Stone Wall

As I was walking through the Shaolin Monastery (aka Shaolin Temple), I came across a stone wall that had a narrow rock shoved into a crevice. Everything I saw at the Shaolin Monastery seemed to have some sort of significance. Therefore, I thought there might be a story behind this as well... and I started taking some photos of it. As I was doing this, a tour guide walked past (that spoke English) and I asked for an explanation of this specific wall. She just giggled at me and said something in Chinese that sounded like "silly white person"... so I don't think there is anything special about this wall. Nonetheless, the picture came out pretty well and I can pretend that kung fu masters use this wall to practice throwing rocks and swords. 

Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple

The Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple refers to the 228 stone or brick pagodas built from 791 AD during the Tang Dynasty through the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty. The levels, or storeys, on the pagodas must be odd numbers (from 1 to 7) and are based on the achievements of the Buddhist masters they were built for. The higher the pagoda, the more "badass" the monk. The era the pagodas were built, affects the shape (round or square) and the number of sides (4 or 6). The pagoda forest in Shaolin stands at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain and is one of the largest pagoda forests in China. It was named a national scenic spot in 1996 (and is now a UNESCO world heritage site).

Most of the Pagoda Forest is stone and brick structures, ranging from one to seven storeys, less than fifteen meters high -- much smaller than pagodas for Buddhist relics -- and all carry the exact year of their construction and many carvings and inscriptions. They are in a variety of styles, but are mainly multi-eaved and of pavilion-style. Their shapes are varied, including polygonal, cylindrical, vase, conical and monolithic, making the pagoda forest an exhibition of ancient pagodas, carvings and calligraphy of various dynasties. Besides the pagoda forest there are many invaluable tomb pagodas scattered around the Shaolin Temple, including the Faro Pagoda built in 689 in the Tang Dynasty, the Tongguang Pagoda constructed in 926 in the Five Dynasties, the Yugong Pagoda erected in 1324 in the Yuan Dynasty, and the Zhaogong Pagoda built in the Ming Dynasty.

Reference: Wikipedia

Finger Punching Tree at Shaolin Monastery

The little "divots" you see in this tree are caused by monks that are practicing "finger punching". I didn't quite believe it at first (sounded like something out of a Kill Bill movie)... however, when you get up close, the divots are definitely the size of a finger. I'm not quite sure what else could have caused it (wikipedia also confirmed this information). In this photo, one of my work colleagues decided that he needed some practice. 

So You Want to Learn Kung Fu... Statues at the Shaolin Monastery

During a work trip to Northern China, I was lucky enough to take a detour to the Shaolin Monastery (aka Shaolin Temple) in Henan province. The Shaolin Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for Shaolin Kung Fu! It was a pretty awesome place to visit (apparently, it's every Chinese kid's fantasy to learn kung fu here). These are a couple photos I took of the various statues on the property.