Shaolin Temple

Shaolin temple, built in the 19th ruling year of Emperor Taihe of the Northern Wei Dynasty, is the first Zen Buddhist temple in China. It was built by Emperor Yuan Hong for the use of Indian eminent monk Ba Tuo to settle down to preach Buddhism. The temple was named after its location in mountains and forests. Shaolin temple was included into the 1st groups of Henan provincial key relics and protection articles in 1963. The temple has accommodated building relics, tablets and wall paintings of different dynasties. The articles hereof have not only demonstrated the history of Shaolin temple but also provided valuable materials to study Chinese culture in the aspects of history, martial arts, religion, architecture, calligraphy, sculpture and painting. Shaolin temple is famous for Zen meditation and boxing Kongfu. It is cradle of Chinese martial arts as the old saying goes; world’s Kongfu comes from Shaolin. Shaolin Kongfu is profound and well known for its power, strength, and speed. It had witnessed prosperous development in Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties and had been passed on generation after generation. In the course of over 1500 years, Shaolin Kongfu has absorbed merits of different martial arts schools and stood out owing to its unique style.