A Casual Conversation at the Pengxiang Martial Arts Hall in Yongchun County, Fujian Province,
Interviewee: School Owner Zheng Xiaorong
June 22, 2024
Part 3
For The Development Status of Martial Arts Transmission in Yongchun County after the Epidemic Part 2 click here.
Special thanks to Sifu William Wain-Williams of the Monkey Steals Peach web project, and Sifu Xu Lanyu, vice chairman of Fuzhou Wushu Association, who helped to arranged for this interview. Also special thanks to Yongchun White Crane Boxing Pengxiang Research Association. Additionally, special thanks to Mr Lin Weimin (林伟民) of Wudao vinegar house（五道醋业）in Yongchun county for additional cultural and historical explanations.
The site of the association is located in the annex building of Taoyuan Hall in Yongchun County, with the Yongchun Zheng Lishu Teaching and Boxing Museum, and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Institute is located at No. 115-1, Huba Road, Taocheng Town. It inherits the Crane Law legacy of Pengxiang Zheng Li, Zheng Pet, Zheng Qiao and other ancestors. At present, it is the editorial department of Beijing Wuhun magazine, the display point of the Southern Fujian Cultural and Ecological Reserve, the overseas network teaching demonstration site of Yongchun White Crane Boxing, and the national fitness activity site of Yongchun County - Taodong Community Martial Arts Tutoring Station.
Q: Have you ever heard that Fujian or Yongchun had contact and cooperation during the Boxer Uprising?
A: I haven't heard of it, but we are mainly in contact with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At that time, there was a 3,000th heavenly King named Lin Jun (Note: The Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion gave out about ten thousand titles for kings). We have a legend that the place where we ate just now is Lin Jun's hometown some distance further on.
At that time, he was also a rebel, and he was very tall, like about one meter nine or two meters, but when he walked north, he was assaulted by the local gentry. In ancient times, there was a hole in the middle of the stone bridge, and the militia ambushed him the small bridge, the musket was placed on the hole of the bottom of the stone bridge, Lin Jun's body size was very obvious, this is a true history, as a result, three or four muskets shot at the same time. At that time, there were many sayings, such as Lin Jun was also a master of White Crane Boxing, and he had been practicing for 20 years since he was a child.
Q: In the story record, it seems that Fang Qiniang was more cruel than Zheng, and Zheng Li has a lot of friendly martial arts exchanges.
A: This one doesn't have much foundation. Even then, according to common sense understanding, it is also normal, because Fang Qiniang is an outsider and a woman, her physical strength and status could not be as good as that of a man, so she must be cruel when she fights. We also talked about “Release the hand mercilessly, otherwise don’t attack”. If you want to show mercy to save face, you refuse to attack at all, so it's still in line with modern Crane doctrine. The old White Crane Boxing was mainly based on fingers and palms. Many previous masters specialized in practicing fingers and grip, such as Malaysian Gan Deyuan had a brother surnamed Yan, who could insert his fingers into the banana tree and grab the core. Legend has it that when he was fighting with the Malays, he inserted his fingers into the opponent’s belly and grabbed his small intestines. Those people before us were thinking in the mindset of the medieval cold weapon era, and the training methods were completely different. They used pressure points. It is not as exaggerated as the TV shows, but it will be painful and even cause fainting. There are many fragile acupuncture points in the middle line, which can be therapeutic by pressing lightly, and lead to death for the other party if stricken hard, so as a female founder, Fang focused on accurate hitting of weak points.
Q: According to an online article, Mr. Pan Shufeng was born as a literati and created the White Crane Boxing routines of most modern public performances, and improved the performance style and beautification. May I ask do modern people still practice the more primitive routines and practices recorded in the ancient boxing book? What did the White Crane Boxing look like before the beautification?
A: Martial arts and other cultural arts will evolve naturally with the trend of the times. There are differences between the sects. It is difficult to say who is more primitive in the practice methods of different schools, and this analysis is not clear. Let me introduce an “archaic” example of Crane Boxing: do you know why we used to practice the same way as Ryukyu, with bare feet, bare chest, and only one pair of shorts on the whole body?
Q: I don't know, I guess it's a practice to train rooting.
A: That is a relatively shallow reasoning. White Crane Boxing is a practice of internal strength, a practice of rising and sinking. What we now call fascial practice is to see the force of the joints of the feet and the whole body, reflecting the muscles and bones. Then the teacher will correct the details of the body step by step. In this way, the teacher can see the progress of your skills, the inner strength of your body.
Q: The manual says that Fang Qiniang and Zheng Li's father dueled on the street, but the record is a bit vague. His father told Zheng Li to learn boxing from Fang Qiniang before he died; was Zheng Li's father injured and died, or was he sick from an unrelated illness?
A: Legend has it that he was injured and died, and it was an internal injury, but the truth is uncertain. There are more records of Zheng Li's fights like this, and there are many records of defeating opponents. Zheng Li's legendary stories are more numerous than Fang Qiniang’s.
Q: Was there a tradition of White Crane Boxing outside Fujian Province in the past? For example, Fuzhou, Yongtai, Minqing, Putian, Taiwan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and so on.
A: A lot. But I have not heard of Sichuan. Jiangxi has some. Schools are more numerous in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces. They are also in Nanning, and those in Guangxi are inherited from the Qing Dynasty. And then in Southeast Asia, many of them were also inherited before the Republic of China era.
Q: Many martial arts schools in Putian and Fuzhou use the concept of the Five Elements Hand. Does Yongchun White Crane Spring have Five Element hands?
A: Yes, it is the principle of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Yongchun’s concept is local. When it spread to Putian or Fuzhou, there were differences according to some personal understandings, and they developed and changed. It's all good overall. According to the strict principles of Crane, no matter what kind of hand, we need to “sink, rise, absorb, and eject.” It is done not only in the hands, not only in the body, but also in the breathing.
Q: The internal styles in the north generally likes to pull the fascia. Are the details of the three battles connected to the fascia?
A: Relevant, but needless to say, the details are private.
Q: National TV once had Hong Kong teacher Li Gang participate in a White Crane Boxing program. He mentioned the bone stacking or ribcage skill. Did he borrow the words of Cantonese people to describe Crane Boxing?
A: I am very familiar with Mr. Li Gang, National TV, and Liu Kangyi in Taiwan. Liu Kangyi learned from Huang Mingzhong's father. At that time, I asked Mr. Su Yinghan, Li Gang, and the other three people to go to Tianya to join the National TV program, but Mr. Su's mother died, and the personnel from the birthplace of Crane Boxing did not get to go. The stacking bones are in the Fujian language, and Mr. Li Gang is originally from Nan'an, next door to Yongchun. His master was a native of Zhangzhou. There is a local saying that it is difficult to heal if the injury is between the ribs, so we have to fold it up when we practice. In addition, the White Crane Fist uses all the power that can be exerted by the body, which can be both defense and attack.
Q: Can you tell us more about the shoulder blade?
A: The Crane method cannot raise the shoulders; all power is scattered when lifted. They must be sunken, and the bones must be linked. The dantian is actually similar, the dantian is the engine. White Crane Boxing emphasizes inch power.
Q: In the 80s, a variety of different hand and step patterns were recorded in Fujian village Kung Fu styles in the magazine Miscellaneous Affairs of the Fujian martial arts, but they have not been seen in modern media. Can you explain?
A: Most of the special techniques are private. For example, the three battles in our Pengxiang Martial Arts Hall have some special hand shapes. For special steps, we also have ground routines and exercises.
Q: Can you tell us about the pursed lips, widening of the nose and glaring of the eyes?
A: One method is used for protection, and the other is for intimidation.
Q: Why did Fujian martial artists like to show such exaggerated facial displays in documentaries in the 80s, but it has basically disappeared in modern times? Is this concept possible to hide?
A: This was mainly for performances. Maintaining this posture all the time concentrates the strength of the human body on a single point on the face, resulting in feeling heavy on the top and light on the bottom, ignoring the awareness of the lower body.
Q: In addition to Taizu Boxing, have you heard of any other martial arts schools in Yongchun County?
A: It's complicated at the moment; Except for a few sects that admit that they are Taizu Boxing, other schools all claim to be Crane Boxing. Many of the monkey, monk styles etc. are gone.
Q: Did you ever hear of Snake Boxing or Leopard Boxing when you were a child?
A: No. Praying Mantis Boxing also no. We have mantis names for individual moves, but that's not the focus in the system.
Q: Has the teacher ever come into contact with Zhejiang's Crane Boxing?
A: Yes, it went there more than 200 years ago in the era of Jiaqing. They have some exercises, such as the dantian method, which is very similar to ours.
Q: Why do they stand and move so widely?
A: This is related to the differences in their exercises and to natural evolution.
Q: I saw some martial examination stones in the school, is there still a practice of martial arts in Yongchun County?
A: Very few people practice, because there are too many modern exercise machines now. People think these implements are outdated.
In closing: The interviewer on behalf of Uechi Ryu Zankai in Yomitan Okinawa, Japan showed Master Pan some Pre-WWII Karate movements for his feedback on possible relations. Due to submission length guidelines the section has been cut, but will be published in the research book Uechi Ryu Zankai Bunburyodo Vol 4 written by Sensei Gordon Seizan Breyette.
