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On this page: History vs. His-story, the story myth.
| Mt. Hua-Yo |
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| flowery pinnacle of success |
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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 Mount Hua is symbolic as the 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
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.
(+) 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. Hence, as 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.
| SacredSites-China |
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| Anhui~Hua~WuTang |
==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.'
Chang San-Feng and Wudang Mountain by Dan Docherty
chen tuan = chen po [NOTE: chang po tuan
is a later person post 1100BC .]
http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/bibliography.php?ofield=Title
http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/bibliography.php?field=Title&query=chen+tuan&submit=Go
http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/bibliography.php?field=Author&query=kohn&submit=Go
http://helios.unive.it/~dsao/pregadio/tools/biblio/biblio_2.html
http://www.gb.taoism.org.hk/taoist-world-today/taoism&us/pg7-7-3-7.htm
by LIVIA KOHN, Boston University
Note: The
abbreviation "CT" stands for the numbers of texts in the Daoist canon, following the concordance by Kristofer Schipper.
"CHEN TUAN (d. 989), zi Tu'nan, hao Fuyaozi, was an important
Daoist master, thinker, fortune-teller, and legitimizing saint of the Song dynasty. Historically he appears first in 937,
when he left an inscription at the Tianqing guan in Qiongzhou, Sichuan, praising the qi-methods of the local masters. It is
likely that he was born in this area, although most sources claim that he came from Henan. In the 940's, he settled on Mount
Hua, restoring the Yuntai guan and Yuquan yuan, which are still closely associated with him today. In the 950's he composed
the Fengjian, a manual of physiognomy, which caused him to be later associated with the key handbook Shenxiang quanbian.
In terms of official links, Chen Tuan met with Emperor Shizong of the Northern Zhou in 956, answering his questions on alchemy
by giving spiritual advice. In 984, he mets Song Taizong and was given the title Xiyi xiansheng together with various material
gifts. He then became the legitimizing saint of the new dynasty. In 989, he died on Mount Hua. Legend has it that he was 118
years old, which would place his birth in the 870s. Given the other data, a birthdate of around 920 is more likely. In addition,
in the 960s-980s Chen Tuan met several high Song officials (Qian Ruoshui, Zhang Yong, Chong Fang) to read their fortunes and
give them career advice. At the same time he also became known for his Yijing studies which influenced Zhou Dunyi's Taiji
tu and Neo-Confucian thought.
Surrounding these historical facts, there
are many legends about Chen Tuan, telling of his wondrous encounter with a star lady as a child and his special memory power;
mentioning a failed imperial examination at the capital, a period of Daoist training on Mount Wudang, a magical transfer by
dragon to Mount Hua; stressing his wonderful ability to enter a deep trance, often for months, known as "sleep" and detailing
various chance encounters with the future Song emperors whose imperial quality he recognized and other successful physiognomic
examinations. They are found in Zhao Daoyi's Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian (CTy296), and in the Taihua xiyi zhi (CT 306).
In Yuan drama, Chen Tuan stars in Sanxing
zhao, Bieyou tian, Pantao hui, and Chen Tuan gao wo. In the Ming dynasty, he appears as a master of inner alchemical meditation,
a technique known as "sleep," described in the Chifeng sui. In Japan, finally, he is known as the planchette spirit who appeared
in the Chan community on Mount Huangbo and inspired its leader Ingen to travel to Japan in the seventeenth century. Definitely
identified as Chen Tuan, he is then known as Chen Bo, zi Wuyan |
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Kohn, Livia. 1988. "A Mirror of Auras: Chen Tuan on Physiognomy."
Asian Folklore Studies 47: 215-56.
Kohn, Livia.. 1990. "Chen Tuan in History and Legend. " Daoist
Resources 2.1: 8-31.
Li Yuanguo. 1985. Daojiao yanjiu wenji. Chengdu: Sichuan
shehui yanjiu yuan.
Li, Yuanguo. 1990. "Chen Tuan's Concepts of the Great Ultimate."
{Daoist Resources} 2.1: 32-53.
Russell, Terence C. 1990 "Chen Tuan's Veneration of the Dharma:
A Study in Hagiographic Modification." Daoist Resources 2.1: 54-72.
Russell, T.C. 1990. "Chen Tuan at Mount Huangbo." Asiatische
Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 44: 107-40.
=====================
Kohn, Livia 1988 'A Mirror of Auras - Chen Tuan on
Physiognomy.' Asian Folklore Studies 47: 215-56.
Kohn, Livia 1990 'Chen Tuan in History and Legend.' Taoist
Resources 2.1: 8-31
Li Yuanguo 1990 'Chen Tuan's Concepts of the Great Ultimate.' Taoist Resources 2.1: 32-53.
Chang
Po-tuan (trans. Cleary), The Inner Teachings of Taoism: 51-60 [60-104]
Yang Huarong a 1988 Guanyu Chen Tuan de jiguan
On Chen Tuan's Birth Place Shijie Zongjiao, 1988: 152-153
Li Yuanguo, 1985 Shilun Chen Tuan de yuzhou shengchenglun Chen
Tuan's Cosmology Shijie Zongjiao, 1985: 48-71
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Taoist Resources
(A Memorial to Chen Tuan)
v.2 nr.1 |
| Introduction:The Life of Chen Tuan after the
History of the Song |
Livia Kohn |
1-7 |
| Chen Tuan in History and Legend |
Livia Kohn |
8-31 |
| Chen Tuan's Concepts of the Great Ultimate |
Li Yanguo |
32-53 |
| Chen Tuan's Veneration of the Dharma a study
in Hagiographic Modification |
Terence C. Russell |
54-72 |
| Translation.The Twelve Sleep Exercises of Mount
Hua |
Teri Takehiro |
73-94 |
| Recent Publications on Taoism |
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95 |
Cultivating Stillness by Eva Wong (Author)
"...
Major Ideas of Taoist Internal Alchemy TAOIST COSMOLOGY AND INTERNAL ALCHEMY Taoist cosmology and internal alchemy are best
illustrated by Chen Hsi-i's unu-chi diagram, and much of the comments..."
"... a practice emerged. Both the Northern and Southern
branches of the Complete Reality School and the Huashan School of Chen Hsi-1 attempted to "demythologize" Taoist internal
alchemy. The writings from these schools contained less alchemical symbolism. Their approach differed from both Northern and
Southern branches.."
"Chen Po... the Sung dynasty (960-279 C.E.), who combined
the Confucianist and Taoist theories of the origin of things. He revised Chou Tuan-i's treatise T'ai-chi T'ao Shuo and wrote,
"From wu-chi comes t'ai-chi. When t'ai-chi moves, it creates yang.."
Pre-yin/yang symbol "... was first revealed to a Taoist
hermit known as the Sage of the River who passed it on to Wei Po-yang, author of the Triplex Unity. Chung Li-ch'uan, one of
the ... a hermit on Huashan and passed the teachings on to Chen Hsi-i. Chen Hsi-i was a Sung dynasty Taoist hermit who resided
on Hua- shan. He was reputed to have originated ..."
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