The Shaolin Monastery. History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts

(Frankie) #1

5:1976, and 5:2073 respectively. Compare also Cai Jiude, Wobian shilüe, 1.9 –10. Zheng
Ruoceng, Jiangnan jing lüe, 8b.17a, alludes to a monastic victory on Mount Zha, by
which he is probably referring to Mount Zhe.



  1. Compare Zheng Ruoceng, Jiangnan jing lüe, 8b.19a–23a, with Zhang Nai (jin-
    shi 1604), Wusong jia yi wo bian zhi, 2.38b–39b. For locations in the Huangpu River
    delta, see Shanghai lishi ditu ji. I take it that Weng jiagang is today’s Weng jia village,
    near Zhelin.

  2. The four monks were Chetang, Yifeng, Zhenyuan, and Liaoxin. Their
    stupa is no longer extant. See Zhang Shutong, Sheshan xiao zhi, Ganshan zhi, p. 30. I
    am grateful to Yang Kun of the Song jiang Museum for this reference.

  3. Zheng Ruoceng, Jiangnan jing lüe, 8b.21b.

  4. Ibid., 8b.18a.

  5. In this respect Zheng Ruoceng’s chronicle illustrates the difficulty of sepa-
    rating historical and fictional martial arts narratives. It is noteworthy that another
    anecdote in Zheng’s chronicle, concerning the monk Guzhou, was fictionally embel-
    lished within fifty years of its publication. Compare Zheng Ruoceng, Jiangnan jing
    lüe, 8b.16b–17a, with Zhu Guozhen, Yongchuang xiaopin, 28.673.

  6. Zheng Ruoceng, Jiangnan jing lüe, 8b.22b.

  7. See Xue Yu, Buddhism, War, and Nationalism, pp. 49–51, 55.

  8. Two Dengfeng County documents confirm the participation of Shaolin
    monks in these campaigns. The documents, dated 1581 and 1595, were engraved
    in stone at the Shaolin Monastery, where they are still extant. See Wen Yucheng,
    Shaolin fanggu, pp. 292–293, 300–302; and Zeng Weihua and Yan Yaozhong, “Cong
    Shaolin si de ji fang bei ta mingwen kan Ming dai sengbing.” The participation of
    monastic troops (sengbing) in the 1511 war with the Liu brothers is confirmed by
    Gu Yingtai, Mingshi jishi benmo (1658), 45.9b. Gu does not specify to which monas-
    tery they belonged. See also Robinson, Bandits, Eunuchs, and the Son of Heaven, pp.
    136 –137.

  9. See Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu, pp. 292–298, and Zeng Weihua and Yan
    Yaozhong, “Cong Shaolin si de ji fang bei ta mingwen kan Ming dai sengbing.”

  10. The poem is included in the Shaolin si zhi, 11.7a. It is quoted and discussed
    in Xu Changqing, Shaolin si yu Zhongguo wenhua. p. 228. See Cheng’s biography in
    Mingshi, 242.6282–6283.

  11. This passage is from the 1595 letter. The Liu bandits were active during the
    late Zhengde (1506–1521)—not the Jiajing—reign. I am grateful to A’de, who pro-
    vided me with transcriptions of both letters. See also Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu,
    pp. 300–302.

  12. The edict is quoted in the Shaolin si zhi, “chenhan,” p. 4a.

  13. See Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu, pp. 290–291. On Zhang, see Goodrich,
    Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1:111–113.

  14. See Yang Tinghe (1459–1529), Yang Wenzhong san lu, 4.5b; and Wang Shi-
    zhen (1526 –1590), Yanshan tang bie ji , 97.1847.

  15. See A’de, “Qianfo dian ji bihua kao”; Shaolin si qianfodian bihua, pp. 19, 104;
    and Xin bian Shaolin si zhi, pp. 27–28.


Notes to Pages 69–73 217

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