The Shaolin Monastery has been an important center in the development of Chinese martial arts for over fifteen centuries. The monastery is situated in Henan Province, about ten miles northwest of Dengfen a town at the western foot of Mt. Songshan. Shaolin Monastery was built in 495 under the patronage of Emperor Xiaowen (reigned 471-500) of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The temple was built in the remains of a forest that had been cleared or burned down. At the time of the building of the temple, the emperor's gardeners also planted new trees. Thus the temple was named "young (or new) forest," which is Shaolin in Mandarin. The Shaolin philosophy is one that started from Buddhism and later adopted many Taoist principles to become a new sect. Many temples that were Taoist or Buddhist at their creation, became Shaolin. They were a member of a new order, a blending of the primary Chinese philosophies of the time. Historical material suggests that almost immediately after its founding, self-defense or some other form of physical training was part of life in the monastery.
Shortly after its foundation, the Bodhidharma arrived at the monastery. Many credit him with the development of the martial arts training, including the introduction of the skills he brought from India to the systems employed. In addition, it is believed that he encouraged the study of the Chinese system of medicine and medians within the human body. This served both in the healing abilities, and in understanding the effectiveness of the striking points and where to target their blows.
Other temples sprung from Henan. This happened because the original temple suffered repeated attacks, alternated with periods of inactivity as the reigning Imperial and regional leaders feared the martial powers of the not-always neutral monks. Practitioners of Shaolin would leave the temple to teach privately (in Pai) or at other Buddhist or Taoist temples. In rare cases, a new Shaolin Temple would be erected (such as at Kwangtung or Fukien) or converted to Shaolin from a pre-existing temple (such as O Mei Shan, or Wu-Tang).
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