The North Shaolin Monastery, originally called “Faxing Temple” was first built in the Wei Jin Dynasty (220 - 317 CE). It is the oldest temple in the very large mostly rural Jixian area. According to the official Shaolin Temple website it became part of the Shaolin family under the auspices of Abbot Fuyu during the Mongolian rule of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE) about a thousand years after Faxing Temple was first built.
The North Shaolin Monastery was adopted into the Shaolin family following the resolution of a 30 year conflict between Taoists and Buddhists on Panshan. “In 1245 Fuyu (1203-1275) was appointed by the first Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan as the abbot of (Songshan) Shaolin Monastery before the former took the throne. (Shaolin.org.cn, “Fuyu”)
Fuyu’s good friend Yelu Chu Cai (Yeh-Lu Ch’u ts’ai) was a Buddhist scholar that worked as a mediator between the Mongolian and Chinese systems of governance and as a leader in a pro-Chinese faction within the Mongol court at that time. He was influential in reorganizing the military and worked to reduce the suffering of the people. Fuyu had earned extraordinary merit in a variety of ways, for example he was famous for inviting martial artists from all over China to the Songshan Shaolin Monastery to harmonize the best of their techniques into an even wider and more effective the Shaolin curriculum. Fuyu was given permission by the Khan to open five other temples, one of which was 70 years later to become the North Shaolin Monastery (“Panshan Zhi” or “History of Panshan” and In the Service of the Khan: Eminent Personalities of the Early Mongol-Yüan Period 1200-1300).
The North Shaolin expanded over the centuries and was a frequent stop for Emperors as they ascended Pan Mountain along the Royal Road.
“According to historical records, from the beginning of the Three Kingdoms to the end of the Qing Dynasty, Panshan was the place where the emperors used to travel. For example, Wei Wudi Cao Cao, Tang Taizong, Liao Taizong, Liao Shengzong, Jin Shizong, until the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and other emperors, strode up the Royal Road in Panshan for ritual Buddhist meditation. Tang Shizong Li Shimin, who came back from the Eastern Expedition, was once stationed in Panshan, leaving a legacy under the North Shaolin Temple: the account stone, and the stones on the four corners. According to legend Tang Taizong stationed in the place.” (Translated from 蓟县武林秘史 ▎北少林寺考)
And yet, North Shaolin Monastery was also just one of 72 Buddhist monasteries on the legendary mountain.
“Unfortunately, the Royal Road was cut when a large dam was built in 1993 about a kilometer below the Temple and is mostly forgotten now except by locals, though many parts of that ancient stone pathway from the original Royal Road remain in the area. It leads up right beside the North Shaolin Monastery and up further through the Ta Lin (pagoda forest graveyard) of “Zhong Fa Si”, meaning Middle Law Temple (because it’s midway up the mountain) to other temples and (locally) famous caves and locations in the mountains. Zhong Fa Si was the ‘central’ monastery on Panshan; it was the training center for most of the monks that went to the 70 temples on the mountain. It was a very large temple.” It is locally believed some or many of the monks at Zheng Fa Si had been Wang Ye or cousins of the Emperors. The father of Emperor Kangxi, the Shunzhi Emperor (reigned 1643 – 1661) and first Qing Dynasty Emperor to rule over China gave up the throne to his son Kangxi to become a monk. Thus, it might not be a great surprise that some or even many royal cousins and other family members might follow this tradition and enter the monastery.” (The North Shaolin Monastery, History, Culture and Reincarnation).
Also see November 17th, 2013 interview with Mr. Yao, the Taiwanese American gentleman who rebuilt Zong Fa Si’s Ta Lin starting in about 2005, published January, 2014 - Rebuilding the Northern Shaolin Temple: Part VIII Spirit of the Masters.
Dynasties rose and fell, floods and fires came and went, yet the North Shaolin Monastery survived until 1928 during the War or Resistance against Japanese Aggression when the entire mountain was burned as it was a base for the Chinese resistance movement. They had a bank located in a cave for storing gold even though people were starving; they had a grenade factory even though people were routinely killed for their efforts to win back their freedom. Such was their unshakable determination.
During the wars and resulting chaos and poverty that followed, much of the surviving parts of the ancient monastery was carted off by migrant villagers to rebuild their own homes. Even the location of the North Shaolin was lost as most of the traditional villagers had left in the churning mass migrations during the wars. But then, it was found again.
“That discovery process was led by Mr. Gao Wenshan, one of the first professors to graduate from the Tianjin Institute of Physical Education, Professional Wushu Program. In 1979, he first heard there was a Northern Shaolin.
“At the beginning of the 1980’s Mr. Gao took part in a Wushu performance in Tianjin and met up with Shang Bao Liang, the 6th Successor of the Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. After that he visited Jixian many times looking for the Temple, and finally found the 13 storied pagoda that led him to first suspect that it was the answer to his long quest for the North Shaolin Monastery. Following that he wrote the book Research of North Shaolin Temple (北少林寺考) which proved to be a major contribution to further researchers.
“Following a clue given by Mr. Gao, a journalist came to the Wa Yao Village. Standing in the yard of Wei Fang, a villager, he saw the Pagoda, a “white Buddhist pagoda towering like a giant.” Wei Fang said that people called it the “Rouge Tower” and it is in fact the site of a gem Buddhist Pagoda. He subsequently found out that Chinese soldiers had held meetings there during the War of Resistance against Japanese Invaders. “The Japanese invaders fired all the temples here, and only this Pagoda survived.”
My Journey
It was nine years ago this time of year when I first drove here. Back then there was only the White Tower and no monastery - that could be seen. I remember a news article I’d read:
“Shaolin Temple in Henan province will spend 2 billion yuan ($292.92 million) to rebuild a temple in Jixian county of Tianjin, United Daily News reported, according to chinataiwan.org.
“After several rounds of fierce competition between architects from all over the world, Liu Peisen from Taiwan won the bidding with a plan to preserve the temple's traditional Tang and Song dynasties-era (AD 618-1279) look but also use environmentally-friendly and power-saving technologies.”
(Shaolin temple to spend $292m to rebuild North Shaolin Temple chinadaily.com.cn 2009-09-28)
Somehow I found my way there and met Wei Ming and his family and he introduced me to Panshan’s Master Shāng Mián Huī - Seventh generation Master of North Shaolin Kung Fu and many other luminaries of the mountain. Back then I spoke almost no Chinese but somehow we all communicated well enough. It was late fall and cold so after that visit that I stopped at a small roadside farmer’s restaurant and had the most delicious soup in my life - hot and steamy real food, countryside soul food, the stuff that warms inside and out.
Why did I come to China in the first place? A tiny article in a martial art magazine in late 2008 I read in South Korea saying that the location of North Shaolin had been found. In February 2009 I moved to China.
So much has changed yet so much is the same - still it’s nice to have a growing family at North Shaolin - an inclusive family - the Shaolin family that discriminates against no one and welcomes all.
After our chat I went up the mountain with one of the younger monks to visit the monastery itself. I chatted with several of the 10 or so construction workers and we took some photos. So wonderful to be home again.
For Rebuilding the Northern Shaolin Temple: Part 16, click here.
