Zhang Sanfeng (also spelled Zhang San Feng, Chang San-Feng) refers to a legendary Chinese Taoist who many believe invented T’ai chi ch’üan, although other sources point to early versions of Tai Chi predating Sanfeng. He was purported to have achieved immortality. According to various accounts, he was born in Shaowu, Nanping, Fujian near the end of the Southern Song dynasty (around 1270 CE) and lived for over 211 years until the mid-Ming dynasty. After declining to serve the government and giving away his property to his clan, he travelled around China and lived as an ascetic. He spent several years on Mount Hua before settling in the Wudang Mountains. Zhang Sanfeng is purported as having created the concept of neijia in Chinese martial arts, specifically taijiquan, a Neo-Confucian syncretism of Shaolin martial arts with his mastery of daoyin (or neigong) principles. On one occasion, he observed a bird attacking a snake and was greatly inspired by the snake’s defensive tactics. It remained still and alert in the face of the bird’s onslaught until it made a lunge and fatally bit its attacker. This incident inspired him to create a set of 72 taijiquan movements. He is also associated with the Taoist monasteries in the Wudang Mountains. Huang Zongxi’s Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669) gave Zhang Sanfeng credit for the development of a Taoist “internal martial arts” style, as opposed to the “external” style of the Shaolin martial arts tradition. Zhang Sanfeng was also an expert in the White Crane and Snake styles of Chinese martial arts, and in the use of the jian (double-edged Chinese sword). According to 19th century documents preserved in the archives of the Yang and Wu-styles taijiquan families, Zhang Sanfeng’s master was Xu Xuanping, a Tang dynasty Taoist poet and daoyin expert. The taijiquan families who honour Zhang Sanfeng as the creator of taijiquan traditionally celebrate his birthday on the ninth day of the third month in the Chinese calendar. Writings attributed to Zhang Sanfeng were compiled into a collection known as The Complete Collection of Mr Zhang Sanfeng in the early Qing dynasty. It also contained introductory notes on Taoist martial arts and music. Owing to his legendary status, Zhang Sanfeng’s name appears in Chinese wuxia novels, films and television series as a spiritual teacher and martial arts master and monk. The best known depiction of Zhang Sanfeng in fiction is probably in Jin Yong’s wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, which is primarily set in the final years of the Yuan dynasty. In the novel, Zhang Sanfeng is a former Shaolin monk who founded the Wudang School based in the Wudang Mountains. He has seven apprentices, the “Seven Heroes of Wudang”, one of whom is the father of the novel’s protagonist, Zhang Wuji.
Appearance List “Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan” (1669) by Huang Zongxi — links neijia boxing to Zhang Sanfeng; Shaolin–Wudang Research (少林武當考, 1930; reprints 1968, 2008) by Tang Hao — historical study debunking mythic origins (incl. Zhang Sanfeng); Taiji Boxing Postures Explained (太極拳勢圖解, 1921; facsimile reprint 2006) by Xu Yusheng — helps cement the Zhang/Wudang narrative; A Study of Taijiquan (太極拳學, 1921) by Sun Lutang — the modern Zhang-as-founder story; Lost T’ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch’ing Dynasty (1996) by Douglas Wile — scholarly analysis and translations; Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing (1964) — Western translation/compilation for mid-20th-c. “Shaolin vs. Wudang” [Internet Archive]; Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin (1934) by Jin Jing Zhong — not about Zhang directly [Internet Archive]; The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠龍記, 1961–63 serialization; later book editions) by Jin Yong — Zhang Sanfeng as Wudang patriarch; “Tiger & Crane Double Form” by Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen (1957) [Kung Fu Library].
Sample Read Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing (1964) [Internet Archive]
Description Zhang Sanfeng (also spelled Zhang San Feng, Chang San-Feng) refers to a legendary Chinese Taoist who many believe invented T’ai chi ch’üan, although other sources point to early versions of Tai Chi predating Sanfeng. He was purported to have achieved immortality. According to various accounts, he was born in Shaowu, Nanping, Fujian near the end of the Southern Song dynasty (around 1270 CE) and lived for over 211 years until the mid-Ming dynasty. After declining to serve the government and giving away his property to his clan, he travelled around China and lived as an ascetic. He spent several years on Mount Hua before settling in the Wudang Mountains. Zhang Sanfeng is purported as having created the concept of neijia in Chinese martial arts, specifically taijiquan, a Neo-Confucian syncretism of Shaolin martial arts with his mastery of daoyin (or neigong) principles. On one occasion, he observed a bird attacking a snake and was greatly inspired by the snake’s defensive tactics. It remained still and alert in the face of the bird’s onslaught until it made a lunge and fatally bit its attacker. This incident inspired him to create a set of 72 taijiquan movements. He is also associated with the Taoist monasteries in the Wudang Mountains. Huang Zongxi’s Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669) gave Zhang Sanfeng credit for the development of a Taoist “internal martial arts” style, as opposed to the “external” style of the Shaolin martial arts tradition. Zhang Sanfeng was also an expert in the White Crane and Snake styles of Chinese martial arts, and in the use of the jian (double-edged Chinese sword). According to 19th century documents preserved in the archives of the Yang and Wu-styles taijiquan families, Zhang Sanfeng’s master was Xu Xuanping, a Tang dynasty Taoist poet and daoyin expert. The taijiquan families who honour Zhang Sanfeng as the creator of taijiquan traditionally celebrate his birthday on the ninth day of the third month in the Chinese calendar. Writings attributed to Zhang Sanfeng were compiled into a collection known as The Complete Collection of Mr Zhang Sanfeng in the early Qing dynasty. It also contained introductory notes on Taoist martial arts and music. Owing to his legendary status, Zhang Sanfeng’s name appears in Chinese wuxia novels, films and television series as a spiritual teacher and martial arts master and monk. The best known depiction of Zhang Sanfeng in fiction is probably in Jin Yong’s wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, which is primarily set in the final years of the Yuan dynasty. In the novel, Zhang Sanfeng is a former Shaolin monk who founded the Wudang School based in the Wudang Mountains. He has seven apprentices, the “Seven Heroes of Wudang”, one of whom is the father of the novel’s protagonist, Zhang Wuji.
