REAL Story of Zhang Sanfeng Part 2: Tai Chi Boxing

In the first part of this series, we learned about the birth of Zhang Sanfeng in the mid-1200s, just before the Yuan Dynasty, where the Mongols ruled China. We learned how he was cured of an eye disease by a mystical Taoist in his youth, became a government official later on, but then abandoned it to seek the Tao, and spent 30 years wandering across China, and finally, at age 67, he found the master to end all masters, the Master Yoda of Taoist sages. This master was called Huolong Zhenren, the Fire Dragon Immortal. The classical texts record him as a mysterious figure. He hid from the world and didn't reveal his real name. There was no reliable way to determine where he lived, and you could say he took the heavens and earth as his abode. There were not many traces of his actions, because he did not reveal his virtuous deeds to the world. What the Fire Dragon Immortal taught was described as Da Dao, or the Great Dao. It was the true method of becoming an immortal, not just Taoist side path practices focusing on things like healing, kung fu, or feng shui. Zhang Sanfeng trained with the Fire Dragon Immortal for four years, learning the Taoist arts of energy transformation, after which, Fire Dragon Immortal told Zhang Sanfeng to leave the mountain and go cultivate elsewhere. And in the spring of the year 1324, he ended up at a place called Wudang Mountain, sometimes also called Wutang in English. Upon arriving at Wudang, he said, this mountain, one day, will be very prosperous. And later in the Ming Dynasty, with the legend of Zhang Sanfeng spreading far and wide, emperors really did commission architects and engineers to construct a huge Taoist temple complex at Wudang, which is now a World Heritage Site. It was at this mountain that Zhang Sanfeng spent a lot of his time, writing his Treatise on the Great Dao, or Da Daolun, creating the art of Tai Chi boxing and the Wudang sword style, and performing several miraculous feats that are still remembered to this day. This is The Real Story of Zhang Sanfeng, Part 2. His Philosophy, Martial Arts, and Miracles. So Zhang Sanfeng enlightened to the Great Dao at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, coming into the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Let's first take a look at his philosophy, because although we often think about martial arts and supernormal powers when talking about these Taoist sages like Zhang Sanfeng, actually though, becoming a Taoist immortal, which is what is said to unlock all these amazing abilities, is totally based on morality. Listen to this passage from the Treatise on the Great Dao. No matter whether a person is of high or low social status, is intelligent or stupid, is old or young, as long as they are quietly virtuous in their actions, compassionate, take pity on others, are loyal, filial, trustworthy, and sincere, they are totally within the Tao of being a human being. And the Tao of immortals will naturally not be far away. So we've established that Zhang Sanfeng was rooted in traditional Chinese morality. He was a true cultivator of the Tao. Now what about all the cool stuff he did? The Creation of Tai Chi Boxing So in the classical text, Nei Jia Quan Fa, written in the Qing Dynasty, it states, Zhang Sanfeng was proficient in Shaolin Kung Fu. From that base, he altered it, creating fighting arts that were the direct opposite, called the internal arts. One who obtained just a little bit of these arts would be able to defeat the average Shaolin martial artist. So that gives you the idea that he was already proficient in Shaolin Kung Fu, which we talked about in Part 1. But how did he actually come up with Tai Chi? Well, the earliest reference to Zhang Sanfeng creating Tai Chi Boxing comes from the inscription on the gravestone of Wang Zhengnan, who died in the early Qing Dynasty in 1669. The inscription is critical of Shaolin and talks about Zhang Sanfeng obtaining the idea for Tai Chi from a dream. The fierce reputation of the Shaolin arts is known by all under heaven. But these arts overemphasize attack. Thus, it is easy for people to take advantage of their weaknesses. Then there are the so-called internal arts that emphasize tranquility in overpowering an opponent. As soon as an enemy strikes, he is subdued. Thus, these are differentiated from Shaolin, which is called external arts. These internal arts originated with Zhang Sanfeng from the Song Dynasty. When Zhang Sanfeng was cultivating the Dao at Wudang Mountain, the Song Emperor Huizong wanted to see him. But the road was obstructed and he didn't make it there. I'm not really sure about that part since that would place Zhang Sanfeng much earlier. There are stories about Ming Dynasty emperors wanting to visit him though and not being able to. But let's just look at what comes next because this is the most important part. At night, he had a dream about a Daoist deity called Xuantian Shangdi and received the boxing art from him. The next day, he was able to single-handedly kill over a hundred bandits. So the earliest story says that he got it from a Daoist immortal in a dream. There is a later story which doesn't have a clear origin that says he observed a snake and either a crane or a magpie fighting. Originally, it was a magpie but I think later generations thought a crane sounded better. He observes the animals yielding instead of meeting force head-on and although this story is probably made up, that is what Tai Chi boxing is. It is soft and yielding. You try to hit a Tai Chi master, your fist will meet with emptiness. Then when you're off balance, you'll get suddenly struck or thrown or hit with a pressure point attack. Now this is not only good for fighting off a hundred bandits but also has Daoist energy practice built into the form and thus it's great for health. In China, Tai Chi was spread widely throughout the 20th century and is now practiced by over a hundred million people. In addition to Tai Chi, Zhang Sanfeng is seen as the grandfather of all of the Wudang arts and the Wudang sword is the famous straight sword that is practiced on Wudang Mountain. You also see it in the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon practiced by the fictional warrior Li Mu Bai who trained at Wudang in the story. But let's now look at some other aspects of Zhang Sanfeng's life and abilities. Mystical powers So first of all, in the history of the Ming, there is a record of Zhang dying and coming back to life. One day he said he was about to die. He left behind a eulogy and then died. People of the local county prepared a coffin and put his body inside. At his funeral, they suddenly heard noise from inside the coffin. They opened it and saw he had come back to life. That is in the official history of the Ming dynasty. Like literally it claims that Zhang Sanfeng, he had superpowers, he knew when he was going to die, he died, he fully stopped breathing and everything and then he just rose from the dead. And he would often use these powers for good. There was a time when Zhang Sanfeng encountered a child who had swallowed a coin and was in a lot of discomfort. Zhang gave him a tea leaf to swallow and then noises started coming out of the child's belly. The coin then turned into particles that were easily expelled from his body, saving the boy's life. At this point, Zhang Sanfeng had lived through the Song and Jin dynasties, the Yuan and into the Ming, approaching 200 years. Zhang Sanfeng's fame had even reached Emperor Hongwu of the Ming dynasty, who in the year 1391 sent out an envoy to try and meet Zhang Sanfeng, but he had no luck. Then we get to the period of the Yongle emperor who ruled in the early 1400s. He dispatched an official and a court eunuch taking an imperial edict, incense and gifts to try and seek Zhang Sanfeng. They searched far and wide in remote places, spending several years on the search, but didn't find him. But Zhang knew that the emperor was looking for him and he also knew what he was after. Every emperor, since the beginning of time, since they already have everything, has always desired the one thing that they don't have, an extended lifespan. You can have all the gold and treasures in the world, but like everyone else, you will die when the time comes. Now Zhang Sanfeng knew that he could not divulge his knowledge even to the emperor unless the emperor was also willing to abandon his worldly desires and walk on the path of the Tao. So instead, he writes him a letter and in it contains a poem. 天机不肯轻轻泄 犹恐当今欠蒙烈 千磨万难费心勤 吾今传语天地迈 皇帝寻我问金丹 祖师留下长生诀 长生之诀诀如何 道充德圣及良徒 解欲成心但神旅 神仙哪有一功夫 The secrets of heaven cannot be lightly disclosed, and I fear today's people lack the bravery and persistence. You must work through 1,000 tests and 10,000 hardships, but today I will pass on the overall principles of heaven and earth. The emperor seeks me to ask about the golden elixir, and actually the grandmasters have already passed down the secret to longevity. So what is this secret to longevity? Well, the way is to fill yourself with the Tao and preserve abundant virtue. Control your desires, clear your heart, quieten your spirit and thoughts. It isn't that the immortals have some special tricks. After the emperor heard this, he got the message. He commissioned massive building works at Wudang Mountain, creating a huge complex of Taoist temples. He worked on accumulating virtue through good deeds, and Zhang Sanfeng's prophecy that Wudang Mountain would be very prosperous one day was fulfilled. Now at this time, we are in the 1400s, and Zhang is approaching 200 years old. So what happened to Zhang in the end? Did he pass away? Did he ascend to heaven on a giant crane? According to the history of the Ming, in the third year of Emperor Ying Zong, who was the sixth emperor of the Ming dynasty, so this would be the year 1438, the emperor issued an imperial edict, granting the title of Tongwei Xianhua Zhenren to Zhang Sanfeng. This title means something like the immortal who understands the mysteries of the Great Tao and the magical art of transformations. I don't know, that's a good translation. Whatever. But in the end, no one knew whether he was dead or alive. So no one knew what happened to him. People estimate he lived to 212 years, but who knows? Maybe he's still up there in the mountains, looking down on China, probably shaking his head, wondering where the Great Tao is in the modern world. But the truth is it's still there for those who are willing to take up the path. All right, guys, that is the video for today. It's hard to get a massive amount of views on content about Chinese history, so if you do want to support us by joining as a member, do click the join button down below. It's $4.99 a month, so basically you're just buying us a coffee once a month. And if you leave a comment, it does get highlighted to us. So if you ask a question, we will do our best to reply to you. We also have one members-only video on the channel so far, but we want to do more in the future. Of course, you can still just subscribe for free and see all of our public videos when we release them. 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