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

(Frankie) #1

However, neither its relation to the Henan Temple nor its military history are clear.
See Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu, pp. 374–385; Zhou Weiliang, “Ming-Qing shiqi
Shaolin wushu de lishi liubian,” pp. 10–14; and the less critical Fuqing Shaolin si.
The Quanzhou case is argued by Chen Sidong, Xingyuan bigeng lu, 1:201–281, and
in Quanzhou Nan Shaolin si yanjiu.
The earliest novel celebrating the Southern Shaolin Temple was likely the late
Qing Shengchao ding sheng wannian qing (The sacred dynasty’s tripods flourish, verdant
for ten thousand years). See Hamm, Paper Swordsmen, 34–38, 56.
1 0. See Weng Tongwen, “Kangxi chuye ‘yi-Wan weixing’ jituan yudang jianli
Tiandihui,” pp. 433–449; and He Zhiqing, Tiandihui qiyuan yanjiu. Barend ter Haar
disputes the Changlin hypothesis in Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads, pp.
407–416.



  1. For a general survey, see Atwell, “The T’ai-ch’ang, T’ien-ch’i, and Ch’ung-
    chen Reigns,” pp. 621–637; Des Forges, Cultural Centrality and Political Change, pp.
    204–311; and Parsons, Peasant Rebellions of the Late Ming Dynasty. See also Mote, Im-
    perial China: 900–1800, pp. 795–801.

  2. See Ye Feng, “Shaolin si er shou,” in Shaolin si zhi, wuyanlü, 12a–12b.

  3. “Chong jian ciyun an beiji” (“Inscription on the Reconstruction of the
    Compassionate Clouds Hermitage”), in Shaolin si zhi, beiji, 28b.

  4. See Shen Quan, “Shaolin si” in Shaolin si zhi, wuyanlü, 13a. See also Xu
    Changqing’s annotations in his Shaolin si yu Zhongguo wenhua, p. 232.

  5. Alluding to the Liangshan outlaws led by Song Jiang in Water Margin.

  6. Songyang was the site of the renowned Northern Song Confucian Acad-
    emy Songyang shuyuan.

  7. Wang Jie, Zhongzhou zazu, 25.10b–11a. Stanley Henning drew attention to
    Wang’s account in his “Reflections on a Visit to the Shaolin Monastery,” p. 96.

  8. Mingshi, 152.6517; 273.7004; 277.7105; Ming shi lu, Chongzhen reign,
    16.490, 16.506; Qing shi gao, 4.107; Des Forges, Cultural Centrality and Political Change,
    pp. 216, 285; Wakeman, Great Enterprise, 1:413, 1:510. Several sources give the wrong
    character for yu zhai, hence mistakenly “Jade Fort” rather than “Imperial Fort.”

  9. After Li’s execution, one of his lieutenants, Jiang Fa, sought refuge at the
    Chen household. Jiang was known for his martial skills; see Tang Hao and Gu
    Liuxin, Taijiquan yanjiu, p. 180. Compare also the account by Chen Wangting’s de-
    scendant, Chen Xin (1849–1929), in Taijiquan pu, p. 358.

  10. See Mingshi, 292.7489–7490. On Ma Shouying, see Rossabi, “Muslim and
    Central Asian Revolts,” pp. 170, 189.

  11. See Wu Shu, Shoubi lu, p. 14. The incident took place during the Chong-
    zhen reign (1628–1644), but its exact date is not given.
    2 2. On Ningran Liaogai, see Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu, p. 276.

  12. On Yang’s campaign, see Parsons, Peasant Rebellions of the Late Ming Dynasty,
    pp. 68–83.

  13. See Yu Dayou, “Xinjian Shifang Chan yuan bei” (“Inscription on the Reno-
    vation of the Universal Chan Courtyard”) (1577), in his Zhengqi tang ji, 3.6a–7b.
    See also Wen Yucheng, Shaolin fanggu, p. 315.


Notes to Pages 184–189 235

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