Editing Shaolin Monastery (section)

===Sui, Tang, Wu Zhou, and Song dynasties===
[[File:Shaolin Temple Maitreya Pagoda, Northern Song, 1087 AD (10200018863).jpg|thumb|Maitreya Pagoda, dating from the year 1087, [[Song dynasty]].]]
[[File:20241103 Chuzu Temple 03.jpg|thumb|Chuzu Temple of Shaolin Monastery, built in 1125, [[Song dynasty]].]]

[[Emperor Wen of Sui]], who was a Buddhist himself, returned the temple's original name and offered to its community 100 hectares of land. Shaolin thus became a large temple with hundreds of hectares of fertile land and large properties. It was once again the center of Chan Buddhism, with eminent monks from all over China visiting on a regular basis.

At the end of the [[Sui dynasty]], the Shaolin Temple, with its huge monastery properties, became the target of thieves and bandits. The monks organized forces within their community to protect the temple and fight against the intruders. At the beginning of the [[Tang dynasty]], thirteen Shaolin monks helped [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Li Shimin]], the future second emperor of the Tang dynasty, in his fight against [[Wang Shichong]]. They captured Shichong's nephew Wang Renze, whose army was stationed in the Cypress Valley. In 626, Li Shimin, later known as Emperor Taizong, sent an official letter of gratitude to the Shaolin community for the help they provided in his fight against Shichong and thus the establishment of the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>Shahar 2008; Lu Zhouxiang 2019</ref>

According to legend, Emperor Taizong granted the Shaolin Temple extra land and a special "imperial dispensation" to consume meat and alcohol during the Tang dynasty. If true, this would have made Shaolin the only temple in China that did not prohibit alcohol. Regardless of historical veracity, these rituals are not practiced today.<ref>{{cite book |last=Polly |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-prqcK9zLSIC&dq=li+shimin+alcohol+meat&pg=PA37 |title=American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China |publisher=Gotham Books |year=2007 |page=37 |isbn=9781592402625 |access-date=7 November 2010 |via=[[Google Books]] |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426082919/https://books.google.com/books?id=-prqcK9zLSIC&dq=li+shimin+alcohol+meat&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q=li%20shimin%20alcohol%20meat&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> This legend is not corroborated in any period documents, such as the Shaolin Stele, erected in AD 728. The stele does not list any such imperial dispensation as reward for the monks' assistance during the campaign against Wang Shichong; only land and a water mill are granted.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tonami |first=Mamoru |year=1990 |title=The Shaolin Monastery Stele on Mount Song |translator=P.A. Herbert |location=Kyoto |publisher=Istituto Italiano di Cultura / Scuola di Studi sull' Asia Orientale |pages=17–18, 35}}</ref> The Tang dynasty also established several Shaolin branch monasteries throughout the country and formulated policies for Shaolin monks and soldiers to assist local governments and regular military troops. Shaolin Temple also became a place where emperors and high officials would come for temporary reclusion. [[Emperor Gaozong of Tang]] and Empress [[Wu Zetian]] often visited the temple for good luck and made large donations. Empress Wu also paid several visits to the temple to discuss Chan philosophy with high monk Tan Zong. During the Tang and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties, the Shaolin Temple was extremely prosperous. It had more than 14,000 acres of land, 540 acres of temple grounds, more than 5,000 rooms, and over 2,000 monks. The Chan Buddhist School founded by Bodhidharma flourished during the Tang dynasty and was the largest Buddhist school of that time.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Information about the first century of the [[Northern Song (960–1127)|Northern Song dynasty]] is scarce. The rulers of Song supported the development of Buddhism, and Chan established itself as dominant over other Buddhist schools. Around 1093, Chan master Baoen ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=报恩|p=bào'ēn}}) promoted the Caodong School in the Shaolin Temple and achieved what is known in Buddhist history as "revolutionary turn into Chan". This meant that the Shaolin Temple officially became a Chan Buddhist Temple, while up to that point it was a Lǜzōng temple specialized in Vinaya, with a Chan Hall.