The History of Chinese Martial Arts
By Sifu Dale McDine

 

The history of any martial art system is very difficult to accurately trace. The human race all over the world has been at battle with each other long before the existence of recorded history. Any tribe or society that practiced drills or techniques to defend their lives and their homes against man or animal was technically practicing a martial art. Through constant invasions and battles, martial techniques were discovered and weapons developed by the different tribes and societies of the world to give them the advantage over their enemies. Depending on the effectiveness of the techniques, the quality of the weapons, and the strength of the armies, thousands of martial art systems and weapons survived, or died on the battlefields. Dating over 4,000 years, it is the Chinese martial arts that have the earliest recorded drills and exercises that developed an individual's fighting skills, and an army's strength.

One of the earliest recorded forms of the Chinese martial arts was known as Go Ti (Horn Gore), which later developed into Shuai Jow, the art of throwing. Go Ti dates back to around 2600 B.C. when an evil warlord, Ch'ih Yu, would have his prisoners of war strap bullhorns to their heads and battle to the death for entertainment. Similar to the Roman gladiator days, some of the fighters would achieve great popularity and at times would earn their freedom. Over time, some of the prisoners of war developed great fighting skills and taught those techniques to Ch'ih Yu's soldiers. After Ch'ih Yu's death, the horns were removed and Go Ti evolved into Shaui Jow, which later became a national sport.

China is considered to have the most warring history of any nation in existence. Through countless battles and wars, techniques were discovered and developed that were passed down from generation to generation. With the development of armies and weapons, many different systems of martial arts were created and flourished in China's different dynasties and societies. Hundreds of dynasties had risen and fallen as massive battles tested one ruler's armies against another. At one point or another in China's history, invaders and rulers included the Mongols, Huns, Tibetans, Japanese, Manchuria, Britain, Communist, etc. During these different dynasties martial arts either flourished amongst the people, such as the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 A.D.) or at many times, were suppressed by the rulers for fear of uprising and takeover, such as the Ching Dynasty (1644 A.D. - 1911 A.D.).

It was also during these difficult times that many martial artists became famous for their skills as they defended their land against invaders and evil warlords. Both men and women fighters rose from the population and resisted against the different rulers, gaining an almost god-like status amongst the people. Unfortunately, not all martial artists rose to a god-like status. Many martial artists and their families were executed for practicing martial arts because during these difficult times it was considered an act of uprising against the government.

Although the earliest form of Chinese martial arts can be dated back to around 2600 B.C., some schools date the Chinese martial arts to only around 540 A.D. The story goes that a Buddhist monk named Buddhidarhma (Bow-Dee-Dar-Ma), or P'u T'i Da Mo (the enlightened one) as the Chinese called him, was invited from India to teach Ch'an Buddhism to the monks at the Shaolin Temple. Da Mo, which is a shorter version of P'u T'i Da Mo, is more of a title than a name. Da Mo's last name was Sardili, and was revered as a great spiritual leader by Ch'an Buddhists. Many schools believe that Da Mo brought with him martial arts from India to teach the monks at the Shaolin temple. This story contradicts hundreds of historical documents that date the Chinese martial arts to over 3,000 years before Da Mo's visit to the temple. It is true that Da Mo had a great influence on the evolution of Buddhism in China, but there is no record of Da Mo introducing the Chinese martial arts to the monks at the Shaolin Temple.

Buddhism was very popular in China at the time of Da Mo and it is estimated that over 10,000 Buddhist temples existed. Da Mo was invited to China from India to teach Buddhism by the Liang Wu emperor. The emperor believed that he would reach enlightenment, or Nirvana, by having his monks translate old Sanskrit to the Chinese language so the general population could practice Buddhism. Da Mo agreed that this was a noble gesture on the emperor's part, but believed the emperor would not reach enlightenment through good actions performed by others in his name. The emperor did not agree with Da Mo's philosophy and dismissed the monk.

Da Mo withdrew to the Shaolin Temple where he found the monks to be very weak and sickly due to lack of movement and exercise. It is believed that Da Mo was not immediately accepted into the temple. It is not known why Da Mo was refused admittance by the head abbot, Fang Chang, but it could have been that he was perceived as a foreign meddler. Da Mo isolated himself in a cave and meditated until the head abbot accepted him into the temple.

When Da Mo was admitted to the temple, he noticed the physical shape of the monks was very poor and found that many of them could not stay awake to practice even the most basic of Buddhist meditation practice. The story states that Da Mo again secluded himself in a cave for nine years and practice "wall staring" meditation to attain his own enlightenment. When he emerged from the cave, he had written two books, the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classics) and the Xi Sui Jin (Marrow/Brain Washing Classic). These two books are believed by some scholars to be modified from Indian yogas (mainly hatha and raja) designed to increase ch'i circulation and build strength. Da Mo introduced these books and exercises to the monks at the Shaolin Temple so they could develop their own physical and mental strength and help to achieve enlightenment.
Although stories state that Da Mo was the author of these two books, there is no real historical proof that he actually was. There is also no proof that Da Mo introduced martial arts to the Shaolin Temple. The postures contained in the books the Yi Jin Jing and the Xi Sui Jin were used to develop the monks' ch'i, not their martial art skills. The Yi Jin Jing contained static stretching and postures that taught the priests how to nurture their ch'i to a level where they could develop their physical strength. The Xi Sui Jing taught the priests how to nurture their ch'i to develop their immune system and energize their brains so they could attain enlightenment.

Most of the stories pertaining to Da Mo contain inconsistencies and fabrications because there are no written documents that recorded his life at the Shaolin Temple. The earliest source of information written about Da Mo comes from a book by Tao Yuan, The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, which was written around 1004 A.D., nearly 500 years after Da Mo's death. The only facts that can be verified about Da Mo during his time at Shaolin is that he did arrive in China around 527 A.D., he did teach Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple, and that he died at the temple around 536 A.D. After his death, Da Mo was buried on Xiong Er Mountain.

Although martial arts had already existed in China for thousands of years and was being practiced by the general population, it was not a main practice at the Shaolin Temple during the time of Da Mo. The Shaolin Temple was a Buddhist monastery where the monks were translating old Sanskrit to the Chinese language. If any martial arts were being practiced at the Shaolin Temple at that time, it would have been by people hired to defend the temple against bandits or wild animals, not by the monks themselves. There is no historical document that records the practice of Chinese martial arts within the Shaolin Temple during that time, although it is believed that Da Mo's exercises were based on the 18 main animals in Indo-Chinese iconography (tiger, deer, leopard, cobra, snake, dragon, etc.), and eventually evolved over time within the walls of the temple into the famous Shaolin martial arts.

The Shaolin Temple

Although Da Mo did not bring Chinese martial arts to the Shaolin Temple, this does not lessen the martial skills and achievements the temple had accomplished in its 1,300 years history. Despite popular beliefs, there was more than one Shaolin Temple, and not all the members of those temples were men. Both men and women were welcome to study at the temple, and many women reached high levels in martial arts training and Buddhist philosophy. There were 5 main temples at the height of Shaolin, although not all 5 were active at the same time. The 5 temples were:

*Hunan: Built around 495 A.D. by orders of the Wei Xiao Wen emperor to help promote Buddhism amongst the people. This temple is believed to had been built for a Buddhist monk named Batuo. The site of the temple was constructed on the remains of a forest that had been cleared or burned down. While the temple was being constructed, the emperor's gardeners planted new trees. Thus the temple was name Shaolin (Mandarin dialect) or Sil Lum (Cantonese Dialect), which means "young forest". This is the temple featured on the ABC-TV show "Kung Fu" in the 1970s.

Fukien: It is believed that this temple may have been built around the same time as the Hunan temple, but was a mainstream Buddhist temple until the early 1600s. This temple was integrated into the Shaolin order around 650 A.D. Larger than the Hunan Temple, Fukien served as the "headquarters" during times when Hunan was either destroyed or under threat. It is believed the southern styles of praying mantis, snake, dragon, and Wing Chun were all developed in the Fukien Temple, or by its masters. The temple was burned during the Boxer Rebellion in the earlier years of the 20th century.

Kwangtung: This southern temple is believed to have taught many great warriors and was a snake style temple. This temple was built in the late 1700s as a Shaolin Temple overlooking the ocean near Shanghai. This Cantonese temple was close to Fukien and was home to many southern styles, such as Choy Li Fut and dragon. This temple was shelled during the civil warring following the Boxer Rebellion.

Wutang (Wu Dong): This temple was located near the town of Wutang and was considered a Tiger temple. The temple was built in a politically unstable area (near the Korean and Manchuria border) and was most involved with temporal concerns and besieged by one army or another. This was a very old temple and was integrated into Shaolin around 800 A.D.

O Mei Shan (Great White Mountain): O Mei Shan was a northern medical temple. This temple was located in an inaccessible area of the Szechuan province and imported monks much like research institutions do today. The temple itself was very old, probably Taoist in origin, and was integrated into the Shaolin order around 1500 A.D. This temple was in close contact with Tibet and was considered a major medical "school" for four centuries, with libraries filled with tomes from East and West. The buildings were used for artillery practice by the armies of both Shang Kai Shek and Mao Tze Tung. The temple was restored in the early 1970s and serves as the conservation service headquarters for the bamboo forest of Szechuan and a research center for the pandas.

*(Note: Information on the temples was taken from the website www.shaolin.com )

The Shaolin Temples were not only a haven for Buddhist practice and martial arts, but other activities were studied as well. Activities such as calligraphy, music, philosophy, medical studies, etc. were practiced at the temple to educated the monks and help them achieve enlightenment. The temples were not a place to become a martial arts master, but to follow the Buddhist life style. Although the martial arts being taught at the Shaolin Temples became famous and respected all through out China and the surrounding countries, the main focus was Buddhism. All activities practiced at the temple were designed to help an individual achieve enlightenment or nirvana, not unbeatable martial skills. In its 1300 years of history, the temples did have its fair share of renegade monks, scandals, battles and problems within and outside its walls, but for the most part, monks and priests of Shaolin lead a very peaceful and uneventful life.