With the development of history to the Ming Dynasty, there were gradually more and more records of martial arts practice in the Shaolin Temple, the "ancestral court of Zen Buddhism" in the classics. Moreover, within a short period of time, the reputation of Shaolin martial arts also rose rapidly, so that by the late Ming Dynasty, It actually has the reputation of "Today's martial arts, no one in the world would give up to Shaolin"②. So what makes Shaolin martial arts famous? Historical materialism requires us to examine historical phenomena within a certain historical scope. According to the data, it can be seen that the spread of Shaolin martial arts is not only due to its skills, but also to a greater extent due to the Shaolin monks who formed monk soldiers at that time and obeyed the dispatch of the Ming Dynasty to devote themselves to the specific social activities of "protecting the country and defeating the enemy" and "protecting the country and bringing peace to the world" closely related. This kind of activities can be summarized into three categories: First, guarding the border. For example, in the existing pagoda forest of Shaolin Temple, there is the "Sanqi Yougong Monk Pagoda" from the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. The inscription on the pagoda reads: The Great Shaolin Zen Temple was given the imperial edict to make the rival church famous all over the world. In the political border (border), the imperial enfeoffment capital promoted the commander-in-chief of Yunnan's fierce soldiers and detained the officials to reward the longevity pagoda of the monk Sanqi, the friend of the public. The second is to quell chaos and resist Japanese aggression. In the fifth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1510), the peasant army led by Liu Liu and Liu Qi launched an uprising in Bazhou, Hebei. Within a few months, the momentum was so great that they moved to Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other places to fight for the imperial government. With such a heavy blow, the rulers had to mobilize troops from all over to suppress the uprising. Shaolin monk soldiers participated in this military operation. Following this, Shaolin monk soldiers also participated in the uprising against Wang Tang, Shi Shangzhao and others during the Jiajing period together with the Ming army. Regarding this aspect, there are few records in general historical books, but many inscriptions that still exist today clearly record that historical fact. Fighting against Japanese pirates is a direct opportunity for Shaolin martial arts to become famous all over the world. The Japanese invasion during the Jiajing and Longqing years of the 16th century severely shocked the southeastern coast of China under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. The invaders relied on their well-made Japanese swords and cunning and cunning sword techniques, which made it difficult for the under-armed Ming Dynasty garrison troops to cope with the enemy, so they had to recruit rural soldiers from various places. Shaolin monk soldiers were one of the most courageous armed forces. There are many records about this matter in various historical books and notes. In addition to "History of the Ming Dynasty", there are also books such as Zheng Ruozeng's "Jiangnan Jinglue", Zhang Nai's "Japanese Revolution Chronicles" and Gu Yanwu's "Rizhilu". record. Here we might as well quote the excerpt from Gu Yanwu’s account: During the Jiajing period, Shaolin monk Yuekong was summoned by the governor Wan Biao to guard the Japanese in Songjiang. He had more than 30 followers who formed their own troops and killed many Japanese with iron rods. Die in battle. Alas, if you are able to defend the battlefield by fighting, you should not rely on your disciples⑤. In the baptism of blood and fire, Shaolin monks holding iron rods are "convenient and brave, and can be used as forwards by officers and soldiers in battle"⑥. Facing the Japanese pirates who "crush the wind with electricity and kill them with spinning force", the Shaolin monks showed no fear and used the iron rod as "as convenient as a bamboo stick". Li Shaowen's "Yunjian Magazine" vividly describes the scene when the Shaolin monk Yue Kong fought with the enemy: "Suddenly he jumped up, passed over the thief, and smashed the thief's head with the iron rod, so the thieves were frustrated. ", showing the majesty of Shaolin martial arts⑦. The Shaolin monks moved to fight on the southeast coast. Especially in a battle on the tenth day of June in the 32nd year of Jiajing (1553), they annihilated more than a hundred Japanese bandits with a team of less than 80 people. "Those injured by the monks were counted. "Four Human Ears"⑧, from one side reflects the superb martial arts of Shaolin monks. However, the Shaolin monk soldiers are not a strictly trained army after all. The victory of the battle also fostered their mentality of being arrogant and underestimating the enemy. They rashly pursued the enemy without knowing anything about it. "Geography"⑨, finally fell into an ambush by mistake, and was taken advantage of by the enemy and shed blood on the battlefield. At a time when the nation was in danger, the Shaolin monks and soldiers used their own blood to fulfill their strong secular feelings of protecting the country and fending off enemies. It is this kind of patriotic spirit that has won people's approval, so Gu Yanwu would like to comment on it, "If you can fight to defend the battlefield, you must not be a disciple." At that time, more than one family of monk soldiers went out to fight against the Japanese, but the hero Shenwu was the first to choose Shaolin. No wonder some non-Shaolin people also borrowed the name Shaolin at that time, resulting in the debate between true and false Shaolin B11. This fully shows that Shaolin martial arts has begun to gain high recognition from people. The third is to train soldiers.
"There is Hong Ying on the pines, crying out to destroy the Qing Dynasty", thereby stimulating the hatred of the congregation towards the Manchu Qing court; again, further linking the martial arts activities within the organization with the Shaolin Temple, and using the Shaolin Temple as a role to promote its members to practice martial arts The sacred place of activity is worshiped, such as "The brave and powerful fist spreads all over the world, it is spread in Shaolin Temple", "Martial arts are born in Shaolin, I am proficient in Hongmen affairs" B34, etc., are common phrases in the materials about Tiandihui. However, we At least two doubts can be found in the spread of Xilu stories: 1. In all the documents of the Qing Dynasty, there is no record of Shaolin monks being recruited as soldiers by the court. This is obviously influenced by the Shaolin monk soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. There is no record of the Shaolin Temple being burned down by the imperial court in the materials of the Kang, Yong, and Qian dynasties. Therefore, scholars in the field of history during the Republic of China have long pointed out that this matter "has no clear history and can only be known through fiction" and is "a complete martial arts story." B35 This matter “has no clear history and can be known virtually”, but the cultural information contained in it cannot be ignored: in the story of Shaolin’s conquest of Xilu, there is the historical legacy of the Shaolin monks from the previous dynasty of “talking about being a general in times of crisis, but reverting to becoming a monk when the situation is determined”. There was no lack of allusions to certain social conflicts at that time. Under the profound influence of Shaolin martial arts, the leaders of the Tiandihui in the Qing Dynasty used historical rumors as material to create the Zhengzheng. The story of Xilu has been continuously enriched and enriched in the process of dissemination, thus making the story of Southern Shaolin basically finalized. Regarding this point, we will briefly analyze the migration of the Shaolin Temple site in the legend of Tiandihui in Jiangxi in the 16th year of Jiaqing (1811). The arrested Tiandihui members testified: “The uprising took place at the Shaolin Temple in Taiping Village, Taiping Prefecture, Chengdu, Sichuan and Gansu Provinces. B36" In the same year, the "Guild Book" collected by Yao Dagao, a member of the Tiandihui that was seized by the government in Donglanzhou, Guangxi, also said: "There is a Shaolin Temple in Gansu Province. B37" According to the "Huibu" of the Tiandihui in Tianlin County, Guangxi, discovered in the late 1980s in the late 1980s, the book also records that the Shaolin Temple is located in Taibai Mountain, Heshui County, Qingyang Prefecture, Gansu Province. Very Obviously, the Tiandihui organization in the south during the Qianjia period did not know the location of the Shaolin Temple. The location of the Shaolin Temple was not mentioned in the "Root Miao No. 1 of Resisting the Qing Dynasty and Restoring the Ming Dynasty" in the early years of Xianfeng. It was not until the "Xilu Preface" later that it was mentioned. It is said that the Shaolin Temple is located in "Jiulian Mountain, Fuzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province" B38. However, as for the legendary Southern Shaolin in Fujian, the place names are also different, such as Pulong, Shentian, or Panlong. There is no such thing in Fujian Province. During the Republic of China, the issue of southern Shaolin in Fujian once aroused the interest of researchers. Mr. Tang Hao asserted in his influential article "Research on the Secrets of Shaolin Boxing" that Fujian Province has Quanzhou Shaolin is real; at the same time, according to the investigation by Xu Shuzhuang, a student of the Central Guoshu Academy in Putian, it was concluded that Fuzhou Shaolin was fake. After that, people did not discuss much about Southern Shaolin, including the temple site, until 1984 to 1996. , in just over ten years, Quanzhou, Putian, Fuqing and other places in Fujian have discovered the rumored Southern Shaolin through various media claims (hereinafter, for the convenience of writing, this article will refer to it as the "Quanzhou Southern Shaolin Theory" , "Putian South Shaolin Theory" and "Fuqing South Shaolin Theory"), some even held a press conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The issue of Southern Shaolin, which had been silent for a long time, was raised again under the new situation, and once became a Hot topics of social concern. So how reliable are the above statements? (1) Quanzhou South Shaolin said in the 3rd issue of "Bamin Martial Arts" sponsored by the Fujian Provincial Martial Arts Association. Fu Jiansheng's "Preliminary Examination of Quanzhou Shaolin Temple" was published, and then the fourth issue of the journal published Chen Sidong and Fu Jiansheng's "Quanzhou Shaolin Temple Examination" B39, which stated that "there was indeed a Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou" during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Located in the east of Quanzhou City, the temple was originally called "Dongchan Temple". If Fu Wen's basis is based on legendary word-of-mouth and the Xilu story of the Tiandihui, which is not credible, then the "Quanzhou Shaolin theory" is supported by the data. There are two records in the Ming Dynasty manuscript "Qingyuan Jin Family Genealogy·Li Shi": "There is a sergeant in (Quanzhou) City who was born in Chu Zhi. He was just weak and studied in Shaolin Temple." "In June of Xia, Zhi was born in Chaozhou. , resides in the Shaolin Temple.” According to this, the author believes that the Shaolin Temple mentioned in the article is the Quanzhou Shaolin Temple.
The problem is that the article "Li Shi" "belongs to a romance novel", and the author has not determined the gap between the novel and historical facts. Moreover, the Shaolin mentioned in the two places in the article does not actually refer to Quanzhou. Therefore, if we claim that Southern Shaolin is located in Quanzhou, there will be insufficient evidence. On July 9, 1992, "Fujian Daily" published an article "Newly discovered important historical materials about the Southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou". The so-called "important historical materials" refer to "the Qing Dynasty manuscript "Xishan Magazine" recently discovered by Quanzhou historians." . According to reports, "Xishan Magazine" was written by Cai Yongjiang of Jinjiang during the Jiadao period of the Qing Dynasty. In the section "Shaolin Temple", it was recorded that the thirteenth monk Zhi Kong in the early Tang Dynasty "came to Fujian and built the Shaolin Temple at the foot of Qingyuan Mountain. "San Luo" was the beginning of the Fujian monks and martial arts sect. "Obviously, this was also said by a novelist. Some researchers have pointed out that the article "Xishan Magazine·Shaolin Temple" is full of errors in many aspects, so "it is difficult to rely on it as history" B40. At that time, Mr. Tang Hao relied solely on village rumors told by someone to determine Quanzhou Shaolin as true. His mistake also lay in the lack of reliable documentary evidence. (2) Putian Southern Shaolin said that from November 21, 1989 to February 1991, "China Sports News" successively published articles by the newspaper's reporter Fang Jinhui confirming that Putian Linquan Academy was Southern Shaolin. Immediately, the Putian City Sports Committee Taking the lead, the Shinan Shaolin Research Association was established. During this period, Master Dechan, the abbot of Songshan Shaolin Temple, happily wrote the inscription "Southern Shaolin Temple is at the foot of Jiulian Mountain in Putian County, Fujian Province". Some people in society also stated that "Southern Shaolin Temple is at the foot of Jiulian Mountain in Putian County, Fujian Province." B41, there are other related Leaders and famous scholars also went to express their recognition and congratulations to the researchers concerned. From September 14th to 16th, 1991, the Wushu Society of the Chinese Sports Science Society, the Fujian Provincial Sports Commission and the Fujian Provincial Wushu Association jointly held a demonstration meeting on the South Shaolin Temple Site in Putian City. The demonstration meeting passed the expert review and the "Basic Judgment: Linquanyuan That is, the South Fujian Shaolin Temple, commonly known in the martial arts circle, is also known as South Shaolin Temple B42." Probably in order to make this conclusion more "authoritative" and have more social impact, the Putian Municipal People's Government held a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 25, 1992. A press conference was held with the participation of 19 domestic and foreign news organizations including Xinhua News Agency and TASS News Agency, announcing that the Linquanyuan ruins in Linshan Village, Xitianwei Town, Putian City were the Southern Shaolin Temple. At this point, Putian South Shaolin Temple, which has lasted for more than two years, seems to have come to a successful end. So what are the specific materials supporting the "Putian South Shaolin Theory"? The expert's "argument conclusion" states that it is based on existing literature and the excavation report of the archaeological team of the Fujian Provincial Commission for Cultural Affairs, and we will make a brief analysis based on this. Looking through the "Excavation Report" of the archaeological team, there is not a single piece of material or physical object that can prove that Linquanyuan is the Southern Shaolin. Some people believe that this is the most important physical evidence that Linquan Academy is the Southern Shaolin based on the words "Served as a Monk Soldier" engraved on the stone trough of Linquanyuan's relics. Because in his intellectual vision, “After searching hundreds of major temples across the country for thousands of years, only Shaolin Temple has monk soldiers B43.” Now Linquan Temple has also discovered cultural relics engraved with the words monk soldiers, so Linquan Temple is Southern Shaolin. Complex historical research here becomes like a syllogism of formal logic. But unfortunately, the phrase "After searching hundreds of large temples across the country for thousands of years, only Shaolin Temple has monk soldiers" is far from historical facts. Those who argue this point only need to look at "History of Ming Dynasty·Bing Zhi" and Gu Yanwu's " It is not difficult to understand books such as "Rizhilu". Monk soldiers are not exclusive to Shaolin Temple. The stone trough of Linquanyuan's relics is engraved with "when the monks were soldiers in the courtyard", which at best can only show that there were monk soldiers in Linquanyuan. As for documents, the authors of "Putian South Shaolin Theory" submitted materials from the Tiandi Hui's "Huibo" (such as the story of Xilu) cited by Fan Wenlan, Zhou Gucheng and others when they mentioned the Tiandi Hui in their respective monographs. In fact, the Southern Shaolin mentioned in Fan and Zhou's books is not an academic view obtained through special research. To a large extent, they only borrowed materials from "Huibo" to describe the cultural background of Tiandihui. Because of this, Fan Wenlan's "Compendium of General History of China" writes the word "passed on" before quoting this material, while Zhou Gucheng's "General History of China" calls these stories and legends "almost superstitious" and "quite recent." myth".
Those who "said Putian South Shaolin" ignored the historians' contextual definitions of the quoted materials and did not hesitate to take them out of context. They rashly used this as the reason why historians "affirmed the existence of Putian South Shaolin". In fact, they did not know that they were criticizing Fan and Zhou. Are people's academic achievements praised or derogated? In June and August of 1990, when "China Sports News" was publishing articles on "Putian South Shaolin Theory" one after another, the author wrote two articles "Putian South Shaolin New Theory Dialectical" and "Putian South Shaolin Renewed Debate". I went to the "China Sports News" office to comment and analyze the various far-fetched errors in the published article, but it was like a mud in the sea. However, I firmly believe that non-factual things will eventually be left out one day, no matter how publicized and hyped they are in the article, or how spectacularly they are packaged in form. No, when the Putian Municipal People's Government announced at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 25, 1992 that the Linquanyuan site in Putian City was the site of the Southern Shaolin Temple, Fuqing City, located to the east of Putian, went through many verifications and announced the "Southern Shaolin Temple" the following year. The ruins are in Fuqing” B44. Some experts who originally believed in the theory of Putian South Shaolin Temple followed suit after reading various specific materials about Fuqing South Shaolin. They believed that Fuqing South Shaolin "has strong and impeccable evidence" and "the ruins and cultural relics here indicate that it is (South) There is no problem with Shaolin Temple." History sometimes really likes to play tricks on people - it seems that the "Putian South Shaolin Theory" solemnly announced in the Great Hall of the People did not come to an end, but was branded with a thought-provoking question mark! (3) Fuqing South Shaolin Report: In June 1993, relevant personnel from Fuqing City found the ruins of the Shaolin Temple in Shaolin Village, Dongzhang Town. From August 1995 to June 1996, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage issued a license for the archaeological excavation of the Fuqing Shaolin Temple. . Through various efforts, a large amount of literature and cultural relics have proven that there has indeed been a temple named "Shaolin" in Fuqing since the Song Dynasty. There is also a mountain named "Songshan" slightly north of it at the border with Putian. In terms of documentary materials, for example, the famous Southern Song Dynasty writer Liu Kezhuang's "Collected Works of Mr. Houzhuang" in Volume 159 describes his "friend outside the country" Decheng, saying, "Decheng, a native of Fuqing,... tasted and lived in the city "Songshan Shaolin", the "Yi" here should refer to Fuqing. If what Liu Wen recorded is not accurate, then the "Shaolin Academy" in Fuqing, Volume 36, compiled by Liang Kejia, a native of Quanzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty, was compiled in the ninth year of Chunxi (1182). Other names, such as Volume 75 of "Bamin Tongzhi" in the 12th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1499) and Volume 40 of "Fuzhou Prefecture" in the 15th year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1520) are both in the "Temple and Temple" category entries in Fuqing. It is named "Shaolin Temple". As for the cultural relic materials, it is even more certain. According to the investigation and excavation report of the Fuqing Shaolin Academy Site Archaeological Team, "Ceramics are the main relics unearthed in this site, and their varieties are very rich...except for a small number of Ming and Qing porcelain pieces, most of them are from the Song and Yuan Dynasties." Some of the porcelain pieces are from the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The words "Shaolin" are written on the bottom and rim: 1 piece "For Shaolin Academy", 7 pieces "Shaolin", 2 pieces "Shaolin Council", 1 piece "Shaolin Permanent Resident", etc. This batch of porcelain pieces with confirmed inscriptions, It fully confirms the objective existence of Fuqing Shaolin Academy in history. In addition, there are some cultural relics that silently tell the Shaolin story of Fuqing in the past to visitors. There is a stone bridge about 300 meters away from the Shaolin Temple. On the south side of the stone slab are engraved with the words "Shamen of the Shaolin Temple would like to recruit friends, work hard to cultivate virtue, and give up money to build a foreign stone bridge."; one is inscribed On the edge of the large stone bowl in "December of the fourth year of Daguan (1110)" is clearly engraved the inscription "Shaolin mountain monk Yuexiu gave up a stone bowl for his concubine and himself". Probably due to various historical reasons, this place is also called Shaolin Village. A tombstone of the villager Wu's ancestral tomb erected in the Yimao Year of Qianlong (1759) is clearly engraved with the words "Tomb of Wu Gong, the Peak of Shaolin". Character.