The possibly mythical figure, Zhang Sanfeng (Chang San Feng) is supposed to have created the Wudang style of Taiji Quan. It’s interesting that there is a rivalry between Wudang and Shaolin Monasteries over the invention of Taiji and Kung Fu, but these seem more akin to Taoism than to Buddhism to me. At any rate, Wudang Taiji has an interesting lineage so far as we know it. Here is a video of the Zhang San-Feng 13 postures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mafTd7h9auo&feature=player_embedded#at=63. It is a beautiful, sweeping form that reminds one of Chen, Yang and Wu all at the same time. The form of Wudang Taiji that we have now was developed by a Hong Kong based master named Cheng Tinhung and is being taught in Great Britain by two of his students, Dan Docherty and Ian Cameron.
Some of this is touched on in the documentary but hard core Taiji enthusiasts may be frustrated by the lack of detail given there. Of course, it a film about the mountain, and covers many of its aspects. Scenes of Taoist artifacts, the temple architecture, the approach to the mountain (walk up the hundreds of feet of stairs, be carried up in a litter, or maybe you could take the cable car) are fascinating.
You get just enough information to make you want to research it further. It was a little disheartening to hear the terms, Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Taiji used interchangeably. And the constant cutting away from performances of various forms was annoying. But staying with it rewards you with a display of a variety of forms: Kung Fu, Taiji, Qi Gong, Sword, Tassel, some Push Hands and what appeared to be Ba Qua but might have been a dance. At one point the narrator suggested that Buddhism was believed by some to have been developed from Taoism. I think I read that somewhere else once. Chinese history is nothing if not reversionary and fraught with multiple mythology. So get the movie from Netflix and enjoy the production. My thoughts were, “I want to live there.”
Aloha, over from Rambling Taoist.
ReplyDeleteIn a week I am going for the fourth time in as many years for a visit to Wudang. It is every bit as magical as your pictures suggest. It's a region really, with many peaks, temples and amazing natural phenomena, not just one mountain, although the higest peak, Golden Summit, your last image, is best reached by the cable car. There are a LOT of stairs leading to the top.
It is a perfect place for martial arts practice, meditation and qigong. Worth a pilgrimage!
Shaolin/Buddhist style kung fu is generally considered an external hard form; Wudang/Taoist taijiquan is an internal soft form. But you probably know this.
Bonjour, la photo représentant les deux pratiquants de wudang n'est pas libre de droit. Je l'ai prise lors de l'un de mes voyages d'études chez mon Maître. Merci de la retirer ou de mettre mon nom dessus. Christophe LINDEN.
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