[Jenfucius]

is this true or just a myth?

[Mr. Mantis]

In Fukien provence?

[Jenfucius]

in general

[Nihilanthic]

No, the true Shaolin Temple is floating on a cloud.

[Hannibal]

Oh who the fuck really knows?

The Chinese constantly write and re write their history as it suits them to do so know one can really say where it came from or how it started. If you go to mainland China know there are these so called Shao Lin temples (operating under a communist governement of coarse)that sell their services along with uniforms and a high price tag. Apparently these places are breeding grounds for people who want to make it big in the martial arts movie industry.

[Punisher]

"Agreed, Hannibal, but there was/is only one REAL ACTUAL Shaolin temple, and that is the one in Henan Province, central China."

I've always heard there were two. The northern one in Hunan and later the one in Fukien provence. I've never heard of the southern temple being a myth.

[virtual_mantis]

I've read that there were a series of temples all reffered to as Shaolin.

[Xuanlong Xian]

"The" Shaolin temple is at Songshan in Henan.

One style I've trained in (my master is a *very* fact-reliant sort) was supposedly developed in a "Shaolin" temple at Hengshan in Hunan, which replaced the Fujian Shaolin temple destroyed in the Qing dynasty. So that means at least 3. I don't know what sharing the name entails, really.

[Omar]

They had a bad habit of getting burned down during dynastic changes.

The comment about them constantly rewriting their history is amusing. One of the things the Chinese are notorious for is their historical records. Their bureacracy has always been enourmous whish has made it particularly easy to keep consistant accopunts of the history. Si Ma Qian is noted for his frankness and was in fact castrated as a result of it.

[Boogers]

I've got an Aussie mag where the owner recieved a letter claiming to be Shaolin monks. After months of bogus hype by the Chinese involved he had a gutful and visited. When he met the Bhuddist abbot of the temple, there was only the old guy and a sweeper/cleaner novice who actually lived there. Apparently the abbot found them using the Shaolin name very distasteful and said they trained in Whu Shu at a place a few houses down the road.

I'd be happy to cite my source if anyone wants to. It'll just take me a bit of time to sift through my magazines to find the article, but I'll happily do it! :)