Temple of the Arts: description and types

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

From films and books, people got the impression that in China every temple of the arts is a martial academy, and the master of such arts must profess some kind of religion. This is not true. In China, as elsewhere in the world, temples and monasteries have always been the center of religious practice. And the temple of martial arts was concerned about its protection in daily life. The only place in China where the unity of martial arts and spiritual practice was declared for a long time was the Shaolin Temple. The martial arts of Shaolin are a subject of admiration to this day. The monastery itself is located in the province of Henan, on the side of a mountain. Each of its tiers is higher than the other, thus, the general view of the monastery resembles a staircase.

The history of the emergence of Buddhism in Chinae

It is generally accepted that the temple of martial arts was founded in 495. At the end of the 4th century, the northern part of the country was ruled by the nomads of the Toba clan. They went down in history under the name "tabgachi". They later founded the Wei Empire. The founder of this empire, Gui, was a practical person, he allowed to practice any of the religions. But already in the middle of the 5th century, he issued a decree on the destruction of Buddhist statues and icons, ordered to burn allbooks and execute all monks, regardless of their age. The heir to the throne delayed the decree, which made it possible to save many icons, books and hide the monks. In 452, his grandson came to power and canceled his grandfather's decree on Buddhism. The new ruler even allowed the construction of pagodas, however, no more than one for 4-50 monks in the county. Buddhists were no longer in danger of death, and the emperor kept shaving his head as a sign of respect for such teachings.

In 465, the next heir to the dynasty, who was a true Buddhist at heart, came to the throne. Toba Hun even built a huge Buddha statue. In 471, Toba abdicates the throne for his son and goes to a Buddhist monastery, but continues to manage political affairs. In 475, he issued a decree on the sacrifice of animals. So, at the end of the 5th century, Buddhism acquires a strong position in northern China.

Temple history

The founding of the temple is attributed to an Indian preacher named Bato. No one knows if he knew the technique of martial arts, but the names of two of his students have survived to this day. The first is Senchou, a master of martial arts, successor to Batou. They say that, having jumped up, he could even reach the ceiling, he fought best in hand-to-hand combat. The second disciple's name was Hueguang. He could hit a Chinese football shuttle 500 times at a time.

The Shaolin Temple was officially founded on March 31, 495. The entire history of China has about 10 temples with this name, but only one has survived to this day. Its name is Songshan Shaolin.

The monastery was under constructionin very difficult times for the country. Then China was practically torn into 3 parts, which endlessly fought among themselves. Therefore, the Shaolin Monastery was repeatedly subjected to enemy attacks. Since the monks showed stamina and special perseverance in training, this allowed them to adequately respond to opponents when attacked.

Why did the study of martial arts stop

After the end of the wars in China and the centralization of power, the emperor took control of Shaolin. When the imperial family first visited the monastery, they were amazed by its beauty and spirituality. The emperor ordered the creation of a military garrison near the temple. Martial arts no longer needed to be learned for defense, so stop training. Thus, the martial arts temple lost the study of martial arts and their training for 100 years.

The training of monks was divided into two types: practical meditation and understanding of the life path. Later they realized that the monks were too weak and could not achieve their plans only through meditation alone. And in order to improve their situation, Bodhidharma taught them the ancient form of the martial art "Fist of the Eighteen Arhats", hardening and general strengthening of the body. Later, exercises with a spear, pole, sword and other weapons were added to the main training.

Getting the status of a monastery

In 621, rebellious actions broke out in China aimed at overthrowing the emperor. He fought to the last, and when he had nowhere to goretreat, he and his army came under the walls of Shaolin. The monks responded to his request and protected their emperor. 13 of the best masters dispersed the rebels and took some prisoners to their temple of arts. This spoke of the highest training of people. As stated in the annals, the battle itself lasted no more than one hour. Interestingly, none of the monks were injured.

The end of the battle marked the support of the imperial family, for which the monastery received a separate revered position in the country. Since then, the monks began to form their troops, protecting both the country's environs and the imperial possessions. The emperor ordered his generals to take martial arts lessons.

The Temple of Arts received equality along with the imperial army, Shaolin martial arts began to develop actively. The monks came to practice in Shaolin and often stayed there forever, as happened with 18 monks with different fighting styles.

Ming and Qin

The peak of development the temple reached during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the number of monks in Shaolin was 2.5 thousand people. But in 644, the country had an extremely dry and lean summer, and this led to famine. The people, of course, rebelled against the emperor, and he was overthrown. The Qin generation succeeded the dynasty.

The new emperor did not have the slightest confidence in the monks and disbanded them. He even forbade the practice of martial arts. Naturally, training was carried out, but secretly. The temple had a huge impact on the northern part of China,therefore, in order to strengthen his power, the emperor ordered the destruction of the monastery. As a result, it was set on fire, and it almost completely burned down.

The collapse of the temple

Restoration began only a year later and only after the temple was heavily taxed and the practice of martial arts banned. Thus, two styles were created: Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan. They were not considered combatants and did not threaten anyone. But these were not all the troubles destined for the temple.

In 1928, one of the battles of the civil war unfolded on the territory of the monastery. A fire broke out that blazed for several days. All 16 halls burned down, and the temple was completely destroyed. Restoration could only happen with the help of the country's authorities, and only by 1980 was it possible to fully restore Shaolin. Today the monastery is a national relic of China. Training is still taking place there.

Wushu

Martial arts have greatly influenced the temple of the arts. At the MHC, teachers often go over this topic, telling students about the displacement of gymnastics by martial arts. Therefore, the most famous of them are classified as cultural values of China. Wushu gained great popularity. The martial art takes its name from collective names.

According to legend, wushu originated in the Shaolin Monastery, thanks to the Indian monk Bodhiharma. He came to preach in the temple, but the local natives did not understand him. Disappointed, he turned to the wall and sat in one position for 9 years! All this time he was meditating. The monk fell asleep only once, and when he woke up, he tore his eyelashes out of anger. They arebetrayed him at the crucial moment. A tea tree has grown from the discarded eyelashes. Since then, the Chinese have always brewed strong tea to relax.

Wushu is a special set of trainings that consist of silence, contemplation, meditation and special physical exercises. Based on this wrestling, many other martial arts have been developed.

Conclusion

The Temple of the Arts shown in the article is an example of one of the most outstanding. Its significance, history and influence on people is very great. In fact, there are a great many such places in the world. There is a temple of arts in every country, and, as a rule, there is more than one.

These include tetras, in which new branches of art are born every day, museums that conquer with their expositions, churches that store great cultural monuments, such as icons. The Temple of Arts, whose photo captivates with its beauty, can be proud of its choreographic, musical, and visual heritage. One should know and be proud of such places.