YIN YANG CHI (KUNG-FU)MARTIAL ARTS

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

ASOCIATE MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL KUNG-FU FEDERATION

The history of China began long before the Qui Dynasty, but it's emperor Chin united many of the warring states and joined many parts of the Great Wall ( built in parts against marauding Hans and Mongolian's ) immuring up to 300,000 Chinese workers into the wall in the belief that it would be stronger against attackers and would be invaders. It was believed that these workers would strengthen the Great Wall with their bones and their spirits. ( This is also the emperor who created the Terra cotta Warriors at the expense of 700,000, yes seven hundred thousand, workers ).

So it is considered that during the time of the Qui Dynasty the Emperor Chin united most of China into one nation. In his quest for longevity, Emperor Chin tried many potions and lotions and slowly poisoned himself with a mercury based longevity drug.

Around 700 years later in 497 AD, in the time of the Southern & Northern Dynasty, the first Shaolin Temple was built.

 

The Establishment of Shaolin

Towards the end of the 5th Century AD an Indian Buddhist monk by name of Ba Tuo (Chinese Name) was traveling through China teaching Buddhism, helping and guiding those he met. His great wisdom and kindness came to the ears of the Emperor who summoned Ba Tuo to come to him.

Exact details of what happened at this meeting are not entirely clear but is seems that Ba Tuo was offered riches, a place in the palace and encouraged to continue his teachings. Ba Tao kindly declined this offer and asked for a piece of land far away from any 'civilised' place in the province of Henan, on the side of the Song sang Mountain. There he was given a large piece of land and the resources to build a monastery in an area called 'Wooded Hill' or 'Small Forest', which translates to Shaolin in Mandarin or Sil-Lum in Cantonese.

 

Introduction of Physical Exercise

In about 539 AD, a holy man named Bodhi Dharma (later called Ta Mo by the Chinese) left his monastery in Southern India to spread the Buddhist faith to China, later called Ch'an Buddhism. ( Ch'an is the Chinese translation for the Sanskrit word "dhyana" meaning Yogic concentration, also known as Zen in Japanese when it was introduced from China.). After traveling hundreds of miles to reach Northern China and crossing the Himalayan mountains and the Yangtze River, he headed North to Loyang, the capital of Henan Province.

There of course he found the Shaolin Ssu (Temple). It was, 40 years after it was founded, and it had become famous for scholarly translations of Indian Buddhist scripture into Chinese. Bodhi Dharma sought entrance to Shaolin but the abbot of the day, Fang Chang would not let him into the temple ( many sought entrance for various reasons ).

Bodhi Dharma was determined to enter and see the Shaolin Ssu. He located to a nearby cave on the side of a mountain ( this cave can be visited when in Henan/Shaolin as well as climbing to the top where a 40 foot Buddha is erected in honor of Ta Mo ) where (it is said) he sat in meditation facing a stonewall. Many versions of this event exist, including;

 

· · That he sat facing a wall for most of the next nine years at the end of which Bodhi Dharma 's deep blue piercing eyes had apparently drilled a gaping hole in the cliff wall. ( we did not find such a hole but we did find what seemed to be a permanent shadow )

· · That he fell asleep meditating and his eyelids closed and when he awoke, he was so distraught that he cut of his eye lids so that this would not happen again ( since this would be against Buddhist teaching - and he was a devote Buddhist - this is unlikely ).

 

That he was visited by monks ( initially secretly as they were interested in the 'foreigner' ) and was supplied with food and water. In this way he was able to demonstrate his knowledge and skill of Buddhism to such a degree that he was finally ( after 9 years? ) admitted to the into the temple.

Irrespective of which story is true, it is clear that Fang Chang at some time relented and allowed Bodhi Dharma entry into the temple Shaolin.

 

Upon gaining entrance to Shaolin, Ta Mo ( as he was now called by the Chinese ) saw that the monks were weak and unable to perform the rigorous meditations he expected that Buddhist Monks should be practicing. Whilst meditating they often fell asleep or were very restless and were not achieving inner calm or peace ( a state required to reach Enlightenment, that for which all Buddhist strive! ).

 

He spent some time in seclusion pondering the problem. Considering the time and health awareness of the period, Ta Mo came to a staggeringly accurate conclusion, that the monks were not fit to meditate. With this in mind he started working on a solution; he created three treaties of exercises.

 

These in-place exercises were later transcribed by monks as;

 

a. a. "The Muscle Change Classic" or "The Change of the Sinews,"

b. b. "The Marrow Washing"

 

"The Eighteen Hand Movements later named The Eighteen Lohan Shou (Lohan meaning enlightened and Shou meaning Hands/Exercises)

This marked the beginning of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu ( meaning hard work and perfection ). Ta Mo later devised some self-defence movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting systems ( Bodhi Dharma was born an Indian Prince and was well versed in Yoga and Indian Kung Fu ).

 

Shaolin Kung Fu

Many of the Shaolin priests were retired soldiers and generals, thus, Ta Mo's teachings were enriched and refined by these martial art masters and it slowly developed in to a martial art of the hands also known as Shaolin Ch'uan [ Shaolin Fist ] or Shaolin Ch'uan Fa [ Way of the Shaolin Fist ].

 

Shaolin was not a poor temple by this time and was regularly attacked by peasant armies ( since individuals had no chance to penetrate Shaolin defence's and walls ). Often, to enrich it's knowledge, Shaolin would invite wandering healers, scholars and now also martial art masters into it's walls to learn from these by sharing knowledge and skills.

 

Shaolin became very apt at Kung Fu and in repelling the attacking bandits. Slowly but surly the Shaolin became renown for their martial arts prowess and fighting ability. It is to be noted that not all Shaolin Monks were warrior monks, often they chose to specialize in areas of expertise, much like university professors. Although at this time all practiced Kung Fu, not all were totally focused on the practical aspect of the art, only the Warrior Monks. It is also interesting to note that Shaolin preferred not to hurt their assailants as this would have ramifications for their spirituality in this life and the next!

 

A mere 30 years later, Shaolin was closed and forbidden, it took some 30 more years, around 600AD, before it was reopened.

 

The Second Temple

Built around the same time as the Henan Temple, the Fukien Temple was integrated into mainstream Shaolin around 650 AD and became the 'Second Temple" of Shaolin. It was/is a much larger temple than the one in Henan and served as the second main temple in times where Henan was destroyed or occupied by other than Buddhists and Shaolin.

 

The 13 Champions

In 698 AD, Emperor T'ai Tsung, of the Tang dynasty, called upon the fighting monks of Shaolin to aid him in his war against General Wang-Shih-Chung, who had gathered a large army in an attempt to oust the Tang emperor from the Imperial throne. Li Shimini, the Emperors son, was leading the army against Tang. Wang-Shih-Chung managed to capture the Tang Emperors son and inflicted great damage to Tangs army.

 

Tang sent a message to Shaolin, asking for help to save his son. 13 monks were sent to answer their emperor's plea, although in fact it may have been a much larger force (113 monks or some such). Even though the number of Shaolin monks sent was small ( the enemy's army numbered 10,000 men ) the Shaolin were victorious, the enemy was beaten back and decimated. The Tang Emperors son was saved.

 

In recognition of their great action T'ai Tsung awarded the monks land, and bestowed upon the temple the title, 'Number One" temple in China.

 

Li Shimini, succeeded upon his father death. Remembering how he was saved, a very strong bond was forged between the Imperial court and Shaolin. This lead to regular interchange and training between high ranking soldiers and graduate Shaolin Warrior Monks saw further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and the integration of the secret Imperial ( Eagle ) Kung Fu into Shaolin knowledge and skills which set the foundation to what later would become the Shaolin 72 Fists.

 

72 Fists (Movements/Hands/Skills)

A couple of hundred years later a rich young noble and experienced martial artist, entered the Shaolin Monastery and assumed the name of Chueh Yuan. He soon devoted all his studies to the further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and fitness training. Within a few years, he revised the 18 Fists of Lo Han and created what he called the 72 Styles or movements. As this was a very violent time, these 72 Fists were a very effective form of both Strategy and Combat.

 

His 72 Fists (methods/Skills etc) were so successful that all Shaolin monks adopted his 72 Fists very quickly. They were very effective for both internal and external fitness and incorporated strategy and thought into Shaolin Kung Fu. Much of the 72 Fists remained within Shaolin even as it evolved into the 170 Skills and later % Animal Kung Fu. Chueh Yuan was still not fully satisfied with what he created (and had plenty of time on his hands). He went out to teach and learn, looking for Masters of other styles.

 

This (the Journey Years) later became common practice for Shaolin. Shaolin adepts were sent out to share Buddha's teaching and help the poor ( much like the founder of Shaolin ). It was also a test, as many would be Shaolin monks were tempted by worldly pleasures and did not return. Those that did became the Priests and brought many new skills, knowledge and wisdom from their travels.

 

170 Movements

On his travels, Chueh Yuan witnessed a bandit attacking a 60-year-old traveler. He saw how the attacker landed an apparently very strong kick to the body of the traveler with very little or no effect. The old traveler only used two fingers against the bandit's leg sending the attacker to the ground, seemingly unconscious by the time Chueh reached them. This manoeuvre obviously impressed Chuan enormously and he introduced himself to the senior. Much to his surprise the old man did not know much of martial arts and what little he knew he had learned from the local master Pai Yu-feng.

 

Pai Yu-feng was a friendly 50 year old and Chuan convinced him to accompany him back to his temple. Over the next few years they, using the 18 fists, the 72 movements and these 'pressure point grappling/wrestling techniques', redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu into the 170 exercises, a mixture of 72 Fists expanded with pressure point and grappling/wrestling/throwing techniques.

 

The Time of the Ming Dynasty

The time of the Ming Dynasty was another golden area in China's arts history ( so called because of all the treasures and artwork created in this time but there was also a very dark side to this era, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries ). Many works of art were created that still exist, considered now to be priceless. Philosophy and knowledge was taught to an equal degree. During this time the Shaolin Temples also grew and prospered becoming the centre for teaching, philosophy, history, Buddhism, mathematics, poetry and of course Martial Arts. Monks (from other orders, Daoists), expert warriors, teachers, healers, philosophers, elders, and travelling martial artists could/would gain entrance to Shaolin to share their knowledge in return for Shaolin teaching and shelter.

 

Each Temple was like a university of Buddhism, health, the finer and martial arts. Each temple had several Shaolin Masters who were experts or specialists in a particular area of training, well-being or philosophy. Rich Chinese would send their sons ( and later even Daughters ) to Shaolin to become students ( not priests ) and learn from the best in every field. These students, once graduated would be considered very highly in their local community.

 

Shaolin training was now very involved and rigorous. The art of separating future Masters from Adepts still was in the form of sending them out into the world of temptation for a few years (a bit like Mormons do with their teenagers). But before they would be let out as a Shaolin Monk they would also undergo a series of rigorous tests.

 

In order to graduate from the temple, they would have to exhibit phenomenal skills and pass through 18 testing chambers in the temple ( which were possibly more symbolic in nature as no evidence was found in any of the Shaolin Temples of any such rooms ). Although it is dramatized in movies, Shaolin would actually be brought to the brink of exhaustion through a serious of 18 tests, 6 physical, 6 mental and 6 spiritual ( thus the 18 chambers ). It is even possible that one of these physical tests, the final one, was the lifting of a hot cauldron with their bare forearms ( each temple traditionally had such a cauldron, in the middle of the temple complex and unique to each temple ). This cauldron would not have been plain and would possibly have the raised relief of symbolic animals; which would thus be burnt into the graduating monks arms ( as a reminder to them of their training, learning and final trials ). Varied accounts suggest that these cauldrons may have had the following symbols on them;

 

· · Wu Tang Temple - A Tiger and Dragon for martial art Prowess

· · Henan Temple - Dragon and Phoenix for universal balance/Yin Yang

· · Kwantung Temple - integrated much later in history and there are conflicting accounts of symbolism for this temple.

· · O Mai Shan Temple - Two Cranes as they were close to the Tibetan border and a healing temple

 

Fukien Temple - (often used as a Shaolin 'back-up', no record of specific symbolism found for this temple)

 

These marks were the signs of a Shaolin graduate. Not all who entered Shaolin graduated in the full 18 chambers, many were only lay priests leaving the temple well educated but not completed. Especially towards the end of the Ming Dynasty when Shaolin increasingly was involved with training resistance fighters and harboring fugitives.

 

This is also the time when the original 170 movements were redefined into the 5 Animal Style, Ng Ying Ga Kung Fu.

 

5 Animal Styles

A martial art expert named Zhue Yuen joined the Shaolin. He noticed that the Kung Fu practiced in Shaolin was unbalanced, tending strongly to the hard external style. Zhue Yuen traveled China in search of other martial art styles and found many which he learned and evaluated. But it wasn't until he reached the town of Lan Zhau and met Li Sou that anything significant happened.

Li Sou introduced Zhue Yuen to Bai Yu Feng, who was another famous martial arts practitioner. Zhue Yuen was able to convince both to come back with him to Shaolin to develop Kung Fu. Together they redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu to the 5 animal style ( Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Leopard and Crane ).

 

Although originally just exercise and Kung Fu styles, over the next few hundred years the Shaolin were able to discover and develop the 5 Animal Style system to be metaphors for human situation handling, interaction, problem solving, planning and much more ( much of this was lost with the second burning of Shaolin and only the external Kung Fu aspect was cultivated and maintained; but more on that later ).

 

The 4th temple

It is at around this time that the 4th temple was added to the order of Shaolin. The O Mai Shan ( Great White Mountain ) was a devoted library and medical temple. It was located in a very inaccessible area of Szechwan province. Very much like the other temples used to import Kung Fu masters, the O Mei Shan temple imported healers Mai Shan was in close contact with the Crane Temple in Tibet and a major medical temple with books, tombs and scrolls from east and west.

 

 

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