Shaolin Monastery built

495 CE.

Shown on the map at 34.507°, 112.936°.

Shaolin Monastery (少林寺; shàolín-sì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a Mahayana Buddhist monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Mount Song mountain range in Dengfeng, Zhengzhou prefecture, in Henan, China. The name reflects its location in the ancient grove (林; lín) of Mount Shaoshi, in the hinterland of the Mount Song range. Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC, when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks. It is located some 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and 72 km (45 mi) southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province. The first Shaolin abbot, Batuo, devoted himself to translating Buddhist texts and preaching doctrines to hundreds of his followers. According to legend, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism, arrived at the Shaolin Temple in 527 from India. He spent nine years meditating in a cave of the Wuru Peak and initiated the Chan tradition at the Shaolin Temple.

Text from the Wikipedia article Shaolin Monastery, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 495 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire