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Wudang Sect
The Wudang Sect, sometimes also referred to as the Wu-tang Sect or Wu-Tang Clan, is a fictional martial arts sect mentioned in several works of ''wuxia'' fiction. It is commonly featured as one of the leading orthodox sects in the '' wulin'' (martial artists' community). It is named after the place it is based, the Wudang Mountains. The Wudang Sect is featured most prominently in Jin Yong's novels ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' and ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' as a major power in the ''wulin'', usually alongside Shaolin. Liang Yusheng's works also depict Wudang as the leader of all orthodox sects in the ''wulin''. Most of its members are priests who follow Taoist customs and practices in addition to training in martial arts. However, unlike Shaolin's Buddhist monks, Wudang members are allowed to marry and start families. In some ''wuxia'' stories, Wudang has female members as well. History The sect was founded in the early Yuan dynasty by Zhang Sanfeng.Cha, Louis. ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuxia
( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted for such diverse art forms as Chinese opera, manhua, television dramas, films, and video games. It forms part of popular culture in many Chinese-speaking communities around the world. The word "" is a compound composed of the elements (, literally "martial", "military", or "armed") and (, literally "chivalrous", "vigilante" or "hero"). A martial artist who follows the code of is often referred to as a (, literally "follower of ") or (, literally "wandering "). In some translations, the martial artist is referred to as a "swordsman" or "swordswoman" even though they may not necessarily wield a sword. The heroes in wuxia fiction typically do not serve a lord, wield military power, or belong to the aristocratic class. They often originat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T'ai Chi Ch'uan Philosophy
In many extant t'ai chi classic writings the dependence of t'ai chi ch'uan on Chinese philosophy is acknowledged. T'ai chi teachers have historically asserted that the principles of tai chi chuan practice can be applied to a student's lifestyle. 'T'ai chi ch'uan' is often translated ''supreme ultimate pugilism'' or ''boundless fist''. This refers to the ancient Chinese martial art. However, in terms of philosophy ''t'ai chi'' has a wider meaning. The concept of ''t'ai chi'' or the ''Supreme Ultimate'' is used in various Chinese philosophical schools, usually to represent the contrast in opposing categories, or the interplay of those categories usually termed ''yin'' and ''yang''. These abstract terms represent the relationships used to describe perceived opposites in the phenomenal world: full and empty, movement and stillness, soft and hard, light and dark, hot and cold, et cetera. This scheme has had a lasting influence in traditional Chinese culture, shaping theory in schoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temple Of The Five Immortals (Shiyan)
The Temple of the Five Immortals or Five Immortals Temple (Chinese: , p ''Wuxianmiao'')Lindsey Wei(2009), "The Valley Spirit", Singing Dragon Publications is a Taoist temple located in Shiyan's Zhangwan District in China's Hubei Province. The temple is situated on the Heavenly Horse (, ''Tianma'') peak of White Horse Mountain (, ''Báimǎ shān'') in the Wudang Mountains. The Wudang Mountains are home to a famous complex of Taoist temples and monasteries and are associated with the Lord of the North, Xuantian Shangdi. The Temple of the Five Immortals is one of the very few temples in the Wudang mountain range which is still maintained by real Taoist monks who dedicate their lives to cultivate the great Tao. Wudang was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994. Location and Overview Inside Hubei Province, looming above the Yellow Dragon River, at an elevation of 1048 m, sits the Temple of the Five Immortals. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple Cloud Temple
The Zixiao Palace () or Purple Cloud Temple, standing on Zhanqi Peak, is a Taoist temple of the Wudang Mountains Taoist complex in the northwestern part of Hubei, China. History After being built in 1119–26, it was rebuilt in 1413 and extended in 1803–20. Temple complex The Purple Cloud Temple consists of several halls and Daoist statues including the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Purple Sky Hall, the East Hall, the West Hall, the Parent Hall and the Prince Cliff. The Purple Sky Hall is enshrined with statues of Zhen Wu at different stages of his life. Statues of Zhen Wu's parents rest in the Parent Hall. On the left side is the Chinese deity Guanyin, and on the right is the Shouzi Mother to whom couples traditionally pray for sons. The hall also houses cultural relics, some of which date back as far as the 7th century, including the Green Dragon Crescent Blade The Green Dragon Crescent Blade () is a legendary weapon wielded by the Chinese general Guan Yu in the 14th-centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qinggong
Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang. The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progresses. Etymology Puns play a significant role in creating Chinese terminology. While the characters used for this skill are 輕功 \ 轻功 (Trad.\ Simp.), where the meaning of the first character is ''light n weight easy; soft; gentle'', and the second means ''achievement; effort; skill; good result'', since the training involves incrementally changing the slope or incline of a plank of wood used as a platform, there's a suggested pun with substituting 傾 \ 倾 (Trad.\ Simp.) for the first character, where its meaning is ''to overturn; to collapse; to lean; to incline''. Note that both 輕 \ 轻 and 傾 \ 倾 are pronounced identically, with the same tone. Popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taijiquan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Tai chi has practitioners worldwide from Asia to the Americas. Early practitioners such as Yang Chengfu and Sun Lutang promoted the art for its health benefits beginning in the early 20th century. Its global following may be attributed to overall benefit to personal health. Many forms are practiced, both traditional and modern. Most modern styles trace their development to the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu, and Sun. All trace their historical origins to Chen Village. Concepts ''Yin'' and ''Yang'' The concept of the ''taiji'' ("Supreme Ultimate"), in contrast with '' wuji'' ("without ultimate"), appears in both Taoist and Confucian philosophy, where it represents the fusion or mother of yin and yang into a single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Touch Of Death
The touch of death (or death-point striking) refers to any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body. The concept known as ''dim mak'' (), alternatively ' () traces its history to traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. Tales of its use are often found in the Wuxia genre of Chinese martial arts fiction. ''Dim mak ''is depicted as a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure points and meridians, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent. Little scientific or historical evidence exists for a martial arts "touch of death", however in rare cases death can occur in response to trauma such as Commotio cordis, an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart. The concept known as vibrating palm originates with the Chinese martial arts ''Neijing'' ("internal") energy techniques that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Tortoise
The Black Tortoise () is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a tortoise entwined together with a snake. The name used in East Asian languages does not mention either animal; the alternative name "Black Warrior ~ Dark Warrior ~ Mysterious Warrior" is a more faithful translation. It represents the north and the winter season, thus it is sometimes called Xuanwu (Black Tortoise, lit. Black Warrior) of the North (). In Japan, it is named Genbu. It is said to protect Kyoto on the north side, being one of the four guardian spirits that protect the city. It is represented by the Kenkun Shrine, which is located on top of Mt Funaoka in Kyoto. The creature's name is identical to that of the important Taoist god Xuanwu, who is sometimes (as in ''Journey to the West'') portrayed in the company of a turtle and a snake. History During the Han dynasty, people often wore jade pendants that were in the shape of turtl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taijijian
Taijijian () is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for upper body conditioning and martial training in traditional Taijiquan schools. The different family schools have various warmups, forms and fencing drills for training with the jian. Historical use of jian in Taijiquan The Yang and Wu families were involved in Qing dynasty military officer training, and taught jian technique to their students. Traditional Taijijian forms are rooted in martial application, and are thus originally designed to make use of the weapons available at the time of their development. As there was no historical jian type created specifically for taijiquan, the forms were designed around the use of a functional jian of the day, being of appropriate weight, balance, sharpness and resilience to be effective in armed combat. Modern Wushu A lighter version of the traditional sword an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changquan
Chángquán () refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China. The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be considered a long-range fighting system. In some Long Fist styles the motto is that "the best defense is a strong offense," in which case the practitioner launches a preemptive attack so aggressive that the opponent doesn't have the opportunity to attack. Others emphasize defense over offense, noting that nearly all techniques in Long Fist forms are counters to attacks. Long Fist uses large, extended, circular movements to improve overall body mobility in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Advanced Long Fist techniques include qin na joint-locking techniques and shuai jiao throws and takedowns. The Long Fist style is considered to contain a good balance of hand and foot techniques, but in particular it is renowned for its impressive acrobatic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taijijian
Taijijian () is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for upper body conditioning and martial training in traditional Taijiquan schools. The different family schools have various warmups, forms and fencing drills for training with the jian. Historical use of jian in Taijiquan The Yang and Wu families were involved in Qing dynasty military officer training, and taught jian technique to their students. Traditional Taijijian forms are rooted in martial application, and are thus originally designed to make use of the weapons available at the time of their development. As there was no historical jian type created specifically for taijiquan, the forms were designed around the use of a functional jian of the day, being of appropriate weight, balance, sharpness and resilience to be effective in armed combat. Modern Wushu A lighter version of the traditional sword an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T'ai Chi Ch'uan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Tai chi has practitioners worldwide from Asia to the Americas. Early practitioners such as Yang Chengfu and Sun Lutang promoted the art for its health benefits beginning in the early 20th century. Its global following may be attributed to overall benefit to personal health. Many forms are practiced, both traditional and modern. Most modern styles trace their development to the five traditional schools: Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Chen, Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Yang, Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Wu (Hao), Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Wu, and Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Sun. All trace their historical origins to Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan#Chen Village (Chenjiagou), Chen Village. Concepts ''Yin'' and ''Yang'' The concept of the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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