Shaolin Quan vs. Wudangquan
Quick answer
In the Chinese tradition, Shaolin Quan and Wudangquan are set against each other as an external and an internal art, but this division is a category from 1669 and 1928, not a description of two places. Shaolin Quan is tied to the Buddhist monastery near Dengfeng, with martial training documented from the 16th century and monastery levels since 2019. Wudangquan means either the whole group of internal arts or the art of the Taoist temples of the Wudang mountains with the sword, qigong and tuishou.
At a glance
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | China | China |
| Origin | Early modern (present form) | Early modern (present form) |
| Founder | Bodhidharma (by tradition) | Zhang Sanfeng (by tradition) |
| Competition format | Forms | Forms |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Ranks | Yes (dan ranks only) | – |
| Rank recognition | fragmented | unknown |
| Weapons | Weapons at the core | Weapons optional |
| Forms | Forms at the core | Forms at the core |
| Relative cost | unknown | unknown |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
In the Chinese tradition, Shaolin Quan and Wudangquan are set against each other as an external and an internal art. Shaolin Quan is tied to the Buddhist monastery near Dengfeng in Henan, but the name Shaolin also serves as a brand for external styles in general. Wudangquan means either the whole group of internal arts or the art of the Taoist temples of the Wudang mountains in Hubei.
- Shaolin: a stele from 728 records the monks’ help to the future emperor Taizong in 621, but does not describe martial training.
- Shaolin: according to Meir Shahar, training in the monastery is attested by at least forty sources from the 16th and 17th centuries and by none from the 8th to 15th centuries. In 1553–1555 the monks fought Japanese pirates.
- Shaolin: in 1928 the monastery was set on fire by the soldiers of Shi Yousan, and the fire also destroyed the wooden printing blocks of the boxing manuals.
- Wudang: after religion was legalised in 1979, masters of the Longmen lineage returned to the temples, and in 1989 a martial academy was founded in the Purple Cloud Temple.
- Both: in 2006 they were entered on the first national list of intangible heritage of the PRC.
The division into Shaolin and Wudang is an organisational and literary category, not a geographical one. It appears in 1669 in Huang Zongxi, and in 1928 it was used to divide participants of national tournaments, and later historians did not find a connection between the categories and the two places.
Technique
- Defensive techniques: evading, blocking, catching, deflecting.
- Offensive techniques: feint, strike, lock, throw, practised in pairs.
- Paired routines alternate attack and counter-attack, solo routines (taolu) carry the tactics.
- Wudang sword, a routine of 6 sections and 132 movements.
- Tuishou, paired sword and dian xue (strikes on points).
- Wudang qigong and the neigong of taijiquan.
For Shaolin Quan, the practice of techniques in pairs is attested. For Wudangquan as a temple art there is only a list of forms, without a description of what is taught in them. Part of the practitioners reject the general distinction between external and internal styles.
Training
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Documented routine | foreign students in the monastery 2018–2019: twice a day for two hours | we did not find any |
| Structure of a lesson | basics (jibengong), then routines, strength exercises, jumps or movements of animal styles | we did not find any |
| Schools in the area | Dengfeng schools according to a 2011 report: six days a week, 11 months a year, from dawn | school of the Taoist association in the Purple Cloud Temple since 1989, we did not find the routine |
The data on Shaolin come from the field research of Marta Nešković (2020) in the monastery and describe monastic and boarding-school training, not an ordinary club. For Wudangquan we have no comparable description of training.
Progression and ranks
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | at the end of 2019 the monastery introduced 18 levels: nine duan followed by nine pin | we did not find any levels or examinations |
| Before 2019 | no formal classification of skills existed, students were compared informally | the Wudang Dan Pai lineage is counted in generations of transmission, not in levels |
| Monastic path | fighting monks (wuseng) begin as lay students, after the twentieth year they may decide on ordination | we did not find any |
The monastery levels of Shaolin are a separate system alongside the duanwei grades of the Chinese Wushu Association, which concern wushu in general. We did not find whether the monastery levels are recognised by schools outside the monastery or outside China.
Physical load and risks
- We did not find any injury or load study focused on Shaolin Quan.
- Monastery training according to field research: four hours a day with strength exercises, jumps and routines.
- We did not find any injury or load study focused on Wudangquan.
- Studies of taijiquan as one of the internal arts cannot be transferred to the temple art of Wudang.
Children
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools for children | boarding schools in Dengfeng, students from five years old to the end of their twenties, boys and girls (2011 report) | we did not find any children’s programmes |
| Who attends the schools | research in Dengfeng 2012–2013: short-term students are mostly only children from well-off families, long-term students are mostly children of migrants who left ordinary schools | we did not find any |
| Studies in children | we did not find a study focused on this style | we did not find any |
Self-defence
- The repertoire includes strikes, locks and throws, practised in pairs.
- Paired routines alternate attack and counter-attack with a cooperating partner.
- Tuishou as paired work with a partner.
- Dian xue (strikes on points) listed among the forms without a description of how it is practised.
We did not find a source on training against full resistance for either of the two arts.
Practical use
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Health and fitness studies | we did not find a study focused on Shaolin Quan or on Yijin jing | we did not find a study focused on the temple art of Wudang |
| Injury studies | we did not find any | we did not find any |
| Self-defence or adult programmes | we did not find any | we did not find any |
The studies found do not name the kung-fu style, and the studies of taijiquan do not concern the temple art of Wudang. Nothing can be inferred about one art from measurements of the other.
Competition
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | routines without contact | routines without contact |
| Own competition | Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival with its opening in Dengfeng, we did not find the year it was founded | Wudang Taijiquan International Friendship Competition on Wudangshan, held since 1999, individuals, pairs and groups in five age groups |
| Category at the national federation | USAWKF: a separate Songshan-Shaolinquan category, without weapons, short, long and soft weapons, duilian and jiti | we did not find a separate category in the IWUF 2019 traditional wushu rules |
| Olympic programme | no | no |
Availability and organisations
| Shaolin Quan | Wudangquan | |
|---|---|---|
| UNESCO listing | 2010 the monuments of Dengfeng, buildings only, not kung-fu | 1994 the complex of buildings in Wudang, buildings only, not the martial art |
| National list of the PRC | 2006 Shaolin gongfu | 2006 Wudang wushu, no. 290 |
| Teaching in the area | historically mainly in affiliated temples and villages, not in the monastery itself | since 1989 an academy in the Purple Cloud Temple |
The study by Su Xiaoyan (2016) describes the resettlement of hundreds of families from the surroundings of Shaolin because of heritage protection and tourism, and only the largest schools survived in the new martial arts park. For Wudang we have no comparable study.
Philosophy
- A Buddhist monastery, fighting monks (wuseng) live in a monastic community.
- Yijin jing from 1624, a qigong manual which according to the sources was written by a Taoist, who attributed it to Bodhidharma through a fictitious lineage.
- The Taoist temples of the Wudang mountains and the Longmen lineage.
- Zhang Sanfeng is named as the founder in the 2006 national listing, the historians Tang Hao and Stanley Henning reject this.
Marnix Wells and Stanley Henning (2012) judge that by distinguishing the internal and external schools Huang Zongxi expressed dissatisfaction with Manchu rule, and that the concept was political rather than martial.
Forms and terminology
The Shaolin tradition lists over a thousand documented routines, from which, according to tradition, the monks chose eighteen during the Qing dynasty. It names luohanquan, paochui, hongquan, tongbiquan and taizu changquan. The order and the epithets are claims of the tradition, not a conclusion of historians.
The Wudang forms include the Wudang sword, Wudang qigong and the neigong of taijiquan, paired swords, dian xue and tuishou. Taiyi wuxing quan was publicly demonstrated in 1980 in Taiyuan by Jin Zitao, and his claim that he learned it from 1929 at Wudang rests on a single magazine article.
Training culture
- The film Shaolin Temple (1982) with the debuting Jet Li set off a revival of interest in martial arts in China and turned Shaolin into a tourist destination.
- Study by Su Xiaoyan (2016): monks and local teachers clashed over who may speak for Shaolin kung-fu.
- Wudang organises a taijiquan competition, which the organisers link with culture and tourism.
- In the national listing the Wudang wushu tradition is described as endangered by the ageing of its bearers and by limited research.
Common misconceptions
- Bodhidharma founded the martial art of Shaolin: the legend comes from the Yijin jing text of 1624, and the attribution to Bodhidharma is rejected by the historians Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Matsuda Ryuchi.
- Zhang Sanfeng created Wudangquan after watching a fight between a bird and a snake: the legend rests on an article from 2007, and Stanley Henning (1994) doubts that Zhang Sanfeng existed at all.
- A documented southern Shaolin in Fujian: both its existence and its location are disputed, several towns claim the site, and Barend ter Haar judges that stories of a burned monastery circulated in southern China at the end of the 18th century.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Does Shaolin in the name of a school mean a link to the monastery?
Not necessarily. The name Shaolin is also used as a brand for external kung-fu styles in general.
Is Wudangquan the same as taijiquan?
In the first meaning, Wudangquan is a collective name for the internal arts including taijiquan. In the second, it denotes the art of the Taoist temples of the Wudang mountains, where taijiquan is one of the forms alongside the Wudang sword and qigong.
Since when is martial training documented at Shaolin?
According to Meir Shahar, sources attest training in the monastery only in the 16th and 17th centuries. The manual on the Shaolin staff by Cheng Zongyou was published in 1621.