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Zhang Sanfeng: Historical Evidence vs. Taijiquan Creation Legend Part 3: Philosophical and Daoist Writings Attributed to Zhang Sanfeng

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In the first part of this series, we stripped away centuries of haze surrounding Zhang Sanfeng’s historicity. The so-called founder of Taijiquan, as the records of the Ming Shi revealed, was not a martial artist at all but a wandering Daoist adept—an alchemist, recluse, and moral philosopher whose legend grew long after his lifetime. Part Two explored how that legend evolved, showing how Zhang’s image as an immortal sage became woven into Chinese cultural identity and ultimately reimagined as the mythical creator of Taijiquan. Now, in Part Three, we turn from battlefield and myth to mountain hermitage, from physical movement to inner cultivation. What, if anything, did Zhang Sanfeng actually write? What philosophical and spiritual ideas were attributed to him, and how did these texts come to define his posthumous reputation as both sage and supposed martial progenitor? The Written Legacy: Texts Under Zhang Sanfeng’s Name When scholars and Daoist clerics speak of Zhang’s writings, they ...
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Zhang Sanfeng: Historical Evidence vs. Taijiquan Creation Legend Part 2 – Myths and Legends Surrounding Zhang Sanfeng

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  A Sage Steps Out of the Mist Part 1 established a sober baseline: the Zhang Sanfeng 張三丰 who turns up in Ming sources looks like a Daoist adept chasing immortality, not a boxing master arranging choreographies in a courtyard. The records are thin but consistent. They describe charisma, asceticism, and visionary power, not curricular instruction in quan 拳. If we stopped there, the story would be clean and dry. Yet the culture never stopped there, and that is the point of this second installment. The figure who strides out of the Wudang 武當 clouds in popular imagination is not merely a person. He is a symbol system. He holds together Daoist internal alchemy 內丹術, a theory of softness overcoming hardness 柔勝剛, the poetic economy of yin 陰 and yang 陽, a nationalist statement about indigenous genius, and a pedagogical shorthand for the character required to practice well. To understand why Zhang Sanfeng remains indispensable to Taijiquan 太極拳, even where history demurs, we must track how my...
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Zhang Sanfeng: Historical Evidence vs. Taijiquan Creation Legend — Part 1

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Historical Evidence of Zhang Sanfeng’s Existence If you trace Taijiquan far enough back into the mists of Chinese history, you eventually arrive not at a dusty village courtyard or the clang of a soldier’s training ground, but at a mountaintop shrouded in cloud. Wudang Mountain, home of Taoist immortals and hermits, is where legend says a sage named Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰, Zhāng Sānfēng) discovered the secret of Taijiquan by watching a bird and a snake fight. The snake coiled and yielded, the bird struck and failed, and Zhang, in that instant of revelation, saw the Dao itself. It is a beautiful story. It is also one that dissolves under the light of history. Despite the countless martial arts manuals and tourist brochures that revere Zhang as the “Founder of Taijiquan,” the real Zhang Sanfeng—if such a man truly existed—was not a boxer, nor a warrior, nor even a martial artist. The historical records, sparse but consistent, paint a very different picture: that of a wandering Ta...
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Morning Reflections: The Light, the Meeting, and the Sword

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There is a moment in Matthew 17 when Jesus climbs a mountain with Peter, James, and John. Up there, away from the world’s noise, his face shines like the sun. His disciples fall in awe, but also in fear. A voice emerges from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son… listen to him.” Then it all fades. The light dims, the vision ends, and they see only Jesus standing there, ordinary again. This is the rhythm of spiritual life. The light comes, dazzling and undeniable, then it vanishes, and we are left to walk back down the mountain. We want to stay in the vision, to build tents and hold onto revelation, but that is not how faith works. The real work happens in the descent, in the valley, in the crowd, in the noise. When Jesus comes down, he finds chaos: a child suffering, disciples arguing, people losing hope. The mountain gives vision, but the valley demands faith. The Meeting and the Cauldron The Yijing joins this scene with its own kind of poetry. Today’s hexagram, Gòu (Encounte...
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The Lost Six Roads: Debunking the Myths of Yang-Style Taijiquan and Its True Roots

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It began with a post: someone on Facebook declaring, with confident ignorance, that Chen-style Taijiquan is not the origin of Yang style. Comments echoed. Histories were dismissed. Someone else chimed in: “Yang came from Wudang.” Mostly, these claims drift by. But for those who trace movement and lineage in quiet rooms, these aren’t casual points — they’re foundational. When a student of Lao Liu Lu (老六路, Old Six Roads) lineage sees history denied, it’s not just a debate — it’s an erasure. This blog post is born out of that moment. Based on deep research and living lineage, it’s an answer — not just to the Facebook post, but to a pattern of forgetting. Because what’s interesting is not just who claims what, but what their claims contradict — even the teachers of Lao Liu Lu say Yang style descended from Chen style. Let’s walk the path. The Crossroads of Style: Chenjiagou, Yang Luchan, and Adaptation Taijiquan’s birthplace is usually credited to Chen Wangting (陈王廷) in Chenjiagou (陈家沟), He...
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