The oldest martial arts manual found?

[ghostexorcist]

I don’t know if anyone has posted this yet, but one website features an article, first written in Feb. of 2006, about two sets of old martial arts manuals. The one I am most interested in is called the Esoteric Manual of Pugilism (秘本拳经写真). This one was written sometime between the first and the second year of the Jianyan reign era (1127 to 1130 AD) of Song Emperor Gaozong. Since Kaifeng was sieged in 1127, this would have taken place afterwards in Hangzhou.

After the Jin attacked Kaifeng and the monarchy fled south, but probably before he escaped to sea, Emperor Gaozong invited a Daoist priest named Pei Xiuning (裴休宁) to the capital to teach the troops martial arts. Pei Xiuning categorized the internal and external styles of martial arts into two broad types—armed or unarmed. Eight sets of movements were transcribed and subsequently entitled The Esoteric Manual of Pugilism, which is possibly the earliest known martial arts manual. The manuals were found inside of an animal bladder placed inside of a jar filled with quick lime. To keep out insects, the bladder was spread with a mix of herbs.

To read more about this go here: http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-2-16/38268.html (http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-2-16/38268.html)

I’ve written this site about acquiring more material on the subject. I’ve even typed in the Chinese characters of the manual and most of the Chinese sites say the exact same thing as the English one. I would really like to find out what techniques make up the boxing and weapons style taught to the troops.

If anyone has more information on this, please share it!

[Anthony]

Interesting.......but two things strike me as odd.


One, why would a daoist priest be called upon to teach troops, unless he was an ex-warrior or general what would he know?

Two, "Pei Xiuning categorized the internal and external styles of martial arts into two broad types—armed or unarmed."

"External" and "Internal" as categories of MA didn't exist until the 1600's.

[ghostexorcist]

Interesting.......but two things strike me as odd.

One, why would a daoist priest be called upon to teach troops, unless he was an ex-warrior or general what would he know?

Two, "Pei Xiuning categorized the internal and external styles of martial arts into two broad types—armed or unarmed."

"External" and "Internal" as categories of MA didn't exist until the 1600's.

What is your source that says it didn't exist until the 1600's? I've read one page that says the following:

"By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), martial arts had become an art separate from military drills. Routine and apparatus exercises developed quickly, and many theoretical works were published. Practitioners studied both fighting skills and theory and introduced the theory of yin and yang into martial arts."

As for your first question, I have no idea why they would have hired a Daoist. I can only go off of the material that is presented on the page. That's why I am trying to dig deeper to get the full story.

[Royal Dragon]

The Emperors and family members of the Sung dynasty had strong relations with various Taoist sects.

It's my understanding that many of the imperial family retired from military leadership, and went into Taoist Temples to live out thier final years. This "Taoist" may have been family for all we know.

[ghostexorcist]

The Emperors and family members of the Sung dynasty had strong relations with various Taoist sects.

It's my understanding that many of the imperial family retired from military leadership, and went into Taoist Temples to live out thier final years. This "Taoist" may have been family for all we know.

That's a good point. However, the Song royal family's name was Zhao and not Pei, unless they changed their name.

[David Jamieson]

there's a complete egyptian pictographical martial treatise which predates that by a couple of thousand years. :p

just sayin...

[MasterKiller]

I'm pretty sure Brian Kennedy mentions manuals much older this in his book.

[Royal Dragon]

That's a good point. However, the Song royal family's name was Zhao and not Pei, unless they changed their name.

Reply]
When one enters the Taoist, or Budhist orders isn't it customary to take a new name? Was Pei his Birthname? or his Taoist name?

Yes, the Song's family name was Zhao (Sometimes spelled Chao). The Zhao family was a well known military family going back hundreds of years prior to the Song as well, and were also involved in the following Ming dynasty's ruling thru marriage, and appointments.

[CFT]

Pei Xiuning looks like a normal birth name to me, though the family name, Pei, is not a common one. Ordained Buddhist and Taoist names are usually 2 characters and tend to have more spiritual meaning, though his given name Xiuning is pretty good too - it means peaceful rest (xiu = rest, ning = peace).

[Royal Dragon]

Interesting. I guess there is no way to really tell then?

Maybe there is some sort of political connection?


The Song's imperial famly were well known to have martial skills. The fonder of the Song dynasty (Zhao, Kuang Yin) developed one of the earliest, and most famous Long Fist styles, and it is said in the Southern Song, his descendants developed another style that was short, and easy to learn to rapidly train the troops. I allways assumed they needed to quickly rebuild after getting pasted in the north.

The Southern style is Prominant in Fuzian today.

[ghostexorcist]

there's a complete egyptian pictographical martial treatise which predates that by a couple of thousand years. :p

just sayin...

That is interesting. Do you think you could show me this? It doesn't suprise me that there might be older ones. I guess the author didn't know about this or maybe they meant "one of the oldest".

[ghostexorcist]

I'm pretty sure Brian Kennedy mentions manuals much older this in his book.

Who is Brian Kennedy and what is the name of his book? I'm always on the look out for good reading material.

[ghostexorcist]

Last night, I received a reply from The Epoch Times, where I first read about this manual. They said that they would forward my questions to their Chinese affiliate. I looked up the Jinling Evening News, who first broadcast the story, and found that its actual publication was called the Nanjing Daily. However, I couldn’t find any contact information for them on the English net. I would like to contact them first hand to see if any developments have been made in the story.

The reason I am so interested in this is because I am writing an historical-fiction novel based around a soldier who serves in the Song army during this time. So it is very important that I get everything as historically correct as possible.

[Sal Canzonieri]

Interesting.......but two things strike me as odd.


One, why would a daoist priest be called upon to teach troops, unless he was an ex-warrior or general what would he know?

Two, "Pei Xiuning categorized the internal and external styles of martial arts into two broad types—armed or unarmed."

"External" and "Internal" as categories of MA didn't exist until the 1600's.

The terms “internal” and “external” originally meant something else entirely than whether or not a style contained wei or nei gong work. “Internal” kung fu styles were those that arose from the practices of uniquely Chinese philosophies such as taoism, shamanism, “left hand” paths, and others. On the other hand, the “external” styles were those that contained elements from influences outside of China, such as Buddhist, Tibetan, or Moslem. Thus, Shaolin and Shaolin-derived styles were considered to be “external” because they were Buddhist by nature and contained elements that they borrowed or absorbed from Moslem, Tibetan, and other cultures, including Chinese taoism.

[MasterKiller]

Who is Brian Kennedy and what is the name of his book? I'm always on the look out for good reading material.

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1556435576/ref=s9_asin_image_1/104-7378841-2296740

[ghostexorcist]

The terms “internal” and “external” originally meant something else entirely than whether or not a style contained wei or nei gong work. “Internal” kung fu styles were those that arose from the practices of uniquely Chinese philosophies such as taoism, shamanism, “left hand” paths, and others. On the other hand, the “external” styles were those that contained elements from influences outside of China, such as Buddhist, Tibetan, or Moslem. Thus, Shaolin and Shaolin-derived styles were considered to be “external” because they were Buddhist by nature and contained elements that they borrowed or absorbed from Moslem, Tibetan, and other cultures, including Chinese taoism.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Anthony]

http://www.nardis.com/~twchan/henning.html

The above is definately not today's common use of the words "internal" and "external" in MA but here's a source, can I have some of your (Sal and Ghost) sources.

[David Jamieson]

from the walls of beni hasan

http://tapout.association.users.btopenworld.com/Beni-Hasan_Wall_Painting_Early_Egyptian.jpg

there is evidence that boxing/wrestling and so on were organized sports as far back as 3000 BCE in egypt.

there is evidence of it in sumer and other areas of ancient mesopotamia as well.

the depiction in the link is very much in the flavour of a manual type thing.

[MasterKiller]

Seven Books of MArtial Classics--compiled in 1080 CE and used as a source for Imperial examinations.

Han Shu, written sometime between 25 CE and 220 CE had a book entitled Six Chapters on Hand Fighting (but no copies currently exist).

[Gowgee]

Seven Books of MArtial Classics--compiled in 1080 CE and used as a source for Imperial examinations.

Those works are on military strategy though, so they probably don't count as martial arts manuals.

[ghostexorcist]

http://www.nardis.com/~twchan/henning.html

The above is definately not today's common use of the words "internal" and "external" in MA but here's a source, can I have some of your (Sal and Ghost) sources.

http://www.regenttour.com/china/martial/index7.htm

Here is where I found the "yin and yang" theory in Song martial arts material. To tell you the truth, this is not the original website where I found this. I can't find the old one, but the info is pretty much word-for-word.

[ghostexorcist]

Seven Books of MArtial Classics--compiled in 1080 CE and used as a source for Imperial examinations.

Han Shu, written sometime between 25 CE and 220 CE had a book entitled Six Chapters on Hand Fighting (but no copies currently exist).

This seems like a neat book, but from what I've read, it doesn't even have a bibliography section. This really mares its credibility. I'm not saying the material isn’t true, but citing its sources would allow people to consult them for accuracy and for further research.

[ghostexorcist]

Interesting.......but two things strike me as odd.


One, why would a daoist priest be called upon to teach troops, unless he was an ex-warrior or general what would he know?

Two, "Pei Xiuning categorized the internal and external styles of martial arts into two broad types—armed or unarmed."

"External" and "Internal" as categories of MA didn't exist until the 1600's.

I visit the China History Forum on occasion and I totally forgot that Brian L. Kennedy has posted on there before. Here is a section that is related to the “internal/external” thing:

"Internal versus External
This classification scheme causes lots of debate wherever and whenever it is used. According to this scheme, Chinese martial arts are either internal or external or, to use another set of words, “soft styles” or “hard styles.” The distinction is supposed to be based on whether the system gives priority to developing internal strength or external strength which generally gets reduced to: does the system place a great emphasis on qi development or not? Or in a slightly different version of the distinction, the internal arts are supposed to place an emphasis on defensive strategies while the external arts place their focus on offensive strategies.
In this classification scheme, the arts of Xingyi, Bagua and Taijiquan are the three major internal systems. Everything else is external. It parallels the Wudang versus Shaolin scheme.
The problem with the internal versus external scheme is that it is a false dichotomy. Xingyi practitioners do lots of push-ups and sit-ups; both of which are external strength exercises. In a similar vein, Hung Gar—ostensibly an external system—has an entire set, the Iron Wire set, devoted to internal development. In reality, any complete Chinese martial arts system has both internal and external elements. It is worth noting too that the internal-external classification scheme is of recent vintage, only first being used in the late Qing and Republican Period.

Shaolin versus Wudang
This classification scheme is kind of a mix of the above two with the added spin that some Chinese martial arts are Taoist in origin while others are Buddhist. What the scheme says is essentially that Taoist martial arts owe their origin and development to Taoist adepts living in the Wudang Mountain region. The three major “Taoist-Wudang Mountain” arts are Xingyi, Bagua and Taijiquan. In contrast, the Buddhist martial arts owe their origin to the Buddhist monks of the Shaolin temple or temples. In this scheme everything that is not specifically a Wudang art is a Shaolin art.
This classification scheme is long on romance and short on reality. While it is true that the Wudang Mountains were home to a great number of Taoist temples it is equally true that none of the three Wudang martial arts were invented there or owe much of their development to that area. Likewise, although there was a Shaolin temple, it is inaccurate to say that is was the birthplace or center of development of all Chinese martial arts that are not one of the three Wudang arts.
This classification scheme was first used by the National Guoshu Academy in the 1920s [1928 to be exact] way of dividing the many systems of martial arts that were being taught there into two major groups.
How the Wudang branch, consisting of Xingyi, Bagua and Taijiquan, came to be one group is a complicated story. A lot of it has to do with personal friendships between masters and hometown loyalties and links. The bottom line is, a group coalesced in the late 1800s and its members viewed themselves as teachers of “Wudang martial arts.”
The real basis for this division of Shaolin versus Wudang was simply the formation of a clique that included such luminaries as Sun Lu Tang and Li Cun Yi. They wanted a label to distinguish them and their martial arts systems from other groups and systems. The label itself is arbitrary and the classification scheme is the least informative of the three." (http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=13527&view=findpost&p=4855867)

Although this supports your stance on the division between "internal and external" styles (despite them being just "classifications" as explained above), one must rely solely on the information that is given in the article about the manuals. If they do truly hale from the Song Dynasty, then there was some sort of internal and external martial arts back then, whether it be “yin and yang theory” or martial arts from within and outside of China.

We can’t make conclusions on what these “internal and external” styles were until the manuals are posted online or are published in a printed source. Maybe the news agency who originally reported this misunderstood something that Master Fan Keping said. We can only speculate at this point.

If someone who writes Chinese can get in contact with the Nanjing Daily or, better yet, Master Fan Keping, I’m sure something more can be learned about these manuals.

[mantis108]

Check out this info from another thread:

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42743&page=9


5. The Yinyang Symbol
There is no a clear and definite way to determine the exact date of origin or the person who created the popular yinyang symbol. No one has ever claimed specific ownership of this popular image. However, there is a rich textual and visual history leading to its creation. Inspired by a primeval vision of cosmic harmony, Chinese thinkers have sought to codify this order in various intellectual constructions. Whether to formulate this underlying pattern through words and concepts or numbers and visual images has been debated since the Han dynasty. The question first surfaced in the interpretation of the Yijing. The Yijing is constructed around sixty-four hexagrams (gua), each of which is made of six parallel broken or unbroken line segments (yao). Each of the sixty-four hexagrams has a unique designation; its image (xiang) refers to a particular natural object and conveys the meaning of human events and activities. The Yijing thus has generated a special way to decipher the universe. It mainly incorporates three elements: xiang (images), shu (numbers), and li (meanings). They act as the mediators between heavenly cosmic phenomena and earthly human everyday life. From the Han dynasty through the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912 CE), there was a consistent tension between two schools of thought: the school of xiangshu (images and numbers) and the school of yili (meanings and reasoning). At issue between them is how best to interpret the classics, particularly the Yijing. The question often was posed as: “Am I interpreting the six classics or are the six classics interpreting me?”

For the school of Xiangshu the way to interpret the classics is to produce a figurative and numerological representation of the universe through xiang (images) and shu (numbers). It held that xiangshu are indispensable structures expressing the Way of heaven, earth and human being. Thus the school of Xiangshu takes the position that “I interpret the classics” by means of the images and numbers. The emphasis is on the appreciation of classics. The school of Yili, on the other hand, focuses on an exploration of the meanings of the classics on the basis of one’s own reconstruction. In other word, the school of Yili treats all classics as supporting evidence for their own ideas and theories. The emphasis is more on idiosyncratic new theories rather than the explanation of the classics. In what follows, our inquiry focuses on the legacy of the Xiangshu school.

The most common effort of the Xiangshu school was to draw tu (diagrams). Generations of intellectuals labored on the formulation and creation of numerous tu. Tu often delineate structure, place, and numbers through black and white lines. They are not aesthetic objects but rather serve as a means of articulating the fundamental patterns that govern phenomena in the universe. Tu are universes in microcosm and demonstrate obedience to definite norms or rules. During the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE), the Daoist monk Chen Tuan (906-989 CE) made an important contribution to this tradition by drawing a few tu in order to elucidate the Yijing. Though none of his tu were directly passed down, he is considered the forerunner of the school of tushu (diagrams and writings). It is said that he left behind three tu; since his death, attempting to discover these tu has become a popular scholarly pursuit. After Chen Tuan, three trends in making tu emerged, exemplified by the work of three Neo-Confucian thinkers: the Hetu (Diagram of River) and Luoshu (Chart of Luo) ascribed to Liu Mu (1011-1064 CE), the Xiantian tu (Diagram of Preceding Heaven) credited to Shao Yong (1011-1077 CE), and the Taijitu (Diagram of the Great Ultimate) attributed to Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073 CE). These three trends eventually led to the creation of the first yinyang symbol by Zhao Huiqian (1351-1395 CE), entitled Tiandi Zhiran Hetu (Heaven and Earth’s Natural Diagram of the River) and pictured above at the head of this entry.

We can see Chen Tuan (906-989 CE) influence on the school of Tushu. Without his contribution, those works of the three Neo-Confucian thinkers, which made possible for the martial arts community to theorize their systems, would not have happened. BTW, actual evidences of martial arts theories using the Yijing would have come in mid 1500s in books such as the Jian Jing (sword classics) and Jixiao Xinshu (New Book of Record of Efficacy).

Having said that Chen Tuan being hailed as the founder of style such as Baiyuan Tongbei is a rather complicated matter IMHO. It has to do with at least 2 popular Ming dynasty chapter novels - Fei Long Chuan Zhuan (Legends of the Flying Dragon) and Xi You Ji (Journey to the West). In the Fei Long Chuan Zhuan, Chen Tuan is said to have been an immortal helping Song Taizu prior to his ascending to the throne. In the Journey to the West, there's a mentioning of Tongbei Xin Yuan which became synomonous with Baiyuan Tongbei. No real evidence other then ficticous stories that Chen Tuan knew or practiced martial arts let alone Tongbeiquan.

Just a thought

Mantis108

[Anthony]

Thanks for the links. I for one am glad to see that CMA history is going in the direction of scholarly research rather than sticking to the same ol' myths that have been the norm for so long.

Since we're on the subject here's another history article that you guys may of may not have seen:

http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ADM/holcom.htm