Jingwu: The School that Transformed Kung Fu

166 Pages·2010·52.01 MB·English

by  Brian Kennedy, Elizabeth Guo, Joachim Wegener

JINGWU

THE SCHOOL
THAT
TRANSFORMED
KUNG FU

Brian L. Kennedy
and
Elizabeth Nai-fia Guo

3

Dine Snake Bonks
Berkeley, Califoenis,
Acknowledgments

We
in, Profesor Lin greatly ssista withthe background history of Re~

nk Mi. Rubert
Louie uf the Jing Mo Physical Culture Association. Sif Lauie made
tvailable 1 us @ mummies of very valuable original docu

offer our deevest appreciation w atorney and law professor Fenty

[publican China and sith the translations. We also

regard
yg the carly Kistory ofthe Tingweu Association. We would also ike 10
thank Me. Pateiele Hevlges, who provided us with a mint capy af the
Hawaiian Chin Woo anniversary book, AI thre of these 1
fost af their way to help us and all thzee tflect che “Figo spirit” of
helping to preserve and promote eraditiemal Chinese martial ats, Ov

respec. ui thanks to them. Ou eespect and thanks alse goes to Kin

Wiegand for her outsaling work editing this book.
Contents

Issaopeentos ix

>» CHAPTER L
Cxeaos ase Vistas Tits Banter o Tae owe

Four Historical Phaves of Chinese Martial Arts 1
‘The Fingwu Aswuciatin sn the New Culture Movement
The Mythic snd che Mundane 4
Tingien Pillars u

entife Chinese Marcial Ars z
{Graduates ad Certifiates 3
rks Are the Way 4
‘Women on aa Equal Footing 5
Dollars and Demise 6

APTER2

Lerrine nue Jasowe Awwrernsany Boox Tue Irs

Ows Stony Is
Suan Yat Sen's Profuce 9
Hun Yuaojia and the Main Founcers a
(Coramemorative Calligcaphy 3
The [ingwu Training Halls
lying the Coloss, lagsand Pins 2
Decorative Comic Braseings 9
Branches in Shai 2
Five Races under One Union 6
Shanxi Concession Areas 46
Jingwu Marsal Arts Groups and Demonstrations "
Monthly Meet-ups 30
‘The Musclemen ofthe ing 3

Mantis] Motte
Classical Archery
Youth P
» CHAPTERS

Mawctnn Ants oF rE JNcarD o
Jingwa Nordhera Shania 8
Huo Yoonjia’s Martial Arts 2
Martial Arts Munaals and Posters al
‘Westein Martial Ars Boobs 8
Saving Chinese Mantis Arts ftom Impending Death 5
Jingwu Miltry Training 30
ici: Cuvand Stab Skills 96

» CHAPTER ¢

Ora Jini Actives
Recreation and Music
Literary Stes

‘The Jingwe Phova Stadio 107
Western Sports and Outdoor Advenmres| 10
Weight Training m4
Gynnastis an Track and Field 16
Revolutionaries and Martyrs us

Neither Rain oe Bitter Cold Will Stop the Jingsen 120

» APPENDIXES
“Appradix A: Historical Metheals in Chinese Martial Ares

esearch 1s
Appwnlx Bs What he Jingo Said about Trsell— in Pglish 133
“Appendix C:'The Mania! Arts Teaching Stall 12
'Sppendix Ds Chinese Character List M6
Appendix E: Soucces for Further Study 9

FINDEN 159
Inrropuction

ees nrc
msl ia seraeuisd fa Le, Sun Yat-Sen’ vision of
4 ne, demacrstic China was boen, but as warlords coat the
and foreign armies sursaunded the major pe

Kuomintang’ hue for a democratic China would die an early and
sovtt death It was a time of hota chaos aid vision in China. Chinese
tsitial arts were plomging into thei dares: oars, Inthe sake of the

peuple feared thar the

Boxer Rebellion, people in China scorned the traditional martial ars,
aad whether tracitional Chinese marta! arts would survive ae all was
tuncectain: their estinstinn wae a very geal possibilty. Inte cis camule
vas burn the ust famous and important Chinese martial arts training
hall—the Jingwu Assoc

‘The Jingu Association preserved and developed Chinese martial
arts to querantee they would survive the tmsition fram taditioral to
modern Cina, The Jingwa sas the sehoul Uat saved ag fhe trax
ditional martial arts nf China. Hove the Jing did cis is che subj

af this bok

‘The fingwus most influent peri ran from is founding in 1999

to 1924 Financial troubles and cbariging political climates brooghr the
Tingwuinflucnce ia Ching to a slove by 1926, The Fingses Assciation
survived and sa some pacts ofthe world chrived—after cis Ge, hut
tour fac in tis book is om how te Fingses Association was iy ie fst
ten yous, Madeon-day practitiesers of Chinsse martial arts ove rach to

the work of the Jingwu Assmiat on and its variaes branches. The Jing
Assoiation deserves to be lutter keown fries zontiburir sand its our
hope that this book es in some small way popolarie tle ngiru As

soto seis importa:
eng mero

Established in Shanghai in 1909, the Jingwa Association was a pri
vately Finded academy that taught Chinese martial zrts 25 well as =

wide variety of other sports ane recreations. The Jingwu Assarianion

+ ‘The fsst public Chinese nari arts veaining falisy

+ "The frarto teach Chinese manial ers asa sportor recreation

1 The fest >a place wornen’s grogeams on an equal fovting
syith men’s programe

+The first te nse books, magazines, and movies w promote
Chinsse martial arts

Each of chese “firsts” represents @ majar ebange from the way Chic
nee maria! arts had been taaghr and practiced in Uke past. The Jingwis
snbodied both cassinvity and diseonsizuity:on the one‘nand, iteought
to promote traltiocal Chinese martial art, but on fhe ocker Ind, i
presented thove ats in a finwlamentlly different way chan they had

basen in che past
(Originally, the Jingo Assocation consisted ofa single academy in
Shanghai, Wiehin a few years that single Laation had expanded ints
branche all ever China a

sin Chinese comeaities in Souabeas
‘Asis including Viewsam and Ludonesia, At ibe Hing’ beight in he
late 1920s, chore were over ity branch schools. The
is sil live andl well in the ewenty-firstcentery, with branes lovee

ingen poogracs

the worl.

(Otte al the biggest mnisunierstanelings abr the Jingw Assciarian
saul its progr is tna he Fingiou was just about mactial aes. As
Inet perusal of any oftheir publications would make clear, martial arts

and in some ofthe Jing
Association's branches, they were a fairly small part. Fer many of the

wove ust one part ofthe Jingwe progeans

Jingwou Assoviaion’s ranches, other sports activities, cerebral actvi-

ties such as chess oe English language lessons, and socisl activities such
ashikking and hunting trips were more central te the progrsin than
nati arts, Burl chat as it may, che Jingweu's place in Chinese history
is telly selaed tits mactia! arts programs. To se hov this untold,
‘abi of background is nscessary, and a goed place to seacts with the
nace itsell

The name finger means literally “lke esense of martial ars" ot
more awkwarly, “tae selected bust af mavtial atts.” It can be spelled
Jing Me, Ching Wu, fing Wo, ot Chia Won, depending on how iis ro-
toanized. Tye mslerny Pinyin spelling is Fngeo, which is what we wil
tse in this ook. "There are rw variables inthe spelling of geo he
romanization system used and the specific Cainese dislet that is be
ing romanized. Cantenese-speaking Chinese in Hong Kong will pro-
ounce the name gute differently than will a Manéarian speaker in
Beijing, and « speaker of Shanghainese will pronounce differently
too. These efferent pronouncations can be converted to English letters
using a number ol illerent sysiems, including Wade-Cilesand Pin
‘Tie ead result is that she manne figaow gets spelled a lot of different
ways

The formal Caiuese name of the Jingssu Association changed due
ing its Republicen-Era lifeyun, anc these chaages were more char
x“ Jone

cosmetic. They relleted changes in the appreach nsed, and altinaugh
the different names may sound about che same in translation, the dif

ferent maunes cazried considerably different connotations 1 native
speakers of Chinese a the time, AL its inception, the asoeiation vas
named the Pare Martial Calisthenies School iegwu ‘Tiean Xuexiao
Later in April 1916, the organization changed its name to the Pu
Maral Athletic Assocation (Jingsen Tiyan ‘The latter name cx:
ries auch move ofa “spores and reereation” connotation, sshereas the

forme is nove a straight "martial aris aining hall” name.
“fingwon can be wed to sean a couple oF different things, whieh
sometimes can got confiasing. Jingu can eefee tothe actal brick-and-
mortar academy in Shanghai, a ie can refer ws she network as. wile
tbe Jingowu Acalemy and all of its ranch academies). Lastly, it can
rele tothe idea, the fetmnts, ol what they weve tying to do. For ex:
the early promoters of the fingwse Association spoke of
spreading she Sagwu spirit” across China andl among the Chinese di
ra, Put move snap, Jing can he the place, the organization, or

the adea, In this back, when we sty “Jingwus Association” ur “Jing

ample, son

swe are speaking of the centel urgan-2ation Tocated in Shanghai, China,
and we aretalling about that orgaaiaation as it was inthe early pare of

‘de twentieth enue

Sources

"The focus in this bok is on material coming from a wl published in
1912 by the fingwu Assocarion to mark thie ten-year anniversary. The
‘book's al de in Chinese i
survived, (We will refer to this book asthe Anniversary Baok,) Our eopy

+s Boa fi, and complete sitions have

cous from the collect: of Liv Kang Yi, who isthe owner of Lion
Books af Taiwan, Lion Books has reprinted che Jingwur Anniversary
Book, bar the baok has noe yer been translated int Knglish. ‘These ave
other sources thar we have used, as wel: Reet Lovie was kind enough
tor make available co us copies of the lifly-yearanniversary book, and
Pa Hodges ade available the Hats Hing fit

nook, We are sndebted to bath of these fine men for their belp,
‘pet poeth pager

“The Jingwa story is « mis of myth and historical fees, Sorting out
those twa is dilfcul, In particular, when che discussiow tars 10 06
maatial arts axpects of things, and especially the life of Hun Vuan}ia
{che famous martial arts teacher who helped establish the Jingweu As-
sociation, the legends Sar aurstrip the solid documentary evidence Tis
imporcant tv clearly distinguish whats rewonsably solid historical fact
snd yebacistoost ikely nyt, otk myth and historic! fctsbave value,
and buth have a “reali” but they are senate things. For exemple, i
[Huo Yuanjia’s ease we have basically wo contemporaneous documents
about his life thee ix, we don’t have: any historical evidence. But his
ngthicimage is exremely important to she Finger Association, and in|
sense its moe real than the store realigy and peshaps tar more
jinortant, When a stary is said ta be a rayth, people sometimes get
the wrong impression that she story is being called a ie. "Myth" i not
4 synosym for “Ti.” Instead, myths are important modes aud stories
‘out ave nos histocieally erve but that we ean Took tos guides.