang Sanfeng leg-
end. The I-Iuangs might ha\'e attribllloo the Internal School lOa Daoist immor-
tal to counterbalance the EXlemal School's affiliation with a Buddhist saint.
Zhejiang nati ves Ii ke the "PUI' ple Coagulation Man ohhe Way;' I-luang Zongxi,
and I-luang Baijia might ha\'e been famili ar with the legend he had nealed of
Bodhidhanna as the master ofShaolin fighting. The COITclation between their
myt h and his legend is, at any rale, striking. Wllether or not this had been the
Gymnasti cs
FI(:. 37. The St I'UCtu rc of man ial ans Illy! hology (d l';lwing b)' Noga Zhang-Hui
Shahar).
179
I luangs' intention, t he Zhang Sanfeng genealogy matched the Bo dhidhanna
a ncest l)' ina perfect I}' IWl"monious structure . On the one hand was an "Ext.er-
nal " school associated wi th Buddhi sm a nd attributed to an Indian patriarch
who supposedl}' meditated on the sacred ML Song; on the mhel" hand was an
"Internal" school affil iated with Daoism a nd ascribed to an immortal who re-
putedl)' secluded himself on tile Ilol}' Mt. Wudang. Thi s flawless s}'mmctr}' of
direct ions (external and internal ), religions ( Buddhism and Daoism), saillls
(Bod hidha nna and Zhang Sanfeng), a nd sacred peaks (Song and Wudang)
wasjoi ned, on the geographical axis, b}' a rorrdation of north and soulh (fig-
ure 37). Because Song was the morc nonhe m of t he twO peaks, lhe "Exler-
nal"' School was named the '"Nonhe m ,"' whel-eas ilS rival came 10 be
known as the "Solllhcnl."' Like Chan Buddhism a thousand years earl ier, Ihe
martial arts we re graduall}' imagined in terms ofa "Nonhem Schoo]"' and a
"Soulhcnl
Claude Levi-Strauss has a rgued that the meani ng ofi ndividual mythologi-
cal mOlifs is detennined b}' the stmcturc into which they combine,just as in
music the sign i fica nce of 1>''1 nicul a r tones is embedded in the melody they con-
sti Ulte.
1W
The Bodh idharma legend a nd the Zhang San feng myth matched in
a perfectl )' harmonious meiod}', which was likel y the source of their ongoing
appeal , long afte r the fighting techniques themseh'es were forgotten . I-luang
Baijia lamented tl ta t with Wang Zhengnans demise his fighting t(.""Chniq ucs
180 Fi st Fighling and Self-CuI! ivalion
would be lost, and it is dear that by lilC eighteen tI l century the Internal School
no longer existed. I'! Nc,"c nheless, the fascination of the Zhang Sanfeng myth
was such that other manial styles ha\"c assumed his school's mamle. By Ihe sec-
ond half of lhe ninetcclllh CClllury, Taiji Quan had been traced 10 Ihe DaoiSl
saim, only 10 be followed by olher manial styles such as Xingyi Quan and
Bagua The m)' lhological SlnlCIUre tha t "'as created in Ihe
lccnth century still captiVales lhe imagi nation of martial artists. even lhough
t.lle term "Inle rnal designatcs new figilling melhods.
Conclusion
Tile founda! ions of t Ilc modern Clli nese mania] arts wcre laid during tile lale
Mingand the eadyQing by the inlCgration ofMing bare-handed fighl ing 1Cch-
n iCJues \\' ill\ an ancienl gymnastic tradition 111<1t Ilad largely evolved in a Daoist
cont.ext. In va r ying d(,'g rees all of the bare-handed styles familiar today incor-
poral.e asperts of dflOyill cali sthenics, combining limb movement with bre alh-
ing and the internal circul at ion of the vit al ene rgy qi. The absorplion of daoyin
gymnastics transformed not on ly the training routines bUl also the very pur-
pose oftlie martial arts. narc-handed styles such as Shaolin Quan, Taiji Quan ,
Xingyi Quan, and nagua Zhang arc not inte nded for combat only. Ralher, lhey
combine movement and mental concemf'ation for fighting, healing, and reli-
gious scl f-cultivation. Tile vc r y tcrm "martial " is in t his sense misleadi ng. Chi-
nese hand combat is a self-conscious system of mc ntal and physical
sclf-cultivat ion that has dive rse applications of which fighting is bm one.
It. is Ii kcl y that. aspect.s of (/tw)'in gymnastics were absorbed into armcd or
unarmed figilling prior lO Ihe sixteemh cellltlly. FmuJ'e rcsearch may well
reveal that breathing and qi-circula tion methods figtll'cd in ancient hand
com bat, as Lhey almost cerla in Iy did in mcdie \", 1 fenci ng. However, at presen I.
ou r evidence of the imegration dates from t he late Ming. The Sinews Trans-
jorlllation Classic of 1624 is cUlTemly thc earliest available manual thai self-
conscioLisly combines mililary, thel1lJX!utic, and religious goals in one
training program. Compiled by the Self-style d Coagulation Man of
the Way," lite t reaLise exemplifi es the impact of Daoism on barc-handed
fighting. Its goal is an imema l bodil)' transformation t hat will make onc in-
vulnerable to il"Uury, that will eliminate all illness, and that will ultimately
lead to immortality. Dao)';n gymnastics scn 'cd as a \'ch idc for the Daoist in-
nue nce on the late imperial martial arts. Whether it was practiced by thc
lait.y, by Daoi st adepts, or b}' Buddhi st monks, hand comh..'H drew heavily on
Daoist physiological and techniques. Training roUlincs such as
the "Twel ve-Section Brocade"'-which were intcgrated into thc Shaolin mo-
nastic regimen---can be traced back to canonical Daoist scriptures.
Invcsti ng the martial arts with therapcutic and religious significancc, thc
creators of bare-handed techniqucs relied ulxm wide-ranging somccs, from
Gymnasti cs 181
Daoistencyclopedias and medicalliteratll re to the classics of Chinese philosophy
that articulated the culture's traditional TIle \'Cry names of sti ch fight-
ing techniquesasTaiji Quan and Baglla Zha ng\,"ere borrowed from Chi nese cos-
molog)', be u-ayi ng the slyles' spidLUal aspi rations" In the two mani.."l l arts, t he
practitioner re-enaCL" the process of cosmic diffcremi.. "llion-from the primm"-
dial uni t,)' tJu o ugh the interpl ay of the ),ilt, the )'ang, and t he eight ldgrams to the
myd ad phenomena-only 1.0 ren; rse the cou rse of history, thereby achieving
myst ical union wi th the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji)" To the degree tllat \.hese fight-
ing techniqucs sel f-consciously express pll ilosophical tenelS, tllei .. articulat iOIl
belongs to t he hislOr)' of ideas. Eve n I hough t he agent of t he man ial ans is t he
body, thei r evolution is in this respecl the domain of intellect ual history"
Ti le late Ming broadening of empl )'-lla nded styles into self-conscious sys-
te ms of thoughl was li kely one reason for theil' growing popularity" Sevell-
tee nt h-cenllll")' Shaolin monks d id nOI tum their auention to hand combat
because it \,'as Ill i li ta ri Iy effecl i\"c. In rcal baH Ie, ban .. ... handed fight ing was not
as useful as t he staff fighti ng I he mon ks had previollsly li t il ized, not to me nt ion
fight ing \\'it h shar p \\'Capons or firearms. Ral her, Shaolin monks were probabl y
fasci nated b)' ti le medical, reli gious, a nd pll ilosophi("al opport Ii nil ies that \,'ere
ope ned b)' the new empl }'-Imnded lecli lliqlles. T he S)' 111 hesis of martial, t he ra-
pelitic, a nd religiolls goals has been a pri mary reason for the popularit), of
ha nd combat botll in its nal i\'e land and in lhe modern \A/cst.
1 f modern Iland combat is nOI onl )' a fight ing method bm also a syslelll of
tl lougllt, t lle n it is nO! surprising t hal its eml ution was partially spurred by in-
I.cl lecl.lIal de\,elopmelll. s. Lale M ing syncretism provided a phi losophical lou n-
dation for t he imegralion or bare-ha nded fighti ng and til/o)'i ll cal isthenics,
pcrmiui ng Daoi st mysti cs 10 explore Buddhist-relal.c...xlmartial arts and all ow-
ing Silaolin monks to study Daoist g)' mnasl ics. ImellcCluall.rends \\'Cre joined
b)' polit ical uplle<lva ls li lat comribmed 10 the I.ra nsfonnal.ion or the martial
arts . The Ma nchu conquesttul"lled lhe allemion orthe litel-ati el ile to Ihe figh\.-
i ng tcc hn iques of the un lellered masses. As leadi ng scholars bc...'gan 10 practice
folk ma rtial ans, they rcwrOtc lhem in a sophisticated language. The artic ul a-
t ion of ha nd combat in therapemic and rel igious terms was d ue in large mea-
sure to thei r espousal by me mbers oflil e elite.
T he sC\'ClIlccmh-cemury lra nsfon nal ion or bare-handed fighting was ac-
compan ied by the emerge nce or a 1l 00"eI manial arts m)' lliology. Sllaolin monks
gradual I)' accepted a legend lhat had ori ginated outside the monastery accord -
ing to which thei r fi ghling techniques had been im"ented by lhe Chan pa lri-
arch Bodhidha nn a. The h.:gend of lhe Buddhist sai nt e\'ol\"ed in
with the Ill ),th of a DaoiSl immortal. ru lhe "External" Shaolin martial al"lS
were aLtribwed LO a Buddh iSl master who re putedl y resided on the sacl"t:d MI. .
Song, an "I mernal school offi ghling was ascribed to a Daoist recl use who sup-
poscdl )' hid on the hol y Ml. Wudang" The 111'0 legends matched each olher in a
per fectl)' harmonious mythological SlruCllll'C, t he flawless symmetry of which
has likely been t he source of lheir ongoing appeal"
CH A PTER 7
Suspect Rebels
I N TilE SPRI NG of 1679, Gil YanwlI ( 1613- 1682) traveled to the Shao)in
Temple. The reno\\' ned hi storian had turned hi s at tent ion to mil ita I' Y affai I'S
follo\\' ing tile Manchu conquc' st, which had demonstrated to the Chinese
el ite the falal consequences o f it,s d isregard for warfare. The demise of tbe
nati ve Ming rul e and the establishment of t he ali en Qing dynasty ( 1644-
1911) created a surge of int erest in mil itary questions- fro m the st rategic
signifi cance o f di ve rse provinces to Ihe popul ar martia l arts. It kindled
lluang Zongx i 's cur iosity abOlLl I he .. illl ernal" flglni ng tech niq lies of Wa ng
Zhengnan. and it promptl.'(i Gli Yanwu's ilwesligat ion of the Shaolin "ext.er-
nal " martial arts. At the monastery, Gu carefull y exa mined the historical re-
cords o f the monks' militar) ac ti vities. lie tra nscribed the Tang steks thai
recorded t heir heroic support of Li Shimin, relying on t. hem as one source
for an essay on Huddhisl warfare,1
The scholarly satisfaction that accompanied Gu's visit was matched b)' a
sense of moral puq>ose, I-I is research trip was motiva ted by imell ecUia I curios-
ity and sentiments of loyalt y to the Ming alike. Shaoli n monks had been fa-
mous for their unfailing suppOrt of the former regime, for which they fo ught.
through 1.0 its biller end. During the fil"St decades of the Qing dynasl.Y, their
monast.ery was regarded by many as a symbol of its prl.'(ieccssor. In this resp<..'C1.
Gu's Shaolin u' ip n::semblcd his repeated pilgl' images to the Ming l"Oyal
tombs-he had paid his respects at the dynasty's bur ial grounds north of Bei-
jing no fewer than six times, and at the mausoleum of ils founder no
fewer t.han
Indeed, more than three decades arter Beij ing's rail , the monastery's deso-
lation testified to the demise of its erstwhile patrons. Gone were the days when
a Ming official complained that Shaol in's splendor was \00 ext.ravagant for
Buddhi st meditation-the temple Gu visited was in ruins. The lofty halls once
bedecked with precious gifts from imperial donors were overgrown with weeds,
182
SUSpe<::1 Rchcls 183
and the sounds of clanking \\'eapolll' y had been silenced. Where hundred s of
Ming soldie rs had once tldined , only a lla ndful of old monks remained, com-
plaining to thei r guest of harsh treatment by tIle new authorities. Gu vented his
frustration in a poem lllatlikened tI le nation's and monastery's fate. If only
a new Prince of Qin ( Li Shimin) could be found, both would be succored. As-
sisted by the likes of lhe Tang monk l-Iui ya ng, he would o\'enhmw the fore ign
aggressors and restore lhe monaSlel'}' lO its fonne r glory:
Lofty rises the Wuru Peak,'
li es the Shaol in ;"1onaslcry.
Once its warri ors roamed t cart h,
Famed for heroism si ll(:e Ihe Sui.
Grand buildi ngs resembled an impe rial palace,
;"1onast ic robes reflect ed fa il1' gannCIlI s.
Budd hi st crisp chimes pierced the hean!lls,
Cll anlampss ll one 0 11 emera ld peaks .
.. .
Today how desolat e it appears,
Descrted and overgrown with weeds.
From broken walls wande ring bees emerge,
In empt}' halls wild pheasanl s caw.
They tell me of harsh new orde rs,
La nd allot me n!'s by corrupt official s.
Taxes increased e"en 0 11 a monastic eSI:u e,
Ca ring not which dynasty had bestowed iL
Short of rice gruel , the monks leave,
Not even one or tWO have re mained.
All things undergo rise and decline,
Their fortunes depend on I leaven.
Could t here be no hero,
Resolut ei}' rest oring the monastery from il.'> ruins?
J alll sending il note to tile like of l lui yang:
Wait for the ar ri val of a Qin prince! 1
Did eu reall y bel ie\'e that aflcl' they had been consolidating their 1"lI 1e
for decades, t he Qing could be O\'el,thmwn? Or is hi s poem a merl': famasy-
a conscious ex pression of wi shful thi nki ng? I t is hard to answer this question,
which has been asked of the histori a n's mher writi ngs as well .
5
However, he
c1earl )' made no pretcnsc that a Shaolin upri sing did occur. The poem is not
a description of what IUllf happe ncd, but of what should havl':. It. cannot. be
taken as evide nce that the monks had resisted the Manchus.
What Gu Yanwu had refrained fmm claiming, other, less educated authors
had not. Qing period lore glorified the Shaolin warriors as fearless rebels. A
wi despread lege nd, which ol' iginated in South China, attri buted the founding
of dl C I-leaven and E"lnh Society (Tiandihui) {''Triads'' in Western literature)
to lhe Shaolin monks \II ho had escaped persecution oy the Qing government.
After imperial forces had bumed dO\\'11 the Shaolin Temple. it went, a handful
of manial monks managed to escape to the South, where they established the
secret society for lhe plil-pose of "o,"cnhrowing lhe Qing and restoring the
Ming" (frill Qingfll Mil/g).
During the Qing pel-iod, I he Hea'"en and Earth Society was Ihe largesl and
most. powcl-[ul hrotherhood in South China. Flaunting an overt ly anI i-Manchu
ideology, the society was va l-iOlISly engaged in mutual aid and in cri minal activ-
il.ieS, which led 10 re peal,cd anncd dashes with Ihe stale.
Co
Its foundation m),th
sur"iw:s in divcrse ni neteclllh-centUl' y \'ersions, some of them in the inl.erroga-
t ion records of capt ured membe rs, Ignoring tile inconsistencies Ix:twcen Wlry-
ing accounts, tile legend may be briefly summadzed as follows:
During the reign of the Kangxi empe("(lI' (r, 1662-1722), the historicall )'
unidentifiable Xi Lu barbarians defeated the Qing anllY, The <:o u rageolls
monks of the Shaolin Temple-wrongly kx-ated by some versions in Gansu
to the emperor's reSClle. Af1erslllxl ll ing the relx:ls, the), were
invited to the capital 10 he honored \\' ith imperial POSI.S, I"')ich they declined ,
expressing their desi re to resume their humble monki sh lives. Once back al
the temple, the heroic wa rriors fell pft.')' to political intrigue. Government
forces led by traitorous officials set the monastery on fire, killing most or tile
mon ks. A handful managed to escape to the Sout h, n ndi ng (i n some version s)
refuge at a temple whose name resonates with Shaolin-Changlin. Swearing
an oath ofhrot herhood wilh lhe local clerics, tlu,,:y established the I leaven and
Eartll Sociel)'- A magic inccnsc burner emerged from tile sea, pn:wi ding di vine
sanction for thei r enterpri se. It was inscribed MO\'en hrow the Qing, Restorc
the Ming.'"
The legend has been \'ariously approach(:d by scholars, Some have
searclled in it for dues on ti le SOCiety'S historical origins in Somh China (con'e-
lati ng \'eri RabIe namcs from itS dil'crse I'ersions witll in fonnation culled from
other sources); some hm'e analyi.cd its mythic structure; some havc high lighted
its indebtedness (0 popular nalTalil'es such as HYlfer Margill; some have empha-
sized its com mllnal ity with the messianic lore of mi Ilcnarian \Vh ichel'er
approach we assume, it is clear that the legend's immediate b..'lckground- his-
torical and folklol' ic al ike-lies in South Ch ina, Two examples may suflice to
make the point. The motif of the Shaolin Monastery's burning is likely re!alL"'d
to FLuian lore concerning the connagra tioll ofa local southenl Shaolin Tem-
ple,uand the name Changlin, which is memioned in sCl'eral l'ersions, has lx:(;n
shown to designate a hi stor ical monastcry in tllat pn:wince. Some scholars con-
sider it the source of the brotherhood s foundation myt h,l l)
Bearing in mi nd its southern prOI'cnance, is the secrct socicty's myt h rd-
el'alll to the history of the Shaolin Temple in Henan? On thc most general
level , the legend min'ors thc monastery's fame. By the eightecmh CCnl ury.
the Shaolin Temple had acquircd mythic proportions in the imagination of
SUSpe<:: 1 Rchcl s 185
warriors nationwi de. We ha\'e seen in pl-eviolls chapters t hat a Shaolin con-
nection became a pre requisite in the hagiographie s of Qing martial artists.
Creators of novel fighti ng tech niques sOllgllttO e nll a nee thci r prestige by as-
sodating them with the te mple , and milita l-y a uthors went as far as forging
their wri ti ngs to provide them with a Shaolin pedigree. The temple's legend -
ary milit.ary standing-coupled with ilS famed support of the it
a symbol of choi ce for anli-Qing brothe rhoods such as the 1leaven and Earth
Society. The Shaolin ancestry e nhanced I he society's military standing at I he
same timc as itcolorcd it with an aura offen'e nt Ming loyal ism.
Evc n as il aueSLS 10 Shaolin's fame, the myth be l rays the temple 's
pol ilic.a l condit ions undcr t.l lC Qing. To be sure , as \\'C lla\'e it , tile stmy is spuri-
ous: Shaolin monks ncver fought on be ha lf of til e dynasty, no,",vas their monas-
tery c\"Cr dcstroycd by il.. Ne\'crtheless, \\' ittingl y 01' unwil1ingl y, the legend
mirrors thc te nsions thai ha\'c characlCri zed Ihe temple's relations with the
Qing rcgimc. It ,,'ould ha\'c been suq) l-ising if a legend of a Shaolin upri sing
would II<I\'e d rculat ed during a period in \\'h idl I he monaslery was fa med for its
loyal ser vice to, and generous benefaction by, the slate. That such a m), th \\'as
crealed during a tillle of 11111tual sllspidon is less astonishing. The seventeenth
cent Lily marked a sharp dedine in the Shaoli n Temple's fort unes, in which
sense t.lle brot llerllood 's fOILndat ion my til mi rrors Ili storical condit ions.
The decli ne b(:gan prior to the Qing conquest. Like much oft he Ming mil-
itary, the Shaolin Temple had been destroyed by t he re lx:1 armies that had top-
pled t. he dynasty, paving the way for the fore ign invasion. Dur ing the lG30s
Shaolin monks were regularl y dra ft ed to the largel y unsuccessful governme nt
campaigns against the marauding troops of Li Zicheng ( lG05?-IG45) and
Zhang Xianz.hong ( IGOG?-1&17). H)' the carl)' 16' IOs t heir defense oflhe Mi ng
cause became a struggle for the ir monaste ry's sur vi\"al. In 1641 Li march(:d his
bandit. a rmy, swolle n by hungr y peasams to hundreds of thousands, imo
I Ienan. The gO\'e rnme m lost control of the province, which was sacked by his
roving troops as well as by feud ing local wa rl olds." Neithcl' Li nor the local
st.rongme n had a nys)mpath}' for the Shaolin monks, who had consisteml), sup-
ported the Ming. ' n ley razed much of the monastery a nd butchen:. xl moslof its
mon ks. Hy the ti me thc Manchus had crossed the Great Wall in the spring of
1644, the Shaoli n fi ghting force existed no more.
L"1te Ming destruction was followed by Qing suspicion. The new dynas!.y
perceived in the Shaoli n monks' behavior ma rks of lingering loyalty to thc te m-
ple' s erstwhile patrons. Hy the time the apprehe nsion o\'er Shaolin's dcvotion
to their predecessors had subsided, new fears ofthc monks' coll usion with s(:c-
I.arian rebels took hold. As peasant rebellions swept through the poven}'-
stri cken north Chi na plains, the Shaolin Te mple bc:.""Camc a prime target of
investigation. The gO\'e mme nt scnlliny of its monks was pro!>..bl), not unwar-
ramed. Shaolin's was a nuid community of which rcsident deric'> occupi ed no
more than a fraction. As members of the itinerant worl d of the "riw;rs and
lakes," Shaolin walTiors did come in touch with potential rebels. Even though
the monaste ry ilsclr was ne\-er ilwoh-ed in a relx:llion, some orits alumni might
have been,
Late Ming Destruction
The desolation lhal was re\'calcd to ell Yanwu at the Shaolin Monastery was
also wit n essed by o\.he r visilors d lu-ing the first decades orQing rule, "Arter the
upheaval only a handrul or monks lla\'e rc mained ," lamented Ye Feng (1623-
1687), "Who will preach here the Dharma?" '2 From tbe 1640s th rough the
1680s, the Shaolin Monaste ry llad been largel ydesened. Most or its monks Ilad
left, a nd the m-uoril y orl.he build ings had been railing apart , some orthe most
preciolls ones be ing pasl repair, Zha ng Siming visit ed Shaolin in 1684:
When 1 a rri\"(xl al I he Icmplc, I dis(:O\'cred thai long ago it had b{'en
consllmed by Ihe endor-era's fires Uil'lwo: kal/}(Iglli). The Dharma Il all
was overgrow n wil h wcC'ds, and I IIC' disciples had SGll lerecl. Siglting
111('1"1'" ror a long I imC', I lei Ill)' legs c"".-I IT)' me w{'st or I he Thousand
Bllddhas Ii ali. The re I saw piles ordirt O\'ergrown wilh Ihkk bushes,
scattered Iiles and rallen bl'" ams Ihal we re exposed 10 the wind and Ihe
rai n, Monk Yunshi point cd them OUI 10 me, la me nti ng: used 10 be
the While-Attircd Mahiisattva IGuanyinl llall. II built during Ihe
reign ol'l ll e Nortl tern \Vci c mpe ror XiaO\\'en (r. 471-'199). II \\";IS a gralld
building, Being 10 Ihe bandits' turmoi l. il has been reduced 10
this
The Buddhist concept or the kalpiil.'1Ii-the cosmic fire lhat will bu I'll Ih<:
world 1.0 ashes althe eon's e nd-was applied by Zha ng Sillling to the devasta-
tion or the monaste ry lhal had accompan ied the Ming's de mise. This same
metaphorwas a[so used bySlle n Quan ( 162'1- 1684), W[ I O nonetheless remai ned
hopeful tha t the monaslel-Y's heritage would not be extinguished:
1 havc hea rd Ihal thc Shaolin Te mple
Several times lms endured I he e nd-or-era's ashcs,
Broken sleies cO\'cred by moss,
Shaucred wall s exposed 10 lhe blue sky,
De nse, the monasteq"s ancie nt cypresses,
Forcver proteci its d ivine spiril. tt
The Qing-appoimed go\'ernor of He nan left tiS a similar record of the
monaste ry's dismal condilions in mid-century, except that his LOne was less
sympatheti c, WangJie (ca, 1620-ca, 1700) a ppare ntl y disdained the mi serabl e
few monks who had remained amongst their monastery's ruins: "Today the
monastery is f alii ng apan. As I h'as visiLing one or two ofilS di lapidatcd monks'
rooms, I orde red the I1mices to demonstratc thei r manial skills. Their perfor-
mance was no bener than that of Slreel beggars. It was not worth watchi ng."
The gove rnor proceeded to detaillhe circumstanccs under which the monas-
tery had been destroyed in the 16405:
Du ri ng the Chong-Lhen reign ( 1628-1643) the tra it or Chuang ( Li
Zic heng) plunde red like a vicious ti ger. Liang Song mountain bandi ts I"
rose in swarms, each sacking another region. At Songyang lon tll(!
southern slopes Song] IG there was one LiJi yu (?-1647), who
agitated tpn thousand men and stati oned the m atop the - Impe rial Fort-
;"1ountain Lt he Shaoshi Peak ove rlooking the Shaolin MonasH!ryi. l ie
burned and looted e\er pvhere, but he parl icularly hated the Shaolin
monks, whom he regarded as 1>OIcnii ail horns in his side. l ie pn!tendf'd,
1 herefore, to befriend t hem, sending dai I)' mone}' W the ir abbol. The
monks believed him and oITe' red no resislance.
Onp day Li sent a messa ge W Ihe monks that he would like 10
commiss ion t li e ceremony of Ihe Ti lousand Buddl las Supplkal ion for
his bi rt hday. All the mon ks should prepare t hClllseh-es for his arrh-aL
purifyi ng t hemsel\'cs , bu rn ing incense, and reei t ing t he script un_ 'S.
The n, leading several hundred men clad in armor, Li entered lhe
mouastery a nd slole I,is way to ti le SUlra I lall.Jusl as til e monks wcre
bcati ng I he d ru ms and prosl ral ing 1 he msehcs in prayer, 1 he bandilS
drew t Il eir swords and bUlcll cred Illem. Ti le monks we re not prepared,
and Illey were wi ped OUI to a man.
17
Wang's is the onl y account in Shaolin's histor y thaI sugges1.s a lension 1:)(>
tween t he monks' reli gious d lllies a nd the ir milita r)' vocation. According to
him, LiJi ),lI had been able to slallglllCl" the cle lics because they had been e n-
gaged in a Buddhist ceremony. E\-e n though the monks made no consci.ous
choice to fa\'or thei r reli gious rol e o\-e r the ir military one-after all thcy had
been deceived by t he I-I enan wa rl o rd- in thi s insta nce t he ir two f unctions
clas hed. The monks performa nce of the i r ri t ual duties Ilampe l-ed the ir e ffi-
cacy as wa rriors. Their ide ntity of Budd hi st priests coil ided with the i r role .of
soldi ers.
LiJi)' u, who butchered the Shaolin monks, e merged in 1640 as .one .of the
strongest wa rlords in northern Henan_ Like other local b...'l ndi l.s, he tried 1.0
maintain his independence, shifting his allia nces in acc.ordance with thc rap-
idl), changing military situati on_ I-I e had a ll ied himself with Li Zi che ng (in
1611), submi tted to the Ming but c.olluded agai n with Li ( 1643), dashed with Li
( 1643), yielded to the regime of the S.outhe rn Ming (summcr.of 1644),
and finall y surrendered to the Qing (December 1644), wh.o did n.ot him
and had him executed three years latel.
18
(At one point, incidentally. Li had be-
frie nded the would-be founde r ofTaiji Quan, Chcn Wangting). 19 Thc warlord 's
188 Fi st Fighling and SelfCullivalion
decision to diminale lhe Shaolin monks \\'as due to tactical considerations no
less than to thei r famed suppono[the Ming. Li had eSLc"l blished his base alOp
the Shaoshi Ileak's "Impcdal \\'hich 10\,'cre(\ o\'er the temple. As WangJic
not.ed, the bandit leader could nOl afford a "potential thorn" in such proximit.y
10 his side.
If it. was Li Ji yu \\'ho dcalllhc Shaol in monks Ihe final blow in Ihe cady
16405, their ranks had I))' then already been decimated. Alllhmugh lhe 1630s,
Shaolin monks had been drafled for lhe largely unsuccessful government cam-
paigns againsllhc rming bandit s. In 1635 they had been enlis\(:d \0 train a local
III ilit.ia in Silanziiou Counl y, \\'cstcm He nan, ' nK")' \\'Cre able 10 score alleast one
vicl.ol), before being defeated by the vastly larger armies of t.he Fellow"
( L,lO I-Iuihui ), Ma Shouying, who was one of Li Zicheng's dosest At ap-
proximately the same time, the Shaolin stafT expert I-Iongji-who had been
Cheng Zongyou's instructor-was killed in battle, \Ve arc told that he "led his
troops to a decisi\'c viclory o\'cr Ihe bandits. Then, chasing Ihem faraway, he ran
into fresh outla\\' conlingems. I-l is supjXln Iroops did nOI alThe, bllt to the end
he was not willi ng 10 relreat. As Ihe bandil s s\\ellcd in numbers, he strllggkxl
\\' il h them 10 his dcal h. Thus, he did nOI IX: lray hi s IShaolin 1 heritagc,"21
Shaol in's conlribul ion 10 the laic Mi ng banditry campaigns is al1esl.Lxl by a
stele e rected some Ihree decades lal er. Daling from 1677, the inscripl ion
t:"i nces I he monks' I ingeri ng senl imenls of loyah y IOWaI'd I he Mi ng, for il was
dedicat.ed 10 the 1ll0naSICI) "S earl y M ing ablx)I , Ningnlll Li aogai (1 335- I 4 2 I ). 22
On it wcre inscrilx:d tile names of somc sc\'enl)' martial monks (Wit selig) who
had fought under the command ofl he Ming ministcl' of war, Yang Sichang
( 1588-1641). Mosl came from the Shaolin Monaslcl)" but some came from its
acljacent. subsidiary, the Yongl ai sh rinc. Yang had assuillcd pc rsonal field com-
lIland of t he banditry camp .. '1ign in 1639, onl y to Ix: fOUlCd by the rcix:1 armi t::S
of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zichc ng in 164 1, whereupon he cOlllmiued sui-
monks must h",'c fought for him around 1640.
Til e Shaolin insniption is mo"i ng. Unl ike tile grand Slone monuments lhal.
had been built during the Tang and the Ming and had recorded the mon ks'
support ofthoSt: d)'nasties, thi s one could nOl.lla\'e earned them i mperia I recog-
nition. Ifanything, thc Qing aUlhOI-ities would ha\'c been angered by a me mo-
rial to their predecessors' steadfast wa lTiors. Tile l\lImble epitaph was motivatcd,
thcleforc, by a sincere wi sh to record the names offaJJell comrades, Its amhor,
himself likely a figilling monk, was not highl y educated, as is evinced by an or-
thographic error in the mini ster's name, si !J!. instead of si IiiIJ (figure 38).
Even though the Shaolin Monastery had been destroyed prior to the
1644 invasion, it is not impossible that the advance of the Manchu army had
caused it some further damage. A possible hint-it is no more than that-is
provided by an inscription dating from 1653 that commemorates the recon-
struction of the monaste ry's Unh'crsal Chan Courtyard (Shifang Chan
Yuan). Situated outsidc thc monaster)' proper, across from main gale, the
Chan Courtyard had scn'cd as a hostel for pilgrims, During the Ming pe-
FIG. 38. DClai l ora Shaolin SIde dawd
1677 COllllllClllol, ui ng dlC Illonks who had
roughl undcr Y;lIlg Sich;lIlg; nOle I hc
ol'l hog"aphic crrOi' in I he lIl inislCI"S namC.
ri od, it. had been re novated by the swff expe n general Yu Da),ou.
21
The n, in
t he 1640s, it was bu rned down " by the a rmy" (bing) , as t he insniplion p utS it.
The choice of the te rm o\'er the common derogatory appellations for re bels
(zei or kOIl , bot h meaning ba nd its) might indicate t hallhe troops in question
we re Ma nchus, which t he a uthor d iscreetl y refrai ned from naming. Ifso, lhe
Qing dynasty had so me ha nd in the monaste ry's devastation.
25
We may nOle, in conclusion, tha t the d isma l fate of the Shaolin Temple
was shared al so by othe r He na n te mples that had allied the mselves Wilh lhe
Min g dynasty and wc re the refo rc ta rgeted by its a(hersaries. The monaslic
complex atop Ml. Fun iu in the province's southwest was destroyed by the I'o\'-
i ng bandit armies.
c
'6 We ha\'c scen in chapter 3 that its monks had been famed
for their fighti ng skills. Having been trained at the Shaolin Te mple, Ihey
we re ra n ked second only to it by Ming mil ital'y experts,
Qing Suspicion
Qing author ities e nCOli ntered diffic ulties in th eir attempts to appoint an abbot
to the Shaolin Monaste ry, Their first choice had been monk I-Iai kuan (1596-
190 Fist Fighling and Self-Cullivalion
1666), who had held the postdul"ing the last }'ears of the Ming_ In 1646 he was
officially approached by the Mini stry of Rites, but lie declined the offer due to
a "leg illness." This lame excuse most likely concealed the Shaolin monk's re-
fllsal 1.0 cooperate with the ne\\' I-egime. By 1657, however, I-Iaikuan had
changed his mind. 27 We are told that he had "completely rec::overed ," where-
lIpon he assumed the monaslel-Y's leaders hip, handing illO his discipk Yongyll
in 1661. The la\.l.er fi li ed the office fOI- thl-ee years before de part.ing abruptly 1.0
I-lebei, lea\' ing no heir behind him. The monastery was 10 remain wit houl an
officially appoint(:d abbolallthrough 1999- three hundred years laler-when
Yongxi n \\'as assigned I he IXlst by t he communi st authorities, 28
We do not knO\\I wilY Yongyu resigned h is POSt, but ,,e ma)' conjecI1I re Ilial
Ilis decision was relal ed 10 ti le monastery's uneasy relalions wilh Ille Qing, of
",Ilicll tlle re are oilier indications. Bel ween 1652 a nd 1654 Shaolin monks con-
ducled a seri es of elahorat e requiems, which \\'e re supported by donors fmm
I hree He nan counties: Dengfe ng, Yansiti , and Gongxian, As Wen Yuc!teng has
sugges l.ed, I he masses we re mOSI Ii kel y direclCd 10 I he salval ion of I he souls of
Ille vict illls from the MingQing c<l lacl),sm.:!9 Two a nd a llalf decades lal er, Ille
monks were still payi ng their respects 10 the previolls regime, as evinced by I he
1677 stele t hat honored I he Shaolin wa rriors \\'ho had fought under Ihe Ming
minist.e rofwar, YangSichang.
Cherishing t he mcmory of the Ming, Shaolin monks bi11edy complained
of it s successor. Cu Y.'lnwu recorded their griev<lIlccs (\\'hich he might h ave ex-
aggerated in accordance with his own political inclinations): "The)' tell me of
harsh new orders, land allotmenls by corrupt ofTicials. Taxes i nCl'e:ls(:d even on
a monastic estate, caring nOI which dynasty had bestowed i1. " The complaims
were likely not unfounded. Conside r the indiffere nce of the Qing govel'llor
Wll O in t.lle 1OO0s had compared tile Shaolin monks IOSlreel beggars, Thatlhe
monastery ltad remained for decades in ruins is a n i ndicalion of the authori-
ties' Ii ngeri ng sllspicions. I-lad lhe Qi ng officials e ntel'lained any sympathy 101'
the monast.e ry, lhcy would not ha\'c allowed it to disintegrate,
B)' t he lat.e sc\'cntcenth century, thc mutual suspicion that had character-
ized t he monastery's relations with the regime graduall y a b,'ned, As lhe Ming
dynaslY faded from the me mori es of monks and officials, Qing authorities
we re wi lling to recogni ze the Shaolin Te mple's religious significance, In 1704
the Kangxi emperor signaled thc dynasty's dla ngi ng attitude when he graced
the temple with two specimens of hi s calligraphy, which were pl'Omplly en-
graved on t he I-I ea\'enly Kings Hall (Tia nwa ng Dian) and the Buddha Hall
( Dax iong Dian).:I(j In 1735 the Yongzheng emperor approved an am bilious res-
toration plan for t he monaSle ry, which amounted to nine thOllsand si lver lads.
Finall)" in 1750, t he Qian long emperor (r, 1736-1795) capped the impe rial
honors, personally visiting the lemple and staying there ovel'llight. The sover-
eign penned fOllr poems for the occasion, celebrati ng the monastery's scenery
and the religiolls lore ofilS India n patri al'ch
The eighteenth century mighl ha\'e ushered in a n(."\." era in the monastery's
SUSpe<::1 Rchcls J9J
relations Wilh lhe regime, if il were nOl for the officials' apprehension of the
monks' military acti vi ties. E\'en as it respected the Shaolin Te mple's cultural
legacy, the dynasty remained deepl )' suspicious of its mil itary tradilion. Unlike
the Ming officials, who had emplo)ed fighting mon ks in the ba.ulefield, Qing
authorities never condoned the military acti vities of Buddhi st clerics. The same
Qing emperors who patronized the temple's restoration carefully curht.xl ils
military pracl.ice. We ha\'e seen in chapler 2 that the Yongzheng e mperor took
advantage of t he temple's reno.ation to ti ghten gO\'ernml!11I control. He or-
de red I he desl ruction of Shaoli n's subsid im'y sh I' illes, therehy w(!eding out fa ke
monks who "do e\' il and create Th{: demolition of the monas-
tery's surrounding slu' ines was meant to separate the Shaolin monks fmm the
unruly communil ), of it.ine rant manial anisls, \\,110 \\'ere deelllt.xl JX>lentially
dangel"Ous.
Yongzheng's successor was equall y w'lI' y of the Shaol i n mon ks' III il itary
act ivities. The Qianlong e mpe ror, who had been moved to poctry by the
monaster y's scenery, was outraged whe n he heard in 1775 that the newly in-
stalled gove rnor of I-lenan, Xu]i ( 1732- 18 11 ), llad e nlisted Shaolin monks to
t rai n hi s tl"OOps. TI\e emperor prompt Iy forbade tile Illi lit ar), de ployment of
Buddhi st der ies. An imperi al decree asserted that monks sho uld ded icate
their lives to religiolls ends. That. a n official shoul d a be t their vio lations of
nuclcl histl,l\\' by ha"i ng I he m i nst ruCI hi s sold ie rs was pre post erous:
As I hey Ilave left Il lei r fam ili es, mon ks need SI ricll), adllere to 1 he
monas l ie reg ulal ions , cull ivaI ing I he vi r! ues or harmony and forbear-
ance. I Tow could they possi bl), pracl ice dole nt lechniques, showing ofT
fierceness a nd rial! nl i ng Sl re ngl h? The re have been some officials in
charge who have heard or lShaolin's r(, nown], and have ded scd ways 10
i rnperceptibl), ella Il e nge our norms. I low could Il le), di srupl the mOll ks'
vocal ion, COl lting them 10 demons l rate and having I hem sci I 1 heir
rnilila ry ski lis? I lavi ng mOll ks I rain Ilis soldiers is nOI on I)' beyond Ont! 's
aut horil)" il also ma kes him into a laughingstock. I lo\\' could XuJi be as
ignorant as
Itself unwilling to embrace the Shaolin monks, the dynasty was fearful
they would joi n its enemies. Fighting clerics wCI'e suspected of colluding with
band ils, and worse sli II of associating with sectarian rebels. The speclel' of rei i-
giously inspired up"i si ngs loomed la rge in the minds of Qi ng officials, who le-
lentlessl ), pursued the sccts. Whe ther their fears of messianic
revolls we re inml;abl}' j ustified goes beyond the scope of this study. Recent
scholarshi P has suggested that man)' of so-called WII ite Lotlls Sects" that were
targeled by lhe Slale had not been inmh'Cd in rclx:lIious activities, Those that
were might ha\'e in some cases resorted to a nns due to the gO".'ernmem's perse-
CUlion. '! Be that as il may, for ollr plll-pose the /Jerce/JfiOlI of imminent dange r
was more significant than its uncertain basis, for it proved detrimental to lhe
192 Fi st Fighling and Self-Cullivalion
temple's relation with lhc regime, Here is Vaerlu warning lhe Qianlong e m-
peror in 1739 of the Shaolin monks'joining the " hcterodox" seClS, The le mple,
explai ns the vice ministe r of h'ar, is a breeding ground for rebels:
In t he provinces under our supen'ision, such as I Iuguang, Shandong,
I lenan, and the like, the proble m oflile - heterodox (xieji(lo) is
common. The people of I Ienan are part icularl y ignorant and easily
swared. The villagers are agitated some good-for-nothings
drift from somewhere. Daoi st and Buddllist types makc a namc for
as healers, claiming to cure ill ness hy cast.ing spells and
Ot her evil magic. Ot herwise the}' pre tc nd to hring good fort tine and
,u"Crt disaster, as they burn incens(: and they sacrifict' to the Bi g Dippt' r:
they read Sun'as and they supplicate the Buddha. Stupid men and
foolish women a re i mmed iat cly incit ed by such pc oplc into joining tit(-'
heterodox sect s.
The heterodox sects are graduall y t ransm il1t'd from a si ngl c locality
to numerous others. Disseminatf'd across dh'c rsc arcas tht'y attract
di sciples, cvent Lmlly spread ing in f'''t'ry direct ion. Onct' t hc St' rt ari ans
are numerous enough , all types ofc"i l issue. It isenollgh for somcolw to
recklessly draw all illicit plan , for disaster to follow, as thc criminals
gang together ....
Furt Ile.-more, t lie StU rdy rOUt li s of I lcnan arc acc ustomed to
violence, man}'Studying the martial arts. For example, under the
pretext of teaching the manial ans, the monksofthe Shaolin T(!mple
have been ga t he ring wort h lcss dregs. Violc nt cri minalt Y]lCs will fully
study (:"j] customs, whic h bccomc a fashion. J letcrodox SectilriilllS large t
sud I criminals, tcmpt ing t hc m to j oin t heir sect,S, thereby increasing
t.lleir
The aUlhorities' wa riness of thc monaste,), is auested by the imclToga-
lion records of sllspected re bel s. In 1757 a BlIddll ist monk named XuJi 'an
had been arrcsted in Anyi Coumy, southe rn Shan xi, after meeting with sec
tarians. Thc unfOrLunate cleric, who had been too poor to purchasc an onli-
nation cer li fkale, Ilad been itine ra nt for yea rs . Vet of all the monastcries in
which he had sojourned, it was his association with the Shaolin Te mple-
some lWelll)' yea rs ear/ier!-tha t aroused his imerrogator's concc rn. All thc
more so, si nce the search of the monk 's meager belongings yielded a Shao-
lin-related documem thal sccmcd suspiciously seditious, I-l is notebook con-
tained the militant couplet: "Incarnated at Shaoli n hi s di vine powers great;
The benevolent one repelled the million-strong I-long army."${;
Monk Xu told the story-wilh which tIle magistrate had not bee n fa miliar
-of t.he Shaol in llitclal' y divinity V<9rapal.li , We have seen ill chapter 4 that the
"aliam god was bclic\'ed to ha\'e defeated the Red Turbans ( I-Iongjin), who
threatened the monastery, The monk explained that he llad copied the Shao-
SUSpe<::1 Rchcls ]93
lin couplet during his sojoum at the temple_ That it had remained among his
belongi ngs for more than th'ellly years might ha\-e been purely accidental.
l-lowe\'er, it mighl ha\'e signified, as the magistrate suspected, that for monk Xu
the legend of lhe Shaolin guardian spir it had acqui red an eschatological sig-
nificance_ If t.his was the case----our evidence is not sufficient to ascertain
whether it. was or not-the Ill yth that had p.-ovided Shaolin monks with a di-
vine excuse for \iolence llad si milad}' fi gured witll in a sectari an environment_
Qing period millenarian groups might ha\-e incOl-porat ed the Buddhist guard-
ian spirit int.o thei r 1)'"1ntlieon, imagining him to lead hi s Shaolin troops in a
war of redemption_
Was t.he Qing-fearjust ifi ed? Did Shaolin monks or Shaolin affiliat es join
in rebel lion? It is hard to answer thi s q tlest ion, for t he sources at ou r di sposal
arc likely biased_ The official accounts arc tainted by prejudice (against the
monastery), whe reas it,s monks, if they had ever been involved in an insur-
gency, \\'ould not. have recorded it. Bea.-ing this methodological p.-oblem in
mind, our eilinograpilic st lid}' of t lie monastery docs lend at least some cre-
dence to the gO\'ernment 's apprehension_ \Ve have seen in chapter 2 that
Shaol in's is a flu id commu nity, of wh ich resident mOil ks are il small Illi norit y_
Most Shaolin graduat es-lay and cleri cal alike-leave the temple to pursue
itinerant military careers, at the same time as their monasllc fellows regu-
larly 1 rain \\' il h outsiders. As it renowned center of the martial arts, Shaoli n
alt.racts countless practitioners who go there to learn new techniques, test
their skill s, and meet old fri ends. It is thus ext remely diffic ult 10 separate the
monastery from the larger martial community. To t.he degree that QingofTI -
cials considered folk martial ani sts as dangerous, they could not but sCI'Llli-
ni ze the Shaolin Temple. Guarding agai nst t he society of the "rivers and
lakes" rC'luired supervision of its monastic hub.
Qing officials were full y aware of the professional and the social net-
works that lied the monastery to the larger marti al communit),. Following
the failed Eight Trigrams uprising of 18 13, some rebels apparently sought
shelter in the Shaol in Temple's viei nil)'. Respondi ng to the J iaqi ng empcror's
(r. 1796- 1820) urgcnt query on the matter, GO\'ernor Fang Shouchou elabo-
raled on the monks' association with suspectcd criminal s: "The Shaolin
Temple is silliated in Henan's Dengfeng Count)', at t he foot of Ml. Song. Re-
mote and desolate, the area is suitable for hid ing_ If /)ers()//S similar to them. wifh
whom fhl!)' have bet!n /mroiollsly ftulliliar a.-ri\"e there, the monks arc sure to wel-
come them, and offer them Because thc}' belonged \0 the same
manial community, Shaolin monks were likely to harbor their fellows who
had been implicated in rebellion.
The Qing go\'ernment was not concerned, then, with the Shaolin Tcmple
itself igniting a rebell ion. The fear was rather of its association with rebels-
eitller that its itinerant alumn i would join in insurgencies or that its resident
mOil ks would gi\-e shelter to their former col leagues_ I-Icnce the gow;m ment's
repeated attempL'\ to sever the ties betwccn the monaster), and the larger
194 Fi st Fighli ng and Self-Cullivalion
marlial communit y. is the De ng feng Couilly magistrate I-Ie Wei (fl.
1830) wa rning the Shaolin monks not to collude wit h outsiders:
After the mon ks ... read ou r order and are informed of iL" content s,
they should all purify thei r hearl s and cleanse lheir minds. Each one
should burn i ncense, culti\'ate the way, and chant lhe Slilras, as we ll as
pl ow and land. As to the va rious types of lay people, Ill(' monks
are forbidde n to collude wit II t Ilem i n Nor arc lhe monks allow(x\
to interfere in out side matt ers, harboring criminals, and insligating
t rouble. If t hey d are pu rpose1y and I their crimes I happe n TO be
exposed, we are Slire to consider the m more serious and punish I hem
accordingly.
As to the lay people, they should nOt be pe rmitted int o the monas-
ter y .... Tenant farme rs s hould res ide el sewhere. They should nOI be
allowed 10 li \'e nea r 1 he mon ks. )/I
far from be ing limil ed 10 offic ia l circles, t he perception that Shaolin
mon ks Wf' I'I' relal cd 10 I he o llilaw COIllIll UIl it Y \\'<lS \\' idespread in late Qi og so-
cielY. The iconoclasl Liu Tieyull ( 1857- 1909), himself a ma rtial arts aficio-
nado, decla red in 1904 Ihal Ihe a rt ofShaolin fighting no longer e xisted al
il s bir thplace. The a UI hoI' of The '/i'(llu!is ofLtIO 0", allribuled it.s monast ic de-
cline 1.0 Ihe monks' associa lion wilh ba ndil sand criminals. "Iland combat. is
now a lost a l'l al the Shaolin Temple"' he wrote. Shaolin styles I we re
ori gi nall y developed for the usc of Ille mon ks, who practi ced the art in orde r
1.0 develop loughness and e ndurance .... Who could have known that aft.er-
wards t he Shaolin Temple a rt woul d Ix!come famous? Outside rs came in in-
c re a sing numbers to lear n ii , a nd one woul d ofte n hear thaI among thosc
who went OUI maste rs o f the a rt , the re we re ba ndits a nd seducers of men's
wi\'es a nd
The dynasty's sllspicion of the monks' sedition did not pre"cm some offi-
c ial s from bei ng inu' ig ued by their a n . In pt"Cvious chaptel'swe mel twO Qing
admi nist rators who t r3.\'eled to Shaolin to be hold its renowned fighting tech-
niC)ues: the low- ranking Wang Zuyua n (ca. 1820-after 1882), who had prac-
ti ced the Shaolin martia l a rts, a nd the h igh-ranking Lin Qing ( 1791- 1846),
who included a n accoum o f the m in his ill ust t<\led Recortl of (/ Goose Life's
Traces ill the SllfnIJ. I-I owe\'e r, the rel ations be tween t he regime and the monas-
ter y were so strained tha t in order 10 be gi\'e n a de monstration, they had to
convi nce the monks of the ir sincerity. Unlike the ir Ming predecessors, who
readil y d ispla)'ed the an to impCl'i a l pa trons, Qi ng Shaolin monks were fear-
ful dlat dl eir performances woul d be used a s e"ide nce against the m. Lin
Qing labored to putlhem at case. "I proceeded to ask the monks aboUl the ir
hand combat mcth(Xl , bUl they refu sed to utter a word about it. I made il.
clear that I have heard aboUl the Shaolin Fi st long ago, and I know it has
been relied upon solel y fot guard ing monaslic regul ations and protecting
SUSpe<::1 Rchcls ]95
the famous temple. Thererore they need not make pretence. The abbot
laughed and
Epilogue
ContemlXlrary visitors would be hard-pressed 10 imagine Shaolin's dismal
ninetcenth-century conditions. Tod ay's Shaolin Temple is as flourishing as it
has ever been. Paved wi tl l marble and decorated willi gold, each year it att racts
more than a million IOUl' iSIS rrom around the globe, The monastery is sur-
rounded by dozens or martial arts sellools, \\'llcl'e lens of Ihousands of aspi ring
at hletes vie to become China's martial an s champions, The tou rists and the
swclents have Iransrormed the Oengreng Count y economy, establ ishing lhe
temple as its most important financial asset.
The mo nastery's economic pO\\'cr is matched by its poli tical clOIl\. Con-
temporary Shaolin monks nestl e as comro rt ably in the regime's embrace as
did their Ming iU1CeSto rs fi ve centuries eadier. The mo nastery's abbot ,
Yongx in, is concurrentl ya member or China's People's Congress and the vice
pres ident or the Chinese nuddhi st Associiu ion. Il is poli tical infl uence ma y
be gauged b)' his abilit )' to rorci bl y remove (in 2000) some twenty t housand
peopl e rrom their resideillial shacks around the temple, t hereby restoring
Shaolin to what he-and rei low officials-regarded as its pr ist ine bea ut )'.
The te mple's links to the regi me arc also evinced by il.s place on dignitar ies'
tours. The likes orthe Russian president Vl adimi r Pmin and t he ronnel' U. S.
secrclary or Slat e l len ry Ki ssi nger are marched I hrough the Shaol i n Temple,
where Ihe)' are enterlained with mani al de monstrations and are ccrcmoni-
oLi sly orrered ant ique swords.
Il ow did the Shaolin Temple emerge rrom the ashes or civil war, Japanese
occupat ion, and the Cultural Re\'ollllion to become an il1lcmational sports
cente r? The answer to this question goes be)'ond t he scope orlli is lxx>k, whieh
docs n01. cov(; r the temple's twentietll-centul' y Il istory. N<.. .... enllcless, a rew pre-
liminary obsen 'ations may be made, ir nothing else as suggestions ror ruture
research.
Thl! Nalionai Arts (glloslm): Shaol in's n,-'\' i\'al has bt."Cn relatcd to a funda-
mental change in the state's auitude to the manial arts. Unl ike the Qing d)'-
nasty, wh ieh suspected manial artists or collusion with rebels, twentieth-century
gove rnments-whether nationalist or communist-considered their an a na-
tional treasure. Beginn ing in the Republican period ( 1912-1948), t he nati ve
fighting 1.ec hniques were hera lded as the means ror rebuilding the bodies and
the spirits or the Chinese citizens who we re raced wit h the onslaught of\Vest-
ern atllieti cs. Their H:ry name-"'National An s" (glloshll)-auests to the i ncor-
poralion of t he manial arts into the realm or nationall y sanction(. --d culture. as
do the repe.'Hed auempts to include them in international sponing events.1I
The martial arts ha\'e evidentl y become a source of national pr ide. At Ihe time
196 Fi st Fighling and Self-Cullivalion
of wriling it is uncenain whether the Chinese martial ans will be featured in
t.he 2008 Beiji ng Olympics (possibly as a demonstration sport). It is dear,
though, that the games loom large in the minds ofShaolin officials. who plan
to reopen in 2008 their Nonllenl Sllaolin Temple in the outskirts of Beijing. 12
The Media: Reality has imilaled fiction as lhe rise of the Shaolin Temple
has followed dose UfXln the grO\,' ing popularity of t he movies and tile
sion series dedicat.ed 1.0 it. The inlemational success of the kung fu genre is
among Ihe most str iking aspects of contemporary cinema. I-long Kong
have exerled a signi ficanl in fluence on I-Ioll y\\'ood filillmaking
-ha\'e played an enonnous role in spn:.--ading the martial ans' fame. both
williin Chi na and around li le globe. Tile modern media lias thereby recreated
Ille Sllaolin legend for conlemporal-y audiences. Pa rticularl y notewort.llY in
Ihis respect has been Li (Jet Li 's) 1982 blockbuster SI/lwlin 1f llljJlf,
whicll lias heen briefl y mentioned in chapter 2. Tn tIle \or.\ke of tIle movie's suc-
cess, I housands of aspiring ath let es flocked to the monastery, laying the fOil n-
dalions for Ihe mill' Iia] ans schools thai \,'ollld mushroom around it. The
t.emple's revival has been intimately linked, therefore. to the flowering of the
kung fu genre.
Eroll omir RfJ017": Wllereas t.l le Ming dYIll.\sly promoted Shaolin's milit:l q'
power, Ille Communist regime appreciates its economic significance. Even
I hough some of its alumni lultlt'joined the PRC milit ary. the monastery is val-
ued primarily as a financial assel. The sp(.'ctacut ar success or the Shaolin 'Ib n-
pIc as a tourist and as a sporling attraction has had far-reaching implications
for I he depressed Dengfeng County econolllY, resulling in em husi-
aSLic government supporl. Stale-sJXl nsored attempts to revive Olher martial
arts cent.ers-such as the Funiu Monasteries memioned in chapler 3-ha"e
been modeled on the Shaolin example. The temple's revival needs 10 be int cr-
preted, t. IICrefore, in tenns of tile economic reforms thai have so dralll:ltica lly
changed contemporary Cllinesc li\es.
CO N CLUSIO N
History, Religion, and the
Chinese Martial Arts
TilE HI STORY OF the Shaolin Temple is not. idelllicalto the evolution of the
Chi nese ma rtial ans. The monaste ry made import a nt contributions to the
development of late imperi a l ri gilling, armed a nd unarmed alike, and its
military hi story mirrored tre nds that have transformed the martial arts in
ge ne ral . Ne\,ertl lCless, the Ilislory of the mania l a n s is larger than the lCm-
pi c's. The righti ng techniques with which we are familiar today-sti ch as
Ta Ui Quan, Xi ng)'i Quan, am/Shaolin Quan-eme rged d uring the sixteenth
and 1 he se\'e ntee nth centuries by a combinat ion of economic, reli gious, and
political fact,ors that far exceeded the mOlUlste ry's reach. At the saTll e time,
t hese bare-handed styles drew on a n a ncient gymnastic tradition that had
matured centuries before the monaste ry's fou nding. Il a nd combal is in some
respects the remote descendant of {/(lo)'in cali sthe nics thai had flourished
prior to the a rri\'al o fHuddhi sm in China.
From anothe r a ngle, the hi stol' y of the Shaol i n Monastel'y involves <l ues-
tions that, despi te their interest for the Hudd hologist, are not necessarily
perlinelll to the martial arts histol' ia n: How could Budd hist monks ignore a
primary te net of t hei r faith that forbade vioknce? Did some aspects of lhe
Buddhi st reli gion of compassion lend themseh'es to a military interpreta-
tion? These <luestions arc irrde\'ant to fi ghti ng techniques such as TaUi
Quan, Xing)' i Quan, and Hagua Zhang that emh'ed in a non- Buddhi st envi-
ronme nt. E\'en though these martial styles are intimately related to religion,
fheir spiritual vocabulal' y largely de rh'es from native traditions. Comempo-
rary hand combat is couched in the rich te rminologies of the Daois!. religion
and of Chi nese philosophy. Hare-ha nded styles integrate the culture's con-
ceptions of immortality wi th its cosmology of the Supreme Ulti mate, the )'ill
and t he ),(wg, and the eightu' igrams.
Il mi ght be user ul , the refore , to son out OUI' principal findi ngs, those re-
19i
198 Conclusion
lated to Buddhism and dolence on lhe one ha nd, and those that concern
martial ans history and ilS relalion to nati\'e religion on the other.
Buddhism and Violence
"Throughout [asIA"ia," wrote Frederick Mot e, "lhe Buddhist reli gion of com-
passion t.hat regards the laking of any life as a great evil has o f t ( ~ n appealed to
warrior societies."! Tile ci rcumSlances unde r \\'hich the Indian-born fait h Ilad
been in\"Olved in violence-across Clllt urcs, histori cal pe riods, and geographic
regions-doubtless diffef(, ..d. Ne\'ertheless, the Shaolin military tradition
might shed light on ol her inSlances of Buddhi st involvement in warfare. At
least. some of the clemel1l.s thai had fas hioned the temple's martial history
might h,l\'e figu red-in di verse combinations and varying degrees-in othe r
cases of monast ic viole nce.
'1''''0 factors stand OUI in t he earl y history ofShaol in monasl ic warfare: eco-
nomic I)()\\'er and strat egic significance, The temple'S vast holdings reqllin .. xl
III i litar), protect ion, and ils cOlllmandi ng posit ion on a road leadi ng \.0 th(; im-
pe rial capi tal e mbroiled il.s monks in a bailie wilh nationwide consequences.
Til e monast.e r),'s mi lilar}' h iSIOI), was tlllls a reflection of insl illl1.ional wealtl1 as
\\'ell as geograpllic proxi mit )' to ti le nexus of pol itical pOl\'er.
Tllcsc in itial reasons for the monks' mili tar), acti vit ies were qllickly joined
b)' a t.hird: sanction by the political authoritics. Even though it likely had not
bcen the Tang emperor's il1l.c nlion, Li Shimin's leiter ofl.hanks pro\'( . .'d to be a
momentous cvcnt in the hi slory of the Shaolin Temple. I li s approbation pro-
t.ect.ed the monks' military activit y from thc i1l1.cr\'ell1.ioll of the political au-
thorities, arguabl y e\'e n from the wnuh of the Qing rul el"S a millelln i1l1ll I aleI'.
For despite thei I' stubbo nl suspicion of it , Qi ng officials refrained f!'Om ann ihi-
lat.ing the te mple. The emperor's appro .... :I1 , moreO\'cr, licensed their milit<lr)'
occ upation to t lie monks thcmsch'es. I n the Chinese cultural contcxt, a politi -
cal sanction could outweigll a religious proll ibition. E\'e n if they did nOl.cxplic-
iu)' admit it , Shaolin wa lTiors likely re lied on the empcl'ol"S mandate in their
violation of thei I' f aitll 's proscl-iption of kill ing. In th is respect Li Lianjie's (jet
Li) ponrayal or the emperor as a reli gious authori ty was faithful 1.0 the monks'
unde rstanding or thc Tang nlle r, In his 1982 blockbuster SIUIOIiIl l elll/Jle, Li at.-
tributed the Sllaoti n transgressions of Buddllist dietary laws to the e mpel'Or 's
absolul.ion.
I mpnial authorization was joined by divine sanctioll, The hi story of the
Shaolin Temple betrays an intimate COllnection Ix:tween Buddhi st violence
and ule venerat ion of Buddhist \' iolcnt deities, I n thi s respect, the Shaoli n mil i-
tary l.radition rcneclS the age-old contradiction betwccn Buddhism as an ethi-
cal philosophy and Buddhism as a reli gion of sah-ation, It was in the lauer-in
the mythological realm of mania I gods-thatShaolin monkssoughtan excuse
for thei I' m ilital')' practice. They did not resort to the SOplli sticated arguments
Ili story. Reli gion, and Chincsc Martial Arts 199
of Buddhist thinkers who had explained that killing was in certain drcum-
stances merciful. Rather, they found in Vajrapal.li 's muscular physique a self-
evidem and tangible proof that the religion of compassion required military
protection. The iconograph}' of the military gods left no doubl that the Bud-
dlla himself had sanctioned the anned defense of II is failh.
Solicit.ing \.he military might of the Shaolin monks employed
spells (1II(lII/ms) and hand s}' mIXllisms (mll(biis). This leads LI S 10 an aspect of
Budd hi st. wal-fare I hal wc ha\'e nOI tOLlched upon: I he role ofTanl ric rit lIal in
the protection of t.he state. Med ieva I Chi nese rulers-Ii ke I hei r cou nlerparts
throughout Asia-commissioned Buddhist monks wilh Ille performance of
elaborate rites 1 hal wcre meanl 10 assUI-e I hei r VicIOI), in bailie. Tantric III as-
ters such as (705-774) an enli re panoply of warrior
deities, ,\'ho accompanied Ihe Tang armies on I heir mililary campaigns. The
Heavenly King Vai srav<u.la (I'i shamen), ror example, was repealedl y said 10
have revealed his divine powers, sulxluing Ihe dynasly's
In Illei r fifteen-IHIndred-year e\'ohll ion, Ille Sl laolin man ial arts grad llillly
absorbed otller aspecls of Ille Bllddhisl religion. By Mi ng Ii mes, Shaoli n monks
Imd dlosen as Illeir quinlesselll ial weapon a Buddllist emblem: the slaff. Their
clloice of I I Ie inslrumenl was probably relal ed 10 ils role in monaslic life. Ill ld-
dlli st regulal ions inSI rucled mon ks 10 carry I he Sl alT, \\'h ich by metonymy came
to signify il s clerical owner. The same weapon had also been wielded by fi c-
tional fighling monks such as the heroic simian Sun Wukong, protagonist of
j O"lll71t) 10 the Wl'sl. The legend of the di vine monkey resembled 111m of tile Shao-
Ii n tut.elary god V;yrapfu.I i. The I wo Buddhisl warriors had been equipped with
t IIC samc magic staff thal cl langes it s dimensions al wi II.
Those who trained wil hin a monasti c envirolllllent came to regard their
martial practice as a re li giolls di scipline. Hy the si xteemh cellI ury, Shaolin di s-
ciples-la)' and clerical alike-hardly distingui shed the mas1.ely of their fighl-
ing tecllnique frOllllhe mastery of mind that k,(\10 li l>CI'<Ition. l\'lanial anists
such as Cheng Zong)'ou expressed IXllh the exenion of physical practi ce and
the exhilaration that followed it in Buddhist terms. Significantly. the associa-
lion of manial practice with spil-iwalliberation extended I>c)'ond the monas-
tery's walls. LaIC Ming pocu-y suggestS that practitioners of slyles other than
Shaol in sometimes i Il\'ested thei r techn iq ues wit h a Buddhi st mean ing. At leas\.
some manial artistsemplo),ed the "ocabularyof enligllten mem todescribe the
master), of lheir an.
Religion and Martial Arts His tory
The manial arlS hi storian is confronted by a methodological problem. To
the degree that the fighting techniques of individual warriors-as distin-
guished from the u' aining methods or regular armies-had e\'olw,. xl among
the unlettered masses, their e\"Ollilion might ha,'e escaped the writings of
200 Conclusion
the literary elite. Whereas the strategic ma neuvering of armies-the so-
called "art of war" (bil1gfrl) - had been investigated by Chinese authors as
earl y as the Zhou pedod, the humble techniques of the individual peasant
had rarel y been deemed h'orLhy of docume ntation. Our hi story of the mar-
tial arls is st rictly speaking a chronicle of the scallered literary references 1.0
Illem. Ne\\' in formation, del-iving fmm arcllaeological di scoveries or lext ual
re"elat.ions, may alle r our unde rstand ing of mart ial arts e\'olut ion.
Beadng th is reservation in mind, the a\'ailable sources do indicate Ihal
tIle traditions of Iland combat unde["\\'e nt a significant transformat ion during
I hc lat.e Ming and the earl y Qing. This de\e1opme nt was twofold. First, during
Ihe sixteent.h and the se,e nteenth centm-ies, the qur", techniques of bare-
handed fighling greh' in populal-ity, becoming more prevalent than tht':)' had
c\'el" been. Sllaolin monks, wllo Il ad trained fOl gelle ra tions in lhe arts of II Ie
slafT, began luming t.heir att e ntion to hand combat in the sixteenth cent ury.
Secondl y, those bare-handed stylcs with \\'hich we <He fa mil iar today- sti ch as
TaUi Quan, Xingyi Quan, mulShaolin Qua n-call bc Iraccd back to the Ming-
Qi ng I I"ansil ion peri od. We have seen t hat their eme rgence i 11 the scventeent h
century was accompanied b)' t.he creation ofa nO\'cI manial ans mythology.
The ne' \I bare-handed styles were il llribuled 10 obscure l3uddhist and Daoist
sai nls wllo Imd supposed I)' created t Il em centuries earlier.
Thus, in lhe case of mall Y late Millg marli al anists-Shaolin monks in-
cl uded-speciali .....at ion in ILllarmed fi gilling Il ad follO\\'ed the mas1.ery of a nncd
lecll niCJlIcs. New bare-Ililnded styles emerged d uri ng a period when the manip-
ulation of weapons, including firearms, had aln .... -ady been highly d{:\'eloped .
That bare-handed fight ing should follow ar med warfare contradi cts not onl y
the accepted mythology of the marti al a ns (itsel f a product of the seve nl.( . ."emh
cenl.ul)') blilaiso common sense. Tile Ilruura l progless of warfare, we wo uld as-
sume, would be from less dangerous to more dangerous, from bare-handed
figll tj ng lO a rmed combat. Wily did Simolin mOil ks, who had sliccessfully lcsl.ed
lilei r weapons in ballle, turn their attention to bar<.. ... ll <lnded tt.. "Chniq ues, useless
in battle?
The answer suggested by thi s book lies in this seemingcomradiction ilself.
L'ltc Ming hand combat was not created for fighting. The bare-handed slyles
with which we are famili al- today had not bee n nar rowly designed for warfare,
but had been broadly concch"ed for healing a nd spiritual reali zation. They
were created by integrating calisthenic a nd breathing techniques-originally
intended for t herapelltic and religious goals-into unarmed combat. The re-
sult was a s)' mhesis of fi ghting, healing, a nd religious self-cul tivation. Shaolin
monks did not stud)' hand combat because uley it militaril y effec-
tive. They were inll;gued, rather, b)' the therape utic benefits and religiolls ho-
rizons of the no,"cI bare-handed styles.
Transforming hand combat imo a self-conscious system of thought, late
imperial martial artists drew on d i,erse sources: Daoist manuals of gymnastics,
medicall.reat.ises of aCllplinClUre, cosmological interpretations of the Qassic oj
Ili stor y, Reli gi on, and Chincsc !\Iartial Arts 201
Chflngesand, in some cases, Buddhist scdplllres" The resu lt was a unique amal-
gamation of physiological and spil"itual \"(xabulades" Beginning with the sev-
enteenth century Sinews Tmnsjol'lIlfllion Qflssic, fighti ng manuals simultaneollsly
employed dive rse rcligiOtL" le nninologies 1.0 aniculale Iheir spidwal g.oals"
The imagination of Daoisl immonality, the cosmology.of the Supreme Ulti-
mate, and I he vnc<lbulal"y .of Buddhist e nlightenmell1 were equally harnessed
to descr ibe the practitioner's 1ll}'Stical experience"
Why the lal,e Ming? Why was a manial arts synlilesis crealed al 111111 peri.od?
Tile sixleenlll cenlUry wi l nessed remarkable economic and cult ural cfeal.i"it y.
from Ihe growth of dnmestic and int cl"Ilational commercc to thc spread .of
weme n's educatien, rrem Ihe dc\'dopmcnt or the publishing industl)' I.e the
maturatien .of nc\\' fenns .or fi clien and drama, I-land c.ombat e\'.ol ut i.on c.ould
be seen as anel her indicatien .or the \'ibrancy nrlalC r'l'l ing sociel},. More specifi-
cally, Ihe integratien .or Daeisl-rclal ed gymnasti cs inl.o bare-handed fighting
was rdaled 1,.0 I he age's I'd igieus syncret ism. A d imale .or mut ual t.olerance pe r-
mined Shaelin practitieners Ie explere calislhenic and breathing exercises
t hat had been celnred by Daeisl hues, al the same lime il all.owed dflO),ill aficie-
mules te stud)' mart ial arls I hal had c. ... olved \\' il hin a Buddhist sctl i ng. I nl.ellcc-
tualtrends were joined b)' polilicall raumas as t he Manchu cenquest .or 1644
cnnvinced literat i or tIle necessil }' 10 cxplore the rolk ma nial arts. As sch.olars
trai ned in bare-Imnded tcchnifJues, I hey rewrot e ,l lem in a ph il oseph ica 1 P,ll r-
lance. The broade ning or Ihe marlial an s inln a selr-conscie us syslcm .of
theught was largely due to their practice by members of l hc elitc.
The spiritual aspcci or Illarl inl arts theOl), wasjoined by the re ligieus SCI-
t ing .or martjal arts praclice. Tcmples orfe red martial an ists the publiC space
and t.lle restival .occasions t.ha t wcre necessary for tllC pcrfonnance .of thei r art.
It.inerant martial arti sts residcd in local shrines, where Ihe peasam )'e lllhs
trai ned in figllting. The tcmple's role as a location for Illi litary pnlCtice leads us
to a tepic we had only bl"idly touched upon: t he illl(,:gration of the ma rtial arts
into t.he rit.ual Ii re or t he vi lI agc. Future rcsearch, anthropological and hist.ori -
cal alikc, w.ould doubtlcss shcd much li ght on peasant associations that celll-
bi ned m ilital)', theatl"ical, and re li gious rUllctinns. I)rcli minary studies .of such
local organi zations as linn-dance troops and SongJ iang militias (named after
Water Margin's bravo) rc\"eal thatthcir performanccs have been incxtricabl),
Ii n ked to the \' i llage liturgical calcndar. The \"cr), names of seme late impe rial
manial arts troops betray tllcir sci f:perception as ri tual entities; in the villages
of north Chi na, cnngregations of Plum Flnwer martial artists arc called ,. Plum
Flower Fist Religion" (Meihua quail jiao). S
Thi s is not to sa)' that all manial a nists were t.'<l uall y keen en spiritual pe r-
fcction. The traditions of hand combat arc extremely \'ersatile, all.owing for di-
verse imeq:lI"Ctat ions and emphases" Whereas snme ade pts seek religi.oLls
salvation, others are pl;mal"il y COllcel"lled with cnmbat efficiency; whel"Cas some
al"C att racted to stage perfonnance, others arc intent on mental self-cultivati.on.
VariOLls practitieners dCSCl"ibe the fruits of their labors in dh"Crse tenus"
202 Conclusion
What this book rcveals, then, practitioners have already known: The Chi-
nesc marlial an is a multifacetcd S}"!Hcm of physical and mcntal sclf-cul tivation
t hat has diverse applications, from health a nd \\'ell-being to theatrical perfor-
mance, from compctili \'e spon to l'eligioliS self-cultivation, from self-defense 10
armed rehell ion, It is thi s \'ersatil ity that has aCCOlinted for the I radition's vitality
in I,he face of dramaticall y changing social and political condi tions. The mar-
tial arts' unif[ue combination of military, therapelltic, and re ligious goals has
madc thcm att.ract in! to thc yo ung and the old, women and men. rcbels and
sc!lolars, Ille aHluenl. and tl lc ncedy, in d ivcrsc sodel ics around IIIC globe,
Appendix
Some Editions or the Silll'llJS "HrJII.iforlllfllioli Classic
(The best modern edit ion is included in lJ,OIl1J/JlIO (hfUtl/long )'fmgshmg :hnldifll/ 'I!
f!lJ..l'Je U '1: $ (Hll re rlflssirs of Cllim'M ImtiiliOlw/ mt'lh(}(/s for tlo rlrishillg life), cd ir ed
by Ditl gJihll a na CI OIl. , PI'. 202-330. Rcnmi n l i)' u, 1998.)
( I ) Earl r Qi ng. poss ibl)' S(.'\'enl cenl h-ccnlury, manusc ri pt cdi t ion. Tile postscript
by Zining daorcn is undated. T he conunent :lllhe Narrating-An-
tiquiti es Libra ryofQian miglu ind icate rh:ulhc manuscr ipt belonged 10
the orQian Ceng $Ie (style: Zunw;:lIl g E) (1629-1701) (c\'cn though the
book is nOliislCd in his cXlantlibrary catalogue), Copy OI l rhe Nati onal Cenlral Li-
brary, Taipei.
(2) Qing manusc ri pl edition, The posLScripl by Zining daorcn is und;rled .
K"ngxi Ix: ri od ( 1662- 1722) prcrace al u' ibul Cd 10 the Recl use from the Clouds Sirrine
(Yunl an yinshi '2ifH!! WangJi no'ya ng Co py ,II t he Shanghai Libr"r)"
(3) Earl y nineteent h-century pri med ed iti on. T he o bsel'\'<lI1cc (011 p. 62,,) of
the laboo on Emperor name idcmi ll es il as belo nging to hi s Dao-
guang (1821- 1850) reign period. T he t \" c!ve exercises of MWeituo Offering His
(whi ch were laler incor pora ted illl o the JIlIt5lmled ElptJsilioll oJ /lIIel7la/ "iech-
lI iques) a re included , as is I.he IHanvw-Cleal/sillg Classic (Xislli fillg ttMJ!t.t). A ppc n-
di x by MiI.1 r. La izhang
M
( b izhang sh i * f,f tt). Copy al the Shanghai Library.
(4) 1875 p r i nted edition till ed Guardillg LiJetmd Ihe Sim!'ws Trml.!iJorl/latioll Clas-
sic ( Ueishe1!g Yijill jillg &i1:. YlWJf;fI! ). Pa n \Veiru's Esselllini "iecll"iques oj CIWIl/ illg Life
( Weisllellg )"(1Osllu of 1858 is incl uded . On thi s ed ition (wh ich I havc not
see n), see Tang l-lao, "Wo g uo ti yu zi li ao j ieti ,M pp. 68-69; and Dudgeon, MKung-fu
or iI,ledi cal Gymnasli cs,M pp. 503-519.
203
204 Appcmlix
(5) 1875 manuscript edit ion. Photograph ic reproduction titled The IllUSlralefJ
Sh!ews 'nflllsjormaliol! Classic (Hllilllben l'ijill jillg in the series
dian wuxue xilie Taipei: \'i wen , 2000. The postscri pt by Zining dao-
ren is undated.
(6) 1884 primed ed it ion titl ed 1'1/ Meallillg of 1// Sillews Tralls/ormalioll ClflSsic
( l'ijil! j ing )'i included in \'01. 34 or I he Cnllecle(1 Hooks from Ihe SweejJing
LeaveJ lI-fOlllllaill Hf'-lidellu (S(lo)'e slwlI fling h)} AllllJi). The postscript by Zining dao-
ren is dated Tianq i xIllr "t h yea r, jim.i rp r (IG24). J udging by another post scrip!,
this edition was ba:>.ed on a n earlier 1825 edili on coll ated by one Zlm Wenlan fJl;t
Copy at the Shanghai Library.
Notes
Introduction
I. The comparison has been made by Wile, Losl T'ai-rhi QflSS;(.f, pp. 25- 30. On
rht' Repllblic;m discourse ofnarion building and manial training, seC' also Morris,
MIlJ'/Vw oj the Nalion, PI'. 185- 229: and ZIIolIgglto jil/dni 1i)" 1 51/;, pp. 127- 14:;,
265- 296.
2. Ulach, IlisIOr1(IIIS Cmp. p. ' 15.
I . nle Monastery
I . On the Shaolin Monasrery, see Fu Mei. SOllgsl1ll (preface 1612); J ing Ri zhcn,
Shuo SOllg (preface 1721) ; and Siwoli" si z.1Ii (preface 17'18), compil ed by 't'<! Feng Cl
al.. revised by Slii Yizall Cl al. The above three arc also a\' lil .. blc in a modern lypc-
S t ~ t cd i Ii on in SOI/ g )'111: lloetl.riflll COli g lw II.
The best modern history is Wen Ylicheng, Slwolill filllggrt. See also Xu Chang-
qing, Slwolil/ si )' 11 ZIIOIIggliO 11'fnl/ll/ll; Slmo/i" s; uiiaoji, cd . \VU Gu ilnd Liu Zhixucj
Siwolil! 5i z.itiao ji .TIl biml, cd. Wu Gu and Yao Yuan; XiII hitm Silt/olill 5i z.li ij and thc
entry "Shari ! ~ i ~ in [\'loch izuki Shin ka. ed. , /Jllkk)'o daijilell. 3:2806-2807.
2. He nan ranks [welU),-sixth in household consumption, twclHy-eighth in pcr
ca pita net income of rural households, and twent y-nimh in per capita il11nu<ll in-
come of urban residents (of China's thil'l }'-two provinccsand independenl munici-
pal regions). These 1999 figures are culled fro m the Chilla S/(lIisl;((ll Yearbook 2000,
pp. 70, 332, a nd 319 respecti\'ely.
3. The price of an individualtickel is ' IO yuan, or US 5. The income they pro-
vide is shared by the monas tery and the provincial authorities (information gath-
ered by the author during visits to the temple in the late 1990s).
4. See Ching's essays "United Nations, Divided Shaolin," "Battling to be Shao-
lin's Best," and "13,000 Warriors ofTaguo-; see also Howard W. French, "So Many
Paths. Which Simolin Is ReaP-
5. See Ching, "In the Dragon's Den."
205
206 NOles lO Pages 10-11
6. See Ching, Nations, Divided p. II.
7. Fu Mei, SOl!g sl!u. 9 .35a.
8. Fu's SOl1g PIU CO\'ers all the mountain's sacred sites (Buddhist and Daoist
alike). However, b ulk is dedicat ed to ShaolilH'elated mat erial s.
9. See Shaolil1 si qimifodiflll bi/llla; Slwolil1 si shike )'isllll, ed . Su Siyi ('I al. ; and the
th ree-volume ZJIOI'ggUO SIIao1i11 si, gen. cd. Yo ngxin .
10. Fanl's (638-689) SI upa. for exampl e. sheds imporlant li ght on the ('\Dlut ion
of Chan genealogy; on this slllpa (whi ch is located outside the Slupa Foresl proper),
see Wen Yll cheng. Slwolill fimggll, pp. 99--105: and Cole, All in t he Framing: D('-
si re and Innocence in Early Chan Narr:u ivcs-A Close-Rcading of Ihc Bi ography of
Chan Master Fa
II . Chavannes ( 1865- 19 18), Le T'ai ,hall , p. 3.
12 . See Naquin and Chlin-fang Yii . Pilgrims (lnd Sacred Sites ill Chil/a. p. II.
13. See Kroll , from on p. 225.
14 . See Fu Md, Song.f/lll , ' 1.2b-3a.
15. As early as 676, Empress Wu convinccd the thcn reigning Emperor
Gaozong to perform the fi'IIgslwII sacrifi ce on Mt. Song. BowcH'r, bccause of the
Tibetan incursion the plan was call ed off. Evcntuall y, thc cmprcss pcrformcd thc
sacrifice therr in 696 i n the name of her own Zhou dyna sty. SCt' Fu t>.ki, Songs/w,
4 .5b. See also Wechsler, Offerillgs oJjadl' miff Silk, pp. 188- 189, 192, and Chavanncs,
Le 'fai dum, pp. 194- 202.
16. See Wen Yucll cng. Slwolill Jallggll , pp. 5-7, and Faurc, and Flesh
pp. 154- 155.
17. Tht: te mplc's dating is uncl car. It could poss ibly bc t raced b"lck to thc sec-
ond ce nt u ry CE. Sce Fu Mci. Song Sllll, 3.8a- b. Scc also the Cllt ry mi ilo
in Zhollghua Oao)iao da ciliiall, p. 1667.
18. See Yang Xuanzh i, LIIO'p"'gqie/all)i (ca. 5'17). 5.228. Scc also Yi-t 'tlllg Wang's
t ranslal. ion or Yang I lslIa nchih, A Record oj IJllddhisl MOllas/nies ill Lo-Jllllg, p. 248.
Yang Xuanzhi docs not allude to t hc Shaolin Monastery. \ Vcn Yuclleng, SIUlofiu filuggl/ ,
pp. 14- 16, speculates lhat Yang's Daochang Monastcry is thc Shaolin Monastery.
19. See Faure, MRel ics and Flesh pp. 155-165.
20. See Yampolsk)" TIl e Playo" l1 SII/m oj Ihe Sixlh PlIIriw'Ch, Pl'. I-57.
21. For a summary or modern scho larship see McRae, 1711! Norl!Jn'll School (II!II
the For/l/a/ioll oj Early GlI'UII JJllllllllism, pp. 15-19; and Faure. Le {mile lie IJo(/hi(/lla 11IU1.
1'1'.13-22.
22. See Faure, MRelics and Fl es h pp. 156-1 57. On Fal'U and Hu ian
(also known as L'loan) see McRae, 17le Nor/hem Scllool and Ihe Forma/jou of Early
Gh'w! Buddhism, pp. 43-44 and 56-59 respeCli vcl y.
23. See respecliYel), Yang Xuanzhi , LlloJalig qieltm ji, 1.26-28, and Yi -t'ung
Wang's t.ranslat ion, A Record oj Bllddhill Monasleries ill La-)'ll ng, pp. 20-21 ; Daoxua n,
Xu CarJSlmg z.h um!, shinsl!!l daiz.OkJo (hereafter M1-), no. 2060, 50:552a; and
C/lllmifa baoji, compiled by Du Fei, T, no. 2838, 85:1291c.
24. This is McRae's translation (The NorlhEIi School, p. 16); the original is
Daoyua n,jil!gde c1!UnI!deng III, T, no. 2076, 51 :219b.
NOles to Pages \4-17 207
25. See. respeClhe1y, Pei Cui (ca. 670-736), -Shaolin si rThe Shaolin Mon-
astery (728), in Qu,,,, umgwell, ed. Dong Gao, 2i9.1253; and Gu Shaolian (fl.
800). MSong yue Shaolin xin z..'l0 chu ku j i- r Record of the ReconstruClion of the
Song Shaolin [\'Ionastery's Kitchen and (798), in Fu i\lei, SO/lg
shu.20. 13h.
26. This is Griffith Foulk's translation in his "Sung Comro\ersies Concerning
the Separate Transm ofCh 'an," p. 246. The original is Daoyuan, jillg(/I! d/lum-
{limg lu. 7; no. 2076. 51 :219b-c. The Shaolin stele that ci tes this text dates from
see Wen Yli cheng-. Slwo/illjallggll, p. 47.
27. The earliest stele in question dat es fro m 122'1; see Wen YudH'ng, Shrwlill
fimggu. p. 49. and Xi" bi(1II Sluw/ill si !m, p. 83.
28. See Daoyttan. j illgdl! dllllllf{/mg III , 'J: no. 2076, 51 :220b.
29. The earliest Shaolin stel e of the Reed-Floming Bodhidharma dat es from
1307. howev('r earlier (thirteenth-century) paintings llave been prcsencd else-
where. See Lachman. MWhy Did the Patriarch Cross the Rher?- The 1307 Shaolin
stel e is reproduced in lhollK1JIIO SI/(/O/ill si, 2:75. I am not convinccd by Ladllnan 's
argument (p. 255) that the s talk-riding motif might ha\c cxistcd as earl y as thc
eleve nth ce ntury. COlO Shi ha ng. at any rate, suggests that it origin:ued during the
1129Jin ca mpaigns agai nst the Sout hern Song. The latt er's de fcnses oftl1e Yang-
tze I,'ere said to he so weak that the (' nclllY cou ld -Cross the Ri\cr on a Stalk of
Rt'cd.
M
See Cao Shihang, dluiang )'u chi roubiancai - liangge zhuming
Chanzong gush i de lishi iu.-
30. Sec Shahar. Cm:z.)' j i, PI' . 30- '15.
31. Sec Fu i\lci. Song S/lll , 3. 2' lh- 25a; \Ven Yucheng. Shao/i1/ jllllt;gtl, PI'. 169-
172; and Xiii billli S/II/o/illsi zlli, PI' . 39-42.
32. See Faure. a nd Flesh Bodies.- p. 162.
33. See, for example, Du Mu's ( 1459-1525) account of his visi t to llle monas-
ter}, in his j ill xiI! lill/a IIII> 20. 8a. Compare also Du Mu. VOiI millgsJllIlI ji, 1.18<1- 23".
34. Sec Wen Yuc heng, Slwolilijallggll, pp. 50-51.
35. See sit u, 114 .3040; Ware, trans., MWei Sholl on Buddhism,- 1'1'. 155- 156.
Compare also Daoxuan, XII Ca05l!IIgzlllwII (ca. 660), 7: no. 2060. 50:551; and Pei Cui,
MS haolin si bei ,- in Qllall Tallgwe", 279.1252; Tonami Mamoru, 77II!Slwolill MOIllIslel,'
Stell! 011 MOUllt Song. pp. 32-33. See also Wen Yucheng. SllIIOlill jallggtl, pp. 9- \3.
The situ and Pei Cui refer to Shaolin's founder as Bawo; Daoxlliln refers to
him as Fomo. Some scholars ha\e reconslructed his Sans krit name as Buddhab-
had!"a, assuming that. hi s full Chinese name was FowooolUo.
36. Daoxuan alludes to a w,1Il paiming by BaUlo. whose biography is included
in Zha ng Yanyuan 's (fl. 8:,0) Lidai millg 111/11 ji (UffOIr/ oj Famotl.S Pl/ililings 77ll"Ough Ihe
Ages) . See Daoxuan. Xu Caasellg tlllwII , T, no. 2060, 5O:55Ib; and Acker, Some rang
mid pre-Tllllg Tl!xts, part I. pp. 18'1-186, part 2, 7.93. See also Pell iol, MNOles sur quel-
ques anistes des Six Dynasties el des Tang,M pp. 236-265.
37. See Daoxuan, XII Ca05ellguu/(/ll, 1; no. 2060, 50:607b-608a and 50:484b-
c; sec also Wen Yucheng, SI/(/o/illjallggll, pp. 3'1-37.
38. Sec I'd Cui, MShaoli n si bei,- in Quail Tang wfm, 279.1252, and Da Ta/lgd(l
208 Notes to Pages 18-21
eien si Sa1!tmtgfiiSlIi Ulllan (688), by I-I uili and Yancong, "/; no. 2053, 50:253c. See
also Wen Yucheng, Slwolin Janggu, pp. 24-28. AnOlher reason for Xuanzang's
choice of t he Shaolin Monastery was its prox imit y 10 hi s nalin: village. See Dao-
xuan, Xu Caosellg UUUII!, T, no. 2060, 50: ' Ei7c.
39. Sce Yang Hsilan-chih. A Record of Bllddhist MOllasteries ill Loyallg. pp. S. 7.
Scc also Chcn. Bllddhi.mt ill Chill": A fi istoriclli SlIn'ey. pp. 162-163.
40. Th is is Yi-t ' u ng Wang's 1 rans lal io n (Yang I-Isfmll -ch ih, A !lemHI oj Btuldllist
lHol!(utel"ies ill Loymg, pp. 5-6).
41. For a general sun"Cy see Gh 'en, Buddhism il! Cllilltl: A /-listOlicol Sul"Vt)" pp.
170-177.
42. See Pei Cui, wShaoli n si in QUIII/ 1i ll/gwell, 279.1252.
43. See Gernet. Buddlli.fln il/ Chiluse Soriel)" pp. 142- 150.
44. The empress's leuer concerning Ihe - Incarna ted ".fai1reya Huddha
(WXiasheng Milefo was engraved in 683 on a Shaoli n stele. It is 1r.11lscri lwd in Fu
Mei. Song slw, 20.6' la-b. T he empress's poem \\',IS writ len when was SI ill Emperor
Gao7.0ng's consort . Tit led xing Shaoli n siw rFollowing 1 h(' Emperor's Car-
riage as he Graces t he Shaoli n Monaster y-), it is incl uded in QUfHl Tfmg .rili, :,}.58. On
1 he empress and 1 he Shaoli n t\'lo naste r y, see We n Shaalill fimggll , pp. 87-90.
On her Uuddhisl policies sec We instei n, Buddhism III/dn- Ihl' Till/g, pp. 37-<17.
2. Scrving the Emperor
I. lI arvey, Illt rodll rtioll to JJllddh isl Etliirs, PI' . 69, 94; and De micvill c, wLc
Uouddhisrne etla p p. 347-348.
2. Sec Vasuba nd h u's Abli idlumnakosas(islra. t ransla ted illlo Ch inese by Xua n-
zang, Apidalllo juslle 11111, T, no . 1558, 29:86b, and into Frenc h by Louis de La Va li ce
Poussin, L'tIbliidlwrmakosa de \'tlsllbamlhll. 3: 152.
3. Sec 1 he fi rr h-ccnl LIE')' Ma haya na code (\\'h ich \\';.IS probably compi led in Cll in <I).
f amomlgjing, "/; no. 1484. 21:1004b, lOOSe, 10071>; see also De mic"ille, wLe Uoud-
dhisrne cl la guer re,w p. 353, a nd l-I arve),. IIItmti'ICt ioll to 11,ultlhisl E,hir.s, p. 254.
4. See respectivel y CalJMllg vlllall. "/; no. 2059, 5O:34'1c, 1n1l1S. Ro bcn
Shi h, lJiogm/)hies des p. 153; a nd DII "/rlllgr/a Ciell si &lIIuwgJashi ziluall .
T, no. 2053, 50:253b. discussed by \Veinste in, 1111lldllism 'Imler,he T lillg, p. 24.
5. See Daoxua n, Xu CaosellgvIUall, "/; no. 2060, 50:646c. See a lso Zhipan's allu-
sion to monk Daopi ng (fl. 756), \\'ho m lunla r il}' joi ned lhe war against An Lusll an,
earni ng the IiI Ie Lord of l he I mpe ri a ll Il sig n ia Genera l inCh ie f (Fow tOllgji (1271),
T, no. 2035, 49: 375c).
6. See lizhi tOllgjiall, 182.5686-5687, 186. 5833-583'1, 187.5858, 188.5904; see
a Iso Wei nslei n, Bllddlrism IIIlder the Ta "g, pp. 15' 1-155 n. 1.
7. Zithi tOllgjimt , 239.7716-7717;Jill 1(wg shu, 15.454; XiII "/rwg sllII, 213.5993.
See also the biogrnphy of t he regio na l milila r y leade r Li I-Ian zhi (842-899). who
bega n It is ca reer as a wa nder ing monk (XiII Tallg sllu, 187.5442-5445). On Chinese
figlni ng mOil ks see also Gu Ya nwu , wShaoli n seng in his Rithihr jishi, 29.21 a-
22b; Demieville, " Le Bouddhisme e lla gue r re,w pp. 357-368, and We n Yuche ng,
Slraalillfilllggu, pp. 14 1-142.
NOles to Pages 21-26 209
8. See I-lao Chunwen, TlIng IlOlIqi IVlldlli Song dill Dlmhwmg seng lIi Hi! shehlli
slumghuo, p. 104.
9. See Feng Pei hong, MP. 32' 19hei 'j un j i ca n j uan .'M
10. Wei nstein, JJuddllism IIIlder Ihe Timg, p. 5.
II. See Schope n, MTwo Problems in lhe 1-l islOry orlndian Buddhism,M p.
12. Its authenticity has heen \'erifi ed by such carerul hi storians as Du Mll
(1459-1525), Gll Ya nwu (1613-1682), Wang Chang (1725- 1806), Nil da Nobont
(1904-1966), and Tonami 1\<famoru (1937-). See Du :"llu , jill rieliniflng, 12.la- 8b;
Dll M U, }fou mingslulII ji, 1.18a-23a; Gil Yanwu ,j illsl1i 1I.1t'n.:.i ji, 2.29b-30a, 3.34h-35h;
Gll Yanwu, MS haolin se ng bing,H in hi s Hiulilu ji .flli, 29.21a-22b; Wang Chan g,jinshi
cuibiml , 4I.1 a-7a, 74. l a-8b, 77. 15a-23a; Niida Noboru, To So /iolilsu bWlSho, pp.
830-833; and Tonam i, The SlU/ofi/l i\Iollflstel)' Stele all Mal/III SOllg. To nami 's mo no-
graph incl udes transcript ions, as well as Engli sh t ransla t ions, or the inscript io ns.
The latter were made by Pe nelope He rbe rt with Tonami 's .del. In the following I
li se my 01,' 11 tra nsla ti ons, except whe re othe rwi se notC' d . SeC' al so the stele's C' xcel-
le tll photograph ic reproduct ions in lJlOligglIO SIIfIO/i1i si, bPikR jIU/1/, pp. 18-22.
13. See Il owa rdJ. Wechsler, Zllao Keyaoand Xu DaoxlIl l, Tallg
,/"i"lil0llg l /I1WII, On Li 's III il ita ry !:ore n ius see David Graff, Medif'l!61 ChiliesI' WfI)/m"l'. pp.
169- 177.
14. See Zhlli IOllgjifili 189.5913-59'14. See a Iso Wang Sh ichong's ilnd DOli J ian-
de's biographies in jiu "/(mg Sllll, 5' 1.2227-22' 13. and Xi" Tang slm, 85.3689-3703.
For ge ne ra I background, see Wec hsle r, "The Found ing o f t IIC Tang Dyn ast y: Kao-
ISU (reign 6 18-626),M pp. 162- 167, il nd Zhao Ke)'ao and Xu Daoxun. '/(mg Trliz.ong
lh//(lII, pp. 39-44. Graff (pp. 172-lii) a nalyzcs t hc J l ulao mi litary victory.
15. \Vang Shichong e nnobled Wa ng Re nze as HPri ncc o rTang
M
(Tang \Vang).
S
J
' or I .. 9939
ec 11/ I flllg S IU, ,,. .. ___ .
16. I'd's h istor ), occupies one side of I he sIde. T he re ma ining six t('XiS w('re in-
scribed on its other side. On Pei, scejiu '1(/IIg sllII, 100.3128-3129; XiII Tallg shu,
130.4487-4488; and Tonami , Tllf!Slwolili MOllflsler")' Suk all MOIml SOllg, PI'. 42-45,
'0-'"
, ) , )_ .
17. The Tang revolt bega n in 617 al Ta iyua n . Shanxi.
18. Guangwu is si tuat ed near I-Iulao, where Li Shimin defeat ed Wang
Shichong's a it y, DouJiande_
19. My translation rotlO\\'s Wang Cha ng's Lranscriplio n in his }illslli (Itibial/,
77. 16b-17b. Compa re a Iso QlI(m Tallg well, 279.1252, a nd Tonami, The SllfIolil/ Mal/-
aSlel )' Siele all MOUlII SOIlg, pp. 29-30.
20. Gernel , Buddllism ill Chilll!Sl!Sociel)', p. 117.
2 1. On Lhe Sui pe riod origins orShao lin's es lale, see Pe i Cui 's hi story as t rd n-
scribed in \ VangCh a ng,jj,zsJlicllibiall, 77.17a.
22. See Tai/Jillgllllflll)"lI ji, 5.7a.
23. See Ibid. , 4.201.
24. The forL is firsl menLi oned in Lhejill H islol)', and according LO Pei Cui it was
eSLabli shed duri ng lhat pe riod. See jilu/llt, 119.3011. See al so SOllg shu, 45.1372;
ZllOushu, 15.246; a nd liziliiollgjj{lII, 117.3694, 170.5291.
210 Notes to Pages 2r:.-30
25. Ouring the medieval period the Shaoli n eSlate itself was some times re-
ferred La as Cypress Valley Fort (rather LImn Cypress Valley Estate). See for exampl e
Li Shi min's leiter lO Ihe Shaoli n monks (Iexi 2 below).
26. TheJiu Tallg sllll (54.
9
234) refe rs 10 I-Iuanyuan as a county (xioll); Pei Cui,
like I he Shaolin gO\'ernmenl docu menl of 632 (Iexi 4 below), rc fe rs to it as a prefec-
lure (::Iwu). Li Shimin's gene ral WangJunkuo passed through Huanyuan (i.e.,
I h rough I he Cypress Va tley [Slale) as eart y as OClOber 620. Howe\'cr, he d id not sta-
lion IroOpS Ihere (compare Jill Ttmg .f/lll, 5' 1. 223' 1, and Zi:.hi IOllgjioll, 1885889).
This enabled \Vang Sh ic hong 10 reca l'l ure I he SI ralegic mounlain estate, which lI e
consequenll y losl 10 the Shaolin monks, on 23, 621.
27. See Wen Yucheng, SllfIo/ill fimggll, pp. 357-:{GO. On Fan Zhongxill, sec
Mill gliO relllUll do (idiall. p. 1392.
28. The date oft he monks' \' ic tol")' is prov ided by t he magist rmc vcrdict of632
(text <I below).
29. Careful scholars such as Gu Ya n\\'lI (jiluhi wm::; ji, 2.30a). Niida Noboru
(p. 833), and Tonami Mamorll (I" 3) have concl uded thatthc aut ograph is Li Shi-

111111 sown.
30. The Ul.lddh ist eight fold pal h consists of r ight views, r ight intent iOllS, right
speech , right conduct, right liveli hood, right erfort, r ight mindfulness, and right
concellt rat ion.
3 1. There is a t}'pogr;lphical error in tIl e insc ripti on. Li Anyuall, 11'110 partici-
pated in scveral ofl..i Shim in's campaigns, was e nnobled as commandery duke o f
C uangde (in today's Anhui), not Deg uang. J Ie a lso ser ved as COlllllla nder-in-ch ief
at Luzhou (in today's Shanxi) a nd Prefec t o f! lua izll ou (in 10day's l lenan). See Xi "
To ng s1l u, 88.37<16-37<17.
32. M)' tr;lIlslalion is based on a n ori gina l r ubbing, \\'hi ch I o btained II'hen I
visited the monastery in 2000. Compare a lso the t ranscri ptions in Wang CI1illlg's
]ills!!i ('uibiall, <l l.I a-2a; Tonami , Till! SIIOO/ill MOlIllSUI)' Suit on MOlml SOIlg, p. II;
Slwolill si ::hi ( 1748), (W impe rial \\'rit ingsR), I b-2.2b; and Qlum T(mg Wt/l,
10.44.
Li Shi III in's !elle!', \\'h ich shared 1 he -Shaoli n Monaste ry SIeleR of 728 with six
olher texis. had abo been inscri bed on a nOLhe r Shaoli n stele. A recentl y discO\'-
ercd Shaol i n stel e dating from G I . 689 ca ITi es the S;I me leuer, written in ad iffercll1
calli graphic style, The imperial signa tu re is ide nticaL See Cui Geng, MTallg 'Qill
w{mg g(W S/wolill si jiao bej' kao,- pp. 88-90, a nd Tonami , 1711! Siwolill MOlIllSlery Siele
0'1 Mou'll SO'lg, pp. 12- 14 .
33. Li Shi m in's eXl ant prose is included in QU(II/ Tlmg wen, 4.13- 10.51, and his
poetry in QlUm Tallg Mli, 1.1-20. On hi s IHiLing and call igraphy, see Zhao Keyao
and Xu Daoxun, Tallg Tai:lmg:/Utall, pp. 392-403.
34. See Ziuli to,lgjiall, 189.5918.
35. See Daoxuan, XII Gaosmg:/uwlI, T, no. 2060, 50:633c. See also De mic"ille,
MLe Bouddhisrne ella guerre,- p. 361.
36. See lexl4 below.
37. The prohibition on mon ks receiving ho mage from lheir parents was re-
voked in 633. On Li Shimin's policy toward Buddhism, see Weinstein, BUlldhism
Uwler the T(lIZg, pp. 11-27, a nd Wechsler, pp. 217-219.
38. See Wechsler, MT'ai-Tsung," p. 219.
39. See N iida Noboru. To So hiJritslI bwul/O I/O kellk)'li, pp. &.'-l0-838.
40. Li Shim in's "i nst.ruction" is t.ranslaled in Twitchell , M'\lonastic Estates in
T'ang Ch i pp. 131-132, and Tonam i, 77u SI/(Iolill MOllaste,)' Stele 011 MOllllt SOllg.
pp. 17-18. It is transcribed in ji/lSlli wibillll, 74.1 a-2b; Niida, To So horitSIl IJIlllsllO 110
Jumk)'li, pp. 831-832: and Tona mi, TIll! S//(Io/ill MOlillstf!/)' Stele 011 MOllllt SOllg, p. 16.
4 I. See Twitchell, Mi\1onas t ic Estat es in Tang e h ina,M pp. 126-130; and Gernel,
ill a,inese Sodet)'. p. 123. On similar in.sc ript ions, see Brook, Pm)'illgjor
PmlJ(!l; p. 174. Accordi ng to Ikook, the inscripl ions were somel imes meanl to prevent
the monks from selling t he estate.
42. See Gernet. JJuddhi.fln jll CIliIU!.fI!Soriel)'. pp. 142-1:.10.
43. In thf' former case the land was inl ended for Ihe SUPtX>1'1 of an individual
monk. after whose death it rC'.'cned 10 Ihe sial e; in Ihe laller il was used for lhe up-
keep of 1 he monastery. See Nii da. To So iIOrilslI bllllsilo 110 kl'llk)'li, pp. 832-833; TwilCh-
ell, Mj'vlonast ic Estates in rang Ch ina,- pp. 133-134; and Gernel, BIl(ldhism ill CllillllSI'
Soriel)'. pp. 66-73. 135- 134. Niida considers Il le 632 o fficial kiter as ('vidence 11lalllH'
Iwujf'1I liall s),stem had been implement ed in s('\'('nlh-c('nlury Henan.
14. The abbrC'.'iatcel forms shallg haifll and ),il Ollg sland respccli\'ely for lh('
honorary tit les silallg haifll ),il Ollg da ji(lI/gi llll and ),itollg t/a jill IIgjrtll. S('e Zhon{Jguo
lidai gumu.hi dll fit/iall, Pl'. 51, 272.
45. This is Penelope Ilerbcrl 's l.ransi;uion in 1onami, 1711! SlIGo/in J\1011l1s1CI)' SIPle
011 MoulIl SOllg. PI'. 24-25 (slight Iy 1'C\'iscd). 111e original is I in Wang Chang,
jill sili cuibiall, 74.5:t-5b; and Tonarni , SlIGo/iII MOl/aster)' Slille all Morllll Song, p. 21.
<\6. The Icttcrs arc transcribed and lranslaled in Tonami. 171t Slll/olill MOIIllS-
If!/)' Slele 011 MOil III Song, PI'. 16, 18.22.25. Th(' second is Iranscribed also in \V:lIl g
Ch ang, jillslli fnibiml, 7<1,6a-b, Tonami (pp. <H}-52) suggests lhal Ihc renowllcd
monk Vi xi ng (673-727) cont ributed 10 Xuall1.ong's decisioll to SllPPOrl the monas-
lery. \'ixing. \\'ho is mentioned in the firs llell er (da/ ed Dcccmbcr6, 723), wilssen'-
ing al the ti me as cour t ast ronomer,
47. See Zlta ng '{ue's biograph)' in XiI/ Tallg 51111, 125.4<10<1 -<1412; sec al so TII'ilcl ]-
ell, (Reign 712-756),- pp. 338-3' 10, 3i6-379, and 387-389.
48. Wriuen in elega nt clerical scripl (lisllll) the ca ption reilds MTili zong Wen-
huang eli )'U shu- (M Empcror Taizong Wen huang Imperial Lell er T
49. The laller included XuJian (?-i29) and Zhilo DOll gxi ( fl . 720) , whose sig-
natures appear on the lener. Xu's and Zhao's respecti ve biogr.lphies ill t he Xi"
T(mg shu 199.5663 and 200.5i 02 allesl that the), worked under Zhang '{lie in the
Academ), in the Hall of Elegance and Rec titude. which name was chilll ged in 725
to the Academy of Scho!a r1}' Worth ies (j ixiil ndiilll shuyuiln). On Zhang Yue's di-
rectorshi p ofthe Academ)" see XiII Tllllg 5/111, 125.4' 108.
50. Weinstein, Bllddlu'sm Ullderlile T (lIIg. p. 51.
51. The confiscation order is incl uded in the Tallg HIli 59.1028. According
to Pei Cui, the emperor expressl), exempted the Shaolin Monastery from it; se(' hi s
212 NOles to Pages 33-37
inscription as transcribed in Wang Chang,ji1uhi cllibian, 77.18b. See also Tonami ,
The Siwolil! MOllastl!l)' Stele 011 MOllllt SOllg, pp. 47-48.
52. Tonami, TIle Slwolill MOllflSter:J' Stl!le 011 1HOIllit SOllg, pp. 47-52.
53. eu Shaolian's hi story is till ed -Song )'ue Shaolin xin zao chu ku ji M r Record
of the Reconst rUClion of the Song Shaolin Monastery's Kit chen and Store
house
H
). It inscribed on a Shaolin siele, which IOday is badl y damaged. However,
the texi in full is lranscribed in sllch Ial e sources as Fu i\'lei, Stmgshu, 20.13a-
1Gb. eu Shaolian's biograph), is available in XiII Ttmg shu, 162.49!).1-4995. Compare
alsojiu TangsJlU, 13.396.
54. The gOI'ernOI" was accompa ni ed b), t\\'o lo\\'er ran ki ng offic ials. Lu Yin and
Yuan You. I-lis visit is dated Hui chang, fifth year, second mo mh, t\\,ellly-sixth day.
The visi t was recorded o n I he nalTOW side of t h(! same stclc as CII Shaolian's le tter.
1 am grateful to A'de who poi nl ed to me Ihis insc ription, whic h, to the best of my
knowledge, is nowhe re transcribed. On Wlizong's suppression of Buddhism, see
Wei nstein, Buddhism Ulldl'f Ilu '/"flllg, pp. 11' 1- 136.
55. My translation is based 011 a n original rubbing. Compan' al so the tr,mserip'
t iOlls in Tonam i, TIl " Slwolin MOllfl.f/l!l)' SII'II' 011 MOIIIII SOllg, p. 2'"1; and X II Changqing,
Siwolill si)'11 7JIOIIggII0 well/lllfl. p. 10'1.
56. As is evident from the usagc of hi s pos tllumous t(' mple nanl<' , Taizong.
57. Of the SCl'en texts i nsc ribed o n the Shaoli n stc k , the list of thirtcen monks
appears last. ThllS conceivably it could havc becn addcd to 111(' stel e at a later datt!.
1 n particula r, the referencc to t he Ta ng rai ses the sll spicion tllat tile li st of tllirtc('n
monks might have been compilcd after that period (a ll til(' othe r documents on
I he stele are dated by reign pc riods o nl y). Nonctl lclcss, lai C sell oi;lrs sudl as
DII Mil and eu Yanwu concluded that monks had been recognized for
Iheir lll c rit.
H
Sec Du Mll. ),ou millgslwllji, 19a j and Cll Yanwu, scng bing,H
in ell Yall\\'U, Hiz.ltiluji.slli, 29.2Ib.
58. Daoxuan, Xu GaosclIg z./uwlI, T, no. 2060, 5O:553c. According to Pei Cui,
Scngchou served as Shaolin's abbot. See hi s si bei
H
as transcribed in Wang
Chang,jillslli (llihiall, 77.16b.
59. The origi na I has JUII. which eqlla Is thiny jill. A Tang pe riod jill equa led ap
pro:.:i maldy one a nd a ha If English pounds.
60. Clw{J)"e "illl! wi, 2.2 1-22. The sto ry's rcleva nce 10 Shaol in histOry h as been
pointed alit by Kuang We n nan, HShaoli n xiwu de faduan ji zaoqi Dilojiao WUShU,H
p. 10; and A'de, HJinnalllo wang kao,- p. 99.
61. This is, for exam pie, t he Iypical iconography o f the Fou r Lokapalas, divine
guardians of the universe, also known as the CaUlr (Chinese: I-Iushi Si
Tianwang). See Stei n, Sen'lIidll, 2:870-8i6; CeIl Y, Gods oj Northl!l'lI Blltiliitism, pp.
166- 168; and Demieville, HLe Bouddhisme ella g ue rre,- pp. 375-376.
62. The Chi !lese -ji n 'gil ng- renders the Sanskrit's secondary meaning of Md ia
mond.
H
See Moni e r-Williams, Smukrit-EIIglish Dieliollll,)', p. 913; and -jin'gang- in
FOgUllllg da t:idillll, 4:3532-3533. is some times identified with Indra. See
LamoLte, "Vajrapal.li in India,- pp. 1-9. See also Frederic, Les diell). (/u Bout/(Ihisme,
pp. 209-211; and CeLLY, TIle Gods oj Nortltem Bllt/tlltism, pp. 50-53, 200.
63. See and Mkongosyo,M in :"'loc hizlIki Shi n ko, BuH )"o tio ijilfll, 2:1309
and 2: 1333- 1335 respectivel y. See a lso Frederic, Us tiieux ti ll Boutitihismf, pp.
60-62.
64. See 'gang lish and ME rwa ngzun
M
in FoglI(mg do citiion, and
I: 190-191 respeuh'el y: see also Frederi c, Les diellx till BOluldhisme, pp. 247-249.
65. Stein, Serinida. 2:876.
66. Yu,JOU nlC)' to tile 1I't>.st. 2: 167. T he origina l is Wli Cheng'en, Xi)"oll ji, 36.412.
67. Stri ck mann, Cllille..v Mllgim/ Medicine, p. 67.
68. See MNaluoyan Ii chi j in'gang,M and li shi
M
in Fa-
b'1umg ria ci dial!, 3:3029-3030 and ' I :353'1-3.535 respecti vel y. See al so in
Monier-Williams. S(lI! .writ-ElIgli.fh Dicliollflr")', pp. 536-537, and -Naraenkongo- in
l ellgahu r/aijitl'll, p. 9m.
69. See '} )j(}/lIOIIijijillg, compiled in China by thc Ind ian monk Alikiqa, 'I ; no.
90 I , 18:88Oc-881 a; on ] his SUI ra see St r ickma nn, Mali/ms el IJ[(IJ/(/mi'ls, pp. 133-1 W.
70
}" ... .. 'T ?}?8 - 4 3 }O
. 1f/U' }mg)'IIl)"I, , no. __ ,!J : , a.
7 I. See A' de's [ranscrip[ ion in his -J in na luo wang kao,- p. 99.
72. See Kieschni ck, MUuddhisl Vegelarianism in Chi n:(; Goossac["[ , L'illl"rtlil till
boeuf en ali lie, PI'. 51-71; and WI' J-i aar, - Uuddhisl-1 nspi r<' d Opl ions,- pp. 129- 137.
73. Chen \..i-Ii , IHast" "limgs lI 'eslml Clutlnbrr /(OI1l(IIICI', pp. 46- 47. Compare al so
] he play's ] h i n eetl] h-cenl ury : ajll ve rsion, Wang Sh iru, The Mool/ (illd I/If' lilhn'; 'l7le
StOJ)' of Ihe \lestml \l'ing, cd. and lrans. Slephen 1 I. Wesl and Wilt L. Idem a, pp.

74 . See Sha hal', - Lucky Dog:- and Wel ler, UesiSftlllCl', Chaos fllld COl/lml ill OI;'W,
pp. 134-135.
75. See Ki eschni ck, HUuddhisl Vegelarian ism in
76. Shapiro, Ollt/flWS of the Marsh, 1:75.
77. See Ching [Chen Xing 1 l ua [. - I 100\'Jel Li Saved l he Shao lin
78. Uloc h, Tlu llistoriall's Cmft, p. 45.
79. See Gene Ching's eS;I)'s 'One' of the To p Tc n: Shaolin Cr.llldmaSlcr
Liang - 13,000 Warriors orTaguQ,- and kl n 1 he Dr,lgon's Den.
80. See Ching [Chen Xi ng HuaJ. HShao li n Te mpl e's Prod igal Son-; and J akes,
MK icki ng the Habit.
M
On o[.her Vn iled Slates Shaol in Te mples. sce Ching. kShao lin
Brothers Co Wesl,M and Ching and Oh, MShaolin's Second Wa"c.
M
81. See Gene Chi ng's essa)'s "T he Wo rld Heritage or Shaol in
M
and -United Na-
tions, Divided Shaolin.k See alsoJakes, kKicking the
82. The emperor's edi ct is included in the 17'18 Slmo/in si ;)Ii, Melien/wI/,M 4b-5a.
See also Wen Yll cheng, SIwo/j" f anggu, pp. 3'11-342: and Zho ll \\'eiliang, Mr.-Iing_
Qing shiqi Shaolin wllshll de li shi liubian,M pp. 8-9. On the Yo ngzheng emperor,
see Zeli n. HThe Yung-Cheng Reign,k p. 202.
83. See 1luang Changilln, MLi"lzong di yi daochang. M pp. 53-54.
84 . See Wang Shixing, l'u z./ii, p. 6.
85. The magistrate's wa rning wa s engraved on a Shao li n stele, ror which tran-
scription I am indebted LOA' de.
86. Ibid.
87. Quoted in Kang l'Ollg Qian .fliiqi dllmgxiang Il!nmill fallkallg tlou::.heng zilino,
2:619.
88. The warni ng was engrm-ed on lhe back side ofa stele, which contains a 1595
lett er of patronage by the Dengfeng County magistrate. I am grateful to A'de for
poimingit to me.
89. See Shahar, emz)')i, pp. 30-45: and Welch, 1711! Plrle/ia ofChillese Bud(lhislII,
p. 16. On meat-eating monks, see also Kieschni ck, TIll! Emillell/ MOllk: Blu/(lhisl l(/e-
als;'1 lHedieval C/linl'.se f/agiogmph)', PI'. 51-63: and Faure, '171l! fl ed 17m!fl(I: 111U/(/hisl
Approac/1I',s (0 Sexuality. pp. 151-53.
90. '!lIe ot her guardi an deilY menlioned is Kapil a (j i'lpiluo shen). See CU(lIIg
hOllg millgji. '1: no. 2103. 52:298a; and Soper, lilera1)' Evidell(e for End)' BIU/(Illist Arl ill
China, pp. 74, 229. I am graleful lo Susan Bush forthis reference.
3. Defending the Nation
I . See, for example. Zhu Gllm: hen (1557-1632), }'ollgrhIUllIgxifiOpil" 28.673;
luixillg slJi (ca. 1650), 12. 101 ; and PiIlg)'flO zlllUtll. revi sed by Feng Menglong (1574-
1646), 10.59.
2. See)i" PillgMei ri/ulfI, 90. 12<1<1 .
3. YII Darou, poem, wi th prologue. sell I 10 Il l(' Shaolin monk in
his llumgqi lang xu)i, 2.701.
". See 11 011 A nguo's pref:lce 10 I he SI/(/Olill lJIlI/fa rlWII umg. On Cheng Zongyou
SCI' also Lin Uoyuan, lJlongglio li)'11 sM. p. 337.
5. Chen Jiru ( 1558-1639). for example, \,' rote the pref:lcc to Chengs SIIl'slli
(1Ii Slor), of arche r y).
6. lIuang martial ins tructor. Wang Zhc ngnan (1617-1669), received
no formal education a nd ea rned his li vel ihood as a manual laborer. Sec Iluang
Zongxi's epi taph for \Va ng in his Nalllei welldillg, 8.128-130; and \Vi le, T'ui a/is A n-
cestors, pp. 55-57.
7. The t iUes of t he ot her 1 h ree manuals included arc jucJmllg xiII Jtl (Essent ials
of the crossl)O,,' method) ; C/ulIIgqiallgffl XI/fill (Select ions of the long spear method);
and Drmdfl offl XUlIIl (Selections oflhe broads\,ord melhod). Cheng's SIUloIilllflmJa is
ava ilable also in an edition titled SlmolilllJlllljlll! (The Shaoli n stafffornllllas), wllicl l
a forb>ed preface at tri bul ed to the earli er Yu Dayou (1503-1579).
8. Yu Dayou. poem. with prologue. sen I to lhe Shaolin monk in
hi s Zhengqi lang xu)i, 2.7a.
9. A spear manual attribmed to I-Iongl. huan and titled Mellgfii Itmgqilmgfa is
included in Wu Shu, Slml/bi III, PI'. 113-124.
10. Cheng Zongyou. Slmolill lJImfa, 1.1 1>-2b.
II. l\-lao Yu an)'i, WI/bei zlli, 88.la.
12. Ibid .. chapters 88-90.
13. See Cheng Zongyou, SIUloIill gmifa, 2.1 a. 3.8h. For the relevant conversions,
see" M i ng \\'eights and Meas ures,- in 1711! Cambridge HisIOI)' of Chilla, \'01. 7, p. xxi.
14. Che ng Zongyou, Slmolill gmifa, 3.8a-b.
15. Ibid., 1.5b-6b.
NOles to Pages 62-65
2];,
16. Ibid., 3.7b-Sa.
17. Ibid. , I.I b-2b; 3.7b.
IS. Tang Shllnzhi. Wu biml, 5.39b. On Tang Shunzhi , see Good rich, Dicl ioum)l
oj Miug Biograph)" 2: 1252- 12!">6.
19. See res pect ivel y Qi Jigua ng, j ixiao xhu/lI/." shi/xl j llml ben, 14.229; 1\., ao Yu-
anyi, Wubei :I!i, chaplers S8--90; and I-Ie Lia ngc hen, Zlumji, 2.27. On Qi , see Huang,
1587 A }ear oj No SigllifiwlI(I!, pp. 156- 188; and Good rich, Vic/ioll(ll )' oj Miug Biog-ra-
I)!!)', 1:220-224. On Mao, see Goodrich. Dic/iolltl'l)' oj M illg Biogm/lli)', 2:1053- 1054.
On He,:we Li n Boyua n, Zhollgguo /i)'11 .fili, pp. 319-320.
20. Wu Qiao, \l ei/II sllilllm.
21. See Wll Shll, Slwl/bi III, pp. 109- 111 , for hi s init iat ion into t he marl ial arts. On
WII and hi s leacher Shi Dia n, see also Ma SllI/oji(1II rOllggllo, pp. 88-111; Li n
I\oplan, Zllfmgguo liyu .fili, pp. 339-3'10; Mauucl a Ryilchi , ZhollggllO WllShli shiliil', pp.
2S-30; and MShoubi in Siku da ridiall, p. 1633.
22. WIl Shu, Shollbi /11, prefacc, p. I.
23. Ibid., p. 11 3.
24. Scc Goodrich, Dir/iollal), oj Millg Biogmpll)" 2: 1616- 1618.
25. Yu's j ialljillgmLL sl have circulat.cd as an independent l'oluIII(' prior 10 1562,
whcn Qi j iguang q LLol ed il in fLL It in hi s jixiao Xills/III: shi/xl jlum 111'11, 12.184- 219. 11 is
also amilablf' in Yu's collecled wrilings, whi ch \,'ere published in lhre(' inslall1n(, I115
bCll,'ce n 1565 and Ihc cart)' \!">80s undcr thc titl es Zllf'lIgqi 1t00gji, Zhl'1lGQi laug xllji,
and Z!!l'IIl:,rqi lang yuji. Thejiall jillgi s in the )'Igi; see the combincd 18-11 edil ion of all
1 hree i nSlalllllelll s. I lc I..iangc hen pra ises 1 hej iall jillg in Il is ZlIl'lIji, 2.27.
26. I am nOI slIre of t he reason for thi s u$; lge in Vu's \, ... il ings. Perl laps Ile applied
lhe I\urd MS l\"Ord
M
ror MS laffM becausc l he former had already appeared in lhe name of
1 he Sl arf mel hod,j ingc hu Long Sword (j inbrchu changj ian), \I'h ich he SI udied. Cheng
Dali s uggests Ihal MSllu rd
M
signifies in this instance !he enlire marlia l arts lradilion
ral her I han I he concrele ll'eapon; see hi s Z/lOIIgglIO lillIS/III, pp. 121- 123. In any C\'e111
lhe lel!:t ofYu's Sward Classic leaves no doubt that it is concerned with staff ftglning
her 1 han fencing), as indeed Il'as d ear to Yu's contemporaries Qi j iguilng and I-Ie
I.. iangchen. Sec also Tang I-b o, Slwolill \I'm/allg hao, p. 42; Tang I-lao, SIIIIO/ill Q1U1/1.shll
mijlle kaoz.hcllg, pp. 67-69; Lin Bo)'uan, Z/lOIIgglIO /i)'11 slli, pp. 317-318; Lin Ho), uan.
MTan Zhonggllo wushu za i Mingdai de fazhan bianhua,M pp. 67- 68; and Matsuda
Ryiichi. ZhOllgg1l0WIISilll sllIfiie. pp. 7-9, 52-53.
27. The Yin/ Yang terminology fi g ures in Yu's SWim/ Classic, as in lhe 10 1'111ula:
MThe Yin and the Yang should alternate, the !WO hands need be strnight,M Seejiflll
jillg, in Zhellgqi Iflllg)'lIji, 4. 3b.
2S. Yll Da}"Ou, MA poem, with prologue, se ll! to the Shaolin monk
Zllmgqi /llllg xllji, 2.7a-8a. An almost identi cal account of Yu's "isi! 10 the monastery
is found in his 1577 Ml nscription on the Renovati on of the Uni l'ers.l.l Chan Court-
Zlumgqi IrlllgXllji, 3.601-71>.
29. Tang I-lao located onl), one shared for mul a in Yu's and Cheng's manuals:
- j ill Ii fii.e guo, XiII Ii wei Ja- (M[Stri ke when] one surge of [your rival's] energy is
largely m'cr, and before anot her has been gcnerated
M
). Compare Yu Dar ou, j i(lll
216 Notes to Page s 6:"; -69
jing, in Zlumg'li f(mg)' lIji, 4.23a, and Cheng Zongyo u, Siwolin gwlja, 3.4a. See al so
Tang Ilao, Siwo/in '1 1111/1S1111 mijlle kfiOUleJlg, pp. 65-66; and 1\blSuda RylKhi , Zhollg-
guo sJl iliie, p. 53.
30. The Shaolin mel hod Or [ he idden (Yinshou), d iscussed in Cheng's
Shanlin glinfiE. is already melllioned in Tang Shunzhi 's \\'II biall, '1ianji (5.39b), which
was compiled approxima[el y [en years prior 10 Yu's vi sit to Shaolin.
31. WLl Shu, Shollbi III, p. 89.
32. Tang l-lao. Sl[(lolin '1l1fl/U/UI mijlle k{WUleJllf, pp. 68-69. Sec al so l\-lau uda
R yuch i, Zilongguo WII.s}11I .f/li/ue, p. 5' 1.
33. On [hese roles-reI ig ious, cu II ural , social, and polil ical-sce, among 01 h-
er s, WI ChLln-rang, nuddhism
M
; WI Chllll-rang, The llencu)(I1 of lJu(/(i hism in
China; a nd nrook, Pm)'ingjorPollier.
34. See Wu Shu, Shollbi III , p. 109.
35. Incl uded in Wu Shu, Sholl bi III , pp. 93-109. 11 is templ ing 10specuJalc Ihal
Cheng Zlwnru belonged [0 [he same extended ramil y as Clwng Zong}"ou. The ror-
mer's birthplace is give n as i-I ai)'ang, by whi ch old counl y namc Ih(' Jal1('r some-
[imes rcrers [0 hi s native place in Xiuning, Anllui.
36. Sce Che ng's introducti on to hi s Ellie; '1iallg/a, in Wu Shu, Shoubi fu, p. 93.
37. Sec, respccli\c1y. Wll Shu, Shollbi III, pp. 14, 93, 110; Ch(, ng 7..onb')ou, S/I([(}-
lill gllnja, 1.2a; and Sanqi Yougong's (' pilaph inscribe d on hi s bur ial slupa and slill
ex ta lit ill Shaol in's Stupa Forest (Tal in). On Shaol in il ineranl war riors S('(' al so Xi e
Z Ilaoz he ( 1567- 1624), 11' 1/ l a -Z.II, 5. 23a.
38. Ca i J iude. for ins lance. alludes 10 a Shaoli n mon k as a me mber or Ille
crs and See CaiJiude. lI'obitlll sJliliie (preface 1558), 1.9- 10. Compa re .. Iso
Wu Shu, Shoubi III . preface p. I.
39. Yun YouKe, Jiallgl1ll f(JIIgtall, pp. 191- 220.
40. See Chen i'ing)'uan, Qialll(ll ll>eIlrt?1I xiake lIIellg, pp. 187-228.
41. Sec Needha m a nd Yat es, Scienumuf Cillilhatioll ill Chillfl, \"01. 5, pa rI VI. pp.
27- 29.
42. I-l ua ng. /587 A }'etl r ofNoSigllijifallu, p. 159.
43. See Millgshi, 9 1. 2251- 2252. See also I l ucKeI'. kM ing em'CmmCnl , R p. 69.
t]t]. For general baCKground, see Ge iss, RThe Chia-chi ng Reign,R pp. 490-505;
Kwan-I'Iai So,japfllle5e Pirn. c), ill A'lillK Cllilltr, and A nlony, Like Fmlh Ffool;'lgOII lit e SUI,
pp.22- 28.
45. The bings holl j iej i
M
is in chapler 8b.
46. On Zhe ng, see Good ri ch, Dicliollm)' of Millif 11iog/"tlph)', 1:20'1- 208.
47. Compare Zhe ng Ruoceng, jiallgllall jillK liie, 8b.16b; Cai Jillde, IIbbiall
slt ilile, 1. 9- 10; and Wan Biao's e pilaph in Jiao I-lo ng ( 15' 11- 1620), G lIOClu/O xiallzlumg
lu 107. 82b. On Wan , see Goodrich, Dictiol101)' of A'lilllf l1iog'mph)" 2: 1337- 1339.
48. TIuce sixleenth-celllur)' ga zelleers allude to the panicipation or kmonaslic
troopsR (sellgbhlg) in lh is oou..l e, e".en though none or lhem specifies to which monas-
tery they belonged. See t.he 1561 Zilljiallgtollg-Jli (cha p. 60); the Ji.ying period ( 1522-
15(6) Nillgbo f u uli (chap. 22); and t he 1579 Hallg-J/o11 fll uli (chap. 7). The relevant
pass.. 1. ges rrom all three gazetteers are re produced in Millift/tii WO/iOII sllifiao, 5: 1831 ,
5: 1976, and 5:2073 respeuively. Compare also Cai J iude, I\bbiml shilul', 1.9- 10. Zheng
Ruoceng, jimllJ'lwl jing /ill', 8b.17a, alludes to a monastic viclory on "Iount Zha, by
whi ch he is proh..1.bly refeni ng to Zhe.
49. Com pare Zheng Ruoceng,jiwllJ'wlI jillg /iie, 8b.19a- 23a, wil h Zhang Nai (jin-
shi 1604), Wusongjia)"i 1110 man Uli, 238b-39b. For locations in Ihe I-I uangpu River
delta, see Shang/wi lis/Ii ditu ji. I I.ake il Lhat Wengj iagang is lOd ay's Wengjia village,
near ZheJin.
:i}. The four monks were Chela ng, Vifeng, Zhen)'uan, and Li aoxin. Their
stupa is no longer eXlall t. See Zhang Shul o ng. Shes/ifill xioozhi, C(lIIS/lflll :hi, p. :10. I
am grateful to Yang Ku n of t he Songj iang III for I hi s refcrence.
51. Zheng Ruoceng,jimllJ'UlII jing /iie, 8b.21 b.
:12. Ibid., 8b. 18a.
:13. 1 n t his respect Zheng Ruoceng's chron ide illusl rill es I he d ifficult y of sepa-
rating histori cal and fictiona l man ial arlS narmtives. II is notcworthy IIml anOlhcr
anecdote in Zheng's ch ro nicle, concerning t he monk GU1.hou, was fic i ionall y embcl-
lished wit hi n fifty rears of its publical ion. Comparc Zhcng Ruoccng, jifllllJ'WII jillg
iiiI', 8b. 16b- 17a, wit h ZhLL Guo1. hen, Hmgr/llwllg ;\";(l0/lill, 28.673.
54. Zheng RLLocc ng,jitllllJlwll jilig/iiP, 8b.22b.
55. See Xlle VII, /Judfillism, \\'11/; and Nfl/iollfl/ism, PI'. 49-51, 55.
56. TI\'o Dcngfc ng County documents confi rm thc panicipalion of Shaolin
monks in these campaigns. T he doc uments, datcd 1581 and 1595, wcrc engr.m:: d
in ston(' at the Shaolin Monastcry, whcrc thcy are still cxtant. See W(' n Yu("]wng,
Slwolillfallggu, PI'. 292-293, 300-302; and Zcng Wcihua and Van Yaozhong, MCong
Shaolin si deji fang bei ta mi nbrwcn ka n Ming da i scngbing.
R
T he panicip<ltion of
monasti c troops (sl:ngbillg) in t he 1511 war with thc Liu brol ilcrs is con fI n ncd by
Gll Yingtai, IHillgsllijisJlI' bell/flO ( 1658), <15.9b. Gu docs not spccify 10 which monas-
tcry t hey belonged. Sec also Robi nson, IJalilii/s, ElllllldlS, (11If/IIie SOli of 111'(1111'11, pp.
136- 137.
57. See Wen Yucheng, Slwoljllfallggll, PI" 292-298, and Zcng Weihua and Van
Yaozhong. MCong Shaotin si dej i fa ng bei t;l mingwen kan sengbing.
R
58. The poem is included in Ihe S/wolillsi uli, 11.7a. II is quOIed and discussed
in Xu Changqi ng, Slwo/ill si )"11 Z/lOIIggltO IIJt!II/IIW. p. 228. Sec Che ng's biography in
Mingshi,242.6282-6283.
59. This I)assage is f!'Om the 1595 teller. T he Liu bandits \\'cre aClive during the
late Zhengde (1506-1521)-not I am grmcfu lto A'de, who pro-
vided me with tra nscriptions of both lellers. See also Well Yuchell g, S/wolill ftmggu,
pp. 300-302.
60. The edict is quoted in the S/100/ill si :1,i, -chel//wl/.
M
p. 4a.
61. See Wen Yucheng, Siwolillfallggu, PI' . 290-291. On Zhang, sec Goodrich ,
DictiOlla,)' of Millg Biograph)" I: 111 - 113.
62. See Yang Tinghe (1459-1529). Yallg \lbn/IOI/g s(m hi, 4.i b; and Wang Shi-
zhen (1526-1590), YmlSlwllwllgbieji, 97.1847.
63. Sec A'de, "Qianfo dian ji bi lHl a kao -; S/tao/ill si qilllljodifm hi/ilia, pp. 19, 104;
and Xin. bial! Shaolill si UII', pp. 27-28.
218 NOles 10 Pages 73-79
64. See Millgslli lu, Wuzong reign, 86.1851.
65. On Zhu Yua nzhang's earl )' years al lhe monasler)', see Wu I-I an, ZlI1l l'ww-
zilallg ziluaI!, pp. 11-16, a nd MOle. ""The Rise of lhe :o..ling O),nasl)" pp.
44-45.
66. ClIshall )'ol!gjue IIeslumg gr.UlIIgiU, 2' 1.16a.
67. The hells offire, blood. and knives.
68. C!ululI! )'ongjue lusllfmg gr./{mgiu, 24.16a-b.
69. 1luang Zongxi, Nfl/l/ei wendillg, 8.130; and Wi le, T'a.i ... hi'sAuceslors, p. !"m.
70. See Zheng Ruoceng.jiallg'llall jillg me, 8b. 2'"2b; He Liangehen, Zlumji, 2.27;
and Wcn Yucheng. Slll/oIill fimggu, p. 29B.
71. SeeAde. Iamajiao),11 Shaolin Si.M On Ihe Til)Clan monk's flglu-
i ng [eeh niques. see Cheng Zong)'OII , Sliao/ill gr.1I/jll, 1.1 b.
72. Sce Cheng Zong)'oll, S/lt/oIill gmifa, l.l b; Fu Md, SOl/g .f/llt, 9.33b-:H; and
Wen Yuc heng, Slll/olili jallggll, PI'. 309-3 10.
73. See Cheng Zong)"oll. SIIaol," lJI"ifa, 1.1 b.
74. See ji1.11 slum ;),i, 6.Gb-7a. The jiz" slum ;)Ii crroncousl), has Bianqun lll-
s tead of 8iandun. It alludes 10 by Ih('" sixu"cnlh-eclHury name he was
g i\"en at the Shaolin Monaslery: jinnaluo, on wh ie ll set' cllaptcr 4 below.
75. See WIl Shu, SllOllbi /11, p. 110; and MOl :o..lingda, Slmo ji(1II (Ol/g gflO, p. 95.
76. :'\!aquin , Peking TemlJles mill eil)' I.ife, p. xxxi.
77. Zhang Dai (l597-c'l. 1(70) , Lflllg/Illt/ll wmji, p. 37, Iranslat('d by \Vul'f'i-Yi,
MAn Ambivalent Pilgrim 10 Ta i Shan ,- p. 77.
78. Yun Youke.ji(mgIUl mllglall, p. 201.
79. Iluang Uauia, Neijjfl qlltllif"tl, p. Ibi and Wil c. 1"ai-rhis p. 58,
80. See l\'1a Mingda, SllIIo jiall cOllg gao, pp. 68-76.
81. See Xu Me ngxi n, SfllI clltIO bei menglmwiall, 48.8b-9a, 51.9b, ilnd Mil Mingd,.,
SlI1.lojifl/l COllggao, PI'. fi8-69.
82. SOIlgslli, 455. 13382.
83. See Slmillll qlUmulllall, <1.62 (Sidney Shapiro's I. ranslal ion, OIiI/(/lI'S of lite
p. 65), a nd I he 1.\0 lat.e Ming vers io ns o f the Yang Fa mi Iy Saga: }'mlgjia jiallg
)"all)"; (50 chapte rs), by Xiong OanlLl (fl . 1550), 25.118-26.125, 38.179- 180, a nd
)'{mgjia ji(mg )'fm)"i (58 cha pte rs) (Preface 1606), b), ji Zhenlun, 15.98-17.109;
31.1 89-19 1; 36.212-21 3; see also MOl Mingda, SllIIo ji(1II cong g(lO, pp. 71-73.
84. Both mon ks fi gure in a Southe rn Song li sl o f subjecl5 popular among Slory-
tellers. See Luo Ye, Xillhiml :wiWtmglall/II, p. 4. Lu is rcfc rred lO in lhe story b), his nick-
name MTauoocd (Hua I-Ieshang).
85. See Wu Shu, SllOuhj /u, pp. 93-109.
86. Tang Shunzhi, ME me i daore n qUOIn ge,M in Tang Shunzhi , jingrltlwn xifm-
sheng IIHmji, 2.8b-9a.
87. il .. 1L Yu is in Cha ngshu Coullly,j iangsu.
88. The W"aS Zhang's fri e nd Li Zhu)'i, in whose house Li Lallliall
Zha ng's poem was il mhored for Li Zhu)'i's manual of Li Lalllian's Sly Ie.
See MOl Mingda, Shuojiall COlIggnO, pp. 206-211.
89. The Formalion
M
(Liuhua zhe n) was altribmed lO lhe renowned
Ta ng ge neral Li J ing (571-649) . See Sawyer, TIle Seven AWilo')' Gassi(s, pp. 339, 341 ,
344-345.
90. I ncluded in Yu an X ingyun, Qingrt!J1 slliji Xllilt, 1:399.
91. The origins of the Sha Famil y Fisl are obscure. II is possihle, howe\'er, Ihall he
fami ly in question was of 1\,1 uslim des celli . See :'>.a :'>.'Ii ngd a, SllIIo jioll cOllg goo, p. 21 0.
92. Mini ng fant asies assu me s ur pri sing Iwisl s and lur ns. Ni neleelllh-cenlury
Russian and Chi nese gold hunters on I he banks o f I he Amu r were believed 10 l\a\'e
creat ed a com mun ist republi c t here. See Ga msa, - How a Re puhlic of Ch inese Red
Beards Was Im"Cnt ed in Pari s.M
93. \Vang Shixing ( 1547-1598), I'll zhi, p. G. T he :'>.'Ii ng suspi cio n of miners \,'as
not unfo unded. as mine pilferi ng wa s commo n. See To ng, Di.fonle" IIlI dll " Heaven,
pp. 60, 64. As nOled above, in 1522- 1523, Shaoli n mon ks I,'ere d r., fled to f'glllihe
mine r lllrned ba nd il Wang Tang.
94. Zheng Ruoceng, j iollgllolljillgliie, 8b.22b. See also I-Ie Li angchen, lhl'lIji,
2.27; and Millgshi, 9 1. 2252.
95. See SOllg xioll zhi, p. 837; and 1'1I11Jali si, p. 16.
9 6. A'de wrole of our I rip in hi s - Funiu shan
97. sha n Yunya n lra nscr ibed in t'IIIIJ(tllsi, pp. 38-40.
4 . Staff legends
I. SCI' rc:spec li vcJ}' Wu Shu, S),ollbi III, pp. 113-120; Tang: SIIUllZll i, -Enwi dao-
rc n 'I u:t n in Ta ng Shunzh i. jillgr/ulftll riml.siullg wf'IIji, 2.8b; Zhc ng Ruoce ng, j i-
angnall jing lue, 8\). 18\); and Cheng Zonb,)'ou, Shoo/iII gUll/a, 3.7b.
2. Zhcng Ruoceng,jiang7lO11 jillg liill, 8b. 16b. Guzhou mi ghl ha\'c becn I rained
al a monasle!,)' olher Iha n Shaolin.
3. Scc Cheng Zong)'Ou, SIIOO/ill gil II/a, 1.1 bj Fu Mci. SOllg Shll, 9.30b-31 <I ; Shlw-
z.lIi fhmgfmg xi(III z.hi; and lIc/WII/1I z.lIi. T he legend was further in eigh-
Iccnth-cc nlur}' sources sli ch as Ji ng Ri zhe n, SllIIo Song, 8.2b. 21.26a-27<1 ; and
SlwO/in $I z.hi, 1.1 2a-b. See a Iso Kmlg.ri Df!1Igftmg rian z.hi, 8.8a.
4. The lerlll hufa is lI sual l)'a pplied 10 the four Lokap;i las. ",110 serve as prol ce-
lo rs o f the world (each g uarding one quan er o f space) and the Buddhi st fa ith.
5. The inscription is still local ed al the monaster}'. It is transcr ibed in A'de,
MJ innalli o wa ng pp. 100- 101. For a b iography of its amho r. Wenzai, see Fu
Mei, Song shu, 9.32\)-33\). Wenzai cites as h is source the now-iosl -J ingzhu j i r Ad-
mired b}' a monk Zi)'ong.
6. On the Red Turba ns upri sing, see MOle, MRise of the Ming pp. 38-
40, 42- 43; and ter Haa r, Wllite Lotus Teadlillgs, pp. 115-123. The mOI"Cmelll 's political
mastermind was Liu Futo ng, and its rel igious leader was Han Shamong, who de-
clared the i mm inent ar rival of the Budd ha Maitre),a . Following Han's capture and
execution, hi s son Han Liner wa s installed by Li u as emperor of a new Song dynasty.
7. Tang 1lao, Shoo/in mijue kaochel/g, pp. 55-62.
8. The inscriptio ns, titled MChong zhuang fo xiang bei
M
r Stele Co mmemorat-
ing l he [Gold} Re-Coating of the Buddha Images
M
) and MChongxiu fatang be i
III i ('"Stele I nscr iption Com memorati ng t he Renovatio n of the Dharma-Hall
220 Notes to Pages 8:";-88
are outlined in the Slwo/iI! si thi, 3.9a-b and 3.1Oh-lla respect ivel y. The forme r
provides 137 1 a s the renovation dale. The two e pita phs, for the monks Jungong
and Xungong. were inscribed on their respective stupas; the relevant passages are
transc ribed in Tang I-lao. Slwo/ill q!ltlllS/UI mijue haozlumg, pp. 55- 58, where he ana-
lyzes them in wit h the ste le insc riptions.
9. Tang I-lao, Slwo/ill qlUlIISl1II mijue hauzhellg. pp. 56-61.
10. See A' de's tra nscription ofZuduan'sstele in "Jinnaluo wang p.99.
II. This is Leon Hun' itz's translation (sli ghtl y ahercd), Srri/Jlu)"e oflhe wl us
Blossom of Ihe Fi ne Dlwrm(l, p. 3 15. The original is Aliaofa 'iall/llUi jillg, J; no. 262,
9:57b. See also A'de, MJinnaluo wa ng pp. 98-99.
12. See Wenzai 's 1517 l'Ct"S ion as Iransc rihed in A' de, -Jinnaluowang kao,M pp.
100- 101; Fu Me i, SOllg 9.3 Ia; a nd .ling R izhe n, SIll/a SOllg, 21.26b.
13. On the C\'olution of the Gua nbro ng and Zhi y! legend, see I-luang 1-lu;Ui(',
ClUmgollg de 1"I'11l.I'f! )'14 shengt'o pp. 106- 116. The legend is mi rrored in I he i\-ling p('riod
nove l S(HIf]"IIO ),(m),i, 77. ()17-()1 8. whe re I he mo nk's name is changed from Zlliyi 10 Pu-
ji ng. See also Moss Roberts' t ra nsla t ion, "'hl"t!l! Killer/oms, pp. 585-586. On Gll<lllgo ng's
Daoist aspect, !We t.e r I laar, -111e Ri se of Ihe GlIan Yu Cult : Th(' T' 10 isl Con nect ion.
M
14 . In some monaste ries GlIa ngong shares Ih(: offi c(' spirit M \\' itll
ot her deit ies; see Pr ip-i\'lulle r, C/,illl!Sl! Illlddflisl MOllflSlnies, pp. 204, 224.
15. See Shaha r, CmrJ'j i. pp. 30-' 15.
16. Yampo lsky, "111 1' P/(lljO"" Slil/"{/ of IIII' SixlII PO/fi(mh, pp. 128, 131- 132.
17. Sce M killll(tm- in Mochizuki Sh inko, IJukk)'o daijilfll I :5'13-5'14. Sec also M hi/!-
lIaf"(j,M in Nakamufil 1 hUime. IJ llhhyolfJ d(lijill'lI, pp. 250-251. In China the Ki1111lar;IS
Il'cre known as members of the Uuddha's rei inue. Wllicll made up of eigllt types
of divi ne beings. coliecl ivel )' GJllcd I he -Eig hl Ca lcbrories of De vas, Niigas, [and Ot her
Di vinc Ik inb'S[M (Tianlong 1xlbll). Sce '...,iaofa iiallh,w jillg, 7: no. 262, 9: 12a; and Ilu r-
vitz, SrrilJllI l"e of Ihe 1..011/$ JJ/OS50m oflhe Fille D/WrIlUl, p. 56.
18. Sce A"de, M.linna illo pp. 99, 103.
19. Sec Miaofa /itmllUa jillg. J; no. 262. 9:2a; and H url' il z, SC";PIItl"f! of Ihe wIlLS
Wassom of the f im: !JIwrma, pp. 2-3.
20. Cheng ZongrOll. Simo/ill ifill/fa, 1.1 b.
2 1. On the local ion of l he Ml lllperia I Fon ,M see SIll/olin s; uli, 1.1 b-2a . The nil mc
MML SongM re fers in 1.hi s inslance to the peak of li l is name, and nOI to Ihe cntirc
mountain r<lIlge (of which Shaos hi is a no the r peak).
22. Fu Mei, SOllg Sh ll, 9.30b.
23. The earlies1. explicil re fere nces LO a Hall date from I he eightcemh
ce mmy. See .li ng Ri zhe n, SIIIIO Song, 8.2b, 21.27a; Shao/il! si z.hi, 1.6a; and Krmgxi
Dlmgfcllg xim! ur;, 8. l b. Howcve r. il mig ht have been e rected muc h earlier. Tile
fourteenlh-cenlury Shaolin slele fo r Chan Mastc r Fcnglin
M
rFenglin
chanshi xi already memions a -Guardian Spi r it I-laW (qielall shell lallg),
but. il does not specify which dei l Y was vene rated the re. Sec A' dc, wang
p. 99.
24. See Slwa/ill si u!i, 1.6a.
25. See Shahar, Cm:'")'j i, p. 19i.
26. On the twentieth-cenmry vicissitudes o r lheJinnaluo I-I all , see Xin bwu
SIUlolhl si tlti, p. 23; and Ching, Temple
27. See Sltm!grIallg gu sai xiejlu//! silisi zltollgjiamJIIt, pp. 366-369.
28. On the dating of the Thous.'lnd Buddhas I-lall and ilS wall painting, see
Shaolhl si qimifodiml bi/wa, pp. 19, 104; and A' de, -Qianro dianji bilma p. 51.
whcrc hc argues t.hat the painting must havc becn completed berore 1623.
29. Compare arhat images in Lllo/It//! //1/(/ and in Kent , of the
Guardiansofthc
30. Demicvillc, MLe Bouddhisme ella p. 375.
31. Scc 1lan"Cy, AI! IIIlrodliC/ioll 10 I1l1drl/ii.fl EI/iies, pp. 137-138.
32. Sec Dcmic"ille, MLe ella pp. 380-381.
33. This is Mark Tatz's translation, quot ed in I-Ian'cy, All /IIII"(J(/U(lioll 10 B!u/(lltisl
Elhics, p. 137. See also Demi(",ille, MLe Boucldhismc ella gll('I"I"(' ,M pp. 379-380.
34. Zimmcrman, MA l\'I;i haniSI Criticism of {'rlhas,istra; and Zi mmerman,
in Uuswell, EII()"r1olJ('(iia oj I1l1ddhi.fllI, PI' . 893-897.
35. See, respect i\"e1y, Victoria, lPII al II hr, es p. 1'1'.86- 91 , and YII, Buddhism, mil;
(!lid Natio/!alism, PI' . 1%-149. See also Sharf, Zen of Japanese Nat On
Japanese see Adolphson, 1' ""1 allli Claws Buddha.
36. See Cheng Zong)'Ou, S/wo/ill gUIIJa, lAb.
37. Yu Da),ou,jiml jillg, 4.3:\. T his passage is quo ted by QiJiguang (jixiflo xi/!-
shu 12. 184) and is echoed by Cheng Zong)'ou (SI/(/ O/ill gllll/fI, 3.1a). Sec also Lin
Ik>yuan, MTan Zhongguo wushu zai Mingdai de pp. 66- 68.
38. On I he c\'olul ion of t he j ounlf'J to tlte West cycle, see Dudbridge. Ilsi-)'1I (hi;
and Dudbridge, MThc IIsi-)'1I cM Monkey and the Fruits of the Lasl Ten On
Sun Wukong's origi ns, see Shahar, Lingyin si Monkey On his reli-
gious cull, sec Sawada Mizuho. and Elliot , Oli,u.se Spilil MediulII
CIIlIs ill Sillgapore, PI'. 74- 76, 80- 109, 170-17 I.
39. I sUSPCCI Ihal the English rendilions or btmg :t s or <Ire mis-
Ie"ding, ror the), suggest a short and heavy instrument, \\'hcreas the description or
Sun Wukong's I\'eapon in the novel- no less than it.s depiclion in Ming woodblock
prinls-Ieaves no doubt that it is a long rod, similar 10 the Shaolin slarr. More gcncr-
all y, an c:.:a m i nation of [\'1 i ng sources re ... eals lhat lhe tenns btlllgand glm rerer to the
sa me we;\fxHl. In his 1I'lIbei Vii (1 04.1a), for e:.:a mple. Yuanyi explains thai
Ixmg and the gull are the sa me (ballg)"11 gUll yi )"). In the si:.:tcclllh-celllury
novel, Sun Wukong's jingu is somelimes rererred to as gllll. Sec \Vll
Chcng'cn, XiJ'OIl ji, 27.310-311.
The dirfcrcnce betl\"Cen gull and ballg is gra mmalical rather lhan semanti ca!'
Whercas [he former can be used without a qualirying adjeclive. lhe latter commonl y
appears in compounds such as liro(mg (iron ballg), grmbtmg (wooden baug), and, of
course,
40. Yu,jOUr1I1!)' 10 IIh /, 1:108; the ori ginal is Wu Che ng'en, XiJOII ji, 3.30-31.
I hayechanged Yu's 10 (see the preceding note).
41. Yu, j ourllt:y 10 Ihe IIh /, 1:167-168; Wu Cheng'en, XiJou ji, 7.70.
42. Two sliglilly dirrerem \'Crsions or this Somhern Song leXl survive. Bolh are
222 Notes to Pages 9:.-106
photographically reprocluced in Da Tallg SllllZflllg Jaslli qrl jillg sllihua. Sincc bOl h
texts were originally disco\'ered at the .\'Ionaslcry in Kyoto, thcy arc somc-
ti mes called t he \"ersion.- On the ir dating, see Dudbridge, I-/si-)'1t clli, pp.
25-29.
43. See Wang Shiru, Xi'dlmgji, 2.60-61: and Wang Shifu, Tlu Moon ami Ihe
lilher. pp. 232-234.
44. Chen U-li , A'lasler TWIg's Clwmber RomallO!, p. 58. The original is Dong
.lieyuan, Dongjicyu(lll Xi:riflllg, 2.79. I ha\"C subst it lll ed -stafr for Chen Li-li 's -cudgcl
M
(sec note 39 abO\"C).
45. See Chen U-li. l\I(l.f /er TlIIlg's lI'eslem C/umlber flommlU, pp. 45-46: and
DongJieyuan. Dollgjie)'lul/I Xixillllg2.61-62; On the jie(/(lO, see -tOSIl Min j\loch izuki
Shi nk6, Bukk)' o daijilell, 4 :3879-3880, and i IIl1 st rat ion no. 1147.
46. See Luo Ye, Xillma/! ZlIiwt!llg lalllll , p . ' 1.
47. Th is is Sid ney Shapiro's t ra nslat ion (sli ght I)' altered) , Ollifmlls oj 1111' Marsh,
I :75-76. 'I'll(> origina I is SIII/i/lll qllallZjlllall, 4.69-70.
18. See Wu Cheng'en, Xi)'ollji, 22.215-255; and Yu , j ollmey 10 IIII' WI'-sl. 1:129-
143. On MSha Monk
M
and the MGod of the O('f"P Sands,- s('e Dudbridg('. /-Isi-)'II fhi,
pp. 18-21, and Strickmann. CMllese Magi(fl1 Medifille, pp. 110-111, 312 n. 17.
49. See 7JwIIgguo IIlllsl111 dn ridiall, PI'. 103, 113. 195-196.
!",o. See )'allgjia jiallIJ),flIl)'i (50 chapt ers), 38.179, and l 'tlllgjifl jiflllIJ )'fillyi (58 cllap-
ters), 3 1.190-19 1. In the latter\'ersion (17.108) the monk is a lso armed with a s\\"ord.
51. MWulang wei scng,- in Luo Ye, Xillhiml ZlIiWl'llglmlfll, p. ' 1-
52. Cheng Oali, 7JIOllggliO WII9U1. p. 96.
53. Fa)'un, Frill)'; mingyiji. 1: no. 2131. 54:1169b. On the ring staff, see Ki e-
schnick, The Impaci oj Buddhism 011 ChilieS#: Malerifll CllflrtI't!, PI'. 113-11:;. Sec also
in Mochizuki Shink6, IJllkk)'o daiji/ell, 3:21:;2-2153; and in
Zengakll daijilcII, p. 469.
54. /Jedflo lidllmg :ciz./wltg jillg. T. no. 785, 17:72' lc, Kieschnick. Im/xlfl oj Bud-
dhism 011 Cllilteu l\Ialerial p. 113. It W,l S prob ..... bl), translatcd into Chincse
during t.he Eastern.lin (3 17-420) pe riod.
55. Lill Yanshi ( fl. 800). in QII(III Tallg slli, ' 168.5328; Kieschnick, IIIIP(l(/ of Bud-
dhism 011 ChilieS#: Malerial p. 115.
56. Quail Ta JIg sili, 446.5006.
57. Originall)' rrom a temple in no rth China. thi s wall paiming is currently <I I
the i\'l etropolilan Museum or An. New York. See The Melropoiiltlll Museum of Arl:
Asia, pp. 84-85.
58. Sec MCrosier,M in TIle OxJord Dict iollfll)' oj the C/1I1Jliall CIIIII't:h, p. 357.
59. On the religious and political sig nificance o ft he staff in the ancien I Ncar
East . see Mma'teh
M
in EItCJdopedja l\likm"il. 4:825-832.
60. Exoclus 7:14.
61. I substitute Mratll ed- ror Victor i\-lair's -shook.
M
See his Trw-llIlaltg Populllr
NlHTalives, pp. 105, 107; the original is DIIII/lUallg biallwell ji, pp. 730, 732.
62. See Teiser, TI,e ClwJl Festroal ill MedieVllI 01111, and Johnson, Uililal Opem,
O/)ffalic Hi/ual.
63. Compare de Grool, MBudd hi sl :-"Iasses for lhe Dead at Amoy,M pp. 94-96;
and Dean, "' Lei Yll-she ng
M
("' Thunde r Is Nois)'M), pp. 54-57, 63-64.
64. \Vang Qiao. who was the heir apparelllto Lhe Zhou dynasty king Ling, was re-
puted to ride a white crane. I han! subsLituted "staITsM for "Slaves
M
in Mather's MThe
Mys tical Ascent of the T'ienl 'ai t-,Iounlains," p. 242: the original is MYOll Tiantai shan
('" Poetic essa), on roaming [he Tiamai :-'Iountains"), in Wen Xlum, 11.499.
65. See respect i\"el )', OU Fl! . in Qll flll Ttlllg slii, 232.2565; and Liu Zongyuan, in
Qua,! Tm!g shi, 352. 3938.
66. Daocheng, J(lo/"", T, no. 2127, 54 :298b.
67. Zanning, SOllgGao5ellg uuu"', J: no. 2061, 50:847a. See al so the same leg-
end in Dao),1Ian, jillgderluumrimg III ( 1004), 1; no. 2076, 51 :259b-c.
68. Da TallgSallumgfashi qlljillg.fhillllfl, pp. 14,2' 1,27,31,86-87, 96. l n one in-
stance. afler subduing nine drab tOns wi lh hi s magic ring staff, the monkey employs
an Miron {xIng" (/ie{xmg) [0 beat [hem lip. Whereas the ringstaITser\"es him for figln-
i ng, the Miron ballg" is used [0 execllle punishment (p. 32).
69. Sun Wukong's wealXl n is referred 10 in 1 he Ming period Uljll play j mm,I')' 10 IIII'
H<e/as MgoldeJl gwt as ',oell as Mi ron ballg (Iil'ballg); S('"e l..lljll XiJollji, 11.'18 and 19.87 re-
spect ivel)'. (On [he pla)"s dm ing, sec Dudbridge, Hsi-JII rhi, PI'. 76-80). Sun WUkOllg'S
cider brother, Tongtian Dasheng, is armed wilh an "iron Ixmg" (til'lxmg) in the 1\Iing
period U/jll pia)' E.iallg SIIen SilO Qiliall Dflshl'llg, 29:%, lOb.
70. Wil Cheng'en , XiJolI ji, 3. 28; and YII , '!1utJOW'lI,)' 10 Ihe Wesl, I: 105.
71. On [he compos i[ c fi gure ofVaisr.wa 1)01 and Mahabrall m;-\, sec Dudbridgc,
I/si-)'II rhi, PI' . 32-35.
72. Dudbridge, I/si-yll rI,i. p. 35; I he original is Dn Ttmg Sunumgfashi qll jillg slli-
hua, p. 27 (compare also PI'. 31,86-87).
73. Sce [hc six[ een[ h-cent ur )' legend o f ma n k Lian feng, who I ransfOflucd hi s
ri ng s[a ff i n[o a purple dragon. 111If'l irlumg Jl! )'11. p. 304.
74. Exodus 7: 8-12. I have s ubstitut ed "slaIT- for "rod
M
in TIll! Nt!w Oxford Amllr
fated lJib/e With the Apocr)"/Jlw, pp. 7<I- iS.
5. Hand Combat
I . Tang Shunzh i. M [mei dam'en quan ge," in Tang SlllI n1.hi ,j ingrIHum xitms/llmg
.. 9 81
we"},, _. }.
2. Tang Shunzh i, 11'11 biuII, qiullji. 5.37a-5.39b.
3. Wang Shixing alludes 10 Lhe Shaolin Monkey style of figilling; see hi s MSong
(A journey to ML Song), in Wang Shi xing, IfIIJllt! )"01/ ClIO, 1.2b-3a. See also
Congnai, MShaolin guan seng hishi geM (-Watching Lhe Shaolin monks
Wen Xiangfeng, Myou Shaolin ji" (-A Journey 10 Shaolin M), in Sll(IoIill si uli, 7.2a and
3.23a respectively; and Yuan Hongdao, -Songyou di )' i" ("Firsl account of ajourney LO
ML in Yuan Hongdao, YIU/II l/ollwiao jijitmjitlO, 51.1 475.
4. Cheng Zongyou, Slwolili (;Imfa, 3.7b.
5. See Quml jillg, Quallfa beiJao, preface la-2a, 1.1, and 1.7, where Cao explains
that Zhang Kongzhao's manual has been Lransmilled in hi s family for more Lhan a
century. Compare Xllmlji mWIOII, preface la and 1.1' la. Two oLher manial arti sts who
224 Notes to Pages 11:.-122
are mentioned in both manuals are Che ngJinglao and I-I u Wojiang; compare Qwm
jillg, QUUlZ fa ber:,'ao, preface la; and XlulIIji mi.vwlt, L3a. The latt e r manua l a lludes
also to anot her milital")' expert. Chen Songquan, who, Zhang !\'Iing'e explains, was
h is t eacher; see Xum!)i preface 2a.
6. C.ompare Q!lilll jing, QlUmfa bei)'fW, 2.'1a, 2.15a; and Xuallji mishOlI, illustra
tions 1.1 a, 1.4a.
7. See Tang I-lao a nd Gu Liux in, Ttlijiqlum )'fmjill, p. 15; and Matsuda Ryfzchi ,
Zlwl1[J1J1lo WU.s/1II sllilile, pp. 34-35, 57-GO.
S. See Siwolill mij/l/!, p . 259, and Tang 1lao, SlwoliJ/ qurmslw mijue hlw
ullmg, pp. 70-74, 99-13S. The Siwolill qlUlII.V/II mijll/! re fers toO Hong("]Zzan as Wuquan.
9. QU(lIzjing, QU(lIIfa bei)'flO, l.Ia. T hi s is largely Douglas Wil e's translation.of
Ihp Qi .liguang's passage that had served as the QUfll/ jing, Qutmf(l bei)"(IO's source;
spe Wile. Tai CIIi's Ance..ftor.f, PI'. IS-I9.
10. In Qi Jigua ng, jixiao xin,s/III: sltiba jUflll ben, 1' 1.227-229; \ Vile, Tai Chis A II
res/OJ'S. pp. IS-I9.
II . M ing period lore attr ibut ed to Song Taiw a lso slaff I('clz niques, in \\'11 iell tIle
historica l emperor III ight have been versed ; S('c !\ Iingda, SllIIo jifln rang grlO, pp. 77-
S2. On contemporary Song Taiw icc, see Kash, Original Emperor's Long
Fist
12. The stele is t it led I le ngc uit of til(' suspended
emer ald pavilion's reconst ruct ion -). T he lGi7 5t upa Inscripl ion of 5haolin 's abbot
:'\' ingran Gaigong (MN ingran Gaigong taming b('ijn all udes 10 Xuanji speci fi call y
as a Mflghting (WII selig). I l o\\,(.,\cr, it writ es hi s name xlulllwi lh lhe me tal rad
ical.1 am gratcfultoA'dc for both transc ripti ons.
13. Com pare Qilall jillg. Qllml ja bei)'ao, 1.21>; and Xllm!)i misholl, 1.1 Gil-b.
14, QUMI jillg, QUfIIl fa bei)'ao, 1.lOb-13<1 .
15. XI/mlji mis/lOll, 1.11 h- 12a.
16, Sec Qi Jigua ng, j i.tiao shiba jlltlll bell, 14.229; li e Lia ngchcn. lim!)i,
2.26; Cheng Zongyou. SI,aoli" lJIllrJa, 3. lb; and Tang 5hunzhi . It'll bilw, qim!)i,
5.37b. Sec a lso M dIWIU{fI- in llwllgglIO 1111151111 bflike QIU/II51111, p. 171.
17. See Watson, T/II! Complete I\ 'orks ojOuu/IIg '[ZIt, 3.50-51.
IS. Xu(wji miS/lOll, 1.3b.
19. Sec ShouYu Liang a nd WenChing Wu, Kllllg FII lmeIll5, p. 363.
20. XUatlji lIIis/lOlI, !.la-b; Nhe re the le rms arc still being used, I consulted
ShouYu Li ang a nd WenCh ing Wu, Kllllg Fit Elemenls.
2 1. See Slrickmann, Matl/ms elmalldar;IIs.
22. Compare Qllatljillg, Qltallja beiJao 1.29a-31a; and X,UlllJi mislwu, !.lOb-
li b. See also Mwi in ZItOllgglW wllsllil baikeQlulII5/111, pp. 131-132.
23. See SllId), of the HOllg KOIlg M(lrlial Arls Film, p. 216.
24. QII(W Jillg, QII(lII fa bei)'ao, U6b; compare Xltanji mislwu, 1.9b.
25. 1\'1 atsuda Rrflch i, ZIWIIggl10 wusllll sltilile, p. 127.
26. See Matsuda R),llc hi. liwIIgguo wlldlll sltiliie, pp. 123-125. See also -Yallqillg
quan,M in lilOlIgguO baihe pp. 122-123; and Lee, Real Fists of
Fury: l1le and Artist'l' ofl\-1 izong Quan.-
27. See Mal suda Ryflch i, l../IOIIggUO lIJUS/1II shi/iie, p. 129.
28. See Qua Il jilljJ, Quail fa beiJlIO, I.I 8b, 2.19a. See a lso Yihequo 11 )'ullfiollg qi)'UOII
fallSUo, p. 89; '" Meihua qua n in l..JlOligglIO lUllS/III boilu qll fllUIIll, p. 122; and ClHtO 11-
tOllg Shaolill qu ml taolu jiaoc/lellg, 1:409- 453.
29. See YiheqUflll )"UlldollgqiJu{1II ({IIISIIO, pp. 83- 88; and ZhOll We iliang, YJ/olIg-
guo w/lShu sM, pp. 86-88.
30. T he ma nual is re produced in l'ihequmlJlllldollgqiJIUllIlonsuo, pp. 163- 169.
See Esher ick. Origilu of the Boxer Uprising, p. 1'19.
31. See Naquin, IHiliellflri{/II Rebellion ill ChiI/O, p. 31. See a lso [ she r ick, Oligins
Of the Boxer Ulnisillg, p. 149.
32. Se e l'iJII!qll(/I! )'UIU/OlIg qiJll flll tfllUlI o, pp. 83- 102; Eshe r ick, Ol"igills of the
BoxPr U,nisillg, PI'. 148-155; a nd Zholl We ili a ng, YJIOlIggllO Wllshu .{lii, pp. 86-88.
33. This is a refe re nce 10 Ihe le n princi ples of Shaolin d ose-range slriking,
wh ich a re f'l abora tcd in Ql/ fIIljillg Qllaliffl briJ(lO, 1.I0b- 13a.
3<1. This is a n allus ion 10 I he Vlllallg-..i: -Whe n Con fuci us was o n hi s way 10 e h 'u,
he passed lhrOl lgh a foresl whe re he s,'lW a hunchback ca lcil ingcica das wil li a slicky
pole as easily as 1 hough he were gr.t bbing 1 he m wil h hi s See Wal son, ColllpMI'
Works 0fO/ualig '/"i u, 19. 199.
35. Yang YOIUi was a fahlliolis arche r of Il l('" Spr ing-a ncl-A II I ullin period sl al e of
Chu.
36. QU(lIIjj llg, Quallfa beiJao, prdlce, la- 2<I.
37. T hi s is a rcCe rence 10 l he l../lIIfIIl1J7-i: MTo panl, 10 puff, 10 ha il, 10 sip, 10 Spil
OLll 1 he old breal h a nd d ra,,' in 1 he new, prac l ici ng bear-hallgings mlfl bi)"d-st rp.tfhillgs
(xiollgjillg lIi(l() sllen), longe\'il )' hi s on I)' concern-such is lhe life favored by lhe
schola r I\'ho prac li ces gymnasl ics (doO)'ill), lhe man who nour ishes hi s bod y, who
hopes 10 li ve 10 be as old as Pe ngzu.
M
See Wa lson, CompMle \\'orl/ s of C/lluwg 'Jill,
15. 167- 168 (sli ghll y a ll ered).
38. Lin Qing. Hongxueyill)'lulIIlllji, seclio n I. On Lin Qing, see I lu lll meJ , Ellli-
IWII Chinese of the CII'ing period, pp. 506-50i.
39. We n Yucheng (S/wolillfallggll, p. 355) spec ul:lI es Ihat Lin Qing's visil OCGI-
sioned the mura l"s pa inti ng. Liu lhosha n's Taguo school of Shaolin fi ghl ing d ;Iims to
leach only those forms l lml a rc shown in lhe fresco. See Chi ng, M13,000 Warriors of
p. <19.
<10. Compa re QiJ igua ng,j ixiao xi IU/III : shiba jl/lln bt!ll, 1<1.227-230; I-Ie Liangche n,
Vltlyi, 2.26- 27; Zhe ng Ruoceng,jillngllall jillg lite, 8.. "1. .3b- <la; and Tang Shunzhi , WII
bitl/!, qifmji, 5.37b. See also Che ng Da li , MM ingda i wushu,- pp. 66- iO.
<I I. Ta ng Shunzhi , I l u bian. qiOlyi, 5.3ib-39b.
<12. See Cao We n III ing's introduc li on 10 Q i J igua ng's j ixit/O xinsil!l.: shibn jl/l1l1
ben, pp. <1- 5. On Qi J igua ng. see Goodric h, Dictional)' of Millg l1iogmpll)', 1:220-22<1 ;
and Hua ng, 1587 A Year ofNoSigllificallce, pp. 156- 188.
<1 3. Wil e, T "aielli's AIICestOr.r, p. 19. T he ori gina l is Q i Ji guang, j ixioo xhuhu:
shibtl jUfm bell, 14.229.
<1<1. Wile, r ai-elli's AIICestOr.r, p. 19. T he o ri ginal is Qi J iguang, j ixino xinshu:
shibajUf/ll bell, 14 .229-230.
226 Notes to Pages 130-13:)
4:). He Liangchen, Zlumji, 2.26.
46. \Vil e, T'ai -elli's A,ICes/Ors, pp. 12, 18. Thc orig inal is Qi .Iiguang,jixiao xiu.s/lIt:
shibajum! bell, 14.227.
47. Wi Ie. T'ai -elli's Allceslor.f, p. 12. 111c ori ginal is Tang Shunzh i, lVu bian, fjimlji,
5.37a.
48. Qi J iguang, jixiliO )..1/1s/1I/: shibtl j uall bell, 1' 1. 227. Comparc also Wil e, Tai-
chi's AIIC"ef(ors, p. 18. Evclll ua lIy, the gencral added rour chaplers to h is book. Never
thcl ess, he kept th is commcnt, indicating that QU(III jillg jiP.')'ao was originally
int ended for the last.
49. See Qi .I igua ng, jixiflo xill.s/III: sllisi jll(", bell. Scc a lso \\Ia Shun jim!
cOIlggao, p. 310; and Wile, T'ai-dli'sAm:e.f/Or.f, Pl' . 16-17.
50. M a M ingda, Shllo jil'" eOllg gllo, p. 311.
51 . See jin Pillg /Hei dllllfl, 90.12'1'1 .
52. The MFour_Len:lsM (.fipillg) pOSllIre li gu rcd III Imc Ming armed and un-
armed lighting alike. See Cheng Zong}'oll, Shoolill glmJa, 2.l b-2b; Tang Shunzhi,
1V'1 hiall, fjimlji, 5.37b; Qi jiguang, j i .cioo xiluJIII: shibfl j,UlII hi'll, H.234-2:-J5; and
Wile, T'ai-CIIi's t\lIres/or.f, PI'. 27-30.
53. This is AllIholl Y Yu's trans lat ion (jOlllllf)' 10 Ihe Wesl, 3:1'1-15) sliglllly al -
tered; the original is WIL Chcng'cn, Xi)'ouji, 51:594. Comp:l rc also \\Iu Chcng'en,
Xi)'OII ji, 2.2'1, and Yu, n e j our,,1"j to Ihe 1:97.
54. Wu lIuifa ng, II'twbaofjIU/IIs/IlI.
55. See SOlltai lI'tw),ollg.tllellg::ollg, I ' l.Ia-ll>; and Wu Il ui ra ng. IVlmbflo fju/II/sllII,
1'.3<\6 and note 491. (Thc MSa nd-Washing-Wavcs Fisl
M
and MSpcar-Sc izing Fisl
M
arc
mentioncd in thc 1607 cditio n.)
56. Sec Tang ]J ao and eu i..iuxin, Taijifjuall )"mljirl, pp. 179-183; i\-la lSuda Ryil-
eh i, 7JlOligglIO wuslw slli/iie, PI'. 81-83; and 7JlOlIgglIO WII.sJ1II bflike fjIU/11S11ll. pp. 71. 91.
57. An infl lIent ia l Daois l dass ic, I hc Scripllm oJlhe Yellow Cow'/ (I1!umglingjillg)
(ca. t hi I'd cent II l"y CE) oUllines rcspiralory Icch niqucs coupl ed wil 11 !lIcd ilillion on
t he body's internal divinit ies. Sce Paul Kroll' s partial I ranslalion. M Body Cods ;lIld
1 nne!' See also belm,', chapter 6.
58. Quoted in Tang I-lao and ell Li uxin. 'I aijifjlum ymljill, p. 180.
59. See Tang Hao and ell Liuxi n. 'I aijifjllall ),(I'ljill, p. 15.
60. Matsuda Rylichi. 7Jwnggllo 1I111.s/111 shiliie, p. 88.
61. Zhou Weiliang, ZIWligglIO lIJu.s11ll shi. pp. 88-90. See also Naquin, Mil/ellar-
i(1I! Hebelliol! ill Cllilla. pp. 31, 88, 313.
62. See MaL'iuda RYllChi , ZllOlIggUO lIJu.s11ll shi!r"ie, Pl'. 135-138; lind Zhou Wei-
liang, 7JIOI!gguO lIJusliu sM, p. 89.
63. See Ma Lilangand Sun Yamin, MX ing)' i shizuJ i Pl' . 36-37; and
M.I i.l i in ZllOlIggUO lIJushu bflike fjllllllShll. p. 538.
6<\. The legend fi rst appea red in Hua ng Baijia, Neijia qllflllJa, p. la. See al so
Wil e, Tai-CIIi'sAI!eestor.f, p. 58.
65. See MaL'illda R)'ikh i. ZllOlIgglIO lIJUS/t1l s/Iilr"ie, Pl' . 183-184. Compare also
Shou-Yu Liang and Wen-Ch ing Wu, Kllllg FII FJemelll.s, p. 447.
66. Chang Naizhou, Challg Shi lIJuji Slill, Lrans. Wil e, Tll i-clii's AII/:es/ors, pp. 71-
NOles to Pages 135- 1<14 227
188. See also Wells, ScIUNar Boxer: ClwIIg NadwlIs Thl!OI)' oj I llterl/a/ Mm1ia/ Arts. Wang
Zongyue's writings are included in Taijiqrum pu, pp. 24-39. According to Tang I-Iao
and Gu Liuxin (Taijiquall )"(lIIjill, p. 183), Wang probabl y sllldied Chen Family Tajji
Quan whe n he resided in nea rby Luoyang and Kaire ng.
67. Their ma nuals a re included in TaijiqluIII Pl' , pp. 245- 275 and 276-339
respeClhe!y.
6. Gymnastics
I. See Ch ase, Firear m.f: A G/obal Hist0r')' to 1700, pp. 1' 11 - 150.
2. Neigrmg lusJUlO, p. 2. Wa ng's sc holarl y works a rc li stcd in the Qillg slli goo,
145,4262; 147.4334: 148.441 7.
3. See Neigrmg l usllllO, PI' . 2-3. We have no wa y or knowing how accurat e Wang's
memory was. Pa n's uelliio/ Tedmiqllts mi glll ha\"e dirre red rrom fhc I lIl/slmled E"1msi-
tioll \Va ng had obta ined at the Shaolin Te mple. Howeve r, C\'cn irtll(' manuals wert"
textually diverse, it is likel y tha t the techniqucs were largel y similar. Sec Tang I-lao,
Sh aolin chua nxi de he hu ji i de pp. 26-27.
4. Dudgeon, or t\-Icdical pp. 521-522 (slightl y r('viSf'd );
the or iginal is Neigrmglusllllo, pp. 21- 27. Dudgeon probabl)'workcd on an c arii crcdi -
t io n or t h(' sa me exercises: Pa n Wc iru's lI'risJleIIg)"OOsJlII ( 1858). Scc Dudg('on,
ru or Medi cal p. 503.
'\, . I 1 9
., . I I'Igrmglus 1110, Pl' . - _.
6. Wa tson, ne Complell' 1I'0rks OJCllllflllg TZII, 15.167-168 (slight I)' ahc red ).
7. Sec I l a rpe r, Earl), iHedira/ Li leraillre, pp. 125-142; 310-327.
8. Sec Ibid .. PI' . 310-327.
9. Engel ha rdt , and Chincse p. 101.
10. :--.Ieedham a nd Lu. Scjellumui Ci"i/iullioll ill ChillO, \"01. 5, pari V, p. 161; lit e
ori gi nal is S(lI/guo z.hi . 29.804 .
II . See Mas pe ro, or 'Nourishing the p. ' 169; and
Nee d ha m a nd Lu, Sciellrtt mId Cllli/iUltioli ill Chillo. \"01. 5. part V, p. 1' 1!1 On qi, sec
also Ku ri),a rn a, Expres.flllf:lles5 OJtllB IJO(I)'.
12. Mas pero, Me thods or 'Nou ri shing the Vit a l pp. 459-4 60; a nd
a nd Lu, Scumu ami Cj"j/jUllioll ill Chi,w, vol. 5. pan V. pp. 145-146.
13. Lau , Lflo 'fill: Tao TeG/lillg, p. 116.
14. Maspe ro. or 'Nouri shing the Vi ta l pp. 465-484;
Needha m a nd Lu, Sciellceaml Civj/IUltioll ill Chillfl. vol. 5. pan V. pp. 147- 14 8.
15. See Despeux, T he Anc ie m p. 2'19; Dudge on,
or Medical pp. 494-500; and Needham and Lu, Sciell u and
CiviliUltioll ill China, YOI. 5, pan V, p. 155.
16. Chifellg sui, 2.25a.
17. Conside r ror exa mple l.he rollowingslaleme m rrom the (lIciJe)
dmpteror the GIIOIIU (ca. rOllrlh cemur)' BeE): the qi as ira spi rit (/1/ slum),
and the myri ad things will all reside i'ue u. To 8eromea God, p. 115.
18. Needham a nd Ling, Sciellcealld Civilizatioll ill Chilla, \"01 . 2, pp. 139- 154;
and Needha m a nd Lu, Sci(!IIuuml CiviliUltioll i ll a,illa, vol. 5, part II , pp. 71- 127.
19. See Maspero, or 'Nourishing the Vilal Pr indple;M pp. 445-448.
20. Maspero. quoted in Need ham and Ling, Science fllld Civiliz.o.lioll ill Chill(/. ,
\"01. 2, p. 153.
21. Seidel, MChronicle orTaoiSI p. 261.
22. See Engel hardl, M LongevilY Tech niques and Chinese Med ic ine,M p. 77.
23. Needham and Lu, Sciellu alld Civiliullioll ill OlitW, vol. 5, part V, p. 27. See
also Seidel. MChronicl e orTaoisl SlUdies,M p. 264.
24. Kroll. MBody GCKls and Inner pp. 153-154. On Ihe SoilJlure oflhe
}-ellom COllrt, see a Iso Robinel, '/'{lot.ft Meditatioll, pp. 55-96.
25. See Engelhardl. MLongevil ), Techn iques and Chinese t>.-Icdicine,M pp. 102-
103; and Harper. Earl), Cliillese Medicallitemt ll rt, p. 110.
26. See Needham and Lu, Sri('/I(:e (llitl Citliliztllioll ill Chilla, vol. 5. part V, pp. ISI -
184: and Maspero. hods or'Nourish ing I he Vilal Principle;M pp. 506- 517.
27. I'aitner. Mr..loderniI Y and Millenarianism in Chin:I ,M p. 79.
28. I'aitner. MMCKlernil Y and Millenarianism in China,M pp. 79- 109. Set' al so
Che n. ljrl'al/iillg SIJau5, pp. 170- 1&1; a!ld ra, MTlw Rcvival or Qi.
M
29. Tang I lao and Gli Liuxin, 1aiji'lllflll ),/II/jill , pp. 5-6.
30. Lin Uoyuan, 1),OIIggIiO li)'11 slli, pp. 378-37!1
31. Q,WII iillg, Qll flll f a bl'i),ao, prcrace, I b,
32. Tang Shu!lzhi , j illgr/lllfl ll xifilisheng wI'lyi, 2.9a. See al so Zhou Wcili:mg,
ZIWIIClJIIO mllsllll sM, p. 91.
33. QUflll iillg, Qllall fa bei),ao, prcface, 1b,
34. Wile, Tai-rlli's AII;esl ors, pp. 100- 101 ; I hc ori gina I is Chang Nai zholl , Cluwg
5/ ' "A' 991 ""
1/ wUjI .)1111, _ . _ - __
35. Wile, T ai-rlii's f\Il rtSlors, p. 93; Chang Na izil ou, Clllmg SlIi wllj i shu, 2.11.
36. Wile, (..osl Taj-eM Clas5ir.s, p. 56; Ihe orig inal is Iransc ribed in ibid., p. 133;
Ihe song is allribul.ed 10 Li Yi)'ll (1 832- 1892).
37. Qillgbai lei clltlo, 6:2906.
38. Beijillg lao Tiul! qiao, p. 23.
39. See )'ijin iillg, in ZIIOIIg)JIIO dlllalli ol/g )'(wgshellg :dumt/iall , pp. 22'1 ilnd 209
respccli\'eir
40. WuJingzi, Hu/illwai.s/li, 51.492. The rcrcrcncc 10 qi, and \0 the Yiji lljillg, is
in 49.475-476.
41. The Iron CIOl h Shirt is the subjeci o ran iron ic I'u Songling ( 1640- 1715)
tale; sec hi s MTiebu s han ra ,M in Limn/wi zlliJi, 6.757.
42. Quoled in Esherick, llOXUUPri5;IIg, p. 105.
43. His name was Zhang Luojiao. See Che ng Dali, MQingdai wlIshu,M p. 72; Na-
quin, Mill,marill/! Hebel/io", p. 30; and Esherick, IkJUI"UIJlisillg, pp. 96-98.
44. See Esherick, Boxer Upri5illK, pp. JOel-lOg.
45. Esherick, &.v:er Uprisillg, p. 225; the original memorial by magistrate .I i
Guiren is in :iliao, 3:192.
46. On magic and the lale imperial manial ans, see ZhOH Weiliang, ZIwIIgguo
wII5hu 5hi, pp. 92-93; and I-I ao Qin, -LUll wlishu wenhua )' ll zhongguo
mimi zongjiao de gua nxi, pp. 205-208.
47. Qingbai lei dlllO, 6:2965.
48. Wi le, T'ai ali's Allceslor.r, p. 54; the original is Huang Zongxi, NOlllei wending,
8. 129. See also ' Iua ng Baijia, Neijia qllll/ifa, 1 h, trans. Wile, T'ai Chi's All ceslor.r, p. 59.
49. }'ijill jing, in ZllOlIggtW dUWIIIOllg Jallgslumg t lumdiall, pp. 21 5-216.
:.>0. XU(l llji misllOU. chapter 2.
51. QU(l 1l )illg, QlI(m Ja beiJ{W, prerace, lb.
52. See Wile, T'ai CIIi's Allcesl or.r, p. 55.
53. See respeCI Qillg slli gflO, 505.13922: and Naqui n, SIWll/ullg Uebel/ion, p.
38.
54. See ZhoLl Weilia ng, lhollggliO lUlU/III ,f/ii, p. 98; and Zhollgguo Wl/s/III h(like
pp. 18-21.
55. See ZhOll Weiiia ng, Z/IOIIggIIO lilliS/III .vli, p. 98.
56. Compare I he Xilllll XII , in l'i/teqllf/ll )' III/dol/g qi)' I/(ll/ I(OISIW, p. 168, wilh I he
}'ijillg, M Xici slUlIIg,M XI . My I ra nslal ion rol lows Derk Bodde's in Fung Vu -Lm, HisIOI )'
oJ C hillI'S/! Philo.VI/Jhy, 2:' 138. See a Iso Zholl Weiliang, Zhol/gguo lUllS/III shi, p. 98.
57. See Wang's wrilings in T(l ijiqllflll Pll, pp. 2-1. 30. Sec also 1:1ng I-lao and Gu
Li llXitl , TaijiqlwlI Jalljill, p. 18' 1; Zho u Wci li ang, Zhollgguo Mullu slti, p. 98; and
ZhOllggM wuslw fxlike qllflllslw, p. 19.
58. Wil e, Losl Tfi i-rhi Classirs, p. 89; Ihe ori gina l is Iranscrib<'d in ibid., p. 153.
59. Se(' Chang Nai zhou, Olllllg Shi wllji Sltll, 3.35-36; and Wile, ,/,'fli-rll i 's A llreslors,
pp. 111- 11 2. Chang has Ira nsmtUing ror m (xiI/g) inlo bn' <l l h, ralh(' r Ihan IranSlllUl -
i ng essc nce i 1110 breal h. On I he I hree slages or l)aoiSI ner aJchemy,R sce I' redagio
and Skar, Mlnncr pp. 489- 490. On alchemyR and Xingyi QUilll, see
Cao Zhiq ing, quolcd in LiuJ unxia ng, DOIIg/tlllg ,.,mli IIIl'11/uw, pp.
60. See Ware, Alcllem),. Medicillt, Heligioll, p. 294; Cheng Dali, Zl/OllggIlO wushu,
pp. 11 7- 11 8; G ra nel, Dtmses el ligrmdes de 1(1 Chil/e (/IICielllle, pp. ' 196-501 ; and C;1111-
pally, To Live as Lil/gas HetlllCll alld En,.,II, pp. iO-72.
6 1. Sec Zhou \Veiiia ng, ZIIoIIggl.lo lil l IS/III sI/i, p. 35; and Robinel, MShangq ing-
H ighcsl Claril y,M p. 219. See a Iso the beau I i h ll reproducti ons or Daoisl ril ua I swords
in Li n le and Eichma n, T(loism mullhe A,1s oJChillfl, pp. 21' 1-21 i .
62. Sec Lage!'l\'ey. T(l oist Hil l/III , p. 93.
63. See r lmj; qiqiml, 84. ia. lra ns. t\-laspero. or 'Nouri sh ing the Vilal
Pri nciple,'M p. 447 11. 6; and Robi nel, amorphosis and Dcli\"cfance,R pp. 60-61.
Du ri ng the early medieva I period the sia rr cou Id li kewise serve as I he Daoi sl's dou-
ble; see Campany, To Live as LOllgas Heavt!l/ a/l(/ &mh. pp. 69- 70.
64. See, ror example, Takuan Soho, VI/feuer-ed Milld.
65. Wu rue ellulllfiu uu,u S1IO)'ill, 9.<11-' 12, trans. Douglas Wile, T't/i a,i's AII(.I!Sl ors,
pp. 3-4. I ha\'e subsli lllled M face-to-face ror Wile's combaT ,M
ror it is dear l hat in th is contexi g/olIdlllll refers to renc ing. See also in
H WI)'u daddirm, 6:304-305. In ilS preselll rOrlll , the slOry mi ght date rrom the Tang
period, when the alllhology was revised. See L-.gerwey, V(leh ch 'un ch 'iu,M pp.
473-476.
66. Tfli/Jillg gUallgji, 195. 1464-1465, and James Liu's translation, The Chillese
Knight-Emllll, pp. 93-94.
230 NOleS LO Pages 1:)7- Hil
67. HallsJlII, 30.1761 , 63.2760,81.3336, and 87.3557. Sce also Ma M ingda, Slum jiau
[()IIg grlO, pp. 46- 67; and Zhou Weiliang, llWlIgglW wusJw shi, pp. 21-22. During the
Han period, !;C\'eral wrestli ng forms called j uedi (Iatcr known as xiallgjJ1l) were also
practiced. Somc apparentl y resemblcd modcrn Japane!;C sumo. See Zholl Weiliang,
lluJII/jh"f1w w/lsllU sJ,i, pp. 19-21, 31-33; and Chcng Dali , llwlIglJlw wlis/m, pp. 189-194.
6B. 1lle !;Cnt cncc is rcplcte wi th Daoist tcchnicaltcr ms for medi ull ion: mi llgxi u
means dearing thc mind of a l! thoughL"; lOOgU mcans denching Ihe flSl , usually by
pressi ng I he thumb aga inst t hc Ill idd Ic finger's middle !;Cctj on, I hen wrapping il wil II
, he ot her fi ngcrs; jillgsi is (Iuict visuali 7.at ion. See llwlIghtw J)aojifW (/(1 cit/ian, pp. 980
and 983 re spect iveJy. On wOgll, !;Cc also Engel hardt , - Longcvity Tcchniqucs and Chi -
nese p. 103.
69. Daoist cos mol ogy identifi es the head with the immo nals' abode al o p 1\11.
Kllnilln in northwes t China.
70. Nl'igrmglusJI/ID. PI'. 8-12. 1\1)' translation pan iall y follows Oudg<,on's (-Kling-
fll or Medi cal Gymnas tics,- Pl'. 375-385) re ndition of the SOll r('(' , The Eighl-
Exercises Urocade.
71. Nl'igrmg luslHlO, p. 6.
72. Ze ng Zao (fl. 1131- 1155). DaD S""; Schipper, cd. COl/rort/ana t/ II Tao-Is(mg
(hereaft er -DZ-), 1017, 35.l ia (Zeng Zao, lI ow('\'el", docs no t me ntio n Ih(' na n\('
- Eight-Sect iOll Urocade-). Sec it Iso Ta ng I lao et al., Iku/ tU/1/ jill, p. 2; and Zhongguo
gudai liyu slli, p. 347.
73. I long Mai, l'ijiall "1..1Ii, sec ti on )'i, 9. 65- 66.
74 . Sec Tang Jl ao c[ al. . Ikui uall jill; and Chen i'engchcng and Feng \Vu, -The
Eight-Sec ti on Urocadc.- Cont cmpora q ' Shaoli n - Eight -Section is OUI-
Ii ned in C/lllmlfollg SIl(Iolill qua II l ao/II jinocllmg, 5:29G-308.
75. Sec Cao Li a n. ZWISJullgbiljiall, 1O. 18b- 22b, trans. Dudgeon, - Kung-fu or
Medi cal PI'. 375-385; C"ift"gslli, 1.'15-56, 1rans. Despcux, VI 1II0el/e
dU/HICllix mllgt', PI'. 112- 126; and Xillz.hmsliis/IU, DZ. 263, 19.Ja-5b. Onlhe Shou sh i
cilium "1../tm (\\'hi ch I have not seen), sec Tang I lao, -Songshan Shaolin chuilnxi de
he de PI'. 26- 27; and Tang I-lao, - Wo Guo t iyu ziliao jicti,- pp. 65-67.
76. The exe rcises arc attr ibuted to Zho ngli QUiln in Xill:..hell shishu, J)Z, 263,
19.1a. ZcngZao (fl . 11 31- 1155) alludes to Ltl Dongbin in a commcnt1hal is included
in Ihe sa me \\'Or k (23.1 b): Zhongli's 'Eight -Section Brocade' wa s wril1en on a
Slone wa ll by the hand or Sir Lli [Dongbi n]; thus were they p..1.sscd on \0 the
See l\-1a spe ro, - Methods of 'Nourishing the Vital p. 547, note 16. On the
li1 em!"}' corpus atuibuted (0 the two immort als see Predagio and Skar, - Inner AI-
p. 469.
77. NeigrJ/!g tllsllllO, pp. 47- 70, and Dudgeon's translati on (which wa s made
from the 'i eishe"lIg l'ljilljillK (1875, pp. 529-541. On the H'eishmg r ijill jillg, see ap-
pendix, edition no. 4.
78. See Prip-Moller, a,illest! Buddhi!it MOllasteries, p. 30, p. 34, plal e 38. The
mistranscription is We ituo instead of (Sai) J iamuo fo r Skanda; see Noel Peri , - Le
dieu and Str ickma nn, Cllillfie Magiwl Medicille, pp. 218-227. See al so
Stei n, Guardi a n of the Gate.-
NOles to Pages 162- 168 231
79. Weimo's exercises first appeared in t.he Daoguang (1821- 1850) edition of
the r ijinji llg, 2.29b- 39b (see appendix, edit.i on no. 3), See a lso the modern
lion r iji l! j i llg, in ZlwlIgguo clW(IIIIOlIg )"llllgslllmg ullmdinll, pp. and Tang
I-lao, Shaolin chuanxi de he huiji de p. 28.
SO. Appe ndix. editi on 6, p. 37a. See also Tang I-lao, -J iu Zhongguo ti yll shi shang
fllhui de part I , p. 24; and Gong Pengcheng (who mistakenl y has Songheng
i nSlead of Zongheng), j ing lunkao,M pp. 73, 80.
81. Zi ning daQt'e n is not menti oned in T iantai gazett eers such as the 'finll/ni
slwI! quail uli or the TOlIgVai s},j:IIi.
82. See, amo ng ot he r ent ri es. and -llillgshelt in t he Zhong/nUl DoojifW (/(1-
cidiall, pp. 122 1 and 1237 res pect h'CI),.
83. Compare Appendi x, ed iti on 3. 1. 8a-lOa; Append b::, edition 6.
and lJlOllggUO clllum/ollg )'llllgs/umg zlielldiall, pp. 213-21'1. The refere nce is to D. C,
La u, translator, Mellrill ..f, book II , pa rt A, p .. 77.
84. The ter m appea rs as earl )' as secti on 5 of til e lJaodl'jing(c.1. 400 nCE). The
medit ati\"(! techni qL Le is menti oned in the e1C\,Cll tl l-cell tury Daoist encyclopedi a
}'ullji qiqia II, I O .. lOa .. It is detai led in Wu Sho u)'ang's ( I :J63-1 644), Ximifo hl'Z.lJIIg )'ulu.
16b- 2Ib ..
85. Compa rr Appendix. edit.ion 3. 1.I1 .. - 12a; Appendi x, edit ion 6. 1.1 3a- 1401;
and lJ/(mgg'uo rlwnlltollg)'nllgslumg z.JielUi inll. p. 215. On t hc Daoist d cment s in tll c Sin-
ews 7JrlIIsJOl'lllafioll Qa,uir, see Gong Pengcheng, - Damo , rUin j ing lunkao, pp. 78-84.
86. Se{' rcspec t ivel )'. Chang Nai zholl , Clumg Shi lImji s/lIt, p. 38; \Vile. '/"ai Chis
Ancestors. p. 11 3; and WuJingzi. Hulill wnishi, 49.'175-'176.
87. See Cll Liuxin. shishang de Can and li e Zehan . Hillin
waishi rmwu benshi haoliie. pp. 136,
88. See BusI\'c][ . CI,illese Budd/list Apoc')P/w,
89. The aut.hor confuses Emperor X iaoming (rcigned 516-528) wit h Emperor
X iaOI\'c n (reigned 47 1- 499), I\'ho proclaimcd lhe 1':1 ihe pcr iod.
90. T he historical monk Pramit i issued in 705 a Chinese tr.tnSlalion of the
S,i ,.{//!lgtlllla-lII(lhii-slirm. T herefore, as Xu Zhen (1898-1967) has pointed o ut , he could
not possibly have been acti ve as a ll'a nsl:llOr some eight y years earlier. before this
preface (da ted 628) was presumabl), aut hored. See Xu Zhcn, C IWji '1II/fii e, p. 14.
91. Where, accordi ng to Chinese m)'tholog)" thc immo rtals reside. The 1884
editi on has t he Pure Realm of the Budd ha Amitabha instcad.
92. The Bus hy- Bearded Hero (Qi ut<l n ke) is the protagonist of the Tang pe-
riod short s tory of the s.'une name. T he slOr), had bcen attributcd by some to Du
Cuangling (850-933) . See Cyr il Bi rch's Ii<l nslati on, Curl y- Bearded
93. The Formation - (liu/llw ulm) is atu' ibllled to Li J ing in a military
d assie, QuesriollS and Hepl ies Betweell Tnllg 1aiumg (lml Li \ \'eigvllg, that purports to re-
cord hi s cQtwer sa tions with Emperor Li Shimin. scholars, however, date the work
10 the Northern Song. See Sawyer, Sevell Mililn'J' CIrISSic.s, pp. 339, 341 , 344, 345.
94. Compare Appendix, ed ition 3, xu, 1a-3b; Append ix, edition 6, xu, la-3b;
and ZlwI!gguo chU(mrollg),m!gsl leliguleml iml , pp. 206-208.
95. Ling Tingkan, Jiaolilallg wenji, 25.17a.. See also Zhou Zhongfu (1768-1831),
Zlumg tang dusl lU ji, 68.335; Xu Zhen, CIWji hlllluf, pp. 14-15; Tang I-lao, Shaolin Wu-
dang hao, pp. 13-20; and Gong Pengcheng, - Damo yti in j ing pp. 74-75,
79-S0.
96. It is included in a Daogu ang (IS21-1850) edit ion (Appendix, ed ition 3).
97. See Mo rris, Mar row oJ tIlt! Nfl/roll, pp. IS5- 229.
9B. See Matsuda Ryiichi. ZllOligglIO WUsJlII shilii..t, p. 135; Tang I-lao et aI., Bruill/HI
j il" pp. 1.42: and Fei
M
in ZIIOIIIJlJIW wlIshll b(likeqtWIUhll , pp. 531- 532.
99. Compa re Appe nd ix, ed iti on 3, XII, ' la-5b: Append ix, ed it ion 6, shell),ollg
xu, l a-2a; and 7JlOngglJo c!UulIltollg),allgshellg:hel/{l ifm, pp. 20S-209.
100. See Li ng Ti ngka n,Jiaolilfmglllelyi, 25.1Gb.
101. See, for example, the refere nce to the legend in the story - Ma i),oll lang dll
zhan (-11Ie Oil Vendor wi ns I he f-l ower Queen in Fe ng 'yillgshi
/lImg)'an, 3.33.
102. See Slmi/ll/ qllamJuu/II, 107. 1621. Identi fi ed wit h the Buddhist dd t}'
VaiSraVat.la (Chinese: Duowenli an or Pishamen), LiJing fi gures in the Fmgshm )"flll)' i
(1 2. 101- 14. 128) as Nezha's fal her. On hi s Song per iod cult , sec Hansen, Ol(mgillg
Gods, pp. 11 2- 11 3, 186, 191.
103. See, for example, Xu lIongke's po n nlyal in Chu Renhuo (fl . 1700), Sui
Tang )'all),i, 24. 196- 197. A I hiI'd novel I hat fcat ured Bod h id hanna the Biogm-
I,hies oJ '/i vent)'-Four Ell /igMf'llI'd Arlwts (Ershisi :1111 dedao IUO/lflll ullum) (lG04). On
the India n patri arch in Ming fi ction, sec Du r: lIl d-Dast(s, L" UO"lf/lI till mail ,." til!
tlh),(llla, pp. 1- 2'13.
104. Sec respec tivel y Ch ing, - Black Whi rh,' ind a nd Leung ilnd TC
Med ia, - Wu Song Brea ks Ma nacles.-
105. Sec chapt er 5.
lOG. See runji qiqiflll, 59. 12b- ISbj ilnd SOl/gshi, 205.5185, 205.5188. A thi rd
manua l li sted by t he SOllgs/,i that miglu have been infor med by Daoist bclil.'fs is 130-
dhidlwrmll s Jjlood-\'essel.s "n uor')' las Uecorded b)" MOllk Il !likl! (Selig I I !likl! Dt'IllO xIll!mai
11111), except that an extanl "'ork \\' il h it vcr )' simil a r title beil n no Dao istt races. St:e
Dalllo dashi Xl u!/Iwi 111/1 (TIll! great mnSler IJOllhidlull'lIIas blood vessel them)'), (prcf;Ice
1153), ZZ editi on.
Anothe r Daoist-inspired text thai bears the sil illl'S na me is MGreat r., llIstcr Bo -
dhidharm<l's Met hods for Kno\\' ing the Time of One's r Damo d ashi zhi
whi ch was "'el l-known in J apa n by the t \,'el fth century. Included , " mong
other sources, in the Tenda i encyclopedi a Kimll shiiJo SIll;, 7: no. 24 10, 76:781, it is
translated a nd discussed by Faure, Rhetoric oJ / mmel/i(lC)', pp. 184- 187. The text is
likely related LO "The Collection of Returning to the r Guiko ng that
was di smi ssed as <I forger), by the Yuan monk i' udu. See IeI' I-Iaar, White Lotus 7each-
illgs, p. 103.
Some scholars identifi ed Bodh idharma in the Daoisl d iagram of internal
ci rcul ation, t he tu,- wh ich was engl<l ved in 1886 on a Slele at the White
Clouds Te mple in Beij ing. The stele features a fore ign by which
nickname the s..1.int was sometimes referred 10. See Need ham and Lu, Scie1lufmdCivi-
liUltiOlI i ll Chi/la, ml. 5, part V, p. 116. David Wang challenges the identification, sug-
gesling t.hat the Mblue-ered monk
M
is in this inslance Milefo (Maitre}'a); see hi s MNei
jillgTu,M pp. 146, 149.
107. tel' Ibar. Wllite Lotus Teacllillgs, pp. 101-106.
108. See Predagio and Skar, Minne r Alchem}"M p. 490. See al so Vao Tao-Chung,
Perfection,M pp. 588- 589.
109. See, for example. t he Ta ng period Shesliellg zlum/u, DZ, 578, pp. 2:1-3a. See
also Despeux, pp. 231-232. 11mt dllO)'ill predalCc! the arrival of Bud-
dhism in China poses a difficult y in I ndian influences. The tradition's main
feat lIres, such as brea[ hing. qi circula[ ion. and li mb mO\'ements, had been fi rml}' es-
tabli shed by t he second cent ury BCE; see Needham and Lu, Scie1lce (111(/ Cj"iliwtioll ill
Chilw, \'01. 5, part V. pp. 280-283.
110. See, respect i\'e\ y, NricrJIIg IlIslwOo p. 70, anc! Tang I-lao, Zhongguo 1 i}' 11 sh i
shang fuhui de Damo,M part 2. pp. 27-37. Tang c1emonst mt es llml the earliesl wrillen
associat ion of t he M E.i gill cen-Arhats 1-land
M
wi t h t he Shaolin Te mple was made h)' 1 he
Sluwlin AI/lhrll/if" Tirlmiqllef (Slwolill uJIIgfa) of 1911, which had served as 1 he source for
I he Serrel Formulas of Ihe S/wolill Ilall(/ Combat Mrllu}(/ (SI/(/O/i1l qtwJuhll mijtU') of 1m 5.
III. See Ching, MUodhidharma's Lege ndary Fi ghting Can(,.M It r(, ma ins 10 be
investigat ed when the weapon was invent ed .
11 2. Lill T'ieh-yi"ln (\..iu E). TraT'r/s of Lao 15(111. PI'. 73, and 2'18, nOles 4, 5. TIlf'
Shaolin relcvance was first noted by He nning, a Visi t 10 lhe Shaolin
i\1ollaSter}" M p. 100.
11 3. See Brook, MRet h ink ing Syncret ism,M p. 22; and Berli ng, S),1IfI"f./i( Uf'ligioll
of Lill Chao-clI.
11 4. Compare lJIOlIgguO c/I/WIIIOI/g )"llllgshmg z.lielU/iall, p. 308; and Append ix,
edition 6, PI'. 36a-37h.
11 5. Sec VLi, Uelu:wa/of 'JllddMsm ill Chilla, pp. 101-137.
11 6. See Vu, Thej ollrllc),/oille lI'est, 1:79-93. 1 am grate ful 10 Rania I lunlinglon
for suggesti ng the analo!:."}'. Note also Vu's comment , is quil e remarkabl e Ilow ex-
tcnsi\"CI}' the themes and rhetoric oflhoism appear in ever}' pari ofllle [joltnu!)' /0
the (ibid. , 1:36).
117. See Brook, MRethinking Syncreti sm," PI' . 20-23.
11 8. Wil e, T a; C/li"s AIICes/Or.f, p. 53 (s li ghtl y alt ered); the original is I-luang
Zongxi, Nlmlei wending, 8. 128. Compare I-luang Neijia qlumfa, p. Iii; and the bi-
ography of the martial anist Zhang Songxi in Nillgbo fll :iIi, 31.2289, both trans. Wil e,
Tai Otis A IIcestOr.f, pp. f>8 and 68 respectinly.
11 9. Wil e, Tai CliisAIICestOr.f, p. 58 (s lightl ), ahered); the original is I-luang Bai -
jia, Neijia qumifa, p. la.
120. See Seidel. MA Taoist Immonal of the Ming D}'nasl}',M p. 504; and Lager-
we}" "The Pilgrimage [0 WU-langShan,M p. 305. On lhe hi storical Zhang Sanfeng,
see also 1luang Zhaohan, iI'lil/gliai daos/t; lJwlIgSmifellgk(w, pp. 36-37.
121. See Lager we)" "The Pilgrimage to WlHang Shan,M pp. 293-302.
122. Wile, T ai QtisAllcestor.f. p. 53 (sli ghLl)' allered); lhe original is I-l uang
Zongxi, Nlllllei wt!lldillg, 8.128. See also Seidel , MA Taoisllmmonal oflhe Ming Dy-
nasty,M p. 506.
234 NOles lO Pages 177-184
123. See Seidel, Taoisllmmonal o fl.he pp. 4S5-496.
124. See Yang Lizh i, '" Mingda i diwang yu \Vudang daoj iao and Lager-
wey, MThe Pilgrimage 10 WtHang Shan,M pp. 299-302.
125. Wile, Lost Tai-<1Ii C!(lssirs, p. 110; see also Wi le, T'ni-<hi's Anuslors, pp. 37-44.
126. Wile. T ai-elli's AI!l:eslors, pp. 5!J-!J7; 1 he original is Huang Zong xi , Nanlei
wending, 8.129- 130. See a Iso Tang Hao, Neijill qlUIli de )'fllljiu, p. 14; Tang Hao, SlIao-
lin Wud(mg kao, p. 77; and Huang's biography in Goodrich, Die/iolwl)' of Miug Biog-
raph)', I : 351- 354.
127. Wile, Tai Chi's Anuslors, pp. 65-66; the original is I-l uang Baijia, Neijia
qlwnfil, p. 4a.
128. \Vile, Tai CIIi's Allcesiors, p. 39: and \Vi Ie, Los/ Ttti-rlii CllIs.firs. p. 110.
129. See Faure'sstruclUral illl erpreialion o f earl y Clmn hagiography,
dharma as Textllal and Religious Paradigm.
M
130. See L6, j-S[ rauss, The Ralll alld IIII' Cooked.
131. See I l uang I\aijia, Neij/a qllmifa, PI' . 5b-6a, I rans. Wile, Tfli-rhi's A',rlSlors,
p. 67. See also Ta ng I-lao, Nl'ijifl '1"011 (/f' )'ftlljill, p. 40.
132. See Wile, /..o,fl T ai-rlli aassir,f, PI' . JOS-II J.
7. Suspect Rebels
J. Sec Gil YanwlL, j illsM IIIm::.;ji, 2.29b-30a, 3.34b-35b, and hi s S('ng
billg,M in Hi::.Jlillljislli, 29. 2Ia- 22b. Gli aUl llored Ili s poem on 111(' monaslery in /11('
s pring of 1679 (sec Qian Bangya n. MGu Tingli n xiansll eng nianpu,M p. 6'la). 1101,'-
c,"cr, i[ is poss iblc [lIa[ he had visi tcd the monas ler y earli er as well.
2. See Peterson, MThc Life of Ku Yen-I\' u (1613- 1682), Pan II : Ku's lh\"eling
Afte r 1657,M p. 209, and Good rich , Dicliollat")' of Millg IJiogm/lh)', 2:-122.
3. The Wuru Peak is situated behind Ihe monaslery 10 ils norll,.
4. Gu Ya IlI,' ll , in si,M in Gil Til/gilll slri ji III/hill/, 6.1212- 1216. Sec also Xu
Changqi ltg's com mentary in hi s S/raolill si)"11 ZhOllggllO 1Imh,U/, pp. 230-231.
5. Sec Wakeman , elMt EllterpriSl!, 2:i77- i SJ.
6. On the I-leaven and E..rt h Society, see Ol\' nby, !JmlllBlilO(J(lswul Sorielies;
1\:1 urray and Qin, Origi llS oftlu '/iamlilmi; and ler I-Iaar. Ui/lwl (11Il1 M)'lhology oJ lhe a,i-
lIese Jil(1ds.
7. See l\"ILlI"ray a nd Qin, OrigillS oJI/le Tifllldi/lll i, pp. 151- 175, 19i-228; tel' I-Iaar,
Nilllal (/lid M)'lh%lD' of Iltl! Cllinl!Sl! Triads. 36S-388.
8. The connenion lo \l ulu Margin is argued by Mu rray a nd Qin, Odgills of Ihe
Tiwldihlli, pp. 169-172. Barend ler I-bar (Uillla! (l1Il1 M)"/ lwlolD' oJlhe Chillese T,lads)
analyzes lhe legend in the comext of the lale imperial messianic paradigm.
9. See tel' I-b ar, Hillllli alld MyOw!og)' of/hI! Chint!St! Triads, pp. 404-407. Whether
a Southern Shaolin Tem pie d id ex iSI goes beyond the scope of th is study. Curremly
al least lhree Fluian cilies, "lilian, Quanzhou, and Fuqing, boasl the remains of
what they claim had been t he authe ntic Southern Shaolin l c mple. The claims
have been reviewed by Wen Yucheng and Zhou Wei liang. Both scholars consider
lhe latter hypOlhesis lhe most plausible. A -Shao li n (Shaolin yuan) had
been silUaled in the western omskirlS of Fuqing CoulHY since the SOlllhern Song.
NOles to Pages 18<1 -189
However, neither its relat.ion to the Hena n Temple nor its mi litary history are clear.
See Wen Ylicheng, Shaolill Ja "ggu, pp. 37'1-385; Zhou Wei liang, ing-Qillg shiqi
Shaolin wlishu de Iishi pp. 10- 14; and lhe less crit ica l FIUJi"g SIlfIolin Ji.
The Quanzholl case is argued b)' Chen Sidong, XillIP' IUI" bige"glu, 1:201-281, and
in QUfll1:.hou NaI! Shaoli/l Ji Jalljill.
The ea rliest no\'el celebrat ing the SOLIt hem Shaoli n Temple was likely the late
Qi ng SIumgclwo ding sheng lIIa/!lIia II qillg (Tlte $l/cred (/)",I(ISI)' 's IrifKxls flourish, IJIm/(l1I1
for len IIwltSaI!d Jean). See Hamm, P"per Swordsmen, 3'1-38, 56.
10. See Weng Tongwe n, -K.'l.Ilgxi chuye ">' i-Wan weh:ing' jituan ),udan g j ianli
Tia pp. 433-4'19; and He Zhi qing, Ti"mlililli qiJIWII JOlljilt. Barend leI' Haar
disputes the Changlin hypot hesis in / liIllol ",ul MJlholog)' ofllY! Chillese TI1(l(/S, pp.
407-4 16.
II . For a general SUI"\'e)', see An,'el l, -The T'ai-ch '<lng, T' ien-cll 'i, and Gil 'ung-
ch('n pp. 621-637; Des Forges, CII/luml u!IIlmlil)' (md PoWical C/UII/gt', pp.
204-3 11 ; and I'a rsons, Pm.mlll Rebd/iOlu of lilt' !.Jlle A'lillg lJ)' IIW;J)'. See also f\.-IOl<', 111/-
Im'iot Chi",,; 900-/800, PI' . i95-801.
12. See Ye Ff'ng, si in S/,oolill si :.hi, lUI/J(mlii, 12a-12b.
13. ciyun an r lnscr iplion on lhe Reconslruclion of lhe
Compassionate Clouds lieI'm il age in SIU/oli/l si ziti. briji, 28b.
14. Sec SI[(,II Quan, si- in Shoolill si ziti, wII)'fII /lii. 1301. See al so Xu
Changq i ng's an nOlal ions in his SI/(/oI;1I si ) ' 11 ZItOllggllO IIlft/hllll, p. 232.
15. A llud ing 10 I he Lia ngs han oUllaws led by SongJ iang in mil",,' Margin.
16. Songyang the sile of lhe renowned Northern Song Confucian Acad-
emy Songyang shu)' ua n.
17. WangJ ic, ZllOlIgzltOIi U/.1.:II, 25.lOb- I la. Slan ley I k nn ing dre',' alIenI ion 10
Wang's accounl in his on a Visill0 lhe Shaoli n p. 96.
18. Millgslti, 152.6517; 273. 7004 ; 277.7105; M illg shi til, Chong"lhcn reign.
16.<190, 16.M6; Qillgs/tj goo, 4 .107; Des Forges, Clltillmt eenlm/il)' (//111 Polilimt Chal/ge,
pp. 216, 285; Wakeman, Creal I!ll!rpri5l!, 1:413, 1:510. Several sou rces give the wrong
character for JII z)wi, hence III iSl aken Iy 1';:11 her I han I mpcr i;.1
19. Arter Li's execution, one of his li eul ena nr s, J iang Fa. sough! refuge at the
Chen household. J iang known for his ma rli al skill s; see Tang I-lao and Gu
Liuxi n, T{lijiqllal/ )"fllljill, p. 180. Compa re also lhe account by Chen Wangting's dc-
scendant, Chen Xin (1849-1929), in TaijiquflIt Pll. p. 358.
20. Sec Mil!gIlti, 292.7489-7490. On Ma Shouying. see Rossa bi , and
Asian PI' . 170, 189.
21. See Wu Shu, SI/ollhi til , p. 14. T he incident look place d uring the Chong-
zhen reign (1628- 1644), bUI ir..s exaCI dale is nOI given.
22. On Ningran Liaogai , see Wen Yucheng. Slwolill ftlllggU, p. 276.
23. On Yang's campa ign, see i'a rsons, Peasa III Rebellions oJIIII! Lnle Mil/g D)'I/(lJI)',
pp. 68-83.
24. See Yu Darou. Sh ifang Chan yuan bei <- I nscr iption on the Reno-
valion of the Uni"ersal Chan COll rL),ard-) (1577), in his llw/gqi 1(ll/gji, 3.6a-7b.
See also Wen Yucheng, SIII/olill J" "ggll, p. 315.
25. The inscri ption is photographicall y re produced in Zlwngglw Shnolill si, p.
256.
26. See Song xinn Uli. p. 837.
27. The course of events is outli ned in a o f Rites document dat ed
1657, which is included in t.he 5lwo/in sf Uli, bIlUW, la-2a. See also Wen Yucheng,
Shaolin fimggu, pp. 331-333. 3' 13.
28. See Wen Yuc heng, Slwo/in fimggll, pp. 337-338, 343.
29. The ce remonies a re recorded on a Shaoli n stele dat ed iG54 t hat comme m-
orates their completio n: see nlOngglio ShllO/ili si, beikfjlWII, p. 257. See al so Wen
Yucheng, Siwolill fallggll, pp. 332,343.
30. See Siwo/ill si tlli, rhenIum, 4b; a nel Wen Yucheng, Slwo/ill Jnllggu, p. 339.
31. See Wen Yucheng, Slwo/ill fimggll, pp. 3' 17-349.
32. Shaolill .fi uti, eltel/ltall, 501. In II/is edict the emperor docs not ment ion tIl e
monks' military activities, of which we know he had been well awar(' from an (',If-
li er document. See hi s cor respondence of 1726 with Ihe go\"crnorof I knan, Tian
WetUi ng, in Shi%ollg :\i(/II Ihwl/gdi UllljJi )'1tz.1Ii, 9.9b.
33. Edict dated Qianlong fortiet h year, fifth monlh, eighth da}' (June 15,
1775), in Qialllollgr!WO.f/lflllg),1l dmlg, 7:878.
34. Sce tcr Baal', lVllile LolliS '/"PflrhilllJS' On late imperial religion and rebel-
li on. see also Naqui n , Millenflriml UWf'lIiol/; Naqui n, Shall/lttlg IMJfllion; Eslt erick,
lJo.vl''' Uprisillg; [\-1 ann a nd Ku h n. ic Decl ine and I h(' Roots of Re bd
35. Qi anlong fou rth year, tenth month, nineteent h day (No\'emb('r 19, 1739),
in Kang r Ollg Qia II slliqi rlumgxia "g renlllill fnllkol/g dOltzhf'llg :,jlit/o, 2:6 I 9.
36. Report b)' the An)' i Cou nt )' magist ra te that \\'as appended to a memori al
dat ed Qianlong t\\'cllt ),-second yea r, third month, t\\'cnt),-fourth da}' (Ma}' 11, 1757)
by t he lI edong sa lt com missioner, Na J un; /J.tjil ZOIIUIt, number 166/ jlum 9015/ 11110
66.
37. Document quoted in Zhou Weiliang, shiqi Shaolin wushu, p. 9,
See also t he memorial dat ed J iaqing t \\'Cnt iet h year. fi fr h mont h. nint h day (June 10.
18 15) by the governor-general ofZhil i. Nayancheng (1764-1833), in Nfl 11"-11)'; gollg
z.ou)'i,40.2b.
38. The W;:I I'll ing W;:I S engraved o n a Shaolin slele; see chapter 2.
39. Liu T'ieh-)'lln, Travelsof l...ao '/l i lli , p. 73.
40. Lin Qing. Hong :nll!),illJllall/llji, seClio n I. See alsocha plcr 5. On \V,lng, sec
chapter 6.
41. l\-Iorris, IHarrow of Ille Nalio/l, pp. 185-229. A manial art s demo nst ralion
was included in the 1936 Berlin Olympics; ibid., p. 179.
42. Menlioned as ea rl )'as lhe Yuan period. lhe Nonhern Shaolin Te mple was sit -
uated on Ml. Pan some fOrL), miles eas l of Wen Yucheng, SJwofillJrmggu, pp.
230-233.
Conclusion
I. MOle, Imperial Ou'/In: 900-1800. p. 81.
2. See Demieville, Bouddhisme el 101 pp. 375-376; Slr ickmann,
NOlI' to Page 201 237
Ma/!tms et mandarins, p. 41; CholL Vi-Liang, -Tantrism in Chi na ,H pp. 305- 306; and
Hansen, "Gods on Walls,H pp. 80-83.
3. See ZhOlL Weiliang, ZlwI!gg!UJ l/JU91!1 ,{/Ii, pp. 86-88. See a lso the anthropo-
logical explorations of Amos, MA I-long Ko ng Southern Praying i\lantis Cuh
H
; and
Boretz, Mi\bnial Gods and Magic Swords.-
Glossary
Authors and lilIes included in the Wo rks Cited arc no t listed bdow. Place na mes
and biographi cal names that arc readil )' avai lable in standard n' ff' n :nc(' \\'orks are
5i mil a rl )' omit ted.
13adll anj in )\gUft:
13agua Zhang JUt'1it
Uaigu shu # Irt'lt
13a igu zhua ng fl' lfi.
Baim .. ]'-l mTcmpl c
Baiyi dashi dian (1-&):
ballgW
btmg yu gwl ),iJeW91HU -ill.
Baoben *'* Te mple
baobjao Cia:!
Baora ng ,f(JJjj
fxlOUWlIg l'l U
Bama
Bawa ng qua n
Bcifang Pishalll cn Dafa n Tianwang .lt

Be nda ,.t: );:
Be ngqua n i61 Yp:
"jal! '!l
Bia ndull
Bia nqun
bio.IlXillg

biug/a :f1":1t
bi.a WlIshf'llg s1l1' 1I1; shall .. fi llSi.{Q'
VII W
bll s/w sltl'lIg
Cao Zhiqi ng
ehml pjI.
Changli n
ClwlIgqitlllgja XIIfI II
dw IIGQIlO /I
dWllljJIII sellgt irm rn
dUIII 1.ilallg U
Chen Changxing
ChenJ iru Iltfl:fR
Chen Songquan tt!;t!
Chen Wangli ng
Chen Xin IW!tI
ChengJ inglao
cliellgqi di naIl
Cheng Shao
Cheng Yinwan NJflL1A-
Cheng Zhe nrll .f1iLi.'HQI
Cheng Long 1I.\i.: ftU.
Chenj iagou
Chelang ffit$t
cliifll )' llIIqi Wl7tf
239
24 0
chong sil(mg
fal ang
/lilt
"Chongxill
,';G
"llLl ang fo xia ng bei
M

III
Chll anSlIO !r.t$l
Chll ZU a n .:tJHI1 Jt:
ci "ft;
ci )' i )'olZg ),(mg Mit;J.ifj?1
xing Shaoli n toy.#.
-;'1'
flmshen (1ft1
1
DaJ iangj un );:/!ffI!I
Damo
Da 111 0 r/wslil'lZ rh ua minlg :iUIfIll .ij! rJ l1i !.t
'iiI! III
Damo da shi zhi s iqi M
Ihmo zhang ,ili,.n.t
/)allluqialilialllllillgjimi ji lllllll bialllof/l .k
n fi.i!l! Rill] :gc j:t
d a /I J'.I.
Dmu/ao fil xuml IVL; Jil;llI
dmltiml Hi li
Ih ochang .ilf.lMonaSICI')'
Dao ru .ilff,'iIJ
Ih oj i i11i1l
Ih o ping .ilfY (fl. 756)
Dao pi ng .ilf?tE. (488-559)
d(l&)'111
Dao)' ill tu !fI.'JII1!
Daoyu .ilfn
Daxiong Dian ..ktnMi!:
Daz hi itlt'l
Dengfe ng l(1. N
dexin )'illgs/WU tH.'I!!f-
dirm selig fii'i ffi1
die )!t (throwing)
die (offl cialleller)
Diza ng pusa
DOllgdujiW: &;;C
Dongj ia quan
dOl/grialZ jl"fJ(
Glossar y
DouJ iande
Du Guangl ing U1tlf!
Du Taishi UAffli
dl/mula mn
mrrJm n""p
dlUmqll(lli
(/1111 +ri
Duowc nt ian :tIIUJ(
DUI i ;';ftl'Hl!
duti (/ifm IiJIWIJi
dlwJei lla /il1W:JII
E qua n 1m '*
Eme i 6ft_I ( MI.)
-Emci dam"cll q uan .!Iplt/;
Emf; qiallg/a 6ft_Unit
Ershisi zim df dflo /lIoIUII/ :/lIIfIII = (f.
r.Jll! II' iY! III
Erwang'l. u n = I!f.
JfI it.
Facong
/till QillgJI/ M illg &iMWYJ
Fan Zhongxiu
Fang Sho uchou
Jallgbiflll Jifil!
JfllIg/OII M IIg WliJiff'i
Fallj ing Tang
Faru Udal
Jaslt ; UdW
Jei.>:i ,iit!
Jellg hes!w "g fl.fll "I{)
Feng Mingqi /.lll!').'!
- Fcngli n chansh i xingzhuang-
flllrAA
Jeltgs/wlI HlIiI
Fcnxing waigong j ue
Foguang
FOluo btllt
Judi uut!!
Fu niu 0.:'1: (Mt.)
- Fun iu shan Yu nyan siji - {)UhLr'.1.fto!j'

,iI::
Gan Fcngchi ItBlit!!
gtllloongfH.
gtlngclw
Glossar y
ge all jiu
Ge I-long bSi'A
gej ue IV; ,lk:
Gong 0ill1
gouqiallg jij h'J
Gu Shaolian tJi&:i3!
glUm IT-
Guang'an IPi#'(
Guangong 1if:10
Guanyin Iltl
Guanrin dashi 1Ilf1 J:.:. I:
GllDie 9J.

Glliyijun pijI.&lIi
g Ull
g Ull fa #ut
bf1wslw ff:r
Gllzho ll DIl.J:t
] i aikll <ln i'hH't.
]I airang
]l cWciMll
] i cngilf (northe rn hoi)' pea k)
]l c ngltJ (SOUl hern holy pea k)
II c ngquan
] i ongji i'Jtt:t!
I i ongj in ti[I1J
Il ongjun ,tDli
I i ongquan
ll ongz huan
l-i ouAnguo
I-i ouqllan
I-Iou Xingzhe iHr /j-
I-Iu Wojiang NI-llUI
!-Iu Zongxian
Hli a (ML)
Hua I-Ieshang
I-Ili a Tuo IIHt::
I-Iuangjue !J'W: l\'l onasler)'
J-/u(wgfillgjillg jJj Iffi'!
1-luan)'uantliM (Mt.)
Huanxiu Changrun
Huanzhou ifgffl
hufa iJHt
I-Iui a n ,uJe
I-Iuig uang Uft
I-Iu i ke liT
I-Iuiming .!J.{ll}l
I-Iuine ng
I-Iui ),ang ;\lUg
I-I u lao r,'t

1/110 fil WII di llg shi
I-Iuo 'ili" 7C If!
IlIloglllI :k.m
I-Iushi Si Tianwang i;l\!..t V4XI
J i J ike

J iang Fa
ji(lIIglill tHYl
ji(lIIsi ft:i.'f
jino ft!!
J iao I-long: j.IH:t
J ia pi luo she'll Pt!D: fil'
jinzi (-
J idian il-flil'i
jil!(ino }i)J
jie/lll o tJJ:k
jijiml
J in Yang
jiJlg M
jill 'grill g dill r
J in'ga ng (s he n)
jillgn"gp/IU
J ingchu changj ian JlHlHi QIJ
jil/gltw &..t:1
Jillgsi il1,1,!l
jil/g/ ll i'fU:
j:cRim
Jill/lllUn xhlulIIg
jil//llulII dUlIIg
J innaluo (wang) (1:)
J inzho ngzhao
ji ll Ii lire g'W, xiII Ii wei fn
1Ii))-I'!i\
ji IIIVII hesll(lllg ii'!i 11'4;ft] r,'ij
Jixiandian shu), uan :W:H)I&: ,!} 1;t
j ll edi ifJ 1tf
JIle:lItIIIg xiII fit
241
242
JUII
.l ungong f!l0
hou ;rg
Kou Qianzhi }I]:.1fz.
houchi np&!
houflr/l f i(m U 'It [JJ
Langlil aosha quan

Lao Huihui .lI,illll]
Laoan
L(lfl((jl! )'ouji .JH.f:.ifft.Tc
LcnamOli
Li Anplan 1'ti:.i.i!
Li ChangYlln 1' 1 1.iH!
Li Hanz hi
Li.ling -t:iW
Li J i rll of-
Li Klli -t:rl!
Li Lanlian f:i!illl
Li Li a nj ie -t:.i!I!
Li Shannllo 'of- i4:,r,
Li Shidao fl)"J11
Li Shim in -1"lItL\';
Li Yi ru f-:#1iJ
Li Yu an l"il;;l
Li Zhuri f-t'JiSi
Li Zicheng f-(rr&.
Li anreng i!!*Y:
LiangYiquan reliJ.1!
/iall,!i !i!i{
Liaoxin TIC"
Li bu shangshu !l!fHH,',j
Lid{li ming hua ji if!.11!JIl,rc
Lin Zhaoen
lillg /}j
L
:!!::: j<
JIl g I a ::;I;J. "
Liu Baoshan
Liu Dec/mng
Liu duanda
Liu Wengchong
Li u Yanshi 'jIJ1r!t
Li u Zongyuan
L
b ... '" .}'..:,
III U quan / \ O'"F
Liuhua zhen A.f-tf:!li
Glossary
Lixue li ng
lizhengdiall xiushll)'U(lll 1m if.)l.l!:.}
Longchang
Ltl Dongbin
LuJ u nr i J&:f!lN
1.. 11 Shi yi
1.. 11 Yin tMW
1.. 11 Zhen tM je
1.. 11 Zhi shen
hm '"
luolum
Lll ohan dao
Luoyi m@
lushi
Sllouying
mai)'i
quan
Meillua quanjiao tfHi:.
Mellglii Itmgqia JIg/a to 71;
Zilang dlla nda
Mile ro
lIIiJlgx;l) J:!"C"

Mi 7.0ng quan (Con ro unding
Trolck Fist)
i7.0ng quan ffi ('1';1 nl ric Fisl)
Muli an 11.i!tl,
lUI it
NaJ un
shell hura
,t",i\!'
Naluoyan (li an) JlHiIMR
Nayanchc ng )J1Jl/oc
Ileidull IAiH
lleigrmg IAir)J
neijia IJq*

lleili IAi))
nei::.lwa IIg IJq ;It
Nczha IJ1I1E
IIillggll iU:liIl1
Ningran GaigongWl mCX0
Ningran Liaogai WlmTcx
Niu Gao 4*
Glossar y
Nizongquan
Pai gun nm
I>an Weiru ittJilyU
I>aoquan
Pei Cui $Hll
Pingchcng 'l'-M
I}iquan
Pishamcn 1..t.J:I"J

POII/ Olllel! d(w)'i/! .!$"l
u
J1!1-'.l1
P!lcong 'i'l1t
l>udu 'i'J!!.
Pu'e n
Pujing 1,'/fil
Pu li(/(wlO t aix i j ue -W t.l! it
Puri1iuzhi -Wt.l!f1/:U.
I' uxian -tHl
I' uzhao
'li'i{
Qianfo dian Tbt,l/!1-
'lia II 'Ii lIei)' lOr iM 1ii( l!I!
'lielrm shell fill i!.: fil
r
Qigong 1ii(J)J
'lihela/!
Qi rm:n quan (,fl"ly('!:
Qin Wang M_E
Qinggong ftJ)}
Qi ngqiang qua n
Qiunabatuoluo .:JlIXl,(i>iAi
kc
'lua /I
QII(m ji/!gjie)'a(}
'l'Ul Ir ),Oll wei shengxing //(li lll!i

'lUll /III IIi )It! fr
'lila njiao "p f!i
Quanzhcn
duanda
rou sheng gang
Ruan Zmang jljdll,*
1110 di 'lim!g .iN1t'l;;t
Ruo jil!gclumg 'lidlw, d!W /11/0 sllen li)'e n
mil iii J\'!i l>i' :IJ ttl
Ruyijingu bang
,mi '
(Sa i)j ianlllo
hc)'i = f!i1'i' -
Sanqi Yougong = -;',j- Ji. 0
smllllei
slllisi = ffJ
selig billg ffJJi;
- Scng bing shouj ic ji M (:Y/(l; n tl!,rt!
- Scng bing lanM
243
Selig l -Iuike 0(11110 xuem(li lUll ffJ pf jj' 1i1
11n.)Wt,;a
Sel/g Putidaml) crUlxif/llgj(l
:t!i!
Scngcholl
Sel/giia III/guo .flli Wf OIJ;,JUi&f 1:.
Scng)an ffI,}:
Sf'll g:1I1'II g ffI jE
Sha J-Iesha ng tp
sll(m g k ai/II ),ilOIl g dfl j in IIgjulI J:.1Jl.JfU Ui
llil.k jff H!
sl/(/II g z.lwgrw 1: fl: Iitl
slurIIgz.rlo I: .I'E
Shan hu _ a
Shaoli n ::V#
Shaoli n nan1.Ong
-Shao li n seng bingR ::vUff'lJi<
-Shaoli n si bei R 1>.j;jq'fiI\!
MShaoli n si d uanda she n fa 10ng zong
quan pUR 1># ..
Shaoli n \\' ushu jie 1>#J1"tI' rlS'l
Shaoli n )'uan 1>f,+;P";;
Shaoshi
- Shaquan geM tJ;:l(;lV:
siren :U (body)
siren fill (spi r il )
siren IJIIII fill m
Shen Quan
Slrellgc/wo dillg slrellg lI'(I1millll qillg
r'l
slim Ii fIfr)1
slrengx;all j'lff
slrenijJwllg
Shens ha shen i*tJ;fill
s/u!IIzlli
sllj
Sill Dian (hllo: J ingyan flllM)
Sill Shang'lhao tlfirM",";{f.
Slii Xiaolong f1! .lj\i1i!
SlIi Yousa n
Shiba Luoha n sholl
sllibfl 1111/
Shi er duan j in 1----.: PliM
Shi rang Chan Yuan t-- Ii IfItX
ShOll shi cilium :111m tit'" (-'
sltollbo "fm
sluJljuum "f'-t
shouulOng '"r'j'
slll/il/ilm ;J( /M
Sida mings han P4.kit,uJ
Sima Chengzhen
sipillg V4 'y-
shllll .'j: I::
Song
SongJiang :t.:: t[
RSong )'ue Shaolin xin lao chu ku
j> #:m llilM
SOllbryangshuyuan
sui Ita
suji(l dh.i Hi- :.n {-
Sun Chua {.f-if.{
Sun To ng {!:1J!i. (slylc: Li Kuan l'Yt)
Sun Wukong
Sunj ia pigua quan fi: *,.it
T .. i k (ML)
Taiji Qua Tl ):..
Toij; III A
Taishi A::i (l\'1L)
lai:d /Iti .n
W"EIi7.0ng Wen huang Ii yu slut
)',
Talin J*#
Tang Wang WI
Tanglang QUOIn
Tanran Pinggong
'r c-,
anzong
1'ian 1lI ::lCUl.
Tiandihui Rlt!!. fr
1'ianlongbabu :Ji::ftiU\./W
1'iantong fi:.-tf{ l\l ona slcry
1'ianwang Di a n X 1:.1
Tian),ua n fi:.n
Ti(IIIZ/111 mmlO fi:.
lieb(lIIg '-I H-
1'ic bu shan *.1'(i .3
Ticfo
Tonglian Dashcng ,ij1jX);: '\'!.
Glossar}'
Tong-Li bai guanrin shen quan -tf{ ( ff.
III i'll'tl'
Illi II!
IIIIW pl!fi
Wan niao II../!. (/uro: Lu)'uan Htli'il)
IIltln ).i ng 'JHi
\\'an' an Slmngong
\\'(llI/xro qluwsllll ,. .. 1: ,If
WangJunkuo .Ut.
Wang L<mg r WI
Wang Lun f.fQ
Wang Kc nzcl .1 :J!!J
Wa ng Shi cho ng r lltfC
Wa ng Shij un r I: f!t
Wang Ta ng :L't;'(
\Vang Zllcngnan ElJE1H
\\'aJI),ollg .:hengtong /Jt JIJ
\ frish"'g)'(l oshll
WdlllO xi an dIU IjtP,.t;:IHt
)(
Wen X i:mgfcng ::t 1M III
quan
Wc ns hu )ttl.
WCll za i Jtii2
lI'()gll lfi l,t,1
WOkOl1
WII IIt (milifary)
WII J.Q (fOri )
Wu I-I:mying
11111 .umg Jt1: Ii'I
\\'u Song Ili O kao Jitt1.-,llQP;
1\'11 z./II'II xillg slu/II 111
Wubai luo han
wubimlli .ilJ)
wuelm" lit j:Ijl
Wudang it1:HMt.j
Wuhl! Ia n li.!.A!t;

Wuquan li.l'f-
lIIIlSJUlIIg pllii Ai k. A=W
WUla! ( MI.)
wl/xia xiaoshlw
Wuy i Miflt
Wuyue .lila
:<i JW
Xi Lu illi f
xinkl! '* '&
xifln 1111
xi(1 I1g bitlg jIl;Ji;
:tin ngltmg lxlllg nnH-
:ti(lIIgjw .t1 [.m
:ciang)'flo zlwIIg r.tM.tt
XiflOJflO XIII!
Mil cfo l a
R

xifjino lftl.fX
X in(' hcng 'L" 'Ji
,y:jllPI'Ll ll;
Xing)'i Quail %.11:"(1:
X inyi Lill he Quail ,t:, .Q:/,{;-;;l
xiollgjinK n;(lo 5111'11
xiqiftlo Ili:tM i
Xi.wi j i llg itlilft
XiwlI XII
. .
XI ,":I n/IJIJ
xizlwIIglU
XII .r.M:
Xu I-Iongkc
XuJi t;'i!/t
XuJ ia n
XuJi 'a n ti':ilfJt:
Xu Qua nl a i tl:1!*
Xua nwlI f:it
Xuan1.ang
XllelifUJ ,'(.iii:
Xungo ng
Yacrtu
Yan Qing N
Yanru laW?
Yang Billg
Ya ng Kefa t;.}ur:a
Yang Kun Jlo:I!IIl
Yang Sichang UI,"U
Yang Wulang
Yang Yc
Yang f1.lh Jl;
Yangj ia (li ang
J{mgsl ll!llg a 'I-::
Yanming MIVl
Y
1.1,; .'< 1!"
anqlll g quan ,.:'1 11 f':
Yanshi
Jo.o
Yaoshi tHW
Ye
Je IlI'.sl", "g 11
Jtr./w ';l..
J i !.
Ji do. Ji}il' n -J.!
Yifeng ott
Yi he q ua n
Yyillg Mi!
Yinfcng
Yinsho u 1"-
)'ituhu 'H ,If
Jillximlg QI,ft1
Yi n)'lla n FI;e
Jirm'RA
Jilollg d a ji(l "gjlln m IliJ);. 1m- 'II (
Yi xing -f r
)'ong !Jj
Yongl ai At 4-
Ya ngxi n Atf,'r
Ya ng)'l1 Ac.li
MYau Tianwi shan fu M .it'lRfi'lllllA

Yu ( ML)
Yuan Yau iCl*
Yua njing l1i'11
)'uanqi
Yuanxian Ji:H
Yuanzha u
Yue Fc i It Jft
Yucji<l d uanda !f*.mrr
Yuck-o ng
J"'Y"
245
Yulanpe n
Y"l/qi .i!1i{
YunY'1Il 'E.Templ e
Yuzhai
tal/ ,;n
u; !tit
tel/gt/wI/g S/UI/ Ii jft I:'( !.f JJ
t/wlig "1-
Zhang Daoling
Zhang Fei sh(,11 quan
Zhang Luojiao HI
Zhang Sanfeng 'lJ :.
Zhang Sirning 'lVJ.!.IgJ
Zhang Songxi
Zhang Xianlhong
ZhangYanyuan 'JJ!Jki!
Zhang Yichao
Zhang Yong 'lJIk
ZhangYongqua n 'lJlk.1
Zhang Yue
Zhang Zho ngille
Zhao Dongxi
Zll ao Taiw changqllan iQ J.\. ill ,-.(:"
Zhao Xiaozai AQ.f;'
t/11'1I :lIK
Zhenbao l'I,.W

Zhcnhua
ZhenwlI nit
ZhenYlian AJt
Zhicao Jj. til
Zhiyi 1!J'DIt
Zhongli Quan .111'1

ZhongYlie III iao 'I' W:.IM
Zhong}'ue si 'I' 1a
t hou D1 (elbow)
: /1011 (spell )
Zhotl Bin MHl
ZhouJ iafu
Zhu I iong itt;
Zhufang Canb"Ong 0
Zi ning daoren
Zishcng gJl,'{
Ziyong fill
Zizai (Iff:
Zongchi It!!.H
Zongdai
Zonglwng
Zongqing
Zongxiang
Zou .
Zua!l{llia n
Zudulln
Zui bax ian qua n M/\ fill
llli qll"" M'f
Gloss:.!')'
Works Cited
Abbreviations
SKQS
T
H'ill)'lumgr siku qU(lIlslw
Tai silO slli lis/IIi d oil.Ok)'o
1)Z Schipper. Klistofer. cd. Colll'OtrittllUtill '/ oo-IS(mg
ZZ Vai tVilloll wkll:..okJo
(Edit ions of I he f ijin jing (Sinews TrmujomUllioli Gassir) arc l isted in 1 he Appendix)
Ackc r, Willi a III R. n. Some 1"(1 ngrmd /m-Ttlllg Texis 011 alillest! P(lilllings. Vol. 2, ClwlIg
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Index
aCllpllnCtllre. 11 7- 118. 138. 152,200
A' de. 85, 87
Allloghav:Ura. 199
AnllatS of Wu alld rue, 156
arhats. 15, 169; and slaffs , 89-90
Anll E:ct!lri.ses, 64-65, 77. 82
Marl ofwar,M 200
Asa nga,91
Ava lokildvara (Guan)'in), 42, 85, 88,
128, 132, 186
Bacluanjin. SeeMEighr-Seclion Urocade-
Bagua Zhang. SeeEiglu Trigrams Palm
Uaigu zhuang. SuCypress Vallcy ESlat e
Batuo,9, 17,35, 207nn.35, 36
Hi andull. 75
bing/a, See"al't.ofwar-
Bl oc h, Marc, 5, 45
Bodhidhal'llla, I , 12- 17, 73, 190; and
Daoism, 172, 232n.I06;and
manial arls mytholob'}>, 178-180;
in [I.l ing fi.Clion, 170; and SiliEws
Classic, 165- 168
- Bodhidhann<l Cane,- li2
Bodhiruci, 17
l30dhisattva-bhiimi,9 1
.. , 94 '" 9
uuxef uprtSlng, _, !J_
boxing. See hand combat
breathing exercises, 2, 138, 141- 142,
146-148, 156, 1iJ8, 180,201. See
also 'Ii
brO<lClsword, 57, 92,130
Uuddhism: d(' lll ons conw'ned 10, 40;
d ie l ary r uk s of, 43; hand symbol-
ism of. ' 10. ' 12. 120, 199; hoi)' fools
in, 17,51. 87;j uslificalion of
vio lence in. 52, 91-92,198-199;
and marlial ans, 2, 62, 78-80,1111.
199; and marlial deilies, 2,37-42,
51-52.83-92, 198-199,201.
214n.90; and nalion1l1 defense, 71-
72.199; and prollibilion of
violence, I. 'I. 20-22, 69, 74, 101.
191. Sn al.tO Chan
Hl/ddhiS! Esseliliais. 106
Bushy- Bearded I le ro, 167-168,231 n.92
Cao ' -Iuandou, 114-115, 117, 124-126,
1' 19,153, 171
Cha n, 1, 11-13,57,87,97, 174, 179, 183;
and Daoism, 172; and ma nial <Ins,
2, 62, 65, 78-79
Chan,Jackie. SeeChc ng Long
Cha ng Naizho u, 135, 149-150, 155; on
SinEWS Tmllsjonnlllioll CltlSsic,
16' 1-165
Changli n Monaste ry, 184
Che n Wangli ng, 133, 145, 187
Cheng Oali, 101
Cheng Long, 121
Che ng Shao, 72
Che ng Zhenru, 66-67, 77
273
274
Cheng Zongyou. 56- 61, 64-68, 82, 97,
188; on Buddhism and martial
arts, 62, 80, 114, 199; and
Vajrapat.li lege nd, 83, 87-88
Chifeng sui. See Hed PluJel!ixs Ml/ mJw
Ching, Gene, 45
Chuzu a n. See Fi rst Pat riarch 's
Hermitage
Classic ofClulIIgt'-s. 154, 200
Clouds Cliff Temple, i9
Colll'Cted Talks 011 the Niven (II!(I Lakes, 67
91
cosmology, 153- 157, 181, 197,200-201
crosshow, 57
Cypress Valley Estale, 2'1-26, 28-31 , 33,
51
Damo zhang.
Daocheng, 107
DaO(/1' jillg, 142
Daoism: and Uodhidharma, 172,
23211. 106; and dl/D)'ill, 137, 144-
147; eighl immortals of, 120- 121 ;
and fencing, 155-157; and
Illustrated E:c/XJsitioll of Intl'nw/
"ledllliques, 158-160; and marl ial
arts, 3, 137, 147,149, 155, 180, 197,
200-201;ilnd [\'11, Song, 12;and
Sinews Trmufonlll/tioll Clussic,
161- 164
Ihoji, 15,51. 87
Daoping, 17
dao)'in, 137, 140-147; and fencing. 156-
157; and lIIustrtlted E,'I,'positioll of
Interlml Techniques, 158- 160; a nd
martial arl S. 140, 142- 1'13. Hi-
157, 155, 180,197; and Sillews
"lhmsjormatiol! Classic. 161; and
raga, 172
Dao)'ill lu. See IIlustmtjollS of Guidillg
al!(1 Pullillg
Da T(/IIg StlI!umgfaslu' 'I" jil!gji. See
Ma.'iter of the Law, Tripitaka Of the
Creat T(mg, Procures tl,e Scriplllres
Demieville, Paul, 91
DictiolUlI)' Of tile 8uddltisl Calloll, 40
DongJ ieyuan , 43, 95-96
DOli J iande, 23-24, 27
Eight-Immortals
120-121
Drllllkell Masler, 121
Dudgeon,John, 138
Duti , '18
Index
Eight Immortals, 120- 121, I!",(j
-Eight-Secti on 160, IG8
Eight Trigrams upri sing, 124, 134, 151 ,
193
Eight Trigrams Palm, 134, 154. 180;
and cosmology, 181, 197
Emel, 67, 75, 77-78, 118, 166
-Emei daoren quan Sl'e of
I he [md ,,Ion k's Fi sl
Emri qiallg/a. See Eml'i S/",f//, MI'/h(}(1
Emri Spear Me/hod, 67, 77
epigra phy, 4, II , 14-15,21-22,71.83.
85, 117, 188. SI't' (//so Slmo) i 11

Erwangwll. SI'tI V(,llerable
Essl'lllia/s of thl' I-Imu/-ComOOI ChlSsir,
116,128-131
TerlilliqtU!s of G rumlillg Life, 138,
158.203
Expositioll of/he O"igino' Slll/olill Staff
Meth(}(/, 56-62, 65-66, 83, 88, 97,
"'
Facong, 95-96
Fa lungong, 147
Fan Zhongxiu, 27
fallgloll Mllg. See-subsid iary sirrine

Fanyi millgyi ji. See Tl'lIns/(/le(/811lldhisl
,/imllill%g)'
Fa ru, 13
Fa ure, Bernard. 12
Fa),un. 102
Fearless, 122
feixi. Sa - fl ying Slarr
fencing. 155-157. 180
figllLing mon ks: and ilinerancy, 67, 75-
76, 81; and meat diet, 42-51, 95-
96; in popular fiction, 92-100. See
a/.50 monaSlic lroops
firearms, 137,200
Firsl i'alriarch 's Hermilage, 16
Index
Fists of PW)', 12 1
Fi ve Holy Pea ks, 12
MrIying 106-107
FOlllo. See Batuo
Fu Mel, 10- 11 ,83,88
Funiu. 63. 70, 7!"I, 79-80, 189, 196
Gan Fengchi, 153, 165
Gaozll, Emperor. See Li Yua n
Ge Hong, 145, 155
Geng )'/1 slumgji. See Terlmiques Jor After-
Farming Pastime
MGod of the Deep 97
Golden- Bell Armor, 151
gouqi(wg. SeP hooked spear
Gu Shaolian, 33
Gil Yanwll, 5, 182-183, 186, 190
Guang'an, 58, 67
Guangong, 85, 97
Guanrin. Sf'eAvalokiteS\ara
Mgllardian 84-87, 89
Gui}'ijun. SePMReturn toAllcgia nce
Arm(
20
/J110siw. SeeMNational Arts-
Guzhou, 82-83
gymnastics. Sec dfl(yyil'
ll aikuan, 189-190
hand combat: defined, 113; and
Henan, 134- 135; in Ming li tera-
tUfe, 131- 132; Qi J iguang's
method of. 128- 131; 17,hcentuf Y
styles of, 133- 135; Shao! in
evollllion of, 3. 82,1 13- 127. See
a Iso Illa rt ia I a r1s
J-Irllld-Combflf Classic, 114-126. 133. 136,
149, 153
handsYllloolism, 40, 42,120,199
He Liangchen, 62, 75, 130
I-Ie Wei, 48-49, 194
I-Iea\-en and Earth Sociely. See
Tiandihui
Mhelerodox- sects, 191- 192. See also
sectarian rebellion
Hi nduism, 20
I-lislorialls Crrift, 45
1-listOl)' of Arrhtry" 57
'7" - ,
Histo')' oj IHOllastic NatiOllal Defense, 71
holy fools, 15,51,87
I-long Fist, 116
I-long 160
I-Iongj i, .58, 188
I-Io ngj in. Set! Red Turbans
Hong-Lhll an, 58, 64, 82
hooked spear, !"i), 82
I-hi Zongxian, 69
I-Iua T IIO, I'll
76, \<19, 152,175-179
1-lli angZong:<i, 5, 57, 75, 152, 175-178
/-II/tmgt ill gji IIg. Sec Sniptll I"e oj tltl' l'l'lIotU
Collrt
I-Il1i an,13
I-Il1ig uang,17
I-Iui ke. 13-14, 73, 166, IG8
J-Illili n, '10
J lui ming, 95-97, 101
I lui neng,87
I-Iui yang, 25-26, 33-34,183
J Ili O 121-122
icchiill/ika, 91
JIIuslmled oj inln'Iwl Tech-
lIiqlles, 138-140, 1' 19, 157-160
Jllllsimliolls oJe ttidillg Mltl PIII/il/g, 140
inunon a lil Y, 139, 14' 1. 1'16, 155-157,
li5; and marti al .m s, 197,201; ,l1l d
Sillews TmllsJal'llw/iol/ Classic, 149,
163-164,17' 1. 180
kl rnpc ri:tI ForI, 88,187-188, 235n_ 18
Indra. 37, 212n.62
- in ncr alchctn},,- 1<15, 155, 172
intellectua l hi slor y, 181
Imernal School (Fist), 75,135, 152,
li5-181
IIIlerllal Sdwol Pis/ Ale/lux!, 1<19, 152, 178
- imernal slrc ngl h,M 126, 149
1ron-CIOlh Shin, 151 ,22811.41
Jet Li. Set! Li Lianj ie
J iJ ike, 134-135
jiallghu. See Mri vers and lakes
M
Jiallgllll cOllgllm. See Collected 1'alk.soll
Ihe Rivers alld u/lles
jiallgl/all jillg lii. See He Strategic
DeJenS/! oJlhe jiallglllHl Regioll
276
j ial! jing. See Swom Oa.JSic
J iapiluo shen. See Kapil a
J iaqing, Emperor, 193
jiedan. SeeMprohibilions'
J in Yong, 22
jill'grlllg. See lIajm
J in'ga ng shen.
jil!gde Clw.(lIIdellg III. See j illgrle Periotl
Huord oJthe Tmll smi.uiOIl oJthe lamp
jillgrle Period Huord oj tile Tmllsmi.ssio" oj
the lamp, 13-14
J innaluo. See Kiqlll ara
j ill PiI!g Mpi. See Plwn ill the Goide" Fast'
J inzhong zhao. Si'eGolden-Bcll Armor
j i:riao xill sJw. See Nnl! Treatise Oil iHili/m)'
t'ffiriellry
J iw (MI. ), 75
j Olmll')' to the IIbt, 93-94, 124 , 131, 175
Kangxi, Emperor, 184, 190
Kapil a,214n.90
Ki eschni ck,J oh n, 102
Kiqlllara Uinnaluo), 87-89,9'1, 114. See
nlso N,j 1. 1:1; 1'50 i
Kroll, Paul, 146
kung ru (movies), I , 10, 196. See also
Fearless; Fists oj
f ury; 5//(lOlill Temple
KUlig fu Tai Chi, 45
Lime nt on 1\'lonast ic 74
Lee, Bruce, I . 121
Levi-Strauss, Claude, 179
LiJ ing, 165, 167- 168, 170-171
LiJ i)'ll , 187- 188
Li Lanti a n, 78
Li Lianji e, I, 44. 121, 196. 198
Li Shidao, 21
Li Shimin, 17,22-35, 45- 46,51-52.56,
71, 182- 183, 198
Li Xiaolong. See Lee, Bruce
Li Yuan. 23
Li Zicheng, 71, 79, 185, 187- 188
LiangYiquan, 4:;
Lin Boyuan, 148
Lin Qing, 126-127, 194
LingTingkan, 168
lion dance, 201
Li u Baoshan , 45
Li u Dec hang, 66-67
Li u Tie)' un, 173, 194
Index
Li u the Sixlh & Litl Ihe Sc\'emh, 71-72
- local 68
Lo kap5las, 51, 212n.61 , 219n.4
LQ/I/.f Sltlm, 85, 87
Ltl Dongbin , lGO
Lu Sh i),i, 64, 75
Lu Zhishcn, 43-44, 50, ii, 96-99, !O1
litO/lOll. SuarhaL';
LII(T)'lmg qieltm ji. See Ileaml oj
MOlloslf'lies in Lo-Jong
ii, 131
Slloll ying, 188
Manchu. SeeQi ng Dynasly
Yuanyl. 59. 62-63
Mfl lTOlIrClnlll sillg OflSsir, I-I, IG6, IG8,
203
man ial ans: and acupunc1Urc, 117-
liS, 152,200; and Buddh isl
dc ilics, 37-'12, 52, 83-9'2. 108-J09,
198-199; and Uuddh is1 h,md
symboli sm, 120; and Huddllisl st' lr-
cll hi";'I 1ion, 2, 62, 78-80, I H , 199,
201; and cosmology, 153-155, l SI,
W7, 200; and Daoislll, 3, 137, 147,
1'19, 155, 180. 197,200-201; imd
Daois1 cighl immorlals, 120- 121 ;
and dflO),ill, 137, 140. 1'12-143, 147-
157, 180, 197; encyclopedias liS
source o n,:;, 68.128; latc Ming/
earl y Qing 1 ransror m .. tion or, 3,
137, 1'17-157. 180-181. 200-201 ;
and the lite rati elile.:;. :;7. 64, 66,
75.12'1-125.138,178. 181. 201 ;
myt hology or. 4, 135, 170, 178-180,
200; and nationbuilding, 5, 195,
205n.1; and Olympic games, 5,
196. 236n.41 ; and Qing (Manchu)
conquest,:;, 177-178, 181-182, 201 ;
and rebell ion, 124, 134; religious
goals or, 1,3, 126, 137, 147, 149,
171,180-181,200-202; and ritual,
151-152,201 ; and syncretism, 173-
175, 181 ,201 ; temples as public
space ror, 7:;-76,81,201 ; therapeu-
Index
tic goals of, 1,3, 126, 137,139.
147- 149. 152-1 53, ISO- lSI , 200-
202; in West, I. Sa also fend ng:
hand comba t; spea r; staff
martial arts fiction, 22, 67, 70,150.152.
See also Water Margill; Yang FllIni/),
Cellffals
martial arts schools. 9-10
martial deities. 2. 37- 42. 52. 83-92.
108-109. 198- 199; and animal
sacrifice, 51, 214n.90
Maspero. Henri. 141. 144
Massage. 143. 151, 153, 16.1
Master oj fhl' Law, Tri/)i/aka oj Ihe Creal
'/(wg, Pm('u res Ihe SrriPIIl rt.f. 95.
107-108
Matsllda Ryflchi , 133
medi cine. 11 7- 11 8. 140-143. 152-153.
SN'alsornartial arts, therapeutic
goals of
l\1ci hlla qua n. Set' Plum Flol\'er Fist
Mmglii tallg 'liallg/a. See Sp('(Ir M('l hod
Jrom the Dre(l millg-o/ Foliage Iiall
Ming Dynasty: military decline of. 4,
6S; and monastic troops. 73-80;
and piracy. 6S-7I; and Shaolin.
7 1-73, IS6- IS9
Mizongquan. 121- 123, 171
l\"lonastcry of the Central Peak. 21
Armies' First Victory,- G9
monas tic tI"OOPS, 4, 73--S0. Sn (liso
fighting monks ; piracy
/IIullrei . See hand s}'lllbolism
t.,lllli an, 105- 106
mythology, 4, 135, 170, I7S-IS1. 200
Na llloyan (tian). See Narayat)a
Naquin, Susan, 76
Na raya!)a, 40-42, S3--87. Sa also
Vajrapat.li
19:;
Needham, Joseph , 14 I, 144- 14:;
Ileidmi. alchem(
Neigvllg tushuo. See Wustrflterf Exposition
oj b!fental Tedllliques
Neijia (Quan). See 1 merna I School
Neijia qumifa. See hlter/1lI1 Sdlool Fist
Method
llei/i . See- illlernai
New Treflt iy 011 Mililmy EJficim0', G2,
128. 131
Niida Noboru, 30
Ni u Gao. 168. 170- 171
'177
Northern Shaoli n Temple, 196, 23Gn.42
Northern Wei . 17-18. 22
Olympic Games. 5
Palmer. David, 1'17
Pan Weiru, 138
Pei Cui . 2'1-26, 3.'-\
Perrect Warrior. Su Zhenwu
piraq'. G4, 6G, 68-71 , 128
Pis hamen.
P/fltJorm S'llra oJlhe Sixth PI/trim"(h, 87
Plu m Flowe r Fis. , 123-12'1, 134-135.
15'1, 201
Plum Flowc r Religi on, 124. 134, 201
Pflm/ illlhl' CoIdl'lI l'as(', 55. 131
Praying Manti s Fist. 135
Prince ofQin , 23. 27-30.183
Mprohibitions' knifc.- 96-97
public spacc, 76.81. 201
PlI'cn, 67. 7i
PIII/i llg nook, 1' 10
Pu rplc-Coaglliat ion n of t he WilY.
162- 163, 165.168. 180; and
.. n. 174-175
qi, 2, i8, 118, 125-126, 1' 11 - 143. I4G-
1'17, 155; and JlhtSlmlell E).l'osilioll oj
liller/ill/ Tedmiqtus. 159-1GO; and
martial ans. 1'19-152. 15G, 180;
and Si ll ews 'I'm I/sJol"'flllIIioll Classic,
163-16' 1. See also dao)'ill
QiJ ig uang. 62-63. 68. 92. 10\ . 1I G- 117;
on hand combat , 128-131
Qianlong, Emperor, 11 , 49, 190-\91
qie/mlsllel/.
Qigong, 147. 152. See also daoyill
Qin \Vang. See Prince ofQin
Qing Dynast y. 48-50, 189-194, 198
Qiuran ke. See Bushy- Bearded Hero
q"all. See hand combat
Qllall jillgjiC)flo. See EssenliaLs oj the
Halld-Combllf Classic
278
QUIlII jiltg. QUIlII JIl bei),ao. See Halld-
Combat Classic
Ratnamali, 17
Hecord ofBuddlli.st MOllasteril's ilt l..o-),allg,
13, 18
Hecords of Militm)' 'n ifties, 62
Hed PliO/mix's Mmluw, 143, 160, 168
Red Turbans. 56. 83- 85, 192
M Ret urn to A ll egiance 21
ring staff. 89. 96. 102-106; Su n
Wilkong's. 107-108
ritual : and dao)'i/!. 146-147; a nd
fencing. 155- 156; a nd man ial arts,
15 1- 152.201
ritual opera. 89
Mriwrs and lakes.
M
67. 75-76,81, 185,
193
Huli n wlli.slli. See VI/offinal lIisIOl)' 011111'
SrllOlll J"s
RZA. <\6
Sanqi YOLlgong, 67, 71
Srhopen. Cregory. 22
Srri ')/ UI"(' of the )'ellaw Colll1, 133. 1' 15--1 ' 16
sec tarian rebellion, 3. 5. 49, 12,1. 134,
185. 19 1- 193
Se idel , Anna. 145
sel/gbing. See monast ic t fOOl' S
MScng bing ShOll j ic ji.
M
Sn MMonast ic
Armi es' Firs t
SeeMLa me nt on
l\'l ona stic
S(; ngc holl, 35-37. 39, 42, 45
Sel/giia lIuguo slli. See lIi.stor") oJ /I'lollaslic
Nfl/iollal Defell$!!
Sha Heshang. SeeMSha Monk-
Sha Fami ly Fi st. 79
MSha il,lonk,M 97, 107
Slwolilt gu't/a dum w'lg See Exposi/ioll oJ
the Origimtl Shaolin SlafJ Met/wi
Shaol i n Martjal Arts Fes lival , 10
Shaoli n Monastery: a nd B{Kl h idharma.
1, 12-19, 165, 171- 173; and
Daoislll, 137, 157- 160; dieLary
cllst.oms of, 42-52; epigraphy as
source of, 4. 11 , 14- 15,21-22. 71,
83,85, 117, 188; FirsL Patriarch 's
Index
He rmitage in, 16; fluid communit y
of, 5, 45, 67, 80-81,185,193-194;
hand combat in, 3, 82,113-127;
.. I d .. . 36 4? - ? 83
malLla e ltleSIll ,. - _ ,!)_ . -
92; me d ieval estate of, 2, 24-26,
28-31,33,51-52, 198; and Ming
dynasty, 3, 71-73, 80,188; in
modern pe ri od, 1,5, 44-47, 195-
196; and Nonhern Wei dynasty,
17-18; and piracy ca mpaign, G6,
68-7 1; and Qing dynast y, 3, 47-50 ,
185, 188- 19
2
1, 198; and Red
Tu rbans, 84-85; 17' j, cenlll ry
dcsu' lI ction of, 185-189; staff
li gll' ing in , 3, :.J6-66; st rategic
loca tio n of, 19,26, 52, 198; Stup"
Fores. of, I I. 71, 73; and Sui
dyna s!)" IS, 26, 29; and syncreti sm.
174 - 175, 181. 201; and Tang
d)' nas!y, 22-34, 52; and to urism. 9,
79,195-196; Tr' Ul slat ion I till in,
17; 20,h ccn. IIry dcs! rtlC! ion of, 27,
88; in Un ilcd Slat es, <16
Monaslc r y St ci e,R 2'2-35, <\5.
Su also e pi gra pl ly
Shaoli" qlwllslm mijtlf, IIG
si bc i.R See MShaoli n Monastcry
Stdc
R
SlwoIi" 'temple (mo\' ;e), 4<1 -16, 196, 198
"Shaqll a n gc. R See MSong of thc Sh"
Fist R
She nsha she ll . See MC{KI o fthc Deep
Sands
R
She shi. Sce HiS/Or")' oJ ArclU! /"y
Shi Dian, 64, 67, 75
Shi Shangzhao, 71-72
Shi Xiao long, 10
Shi YOll san. 27. 88
Shi c r dll an j in. See MTweh"C-Scclion
Brocadc
M
Shishi J(w/all. Sce Blultlhi.s/ Essen/illis
Shoubi /rl. Sce Arm Exercises
SIIOUbo,157
SllIli/lll tlUUlII. Sce Wmer Margill
Sima Chc ngzhe n, 12, 155
Sillews TmnsJon nalioll Classic, 139, 149,
151,11)3,160-165,180,201; and
Bodhidharma Icgcnd, 165-173;
Index
editions of. 203-204; and syncre-
tism.173-175
Six Fl owers (Formalion), 79,167,170,
231n.93
Skanda, 161
Song (Mt .. ). 11 - 13, 179, 187
Song.Ji ang militias. 201
SOllg MOImtail1 Book. 11 .83
of the fmel Monk 's Fist.M 77,
11 3. 149
of t he Sha 78
SOllgshu. See Song MOlllltaill Book
SOllthern Shaolin, IS4. 234n.9
spear. 57- 5S. 64. 67. 70. 82. 92, 130,
134. 139. 154
Spear Method Jrom tlu' Dreall1illg-oJ-Foliage
Hall. 64
staff: comparative perspective on, 105-
106, lOS; crescent design of, 97-
98; as emblem of the monk,
102- 105, lOS. 199; and fi ctional
righting monks. 92-100; as magic
II'capon, 105-108; in Ming arm)',
92, 130; Shaolin legend of, 83-92;
Shaolin mct hod of, 56- 66, 139;
tcrrninolob,)' of. 221n,39; Yu
Darou's method of, 64- 66
Stories ileaI'd by )'ijirlll, 160
Siory oJlhe 1Ii-stem Willg( DongJiC)' uans),
43,95
S(01)' oj the lV;IIg (Wang Shif u's).
95
Simiegic DeJellse oj tlu j iangnan IUgiOll,
The, 69
Stri ckmann, [vlichel. 40, 120
Stupa Forest. II. 71, 73
Msubsidia ry s hri ne monks.- 47- '19
Sui dynast)" 18,22,26,29
Sun Tong, 123
Sun Wukong, 92-93, 98,101,124.1 31;
a nd [vi i ng syncrel ism, 175; and
ringslaff, 107- 108; and Vaj rapal)i,
94-95, 199
supreme ultimale, 133, 154 , 181, 197,
201
Sulra oj the Assembled Clumns, '10, '12
sword, 58, 155-156. Seeal.mbroadsword
Sword Classic, 64-66, 215n.26
syncrelism, 162, 173-175, 181 , 201
laiji. See supreme lilt imate
'-g
-, .
Taiji Quan , 2-3,132-133,135-1 37, IS7,
200; and cosmology, 154, lSI , 197;
and Daoism, 145-146, 197; and
tlflo),i", 142, 147-150, 155; and
Zhang Sanfeng, 180
Taizong, Emperor. See Li Shimin
Tang I-lao, 3, GG, 84-85, 133, 147,
158, IG2
TangShull zhi , G2, 77-78, 82, 128,
130, 1'19, 154
Tang dynas t}', 22-3'1. 52
Tanl ric riuml , 120, 199. Sef'(I/so hand
symboli sm
Tanzong, 25- 26, 31, 33-35
1ff lmi'llll's Jor Ajtl'I"-FflllIlillg Puslill/I', 57
Temple of I he C(!I)1 ral P('ak, 12
Tiandihui , 18'1- 185
Tianw,lng. SI'I' Lok<l p:-llas
Tian)'uan, 69-iO, 7'1, 82
Ticbu shan. S/'I' I ron-Clot II Silirt
Tmllslale(IIJlltI(lhisl 'lcllIlillolog)', 102
Trtlllels oj Lao C(II!, I i3, 19'1
1'rtalise 0JAlilita,), ?)-epam/iolls, 59, G2
1'rtaliSl' 0 11 Ali/ita,)' lV/ail'S, 62, 128
Triads, 116, 18'1
TlloIllOlli ji jingo See Slllm oj lite Asse mble!/

ion I
180
- 1"\\'0 Venerable Kings," 37
UnoJjicifll lliSIOI)' oj lite Sdwllll's. 151 , 164
Va israva na, 108. 199,232n. 102
vajm, 36-37, '10, 83. 87, 109, 212n .62;
and Sinews TmllsJolllUll ioll Classic,
IG3-164 , 167; We ilUo's, 160
Vaj rapal)i, 36-42, 56, 75, 114, 120, 123,
127, 133, 171-172; andjustifiGllion
ofviolc ncc, 52, 91-92, 199; as
progenitor of Shaolin staff, 83-89,
108-109, 173; and sectarian
rel igion, 192-193; and Sun
Wukong, 94-95
Vasubandhu, 20
280
vegetarianism, 43; disregard ror by
fighting monks,
Vi sh nu, 40
Wan Biao, 69, 82
Wang.l ie,
Wang L1. ng, 135
Wang Lun, 153
Wang Renze, 28
Wang Shi cho ng,
Wang Shi ru,
Wang Shijun , 47
Wang Shi xing, 48
Wang Tang,
Wa ngZhengnan,

Wang Zongyue, 135, 154
Wang Zll yuan, 1'19, 153, 157-
160, 194
Watl'rM(ugill, :,0, 77,96, 123,
170- 17 1, 184, 201
H-eisheng ),(IOshu, Scc lli5ell/ial '/ ff/llliqlU's
of Lifo
Wei/uo, 160- 162, 172
WCrI Yuchcng, 190
Wend i, Emperor, 18, 26
Wellzai,83
Lo tus SecLS,- I Dt. &#1(110
scCl.a ri a n rebell ion
White Lo tus uprising, 153
Wil e, Douglas, 130, 150, 154 , 177- 178
!IIoliol/ . See pi racy
Wu Cheng'e n, 93
Wu, Empress, 11 - 12, 18, 22
Wu.l ingz i, 151, 164- 165
Wu Qi ao. See Wu Shu
Wu Shu, 57, 63- 66, 68, 75. 77. 82
Wube; zhi. See Treatisl! of fll ilitary
Pre/xlmtiollS
Wu birm. See Treatise OIl Mi/ital)' Affairs
Wuda ng (MI.), 177. 179
Wudi, Han Empero r, 12
Wudi , Liang Emperor, 51
WUlai, 43, 51, 70, 75-77,96,98, lOt , 107
46
Wuyue. See FiYe I-I oly Pea ks
Wu r ue dlUllqill. See AII/wir Of \I 'll alld
}'iu
Index
Wuzong, Emperor, 22, 33
xiallghillg. See- local 1roops-
Xiaowen, Emperor, 17-18, IS6
Xingyi Quan, 3, 132, 134-1 37, 16S,
200; and cosmo logy, 153, 197; and
dflu)'ill, 142, 149; and Daoism, 155,
197: and Zhang Sanre ng, ISO
Xisl/i jillg. See Classic
xiuulIIg, r ing staff
Xu Ho ngke, 167, liO
Xu J i, l9l
XuJ i'an, 19'"1- 193
X
11- 117 '"' I I " , uallJ l, !), , _ _ ' n . _
XI/flllji lIIisholl xlledno qlum jIll'. See
XI/fl IIji's A.IIPl/lI.III'." Poi Ills
X,1lI IIji's ArtIPIII/.tW." Poillts, 11 4-126,
13G, 1,19, 152-153
Xua nzang, 17-18,21,30, 92- 93
Xuanzong, Emperor, 32-33, 1!>5
Yaer!u, '19. 19'"1
),akia, '10, 59, lOS, 114
Yang Bing, 123, 135, 15'1
Yang Lizhi . 177
YangSichang, ISS. 190
Yang Wul ang. 77, 98-99, 101. 107
Yallg Palllii)' Genemls, 77, 98
kYang Family Spear,R 70
),fllIgsilellg, 1'10, 14 8, 157
Yang Ihe Firlh. Set Ya ng \Vu]ang
Yanming, '16
Julia. See ),(Ikia
Yijifln zili. See SlDlies Helml b)' Yijhm
Yijillg. See CltlSsic of C/Ulllce.s
Yijill Jillg. See Sillews 7hmsfonlwlio/l
Ck/SSic
Yinreng. 107
Yins/Ilt. See PI/flillg Book.
Yinyuan, 103
Yiqil! jillg )"ill)"i. See DicliOllfll)' of Ihe
Bllddhist C(l/WII
roga, 172
Yonglai sh rine, 18S
Yongxin, I, 4G- 47, 190, 195
Yong.l hcng, Emperor, 47- 48, 190- 191
Yu Darou, 56-57, 64- 66, 68, 92, 101,
189
Index
21
Yuanxian,74
Yue Fei, 168, 170- 171
Yun Youke. 67, 76
Yunyan Temple. See Clouds ClifrTemple
Yu zhai. SeeMlmperial
Zen. SeeChan
Zhang Kongzhao, 125-126
Zhang Sanreng, 135, 176-180
Zhang Xianzhong, 185, 188
ZhangYic:hao,21
Zhang Yong, 73
Zhang Yongquan, 78
Zhang Vue, 32
Zhang Zhuo, 35-37. 40. 42. 45
ZhaoTaiw, 11 3, 11 6- 117. 128. 132,
221n. 11
Zhenbao,77
Zheng Ruocc ng, 69-70, 75,79.82
Zhenhua, 71
Zhenji. See Rffor(ls of Mili/OI )' Tnrlics
Zhe nwll . 177
ZI
. <,- 96 33
_ ltCo;'10, _ !)-_ .
Zho ngli Quan , 160
Zho ng)'ue miao. See Tcmpl e or the
CClll ral Peak
Zho ng)'uc si. See Monastery or t he
Central Peak
Zho u Dun)' i, 154
Zhu i-I o uzhao, 73
Zhu Yti u n. 72
Zhu Yuan zhang, 74
Zhuangzi. 118, 1'10, 143, 225n.31
Zi !ling daorcn. SlY! Purple-Coagula-
tion .\Ian Ortll e Way
Zishcng. Empress Dowager. 72
Zonghe ng, iG2
Zuduan, 40, 42, 85,120
lll i '1"(111. J)ll/llkl' lI )\1(1.$11'1'
281
About the Author
Mei r Shahar reech'ed his doC!oratc in East Asian Lang uages and
Ci vii i ...... "1l.ions from Ha rva rd U ni\'crsil}'. He is the author of em::.)']i: CltillllW'
lMigioll (lnd POpU/M Lilemllll'e (1998) and coeditor (wit Ii Robert Weller) of
Um'llly Gods: lJivillily (Ind SorielY ;1I Chinfl (1996). He is currentl), associate
professor of Chinese s\ ndics in I he Department of Easl Asian St ud ies,
'I'd Aviv Universi ty.
ProdUClion :--JOles for Shaha r / The Slwoiill M OliaSllII)'
J acket design by April Leid ig- H iggi ns .
Text design by University or Hawai i Press Produci ion SlalT
Wil h lext i n New Baskerville and di splay in ~ - l i n i o n Bold Condensed
Composition by inari informalion services
Printing and binding byThe Maple-Vai l Book ManuraclUring Croup
I>ritlled on 60 lb. Text White Opaque, 426 ppi

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