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On this page: History vs. His-story, the story myth.
| Mt. Hua-Yo |
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| Pinnacles of Success |
On the Origins of LiuHe BaFa :
Jiang Rong Qiao (1890-1971)
“The following was written by Jiang Rong Qiao as a forward for Chen Yi Ren’s book entitled “Liuhe bafa Chuan”, published September
1st,
1969. Jiang Rong Qiao, founder of Jiang Style Bagua Zhang, studied Liuhebafa from Wu Yi
Hui during his time at the Nanjing Central Martial Arts Academy, where he became close friends with Chen Yi Ren. [ this commentary was written for the introduction of Chen
Y.Y.'s book ]
"Liuhe bafa's place of origin is Lu-yi
Village [ 陸一村 ]
, located in [ 河南 ] Henan
Province's Shen Qiu County. [ 省沈丘县 ] [??ShangQui ??] [subjective due to origin of Chen] That region ..., as well as Hei-long-jiang Province's [ 黑龙江省
] Jia Si Mu Region, [佳木斯市 ] are places where it exists in abundance.
"However, even
among those practitioners, the Liuhe bafa training method of Wu Yi Hui is distinct; his Liuhebafa as an art and skill have considerable worth.
"Another specialist
in Liuhe bafa is Mr. Xu Wen Bing, 許文冰 a feudal official
of Jinan City 濟南, Shandong 山东 and former Manager of Henan Province's 河南 Martial Arts Academy. 武術 wǔ3 shu4, 專科院校
zhuān2 kē2 yuàn4 xiào4
Academy. However, his Liuhe Bafa
is not as refined as that of Wu Yi Hui."
Notes : Chen Tuan : birth name was Chen Tuan ... start of the Song
宋朝 Dynasty :
960-1279; , possibly in what is now 陸一村 Lu-yi in Henan Province 河南
located in the eastern central part of the country.
The name 河南 Henan
means "south 南 of
the (Yellow 河 ) River" (Huang He). 省 Province 县 district, county sheng3 xian4
陸一村
Lu4-yi1 cun1, land-one-
village-hamlet; 村
cūn1, village, hamlet
省沈丘
= 省 sheng3 [xian3] province; 沈 chen2 [shen3, name]; 丘
qui1, hill
县 xian4, County; [[ Shangqiu
商丘市 Shāng2qiū2 Shì 4 Prefecture-level city ]] ??
Hei-long-jiang
Province 黑龙江省 Hēilóngjiāng Shěng
Jiamusi 佳木斯市
Jiāmùsī Shì Prefecture-level
city
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History vs. Myth
Chinese martial history is often a story of famous people in famous places
with amazing amounts of knowledge and ability. These stories are often ..complete, ...believeable, and ...cohesive.
However, mostly, none of them are true. The history ...has been filled in where absent, ...the hero made greater than
normal, and ...the events and places connected by leaps and shifts in time. Sometimes this is done in innocence, sometimes
by cunning, and sometimes by students or family or a remote village creating it to save face or to give honor and/or
to continue their story telling. When the story starts with a mountain place [so high none could life there] with a
great man who had the genius and time to write innumerable great books [of which none are now available] and a humble villiage
or humble traveler was the lucky inheritent...mythical-legend meets commoners' wishful-wanting. Also, following some
of the principles of information theory, it is more easy to continue...go along with the forward momentum, of the story, than
it is attempt to
traverse backwards through its' linkages.
History is like a chain letter, it has a beginning
which may be untraceable fully back, but in its' progress-telling, it is addended with (1) Concepts: Taoist
~ Buddhist, Alchemist ~Cosmology~Numerology (2) Study-Centers: Mt. WuTang--Hebei
~ Mt. Hua--Shensi ~ ShaoLin-Henan. (3) Time: Dynastys, and (4) People; ..each is resulting in the
corruption and a bifurcation of facts...much like a chain-letter; a man with a big, blue, fish, becomes, a big man with a
fish blue, and a big blue fish-man. Each junction of change influences both the direction and the timing [clocks] what
follows.
Words change their meaning, appearance, and usage
overtime: the word Qi (chi) had a closer meaning to 'flow~spirit' than it does now as 'energy'; the idea of Qi before was
as unclear as it is now. The word dao (tao) now is used as 'the way', before, its' meaning was man's making of order.. a
treking path across a wet, flooded field.
| Climbing the Chain-ladder |
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| A trek to the top of Mt.Hua |
The
subject-divisions chosen for elaboration are as follows:
(1) Concepts: Taoist,
Buddhist, Alchemists, Cosomolgy, Numerology. Concept-Application:
health-exercise ~ martial-exercise Most martial history authorities accept that the concept of water as a widely used
simple symbol for the more complex concept of 'spirit'; both the name 'water' and 'spirit' were applied to various
exercises and concepts. Early exercises were called 'river', 'long', or 'soft' and flowing. Cosmological concepts
existed as 'central', 'foundation', by importance: greater, lesser, and temporal: before, after, etc. Such
names as tai-chi and ba-gua existed early, mostly theoretical guides or were part of prognostication, but their application
to exercise principles or form patterns did not occur until much, much later eg. 1200-1400 and by then the intrepretations
of each had changed.
(2) Time-Event:
Pre-Sung; First-Sung Dynasty: circa 900AD-990AD;
Tang-Dynasty
The locations of interest involve both province, place, and 'centers'
within them, these clusters are connected for various ideological reasons or by geography. It should also be noted that
WuTang Shan, -JiuHua Shan-, Huang Shan create both cluster of mountain barriers north to south and between them exists a collective source of some of the most esoteric
philosophers; ...big minds perhaps benefit from big mountains.
- Shao Lin [Little Forest Temple] in Henan
- Mt. WuTang [Tai-He=supreme harmony; xuan yue] in Hebei
- Mt. Hua [Xi-Yo=west pinnacle] in Shensi
- Mt. Jiu Hua [nine flower mountain] in Anhui
- Mt. Huang ['yellow'] in Anhui
| Mt.Hua Pinnacle |
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| High, perilous prison |
Mount Hua is the legendary, unproven locale-source of teachings/documents
/myths regarding Taoist recluse-scholar-advisor Chen Po and an exercise or group of health/martial exercises attributed
to him. Currently the martial exercise is called 'water' boxing and at one time 'spirit' boxing. The jumps and transference
of 'water-spirit' exercise from Mt.Hua or Chen Po to the now named LiuHeBaFa exercise is quite dubious and unaccepted
by martial-arts historians.
Connections to Mount Hua [HwaYo, XiYo, XiHua] :
(+)The
name Hua Yo or Hua Pinnacle is symbolic as a symbolic 'apex' of knowledge; it remains today as a symbol for
high hopes or ability. Hua-shan-style health or martial exercise itself has a legendary history and is usually referred
to as unique and to the highest standard.The name 'tai chi' is also used as the 'supreme' and of the 'ultimate'...in a physical
and cosmological sense.
(+) The name Mt.HuaYo has been associated
with a poem title about LHPF=six-harmony combinations, eight methods; the origininator of the poem is unknown, but is either
credited to Chen Po at Mt.Hua or to Li DongFeng at Mt. QiYun in Anhui.
(+) HuaYo is also a distinct mixed martial
style: marketed in Boston by HongKong teacher John Chung Li who studied the variants of LHPF and under instruction from friend
and YiQuan teacher Han XingYuan, they redesigned the LHPF to be more YiQuan inclusive; LiChung's taichi teacher-friend: T.T.
Liang (a famous teacher of the Chen ManChing-style of tai-chi in Boston) suggested to Mr. Li to market this unknown
exercise under the already public known 'tai-chi' name as HwaYu Tai Chi. Also of interest, recent emergence of 'Shanghai'-style
LiuHeBaFa~water-style shows strong influcence of yiquan forms not evident in the Nanking style of Wu YiHui. LiChung
was also part of a group of private students in Hongkong who learned an exercise system called HunYuan, this is remarkably
similar to LHBF, but is based on small spiraling motions; this later was incorporated in Li Chung's teachings. Overall Msr.
Li's teachings purposely distance themselves from usual, traditional LHBF.
(+) HuaYue-Tai Chi is the name and spelling of the current version of Li
Chung's LHPF+YiQuan as being developed in Denmark; [either spelling of HwaYu, HuaYo, or HuaYue are used in China, thus the
'denmark' spelling of HuaYue is quite acceptable] Hua Yue Tai Chi Institut info@huayuetaichi.dk
Hua-Shan~Hua-Yo: Nearly every reference to this
mountain as a source of exercise refers to it as either HuaYo~Hua peak or as XiYo~west flower mountain.
A note: chinese and their use of language often is aware and concerned about the use of homonyms, words that sound similar,
thus Hua-Shen~flower-Mt. + spirit refers to the goddess of flowers: bai hua shen; also Hua-Xin~flower + heart refers
to the 'heart of the flower', slang, vagina. A more common and direct interpretation is that the cluster of peaks known
as Huashan, collectively is five pinnacles; incorporating chinese symbolics, the lotus flower, lien hua (lien being a homonym
for 'link') it becomes a comparison, the cluster of peaks reminds one of the clustering of a lotus flower. With this in mind,
the usual translation of Huashan as 'flower' mountain or as 'resplendent' mountain is somewhat incorrect.
It is said that the Chinese 'see' with their ears, meaning, there is pictures
in the word, saying that you practice famous Hua-xin-yi could be interpreted in an amusing alernate way.
References: Hua Shan :
http://medicine.webhostme.com/huashan.htm
http://www.damo-qigong.net/huashan.htm
http://www.letsgo.com/CHI/06-CentralChina-112
http://www.letsgo.com/CHI/06-CentralChina-85?PHPSESSID=8f26f117a146878271351cd9dd06f9a2
http://www.letsgo.com/CHI/06-CentralChina-3
| Chen Tuan = Master XiYi |
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| a stone-rubbing from Mt.Hua |
| Tomb of Hua T'uo |
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| at Hua Shan |
Doctor ...on the Mountain :
It is interesting that the famous doctor/surgeon Hua T'uo, at a previous time, is said to have lived, studied, taught, and is now entombed
at Mt.Hua. Doctor Hua's entry into this history is of inerest: as the said developer of a 'five-animal' health-dance [said of influence to Chen Po; and also to xing-yi and many others];
also, even now, the Chinese government has stated, that even without University Certifications, if they had someone of the
abilities of a Hua T'uo, they would use him as a rural doctor [...then Chen Po as a philosopher, having no formal credentials
also, would he be used as a teacher??]
MEETINGS : with master Chen Po
- Chao KuangYin [Emperor First Sung, Chao-lineage]
- HuoLung-'fire' drgaon; Mt.Hua~WuTang ~Chang SanFeng~WuTang
- Lee, TungFung; => Sung, YuenTung, his 'student'.
Sage meets King:
Reputedly, Chen Po met Emperor Chao, Kuang Yin, in 960 AD. There are two stories: (1.) Chen
Tuan taught King Chao an exercise to maintain his health: tai chi-chih, the ruler-method of taiji-principle
practice. The taiji-ruler exercise then came under then Chao family lineage for its transmission; it has been taught
under the same name by many in America, but has been either incorrectly interpreted/taught or reworked into a 'kinder-gentler'
taiji in comparison with the Yang-family version of taiji-principles which have a long history of development from principles
introduced into and mixed with Chen-family exercises. (2) King Chao
is also credited with developing Tai Tzu Chang Chuan .
| Chang 'san-feng' |
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| 'three-hills' of myth |
Sage's Proteges: HuoLung-'fire' drgaon; aka Jia DeSheng, is reputed to have traveled to and introduced a 'soft' boxing to WuTang;
if true, Mt.Hua is the source of principles, later exiting from WuTang. There does exist two strands of 'history' : (1) Wutang
exercise differs from all later 'tai-chi's' and is alleged to teach a 'secret waving-hands' form. (2) a 'visitor' entered
into Chen-family village [which is just south of Shaolin temple] and a mixing occured with existing Chen-family
village boxing-forms. How and who and when a Mt.Hua~WuTang link transpired and if it has any linkage at all to Chen-family
village or is a separate ancedote remains unclear.
Sage's Proteges+2: At Yun Shan, in S.E. Lok district,
a Li DongFeng =Lee, TungFung claims to have 'discovered' documents 'in a cave', the tomb of ChenTuan; these are the so-called
LiHeBaFa-verses; his student, Sung, YuenTung is credited with elaborating these verses in document called five-word secrets,
as each verse is of 5 characters. However, such 'wordy' secret-message poetry is pervasive in all chinese esoteric teachings,
the number of words, five or seven, is insignificant; a knowledge of the subject matter is required for understanding.
| Seasonal Exercises 2x12=24 |
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| claimed of Chen Po Hsi-I |
| Chen Po 'dream' meditation |
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| Statue at Mt.Hua |
| Statue of Chen Tuan |
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| 'a source' for TongBei |
Marital Exercise named for Mt.Hua [or from/at
Mt.Hua] and the 'Five-animal' sport.
Bai Yuan Tong Bei Chuan: It is claimed that White
Ape-Through-Back Fist-Boxing, originated with Mst. Chen; it consists of:
Six Prime Skills
Eight Older Fists
Twelve
Linking Fists
Twenty-four Posture Form
Thirty-six Take Apart Fist
Weapons
Game: the Sword of Mt.Hua http://physics.hkbu.edu.hk/~lhung/wulin.html
"The centre of wulin houses the most prominent societies of martial
arts in the Fairy Land of Drinking Horse. These are Shaolin and Wudang, in which many secret scripts of supreme kungfu unheard
and untouched are securely treasured. These two dragons of yang and yin are in turn surrounded by the Five Swords, which forms
a central ring in wulin. Since the fall of Tang Dynasty, this core structure had been shunned by the government very much.
Struggles and intrigues took place there many many times. Centuries later, the structure had almost entirely cut themselves
off the feudal politics, and eventually formed the basis of a new community called wulin."
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'Water' ~ Mt. Hua ~ Numerology:
Summary
(1) is both the name of a teaching poem, the 6x8-verses,
said to have been 'found' by Lee, TungFung; his student, Sung, YuenTung is the given author of their elaboration the 5-word-verses.
(2) the name of a 'long-form' exercise taught by Nanking teacher
Wu YiHui; The current lineage teacher Choi WaiLun and other teachers more often refer to their exercise as
'HuaYu' in praise [acceptable], as a high-standard [symbolic], and as a origin-source [dubious] ...as HuaYu XinYi LiuHeBaFa:
this expression is simple two parts: 'Mt Hua central ideas'+ 6x8.
(3) LHPF is a school name encompassing a collective body of
forms [ie. LHPF+qigongs+animal-forms+swimming dragon forms addended and augmenting taught by Wu YiHui] Water boxing
seems to be used both during the Sung Period and Water boxing is used in Shanghai in 1930-1940's
(4) the water-boxing name, however, is reaffixed to the LiuHeBaFa
exercise emerging into America by various teachers; there is thus one in principle another in name only. Health-exercise:
water/spirit-boxing, water-style, water-boxing, water-spirit, water-method-qi-gong, spirit-method-exercise, spirit-dream.
==TAOIST
3. Hua Shan, Shaanxi; Taoist Mt.
of West, 19. Zhong Nan Shan, Shaanxi
1.
Heng Shan Nan, Hunan; Taoist Mt. of South
2. Heng Shan Bei, Shanxi; Taoist Mt. of North
4. Tai Shan, Shandong; Taoist Mt. of
East
5. Tong Shan, Henan; Taoist Mt. of Center
==BUDDHIST
8. Jiu Hua Shan, Anhui; Buddhist Mt. of South.
6. Emei Shan, Sichuan; Buddhist Mt.
of West.
7. Wu Tai Shan, Shanxi, Buddhist Mt. of North.
9. Pu Tuo Shan, Zhejiang; Buddhist Mt. of East
10. Huang Shan, Anhui;
31. Qi Yun Shan, Anhui (Taoist Mt.)
23. Wu Dang Shan, Hubei;
34. Huang Mei Shan, Hubei
Famous Chinese Peaks: 'Mount Wudang is located near the Shiyan City, northwest of Hubei
Province. It is southeast of Mt. Hua Shan...Local people call it another name: Mount Tai He or Mount XuanYue.'
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