Info on Wudang

[GeneChing]

Interesting tourist stats...

Wudang Mountains receive 4.26m tourists in 2012
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-01-30

The Wudang Mountains received 4.26 million tourists in 2012 and realized tourism revenue of 2.26 billion yuan ($363 million), up 20 percent and 21 percent from the same period last year, respectively.

The Wudang Mountains launched year-round advertising campaigns on various media outlets, including CCTV-1, CCTV-4, China Comment and China Tourism News. Ads were also placed on vehicles like airplanes, high-speed trains and buses. The scenic spot also invited mainstream industries and media from home and abroad to shoot interviews and films in the region. Films such as The Karate Kid, Wudang and The Assassin were shot in Wudang and contributed to publicizing the area. It also offered ticket discounts and chartered airplane and train service to expand tourism.

The Wudang Mountains held events including the Taiji Lake Forum, the 12th National Village Heads Forum, the Wudang 600 Years Centennial Celebration, the World Health Assembly and Tai Chi International Fellowship Competition, and the Luotian Sacrificial Ceremony in 2012, attracting the attention of Chinese leaders and celebrities from all walks of life.

Tourists from Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and foreign countries increased significantly, up 62 percent from the same period last year.


Wudang Mountains receive 4.26m tourists in 2012

I've touched those balustrades... They told me it would bring me luck.

Wudang Golden Hall reinforces copper balustrades
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-01-30

Technical workers reinforced 148 copper balustrades in Wudang Golden Hall on the afternoon of July 19. The balustrades were originally built using funds donated by Yunnan people in the 19th year of Wanli Emperor (1591) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The Golden Hall is the most important stop for tourists to Wudang. The copper balustrades have become loose due to wear-and-tear and frequent touching by tourists. Wudang has reinforced the balustrades and is warning visitors not to throw coins in the hall or touch the balustrades.


Wudang Golden Hall reinforces copper balustrades


Wudang Golden Hall reinforces copper balustrades

Follow up on Yuzhen

Elevation of Yuzhen Palace breaks world record
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-01-30

The elevation project of Yuzhen Palace on the Wudang Mountains was completed on the afternoon of July 16. The gate of the palace reached a height of 15 meters, an elevation height four times higher than the world record.

Dai Zhanbiao, head of the project, noted that the elevation of the east and west gates were completed on July 9 and 13, respectively. The following work will require pouring concrete into the steel piers, weighing 80 kilograms each, to take the place of the dozen dismantled jacks. The pouring work is expected to finish at the end of February.

According to Dai, the elevation project of Yuzhen Palace began on August 1, 2012. The palace gates and mountain gates will be elevated one after another. The 1.5-meter elevation of the east and west palace gates can be done within two days. It only took one day to elevate the mountain gates. The gates can be lifted 0.5 meters every day on average.

Yuzhen Palace was built by the Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in 1412 in honor of the Taoist Zhang Sanfeng. After the elevation of the Danjiangkou reservoir dam, which serves as a water source for the Middle Route Project of the South - North Water Diversion plan, Yuzhen Palace was in danger of being submerged. As a result, the mountain gates, the glazed walls and the east and west palace gates of Yuzhen Palace are being elevated to keep the ancient cultural relics intact.

The restoration project of Yuzhen Palace will begin after completion of the elevation project and water storage tests. Yuzhen Palace will be surrounded by water on three sides when construction finishes. It will cost about 200 million yuan ($32.1 million).


Elevation of Yuzhen Palace breaks world record

[scholar]

I visited Wudang in 1994, before the cable cars went in. It was amazing. I highly recommend it if only for scenic purposes.

[GeneChing]

Some PRC tourist press loved this one for sure. More pix if you follow the link.

Foreign twin sisters learn Wudang kung fu
By Han Shuya ( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-03-14

Twin sisters from Canada, Brandy and Melonie, came to the Wudang Mountains to study Wudang kung fu for over three years after watching the film The Karate Kid.

The mysterious and elegant Wudang kung fu performed by Jackie Chan in the film has aroused a lot of foreigner interest. Some even came to Wudang to learn more about it.

The twins learned kung fu from Yuan Xiugang, a 15th-generation disciple of the Sanfeng School in Wudang. Yuan opened a kung fu school next to Yuxu Palace on the Wudang Mountains and has received more than 20 foreign students.

It was the second time the elder sister Brandy has come here to study. In 2008, she came to Yuan Xiugang for the first time at the invitation of her friends and studied kung fu for four months. After she went back to Canada, her friends and relatives were all interested in her experience, so she took her twin sister Melonie to Wudang again in September 2009.

They learned kung fu at school every day except Christmas over the course of three years. They got up at dawn and practiced techniques during the day. At night, they would do seated meditation. What attracted them most was Wudang tai chi shadowboxing.

Brandy said she became much healthier after practicing tai chi shadowing. What surprised her was how she has been able to avoid fever and cold since her training. The sisters plan to open a kung fu school in Canada after their five-year studies to spread the martial art into Canada. They hope to be ambassadors for Chinese and foreign culture exchange.

According to Yuan Xiugang, over 300 foreigners have come to learn Wudang kung fu since the school opened to the public. One of them has studied here for more than six years. He hoped more and more foreigners could come to learn kung fu to further promote Wudang kung fu around the world.


Yuan guides Brandy (right) and Melonie (left) in the practice of Wudang tai chi shadowboxing.

[GeneChing]

somewhat on topic too

Wudang kung fu show comes to Beijing
Updated: 2013-07-03 /By Le Qin (chinadaily.com.cn)


Wudang kung fu is performed at the 10th BITE.

The 10th Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) was held in the National Convention Center from June 21 to June 23. The Wudang Mountains attracted lots of attention for their picturesque landscape photos and wonderful kung fu shows.

First held by the Beijing Tourism Development Committee in 2004, BITE has become an important communication platform for international and domestic tourism. There were 887 travel agencies and tourism enterprises present at the expo.


Travel products from the Wudang Mountains

Theatrical performances with regional features were on display during the expo. A Wudang kung fu show performed three times a day attracted many visitors.

Apart from the show, introduction material about the Wudang Mountains was also given out to the visitors. Many of them said they would come to visit the scenic spot and experience Wudang’s profound culture.

[Tea Serpent]

Lads,

I'm looking for some recommendations on Wudang...books, websites, youtube...etc. I'm did a base search and keep getting lots of martial tourist sites. I'm interested in Daoism and the Internal Martial side of things...I don't know much about it other than than its a Mountain Side martial arts school that was known for its swordsmanship...and focused on Xing Yi, Bagua, Tai Chi and Daoist thought. I'm also am pretty ignorant about those styles as well.

Were they monks like Shaolin? Is it one place or several places like Shaolin? Were they rivals? Why was it founded? What were the weapons they used? Did they practice a particular style of Tai Chi....yadda yadda yadda.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Even though this question is years old the thread is still going and nobody has really tried to answer it yet. Plus it's a really good question, in fact those are probably the questions most people have, and in the case of Wudang probably even most people who train there don't even know the answer to many of those questions. So I'll take my best shot.

Wudang is a small mountain range consisting of 72 peaks surrounding one tallest peak. It is one of those areas that is both very special for it's scenic beauty and for it's biodiversity. There are a lot of springs and streams, forests, and medicinal herbs, So it the type of place that naturally attracts Taoist and Buddhist hermits.

ir had been known as a site that had many hermits for a very long time. I think (if I remember right since I'm too lazy to look it up right now) that the earliest actual Taoist temples were built by the Tang dynasty, although there could have been some earlier.
It was during the Ming dynasty that it became very big and important. The ruling family during the Ming dynasty were major patrons of Taoism and started many hugs building projects creating many palaces, temples, pavilions, etc. Several of which were built specifically so that the emperor or crown prince could go there to stay and worship. So eventually there ended up being something like over 100 temples, and about half a dozen huge "palace" complexes, a bunch of great halls and lots of other monuments.
Also during this period (early 15th century) the emperor passed an edict changing the earthly abode of Zhen Wu (the name of the god Xuan Wu when he is in human shape or being addressed respectfully) from it's ancient home in the Bei Heng Shan mountain range to the Wudang mountain range.
During the Ming dynasty there was some kind of governing organization but even then most of the places did their own thing. Different temples were run by different sects of Taoism, even within a sect there were often different independent or semi independent lineages. Some temples were associated with each other and often the big temples or "palace" temple complexes would oversee several of the smaller ones.
The Majority of Taoist lineages, or at least the majority of Taoist in the Wudang mountains were from the northern schools of Taoism. These schools have been influenced by both Buddhism and Confucian thought, ritual, and practices. Part of the influence of Buddhism was the development of monastic communities which were segregated by sex (also the ban on sex by members of the school). These schools first appeared during the late Southern Song dynasty and by the Yuan Dynasty had grown to be very influential. By that time the biggest sects of these schools had become firmly entrenched in the monastic way of life. The prevalence of the monastic schools of northern Taoism has helped the popularity of Wudang in modern times. Ironically people from the west tend to view these schools as more authentic than the original schools of Taoism. Part of this is the false idea of philosophical Taoism vs. religious Taoism invented by early Christian missionaries. With the schools that have been heavily influenced by Confucian and Buddhist morality, thought, and customs being seen as more in line with the detached philosophical mindset that westerners like to associate with supposedly real Taoism.
Just like in any other temple anywhere in China there were people who practiced martial arts. Also there were temple guards as these temples were located in the mountains and enjoyed patronage by wealthy influential families (when the imperial family start patronizing and publicly worshiping at a place other rich and powerful people usually do to) and often received valuable gifts.
The thing is there were many schools of Taoism, many temples, and many lineages, also Taoists tend to travel around a lot. So there really is no "Wudang style" there were a bunch of styles that were practiced at various temples around Wudang within various lineages. Not to mention that martial arts aren't Taoism so while some may have been passed down or even developed within a certain temple within a lineage of Taoists, they were also passed between Taoist schools and back and forth between Taoists and laymen, travelers, Buddhists, etc.
The weapons used were the same weapons used in all the other schools of martial arts. The idea of Wudang being school specializing in the sword has to do with the famous Wudang Dan Jian school of swordplay. This school was at some point passed to Song Wei Yi in Manchuria by the Wild Crane Taoist. He later passed this school on to several famous master including General Li Jinling A.K.A. Divine Sword Li. This style is made up of six different sections of swordplay which can be strung together into a 132 posture longform. In addition there are also a number of different drills and practices and a two person from. Only a few people learned the whole system however he taught many people the first section or two, including members of both the Chen and Yang Taiji families. Which is why Chen and Yang style swordplay today are basically just a poor copy of the most basic of the 6 forms of Wudang Dan Pai Jianshu, with a couple of movements from their respective styles' hand forms that lent themselves to swordplay. Although I understand that there supposedly is still a sword forms possessed by the Chen taiji people which comes from their own sword tradition before the introduction of the Wudang set.

[Tea Serpent]

As far as the XingYi Bagua Taiji Thing goes. XingYi and Bagua have absolutely no relationship to Wudang. The relationship of Taiji to Wudang is doubtful at best. We do know that several major martial artist visited there in the twenties and thirties and passed Taiji to various priests at Wudang. The majority of ancient "Wudang Taiji appears to a blend of Yang, Chen, Wu, or Zhaobao with various other martial arts. From what I have heard many of the older priests most of whom are dead now basically confirmed that their Taiji styles were basically a mixture of the various Taiji styles brought there in the early 20th century.
To understand this you need to go back the Yang family. It was the group surrounding the Yang family who first began to clain that Taiji was originated by Zhang SanFeng in the Wudang mountains. This claim was spread and given credence by Sun Lutang who was also responsible for spreading the ridiculous notion of "internal" martial versus "external" martial arts. In his book he also made the then more ridiculous claim that XingYi, Bagua, and Taiji were all related and constitute the "internal School" which originates from Wudang, as opposed to all the other styles which are from the "External School" and originate from Shaolin.
Unfortunately he was able to pass himself off as a scholar which helped people to more readily accept what was basically a book that should have rightfully been called "My Style Is Better Than Yours".
Because of the popularity of the book he was put in charge of organizing the central Guoshu institute at Nanjing. So right away he split the school into a "Wudang Section" for "Internal Styles" and a "Shaolin Section" for "External Styles"
after about 2 years he was fired because of this and other issues and his system of segregation was abolished, unfortunately the damage had already been done.
But because of the increasing popularity of his books many masters of XingYi, Bagua and Taiji went to Wudang to learn about the supposed roots of their arts. While there they usually ended up exchanging knowledge with the monks. However these people generally stayed for a very short time. What resulted usually was these masters learning some basic breathing and meditation techniques that they would try to integrate into their art under the false assumption that that stuff was the basis of their style. While the monks at Wudang would end up learning a Taiji, or XingYi or Bagua form or part of a form without learning or understanding the actual system or any of the finer points. So they too would integrate that knowledge in with the arts they had already learned.
While that doesn't mean that there isn't a Wudang Taiji form that is actually a traditionally Wudang form predating the introduction of the major Taiji styles in the early 20th century. But I can pretty much guarantee that most of their forms are just a mix of Yang or Chen or Wu style with some other random stuff.
However there are actual Wudang martial arts that have survived, although they are all on the edge of extinction, mostly thanks to the Wudang management.
The problem is that Wudang is a mountain range with many temples and lineages and many unrelated styles of kungfu. There has never been any "Wudang Style" all the different arts are unique and don't necessarily have anything to do with each other. It's not like Shaolin where even though there are different branches some of which have been separated for hundreds of years, all of them are still recognizably Shaolin, Wudang was never like that.
What the modern Wudang schools have done is to gather up forms from various old Wudang styles, pick out the ones that fits with their idea of what people want Wudang to be then jumble them up into on curriculum. Then on top of these they add Bagua, XingYi, and Taiji because ever since Sun Lutang's Books those are what people associate with Wudang. To be fair those arts have all been practiced there for at least the past 80 years, along with Baji which is also part of their curriculum. However Zhong Yun Long's Wudang Taoist Association's claims that these are all the original forms of these styles and that they all originated on Wudang are ridiculous lies to increase tourist revenue. If you want to learn the real original forms of Wudang Bagua, XingYi, or Baji, I would suggest going to Beijing because if you trace their lineages far enough back you will find some priest who spent a few weeks or months with a real master from Beijing or Tianjin.
I'm not saying that the people at Wudang aren't highly skilled, because they are. However what they practice and teach is a blend of basic Taoist meditation, Taoist health preserving skills, modern performing versions of various kungfu forms, with each person having learned forms from at least a dozen different styles, usually with some basic knowledge of some of the major applications from each form, a modified "Wudang" version of SanDa, and usually a few special skills such as some hard QiGong or some flexibility tricks. Basically your average Wudang "Taoist priest" isn't any different from your average Shaolin "Buddhist monk".
But don't kid yourself that you are learning real traditional Wudang martial arts. There is a reason that all of the forms have that certain "Wudang" look. It the exact same reason that all the forms a modern performance Wushu player performs have that Wushu look. Because they are taught a variety of basic skills and moves. Then they take that basic repertoire of moves and gestures and apply it to a bunch of different forms from different schools which are memorized one after the other.
Well, I've probably said enough to **** a lot of people off. But I have to say I am very interested in the different martial traditions and religious traditions of the Wudang mountains and I very much hope they survive despite the actions of the WTA and other schools doing everything they can to destroy them in the name of cash.
If you want to find real Wudang martial arts some of the styles do still exist intact or somewhat intact. However if you go on the Shaolin forum and hear the people there discuss their problems in finding a teacher who both knows and transmits purely traditional Shaolin martial arts then multiply that a few dozen times and you might get an idea of the difficulty of what you are facing.

[Xian]

According to those Wudang Martial Arts teachers I know they only have one form of Taiji which survived and this is the Wudang 13.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37q-GMzzK7c

The others are sets from Yang,Zhaobao etc.. family or as far as they say Taiji versions developed later on.Of course over the last years there popped out some other Taiji sets. I don't know specifically what they are but in my view judging from the body mechanics they come from the Yang, Zhaobao and so own Taiji stuff.

After have met with Indoor disciples from certain Wudang masters and Indoor disciples from Unknown other Gung Fu masters I cant really agree that at least these people just grasped the Basics of a style like Bagua.

What I can agree on is that there is a lot of making money on students cost but I guess this is nowadays everywhere in China the case. Tradition is good as long as you can sell it.. Isn't it the mantra ?

As far as I have this discussed with them its an issue they also know about.



Best regards,
Xian

[Howard]

According to those Wudang Martial Arts teachers I know they only have one form of Taiji which survived and this is the Wudang 13.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37q-GMzzK7c

The others are sets from Yang,Zhaobao etc.. family or as far as they say Taiji versions developed later on.Of course over the last years there popped out some other Taiji sets. I don't know specifically what they are but in my view judging from the body mechanics they come from the Yang, Zhaobao and so own Taiji stuff.

That Wudang 13 also is from Yang Style mostly.........

[bawang]

wudang doesn't train boxing

[GeneChing]

'Get a haircut!' sez the Shaoliner to the Wudanger.

Foreigners keen to learn Wudang kungfu
By Li Hongyi ( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-07-15


Foreigners keen to learn more about Wudang kungfu.

Wudang kungfu made it onto the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006, and it attracts the interest of martial arts enthusiasts around the world.

Also in 2006, a total of 60 coaches, led by Yuan Xiugang, went on an international tour that included the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore, and won several martial arts competitions.


A trainee practices Wudang kungfu.

Wudang Mountains receives more than 1,000 overseas students annually, and Yuan has coached more than 2,000of these students.

“They are crazy about the spirit rooted in Taoist kungfu, and their interest is strong evidence that Taoist culture remains vibrant and attractive, with its more than 1,800 years of history,” said Yuan.

Wudang Wushu Association has 12 branches abroad, with more than 6,700 registered members.


Foreigners keen to learn more about Wudang kungfu.

Edited by Niva Whyman and Le Qin

[Xian]

That Wudang 13 also is from Yang Style mostly.........

I dont know. I would say the Wudang 13 is not that what Zhang left or it least it is just a part of it what belonged to his Taiji.
Also I would say Taiji went from Wudang to Zhao Bao from Zhao Bao to Chen who mixed it with their own boxing and from there it went to Yang and so and so on.
In the meantime Wudang lost more and more of the Taiji till only the Wudang 13 was left or maybe not even that.
Somewhere the Taiji was reintroduced some sets were already altered by other people who did it in earlier times, some are newer mixes mixed with Chen and Yang stuff.
But I have no way to prove that so see it as my personal opinion.



Best regards,
Xian

[bawang]

But I have no way to prove that so see it as my personal opinion.

ur opinion is rong

[Vajramusti]

ur opinion is rong

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Agree.

[Vajramusti]

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Agree.

Chen style was not influenced by Wudang

[mawali]

I dont know. I would say the Wudang 13 is not that what Zhang left or it least it is just a part of it what belonged to his Taiji.
Somewhere the Taiji was reintroduced some sets were already altered by other people who did it in earlier times, some are newer mixes mixed with Chen and Yang stuff.
But I have no way to prove that so see it as my personal opinion.

Wudang is concept, very lucrative for the foreign audiences and it is something to market. I am suspicious of Wudang marketing because of their addition /appending the moniker Wudang to everything and calling it secret. After so many tries, it is indeed comical. Come on!
1. Wudang Yang style
2. Wudang Chen style
3. Wudang Zhaobao! Really, when Zhaobao is the village close to Chenjiagou and WUdang is where?
4. Wudang XIngyi
5. Wudang paquazhang
6. Wudang tongbei..
7. It does not take a rocket scientist to see a pattern here.

I laud their skill in attracting followers