Monk soldiers of the Shaolin Monastery

Emperor Wen Di bestowed on Shaolin Monastery 3, 000 hectares of land and the buddhist sanctuary became a big land owner. The peasants in this area became the exorbitant exploitation, the peasants often rose in revolt. The monastery , therefore, trained monks to protect its property.

At the end of the Sui dynasty, warlord Wang Shiyun took over Shaolin Monastery's land at Baiguwu by force. The monks were bitter about it. Then ,while LI Shimin was fighting Wang Shi-Chong , he was captured . Zhi Cao , Hui Yang, Tan Zong and ten other Shaolin monks raided Wang Shichong's camp, captured his nephew, and rescued LI Shimin. After he ascended the Throne, Li Shimin, now Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang dynasty,awarded the Shaolin monks highly and permitted them to maintain monk soldiers.

In the beginning of the Ming dynasty, towns and villages along the eastern coast were frequently molested by Japanese pirates. While protesting to the Japanese government the Qing court reinforced its defense. In the mid-16 century, Monk Yue Kong and Monk Bian Cheng led some Shaolin monks to fight the pirates around the Songjiang area. Some of them died in battle. Monk Xiao Shan commanded monk soldiers on three expeditions and was commended by the imperial court. Many others from Shaolin Monastery won battle citations from tablets or their epitaphs that have lasted until today. The imperial court set a pair of stone lions and a flag pole in front of the Shaolin Monastery (now only the base of the flag pole is left) in memory of these heroic deeds.

After the 1911 Revolution, Shalin monks, together with village militias, fought against bandits in defense of the monastery and the ear around it. In 1922, Monk Miao Xing, who has served in the army as a regimental commander, became abbot. He led the monk soldiers to wipe out bandits in the vicinity.

General Xu Shiyou and General Qian Jun, legendary figures in the People's Liberation Army, used to be errand boys at Shaolin Monastery. They practiced martial arts diligently and learned all the skills . After they joined the Communist Army, their martial art skills became a great help.