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It has been suggested that this article be merged with Foreign influence on Chinese martial arts. (Discuss)

Disputed claims that a form of Chinese martial arts, Shaolin kung fu come from Indian martial arts or are influenced by Indian martial arts via Bodhidharma are complicated by disputes over Bodhidharma's origins and history as well as the documented existence of martial arts in China—and specifically at the Shaolin Monastery—prior to the purported arrival of Bodhidharma.

Disputed claim: Bodhidharma's knowledge of martial arts

It has been claimed that:

• Historical texts speak of Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Chan Buddhism, a Brahmin born in Kacheepuram (sic) in Tamil Nadu, in 522 A.D. arriving at the courts of the Chinese Emperor Liang Nuti, (sic) of the 6th dynasty, as the person responsible for bringing Kalaripayattu from India to China.

• He taught meditative and physical exercises to the chinese monks so that they could defend themselves against the frequent attacks of bandits.

It is not until centuries after Bodhidharma's death that the "Jingde Chuandenglu" (1004) makes the first explicit association between Bodhidharma and the Shaolin temple. However, it contains no record of Bodhidharma teaching martial arts to the Shaolin monks or reference to any fighting skill or martial prowess on his part.

The association of Bodhidharma with martial arts can be traced to the Yi Jin Jing, though its authenticity has been discredited by several historians such as Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Matsuda Ryuchi. This argument is summarized by modern historian Lin Boyuan in his Zhongguo wushu shi as follows:

As for the “Yi Jin Jing” (Muscle Change Classic), a spurious text attributed to Bodhidharma and included in the legend of his transmitting martial arts at the temple, it was written in the Ming dynasty, in 1624 CE, by the Daoist priest Zining of Mt. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma. Forged prefaces, attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao were written. They say that, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest; when the monks opened this chest they found the two books “Xi Sui Jing” (Marrow Washing Classic) and “Yi Jin Jing” within. The first book was taken by his disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, “the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to having obtained this manuscript.” Based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors, absurdities and fantastic claims; it cannot be taken as a legitimate source.

According to Matsuda, none of the contemporary texts written about the Shaolin martial arts before the 19th century even mention Bodhidharma, let alone credit him with the creation of the Shaolin martial arts.

The association of Bodhidharma with martial arts became widespread with the 1904–1907 serialization of the novel The Travels of Lao Ts'an in Illustrated Fiction Magazine.

Shaolin monastery records state that two of its very first monks, Huiguang and Sengchou, were expert in the martial arts years before the arrival of Bodhidharma. None of the canonical Buddhist sources associates Bodhidharma with martial arts whereas they do note Sengchou's skill with the tin staff.

Years before the arrival of Bodhidharma, Huiguang and Sengchou, were experts in the martial arts by the time they became two of the very first Shaolin monks as disciples of Buddhabhadra (Batuo), the founding abbot of the Shaolin monastery. None of the canonical Buddhist sources associates Bodhidharma with martial arts whereas they do note Sengchou's skill with the tin staff.

The discovery of arms caches in the monasteries of Chang'an during government raids in 446 AD suggests that Chinese monks practiced martial arts prior to the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery in 497. Monks came from the ranks of the population among whom the martial arts were widely practiced prior to the introduction of Buddhism. Moreover, Chinese monasteries, not unlike those of Europe, in many ways were effectively large landed estates, that is, sources of considerable wealth which required protection that had to be supplied by the monasteries' own manpower.

In addition, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue, the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty and the Records of the Grand Historian all document the existence of martial arts in China before Bodhidharma. The martial arts Shuāi Jiāo and Sun Bin Quan, to name two, predate the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery by centuries.

Bodhidharma is associated with the idea that spiritual, intellectual and physical excellence are an indivisible whole necessary for enlightenment. Such an approach to enlightenment ultimately proved highly attractive to the Samurai class in Japan, who made Zen their way of life, following their encounter with the martial-arts-oriented Zen Rinzai School introduced to Japan by Eisai in the 12th century. Yet in some versions of his legend, Bodhidharma's focus was so single-minded during his nine years of meditation that his legs atrophied.

The evolution of the Bodhidharma legend and the attachment to Indian martial arts

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a legend as "An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.", "A body or collection of such stories.", "A romanticized or popularized myth of modern times." An interesting trait of many legends is the ability of the legends to evolve over time. Historians like Meir Shahar have noted the evolution of the Bodhidharma legend with the brief original statements on his travels in the 6th century A.D., from being a Persian in the 6th century A.D. to a South Indian in the 7th century A.D., to his association with tea in the 10th century A.D., and finally to his association with martial arts in the 17th-19th century A.D. The first mention of the legend within the Yì Jīn Jīng during the 17th-19th century A.D. stated that Bodhidharma noted that the monks were physically weak, and after meditating within a cave in China, left a booklet containing physical exercises that formed the basis of the first exercises for the Shaolin style of Chinese martial arts. More recent additions in modern times have added that Bodhidharma no longer discovered the exercise regiments after meditating in a cave, but actually was a practitioner of an Indian martial art (either kalaripayattu or some other form of Indian martial art) and brought it from India to China. Historians at academic institutions have disclaimed this association as unfounded with various non-academic authors in the lay public either stating the association as a legend, stating the association as fact, giving both viewpoints, or disclaiming the association. Below is an abbreviated list of authors who have written on the subject:

Academic historians who disclaim the association with martial arts: Tang Hao ., Xu Zhen , Matsuda Ryuchi, Paul Pelliot . , Stanley Henning, Michael Spiessbach , Lin Buoyang, Bernard Faure .

Academic historians who state that accounts are legend: Heinrich Dumoulin, J. A. G. Roberts and Meir Shahar. and Kenneth Ch'en.

Disputed claim: Bodhidharma's origins

It has been claimed that:

• Historical texts speak of Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Chan Buddhism,a Brahmin born in Kacheepuram (sic) in Tamil Nadu, in 522 A.D. arriving at the courts of the Chinese Emperor Liang Nuti, (sic) of the 6th dynasty, as the person responsible for bringing Kalaripayattu from India to China.

• The texts describe Bodhidharma's birth in the modern southern Indian state of Kerala around 440 during the Pallavas' rule. He is told to be a clan prince in a poor hunter class and was well versed in martial arts.

No canonical Buddhist source specifies the year, the kingdom or the jāti into which Bodhidharma was born.

The claim that Bodhidharma was South Indian has its origins in Tanlin's preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts, which does not specify Bodhidharma's varna.

The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region. He was the third son of a great Indian King.

— Tanlin, The Two Entrances and Four Acts (pre-645)

Roughly a century after Bodhidharma's death, Daoxuan faithfully copied Tanlin's preface for his account of Bodhidharma's life in the "Xu Gaoseng Zhuan" but added that Bodhidharma was of Brahmin descent.

Bodhidharma of South Indian Brahman stock.

— Daoxuan, Xu Gaoseng Zhuan (645)

However, the earliest known reference to Bodhidharma is Yang Xuanzhi's eyewitness account, which identifies Bodhidharma specifically as a Persian from Central Asia.

At that time there was a monk of the Western Region named Bodhidharma, a Persian Central Asian. He traveled from the wild borderlands to China.

— Yang Xuanzhi, The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Lo-yang (547)

According to Jeffrey L. Broughton, "an early sixth-century Iranian Buddhist master who made his way to North China via the fabled Silk Road…is, in fact, more likely than a South Indian master who made his way by the sea route".

There are no Indian primary sources on Bodhidharma.

Disputed claim: Shaolin Temple mural

See Foreign influence on Chinese martial arts for further information from a different viewpoint.

The Shaolin Temple in China contains fresco murals with dark-skinned, not black, but similar in skin tone to Indians, monks teaching ostensibly Chinese monks fighting forms. On the mural that survived three fires between 1644 to 1927, it says in Chinese script "Tenjiku Naranokaku" translating as "the fighting techniques to train the body from India ...

Cited in support of the Indian progeniture of Shaolin kung fu is a fresco painted during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) depicting light-skinned and dark-skinned monks sparring, supposedly inscribed and translated in Japanese as "Tenjiku Naranokaku," which translates as "the fighting techniques to train the body from India..." Elsewhere, however, the title is given in Chinese as "Quanpu Bihua," which translates as "Boxing Drills Mural."

References

1. Cephas, Shawn (1994). "The Root of Warrior Priests in the Martial Arts". Kungfu Magazine. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
2. "India and China". Hindu Wisdom (Formerly A Tribute to Hinduism).
3. Lin, Boyuan (1996). Zhōngguó wǔshù shǐ 中國武術史 (in Chinese). Taipei 臺北: Wǔzhōu chūbǎnshè 五洲出版社. pp. 182–183.
4. Lin 1996:183
5. Tang Hao 唐豪 (1968) . Shàolín Wǔdāng kǎo 少林武當考 (in Chinese). Hong Kong 香港: Qílín tushu.
6. Matsuda Ryuchi 松田隆智 (1986). Zhōngguó wǔshù shǐlüè 中國武術史略 (in Chinese). Taipei 臺北: Danqing tushu.
7. Lin 1996:183
8. Such as Cheng Zongyou's Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method or Zhang Kongzhao's Boxing Classic: Essential Boxing Methods.
9. Henning, Stanley (1994). "Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan". Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii. 2 (3): 1–7. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
10. Canzonieri, Salvatore (1998). "History of Chinese Martial Arts: Jin Dynasty to the Period of Disunity". Han Wei Wushu. 3 (9). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
11. Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 50.553c–554a,559b
12. Kelly, Jeffrey J. (1994). "Amazing Stories From the Shaolin Temple". Black Belt Magazine. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
13. Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 50.553c–554a,559b
14. Henning, Stanley (1999b). "Martial Arts Myths of Shaolin Monastery, Part I: The Giant with the Flaming Staff". Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii. 5 (1).
15. Henning 1999b
16. Henning 1999b
17. Canzonieri, Salvatore. "The Emergence of the Chinese Martial Arts". Han Wei Wushu (23).
18. Dumoulin 2005:86
19. Tang Hao 唐豪 (1968) . Shàolín Wǔdāng kǎo 少林武當考 (in Chinese). Hong Kong 香港: Qílín tushu.
20. Such as Cheng Zongyou's Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method or Zhang Kongzhao's Boxing Classic: Essential Boxing Methods.
21. In his "Notes on some artists of the Six Dynasties and the Tang," Paul Pelliot asserts that all accounts of Bodhidharma are legendary.
22. Henning, Stanley (1999b). "Martial Arts Myths of Shaolin Monastery, Part I: The Giant with the Flaming Staff". Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii. 5 (1).
23. Lin, Boyuan (1996). Zhōngguó wǔshù shǐ 中國武術史 (in Chinese). Taipei 臺北: Wǔzhōu chūbǎnshè 五洲出版社. p. 183.
24. Faure, Bernard (1986). "Bodhidharma as Textual and Religious Paradigm". History of Religions. 25 (3). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
25. Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History, India and China. Trans. James W. Heisig and Paul Knitter. Bloomington: World Wisdom. p. 85. ISBN 0-941532-89-5. ...it is legend we are dealing with here, not only because of the total lack of reliable historical data but also because of the very evident motives that lie behind the story.
26. J.A.G. Roberts (2003) . The Complete History of China. New York: Sutton Publishing.
27. "India and China". Hindu Wisdom (Formerly A Tribute to Hinduism).
29. "Western Region" is the Chinese literary term for the region that encompasses the territory between present-day Kazakhstan in the north and the tip of the Indian subcontinent in the south. "The Dharma Master was from South India, which is part of the Western Region" is a valid interpretation of this sentence.
30. Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999). The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21972-4.
31. Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History, India and China. Bloomington: World Wisdom. ISBN 0-941532-89-5.
32. Broughton 1999:138. 'The intriguing line, of course is po-szu kuo hu-jen ("a Persian Central Asian"). According to Berthold Laufer, Sino-Iranica (1919; reprint, Taipei: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, 1978), 194-95, the term hu relates to Central Asia and particularly to peoples of Iranian extraction. What we seem to have is an Iranian speaker who hailed from somewhere in Central Asia.'
33. Broughton 1999:54
34. Broughton 1999:54
35. "India and China". Hindu Wisdom (Formerly A Tribute to Hinduism).
36. "India and China". Hindu Wisdom (Formerly A Tribute to Hinduism).

• Chinese martial arts
• Indian martial arts