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 This
rare picture of the last Emperor Pu Yi in the forbidden city
A RARE PICTURE OF THE LAST
EMPEROR PU YI PRACTICING WUSHU IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
RARE PICTURE OF A XING YI QUAN
MASTER PRACTICING IN THE PARK
OLD PICTURES OF BOXERS, WUSHU MASTERS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL
RARE PICTURES OF MEMBERS OF THE BOXER REBELLION (1889-1901)
"YI HE TUAN" AND THEIR WEAPONS
| HISTORY OF PRAYING MANTIS KUNGFU
| Many
legends and stories have been told by Chinese Praying Mantis
Kungfu masters about its origins and its founder Wang Lang.
However, among these stories, some facts can be considered real,
but most of them are a result of legendary oral tradition, passed
from generation to generation by disciples and practitioners of
Praying Mantis Kungfu.
First, I would like to introduce my translation of the earliest
and the most interesting versions of the story and then compare
them with some random historical facts in order to find a rather
obscure truth about the origins of Praying Mantis Kungfu.
The Legend Described
by the Grandmaster of Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing of the
Great Ultimate Hao
Henlu (1887-1945/50?) in chapter 9 of his
unpublished manuscript written in 1926 and entitled
"Discourse about Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing of the
Great Ultimate" (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov)
"If one talks about
Praying Mantis Boxing then one must know that its founder and
patriarch was someone, named Wang
Lang. However it is unknown when exactly he lived and what
kind of family he came from but certainly his family was not
wealthy. Wang Lang was famous for his passion for martial arts and
was an outstanding person. He traveled a lot around the Empire
Under Heaven (China), studied different styles of boxing and had
many friends skillful in martial arts.
Once, during the mid-autumn festival Wang Lang went hiking to
Lao Shan mountains. He looked at the magnificent cliffs above and
boundless rivers below and felt astonished by this mighty
vastness. When out of curiosity he decided to climb even higher,
following the curvy and steep path going up the mountains, Wang
Lang suddenly heard the quiet sound of a bell ringing somewhere
nearby. Walking along the path Wang Lang soon reached an ancient
temple, abode of hermits and decided to enter in order to get some
food and water. The first thing he saw were taoist monks
practicing the art of boxing in the main plaza of the temple. Wang
Lang counted about sixty positions and styles that he had never
seen before. Then Wang Lang asked the taoist monks a question but
was not regarded with an answer, he asked again but the answer was
just a silence randomly interrupted by the sounds of their
movements. Finally, Wang Lang decided to attract the attention of
one of the practitioners by pulling his arm. The monk became angry
seeing a great boldness of this uninvited guest and lack of
etiquette and jumped on Wang Lang with clinched fists, ready to
punish him. However the monk was immediately knocked down by Wang
Lang's quick response. A dozen of monks ran to help their
religious brother but all failed. Monks started yelling and called
the abbot. When the abbot came Wang Lang explained to him the
situation that he just wanted to ask for food and water and did
not have any bad intents. Abbot replied: "All these are my
disciples and monks and I am strongly ashamed by their failure,
would you please indulge me with a just fight?" Wang Lang
agreed but lost the fight.Then Wang Lang realized the depth of the
abbot's martial skills and immediately left the temple.
Wang Lang went deep in the woods and decided to rest, he laid
down and started thinking about his unsuccessful fight and the
reasons why he lost it. Suddenly he saw two white praying mantises
on the tree branch. One of them was holding a fly in his front
legs and the other tried to take away the prey. During the fight
one mantis was attacking and another would jumping from side to
side, ducking and counter-attacking with the lightning speed. Wang
Lang concentrated all his mind on this fight and suddenly realized
the hidden principals of outstanding flexibility and agility of
praying mantis' attacks, counter-attacks and moves. Then he
immediately returned to the taoist temple and started a fight with
the abbot. As soon as the venerable abbot saw that hand techniques
of Wang Lang were noticeably different from the last time they had
fought and also had a feeling that this fight would be won by Wang
Lang, the abbot asked about the source of such a technique, but
Wang Lang continued fighting in complete silence. After a while
the abbot asked again but did not get an answer. Only when Wang
Lang won the fight, did he tell the abbot the reason of his
success. The abbot immediately sent his disciples to the woods to
catch about ten pairs of praying mantises. When the insects were
delivered the abbot put them on the table and set them to fight
each other. In this manner Wang Lang and the abbot spent quite a
long time learning movements and tactical positions of the praying
mantises, engaged in deadly fights.
Then the two masters developed a new, secret technique of
boxing which was significantly different from other ones. Later
Wang Lang said to the abbot: "Even though you and I developed
a new style of boxing, we should not forget the cause and the
source of our knowledge. If the praying mantis while striving for
food and existence did not reveal us its secrets, we would never
develop this new style." The abbot replied: "You are
right! In order to perpetuate the memory of the source, we shall
call this style "The Gates of Praying Mantis" (Tang Lang
Men). Wang Lang and the abbot developed twelve characters -
guiding principles of the praying mantis fighting technique: zhan
(contacting), nian (sticking), bang (linking), tie (pressing), lai
(intruding), jiao (provoking), shun (moving along), song
(sending), ti (lifting), na (grabbing), feng (blocking), bi
(locking). Also they developed formal sets of praying mantis
technique, such as: Beng bu (crushing step), Lan jie
(obstruction), Ba zhou (eight elbows), Mei hua lu (plum blossom
technique) and Bai yuan tou tao (white ape steals the peach).
However, this new style for a long time was a privilege of the
taoist monks of the Lao Shan taoist religious community and it was
kept as a part of the secret taoist doctrine and closed to lay
people. Wang Lang, for the rest of his days, lived in the taoist
temple practicing self cultivation, developing Praying Mantis
boxing and following the way of the Tao..."
The Legend Described by
the Grandmaster of Six Harmonies Praying Mantis Boxing Ding
Zicheng (1880-1956) and first recorded by his
disciple Grandmaster Chen
Yuntao (1906-1978) in his unpublished materials entitled
"Brief Discourse about Praying Mantis Boxing" (First
English translation by Ilya Profatilov)
|
| ..."During
the Song Dynasty, the famous founder of Tong Bei Boxing style,
Han Tong, had a fight with someone named Wang Lang. After
several unsuccessful attempts to win, Wang Lang lost the fight.
Feeling psychologically depressed, Wang Lang ran away until he
reached a swampy ground covered with reeds where Wang Lang fell
onto the deep grass suffering torments from bitter thoughts
about his failure. Suddenly Wang Lang noticed a poisonous snake
which raised its head and slithered directly towards a praying
mantis that towered aloft the grass and leaves. As soon as the
poisonous snake reached the praying mantis it stopped still and
motionless in an attempt to hypnotize the insect. The praying
mantis lifted its front hooklike legs with its razor sharp
spikes and waited for the snake to attack. The snake attacked
ferociously with the invisible head strike. But the praying
mantis used one of his hooks to catch snake's tongue and then
counter-attacked with another hook to the eye of the snake. The
snake made a pitiful attempt to escape but just writhed
helplessly . After seeing this fight and under its strong
impression Wang Lang reached enlightment and developed the hand
techniques of Praying Mantis Boxing and finally defeated Han
Tong"...
The Legend
Described by the Grand Master of Eight Steps Praying Mantis
Boxing Wei
Xiaotang (1901-1984) in his unpublished book
entitled "The Secret Bookcase of Practical Praying Mantis
Boxing" (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov)
The founder of Praying
Mantis Boxing was Wang Lang from Ji Mo county of Shan Dong
province. However, Wang Lang also had a taoist sobriquet Ye You
Shan Ren. Wang Lang was the smartest and the most talented child
in the family and from an early age he had started to have a
great interest in martial arts, but could not find a good
teacher.
Once Wang Lang heard about a certain taoist master called Yu
Hua Zhen Ren, well known as an outstanding expert in martial
arts. Wang Lang went to Lao Shan mountains were the venerable
taoist master lived in the Temple
of the Supreme Purity (Shang Qing Gong). Wang Lang became a
disciple of the taoist master and during several years under the
guidance of the taoist master, Wang Lang learned the technique
of the taoist boxing style Tai Gong Quan. After the completion
of his studies, Wang Lang, following his teacher's advice, went
around China to visit other great masters of martial arts in
order to perfect his own skills. During his travels Wang Lang
reached Shao
Lin monastery were he was defeated in fights with the monks.
In sorrow, Wang Lang left the monastery. He was walking through
the woods when he decided to take a short rest under a willow
tree. Suddenly, Wang Lang heard a strange noise, lifted his head
and saw a praying mantis catching a cicada. Astonished by the
skills of the insect, Wang Lang caught the praying mantis and
returned back to Lao Shan mountains where over a period of a few
years he watched praying mantis movements-- fighting and teasing
it with a small branch.
Site MapSoon Wang Lang reached enlightment and developed Praying
Mantis Boxing, its theory about twelve character guiding
principles, theory of eight hard and twelve soft techniques.
Also Wang Lang borrowed the best techniques from seventeen
styles of boxing and incorporated them into Praying Mantis
Boxing along with the monkey steps or legs movements. When the
new style was fully developed in all aspects, Wang Lang
transmitted its techniques and theories to his best disciples,
Yu Zhou Dao Ren and Shen Xiao Dao Ren. It is said that later
Wang Lang took part in the rebellion of secret societies against
the Manchurian invasion. However, all Wang Lang's troops were
killed and only he escaped. When Wang Lang returned to the Lao
Shan mountains, Manchurian soldiers had already been there. Wang
Lang and his taoist teacher Yu Hua Zhen Ren left Lao Shan and
went to Kun Lun shan mountain were Wang Lang continued
self-cultivation and lived as a hermit until the end of his
days".
|
| The
Legend told by the Grandmaster of Plum Blossom Praying Mantis
Boxing Li
Kunshan (1894-1976) and recorded by his disciple
Li
Hongjie. (First English translation by Ilya Profatilov) |
| "The
founder of Praying Mantis Boxing was Wang Lang. Wang Lang was
born and grew up in the Long Bao village in Ji Mo county of Shan
Dong province. The village's richest landlord, Wang Man Tang,
was famous for his compassion and love for all villagers and
Wang Lang was his the only son. Therefore, all the parental love
and care of Wang Man Tang was directed towards his son's
education in the best Confucian tradition. And it was easy to do
primarily because of the outstanding talents of Wang Lang. When
Wang Lang completed a course of Confucian classics and reached a
high level of proficiency in the art of poetry, his father, in
order to develop a well-rounded personality in his son, invited
a master of martial arts to teach Wang Lang. However, the
process of his son's education was interrupted by the invasion
of Manchurian troops. All Wang Lang's relatives died in the just
fight against the Manchurians and he being mortally wounded was
thrown into the river. But Wang Lang was lucky, because soon he
was rescued by a wondering buddhist monk of the Shao Lin
monastery, Tong Chan Shang Ren. Tong Chan Shang Ren carried Wang
Lang all the way to Shao Lin monastery, where he was taken care
of by the monks skillful in herbal medicine. In a short period
of time, Wang Lang was cured and become a part of the buddhist
sangha ( buddhist monks religious community and brotherhood).
After seven years of living in the monastery, Wang Lang
learned the art of Shao Lin Boxing and defeated all the monks
except the head monk who was the best warrior-monk of the
monastery. Once, feeling disappointed in himself, Wang Lang
wondered into a nearby forest when suddenly he heard the sharp,
loud sounds made by cicada somewhere on the tree. Wang Lang came
closer and saw a praying mantis which caught the cicada with its
front legs. At this exact moment Wang Lang reached enlightment,
caught the praying mantis and returned to the monastery. Then he
found a quiet place in one of the side yards, took a stick and
started to attack the insect. As soon as the praying mantis saw
a new enemy it grabbed the stick and gnawed through it. Over
many days Wang Lang studied the front leg movements of the
praying mantis, its attack and defence techniques and started to
develop his own style of boxing based on the praying mantis.
However, Wang Lang was not satisfied by the way the insect
walked and decided to adopt the walking techniques of the big
ape. Moreover, Wang Lang decided to incorporate seventeen
different fighting techniques of the seventeen styles he learned
in the monastery. After a few years Wang Lang completed the
creation of a new style and called it Praying Mantis Boxing.
Then he defeated the head monk and the head monk called the
abbot. The abbot was surprised to see such a great and promising
new style of boxing and sent Wang Lang to travel around China to
visit famous masters of martial arts and to further develop
Praying Mantis Boxing. Wang Lang visited many masters but nobody
could defeat him in a just fight. Wang Lang spent the rest of
his days in Lao Shan mountains in Shan Dong province,where he
passed his Praying Mantis style to the taoist master Shen Xiao
Dao Ren."
There are also a
few other legends which basicly describe the same story and the
most common of them is a story especially popular among the
practitioners of theLuo
Guangyu's (1888-1944) branch of Seven Star
Praying Mantis Boxing, which is widely spread in Hong Kong and
in the US. It can be found in any book, article or web page
about Seven Star Praying Mantis. This story has been told by
Grand Master Luo Guangyu and later recorded by his famous
disciples Zhao Zhimin and Huang Hanxun and its contents is close
to the legend told by Grand Master Li Kun Shan.
Now I will analyze all
the stories and compare them with some random historical data.
It is impossible to tell exactly when Wang Lang lived but there
are two main periods of Chinese history which are most commonly
said to be the time when Wang Lang developed Praying Mantis
Boxing: Song (960-1279) Dynasty and the end of Ming (1368-1644),
beginning of Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. However, most likely,
Wang Lang lived (if he ever existed) at the beginning of the
Northern Song Dynasty (969-1126) dynasties, primarily because of
the existence of one source, independent from Praying Mantis
Boxing traditional history. This source is two books that
survived the fire when Shao Lin monastery was burned down by
Chinese militarists (warlords) in 1928. The first is
"Records of Shao Lin Monastery" and the second is
"Records about Shao Lin Boxing". Both books contain
the same data about significant events which took place in the
monastery at the beginning of Song Dynasty.
It is said in the "Records of Shao Lin monastery":
"...The Supreme monk of Shao Lin monastery Fu
Ju invited eighteen masters of eighteen schools of martial
arts to visit Shao Lin monastery in order to perform their
skills and to teach Shao Lin monks for three years, to absorb
the best from each master and combine this experience into
manuals about Shao Lin Boxing..." In the hand written copy
of the "Records about Shao Lin Boxing" it is said:
"...During the Song Dynasty the abbot of the monastery was
the great monk Fu Ju, his virtue was high and his reputation
significant, he perceived Buddha, martial arts, medicine and
literary culture, his name was known everywhere between the
borders of the Heaven and the Seas. In order to improve the
martial skills of the monks' brotherhood, he invited great
masters of eighteen martial art schools to come to Shao Shi (Shao
Shi is the place were Shao Lin monastery is located).
There were two goals: the first was to teach monks the
martial arts and the second was to perform their arts, to learn
from each others' strong points in order to offset each others'
weaknesses..." What masters and what styles of boxing did
the abbot Fu Ju invite to the monastery?
In the Praying Mantis Boxing Manual (Tanglang Quanpu)
recorded the late 1700s, the unknown author provides a list of
masters and styles of boxing that abbot Fu Ju invited to the
monastery:
1. In the beginning there was "Long-range Boxing"
(Chang Quan) style of emperor Tai Zu.
2. "Through the Back" (Tongbei) boxing of Master
Han Tong's considered parental.
3. Hand technique "Rap Around and Seal" (Chan Feng)
of Master Zhang En is especially profound.
4. "Close-range Strikes" (Duanda) boxing of Master
Ma Ji is the most remarkable.
5. It is impossible to come close to Master Huang You who
knows the "Close Range Hand Techniques" (Kao Shou).
6. The technique "Blocking Hands and Following Trough
Fist" (Keshou Tongquan) of Master Jin Xiang;.
7.The hand techniques of "Hooking, Scooping and Grabbing
Hands" (Gou Lou Cai Shou) of Master Liu Xing.
8.The "Methods of Sticking, Grabbing, and Falling"
(Zhanna Diefa) of Master Yan Qing.
9. The "Short Boxing"(Duan Quan) of Master Wen Yuan
is the most extraordinary.
10. The style "Monkey Boxing" (Hou Quan) of Master
Sun Heng is also flourishing.
11.The "Cotton Fist"(Mien Quan) techniques of
Master Mien Shen is lightning fast.
12. The "Throwing-Grabbing and Hard Crashing" (Shuailue
Yingbeng) techniques by Master Huai De.
13.The technique of "Ducking, Leaking and Passing
through the Ears" (Gunlou Guaner) of Master Tan Fang.
14. The strongest leg kicking technique is "Mandarin
ducks kick " (Yuanyang Jiao) of Master Lin Chong.
15.The "Seven Postures of Continuous Fist Strikes"
(Qishi Lianquan) techniques by Master Meng Su.
16. "Hand Binding and Grabbing" (Kunlu Zhenru)
techniques of Master Yang Gun attack instantly.
17.The techniques of "Explosive Strikes into the Hollow
Parts of the Body" (Woli Paochui) by Master Cui Lian.
18. "Praying Mantis" (Tanglang) boxing of Master
Wang Lang absorbed and equalized all previous techniques.
One of the Shaolin monastery books provides the same list and
ends it with the concluding passage, "All these were
gathered and brought together by Chan (Zen) Master Fu Ju from
Shaolin monastery."
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