The Time of the Ming Dynasty
The time of the Ming Dynasty was another golden area in China's arts history ( so called because of all the treasures and artwork created in this time but there was also a very dark side to this era, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries ). Many works of art were created that still exist, considered now to be priceless. Philosophy and knowledge was taught to an equal degree. During this time the Shaolin Temples also grew and prospered becoming the centre for teaching, philosophy, history, Buddhism, mathematics, poetry and of course Martial Arts. Monks (from other orders, Daoists), expert warriors, teachers, healers, philosophers, elders, and travelling martial artists could/would gain entrance to Shaolin to share their knowledge in return for Shaolin teaching and shelter.
Each Temple was like a university of Buddhism, health, the finer and martial arts. Each temple h CE several Shaolin Masters who were experts or specialists in a particular area of training, well-being or philosophy. Rich Chinese would send their sons ( and later even Daughters ) to Shaolin to become students ( not priests ) and learn from the best in every field. These students, once graduated would be considered very highly in their local community.
Shaolin training was now very involved and rigorous. The art of separating future Masters from adepts still was in the form of sending them out into the world of temptation for a few years (a bit like Mormons do with their teenagers). But before they would be let out as a Shaolin Monk they would also undergo a series of rigorous tests.
In order to graduate from the temple, they would have to exhibit phenomenal skills and pass through 18 testing chambers in the temple ( which were possibly more symbolic in nature as no evidence was found in any of the Shaolin Temples of any such rooms ). Although it is dramatized in movies, Shaolin would actually be brought to the brink of exhaustion through a serious of 18 tests, 6 physical, 6 mental and 6 spiritual ( thus the 18 chambers ). It is even possible that one of these physical tests, the final one, was the lifting of a hot cauldron with their bare forearms ( each temple traditionally had such a cauldron, in the middle of the temple complex and unique to each temple ). This cauldron would not have been plain and would possibly have the raised relief of symbolic animals; which would thus be burnt into the graduating monks arms ( as a reminder to them of their training, learning and final trials ). Varied accounts suggest that these cauldrons may have h CE the following symbols on them;
· Wu Tang Temple - A Tiger and Dragon for martial art Prowess
· Henan Temple - Dragon and Phoenix for universal balance/Yin Yang
· Kwantung Temple - integrated much later in history and there are conflicting accounts of symbolism for this temple.
· O Mai Shan Temple - Two Cranes as they were close to the Tibetan border and a healing temple
· Fukien Temple - (often used as a Shaolin 'back-up', no record of specific symbolism found for this temple)
These marks were the signs of a Shaolin graduate. Not all who entered Shaolin graduated in the full 18 chambers, many were only lay priests leaving the temple well educated but not completed. Especially towards the end of the Ming Dynasty when Shaolinwas increasingly involved with training resistance fighters and harboring fugitives.
This is also the time when the original 170 movements were redefined into the 5 Animal Styles, Ng Ying Ga Kung Fu.
5 Animal Styles
A martial art expert named Zhue Yuen joined the Shaolin. He noticed that the Kung Fu practiced in Shaolin was unbalanced, tending strongly to the hard external style. Zhue Yuen travelled China in search of other martial art styles and found many which he learned and evaluated. But it wasn't until he reached the town of LAN Zhau and met Li Sou that anything significant happened.
Li Sou introduced Zhue Yuen to Bai Yu Feng, who was another famous martial arts practitioner. Zhue Yuen was able to convince both to come back with him to Shaolin to develop Kung Fu. Together they redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu to the 5 animal styles ( Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Leopard and Crane ).
Although originally just exercise and Kung Fu styles, over the next few hundred years the Shaolin were able to discover and develop the 5 Animal Style system to be metaphors for human situation handling, interaction, problem solving, planning and much more ( much of this was lost with the second burning of Shaolin and only the external Kung Fu aspect was cultivated and maintained.)
The time of the Ming Dynasty was another golden area in China's arts history ( so called because of all the treasures and artwork created in this time but there was also a very dark side to this era, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries ). Many works of art were created that still exist, considered now to be priceless. Philosophy and knowledge was taught to an equal degree. During this time the Shaolin Temples also grew and prospered becoming the centre for teaching, philosophy, history, Buddhism, mathematics, poetry and of course Martial Arts. Monks (from other orders, Daoists), expert warriors, teachers, healers, philosophers, elders, and travelling martial artists could/would gain entrance to Shaolin to share their knowledge in return for Shaolin teaching and shelter.
Each Temple was like a university of Buddhism, health, the finer and martial arts. Each temple h CE several Shaolin Masters who were experts or specialists in a particular area of training, well-being or philosophy. Rich Chinese would send their sons ( and later even Daughters ) to Shaolin to become students ( not priests ) and learn from the best in every field. These students, once graduated would be considered very highly in their local community.
Shaolin training was now very involved and rigorous. The art of separating future Masters from adepts still was in the form of sending them out into the world of temptation for a few years (a bit like Mormons do with their teenagers). But before they would be let out as a Shaolin Monk they would also undergo a series of rigorous tests.
In order to graduate from the temple, they would have to exhibit phenomenal skills and pass through 18 testing chambers in the temple ( which were possibly more symbolic in nature as no evidence was found in any of the Shaolin Temples of any such rooms ). Although it is dramatized in movies, Shaolin would actually be brought to the brink of exhaustion through a serious of 18 tests, 6 physical, 6 mental and 6 spiritual ( thus the 18 chambers ). It is even possible that one of these physical tests, the final one, was the lifting of a hot cauldron with their bare forearms ( each temple traditionally had such a cauldron, in the middle of the temple complex and unique to each temple ). This cauldron would not have been plain and would possibly have the raised relief of symbolic animals; which would thus be burnt into the graduating monks arms ( as a reminder to them of their training, learning and final trials ). Varied accounts suggest that these cauldrons may have h CE the following symbols on them;
· Wu Tang Temple - A Tiger and Dragon for martial art Prowess
· Henan Temple - Dragon and Phoenix for universal balance/Yin Yang
· Kwantung Temple - integrated much later in history and there are conflicting accounts of symbolism for this temple.
· O Mai Shan Temple - Two Cranes as they were close to the Tibetan border and a healing temple
· Fukien Temple - (often used as a Shaolin 'back-up', no record of specific symbolism found for this temple)
These marks were the signs of a Shaolin graduate. Not all who entered Shaolin graduated in the full 18 chambers, many were only lay priests leaving the temple well educated but not completed. Especially towards the end of the Ming Dynasty when Shaolinwas increasingly involved with training resistance fighters and harboring fugitives.
This is also the time when the original 170 movements were redefined into the 5 Animal Styles, Ng Ying Ga Kung Fu.
5 Animal Styles
A martial art expert named Zhue Yuen joined the Shaolin. He noticed that the Kung Fu practiced in Shaolin was unbalanced, tending strongly to the hard external style. Zhue Yuen travelled China in search of other martial art styles and found many which he learned and evaluated. But it wasn't until he reached the town of LAN Zhau and met Li Sou that anything significant happened.
Li Sou introduced Zhue Yuen to Bai Yu Feng, who was another famous martial arts practitioner. Zhue Yuen was able to convince both to come back with him to Shaolin to develop Kung Fu. Together they redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu to the 5 animal styles ( Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Leopard and Crane ).
Although originally just exercise and Kung Fu styles, over the next few hundred years the Shaolin were able to discover and develop the 5 Animal Style system to be metaphors for human situation handling, interaction, problem solving, planning and much more ( much of this was lost with the second burning of Shaolin and only the external Kung Fu aspect was cultivated and maintained.)