48 Origins of a Military Tradition
or—as the emperor had in mind—a semi-independent shrine, located in the
periphery of a large temple. Such subsidiary hermitages were established to en-
hance the wealth and prestige of the parent temple, or, in case it was over-
c r o w d e d , t o p r o v i d e i t w i t h a d d i t i o n a l h o u s i n g s p a c e. A s e a r l y a s t h e s e v e nt e e nt h
century, some monastic leaders were apprehensive of religious transgressions
committed in subsidiar y shrines. Monks in branch temples were more difficult
to supervise than those residing in large monasteries, for which reason some
clerics objected to the establishment of fangtou. The Vinaya Master Duti (1601–
1679), who served as abbot of the Longchang Temple on Mt. Baohua, Jiangsu,
lamented, “I have observed that, everywhere, ancient monasteries are estab-
lishing subsidiary shrines (fangtou), dividing the monastery’s operations, and
initiating new enterprises. As a result, self-cultivation is no longer pure, and
the monks cease to observe monastic regulations, so much so that the temples’
bells and drums are silenced, and the monasteries degenerate.”^83
It is possible that the Yongzheng emperor’s order to remove the scattered
hermitages from Shaolin’s periphery was due to a principled objection—simi-
lar to abbot Duti’s—to the “subsidiary shrine” (fangtou) institution. However, it
is more likely that in addition to a general concern with the behavior of subsid-
iary shrine monks, the emperor was informed of specific transgressions com-
mitted by Shaolin-ordained clerics. As early as the sixteenth century, a
high-ranking official named Wang Shixing (1547–1598) accused Shaolin
monks of eating meat and drinking wine.^84 In the ensuing Qing period (1644–
1911), the monastery was regularly blamed for religious violations, which were
sometimes attributed to its own monks and sometimes to those occupying its
periphery. In 1832, for example, a Dengfeng County magistrate issued a strict
warning to the Shaolin Monastery concerning the behavior of its subsidiary
shrine monks, whom he accused not only of dietary transgressions, but also of
sexual offenses. Shaolin-affiliated monks, magistrate He Wei (fl. 1830) charged,
engage in drinking, gambling, and whoring:
Since ancient times, the Shaolin Monastery has been a famous temple.
Everywhere, there is not a monk who does not look up to it. Its resident
clerics should strictly adhere to the Buddhist code and carefully follow
the Pure Regulations, thereby displaying their respect to the monastic
community, and their reverence to its laws.
Now, we have been hearing recently that [Shaolin’s] various
subsidiary shrine monks (fangtou seng) have been regularly interacting
with the laity, and have been sheltering criminals. Some invite friends to
drunken parties. Others gamble in groups, or even gang together to
bring over prostitutes. They collude secretly and collaborate in all sorts
of evil. This is extremely hateful.^85Even though he politely refrained from condemning the Shaolin monks
themselves—reserving his criticism for their subsidiary shrine colleagues—one