Martial ArtsWudang Gongfu is regarded as an important school of Chinese Wushu, enjoying an equal fame as Shaolin. There is a saying that the North advocates Shaolin, as the South respect Wudang.

        Tradition has it that the founder of Wudang Gongfu is Zhang Sanfeng, a legendary Taoist priest. Considerable discrepancies have been discovered in varied historical records about Zhang Sanfeng it of is written in Ci Yuan (a dictionaryspecially recording the origins of Chinese words) "Zhang Sanfeng 1) A specialist of the art of attack and defence in wushu in the Song Dynasty, also a Wudang alchemist of making pills of immortality, who was expert at Chinese boxing. 2) A Taoist priest of the Ming Dynasty, from Yizhou of Liaoning once lived in Mt. Wudang." The two Zhang Sanfeng leave people a puzzle. Were the Zhang Sanfeng in the Song Dynasty and the Zhang Sanfeng in the Ming Dynasty the same person? Or could it be said that Zhang Sanfeng kept alive till the Ming Dynasty. But accoding to the law of the biological genetics, this is impossible. Thus, it is much reasonable that there once were two Zhang Sanfeng. The two had the same name, believed in the same religion, practices austerities at the same place, skilled in the same martial art ad enjoyed the same fame, which was inconsistent with Chinese habits in giving names and also did not agree with traditional taboo. Therefore, the issue about Zhang Sanfeng and his life has always been a hotspot drawing great concern in the historiography circles.

        The records about Zhang Sanfeng as a specialist of the attack and defence art are also seen in the epitaph for Wang Zhengnan by Huang Zongxi in the Kangxi 11 th year of the Qing Dnasty (1669). Huang Zongxi was a famous thinker during the late period of the Ming Dynasty and the early stage of the Qing Dynasty. Possessing erudite knowledge and a large number of works, he was especially proficient in historiography. It seems that there were so, for his opinion that Zhang Sanfeng was a specialist of the art of attack and defence in the Song Dynasty. In the Tongzhi 6 th year of the Qing Dynasty (1867), while he was copying the illustrative boxing book, Li Yifan, a descendant of the Taiji Boxing, found that it was written that the Taiji Boxing was initiated by Zhang Sanfeng. It thus become clear that a great number of people from wushu circles believe that Zhang Sanfeng lived in the Song Dynasty.

        The records about Zhang Sanfeng as a Taoist priest of Mt. Wudang in the Ming Dynasty are also seen in the Ming Dynasty, in which it said "Zhang Sanfeng, from Yizhou of Liaodong, with the given name of Quanyi, he had the sobriquet of 'Sanfeng'. Behaving himself slovenly, he also enjoyed another sobriquet of 'Zhan Lata' (Lata in Chinese means 'slovenly'). Strong and gigantic in stature, Zhang Sanfeng had a pair of big ears and round eyes. No matter in summer or in winter, what he wore were a cassock and a straw rain cape. He sometimes ate only one meal in several days and sometimes did not eat anything for several months. He could remember all the content of books and classics after just reading it only once. Traveling round, he could cover 1000 li in one day. He once visited Mt. Wudang and said hat the mountain could be flourishing in the future." The record extended Zhang Sanfeng's life from the Jin Dynasty(1127-1234) to the Taishun 3 rd year of the Ming Dynasty(1459), with a time span of 332 year, which obviously exceeded the limit of human life. The life of Zhang Sanfeng turned into a mystery of mysteries.

        The Chinese ancient emperors always had three kinds of purposes in respect to the religion. The first was for advocation. The emperor himself was a believer to a certain religion in an aim to acquire longevity and enter the heaven after his death. The second was for political purpose, and the third was for both the religious belief and the political purpose.

        In the Hongwu 24 th year, Zh Yuanzhang sent senior Taoist priests to travel around with a purpose to rectify Taoism. Emperor Zhu told the messengers that if one met Zhang Sanfeng, invited him. His intention was out of political requirements. In the Yongle 3 rd year, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di dent Wang Zongdao to travel in all the famous mountains across the country to look for Zhang Sanfeng. In the 6 th year, Zhang Yuqing was sent to look for Zhang Sanfeng. In the imperial order to Zhang Sanfeng issued in the 10 th year, it said that the emperor admired Zhang Sanfeng for a long time and he was always waiting for a chance to meet this legendary figure. The emperor once sent messengers to all the well-known mountains to look for Zhang Sanfeng but in vain. The emperor regarded Zhang as a True Man with lofty morality. The emperor once again sent messengers piously to Zhang Sanfeng to come to the palace to fulfill the emperor's long-time sincere cherished desire. Emperor Yongle had issued the imperial orders to Zhang Sanfeng four times in succession. It obviously was out of political purposes. Some scholars held the opinion that the emperor's efforts had something to do with the attempt to look for Emperor Huidi of the Ming Dynasty. In the Tianshun 3 rd year of the Ming Dynasty(1459), Emperor Yingzong conferred a title to Zhang Sanfeng. There still exists the relief bronze statue tablet of Zhang Sanfeng bestowed by Emperor Yingzong. The inscription on the table fully expressed the emperor's admiration towards Zhang Sanfeng. Emperor Yingzong encountered a lot of fluctuations in his political career. He was in power twice in his life. In the Zhengtong 14 th year(1449), he was captured as a prisoner by Wala soldiers. When he was released and went back home before long, he was soon put under house arrest by the newly-enthroned Emperor Daizong. In the Jingqin 7thyear(1456), he regained his power with the assistance from officers and eunuchs, enjoying the title of the emperor's reign of Tianshun. The two absolutely differentfates as a prisoner and as an emperor led to his dependence and trust in religion. Conferring a title to Zhang Sanfeng as a True Man, the emperor hoped that Zhang Sanfeng could teach him the method of obtaining permanent life.

        Was Zhang Sanfeng from the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty? The historical records leave us a space for reverie.

        No matter Zhang Sanfeng as an alchemist of making pills of immortality in Mt. Wudang in the Song Dynasty or as a Taoist priest in Mt. Wudang in the Ming Dynasty, there is one similarity that Zhang Sanfeng was a Taoist priest in Mt. Wudang, who was expert in the internal exercises, skilled in the art of boxing and founded Wudang Gongfu. He was regarded as the first ancestor of Chinese Internal Gongfu.

        The Taoist art of making pills of immortality has a fairly long history. It was divided into the internal art and the external art. The internal one adopts the breathing-in and breathing-out skill so as to build up the body and acquire longevity. The external one refers to that the Taoist priests used inorganic compounds or organic compounds to synthesize pills of immortality. It was believed that if people ate the pills, he could remove illness, live forever and never die. During the period of Yuan and Ming Dynasty, the poisoning effect of the immortality pills was gradually recognizes by the noble, which caused the immortality-pill-making theory to internal exercised. In the History of Chinese Scientific Technology written by Arthur Lee, a famous British scholar, it discussed the art of making pills of immortality of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. It said "The concept of immortality pills loitered around in China for several centuries". There was no trace showing that the art of making pills of immortality commonly revived, but it did arouse the interests from several emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The history of the imperial families told us that Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynast once received alchemist Liu Yuan and sent messengers to look for an alchemist named Zhang Sanfeng. During the Yongle period, Emperor Chengzu was still looking for Zhang Sanfeng. And finally in 1459, Emperor Yinzong bestowed a title to Zhang Sanfeng as a True Man. There were some political reasons for these emperors to call in the alchemists. It was also for the purpose of widening their experience in understanding this extremely mysterious and magic internal art.

        Zhang Sanfeng's method in exercising the internal art was interlinked to the Taoist theories. Some historical records vividly depict the formation course of the internal art. There remains two pieces of drawings, portraying the asceticism-practicing of the internal art. The two drawings were created by Zhang Sanfeng and both are typical internal art asceticism-practicing drawings. The drawings integrate the main and collateral channels and acupoints, the sate of the internal organs in traditional Chinese medical science and Taoist qigong on combination with the changes, fully demonstrating the marrow of the internal art.

        Due to the unstableness of the social development and complexity of the natural environment, Taoist priests should possess certain resisting skills to cope with unpredicted incidents and attack of the beasts during the practicing course. The Taoist internal exercises inevitably developed from the art of keeping in good health into the art of attack and defence in wushu and then created Taijiquan(Shadow Boxing) and Internal Boxing.

        The circle of wushu commonly holds an opinion that Taijiquan was developed on the Yin qi and the Yang qi between the heaven and the earth, Taijiquan is a kind of boxing that recuperates the operation of the human body. The skill of softness as the movement tenor, it reaches the goal of removing illness and building up the body through skillfulness and variations. People should be internally fixed by the spirit but externally should show in easiness, walking as quiet as a cat, moving as slowly as reeling silk threads. Taijiquan is quite helpful for old of weak people's health. The benefits further promote the development of Taijiquan. And a lot of schools thus came into being, such as the Chen's, Yuan's, Wu's, Sun's and He's Taijiquan. Arthur Lee in his above-mentioned book wrote" The name of Zhang Sanfeng now is connected with one school of Chinese boxing, that is Taijiquan."

        Taijiquan that we exercise nowadays guides the movement and gesture through the main points. It can be regarded as a kind of high degree condensation and refinement of the application of qi of the internal art, which reveals the important role of the internal art in Taijiquan.

        Zhang Sanfeng not only had a fairly profound attainment in Still Gong, but also was quite skillful at Moving Gong.

        Tradition has it that Zhang Sanfeng's attacking skill was taught by some supernatural. In the Epitaph for Wang Huinan written by Huang Zongxi, it said that one night Zhang Sanfeng dreamed Emperor Xuandi and the emperor taught his boxing skill. The next day, Zhang Sanfeng fought against over 100 enemies by himself. There was another legendary saying that Zhang Sanfeng invented Moving Gong while seeing the fight between magpie and snake. In the Character and Founction of Taijiquan written by the Chen Zhijin, it said, "Taijiquan is originally founded in Mt. Wudang. While seeing the fight between magpie and snake, Zhang Sanfeng was hit upon by some understanding and invited the boxing." Also spreading in Mt. Wudang area was that Zhang Sanfeng founded Wudang Boxing after watching the fight between the cat and snake. It indicated that the Wudang Boxing was originated from the fight between dragon and tiger. No matter which one is true, the three legends all brought a mysterious colour to Zhang Sanfeng's gongfu. This is also a traditional way for the Chinese to praise the ancestor, with some remnants of the primitive region's admiration to the heaven god. Meanwhile, we should admit that during the cold weapon period, it was only the religion that could truly and calmly summarize the experience of the art of attack and defence and gain marked achievements and despite of the frequent wars. This had a close connection with the specified environment for practicing asceticism and the special requirements on the believers set up by the religion.

        The Chinese nation always pays much attention to experience. People tend to seek the origin and the development of everything and attach emphasis on the continuity and the consistency of the history, but always ignore the qualitative change during the development. Therefore, no matter the where it is---the Shaolin Temple or Mt. Wudang, and no matter who it is---Damo or Zhang Sanfeng, the seeking for the origin and the ancestor in wushu should not be restricted by a certain kind of school or saying. It should rationally treat different historical phenomena, eliminate the mythological factors in the history and find out the basic laws. Zhang Sanfeng, despite of his identity as a person or a supernatural and regardless of his identity---the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, should be regarded as a flag representing the internal gongfu. The Wudang Gongfu, which was formed under this flag, should be treated as crystallization accumulated by people of several generations, crossing tens of hundreds of years in Mt. Wudang. Some historical records attributed Wudang Boxing to Taoist teachings. It is extremely correct. On the basis of inheriting the ancient wushu attack and defence theories, Wudang Internal Boxing applied some philosophy in the Book of Changes and formed its unique theoretical system founded on the attack methods of the Taoist internal art. Presently, the Taoist Association of Mt. Wudang and some other organizations have unearthed and sorted out over 30 kinds of Wudang boxing gongfu, 18 types of boxing weapon skill and trick series and 9 kinds of qigong.

        In spring of 1931, General He Long led the Third Red Army to withdraw from the Honghu Lake area and strategically transferred troops towards the northwestern area of Hubei Province. He entered Mt. Wudang via Yunyang. Xu Benshan who was in charge of Taoism of Mt. Wudang cordially received the Red Army. General He Long was arranged to live in the Parent Hall. A number of Red Army soldiers were injured at that time. Xu arranged Taoists priests to help save and cure them. Xu was not only noble-minded, but also quite skillful in Wudang Gongfu. While knowing this, Gernal He Long formally took Xu as his teacher to learn Wudang Boxing. Every morning, General He together with Xu, practiced Wudang Boxing in front of the Parent Hall, and every evening Xu guided General He to learn boxing skills on the platform of the Purple Heaven Grand Temple. Only several months later, the general not only mastered Wudang Boxing, but also successfully defeated the attack of the 51 st Army of the Kuomintang for several times in light of the philosophy learned from the Wudang Boxing. After the founding of the new China, Marshal He Long twice sent people to find out the situation of wushu in Mt. Wudang and living conditions of the aged Taoist priests, and expressed thanks for their contributions to the revolution. He also instructed the local government to solve the difficulties in the Taoist priests' life in time and pay attention to the development of Wudang Wushu.

        Wudang Gongfu is an outstanding culture heritage of Chinese nation. The state lays special emphasis on carrying forward and developing the Wudang Martial arts. In recent years, Tijiquan becomes popular across China and it has been warmly welcomed by the mass.

        The Boxing Skill Research Association of Mt. Wudang was set up in 1982

        Research on the Wudang Boxing was edited by Jiang Bailong, publishing house of Beijing Physical Institute, Version of 1992;

.         The magazine of Wudang starting publication in 1983 was set up to unearth, sort, research and popularize the Wudang wushu as its tenor;

        Under the late Chairman Wang Guangde and the current Chairman Li Guang-fu, the Taoist Association of Mt. Wudang has unearthed and sorted out a number of the Wudang Boxing and Wudang sword pedigrees. The Wudang Gongfu group was established to actively carry forward the Wudang Gongfu.