RAF
06-18-2002, 06:33 PM
The earliest reference to Zhang Sanfeng as a boxing master is found in the Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669), composed by Huang Zongxi (1610-1695 A.D.) but, as I pointed out in my 1981 article, the real significance of this piece at the time lay not so much in its reference to boxing but in its anti-Manchu symbolism. The Epitaphis the first reference in the history of Chinese martial arts to describe boxing in terms of a Shaolin or "external" school versus an "internal" school of boxing, originated by the Taoist immortal from Mount Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng.[4] While the Epitaph accomplishes its intended purpose of eulogizing Wang Zhengnan, it conveys two additional messages as well, one reflecting trends in thought on boxing and the other political defiance.
The major trend in thought on boxing reflected in the Epitaph is emphasis on the concept of "stillness" overcoming "movement" or the mental in relation to physical aspects of boxing. This was not necessarily a new concept. Yu Dayou advocated it in his manual on staff fighting (1565),[5] and its basis can be traced to Sun Zi's Art of War (c. 476 B.C.)[6] This concept involves taking advantage of an opponent's movement and thus might be perceived as a defensive approach to countering offensive action. This more disciplined "military" approach was at variance with some of the more "individualistic" and "flowery" movements which characterized many popular styles, which were conveniently described as "Shaolin boxing" in the Epitaph.
While Shaolin was the ideal symbol to represent the more numerous, popular styles of boxing, this gave rise to serious misunderstandings and, as a result, later works, beginning with Zhang Kongzhao's boxing manual (1784),[7] attributed the origins of Chinese boxing to Shaolin Monastery, (there is no mention of Bodhidharma until much later - c. 1900). At the same time, the mythical Zhang Sanfeng, blessed with sainthood by a Ming emperor, provided the ideal counterpoint to Shaolin boxing. After all, since Zhang himself could not be proven to have ever existed let alone anything he was claimed to have done, it could not hurt to claim he also invented a style of boxing.
One could say that Huang Zongxi's composition of an epitaph for a boxing master was, in itself, an act of thumbing his nose at Qing authority, which he refused to serve, but the symbolism of the "internal" school of boxing represented by Zhang Sanfeng versus the "external" Shaolin school was the ultimate act of political defiance through literature. The "external" school and Shaolin Monastery represented foreign Buddhism, which symbolized the Manchu aggressors, while the "internal" school and Zhang Sanfeng represented indigenous Taoism, which symbolized the Chinese, who would overcome their oppressors. The full extent of Huang's anti-Manchu sentiment is revealed toward the end of the Epitaph, where Wang Zhengnan's birth and death dates are recorded with the character combinations of the traditional 60-year cyclical calender rather than the customary imperial reign title which , if used, would have indicated recognition of Qing rule.[8] A noted historian, Huang even included a disclaimer as to the accuracy of the content of the Epitaph by explaining that he wrote it based on a request from, and input provided by a Mr. Gao Zhensi.[9] Base primarily on this piece, more symbolic than factual, an entry was made in the 1733 edition of the Ningbo Gazetteer on Zhang Songqi, a Ming Jiajing period (1522-1566 A.D.) master of the "internal" school of boxing[10] and an entry was made in the Qing Historical Manuscripts on Wang Zhengnan.[11] Both these entries include the Zhang Sanfeng story of the origins of the "internal" school of boxing.
In 1727, Emperor Yongzheng promulgated an edict which directed local officials to strictly prohibit individual teaching of "boxing and staff", as the martial arts were called.[12] Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795 A.D.) directed a severe literary inquisition which destroyed many writings from the period 1550-1750. An anthology of Huang Zongxi's writings containing the Epitaph was proscribed and designated for destruction, but it survived to become a major source of controversy in the history of Chinese martial arts.[13] Ever since, boxing styles have been arbitrarily labeled as being either of the Shaolin or "external" school, or the Wudang or "internal" school and, ultimately, Taijiquan was labeled as an "internal" style and identified with the Zhang Sanfeng legend.
Some sources claim Li Yiyu (1832-1892 A.D.) had referred to Zhang as the originator of Taijiquan in a hand copied manuscript dated 1867, but that he dropped the reference in a later manuscript dated 1881.[14] This later manuscript, which Xu Zhedong first published in 1935, merely states that the originator is unknown.[15] The temptation to identify Taijiquan with the "internal" school of boxing and the Zhang Sanfeng legend is understandable; however, at the time, it could have been too risky to identity too closely with a well known legendary figure favored by Ming rulers and associated with the writings of the Ming patriot, Huang Zongxi. The ferocity of Emperor Qianlong's literary inquisition kept writers more or less in check for nearly a century beyond his reign. Even the name "Taijiquan" was suspect and may not have been mentioned outside a small circle of practitioners until after the revolution of 1911. Qing Emperor Taizong (1627-1643 A.D.) styled himself "Emperor Taiji", and there were strict taboos on using the names of emperors.[16] Evidence that this may have been the case can be seen in the lack of any mention of Taijiquan in the Qing Unofficial Categorized Extracts (1917), which devotes an entire volume (196 pages) to stories about martial arts masters and styles.[17] The first ever History of Chinese Physical Culture (1919) also fails to mention Taijiquan among 69 of the better known contemporary styles.[18.] Most of our knowledge of Taijiquan dates to the efforts of Tang Hao (1897-1959 A.D.) and Xu Zhedong during the 1930's.
Many boxing masters were illiterate but most information was reduced to rhyme, memorized, and passed on by word of mouth in spite of Qing restrictions. Some who were literate, such as Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880 A.D.) and Li Yiyu, produced closely held hand written manuals, some of which came to light by the 1930's and were published for appreciation by a larger audience.
The first openly published work associating Zhang Sanfeng with Taijiquan was Taijiquan Classics (1912), edited by Guan Baiyi. According to Tang Hao, Guan edited this for Xu Longhou, who had established the Capital Physical Culture Research Association following the revolution of 1911.[19] Xu included this material in his Illustrated Explanation of Taijiquan Forms (1921). The flagrant alteration of details in this book taken from existing sources reveals a conscious effort to arbitrarily force the Zhang Sanfeng legend into Taijiquan history. The most transparent part of this effort is reflected in the substitution of Wang Zongyue (Qianlong period), who is customarily credited with writing the most important Taijiquan treatise, Taijiquan Theory, for Wang Zong (only lacking the third character), who is listed as a mid-Yuan period disciple of the "internal" school of boxing in Huang Zongxi's Epitaph.[20]
[1]
Xu Longhou studied under Yang Jianhou (1839-1917 A.D.), whose father, Yang Lucan (1799-1872 A.D.), had first taken the secrets of Taijiquan outside Chenjiagou village in Henan to Beijing (c. 1860), thus Xu's book, as the earliest widely available source on Taijiquan, placed the Yang Style to the forefront at a time when national leaders were strongly endorsing physical culture programs as part of the overall effort to strengthen national resolve against imperialistic incursions into China. His book set a precedent of sorts and those which followed, particularly Yang Style books, tended to copy the Zhang Sanfeng story of the origins of Taijiquan. In fact, they even went beyond the call of duty by attributing portions of Wu Yuxiang's writings to Zhang Sanfeng.[21] After all, what self respecting founder would fail to pass on a few pearls of wisdom? Wu was merely the founder's ghost writer. Anyway, who would know? Actually, the most important Yang Style "classics" are from Wu's writings, except for Wang Zongyue's Taijiquan Theory, and there are some who believe Wu even penned it as well as coined the term "Taijiquan" around 1854, but that is another story![22]
The major trend in thought on boxing reflected in the Epitaph is emphasis on the concept of "stillness" overcoming "movement" or the mental in relation to physical aspects of boxing. This was not necessarily a new concept. Yu Dayou advocated it in his manual on staff fighting (1565),[5] and its basis can be traced to Sun Zi's Art of War (c. 476 B.C.)[6] This concept involves taking advantage of an opponent's movement and thus might be perceived as a defensive approach to countering offensive action. This more disciplined "military" approach was at variance with some of the more "individualistic" and "flowery" movements which characterized many popular styles, which were conveniently described as "Shaolin boxing" in the Epitaph.
While Shaolin was the ideal symbol to represent the more numerous, popular styles of boxing, this gave rise to serious misunderstandings and, as a result, later works, beginning with Zhang Kongzhao's boxing manual (1784),[7] attributed the origins of Chinese boxing to Shaolin Monastery, (there is no mention of Bodhidharma until much later - c. 1900). At the same time, the mythical Zhang Sanfeng, blessed with sainthood by a Ming emperor, provided the ideal counterpoint to Shaolin boxing. After all, since Zhang himself could not be proven to have ever existed let alone anything he was claimed to have done, it could not hurt to claim he also invented a style of boxing.
One could say that Huang Zongxi's composition of an epitaph for a boxing master was, in itself, an act of thumbing his nose at Qing authority, which he refused to serve, but the symbolism of the "internal" school of boxing represented by Zhang Sanfeng versus the "external" Shaolin school was the ultimate act of political defiance through literature. The "external" school and Shaolin Monastery represented foreign Buddhism, which symbolized the Manchu aggressors, while the "internal" school and Zhang Sanfeng represented indigenous Taoism, which symbolized the Chinese, who would overcome their oppressors. The full extent of Huang's anti-Manchu sentiment is revealed toward the end of the Epitaph, where Wang Zhengnan's birth and death dates are recorded with the character combinations of the traditional 60-year cyclical calender rather than the customary imperial reign title which , if used, would have indicated recognition of Qing rule.[8] A noted historian, Huang even included a disclaimer as to the accuracy of the content of the Epitaph by explaining that he wrote it based on a request from, and input provided by a Mr. Gao Zhensi.[9] Base primarily on this piece, more symbolic than factual, an entry was made in the 1733 edition of the Ningbo Gazetteer on Zhang Songqi, a Ming Jiajing period (1522-1566 A.D.) master of the "internal" school of boxing[10] and an entry was made in the Qing Historical Manuscripts on Wang Zhengnan.[11] Both these entries include the Zhang Sanfeng story of the origins of the "internal" school of boxing.
In 1727, Emperor Yongzheng promulgated an edict which directed local officials to strictly prohibit individual teaching of "boxing and staff", as the martial arts were called.[12] Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795 A.D.) directed a severe literary inquisition which destroyed many writings from the period 1550-1750. An anthology of Huang Zongxi's writings containing the Epitaph was proscribed and designated for destruction, but it survived to become a major source of controversy in the history of Chinese martial arts.[13] Ever since, boxing styles have been arbitrarily labeled as being either of the Shaolin or "external" school, or the Wudang or "internal" school and, ultimately, Taijiquan was labeled as an "internal" style and identified with the Zhang Sanfeng legend.
Some sources claim Li Yiyu (1832-1892 A.D.) had referred to Zhang as the originator of Taijiquan in a hand copied manuscript dated 1867, but that he dropped the reference in a later manuscript dated 1881.[14] This later manuscript, which Xu Zhedong first published in 1935, merely states that the originator is unknown.[15] The temptation to identify Taijiquan with the "internal" school of boxing and the Zhang Sanfeng legend is understandable; however, at the time, it could have been too risky to identity too closely with a well known legendary figure favored by Ming rulers and associated with the writings of the Ming patriot, Huang Zongxi. The ferocity of Emperor Qianlong's literary inquisition kept writers more or less in check for nearly a century beyond his reign. Even the name "Taijiquan" was suspect and may not have been mentioned outside a small circle of practitioners until after the revolution of 1911. Qing Emperor Taizong (1627-1643 A.D.) styled himself "Emperor Taiji", and there were strict taboos on using the names of emperors.[16] Evidence that this may have been the case can be seen in the lack of any mention of Taijiquan in the Qing Unofficial Categorized Extracts (1917), which devotes an entire volume (196 pages) to stories about martial arts masters and styles.[17] The first ever History of Chinese Physical Culture (1919) also fails to mention Taijiquan among 69 of the better known contemporary styles.[18.] Most of our knowledge of Taijiquan dates to the efforts of Tang Hao (1897-1959 A.D.) and Xu Zhedong during the 1930's.
Many boxing masters were illiterate but most information was reduced to rhyme, memorized, and passed on by word of mouth in spite of Qing restrictions. Some who were literate, such as Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880 A.D.) and Li Yiyu, produced closely held hand written manuals, some of which came to light by the 1930's and were published for appreciation by a larger audience.
The first openly published work associating Zhang Sanfeng with Taijiquan was Taijiquan Classics (1912), edited by Guan Baiyi. According to Tang Hao, Guan edited this for Xu Longhou, who had established the Capital Physical Culture Research Association following the revolution of 1911.[19] Xu included this material in his Illustrated Explanation of Taijiquan Forms (1921). The flagrant alteration of details in this book taken from existing sources reveals a conscious effort to arbitrarily force the Zhang Sanfeng legend into Taijiquan history. The most transparent part of this effort is reflected in the substitution of Wang Zongyue (Qianlong period), who is customarily credited with writing the most important Taijiquan treatise, Taijiquan Theory, for Wang Zong (only lacking the third character), who is listed as a mid-Yuan period disciple of the "internal" school of boxing in Huang Zongxi's Epitaph.[20]
[1]
Xu Longhou studied under Yang Jianhou (1839-1917 A.D.), whose father, Yang Lucan (1799-1872 A.D.), had first taken the secrets of Taijiquan outside Chenjiagou village in Henan to Beijing (c. 1860), thus Xu's book, as the earliest widely available source on Taijiquan, placed the Yang Style to the forefront at a time when national leaders were strongly endorsing physical culture programs as part of the overall effort to strengthen national resolve against imperialistic incursions into China. His book set a precedent of sorts and those which followed, particularly Yang Style books, tended to copy the Zhang Sanfeng story of the origins of Taijiquan. In fact, they even went beyond the call of duty by attributing portions of Wu Yuxiang's writings to Zhang Sanfeng.[21] After all, what self respecting founder would fail to pass on a few pearls of wisdom? Wu was merely the founder's ghost writer. Anyway, who would know? Actually, the most important Yang Style "classics" are from Wu's writings, except for Wang Zongyue's Taijiquan Theory, and there are some who believe Wu even penned it as well as coined the term "Taijiquan" around 1854, but that is another story![22]