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The monastery at the foot of Wuru Peak
on the northern slope of Shaoshi
Mountain was originally built in 495
during the Northern Wei Dynasty
(386-534). It is known as the “most
famous temple under heaven, ” for it was
here that, in 527, the Indian monk Bodhi
Dharma (or Dharma) founded the Chan sect
of Buddhism in China. Since Dharma was
regarded as the ancestor of the Chan
sect, the Shaolin Monastery was called
Zuting–the Ancestor’s Home. The existing
buildings today date mostly from the
Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties. The temple occupies an area
of thirty thousand square meters. Its
principal building, Thousand Buddha Hall
(Qianfodian), contains colorful murals,
one of which, depicting five hundred
arhats engaged in martial arts, is said
to have been painted by the great
painter Wu Daozi of the Tang Dynasty
(618-907).
During the early years of the Tang
Dynasty, the monks in Shaolin Monastery
helped Emperor Tai Zong, Li Shimin, to
establish his rule in China. They
practiced a style of martial art that
took its name from the temple–the famous
Shaolin Boxing. |
