Legend About Zhang Sanfeng

One tradition claims that Master Chang San fengthe folklore in the Wudang Mountain area. There is
was born at midnight on April 9, 1247 AD, neara fairly long tradition amongst Wundang Mountain
Dragon-Tiger Mountain in Kiang-Hsi Province in themartial artists and Taoists that attributes the
southeast of China. He is said to have been adevelopment of soft style martial arts to Chang
government official in his youth, learned ShaolinSan-Feng and his disciples.
martial arts while living in the Pao-Gi MountainsMore recently, some scholars and tai-chi historians
near Three Peaks (San Feng), and then living forhave argued that Chang San-Feng had little or
scores of years as a Taoist hermit and sage innothing to do with the founding of Tai Chi Chuan
the Wu-Tang (Wudang) Mountains. He is reportedor internal martial arts. They contend that this
to have lived to be 200 years old (1247-1447AD),aspect of the Master Chang legend was invented
but his death date is uncertain. He would havein the late 19th century by Yang family stylists to
lived in the Sung, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties ifgive their art form deeper historical roots. These
these dates were accurate.authors contend that the Tai Chi Chuan systems
Another tradition claims that there were twoas we know them today were all created as
Master Chang San-Feng Taoist priests. One wassuccessive variants to the system developed by
born in the Sung dynasty (960-1279), lived onthe military leader and martial artist Chen
Wutang Mountain, and combined the thirteenWangting (1600-1680) of Chenjiagou Village in
postures with other Taoist practices and arts toHenan Province.
create a style of internal martial arts. The secondPeople in China, Tibet, and India have for millennia
Master Chang San-Feng (1279-1368), was a nativeused exercises to improve health, cure disease,
of I-Chou in LiaoTung Province. His scholarly namerestore vitality, and increase lifespan. Gentle
was Chuan Yee and Chun Shee. He lived onstretching, breathing methods, herbal remedies,
Wutang Mountain, was a highly regarded Taoistand use of postures for exercise can be traced
adept with many amazing magical powers, andback over 4,000 years. Martial arts training
was very popular with the local people.methods, of course, are of similar antiquity.
The early legends about Chang San-Feng areGood old Master Chang, like the Bodhidharma of
linked with activities of EmperorShaolin fame, are just reference points for the
Chengzu(1403-1424) who searched for Chang andimagination steeped in these many centuries of
other political refugees. By 1459, Chang had beenmartial arts, health exercises, and the history of
declared an Immortal and, as with most saints,Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
stories of his miraculous powers became part of