The Monastery 11
well aware that the monastery made an enormous contribution to the evolu-
tion of Chinese Buddhism, and—it could be argued—to Chinese culture at
large. Indeed, he himself proceeded to write a history of the temple, titled—
in reference to the peaks above it—Song Mountain Book (Song shu).^8 His his-
tory includes detailed biographies of eminent Shaolin monks belonging to
every Buddhist sect from Chan to Pure Land. It also includes transcriptions
of Shaolin steles, some of which date back to the sixth and seventh centuries.
The Shaolin Monastery boasts a priceless collection of some two hundred
carved inscriptions, which were bestowed upon it by powerful patrons rang-
ing from Empress Wu (r. 684–705) to the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–1795).
These provide the historian with invaluable information on the religion,
economy, and government of imperial China.
Fu’s book on the Shaolin Monastery was neither the first nor the only one.
In its millennium-and-a-half history, the monastery has been celebrated in
countless literary compositions, ranging in length from individual poems to
full-length monographs. Emperors, officials, and poets have extolled in verse
and prose the beauty of Shaolin’s halls and towers. The monastery’s master-
pieces of art make it uniquely important for the historian of Chinese painting
and sculpture.^9 Its Stupa Forest (Talin) is a treasure of Buddhist architecture,
containing more than two hundred—the largest number in China—stupas
(pagodas). Usually housing the cremated remains of eminent monks, these ele-
gant stone structures are inscribed with important texts on the history of medi-
eval Buddhism.^10
Why did the Buddhist tradition accord Shaolin such a prominent posi-
tion? What were the sources of the monastery’s wealth? Why did its monks
practice the martial arts? We begin our investigation with the monastery’s lo-
cation on the slopes of the sacred Mt. Song.
Sanctity
“In China, the mountains are divinities,” wrote one of the pioneers of Western
sinology.^11 Indeed, the Chinese religious tradition has accorded peaks numi-
nous powers. Chinese pilgrimage sites—regardless of religious affiliation—are
almost invariably located in alpine landscapes.^12 Situated on the slopes of Mt.
Song, the Shaolin Monastery is no exception. The name “Song” does not al-
lude to a single peak, but to an entire range of mountains, which runs east to
west across Dengfeng County. This range’s highest elevations are Mt. Taishi in
the east (1,440 meters or 4,724 feet above sea level) and Mt. Shaoshi in the west
(1,512 meters or 4,961 feet above sea level). The Shaolin Monastery is nestled
underneath the latter. Its name probably reflects its location in Mt. Shaoshi’s
ancient lin (grove), hence Shaolin.
Mt. Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred moun-
tains long before the Shaolin Monastery was founded. As early as the first cen-