Origin of Taijiquan, Part III

[RAF]

Why does there appear to be such concern to associate Taijiquan with the Zhang Sanfeng legend between 1912 and 1921, over 60 years after the style of boxing practiced in Chenjiagou village had been given the name "Taijiquan" and exposed to the big city? The answer may lie in a combination of events which began with the earliest reference to "The Dharma" or Bodhidharma as the originator of Shaolin boxing in a widely popular novel, The Travels of Lao Ts'an first published in Illustrated Fiction Magazine between 1904-1907.[23] This was soon followed by a book titled Shaolin School Methods, which appeared as a series in a Shanghai newspaper in 1910.[24] This book, of unknown origin but written in an anti-Manchu secret society tone, expanded on the Bodhidharma story and, in 1915, was altered further and published as Secrets of Shaolin Boxing under the pseudonym, Master of the Study of Self Respect (probably an allusion to anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist feelings).[25] According to Tang Hao, this book was so popular that nearly 30 printings had flooded the market by 1919, and it has influenced other authors ever since, beginning with Guo Shaoyu's History of Chinese Physical Culture (1919), which was the first popular Chinese book on this subject.[26] It is not difficult to see how Taijiquan masters may have felt hard pressed to compete for popularity against such a publicity blitz in an increasingly commercialized environment. Under these conditions, Zhang Sanfeng was a made-to-order counterpoint to Bodhidharma.


The Zhang Sanfeng legend clearly has popular appeal and, at first glance, even some plausibility for the man on the street. This public relations aspect combines with the fact that Taijiquan, unlike many other styles, appears to have responded more effectively to the changing demands in society over the past century, and thus has evolved from a little known fighting art practiced in a country village to a worldwide phenomenon.


A lot of the information necessary to make intelligent statements about the origins of Taijiquan and other aspects of the Chinese martial arts is out there but, even more importantly, it needs to be interpreted with a discerning eye and more knowledge of the social environment in which the martial arts have flourished.





REFERENCES


[1.] Henning, Stanley E., "The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective," Military Affairs, December 1981.




[2.] Crompton, Paul, The Art of T'ai Chi (Rockport, MA: Element, Inc., 1993), p. x.




[3.] Seidel, Anna, "A Taoist Immortal of the Ming Dynasty: Chang San-feng", in W.T. de Bary & The Conference on Ming Thought, eds., Self and Society in Ming Thought (N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 1970, pp. 483-531. Most comprehensive, although not always accurate, paper on this subject in English. Provides good coverage of phase I of the legend, concluding that, "His biographies and legends lack even the faintest allusion to his being a boxing master . . ." (p. 484)




[4.] Ibid., pp. 504-505, claims earliest reference is in Ningbo Gazetteer [Ch.], 1560 edition has no such entry. 1733 revised edition entry is based on Huang Zongxi's Epitaph [Ch.] c. 1669) and Huang Baijia's Internal Boxing Methods [Ch.]. p. 505, claims Zhang Sanfeng chosen as patron saint of "esoteric" school as counterpoint to Bodhidharma's role in Shaolin school. This did not happen until 20th century.




[5.] Yu Dayou, "Sword Classic", in Literary Anthology From the Hall of Uprighteousness [Ch.], 1565.




[6.] Giles, Lionel, trans., Sun Tzu on the Art of War (London: Luzac & Co., 1910), p. 67, line 30.




[7.] Zhang Kongzhao, ed., Boxing Classic: Essentials of Boxing [Ch.], 1784.




[8.] Henning, p. 176.




[9.] Tang Hao, Shaolin-Wudang Research [Ch.] (1930), (Hong Kong: Unicorn Press, 1968), pp. 76-77.




[10.] Cao Bingren, ed., Ningbo Gazetteer [Ch.], 1733.




[11.] Qing Historical Manuscripts [Ch.], 1927.




[12.] Donghua Records [Ch.], Yongzheng Year 5, 1727.




[13.] Goodrich, L.C., The Literary Inquisition of Ch'ien Lung (New York: Paragon Books Reprint Corp., 1966), pp. 65, 247.




[14.] Huang, Alfred, Complete T'ai Chi (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1993), pp. 47-48, Meng Naichang, "Zhang Sanfeng Research" in Wudang Magazine [Ch.], 10th Anniversary Special Edition 1, 1991, pp. 24-36.




[15.] Xu Zhedong, Correct Approach Toward and Recognition of False Aspects of Taijiquan Manuals: Combined Edition [Ch.] (1935) (Taipei: Zhenshanmei Press, 1965).




[16.] Zhao Ximin, "Taijiquan 13 Postures Research," in Republish of China Martial Arts Association, eds., Chinese Martial Arts Historical Materials Collection [Ch.], Vol. 5, 1980, pp. 85-109.




[17.] Xu Ke, ed., Qing Unofficial Categorized Extracts [Ch.] (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1917), Vol. 22.




[18.] Guo Shaoyu, History of Chinese Physical Culture [Ch.] (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1919).




[19.] Tang Hao, Taijiquan Grandmaster Wang Zongyue Research [Ch.] (1935) (Hong Kong: Unicorn Press, 1969), p. 2.




[20.] Xu Longhou, Illustrated Explanation of Taijiquan Forms [Ch.], (1921) (Taipei: Zhonghuawushu Press, 1970), pp. 8-10.




[21.] Chen Weiming, The Art of Taijiquan (1925) (Taipei: Zhonghuawushu Press, 1970), pp. 53-70; Zheng Manqing, Zheng's Thirteen Chapters on Taijiquan (Hong Kong: Dongya Press, 1957), pp. 108-114; Sun Fuquan, The Study of Taijiquan (1924) (Taipei: Zhonghuawushu Press, 1973), pp. 1-4. NOTE: All of these books are [Ch.]




[22.] Zhao Ximin, Op. Cit.




[23.] Liu T'ieh-yun (Liu E), The Travels of Lao Ts'an, translated and annotated by Harold Sha**** (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1986), p. 73.




[24.] Li Yingang, ed., Illustrated Explanation of Shaolin School Methods (Old Text) [Ch.] (1922), (Hong Kong: Unicorn Press, 1968), critiques by Tang Hao and Xu Zhedong appended.




[25.] Master of the Studio of Self Respect, Secrets of Shaolin Boxing [Ch.] (1915) (Taipei: Zhonghuawushu Press, 1971), critiques by Tang Hao and Xu Zhedong appended.




[26.] Guo Shaoyu, Op. Cit., pp. 47-49.







* * * * *




This article was originally published in the Journal of the Chen Style Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 1-7.




Go Home





This page is maintained by Terry W. Chan.

[zguy1]

thanks for the post. Interesting read.
now i have to copy and paste the 3 parts into one.

[RAF]

zguy1:

It was the first article I read that weaned me off of the myth and legend of taijiquan's origin.

I was hoping that someone might have an equivalent-like article that goes in a different direction.

I do not know if his take on Crompton is fair.

Henning has write a ton of other articles that document the falsity of the internal/external dichotomy, the shaolin temple. etc..

I actually got very irritated when I first read his material. Whether you agree or disagree, his works are documented and hard to refute (I tried but gave up).

Regards.

[shaolinboxer]

Robert W. Smith does a very good job at discussing the facts and myths of the origins of taijiquan. He spent a great deal of time in Taiwan and China studying and researching different masters and style...I recommend his books, as well as his partner in writing Don Draeger (another very credible historian and martial artist, but whose focus is Japan).

[zguy1]

dear Shaolin Boxer

is there a particular book of RObert Smith that focus on Taijiquan ? I looked through Amazon.com and found none that mention Taiji in the titles.

Regards
Z