Temple of the Arts: description and types

From the films and books people got the impression that in China every temple of the arts is a military academy, and the master of such arts necessarily professes some religion. This is not true. In China, as in the whole world, temples and monasteries have always been the center of religious practice. A martial arts temple was concerned about its protection in everyday 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 admired to this day. The monastery itself is located in Henan province, on the slope of the mountain. Each of its tiers is higher than the other, so the general view of the monastery resembles a ladder.

The history of the appearance of Buddhism in China

It is commonly believed that the temple of martial arts was founded in 495. At the end of the 4th century, the northern part of the country was under the rule of nomads of the Toba family. They went down in history under the name "tabgachi". Later, they founded the Wei Empire. The founder of this empire Gui was a practical man, he allowed to profess 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 all books and execute all the monks, regardless of their age. Heir to the throne delayed the decree, which made it possible to save many icons, books and hide themselves to the monks. In 452, his grandson came to power and abolished the grandfathers decree on Buddhism. The new ruler allowed even to build pagodas, however, no more than one for 4-50 monks in the county. The Buddhists did not threaten death any more, and the emperor shaved his head as a sign of respect for such teaching.

In 465, the next heir of the dynasty entered the throne, who was a true Buddhist in the soul. Toba Hung even built a huge statue of Buddha. In 471, Toba renounced the throne for his son and went to a Buddhist monastery, but continues to lead political affairs. In 475, he issued a decree on the sacrifice of animals. Thus, at the end of the 5th century, Buddhism acquires a strong position in the territory of northern China.

History of the temple

The foundation of the temple is attributed to an Indian preacher, who was called Bato. Nobody knows if he knew the technique of martial arts, but to this day the names of his two pupils have been preserved. First - Senchou - martial arts master, successor Bato. They say that, jumping up, he could reach even to the ceiling, fighting better than anyone in hand-to-hand combat. The second student was called Hueguan. He could fill the Chinese football shuttle with 500 punches at a time.

On March 31, 495, the Shaolin Temple was officially founded. The whole history of China has about 10 temples with this name, but to this day only one has survived. His name is Songshan Shaolins.

The monastery was built in very difficult times for the country. Then China was almost broken into 3 parts, which fought without end between each other. Therefore, the monastery of Shaolin was repeatedly subjected to enemy attacks. Since the monks showed steadfastness and special persistence to learning, it allowed them to adequately respond to opponents in the attack.

Why the study of martial art has stopped

After the end of the wars in China and the centralization of power, the emperor took Shaolin under his control. 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 studied for protection, so stop training. Thus, the martial arts temple has lost the study of combat skills and their training for 100 years.

The training of monks was divided into two types: practical meditation and understanding of the life path. Later realized that the monks are too weak and will not be able to reach their plans only through one meditation. And to improve their position, Bodhidharma taught them the oldest kind of martial art "The Fist of Eighteen Arhats", tempering and overall strengthening of the body. Later, to the main exercises added exercises with a spear, pole, sword and other weapons.

Getting the status of a monastery

In 621, rebel actions were launched in China aimed at overthrowing the emperor. He fought to the last and, when he had nowhere to retreat, he and his army came under the walls of Shaolin. The monks responded to his request and defended their emperor. 13 of the best masters dispersed the rebels and some were captured, in their temple of the arts. This indicated the highest training of people. As stated in the annals, the battle itself lasted no more than one hour. It is interesting that none of the monks was wounded.

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, guarding both the country's neighborhood and the imperial possessions. The emperor ordered his generals to take lessons in combat skills.

The temple of the arts received equal rights along with the imperial army, the Shaolin martial arts began to develop actively. The monks came to practice in Shaolin and often remained there forever, as happened with 18 monks with different styles of combat.

Ming and Qin

The summit of the development of the temple reached during the reign of the Ming dynasty. In those days, the number of monks in Shaolin was 2.5 thousand people. But in 644 the country had an extremely dry and barren summer, and this led to a famine. The people, of course, rebelled against the emperor, and he was deposed. The dynasty was replaced by the Qin generation.

The new emperor did not have the slightest confidence in the monks and disbanded them. He even forbade practicing martial arts. Naturally, training was conducted, but secretly. The temple had a huge impact on the northern part of China, therefore, in order to strengthen power, the emperor ordered to destroy the monastery. As a result, he was set on fire, and he almost completely burnt.

The collapse of the temple

Restoration began only a year later and only after the temple was imposed huge taxes and a ban on the practice of martial arts. So there were created two styles: Qigong and Taiji-chuan. They were not considered militant and did not threaten anyone. But these were not all the woes predestined by the temple.

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

Wushu

Martial arts greatly influenced the temple of arts. According to the MHC, teachers often pass this topic, telling students about the repression of gymnastics by martial arts. Therefore, the most famous of them are attributed to the cultural values of China. Wushu was very popular. Martial art takes its name from collective names.

According to legend, Wushu originated in the monastery of Shaolin, thanks to the Indian monk Bodhiharma. He came to preach to the temple, but local natives did not understand him. Disappointed, he turned to the wall and sat in the same position for 9 years! All this time he was meditating. The monk fell asleep only once, and, waking up, he tore off his eyelashes with anger. They betrayed him at the most crucial moment. A tea tree grew out of the thrown eyelashes. Since then, the Chinese always make strong tea to relax.

Wushu is a special complex of trainings, which consist of silence, contemplation, meditation and special physical exercises. On the basis of this struggle, many other combat sports were developed.

Conclusion

The temple of arts, given in the article - is an example of one of the most outstanding. Its meaning, history and influence on people is very great. In fact, there are a lot of such places in the world. There is a temple of arts in every country, and, as a rule, it is not alone.

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