Myth and History in the Chinese Martial Arts

I stated in the beginning of the article “Everything my Sifu told me was a lie” that I would put together a cleaner version of the information. I hope this one makes a little more sense. Most of the information is the same, but I have put it into a more comprehensible order, and added some new information and analysis.

 

Every martial artist has told and retold the well known and well worn story of Bodidharma. How he traveled to China in around 525 AD. He had a visit with the Emperor, who was shocked and amazed, mortified and stupefied to find that Bodidharma did not believe that the Emperor had gained any merit in the next life for all of his good deeds in this life. So he sent Bodidharma away. Bodidharma made his way next to the Shaolin Temple. Here he tried to teach the monks his unique take on Buddhism. But he found the monks to be in terrible physical condition. He went out and sat in a nearby cave for nine years, came out at the end of this seclusion and wrote two books, The Muscle and Tendon Change Classic, and the Marrow and Brain Washing Classic. He also created a set of exercises, the Eighteen Lohan Hands, which formed the foundation of the Chinese martial arts, and later still, all martial arts in the world.

 

Nearly every martial arts history one is able to find in books or online will tell this tale. But, sadly, this legend is just another lie. The legend of Bodidharma cannot be traced back further than the popular Chinese novel The Travels of Lao Can, which was written between 1904 and 1907. For reasons unknown to me, no one bothers to question the myth. In China, the myth has been examined repeatedly. Tang Fan Sheng (Tang Hao) reported in 1930 that the Bodidharma story can be traced back to a single source – the preface by Li Jing to the “Marrow Washing Classic”. Matsuda Takatomo wrote An Illustrated History of Chinese Martial Arts, which had original research, as well as revisiting work done previously by Tang Hao and Xu Jedong. He reports that the oldest available copies of the classics were written in 1827. There were books published in the time gap (525 A.D. – 1827 A.D.) which mentions Shaolin, but it seems that the Shaolin Temple gained some notoriety due to staff technique, not empty hand boxing. And even this notoriety was not highly praised by all. There are some contemporary writings which hold Shaolin staff in low regard. So, it would seem that in the world of fact, Shaolin boxing is not the origin of all martial arts. Shaolin boxing isn’t even the origin of Shaolin boxing!

 

Bodidharma didn’t create the Chinese martial arts. And even without trying to debunk the legend of Bodidharma, one must look at the tons of archaeological evidence which clearly show that martial arts were practiced in China long before the Shaolin temple was ever built. Even if Bodidharma did all that is said of him (he didn’t), it means a lot less if the Chinese martial arts already existed before he was ever there. One should give some thought to the exercises which are said to have been created by Bodidharma and supposedly evolved into the Chinese martial arts, and think about just exactly how much evolution we are talking about. The exercises are nothing like any martial art. The so called 18 Lohan hands are a series of basic callisthenic exercises which bear no resemblance to martial arts.  It was all researched and exposed as falsehood by martial arts historian Tang Hao. And did the world stop telling the lies when Tang Hao exposed the truth back in the 1930’s? No! That would make too much sense! Instead, the martial arts community, almost as if they had met and discussed the matter (they didn’t), ignored the research and factual presentation of Tang Hao on the history of Chinese martial arts. They all opted to perpetuate the lie of Bodidharma. Why they would have wanted to hold on to the false story is beyond me. The fact is this; the Chinese Martial Arts did not originate in the Shaolin Temple. The Chinese martial arts originated with the Militaries of the various city-states that eventually became the various dynasties which became China.

 

Part of the ease in believing the myth, aside from the massive amount of repetition it gets from so called authorities, is in the disconnect our modern world has between what we call “martial arts”, and military disciplines. In the modern sense, a martial art is a practice of self defense activities which are pursued for sport or health reasons. In the older sense, a martial art would be military training. Somehow this disconnect has crept into our common sense, and in our modern time, we fail to see it unless it is pointed out to us. It would be extremely absurd to assert that China had no standardized military training until however many decades or possibly centuries it took for Bodidharma’s 18 Lohan Hands to develop into Shaolin Boxing. And in China, it was common practice to conscript civilians into military service (in the modern time, it would be called the draft). People had to know how to protect themselves. And they had to have some ability, however small, in the use of weapons, for then as now; hand to hand fighting should only be seen as a last resort. All soldiers know this. The real martial arts never began as a sport no matter the country of origin. It was a serious, life-or-death training for the military.

 

The myths and falsehoods surrounding the Shaolin Temple are perpetuated by people who do not want to be cast out of the martial arts “in group”. Or, perhaps, it is just so much easier to carry the same old story which everyone has already heard, rather than tell the truth and have to explain it to people who already believe the lie. Add to this the fact that, just as it was in previous generations in China, people take legendary figures and weave an intricate tapestry of lies in order to connect their style or system with these figures of legend. They follow this old practice in order to legitimize their style, or perhaps to add some perceived glory to the art. This is still a common practice today. How many styles claim that some long dead founder learned the system while working as a servant in the house of someone else? Look at the following:

 

http://www.taichifollowme.com/article/article1.htm

 

An excerpt:

“Yang Lu Chan is the most important people about Tai Chi Chuan phylogeny. The story of Yang Lu Chan learning Tai Chi Chuan is very famous in China. Then, he was a counterjumper in Chen family herbal medicine shop at his hometown Yong Nian County, He Bei Province. Later, he was sent to Chen Jia Gou, Wen Xian County, Henan Province ,hometown of Chen family, for his brightness, hard working and honesty. Chen Chang Xing was teaching Tai Chi Chuan at Chen Jia Gou then, and Yang Lu Chan was very eager to learn Tai Chi Chuan from Chen Chang Xing. But he could not realize his dream because of the severe familial restrictness. So Yang Lu Chan began to learn Tai Chi Chuan in his own way by peeping and listening carefully while Chen Chang Xing was teaching his student, then he practiced and exercised alone secretly. Then by then, his skill improved to a certain extend.

One night some years later, the secret was discovered by Chen Chang Xing when Yang Lu Chan was practicing Tai Chi Chuan. According to the tradition of Wushu circle, it is a very fearful mistake and tobu to learn kung fu of others secretly. And the learner would be abolished kung fu from his body if he is lucky, even be killed if he is unlucky. But Chen Chang Xing did not do that, because he was kindheart and inspired by Yang Lu Chan’s diligence and honesty. And so, he accepted Yang Lu Chan as his student. Since then, Yan Lu Chan followed Chen Chang Xing and learned Tai Chi Chuan seriously for 18 years , and finally he realized the soul and essence of Tai Chi Chuan.”

And this:

 

http://www.hskfounder.zoomshare.com/1.html from which we read:

 

“Upon their arrival in King Mui, the two were met by Chan Heung, the chief gung fu instructor there.  Jeong Kwan explained their situation but was faced with the unfortunate fact that those without the Chan Surname were allowed to reside in their village much less learn their gung fu.  But Jeong Kwan pleaded until Chan Heung devised a plan.  He was able to take in the young boy, but only in the capacity of a groundskeeper.  However, the young Jeong Yim wasn’t allowed to learn the gung fu from their village.   An agreement was made and in 1836, Jeong Kwan left his young nephew with Chan Heung.  

                      During his daily chores, the young Jeong Yim watched as the students practiced their gung fu.  Since he already was accomplished by the age of 12, he was able to pick up Chan Heung’s Choy Lee Fut rather quickly.  At the time, Choy Lee Fut was based off of the styles taught by Monk Choy Fook, and Lee Yau San.  Jeong Yim was already familiar with the Lee Ga system, which ironically they shared the same sifu.  So at night time  while everyone was sleeping, Jeong Yim would practice his stolen gung fu until he was caught in the act by Chan Heung.”

 

See any similarity? I could go on and on with just how many different styles claim this story as part of their “history, but that would take this too far off topic, I will save it for another day. For now I will just note in passing that this story is so widespread that it more than likely originated in a Wu Xiao novel in China. It is possible, I suppose, that one of the arts is telling the authentic story, and that all of the others which use the story have stolen their history, but I sincerely doubt it.

 

Another problem occurs when one begins to research the Southern Chinese martial arts, which is where my research naturally had to go, as I was ultimately trying to write about the history of Hung Gar.

 

If you travel to Fujian province in China, and visit several cities, you will find several sites which claim to be the southern Shaolin Temple. Put simply – there is not one shred of evidence that such a temple ever existed. There are claims upon claims, but the earliest references to the southern Shaolin Temple are found in 19^th century Heaven and Earth Society membership manuals. From all outward appearances, the 1915 manual called Secrets of Shaolin Boxing is the reference point for most of these myths, and people seem, for decades on decades, to treat it as fact. To this day, the claims from this one source are treated as fact! The term “according to tradition” is used to erase the need for actual research. This book was little more than an attempt by the secret societies to “weave together” the various myths surrounding Chinese martial arts. The manual made Bodidharma the founder of Chan (Zen), although the doctrine was well established by the time Bodidharma was said to have resided at the Shaolin Temple. This weaving took the groundless stories, and presented them all as fact. It also provided the opportunity for the Hung Mun society to claim being founded by some renegade monks from a temple which did not exist. This allowed them to recruit through fostering anti Qing sentiment in the country. Tang Hao and Xu Jedong exposed all of this as fantasy in the 1930’s, and Stanley Henning brought it back up in the late 80’s/early 90’s, but the mainstream martial arts community clings to the fabrication as if their entire existence depends upon it. Poor Ji Seen Sim See is said to be a survivor of the destruction of the Northern Shaolin Temple. Sometimes he is one of the five ancestors who survived the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple. To ease this discrepancy, many martial arts “historians” claim that he survived the destruction of the northern and fled to the southern, only to survive that destruction as well! Talk about a run of bad luck! And whenever you mention the Five Ancestors, you must be clear about which version of the story you are speaking of – the Hung Mun or the Hung Gar. Although both are supposed to be the same thing, the southern kung fu systems claim a different set of people than the Triads claim. If one will take a bit of time to look into what was going on in China at this time, it becomes clear that the Heaven and Earth Society was fostering the anti-Qing sentiment to recruit members. It seems that making up a history was as popular then as it is today.

 

There is also a long standing myth based on the Chinese saying “Bei Tui, Nan Quan”, which is, in English, “North leg, South fist”. The general line on this one goes that all of the northern areas of China are either vast open plains, or mountains. As such the people there traveled mainly on horseback, and as such would have developed strong legs. In the south, the story continues, the alleys were small, and crowded, and there was more marshland, so people traveled by boat, or foot.

 

A more likely idea was proposed in 1998 by Stanley Henning that military hand to hand combat would be short bridge (close in fighting), or short boxing, as opposed to the more flowery and pretty long boxing of the northern regions. Adding to this view are the facts of military recruitment in southern regions due to repeated invasions by the Japanese pirates. When this fact is taken into consideration, one is able to see clearly that the densely populated cities in the south, being harassed by Japanese pirates, and the local population being conscripted into military service = southern short bridge boxing. In actual combat, especially in the circumstances in which the military find themselves performing hand to hand combat, the fancy high kicks (which martial artists love to perform but quietly admit are useless in a fight) are not seen. One can see then how the southern styles of Chinese martial arts may have developed along a different line, and developed a different fighting mentality than the northern flowery long boxing. It is not really so complicated.

 

So how did these military techniques become the elaborate kung fu systems we see today? What about those techniques which clearly have no martial purpose whatsoever? Myth and idiocy creep into the mix here, and we end up with a stupid line about how we no longer know what the move is for because someone died and never told their most trusted disciple. Then we are told the line about how we need to do a ton of in depth application study. Only rarely will the truth of the matter ever come out. The simple truth is that the techniques which make no sense at all were put in there to make the forms more interesting for street performances or Chinese Opera. In earlier times in China, a martial artist had only a few choices as far as martial related employment. Basically, you could go into the military, work in private security, or work as a street performer. Only later did the public martial arts school become an option.  

 

Hung Gar has a fake history, and it has a real one. It is just that the real history is not as exciting as the fake one. People in the southern part of China practiced a type of short bridge boxing which came to be known as Hung Gar. It is no less a brutal martial art for the fabrication of it’s history. It seems that martial arts have a real problem with the truth anyway – look at the lies in any available history of Taekwondo! 4,000 year history my foot! So it would seem that, comfortingly, Hung Gar is not alone. All of the southern Shaolin systems face the same dilemma.

 

I had about fifty pages written on the history of the Chinese martial arts and China when I started really thinking about the Bodidharma myth, and how I had read some accounts which discredited the entire myth. I started doing some more in depth research from reliable (i.e. non martial arts) resources, and found tons of information.

 

Here are some references for further reading on this subject. If you feel the need to do an online slam of me for this article, please be smart enough to read the information in the references first. I am not the only one out there proclaiming the truth.

 

Or go to Google Scholar, or Jstor. Anytime you go to a regular martial arts school’s website, they are selling you something.

 

References:

• The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective, S. Henning (Dec. 1981)
• On Politically Correct Treatment of Myths in the Chinese Martial Arts, S. Henning (1995)
• Shaolin-Wudang Research, Tang Hao (1930)
• Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals A Historical Survey, B. Kennedy and E. Guo (2005)
• The Riddle of the Southern Shaolin, C. Toepker
• Damo: Conspiracyof Ignorance, C. Toepker

 

Everything my Sifu told me was a lie…

The title is a gross exageration…I realize that this entry is not the most organized I have ever written. However, I felt that it deals with an important topic, and I will be posting a lot more on this subject. Eventually, it will all get more organized and concise. The subject matter is what is currently hampering my long promised book on the history of Hung Gar. The more research I did into the subject, the worse the standard story looked. Then when I got into the actual beginnings of Hung Gar, things really unraveled. This is not my final position; it is simply where my thinking is at this moment. I am still processing a ton of information, and I am also trying to get it all organized and a much more detailed article will be coming soon.

 

Nearly every martial artist on the planet knows how the martial arts originated.

 

At least, they think they know.

 

What we know is based on what we were told. Unfortunately, what we were told, and what we usually tell our students is a lie.

 

As an example, we all know that Bodidharma traveled to China in around 525 AD. He had a visit with the Emperor, who was shocked and amazed, mortified and stupefied to find that Bodidharma did not believe that the Emperor had gained any merit in the next life for all of his good deeds in this life. So he sent Bodidharma away. Bodidharma made his way next to the Shaolin Temple. Here he tried to teach them his unique take on Buddhism. But he found the monks to be in terrible physical condition. He went out and sat in a nearby cave for nine years, came out at the end of this seclusion and wrote two books, The Muscle and Tendon Change Classic, and the Marrow and Brain Washing Classic. He also created a set of exercises, the Eighteen Lohan Hands, which formed the foundation of the Chinese martial arts, and all martial arts in the world.

 

Nearly every martial arts history one is able to find in books or online will tell this tale.

 

Well, it is all pure BS.

 

The legend of Bodidharma cannot be traced back further than the popular Chinese novel The Travels of Lao Can, which was written between 1904 and 1907.

 

And even without trying to debunk the legend of Bodidharma, one must look at the tons of archaeological evidence which clearly shows that martial arts were practiced in China long before the Shaolin temple was ever built. Even if Bodidharma did all that is said of him, it means a lot less if the Chinese martial arts already existed before he was ever there.

 

He didn’t create the Chinese martial arts. One should give some thought to the exercises which are said to have been created by Bodidharma and evolved into the Chinese martial arts, and think about just exactly how much evolution we are talking about here. The exercises are nothing like any martial art.

 

I feel that part of the ease in believing the myth, aside from the massive amount of repetition it gets from so called authorities, is in the disconnect our modern world has between what we call “martial arts”, and military disciplines.

 

In the modern sense, a martial art is a practice of self defense activities which are pursued for sport or health reasons. In the older sense, a martial art would be military training. Somehow this disconnect has crept into our common sense, and in our modern time, we fail to see it unless it is pointed out to us. It would be extremely absurd to assert that China had no standardized military training until however many decades it took for Bodidharma’s 18 Lohan Hands to develop into Shaolin Boxing.

 

The myths and falsehoods surrounding the Shaolin Temple are perpetuated by people who do not want to be cast out of the martial arts “in group”. Or, perhaps, it is just so much easier to carry the same old story which everyone has already heard, rather than tell the truth and have to explain it to people who already believe the lie.

 

It was all researched and exposed as falsehood by martial arts historian Tang Hao. And did the world stop telling the lies when Tang Hao exposed the truth back in the 1930’s?

 

No! That would make too much sense! No, the martial arts community, almost as if they had met and discussed the matter (they didn’t), ignored the research and factual presentation of Tang Hao on the history of Chinese martial arts. They all opted to perpetuate the lie of Bodidharma. Why they would have wanted to hold on to the false story is beyond me.

 

For me, I will no longer pass the myth on to any who want to find out about the truth of the history of Chinese martial arts. I will give it straight.

 

The facts; the Chinese Martial Arts did not originate in the Shaolin Temple. The Chinese martial arts originated with the Militaries of the various city-states that eventually became the various dynasties which became China.

 

The martial arts never began as a sport no matter the country of origin. It was a serious, life-or-death training for the military.

 

Another problem occurs when one begins to research the Southern Chinese martial arts, which is where my research naturally had to go, as I was ultimately trying to write about the history of Hung Gar.

 

There is a long standing myth based on the Chinese saying “Bei Tui, Nan Quan”, which is, in English, “North leg, South fist”. The general line on this one goes that all of the northern areas of China are either vast open plains, or mountains. As such the people there traveled mainly on horseback, and as such would have developed strong legs. In the south, the story continues, the alleys were small, and crowded, and there was more marshland, so people traveled by boat, or foot.

 

A more likely idea was proposed in 1998 by Stanley Henning that military hand to hand combat would be short bridge (close in fighting), or short boxing, as opposed to the more flowery and pretty long boxing of the northern regions. Adding to this view are the facts of military recruitment in southern regions due to repeated invasions by the Japanese pirates. All of a sudden, one is able to see clearly that the densely populated cities in the south, being harassed by Japanese pirates, and the local population being conscripted into military service – southern short bridge boxing. In actual combat, especially in the circumstances in which the military find themselves performing hand to hand combat, the fancy high kicks (which martial artists love to perform but quietly admit are useless in a fight) are not seen. One can see then how the southern styles of Chinese martial arts may have developed along a different line, and developed a different fighting mentality than the northern flowery long boxing.

 

Then there is the problem of the southern Shaolin Temple.

 

If you travel to Fujian province in China, and visit several cities, one will find several sites which claim to be the southern Shaolin Temple. Put simply – there is not one shred of evidence that such a temple ever existed. There are claims upon claims, but the earliest references to the southern Shaolin Temple are found in 19^th century Heaven and Earth Society membership manuals. From all outward appearances, the 1915 manual called Secrets of Shaolin Boxing is the reference point for most of these myths, and people seem, for decades on decades, to treat it as fact. To this day, the claims from this one source are treated as fact! This book was little more than an attempt by the secret societies to “weave together” the various myths surrounding Chinese martial arts. The manual made Bodidharma the founder of Chan (Zen), although the doctrine was well established by the time Bodidharma was said to have resided at the Shaolin Temple. This weaving took the groundless stories, and presented them all as fact. It also provided the opportunity for the Hung Mun society to claim being founded by some renegade monks from a temple which did not exist. This allowed them to recruit through fostering anti Qing sentiment in the country. Tang Hao and Xu Jedong exposed all of this as fantasy in the 1930’s, and Stanley Henning brought it back up in the late 80’s/early 90’s, but the mainstream martial arts community clings to the entire fabrication as if their entire existence depends upon it.

 

So, where are we?

 

I am training in a martial art which originated in a temple which did or didn’t exist, founded by criminal organizations that fabricated their origins and history out of thin air. The temple that didn’t exist was affiliated with one that did, but was not known for martial arts until the 1600’s.

 

No one ever tells you that the techniques which make no sense at all were put in there to make the forms more interesting for street performances or Chinese Opera. It is always some stupid line about how we no longer know what the move is for because someone died and never told their most trusted disciple. Then comes the line about how we need to do a ton of in depth application study.

 

It is enough to give me a HUGE headache.

 

Okay, the Bodidharma story…

 

For reasons unknown to me, no bothers to question it. In China, it has been examined repeatedly. Tang Fan Sheng (Tang Hao) reported in 1930 that the Bodidharma story can be traced back to a single source – the preface by Li Jing to the “Marrow Washing Classic”.

 

Matsuda Takatomo wrote An Illustrated History of Chinese Martial Arts, which had original research, as well as revisiting work done previously by Tang Hao and Xu Jedong. He reports that the oldest available copies of the classics were written in 1827. There were books published in the time gap which mention Shaolin, but it seems that the Shaolin Temple gained some notoriety due to staff technique, but not empty handed boxing.

 

So, here I am. I am supposed to be feeling nauseous, or something. My art does not have a fake history, it has a real one. It is just that the real history is not as exciting as the fake one. People in the southern part of China practiced a type of short bridge boxing which came to be known as Hung Gar. It is no less a brutal martial art for the fabrication of history. It seems that martial arts have a real problem with the truth anyway – look at the lies in any available history of Taekwondo! 4,000 year history my foot! So it would seem that, comfortingly, Hung Gar is not alone. All of the southern Shaolin systems face the same dilemma.

 

I had about fifty pages written on the history of the Chinese martial arts and China when I started really thinking about the Bodidharma myth, and how I had read some accounts which discredited the entire myth.

 

I started doing some more in depth research from reliable (i.e. non martial arts) resources, and found tons of information.

 

Here are some references for further reading on this subject. If you feel the need to do an online slam of me for this article, please be smart enough to read the information in the referneces first. I am not the only one out there proclaiming the truth.

 

Or go to Google Scholar, or Jstor. Anytime you go to a regular martial arts school’s website, they are selling you something.

 

References:

• The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective, S. Henning (Dec. 1981)
• On Politically Correct Treatment of Myths in the Chinese Martial Arts, S. Henning (1995)
• Shaolin-Wudang Research, Tang Hao (1930)
• Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals A Historical Survey, B. Kennedy and E. Guo (2005)
• The Riddle of the Southern Shaolin, C. Toepker
• Damo: Conspiracyof Ignorance, C. Toepker

Hung Gar and the Secret Societies

The birth and evolution of Chinese secret societies is an often discussed, but poorly understood aspect of the history of Hung Gar. Nearly every practitioner of Hung Gar knows that the birth of Hung Gar had some connection to the secret societies, but very little more is said.

Secret societies have existed all over the world. But in China they reached a baffling level of power and influence. One reference sites the beginning of the Christian era in the west as the same time as the beginning of the secret societies in China. These were the Chih Mei (Carnation Eyebrows), so named for their rite of painting their eyebrows with vermillion. The Chih Mei were defeated during the Han era when a commander dressed his soldiers like Chih Mei, painted eyebrows and all, and ambushed the group, killing their leader.

During the time of the decline of Han dynasty, there were other secret societies which were active as well, such as the Tung Ma (Copper Horse) and the T’ieh Ching (Iron Shins).

The Yellow Turbans were a huge group who acted in rebellion in 184 A.C.E. They had a vast number of soldiers which were divided up under thirty-six generals. They swept throughout the northern regions and “subdued the whole north of China”. This was the group who played the largest roll in the downfall of the Han dynasty, and bringing about the start of the Three Kingdoms era.

The Three Kingdoms was an important era in the development of Chinese martial arts, as well as secret society activity. It was during this time when Gwan Yu, Liu Pei, and Chang Fei (who were leaders during this time of rebellion and instability) took an oath to “fight and live and die together”. Similar oaths are taken within the modern Triads.

In a historical romance titled Shi Hu Chuan, a more extensive oath was taken by the 108 rebels. According to the Shi Hu Chuan, the oath was as follows;

“We are one hundred eight persons assembled in this hall, who regard stars as our brothers, and Heaven and Earth as our Father and Mother, and though unlike in features, we are alike in stateliness. We possess one hundred eight hearts, and every heart is spotless. We bind ourselves to share each other’s happiness and bear each other’s burdens. We arrange our names before Heaven, and must not become a laughing-stock for men. The information of one day being found reliable must be acted upon with lifelong courage. Should any of us harbor unkindness in our hearts and sever ourselves from our great cause, or say one thing at home and another abroad; or begin without continuing to the end, may Heaven look down on us as devils by our sides watch us; may knives and swords cut our bodies and thunderbolts blot out every trace of us; may we everlastingly sink into hell and not be reborn as human beings for a myriad ages. May such be the retribution of those of us who break our oath. Let Heaven and all the Gods look down on us as we swear.”

Following the oath, they drank one another’s blood mixed in wine.

It would only be about two hundred years later that another secret society made itself known and felt throughout China, the Bai Lien, or White Lotus Society.

Kublai Kahn crushed opposition within China to establish the first foreign group to rule all of China, the Yuan Dynasty in 1280 A.C.E. By all accounts, Kublai and his successor were both powerful and wise and were able to crush both opposition and rebellion. But with the death of Wu Tsung the empire fell into the hands of much weaker stock, and left China essentially being ruled by ministers and eunuchs. The Chinese people began to stir, and rebellion was coming. One source states that children in Honan and Hubei had been singing a children’s song which had the line, “When stirs the one-eyed man of stone, the dynasty will be overthrown” (or something along these lines). Of course, the Chinese of the time believed strongly in omens and signs. In 1344, in a place called Huang Ling Kang, a stone image of a one-eyed man was found, or may only have been rumored to have been found, but word spread quickly.

The large and powerful White Lotus Society was stirred into action. The leader declared the “advent of the Mayitreya” (the Buddhist Messiah). The soldiers of the White Lotus Society wore red turbans as their distinguishing mark. The White Lotus started the rebellion in the hopes of restoring the Song Dynasty. But in the end another group established their own dynasty.

The rebellion grew, and as it did other groups sprouted. Among the groups that did were the followers of Chu Yuan Chang. Chu was recognized as being very gifted in war craft and government (much more so than any of his rivals). In the end it was Chu who ascended to the throne, and became Hung Wu, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The intrigues and usurpations of the various dynasties are well documented in the previous section, so only a passing reference to some of the major event to tie into the Secret Societies timeline will be made.

The White Lotus Society did not really do much for quite some time after failing to achieve their goal of reaching the throne. After about 250 years of luxury, the Ming were becoming weak and lazy. Again, the country was essentially being ruled by eunuchs. Through misrule, and many natural disasters, discontent was rampant. It was in the reign of the Ming Emperor Tien Ki that one of the many rebels, Su Hung U, sought and gained the aid of the White Lotus Society. Su had actually made it so close that he had proclaimed himself Emperor when he was defeated and killed in battle. The White Lotus Society seems to have lost heart at this time and fell into the background.

Although there were other revolts and uprisings, the White Lotus Society seems to have been relatively quiet throughout most of them, until around 1761, when the Emperor Kien Lung began to issue edicts outlawing the White Lotus Society. There were edicts issued against other secret societies as well, including the Ming Tsuen (Illustrious Worthies), and the Bai Yuen (White Cloud). It was in 1775 when the leader of the White Lotus Society, Liu Sung, was banished from Anhwei after sending people to the area performing magic and “healing the sick” in an attempt to gain followers and support in the western regions of China. Many people were joining and the society was rapidly growing until 1794 when it felt the time was right for rebellion. This rebellion was a stain on the otherwise bright reign of Kien Lung.

The White Lotus Society set up a youth named Wang Fa Cheng, declaring him to be a member of the Chu family, and a descendent of the Ming Emperors. Liu Chi Hieh claimed that when Wang was but a child, he hid him outside of China to keep him safe.

This rebellion grew rapidly under the leadership of Liu Chi Hieh, among other leaders. One of these leaders was a woman of the family name Wang. Eventually there were around 100,000 armed rebels. The Imperial soldiers were equal in number, and through the vast territories of China each side was able to claim some varying degrees of success. There were points where it would look as if the rebels would win the throne, and then at some twist of fate, the imperialists would turn and crush them. The war dragged on like this for six years when Liu was captured. This should have ended the war, but as soon as one leader was captured or killed, another would rise up in his place. Too, when the Imperial troops could claim victory in one place, the rebels would rise up in another.

By the end, the war had lasted over ten years, and tens of thousands of Chinese lay dead.

Wang Fa Cheng never was the rightful heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty. He was a pretender who was little more than a puppet being used by the White Lotus Society. Nothing is known of his end. He simply and quietly disappeared.

There was another failed insurrection in 1814 which was credited to the White Lotus Society, but was probably the work of a different group (some give the credit to “The Three Incense Sticks”, “The Eight Trigrams”, or the “Rationalists Society”). Most likely would be the Eight Trigrams Society, as the person sited as the leader of this failed attempt (which actually took place within the walls of the Imperial Palace) was Lin Ching, who was a leader of the Eight Trigrams in Fukien. This insurrection was actually planned by Li Wan Cheng and Lin Ching. These two claimed to be able to read the future through astrology. Through bribery, they were able to place some of their own operative within the walls of the palace. The operatives were to allow the rebels into the walls of the palace, and the coconspirators were to identify one another by wearing a white handkerchief on their head.

However, once the attack began, it all started so easily, that once inside the palace, the rebels were at a loss as to what they should do. This allowed the Imperial Guards who had remained loyal to regroup and hold off the rebels until assistance arrived.

In all of their planning, the rebels overlooked or were unaware that the emperor would not be in the palace on the day of the attack. However, the son of the Emperor, who was to become Emperor Tao Kwang, led the charge in defeating the rebels. There is a story that he even loaded his own musket, tearing a silver button from his jacket and ramming it into the barrel in place of a bullet (there were widespread beliefs that some people were immune to bullets through the use of magic amulets, but very few people would think to keep a magic amulet against buttons).

Lin Ching was not present for the attack. He was sent a false message that the attack had been successful, and made his way to the Palace, where he found out he was tricked, and then he was promptly executed.

The coconspirator Li Wan Ching was captured, and his feet were cut off. In a violent response, nearly three thousand members of the society attacked and killed the official responsible for the act.

General Yang Yu Chun was called in, and crushed the rebellion, beheading nearly two hundred rebels. In a short time, he instilled such fear in the rebels that upon sight of him, many would drop their arms and run. In short order he reclaimed Tao Kan and burned ten thousand rebels to death.

All that has been stated above is indicative of the typical behavior of the Chinese secret societies. It was this type of activity which prompted such harsh reactions from the Chinese dynastic governments.

The story goes as follows; the monks from the Shaolin monastery had done some service for the Emperor Kanghi. There had been an invasion from the state of Silu. The Imperial troops had been unsuccessful, but the monks from the southern Shaolin were successful. The monks were rewarded for their aid, but as is a running theme in Chinese history, the Emperor became fearful of such powerful fighters in one place. He had his troops surround and burn the monastery at night. Only five escaped, and within the Chinese secret societies, these five are known as the Five Ancestors. Eventually, the five who escaped met Chen Chin Nan, a former minister who had been dismissed. It was Chen who proposed the formation of the Tien Ti Hui, the Heaven and Earth Association. The Heaven and Earth Association were also called Hung Family. The character used by this Hung Family is the same as the one used in Hung Gar kung fu (洪). There are those who state that the Hung Family was not established until 1749. Regardless, all agree that the beginning was caused by the atrocity of destroying the southern Shaolin Temple. That the origin of the Hung Family Triad and the origin of the Hung Fighting system are the same incident give one pause.

It is said that the founder of the Ming Dynasty was raised in a monastery, and the monks there foretold his greatness. So, with this as a traditional belief, it is no wonder that the five monks who escaped the destruction of the temple would work now to overthrow the usurper and restore the dynasty predicted within the walls of the monastery.

It is also said that when escaping from the monastery, the five monks stopped to drink from a stream. There they are said to have found a bowl floating in the stream with the words “overthrow the Qing, Restore the Ming” written on it. They eventually made their way to Guangdong and made their oath in the Red Flower Pavilion. While they were making their oath they felt that because the sky was red (Hung), and because the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was named “Hung”, that the heavens were on their side. They then named their society “Hung Mun” (Hung Society).

The rituals which are used by the triads are adapted from various Buddhist and Taoist ceremonies. The ceremonies are commonly used by the Chinese in connection with celebrations, blessings, remembrance, forging allegiance, etc. Modern initiation and promotion ceremonies are less elaborate and very simplified (even makeshift altars are used). Ceremonies, which took days to complete, are now over in less than an hour. Triad poems, once used to identify one’s affiliation and rank, have been simplified and modernized when they are passed through word of mouth from generation to generation. Tony Lee, a retired police agent who spent a career investigating triads was quoted as saying “Generally, a ‘triad expert’ knows more of the history and practices than an active triad member.”  

 

My Forms: Gung Ji (A History)

When trying to decide whether or not to include a series of articles on the forms practiced in Hung Gar, there were many issues to consider. Not the least of which is the simple fact that not all Hung Gar schools practice the same forms. There are some Hung Gar schools which practice more than fifty forms (when weapons are included in the list). Others practice less than ten. One school that I know of has one form requirement to reach instructor rank! In my school, I teach three empty hand forms, and three weapons.

Next on the list of difficulties in making the decision is the fact that, while I have exposure to other methods of doing the forms, I can really only explain what I have learned, not what I have merely seen or read about. So, what I have decided to do is to cover the three forms that I teach. I will use my own explanations for the techniques, and must rely on outside resources for the translation of the names of the techniques. 

I ask the Hung Gar beginner to please remember that the explanations are mine, and should not be mistaken as being the only proper way. Your school may do things differently. There are entire sections where, unless you are from my branch of Hung Gar, your form may not even contain. In some lineages, this set is still practiced as two separate forms.

We will start with Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen. In this post I will give the history as best I can. Subsequent posts will detail the how to do it. This is only a reference. It is not really possible to learn the form in this manner.

The Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen form, as practiced in my lineage, was developed by Lam Sai Wing. It has it’s roots in the Siu Lum Fuk Fu Kuen form, which was developed and practiced in the Southern Shaolin Temple. Master Lam learned Hung Gar from Wong Fei Hung. And while there is speculation that the Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen form was developed by Master Wong, it does not hold up. It is relatively easy to research the curriculum of Wong Fei Hung. Many sources list the early curriculum as follows;

·        Sei Ping Lok Chan Kuen – Four Levels Six Controlling Fist

·        Saam Tzien Kuen – Three Arrow Fist

·        Ye Fu Chat Lam – Night Tiger Comes out of the Forest

·        Seung Lung Kuen – Three Dragons Fist

·        Daan Gung Fuk Fu Kuen – Single Taming Tiger Fist

·        Siu Hung Kuen – Small Hung Fist

·        Lohan Pao Mo Ying Geuk – Lohan Rope No Shadow Kick

·        Lohan Gam Tsien Biu – Lohan Golden Coin Dart Throwing

·        Sei Tzeung Biu Lung Kwan – Four Hexagram Stick

 

This is reported to be the base of Wong Fei Hung’s training in his early life. Later on, he made his changes to what he taught. This was a much more common practice at this time. In modern martial arts, most instructors would never admit to changing their forms. To do so may lead some to challenge their credibility. But the idea of this time was to change the sets as needed to help people learn the system. In modern martial arts, most students are “form collectors”. The students tend to respect more forms as a sign of knowledge. However, for the serious student, it is much more important to understand the system, and theories which will make the techniques usable. Seen in this light, the exact reproduction of an unchanged form becomes les important.

It is known that in Master Wong’s later years, his curriculum had changed to the following;

·        Daan Gung Kuen – Single Gung Character Fist (Gung is a Chinese Character shaped like the Roman capital letter I)

·        Seung Gung Kuen – Double Gung Character Fist

·        Daan Gung Fuk Fu Kuen – Single Bow Taming the Tiger Fist

·        Seung Gung Fuk Fu Kuen – Double Bow Taming the Tiger Fist

·        Mang Fu Kuen – Fierce Tiger Fist

·        Sei Tzeung Biu Lung Kwan – Four Hexagram Stick

·        Ji Mo Do – Butterfly Knives

·        Mo Ying Geuk – No Shadow Kick

·        Haak Fu Jau – Black Tiger Claw

From this base curriculum, Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen was developed. Beginners can easily see where the form is an amalgamation of at least three separate forms.

Next time we will begin to examine the form itself.

Kung Fu Forms in Hung Gar

There are three forms which form the core of the Hung Gar system. While many schools use differing supplemental forms, Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen is the first of the core forms to be taught in nearly all Hung Gar schools. Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen is a very long form which will challenge the beginner and test their physical endurance and mental fortitude. The next of the three is Fu Hok Syong Ying Kuen. This form will bring the student to a new level where physical strength can start to be replaced with fine precision. The third form is called Tit Sin Kuen, and is the crown jewel of Hung Gar. It is a very demanding set which has the internal as its focus.

These are not the only forms used within the Hung Gar system. It is my feeling that if you train only these three hands sets, your knowledge of Hung will only grow and grow. As stated above, there are other forms used within the system by different schools. There are many are more schools which do not see three forms as the core of the art, but rather four. The schools which hold to this view add the form Sup Ying Kuen, also known as Five Animals, Five Elements, or the Ten Form Fist. And still other schools feel that no one form is supplemental, and all are essential. Below I list all of the forms that I have been able to find practiced in various Hung Gar schools.

·        Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen: Literally, “Gung Character Subdue the Tiger Fist”. This form has its roots in the very beginning of Hung Gar, and further back still, in the Shaolin curriculum as well. This form has gone through many changes through the centuries. In its most common version in modern times, it is much longer than the traditional forms of many other systems. This set will really challenge the beginner and test their dedication and desire to learn Hung Gar. In some schools, this will be the first set taught, in others it is saved for some time beyond a few of the supplemental forms. The biggest point for the beginner to focus on when training this set is the heavy emphasis on stances. In sections of this from, the beginner is taught to measure off the stances properly. This set also trains both sides of the body.

·        Fu Hok Syong Ying Kuen. Literally “Tiger and Crane Two (or Twin) Shape Fist. Personally, this is my favorite form of all. It is also probably the most famous set from Hung Gar, even inspiring entire systems based solely on this set! Variations of this form appear in systems as diverse as Modern Wu Shu and Kenpo. As the name implies, the form has an emphasis on the techniques from the Tiger and Crane arts of Shaolin. The form is an amalgamation of these two Shaolin systems. Later still, the form was further modified by Wong Fei Hung. This form contains the Ten Killing Hands of Hung Gar.

·        Sup Ying Kuen. Literally, “Ten Shape Fist”. This form is believed to have been created by Wong Fei Hung. This set is so named because of teaching and training the Five Animals and Five Elements. The Five Animals are as follows: Dragon (Lung), Tiger (Fu), Leopard (Pao), Snake (Sare), and Crane (Hok). In Hung Gar, the Dragon movements do not resemble what one may imagine as a Dragon technique. The Dragon techniques are done with internal and external power, and are in Hung Gar’s classification of “internal training”. The Tiger techniques display external power. Performed with an open claw hand position, the Tiger techniques are used for grabbing, redirecting, locking and breaking. The Leopard techniques are fast. The quick techniques are combined with strong execution. The Snake techniques are performed with the fingertips, and are quick in execution. The Snake techniques also have built in deflection techniques, and this allows the practitioner to block and strike at the same time, with the same movement. The Crane techniques are performed with the hand forming a crane beak or crane wing position. The Crane uses little physical strength. In Hung Gar, the Five Elements are Gold (Gum), Wood (Mok), Water (Soy), Fire (Faw), and Earth (Tow). The gold element in hung gar involves strong and heavy hand and forearm movements where the whole arm is used as a one powerful unit to destroy any on coming attack and/or punish the attacker with strong and heavy blows. All the gold movements are done with the arm slightly bent at the elbow. Movements such as fun gum kiu (dividing gold bridge) are typical gold technique. The wood element generally involves short-medium range movements to simultaneously block and strike. Ghat mok choy (squeezing wood punch) is a typical example of the wood element where both arms are used simultaneously to block and attack and strike at the same time. The water element involves long, swinging movements of the arms which are powerful and destructive. A typical example of the water element is the soy long pow choy (water wave punch) which was also one of the favorite techniques of the famous Wong Fei Hung. The fire element is characterized by lightning-fast and rapid straight punches. It is used to rush an opponent with extremely fast and powerful punches until the attacker is knocked down. A good example for this would be the fire arrow punch (faw gin choy). The fifth and the last element earth are characterized by externally strong attacks coming from ground up.

·        Tit Sin Kuen. This form is regarded by many schools as the crown jewel of the Hung Gar system. This form is not about public display or tournament competition, it is solely for the development of internal strength. There are many rumors that improper training of this set will result in physical damage to the practitioner. I have my doubts about this, as I have personally seen people without root, and with extremely poor fundamentals practice this form with no damage to themselves. This form will also educate the practitioner in the Twelve Bridges.

·        Ng Ying Kuen. The Five Animals form.

·        Lau Gar Kuen. The Lau Family Fist.

·        Chin Cheung. War Palm/Arrow Hand/Heart Penetrating Palm/Heart Splitting Palm.

·        Mui Fa Kuen. Plum Blossom Fist.

·        Wu Dip Cheung. The Butterfly Palm.

 

These are not all of the forms practiced in every Hung Gar school. This is merely an overview of some of the forms which may be practiced in some of the Hung schools you may visit. Listed above are only the empty hand sets. You should also see weapons training as part of any Hung curriculum. Nearly every Hung Gar school teaches three basic weapons; staff, broadsword, and butterfly swords. Other weapons will differ from school to school and may include Gwan Dao, Chain Whip, Spear, Straight Sword, Wooden bench, and more. Having more or fewer weapons taught, just as in the case of empty hand forms, does not add to or take away from the legitimacy of any Hung Gar school.