Everyone is competing for the name of South Shaolin Temple. Which Shaolin Temple in Fujian has the best conditions?

"Shaolin, Shaolin, how many heroes come here. Shaolin, Shaolin, how many magical stories are circulating around you ... "

1982, with the popularity of the action movie Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, this passionate song spread all over the streets, and Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan Province has also become a place that many teenagers yearn for. Movie star Wang came from a poor family in his early years. He went to Songshan Shaolin Temple to make a living and became a lay disciple for six years.

Photo of Wang Shaolin Temple

There is a saying of "Shaolin in North and South" in history. At that time, Jet Li starred in the action film "North and South Shaolin" directed by Liu Jialiang, which became a hit in Shaolin Temple. There is no doubt that north shaolin here refers to Shaolin Temple in Songshan, and where does South Shaolin refer to?

In Fujian province, there are three Shaolin temples, all vying for the name of South Shaolin.

There are three Shaolin temples in Fujian, which are located in Putian, Quanzhou and Fuqing. We usually call them Putian Shaolin Temple, Quanzhou Shaolin Temple and Fuqing Shaolin Temple respectively.

Putian Shaolin Temple is located in Jiulian Mountain Village, Xitianwei Town, Licheng District, Putian City. Founded in 577, it was formerly known as Linquan Temple. In the Tang Dynasty, thirteen stick monks in Songshan Shaolin Temple made great contributions to the rescue of Li Shimin, the king of the Tang Dynasty. After Li Shimin proclaimed himself emperor, Tan Zong, abbot of Songshan Shaolin Temple, rebuilt and expanded Linquan Temple in Putian, Fujian, forming a large-scale Shaolin Temple. By the Qing Dynasty, the Shaolin Temple in Putian covered an area of more than 20,000 square meters.

Putian Shaolin temple

Unfortunately, due to the inextricable relationship between Putian Shaolin Temple and the Heaven and Earth Society, it was destroyed by the Qing court and disappeared into the depths of history.

1986, archaeologists discovered the site of Shaolin Temple in Putian. 1992, Fujian Province rebuilt the Shaolin Temple in Putian on the original site, bringing the Millennium Temple back to life. 201212 On February 28th, the master of emptiness became the first abbot of Putian Shaolin Temple.

Quanzhou Shaolin Temple is located at the eastern foot of Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou. Its founder is also related to the thirteen stick monks in the Tang Dynasty, and he is one of the thirteen stick monks, the Zen master Zhikong. The Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou is also large in scale, and there has been a grand occasion of "a thousand monks in the temple, a hundred hectares of fertile land and lush trees".

Quanzhou Shaolin Temple

But the fate of Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou is more tragic than that of Shaolin Temple in Putian. For thousands of years, Quanzhou Shaolin Temple was destroyed three times for various reasons and rebuilt several years later. In 2006, Master Chang Ding became the first abbot after the reconstruction of Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou.

As Hong Xiguan, the founder of Hongquan, walked out of Quanzhou Shaolin Temple and trained a large number of descendants including Huang Feihong through Hong Xiguan, Quanzhou Shaolin Temple has great influence at home and abroad.

Perhaps because of this, when Mr. Jin Yong visited Fujian in 2004, he visited the Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou by name, and happily wrote the words "Shaolin Wushu has a long history, spread to the south and carried forward" with the word 16.

Fuqing Shaolin Temple is located in Shaolin Natural Village, East Jang Jin, Fuqing City. It was founded in Fujian by one of the thirteen stick monks in the Tang Dynasty. For thousands of years, Fuqing Shaolin Temple has not escaped the fate of being destroyed by the war, leaving only a relic.

Fuqing Shaolin temple

1993, archaeologists discovered the site of Fuqing Shaolin Temple and found thousands of cultural relics, which confirmed the evidence of the existence of Fuqing Shaolin Temple. 1994, Fujian Province decided to rebuild Fuqing Shaolin Temple. The news came out that people from all walks of life in Fuqing and overseas Chinese actively raised funds, and a certain * * * raised 50 million yuan for the reconstruction of Shaolin Temple in Fuqing. In 2008, Master Guo Yong became the first abbot of Fuqing Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin Temple in Putian, Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou and Shaolin Temple in Fuqing have their own characteristics and origins. In recent years, the three Shaolin temples have been arguing over the name of South Shaolin. In this regard, Songshan Shaolin Temple has never made a clear statement, but the abbot Shi Yongxin once said an interesting sentence: "As the abbot of Shaolin Temple, it is not convenient for me to comment on' South Shaolin' ... I can only say this-I have never seen the word' South Shaolin' in all the books of Shaolin Temple. However, there is a' North Shaolin Temple', but the word' North' does not refer to our Shaolin Temple in Songshan. "

shi yongxin

According to Shi Yongxin, there is no such thing as South Shaolin in the world. Moreover, Shi Yongxin refused to recognize Songshan Shaolin Temple as north shaolin, but referred to the Shaolin Temple in Jixian County, Tianjin. Obviously, Shi Yongxin regards Songshan Shaolin Temple as the "headquarters" of Shaolin Temple.

For Shi Yongxin's statement, the abbot of Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou often expressed disapproval. He put forward the view that South Shaolin has existed since ancient times and must be in Fujian. Because it is recorded in Chapter 12 of Shaolin Boxing's secret book The Change of Shaolin in Ming Dynasty, there are two Shaolin temples in China, one in Zhongzhou and the other in Fujian.

Stills of the old movie "North and South Shaolin"

In my opinion, the Shaolin Temple in Putian, the Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou and the Shaolin Temple in Fuqing were all founded by thirteen stick monks of Songshan Shaolin Temple, and they were all inheritors of north shaolin, which played a role in spreading Buddhist culture in Fujian, so they can all be called South Shaolin Temple. In this way, is there a lot of portal disputes?