The Shaolin family 少林
"All martial arts under heaven arose out of Shaolin" goes the saying. History is more complicated – but the Songshan Shaolin Monastery truly shaped Chinese martial culture for 1,500 years.
The temple today
Shaolin Temple (少林寺) sits on Shaoshi peak of Mount Song, near Dengfeng in Henan province. It is a working Chan (Zen) Buddhist monastery. Monks keep a daily rhythm of chanting, seated meditation, study and martial practice. Around it, dozens of private wushu schools train tens of thousands of students. Shaolin cultural centres abroad (New York, Berlin, London, Denver and many more) are led by monks or lay disciples who carry the temple's generation names. You can find them on the Martial Arts Atlas.
Shaolin practitioners describe kung fu and Chan as one path, chan wu yi ti (禪武一體), "Chan and martial arts are one body". Forms are a moving meditation, and seated meditation is the root of calm power.
Inside Shaolin 影片
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Timeline
| 495 CE | Shaolin Monastery founded on Mount Song, Henan, for the Indian monk Batuo. |
| c. 527 | Bodhidharma (Damo) traditionally said to arrive and meditate nine years in a cave; credited by later legend with Yijinjing. |
| 621 | Shaolin monks help Li Shimin (future Tang emperor Taizong) – recorded on the Shaolin stele; the temple is rewarded with land. |
| 1500s | Ming general Yu Dayou and writers like Cheng Zongyou (Shaolin Staff Method, c.1610) praise Shaolin staff fighting; monks fight Japanese pirates (wokou). |
| 1600s–1700s | Barehand boxing (Luohan, Hong Quan) grows; legends of a 'Southern Shaolin' in Fujian appear and inspire Hung Gar, Choy Li Fut, Wing Chun and White Crane stories. |
| 1928 | Much of the temple burned during warlord fighting. |
| 1982 | The film Shaolin Temple (Jet Li) sparks worldwide interest; restoration and schools boom in Dengfeng. |
| 2010 | Shaolin part of UNESCO World Heritage site "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng". |
| 2025 | Shi Yinle appointed abbot after Shi Yongxin was removed amid an investigation. |
Arts that claim Shaolin descent
"Lineage" = documented or long-claimed transmission. "Legend" = traditional story that historians debate.
Chinese Internal
- Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) legend
- Liuhebafa legend
- Qigong lineage
Japanese Budo
- Shorinji Kempo lineage
Northern Chinese
- Changquan (Long Fist) legend
- Tan Tui (Springing Legs) legend
- Tongbeiquan lineage
- Northern Praying Mantis legend
- Eagle Claw legend
- Qin Na lineage
- Drunken Boxing (Zui Quan) legend
- Mizongquan (Lost Track) legend
Okinawan / Japanese
- Karate legend
Shaolin (Henan)
- Shaolin Kung Fu lineage
- Luohan Quan (Arhat Boxing) lineage
- Chinese Weapons (18 Arms) lineage
South Asian
- Kalaripayattu legend
Southern Chinese (Nanquan)
- Hung Gar lineage
- Choy Li Fut lineage
- Wing Chun legend
- White Crane (Fujian) legend
- Southern Praying Mantis legend
- Five Animals (Wu Xing) lineage
- Bak Mei (White Eyebrow) legend
- Dragon Style (Lung Ying) lineage
- Hakka Kuen (Southern Hakka) legend
- Lion & Dragon Dance lineage
Traditional Shaolin curriculum
Barehand forms
- Xiao Hong Quan (Small Red Fist)
- Da Hong Quan (Big Red Fist)
- Luohan Quan & 18 Luohan Hands
- Tong Bei Quan
- Pao Quan (Cannon Fist)
- Qi Xing Quan (Seven Star)
- Chang Hu Xin Yi Men
- Mei Hua Quan (Plum Blossom)
- Animal styles (tiger, crane, snake, mantis, monkey)
Weapons
- Staff – Shaolin Qi Mei Gun, Yin Shou Gun
- Broadsword (dao)
- Straight sword (jian)
- Spear (qiang)
- Spade (yue ya chan)
- Three-section staff, whip chain, meteor hammer