Suspect Rebels 191
relations with the regime, if it were not for the officials’ apprehension of the
monks’ military activities. Even as it respected the Shaolin Temple’s cultural
legacy, the dynasty remained deeply suspicious of its military tradition. Unlike
the Ming officials, who had employed fighting monks in the battlefield, Qing
authorities never condoned the military activities of Buddhist clerics. The same
Qing emperors who patronized the temple’s restoration carefully curbed its
military practice. We have seen in chapter 2 that the Yongzheng emperor took
advantage of the temple’s renovation to tighten government control. He or-
dered the destruction of Shaolin’s subsidiary shrines, thereby weeding out fake
monks who “do evil and create disturbances.”^32 The demolition of the monas-
tery’s surrounding shrines was meant to separate the Shaolin monks from the
unruly community of itinerant martial artists, who were deemed potentially
dangerous.
Yongzheng’s successor was equally wary of the Shaolin monks’ military
activities. The Qianlong emperor, who had been moved to poetry by the
monastery’s scenery, was outraged when he heard in 1775 that the newly in-
stalled governor of Henan, Xu Ji (1732–1811), had enlisted Shaolin monks to
train his troops. The emperor promptly forbade the military deployment of
Buddhist clerics. An imperial decree asserted that monks should dedicate
their lives to religious ends. That an official should abet their violations of
Buddhist law by having them instruct his soldiers was preposterous:
As they have left their families, monks need strictly adhere to the
monastic regulations, cultivating the virtues of harmony and forbear-
ance. How could they possibly practice violent techniques, showing off
fierceness and flaunting strength? There have been some officials in
charge who have heard of [Shaolin’s renown], and have devised ways to
imperceptibly challenge our norms. How could they disrupt the monks’
vocation, calling them to demonstrate and having them sell their
military skills? Having monks train his soldiers is not only beyond one’s
authority, it also makes him into a laughing stock. How could Xu Ji be as
ignorant as that?!^33Itself unwilling to embrace the Shaolin monks, the dynasty was fearful
they would join its enemies. Fighting clerics were suspected of colluding with
bandits, and worse still of associating with sectarian rebels. The specter of reli-
giously inspired uprisings loomed large in the minds of Qing officials, who re-
lentlessly pursued the “heterodox” sects. Whether their fears of messianic
revolts were invariably justified goes beyond the scope of this study. Recent
scholarship has suggested that many of so-called “White Lotus Sects” that were
targeted by the state had not been involved in rebellious activities. Those that
were might have in some cases resorted to arms due to the government’s perse-
cution.^34 Be that as it may, for our purpose the perception of imminent danger
was more significant than its uncertain basis, for it proved detrimental to the