Chinese: 法王寺 | |
 The temple entrance from the south. In the background is the Taishi range. | |
  Temple Location of the temple in China | |
| Alternative name | The full official name in English letters is da fa wang si, "Dharma King Temple," where da fa wang is the name of the Buddha given by his disciples to Sakyamuni.[1] English usually shortens this to Fa Wang or Fa-Wang or Dafawang and uses monastery for si instead of temple. |
|---|---|
| Location | Mount Song |
| Region | Dengfeng, Henan, central China |
| Coordinates | 34°30′08″N 113°01′36″E / 34.50234174969901°N 113.02676773893673°E |
| Part of | UNESCO global geopark |
| Length | 326 m (357 yd)[citation needed] |
| Width | 73 m (80 yd)[citation needed] |
| History | |
| Founded | Constantly repaired and improved since initial construction in 71 AD. |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Restored, improved, updated, secularized. |
| Ownership | People's Republic of China |
| Management | Shaolin Temple Management Committee, of which the Abbott is Director. They are responsible to the National People’s Congress. |
| Public access | Paid admission |
| Website | https://www.kungfuchina-fawang-temple.com/ |
Fawang Temple (Chinese: 法王寺) is a modern Chinese Buddhist monastery located 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of the town of Dengfeng in Henan province, China. Situated at the bottom of the Yuzhu Peak of Mount Song, the monastery claims to be the descendant of the second Buddhist monastery constructed in China. However, the type of Buddhism espoused before the revolution was Chan (ancestor of Japanese Zen), which had not yet evolved in the time of the monastery's legendary founding.
The modern management are careful to use the term "secularized" of the associated martial arts school, defining it to mean "unconstrained by Buddhist precepts."[citation needed] The martial arts school, named the "Shaolin Temple Secular Disciples' Martial Arts School" is international. In the winter off-season it trains a body of permanent students. For the rest of the year it holds training seminars of varying numbers of weeks for students unlimited by nationality or age.
The revolutionary government of the People's Republic of China has varied in its approach to this and other Buddhist monasteries. Mao Zedong ignored kung-fu as a method of serious fighting, advising his soldiers strike solid blows instead. Subsequently Mao made it known that he valued the monasteries as a Chinese tradition, and was seen touring them. However, the Cultural Revolution devalued them. That policy was reversed on Mao's death. Currently the government appears to be supportive to the monasteries as cultural assets.
Certainly, the Mount Song region has become a major tourist center. Under government jurisdiction since 1949, the monasteries generally receive all the funding they need. In return they generate a large geotourism income. The monks to some degree have become showmen and acrobats. They give special displays and shows dressed in costume or with body paint and evidence considerable acrobatic agility. During the early 21st century Mount Song became a UNESCO global geopark, which requires a commitment to geotourism.