Shaolin Temple

Japanese: 少林寺 - しょうりんじ

A famous temple at the foot of Mt. Shaoshi, a bi-peak of Mt. Songshan in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China. This is the place where Bodhidharma practiced Zen for nine years and where Huike cut off his arm to allow him to enter the temple. Founded in 496 by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the temple was destroyed during the Northern Zhou Dynasty's anti-Buddhist movement, but was restored during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and many other buildings remain, including the mountain gate, main hall, and main hero hall. It is also known as a mecca for Chinese martial arts, and So Doshin, who studied at the temple, founded Shorinji Kempo (martial arts). In 2010, the buildings and ruins scattered around Dengfeng County, including Shaolin Temple, were registered as a World Heritage Site as the Cultural Assets of Dengfeng, Henan, "In the Middle of Heaven and Earth," for being representative examples of ancient Chinese architecture born from the idea that the center of heaven and earth is the center of heaven and earth.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

中国，河南省登封県嵩山(すうざん)の別峰少室山麓にある名寺。達磨(だるま)が面壁九年して修禅し，慧可(えか)が臂(ひじ)を切って入門を迫った故地。北魏の孝文帝が496年に創建，北周の廃仏にあって伽藍(がらん)が破壊されたが，隋唐代に復活，山門・天主殿・大雄宝殿など多くの建築物がある。中国拳法のメッカとしても知られ，同寺で学んだ宗道臣は〈少林寺拳法〉（拳法）を創始した。少林寺を含む登封県近隣に点在する建造物・遺跡群は2010年，天地の中心であるという思想から生まれた古代中国建築の代表例であることが評価され，〈河南登封の文化財"天地之中"〉として世界文化遺産に登録された。

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