LIFE> Health
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LIFE> Health
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Still lightning fast after all these years
By Zhu Linyong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-03 08:03 When people first see Zhao Jianying tutoring retirees and youngsters at parks, they often think she looks great for someone in her 60s. In fact, she is 84. Her moves are slow, graceful and relaxed as she demonstrates Taiyi Wuxing Quan, a form of Wudang kungfu, but she also uses lightning hits to win mock fights against even young men. "Thanks to Wudang kungfu that I have been practicing for over half a century, I am still strong and agile at this age," Zhao says. Acclaimed as a "living fossil of Wudang martial arts", Zhao was named a Key Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage under State protection by the Ministry of Culture and State General Sports Administration in 2007. Like all kungfu masters, Zhao's life has been eventful.
Born into a poor farmer's family in Junzhou (now Danjiangkou), Hubei province, the weak and skinny girl was a constant worry to her parents. When she was 6, a military officer taught her Hong Quan, a kungfu style popular in Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong provinces. She continued learning from a roster of teachers and as a 14-year-old primary school dropout, made a living teaching kungfu. When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) broke out, she was attracted by a public notice declaring that Kuomintang soldiers were being recruited by Li Zongren, chief-in-command of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese army, then stationed in Hubei. To her surprise, she was admitted for her kungfu skills and appointed as an assistant to officers in the information and publicity division. The kungfu skills she coached the officers and soldiers saved many lives in hand-to-hand combat against the invading Japanese army. In 1943, Zhao married her colleague Qin Hui and they later settled down in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Qin's home province, where they became underground Communist Party members. In the 1950s, Zhao's kungfu skills won a wider audience as she scooped a string of gold and silver medals in national competitions. Due to their backgrounds, Zhao and her husband suffered a lot during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and martial arts almost disappeared from the public's sight in the 1960s and 70s. With the opening-up and reforms of the late 1970s, various kungfu schools resurfaced. Life returned to normal for the couple and in 1980, Zhao had a chance meeting with Jin Zitao, a half-blood younger brother of Pu Yi, the Last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Also known as Aisin Gioro Puhuan, Jin was a guru of Taiyi Wuxing Quan, one of the oldest Wudang martial arts styles that only a handful of Taoist priests at Wudang Mountain were allowed to learn to protect their temples. Jin had been taught the martial arts by a Taoist priest in the 1920s but kept it a secret and patiently awaited a competent disciple. Deeply impressed by Zhao's performance and passion for kungfu, Jin decided to pass on all the skills to his first disciple and first woman disciple in the history of Taiyi Wuxing Quan. As the chief martial arts trainer for Taoist priests at Wudang Mountain, Zhao has also taught laymen. Since she opened her Taiyi Wuxing Quan Club in 1996, Zhao has trained more than 1,000 students at home and abroad. "I want more people to command the basic skills of Wudang kungfu, which is not only useful in self-defense but also good for your health," Zhao says. China's economic transformation has caused more people pay greater attention to their health. Says Zhao: "Unlike fierce and violent kungfu genres, Wudang kungfu is appropriate especially for the elderly and the weak to practice for health-keeping." (China Daily 12/03/2008 page20) |
