Hand Combat 127
pletely eclipsed the monastery’s ancient staff methods, and instead of an armed
display, the distinguished guest was entertained by a sparring demonstration:
In the evening we returned to the Shaolin Monastery, and paid our respects
at the Jinnaluo Hall. The deity’s image is most awesome. He wears thin
garments, and wields a stove poker (huo gun). Tradition has it that once he
displayed his divinity and warded off bandits. Today he is the monastery’s
guardian spirit (qielan). Praying to him is invariably efficacious.
I proceeded to ask the monks about their hand combat method
(quan fa), but they refused to utter a word about it. I made it clear that I
had heard about the Shaolin Fist long ago, and I knew it had been relied
upon solely for guarding monastic regulations and protecting the
famous temple. Therefore they need not make pretence.
The abbot laughed and assented. He selected several sturdy monks to
perform in front of the hall. Their “bear-hangings and bird stretchings”^37
were indeed artful. After the performance the monks retreated. I sat facing
Mt. Shaoshi’s three peaks, which resembled a sapphire tripod. Watching
the shaded forests, misty mountains, and emerald green thickets, my body
and spirit were equally at peace. I resolved to stay overnight.^38Published in 1849, Lin Qing’s account of his visit was accompanied by a
woodblock illustration of Shaolin monks practicing hand combat. The martial
artists were shown under the gigantic shadow of their tutelary deity, Vajrapâÿi
(Kiœnara), who still wielded his staff of old. The Manchu official, in ceremo-
nial cap and robes and surrounded by his entourage, appeared in the picture
as well. Apparently he was fascinated by the performance. Whereas the elderly
abbot remained sitting under the hall’s eaves, Lin Qing rose from his seat to
watch the martial artists up close (figure 27).
Lin Qing’s woodblock illustration leads us to another, more elaborate,
artwork, which depicts a similar scene: Shaolin’s White-Attired Mahâsattva
Hall (Baiyi dashi dian) is decorated with an early nineteenth-century mural
of fighting monks, who are demonstrating their bare-handed skills to visit-
ing dignitaries, probably government officials. The guests, identified by their
queues, are entertained by the abbot in a central pavilion, which is sur-
rounded by the performing artists (figures 28 and 29). The gorgeous fresco
was executed with such attention to detail that some modern practitioners
are able to identify in it the bare-handed postures they practice today.^39
Ming Foundations
By the time seventeenth-century Shaolin monks were turning their attention
to it, hand combat had already been highly developed. The Ming period wit-
nessed the emergence of individual bare-handed styles, which were identified