Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Monastery or Shaolin Temple (Chinese: 少林寺; pinyin: Shàolín Sì; Wade–Giles: Shao⁴-lin² Szu⁴, pronounced [ʂɑ̂ʊ̯lǐn sî]; Cantonese Yale: Siulàhm Jí) is a Chán Buddhist temple on Mount Song, near Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. It is led by Abbot Shi Yongxin. Founded in the fifth century, the monastery is long famous for its association with Chinese martial arts and particularly with Shaolin Kung Fu, and it is the best known Mahayana Buddhist monastery to the Western world.^[1]

Shaolin Monastery and its famed Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng."^[2]


The shào (少) in "Shaolin" refers to Shaoshi Mountain (少室山), one of the seven mountains forming the Songshan mountain range; it is on this mountain the Temple is situated. The word lín (林) means "forest". The word sì (寺) means "monastery/temple". The taijiquan master Zhang Zuyao^[3] incorrectly translated "Shaolin" as "young (new) forest" or sometimes "little forest". This newer translation is commonly accepted today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaolin_Monastery