Many schools of Kung Fu or styles of Kung Fu created their forms by imitating different types of fighting techniques from animals (e.g., tiger, panther, monkey, snake, or bear), birds (e.g., eagle, crane, or chicken), or insects (e.g., praying mantis). The reason for this was that it was believed that, in order to survive in the harsh natural environment, all animals maintained a natural talent and skill for fighting.
Since the martial techniques first developed in ancient times, they gradually became part of Chinese culture. The philosophy of these fighting arts has, in turn, been influenced by other elements of Chinese culture: the Yin/Yang Taiji theory and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) concept was blended into the fighting strategy and skills.
The Shaolin Temple
During the revolutionary period between the Sui dynasty and the Tang dynasty, in 621 A.D., 13 Shaolin monks helped the then emperor Qin King Li Shi-Ming against rival Zheng King Wang Shi-Chong. The Shaolin Temple monks were rewarded for their assistance with 600 acres of land donated to the temple. The Temple was also permitted to own and train its own soldiers in order to protect its property of the Shaolin Temple from bandits. Martial arts training became a necessity for the monks, with the priest martial artists in the temple being called "monk soldiers" (Seng Bing).
Shaolin continued to gather more martial skills, blending these arts into Shaolin training. The most famous Shaolin martial monks traveled extensively; met other martial artists and eventually returned together to the Temple to compile what they had learnt. One of them, Qiu Yue Chan Shi, remains known for his barehanded fighting and narrow blade sword techniques. According to the book Shaolin Temple Record , he developed the then existing 18 Buddha Hands techniques into 173 techniques. He also compiled the existing techniques contained within Shaolin into the book, The Essence of Five Fist, that discusses practice methods and applications of the Five Fist (Animal) Patterns. The five animals included: Dragon, Tiger, Snake, Panther, and Crane.
This written record confirms that the Five Animal Patterns martial skills already existed for some time in the Shaolin Temple.