Chapter 6 Chapter Three Some Main Contents of Ancient Martial Arts

Surrounded by the beautiful Wuru Peak and the majestic Shaoshi Mountain in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, there is an ancient Buddhist temple - Shaolin Temple.In this pure Buddhist land, Shaolin martial arts, which is well-known at home and abroad, developed.Shaolin Wushu occupies an extremely important position in the history of Chinese Wushu development. It is a treasure of Chinese Wushu. The emergence of many boxing arts is directly related to it. Therefore, there is a saying that "Kungfu in the world comes from Shaolin".Shaolin Temple is also regarded as a holy land of martial arts.However, there are also many unsubstantiated stories surrounding Shaolin Wushu. They are convoluted, true and false, and confusing, making it difficult for people to see the true face of Lushan Mountain, which makes Shaolin Wushu always have a somewhat mysterious Buddha light.How did Shaolin Wushu develop?People have been arguing endlessly, and a widely circulated theory at home and abroad is that Bodhidharma from India created Shaolin boxing for the first time.

Bodhidharma (? - 528 or 536 AD) is an eminent monk in southern India, the 28th ancestor of Tianzhu Zen and the first ancestor of Chinese Zen.During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, he went to Guangzhou by sea, and then went north to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 A.D.), traveling in Luoyang, Songshan and other places and teaching Zen.Bodhidharma advocates sitting quietly to cultivate the mind to realize Zen, which is to use the method of meditation to practice.It is said that he once sat upright for nine years facing the stone wall in the "Dharma Cave" near Shaolin Temple, and finally passed away.Because he was concentrating on the practice, the image of him sitting in meditation was projected on the stone wall, and there is still this "wall facing stone" in Shaolin Temple.How did Bodhidharma create boxing?There are two different versions.One theory is that Bodhidharma himself has been sitting quietly year after year, and his body is prone to fatigue. Sometimes he has to get up and shake his arms, kick his legs, and move his limbs. In addition, he often has to deal with the interference of wild animals in the mountains and forests. Some self-defense skills are needed, so Bodhidharma invented a boxing technique, which is the origin of Shaolin boxing.Another way of saying is that when Bodhidharma was teaching the manager, he saw that the monks listening below were listless and their bodies were not stretched. In order to keep his apprentices healthy, Bodhidharma taught them a set called "Eighteen Arhats". Shaolin Boxing was developed on the basis of the Eighteen Arhats Hands.

These eloquent stories about Bodhidharma's creation of boxing still lack sufficient evidence, and they are mainly made up by later generations.500 years after Bodhidharma's death, Dao Yuan of the Song Dynasty wrote "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records", in which he put forward for the first time that Bodhidharma "faced the wall for nine years in Shaolin Temple, and died while sitting." Therefore, Bodhidharma was regarded as The first ancestor of Shaolin Temple.Several hundred years later, in the fourth year of Tianqi in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1624), a person known as "Tiantai Zining Taoist" pretended to be Tuodama and wrote a "Yi Jin Jing" related to fitness, and proposed Bodhidharma created a boxing statement.In the book, there is a preface written under the name of Li Jing, the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty. This preface is based on Daoyuan's "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records", and also tells the magical origin of "Yi Jin Jing": the stone tablet on the wall facing Bodhidharma The base has been exposed to wind and rain and is somewhat damaged.The monks in the Shaolin Temple found a stone box sealed with glue paint when it was being refurbished. They couldn't open it after trying various methods, and it was only possible to open it after pouring melted wax.It was found that there were two books in the box, one was "Xi Sui Jing" and the other was "Yi Jin Jing".Since then, some books have spread rumors and further developed the saying that Bodhidharma created boxing more vividly. This is how the saying that Bodhidharma created the Eighteen Arhats came into being.

In fact, Shaolin Temple existed long before Bodhidharma came.Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty built this temple in the 19th year of Taihe (AD 495) for the eminent monk Batuo from India who came to the Northern Wei Dynasty.Because the temple was built in the deep forest of Shaoshi Mountain, it is called Shaolin Temple.Therefore, the ancestor of Shaolin Temple is Ba Tuo, not Bodhidharma as many people say.It is not recorded in the history books whether Ba Tuo knew martial arts, but the young apprentices he recruited at the beginning seemed to have quite strong hands and feet.Monk Huiguang, who was only 12 years old, was able to stand on the fence and kick the shuttlecock more than 500 times in one breath, which just happened to be seen by Ba Tuo who was passing by. With this kind of ability, he must not be an ordinary person, so he was accepted as an apprentice.Later, Seng Chou, a native of the Northern Qi Dynasty who inherited the mantle of Ba Tuo, also had a miraculous experience.It is said that when Seng Chou first entered the temple, his body was thin.At that time, there were many monks in Shaolin Temple, and everyone liked to wrestle and fight in their spare time.When Seng Chou first arrived, he was often teased by some strong young monks, so he practiced martial arts angrily, and ate a big bowl of meat tendons given by the gods, so he became very powerful, full of martial arts, and the ability to fly over eaves and walls, The monks who had bullied him before were so frightened that they kowtowed to him, not daring to look him in the eye ("Chao Ye Qi Zai").

Although this legend has exaggerated elements of myth, it can at least show that Shaolin Temple was not like some other temples at the beginning. The monks sat all day long and knew how to chant scriptures without physical exercise.Since the temple was built here, there seems to be some tendency to practice martial arts.Later generations attributed Shaolin Wushu to Bodhidharma, but they wanted to use Bodhidharma's reputation to improve the status of Shaolin Wushu.In fact, Shaolin martial arts did not come out of the Bodhidharma attached to it, but became famous all over the world by its solid and excellent skills.

According to credible historical data, Shaolin martial arts became famous all over the world from the end of Sui Dynasty to the beginning of Tang Dynasty.During Li Shimin's battle to level the heroes and unify the country, Shaolin monks Zhicao, Hui Yu (yang yang), Tanzong and others helped the then king of Qin, that is, later Tang Taizong Li Shimin, conquer Wang Shichong, and captured Wang Renze, Wang Shichong's nephew, for Li Shimin conquered Luoyang and made military exploits (Pei Wei's "Shaolin Temple Monument").Therefore, monk Tanzong was named a general, and the rest of the people were rewarded with purple cassocks by the emperor because they did not want to be officials.In addition, Li Shimin also gave Shaolin Temple 40 hectares of land and a water mill.From then on, Shaolin Temple became famous.

With the growing reputation of Shaolin Wushu, heroes and martial arts masters from all over the world come here to meet friends and exchange martial arts skills. In this way, Shaolin Wushu has gathered the best martial arts skills from all directions.Since the Song Dynasty, Shaolin Wushu has successively collected the essence of 18 boxing styles such as Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's long boxing, Han Tong's Tongbei boxing, and Ma Ji's bunt, and compiled them into boxing records, which were handed down to later generations. It is said that in the Yuan Dynasty, there was a martial arts master named Bai Yufeng who loved martial arts in Taiyuan, Shanxi.He is not tall, but he is strong and strong, proficient in martial arts and qigong, especially his swordsmanship is quite exquisite.Bai Yufeng is forthright and likes to make friends.As soon as Bai Yufeng knew about the martial arts heroes who passed by Taiyuan, he insisted on inviting them to his home, warmly entertaining them, and exchanging martial arts skills.Although the Bai family was very rich, but because he devoted all his attention to martial arts, ignoring housework and sitting on nothing, the family business was defeated.He simply ran away from home and traveled around, teaching martial arts for a living.Later, Bai Yufeng and another martial arts master Li Sou accepted the invitation of Shaolin Monk Jueyuan to Shaolin Temple.In Shaolin Temple, Bai Yufeng combined Shaolin martial arts with his own skills, mastered them, and increased the old Shaolin Arhat's 18 moves to more than 170 moves.He believes that there are five most important factors in martial arts training, which are essence, strength, qi, bone, and spirit.These five factors complement each other, so five boxing methods of dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane are compiled.Dragon Fist to practice spirit, Tiger Fist to practice bone, Leopard Fist to practice strength, Snake Fist to practice Qi, Crane Fist to practice essence.Li Sou also combined the unique skills of grappling and cudgel in Shaolin stick method, and taught Dahong and Xiaohong Quan, making important contributions to Shaolin martial arts.Shaolin became famous.Because monk Jueyuan achieved the miraculous stunt of Shaolin martial arts through visiting famous teachers, later generations respect him as the "ancestor of Zhongxing" of Shaolin boxing.Later, Bai Yufeng also shaved his hair and became a monk, named "Qiuyue Chan Master"; Li Sou left after ten years of teaching Shaolin.Although the authenticity of this widely circulated story is still worth discussing, because the Yuan Dynasty strictly prohibited folk martial arts, and Shaolin Temple is probably no exception, but it reflects the fact that Shaolin martial arts constantly absorbs nutrition from the folk.In order to avoid disaster, many folk martial artists shaved their hair and became monks, using Buddhism to protect themselves and bringing their skills to Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin stick technique is unique in martial arts, but Shaolin stick technique can reach such a high level is inseparable from Yu Dayou, a famous anti-Japanese general in Ming Dynasty.Yu Dayou is highly skilled in martial arts, especially his stick technique is very good.Hearing the reputation of Shaolin stick technique for a long time, Yu Dayou made a special trip to visit Shaolin Temple in the 40th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (AD 1561) on his way to the anti-Japanese front line in the south.The abbot of Shaolin Temple, Xiaoshan Shangren, asked a monk who was proficient in stick skills to perform for Yu Dayou.Unexpectedly, Yu Dayou was very disappointed by the skills of Shaolin stick monks.He frankly criticized that although the Shaolin monks' stick technique is well-known, it has lost its authenticity.Yu Dayou's words shocked the Shaolin monks greatly, and they immediately expressed their desire to ask Yu Dayou to teach him the stick technique.But at this time, Yu Dayou is on military affairs and cannot stay for long.Therefore, the people on Xiaoshan sent two young and vigorous monks, Zongqing and Pucong, to follow Yu Dayou to study in the army.They studied for three years under the guidance of Yu Dayou, and then returned to the temple to teach other monks.In this way, nearly 100 monks mastered Yu Dayou's stick technique, and the Shaolin stick technique has become more exquisite since then (Yu Dayou's "Zhengqitang Collection Newly Built Shifang Temple Monument").

As the sacred place of ancient Chinese martial arts, Shaolin Temple has also made great contributions to the cultivation of martial arts talents.For example, Cheng Zongyou (AD 1561—?), a famous martial artist in the Ming Dynasty, had studied martial arts in Shaolin Temple for more than ten years, and he had won the essence of Shaolin martial arts.After he left Shaolin Temple, he wrote the important martial arts work "Shaolin Stick Technique Explanation". Shaolin martial arts reached a very high level in the Ming Dynasty, which left a deep impression on the tourists who went to Songshan Mountain at that time.For example, when Wang Shixing of the Ming Dynasty visited Shaolin Temple, he saw the boxing and cudgel skills performed by Shaolin monks.In his travel notes, he praised "fighting like flying with fists and sticks".Wang Shixing was amazed by a monk's monkey boxing performance. He wrote that "circling and jumping [chuo poke] is like a monkey" (Wang Shixing's "Song You Ji").Yuan Hongdao (AD 1568-1610), a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, couldn't help but call Shaolin boxing a "stunt skill" after watching the performance ("Song You Ji").

Indeed, in the Ming Dynasty, not only the martial monks in Shaolin Temple were highly skilled, but also some handymen in the temple lived in such an environment of practicing martial arts for a long time.There is a young man from Ningbo named Bian Cheng who is so strong that he can support the car going down the mountain with his shoulders.He heard that Shaolin Temple's martial arts were famous all over the world, so he went to Shaolin Temple to work as a fire burner.When the monks were practicing martial arts, Bian Cheng often observed carefully and pondered with his heart.After three years like this, the abbot of Shaolin Temple felt that he had worked hard for many years, and planned to teach him a few things, but unexpectedly, Bian Cheng replied, I already know a thing or two.Try it, it's really extraordinary.Later, when Bian Chengli traveled around the temple, he didn't meet any opponents.One day, Bian Cheng went to Yaojiang (now Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province) and had a conflict with a local rich man in a tavern.The son of a wealthy family wrestled with Bian Cheng and was defeated, so he became angry and gathered more than 100 people, holding spears, and besieged Bian Cheng.Bian Cheng, with Shaolin martial arts by his side, was calm and composed, at the moment when the spear point was about to pierce himself, he suddenly wrapped a spear with a scarf, and jumped out of the encirclement.Surprised, they dropped their spears and bowed down.Later, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1506-1521), the Japanese spied on the border guards under the guise of paying tribute. Some of them were proficient in spear skills.So more than a dozen people confronted Bian Cheng alone, and the Japanese approached with guns. Bian Cheng swung his guns, and the Japanese guns fell to the ground ("Ningbo Fu Zhi").

The reason why Shaolin martial arts is famous all over the world is not only the reason of superb martial arts skills, but also the fact that Shaolin monks can stand up at times of national crisis, go to the battlefield and shed blood for the nation.In the Ming Dynasty, especially during the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates often invaded the southeast coast, burned, killed and looted, and did all kinds of evil, so they were called Japanese pirates.The people along the coast suffered greatly from the Japanese pirates.Anti-Japanese war became a major event in the Ming Dynasty.Most of the Japanese pirates are outlaws with some martial arts skills, and the Japanese swords they use are also sharp and tough, making them difficult to deal with.Coupled with the cooperation of firearms, the combat effectiveness is very strong.The army of the Ming Dynasty was defeated repeatedly, and it was not until the famous anti-Japanese general Qi Jiguang organized the elite Qi's army that this situation changed.In this anti-Japanese war of defending the country, Shaolin monks also contributed their strength.During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Yue Kong, a monk sent by Shaolin, led more than 30 monks to form a team of monks and went to Songjiang to fight Japanese pirates.These monks all have superb martial arts skills, holding a seven-foot-long and 30-jin iron rod, invincible, and made a lot of military exploits.Later, due to the unfamiliar terrain, they lost their backup and fell into the enemy's siege.The Japanese pirates disguised themselves as the Ming army and took advantage of the situation to enter, and all the monks died in battle ("Wusong Jiayi Japanese Bianzhi"). Because Shaolin monks participated in anti-Qing and Ming-ming activities, Shaolin Temple was burned down during the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty.Among the three fires suffered by Shaolin, this one was the most serious, which made the development of Shaolin Wushu suffer a great setback.However, due to the monks flying all over the world, Shaolin martial arts also spread in a wider range.In order to consolidate its rule, the Qing government ordered the prohibition of folk martial arts in the fifth year of Yongzheng (AD 1727).Order local officials to arrest those who teach and learn boxing and stick martial arts.This high-pressure policy restricted the development of Shaolin martial arts.However, the Shaolin monks and the nearby people did not stop practicing martial arts because of this. They just adopted more concealed methods, such as practicing martial arts secretly by staying away from the mountain gate and practicing at night, so that Shaolin martial arts has been continued.In the eighth year of Daoguang (AD 1828), Linqing, a senior official of the Qing court, stayed in the Shaolin Temple during his inspection tour. He proposed to take a look at the famous Shaolin boxing, but the monk pretended not to understand.In order to reassure the monks, Lin Qing said: "I have heard that Shaolin monks practice martial arts to protect the famous mountain, so you don't have to ambush me." The abbot saw that he did not have any malicious intentions, so he sent several monks to practice in front of Jinnara Hall Fan.Lin Qing was full of praise after reading it (Lin Qing's "A Picture of Hong Xue's Fate"). After long years of accumulation, the content of Shaolin Wushu has increased day by day, forming a Wushu system composed of boxing routines, Sanda, equipment and exercises, with very rich content.As far as Shaolin boxing is concerned, it does not just refer to a boxing technique.The local boxing practiced by people near Shaolin Temple is also called Shaolin Boxing.Therefore, there are many routines of Shaolin Boxing, including Xiaohong Boxing, Dahong Boxing, Laohong Boxing, Shaolin Tiger Fighting Boxing, Shaolin Cross Boxing, Shaolin Tuozhan Boxing, Shaolin Arhat Boxing, Shaolin Stone Boxing, Plum Blossom Stakes, Pao Boxing, etc. .One of the prominent features of Shaolin boxing is that it pays attention to "punching in one line", that is to say, the start, stop, advance and retreat of the routine are all on a straight line.Shaolin boxing also advocates "punching the place where the cow lies", emphasizing close combat, and deciding the outcome in a small space of two or three steps forward and backward.Therefore, Shaolin Boxing emphasizes practicality, without much pretentiousness, simple movements, changeable moves, flexible and flexible use of power, calm inside and fierce outside.People describe Shaolin Boxing as "beautiful as a cat, trembling like a tiger, moving like a dragon, moving like a flash, and sound like thunder". Shaolin Wushu also has a variety of equipment martial arts routines.In terms of combat Sanda, Shaolin Wushu also has more than 100 unique strikes. In addition, Shaolin martial arts also includes a variety of practice methods, such as "Seventy-two Shaolin Arts", such as: one-finger diamond method, double-lock exercise, foot-shooting exercise, nail-pulling exercise, tree-hugging exercise, Four Duan Kung Fu, One Finger Zen Kung Fu, Iron Head Kung Fu, Iron Cloth Shirt Kung Fu, Pai Da Kung Fu, Iron Broom Kung Fu, Bamboo Leaf Hand, Centipede Jump, Lifting Catty, Cactus, Hard and Soft Method, Cinnabar Palm, Crouching Tiger Kung Fu, Swimming Water Art, Qianjin Gate, Golden Bell Cover, Finger Locking Art, Arhat Art, Gecko Swimming Wall Art, Whip Strength Art, Pipa Art, Meteor Stake, Plum Blossom Stake, Stone Lock Art, Iron Arm Art, Billiard Fist, Soft Bone Art, Toad Kung fu, curtain piercing skill, eagle claw power, iron ox skill, eagle wing skill, sunshine hand, door crotch skill, iron bag skill, Jiedi skill, turtle back skill, jumping vertical skill, light body skill, iron knee skill, jumping Fa, rubbing technique, stone pillar skill, iron sand palm, thread piercing, yin absorption skill, invulnerability with guns and knives, flying skill, five poisonous hands, water diversion skill, eaves and wall walking technique, tumbling technique, cypress stake, Overlord's elbow, Nianhua skill .The internal skills of these exercises are used to practice essence, qi, and spirit; while the external skills and hard skills are used to practice the unique moves that put the enemy to death in fighting.Such as touch stone skill, iron knee, etc., after successful completion, one finger and one knee can be used to inflict fatal blows in combat; as for lightness skill, one can make one's body light, nimble and vigorous, and fly away like flying. Obviously, such a grand martial arts system cannot be created by just one person or a few people.There are not only the wisdom of Shaolin monks, but also the contributions of folk martial artists.Shaolin Wushu has a very far-reaching influence in the history of Chinese Wushu development.Figure 3 is a Qing Dynasty mural of monks practicing martial arts in the Baiyi Hall of Shaolin Temple.