24 Origins of a Military Tradition
gent of Wang Shichong’s army that occupied the strategic Mt. Huanyuan,
where the monastery’s Cypress Valley Estate (Baigu zhuang) was situated
(map 2). Moreover, the monks took Wang Shichong’s nephew, Wang Renze,
captive.^15 In gratitude, the future emperor Li Shimin bestowed upon them
anew the estate they had liberated and appointed one of them general-in-
chief (Da Jiangjun) in his army.
The seven texts inscribed on the “Shaolin Monastery Stele” include a
history of the monastery, a letter of thanks from Li Shimin, and several Tang
legal documents. They shed light on the monks’ military activities from dif-
ferent angles:
Text 1: Pei Cui’s Shaolin Monastery History
The longest of the seven texts inscribed on the “Shaolin Monastery Stele”
is a detailed history of the monastery, authored in 728 by a prominent official
in Emperor Xuanzong’s (r. 712–755) government, minister of personnel (Libu
Map 2. Shaolin’s contribution to Li Shimin’s campaign against Wang Shichong.