with regards to the shaolin fighting system, the oldest evidence of shaolin participation in combat is a stele from 728 ce that attests to two occasions: a defense of the shaolin monastery from bandits around 610 ce, and their subsequent role in the defeat of wang shichong at the battle of hulao in 621 ce. from the 8th to the 15th centuries, there are no extant documents that provide evidence of shaolin participation in combat.