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Zhang Sanfeng

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.
Zhang Sanfeng
張zhāng三sān丰fēng
Statue of Zhang Sanfeng at the Wudang Mountains
Born12th century
San city in China
StyleNeijia
Other information
Notable students13 students
Zhang Sanfeng
Traditional Chinese張zhāng 三sān 丰fēng
Simplified Chinese张zhāng 三sān 丰fēng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Sānfēng
Wade–GilesChang1 San1-feng1
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Zhang Sanfeng (also spelled Zhang San Feng, Chang San-Feng) refers to a legendary Chinese Taoist who many believe invented the Chinese martial art tai chi.[1] However, other sources point to earlier versions of tai chi predating Sanfeng.[2] He is purported to have achieved immortality.[3]

History

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There are conflicting accounts of where Zhang Sanfeng was born. According to the History of Ming, he was born in Liaoning in late Song and lived up to 212 years.[3] In 2014, the local government of Shaowu, Fujian province, claimed that he was born in their city. His given name was Tong (通tōng) and his courtesy name was Junbao (君jūn寶baŏ, 君jūn宝baŏ).[4] He specialised in Confucian and Taoist studies, scholarly and literary arts[citation needed]. During the reign of Emperor Shizu in the Yuan dynasty, he was nominated as a candidate to join the civil service and held office as the Magistrate of Boling County (博bó陵líng縣xiàn; around present-day Dingzhou, Baoding, Hebei). While touring around the mountainous regions near present-day Baoji, Shaanxi, he saw the summits of three mountains and decided to give himself the Taoist name "Sanfengzi" (三sān丰fēng子zĭ), hence he also became known as "Zhang Sanfeng".

Zhang Sanfeng's life was one of indifference to fame and wealth. After declining to serve the government and giving away his property to his clan, he travelled around China and lived as an ascetic. He spent several years on Mount Hua before settling in the Wudang Mountains.[5]

Legend

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Zhang Sanfeng is purported as having created the concept of neijia (內neì家jiā) in Chinese martial arts, specifically tai chi, a Neo-Confucian syncretism of martial arts with his mastery of daoyin (or neigong) principles.[6] On one occasion, he observed a bird attacking a snake and was greatly inspired by the snake's defensive tactics. It remained still and alert in the face of the bird's onslaught until it made a lunge and fatally bit its attacker. This incident inspired him to create a set of 75 tai chi movements.[7] He is also associated with the Taoist monasteries in the Wudang Mountains.

Huang Zongxi's Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669) gave Zhang Sanfeng credit for the development of a Taoist "internal martial arts" style, as opposed to the "external" style of the Shaolin martial arts tradition. Stanley Henning's article, Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan, criticised the myth that Zhang Sanfeng created tai chi and cast doubt on whether Zhang really existed.[8]

Zhang Sanfeng was also an expert in the White Crane and Snake styles of Chinese martial arts[citation needed], and in the use of the jian (double-edged Chinese sword).[citation needed] According to 19th century documents preserved in the archives of the Yang and Wu-styles tai chi families,[citation needed] Zhang Sanfeng's master was Xu Xuanping, a Tang dynasty Taoist poet and daoyin expert.

Writings

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Writings attributed to Zhang Sanfeng include the Da Dao Lun (大dà道daò論lùn),[9] Xuanji Zhi Jiang (玄xuán機jī直zhí講jiăng), Xuan Tan Quanji (玄xuán譚tán全quán集jí), Xuan Yao Pian (玄xuán要yaò篇piān), Wu Gen Shu Ci (無wú根gēn樹shù詞cí) and others[citation needed]. These were compiled into a collection known as The Complete Collection of Mr Zhang Sanfeng (張zhāng三sān丰fēng先xiān生shēng全quán集jí), which is found in Dao Zang Ji Yao (道daò藏cáng輯jí要yaò), a series of Taoist texts compiled by Peng Dingqiu (彭péng定dìng求qiú) in the early Qing dynasty. It also contained introductory notes on Taoist martial arts and music.

In folktales, fiction and media

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Literature

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Owing to his legendary status, Zhang Sanfeng's name appears in Chinese wuxia novels, films and television series as a spiritual teacher and martial arts master and Taoist practitioner. Zhang Sanfeng's popularity among the Chinese is also attributed to his personality and association with Confucianism and Taoism.[10]

The best known depiction of Zhang Sanfeng in fiction is probably in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, which is primarily set in the final years of the Yuan dynasty. In the novel, Zhang Sanfeng is a former Shaolin monk who founded the Wudang School based in the Wudang Mountains. He has seven apprentices, the "Seven Heroes of Wudang", one of whom is the father of the novel's protagonist, Zhang Wuji.

According to The Complete Collection of Mr Zhang Sanfeng, he might have been still alive in the reign of the Tianshun Emperor (r. 1457–1464) of the Ming dynasty. The emperor, who was unable to find Zhang Sanfeng, gave him the title of zhenren (Taoist immortal).[11]

Film and television

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Notes

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  1. ^ "The Father of Tai Chi and a Mysterious Immortal Zhang Sangfeng". Internal Wudang Martial Arts. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ^ Kiew-Kit, Wong (1996-11-01). The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Practice. Element Books Ltd. pp. 16–19. ISBN 9781852307929.
  3. ^ a b "明míng史shĭ/卷juàn299 – 维weí基jī文wén库kù, 自zì由yoú的de图tú书shū馆guăn". zh.wikisource.org (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  4. ^ "Saints & Sages Part VII [part 2]: Zhang Sanfeng (1247——)". Purple Cloud. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  5. ^ Liu, Albert (2004). Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts. North Atlantic Books.
  6. ^ Henning, Stanley E. (1981). "The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective". Military Affairs. 45 (4): 173–179. doi:10.2307/1987462. JSTOR 1987462.
  7. ^ [dead link] Mount Wudang – Abode of Immortals and a Martial Monk Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, by staff reporter Huo Jianying (front page)
  8. ^ Henning, Stanley (1994). "Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan" (PDF). Journal of the Chen Style Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii. 2 (3): 1–7. Archived from the original on 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  9. ^ "Saints & Sages Part VII: 張zhāng三sān丰fēng Zhang San Feng (1247– ) – Purple Cloud". Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  10. ^ "Zhang Sanfeng". U China Visa. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  11. ^ 李lĭ西xī月yuè. "张zhāng三sān丰fēng先xiān生shēng全quán集jí". Chinese Text Project.

References

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  • Wile, Douglas Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the late Ch'ing Dynasty (1996) State University of New York Press, Albany. ISBN 0-7914-2653-X
  • Albert Liu, Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts, North Atlantic Books, 2004
  • Journal of Asian Martial Arts Volume 16, No. 4, 2007. Via Media Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico US. ISSN 1057-8358
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