Shaolin Temple is one of China's most renowned Buddhist monasteries, the illustrious ancestral home of Chan Buddhism and the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak on Mount Song, twelve kilometers west of Dengfeng City, and is one of the core scenic areas of the Mount Song scenic region.
Shaolin Temple was founded in the nineteenth year of the Taihe era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (495 AD). Emperor Xiaowen built it to accommodate the eminent Indian monk Batuo. Because it was constructed within the dense forests of Shaoshi Mountain, it was named "Shaolin Temple." In the third year of the Xiaochang era of the Northern Wei (527 AD), the Indian monk Bodhidharma came to Shaolin and meditated facing a wall for nine years in a natural stone cave on Wuru Peak of Shaoshi Mountain, becoming the first to transmit Chan Buddhism. From then on, Shaolin was honored as the "Ancestral Court of Chan Buddhism."
In the early Tang Dynasty, monks of Shaolin such as Zhijian and Tanzong, along with thirteen staff-wielding monks, rendered great service in Qin Prince Li Shimin's campaign against Wang Shichong, earning praise and rewards from the Tang rulers. With strong imperial support, Shaolin Temple developed rapidly during this period, gaining the reputation of "The Number One Monastery Under Heaven," while Shaolin Kung Fu spread its fame far and wide. It reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty. During the Republican era, warlord Shi Yousan set fire to the temple, destroying most of its buildings and reducing its thousand-year legacy to ruins. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the care and support of the Party and the state, Shaolin Temple was revitalized. In particular, the 1982 film Shaolin Temple propelled both the temple and Shaolin Kung Fu to worldwide fame, making them top-tier tourist attractions in Henan and even across the globe.
Since its founding, Shaolin Temple has been world-famous for its Chan Buddhism, martial arts, and medicine. Its influence has endured for centuries, accumulating profound historical and cultural significance. It has been named one of "Zhengzhou's Top Ten Tourist Attractions," one of the country's first "AAAA-level Scenic Areas," and receives more than 1.5 million visitors annually—truly a shining pearl of Central Plains tourism and a sacred destination of Chinese travel.
Inside the temple, crowds of tourists were everywhere, sightseeing and taking photos. Zhu Siqi knew that this was only the outer courtyard of Shaolin Temple. To reach Inner Shaolin, he would need to ask a monk within the temple.
Seeing a young novice monk sweeping the ground, he stepped forward and asked, "Little Master, may I ask where the Guest-Receiving Elder is?"
The novice monk returned the greeting and replied, "The Guest-Receiving Elder works in the south wing behind the main hall. If you go in from here, you'll see it."
"Thank you, little master." Zhu Siqi then headed behind the main hall. There, he saw a room on the southern side with a sign reading "Guest Reception Office." Inside, many monks were working—Shaolin Temple had clearly adopted modern administrative methods.
Someone noticed him enter. A young monk wearing glasses stood up and asked, "Benefactor, may I ask what brings you here?"
"I would like to see your Guest-Receiving Elder."
"The Elder is in the inner room. You may go in yourself." Zhu Siqi thanked him and walked into the inner room.
Inside was an office desk, behind which sat a monk in his forties, with a round face, talking on the phone. Seeing Zhu Siqi enter, he gestured for him to sit and wait.
After finishing the call, the monk asked, "Benefactor, what business do you have with me?"
Zhu Siqi observed him and could tell that the monk had practiced martial arts, but there was no true qi in his body—he was an external-style practitioner.
"I would like to see your abbot," Zhu Siqi said.
"Our abbot does not usually meet visitors," the monk replied smoothly. "If you have something to say, you can tell me. If it's something I can handle, I will."
"I want to enter Inner Shaolin," Zhu Siqi said.
"Inner Shaolin?" The monk was startled. "Who are you?"
He assumed Zhu Siqi must be a disciple of some martial family if he even knew about Inner Shaolin.
"My master was also a member of Shaolin. His name was Liaofan. Have you heard of him?"
"Liaofan?" The monk shook his head. "There's no one here by that name."Of course he hadn't heard of Liaofan—Liaofan had left Shaolin more than fifty years ago, before this monk was even born.
"Then have you heard of Master Zhineng?" Zhu Siqi asked.
This time, the monk did know. When he had entered the monastery, Zhineng had been the head of Inner Shaolin. More than ten years earlier, Zhineng had passed the position to Ruru and gone into seclusion in the back mountains.
"What is your relationship to Master Zhineng?" the monk asked.
"He is my grandmaster. My master, Liaofan, was his second disciple."
At this, the monk was shocked.
"Then I will immediately go see the abbot and ask him to take you to Inner Shaolin," he said, rising at once and leading Zhu Siqi outside.
They passed several side halls and arrived before an ancient, elegant Buddhist building—the residence of the Outer Shaolin abbot.
The monk had Zhu Siqi sit in the main hall while he went inside to see the abbot. In the abbot's meditation room, the abbot was reading scriptures.
"Abbot," the monk reported, "there is a young man outside who wishes to enter Inner Shaolin. He claims to be a disciple's disciple of Master Zhineng."
"Oh?" The abbot raised his head. "All of Master Zhineng's grand-disciples are in Inner Shaolin and have never left. Where would such a person come from?" The abbot himself had come from Inner Shaolin and knew the situation well.
"He says he is a disciple of Liaofan."
"Liaofan—Second Martial Uncle!"The abbot immediately realized that besides his Martial Uncle Liaoping, he had once had another Martial Uncle, Liaofan, who had left Shaolin over fifty years ago and had never been heard from again.
"Quickly invite him in—no, I will go see him myself," the abbot said. "He is my second martial uncle's disciple. He is of the same generation as me."
The two went to the main hall, where a young man was seated. Though his appearance was unremarkable, his eyes were full of spirit. The abbot could sense that he was an internal cultivation expert.
"You are my Martial Uncle Liaofan's disciple?" the abbot asked. "Do you have any proof?"
Seeing how young Zhu Siqi was, the abbot found it hard to believe and wanted confirmation.
"My master left me a string of prayer beads given to him by our grandmaster," Zhu Siqi said. When Liaofan left, he had given Zhu Siqi a string of beads that Master Zhineng had bestowed upon him. Though not a rare item, it was precious to him because it came from his master.
When the abbot saw the beads, he recognized them instantly. His own master and martial uncles had identical ones, which they often held and played with.
He immediately took Zhu Siqi's hand. "Martial Brother, how has your master been? Why hasn't he returned to visit us?"
"My master is well," Zhu Siqi replied. "He enjoys traveling the world and has gone on another journey recently. Before leaving, he instructed me to come to the sect, to acknowledge my roots."
"Good, good," the abbot said. "I'll take you to Inner Shaolin at once. If my master and martial uncles know you've come, they'll be very happy."
The abbot dismissed the Guest-Receiving Elder and led Zhu Siqi toward the back mountains. The path there was much harder to traverse, sometimes requiring them to climb by hand. Halfway up the mountain, surrounded by dense trees, stood a small, unassuming monastery. Yet this was the true essence of Shaolin—Inner Shaolin.
Inside the courtyard, many Shaolin disciples were practicing martial arts. Zhu Siqi recognized at once that they were practicing the acquired Luohan Fist. Passing through the courtyard, they reached a main hall, then went around to several rows of side rooms behind it. At the last row, the abbot stopped before a solitary room, performed a Buddhist salute outside, and respectfully said:
"Disciple Yuanfa pays respects to Master."
From inside came the voice of an elderly man: "Yuanfa, why have you come here instead of attending to matters outside? Come in."
"Yes, Master."
Yuanfa led Zhu Siqi inside.
In the meditation room sat an elderly monk. His exact age was hard to tell—he looked similar in age to Zhu Siqi's master. But Zhu Siqi remembered his master saying that his senior brother was over ten years older than him. Liaofan was already over seventy, which meant this old monk must be nearly ninety. Zhu Siqi was secretly astonished.
Ruru opened his eyes and saw Yuanfa had brought a stranger. He looked at Yuanfa questioningly.
"Master," Yuanfa said quickly, "today there is joyful news. This person is the disciple of Second Martial Uncle. He has come today to acknowledge the sect."
Ruru immediately looked at Zhu Siqi. "You are Second Martial Brother's disciple? How has your master been lately? Why didn't he come himself—was he afraid Master would punish him?"
Ruru recalled how Liaofan used to sneak food and get caught by Zhineng, usually punished by copying scriptures or facing the wall in reflection.
"My master has gone traveling," Zhu Siqi replied. "He instructed this disciple to come and pay respects to Grandmaster and my two martial uncles."
"Your master has always been restless," Ruru said with a smile. "He was the same when he was at Shaolin—vanished as soon as practice ended. Enough of him. What is your name?"
"This disciple is named Zhu Siqi. I have studied under my master for twelve years."
"It's rare that Second Martial Brother could persist in teaching a disciple for twelve years," Ruru said. "It seems your aptitude must be excellent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have put in so much effort."
"This disciple is dull-witted and has learned only a fraction of my master's abilities," Zhu Siqi said modestly.
"Don't be humble," Ruru replied. "I can sense that your true qi is profound. Your skill must be quite good."
"This disciple would not dare claim so. By the way, my master asked me to bring two books for Grandmaster and my martial uncles."
With that, Zhu Siqi took out the two books written by Liaofan from his travel bag.
Ruru took them and saw the titles: Innate Luohan Fist and Dharma Sword Technique. Flipping through them and seeing the accompanying illustrations, he knew at once that these were the true essences of Shaolin.
He immediately said to Yuanfa, "Quickly invite your Third Martial Uncle. Tell him to come and see these books as well. He's a born martial fanatic—if he sees these, he'll jump for joy."
Yuanfa obeyed and went to summon the Third Martial Uncle.
Before long, Liaoping arrived. The moment he entered, he laughed loudly. "Where is Second Martial Brother's disciple? Let me have a look!"
Zhu Siqi saw an elderly monk enter. He wasn't tall, but his muscles were still well-defined, and his eyes were sharp. The monk looked at Zhu Siqi and exclaimed, "Excellent! Your internal energy is very deep—almost on par with mine. I really don't know how Second Martial Brother trained you to produce such a fine disciple."
What he didn't know was that Zhu Siqi's Yi Jin Yi Yuan Gong allowed him to cultivate continuously—whether sleeping or walking—while Yi Jin Jing required seated meditation. Effectively, Zhu Siqi trained twenty-four hours a day. After twelve years, his progress far surpassed that of ordinary practitioners, who would need forty or fifty years to catch up.
When Liaoping saw the two books in Ruru's hands, he grabbed them eagerly. Seeing that they were lost Shaolin supreme arts, he actually jumped up in excitement. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Shaolin's supreme arts have returned!"
Ignoring everyone else, he sat down and began reading. After skimming through them, he grew more and more impatient, itching to experience them firsthand.
Then he noticed Zhu Siqi standing right there—a perfect test subject. He stood up at once, not caring that Ruru was still speaking, grabbed Zhu Siqi's hand, and said:
"Come, Martial Nephew. Let's go outside and have a test. Let me see how your martial arts really are."
Without waiting for anyone's response, he dragged Zhu Siqi out to the open ground.