Zhang Sanfeng
張三丰
Legendary figureLegendary Taoist master associated with Mount Wudang, to whom tradition attributes the invention of taijiquan; his existence was questioned by the researcher Stanley Henning.
Quick Facts
ChinaBiography
Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰) is a legendary figure of the Chinese martial arts, traditionally described as a Taoist master associated with Mount Wudang. He was reportedly named Tong, courtesy name Junbao, Taoist name Sanfengzi. According to the History of Ming he was born at the end of the Song dynasty; a Chinese source gives the year 1247. Sources differ on his birthplace: the History of Ming places it in Liaoning, Zheng Xiao in Yizhou in Liaodong, and Shaowu in Fujian claims he came from there. According to legend he lived 212 years and perhaps still lived under the Tianshun emperor (1457–1464).
According to tradition, under the Yuan emperor Shizu he was administrator of Boling county before he abandoned his official career and chose an ascetic life. Under the Ming emperor Chengzu the envoy Hu Ying reportedly searched for him.
Tradition holds that he invented taijiquan after observing a fight between a crane and a snake in which softness overcame hardness; another version speaks of a snake defending itself against a bird's attack and of 75 movements. The epitaph for Wang Zhengnan, written in 1669 by Huang Zongxi, credits him with developing the internal martial arts. The writings Da dao lun, Xuanji zhijiang and Xuantan quanji are also attributed to him.
The researcher Stanley Henning questioned whether Zhang Sanfeng existed and described the legend of the founding of taijiquan as undocumented. Other sources state that taijiquan forms existed even before him. In Jin Yong's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber he appears as the founder of the Wudang school.
Associated Martial Arts
A Chinese family of internal martial art styles with slow forms and tuishou, documented from the 17th century in Henan. Zhang Sanfeng is a legend, UNESCO 2020.
WudangquanTraditional founder→A collective name for the internal arts and the art of the Wudang mountain temples. The internal-external division dates from 1669, and Zhang Sanfeng is founder only by tradition.
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.