www.Longfei-Taiji.co.uk	Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain
		Longfei Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 1

The 3rd Longfei trip to China

Longfei's 2008 trip was a fantastic success. On a personal note, it was particularly fruitful for myself because I was given the opportunity to study and learn with Professor Zhang. I studied with him for 3 days and then took my 6th Duan at the University of Physical Education in Beijing. The group also trained with Professor Li Deyin, Master Liu, his son and Huo Xiao Fei (Daoyin) and Huo Dong Li. These are amongst the best coaches in China.

As I have covered many of the cultural and historical aspects of the trip in past news letters, I thought I would just cover some of the new adventures etc. If you are interested in the Great Wall or other parts of the trip checkout the Longfei website.

Handan

On Friday we left Beijing by coach and headed for Handan. Handan City is located in the southern part of Hebei province, 430 miles from Beijing, at the meeting point of four provinces, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi. These areas are all very famous for their martial arts culture and history. The city of Handan is an ancient city with 8000 years of civilized history, a 3100-year history of establishment, a 2300-year history as the capital city. Handan's ancient past encompasses the Zhao State's culture.

Ancient Zhao State's culture

As the capital of the Zhao State in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), Handan City was one of the most prosperous cities of its time. The earliest record of Handan was in the Guliang Commentaries to the "Spring and Autumn Annals": the city was first the territory belonging to the Wei State, then to the Jin State, and finally to the Zhao State after the Jin was divided into three states. The city remained the capital of Zhao after Duke Jing moved there in 386BC. Zhao was conquered by the Qin State.

After a careful survey in 1972, the overall arrangement of the city was clear. The city comprised the Duke Zhao City and Dabei City. The Duke Zhao City was the imperial palace, taking the shape of the carpenter's square. Divided into the east, north and west cities, the imperial palace covered an area of 5,120,000 square metres. Traces of the tempered-earth city walls still can be found nowadays, with the remains of 3-8 metres high. The wall base was 16 metres wide, with each of the four sides housing 2-3 gates. Built inside the city were tempered-earth constructions arranged in a compact order.

The palace, with a symmetrical layout, had primary and secondary constructions. The Longtai, built on the axis line, was the largest and also the main building in the Duke City. With a height of 19 metres, the Longtai was 265 metres wide from east to west, 285 metres long from south to north. The Dabei City was located in the north east of the palace.

Most city constructions were destroyed and buried underground, and nearly nothing was left at ground level. Taking an irregular rectangular shape, the city was 6100 metres long from south to north, and 4000 metres wide from east to west. Workshops, markets and residences scattered throughout the city. The Dabei City gradually declined after the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). To its north west was the mausoleum of the Duke Zhao. As the capital of the Zhao State, Handan City was then a city with highly developed politics, economy and culture. A number of cultural relics and historic sites were kept in the city, such as the platform where Duke Zhao drilled his troops, the Shuzhuang (dress and make-up) Building, and the Black Dragon Cave. Many poets and scholars through the ages chose to stay here to meditate on the past.

The home town of Nv Wa

A nearly female figure in Chinese mythology is the goddess Nv Wa (sometimes Nv Kua). According to one legend it was she who was the creator of mankind. The earth was a beautiful place with blossoming trees and flowers, and full of animals, birds, fish and all living creatures. But as she wandered about it Nv Wa felt very lonely. She bent down and took up a handful of earth, mixed it with water and moulded a figure in her likeness. As she kneaded it the figure came to life Ð the first human being. Nv Wa was so pleased with her creation that she went on making more figures both men and women. They danced around her cheerily and loneliness was dispelled.

Nv Wa is defined in China's earliest dictionary by the philologist Xu Shen (c.58-147) as being "in charge of the breeding of all living things", so possibly her origin is associated with fertility. In some versions of the legend Nv Wa is said to have been both the sister and the wife of Fu Xi, the legendary ruler who was credited with teaching man to domesticate animals and to have taught people matrimony. Nv Wa and Fu Xi were pictured as having snake-like tails interlocked, with a child between them.

In an Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD) mural in the Wu-liang Temple in Jiaxiang County, Shandong province, she was credited with, among other things, the invention of the Sheng reed pipes. Another legend tells how she patched up the sky. Two deities, called in one version Gong Gong, the God of Water and Zhu Rong, the God of Fire were in battle. They fought all the way from heaven to earth, causing turmoil everywhere. The God of Fire won, and in anger the God of Water struck his head against Buzhou Mountain (a mythical peak supposed to be north-west of the Kunlun range in Southern Xinjiang ). The mountain collapsed and down came the big pillar that held heaven from earth. Half the sky fell in, leaving a big black hole. The earth cracked open, forests went up in flames, flood waters sprouted from beneath the earth and dragons, snakes and fierce animals leaped out at the people. Many people were drowned and more were burned or devoured. It was an unprecedented disaster. Nv Wa was grieved that mankind which she had created should undergo such suffering. She decided to mend the sky and end this catastrophe. She melted together various kinds of coloured stones and with the molten mixture patched up the sky. Then she killed a giant turtle and used its four legs as four pillars to support the fallen part of the sky. She caught and killed a dragon and this scared the other beasts away. Then she gathered and burned a huge quantity of reeds and with the ashes stopped the flood from spreading, so that the people could live happily again. The only trace left of the disaster, the legend says, was that the sky slanted to the north-west and the earth to the south-east, and so, since then, the sun, the moon and all the stars turn towards the west and all the rivers run south-east.

The place of Cishan culture

The Cishan culture (6000-5500 BC) was a Neolithic Yellow River culture in northern China, centered primarily around southern Hebei. The Cishan culture was based on millet farming. Common artefacts from the culture include stone grinders, stone sickles and tripod pottery. Since the culture shared many similarities with its southern neighbour, the Peiligang culture, both cultures are sometimes referred to together as the Cishan-Peiligang culture or Peiligang-Cishan culture. The Cishan culture also shared several similarities with its eastern neighbour, the Beixin culture. The type site at Cishan is located in Wu'an, Hebei, China. The houses at Cishan were semi-subterranean and round. The site showed evidence of domesticated pigs, dogs and chicken, with pigs providing the primary source of meat. Fish was also an important part of the diet at Cishan. Over 500 subterranean storage pits were discovered at Cishan. These pits were used to store millet. The largest pits were 5 metres deep and capable of storing up to 1000 kg of millet.

Handan today

Its position as a communication and transportation centre has led to significant industrial growth. Nearby coal mines at Fengfeng provide power for iron, steel and textile mills, chemical and cement plants, and other heavy industries. Handan is famous for its beautiful pottery which is manufactured in Cizhou Kiln. This black pottery is made in Guantao. Local products includes the famous Weixian pears and Linzhang's braised rabbit is a delicacy. In 1994 its estimated population was 894,000.

The Millet Dream Temple

In the morning we visited the "Millet Dream" (Huangliangmeng) Temple 10 km north of the city, at Huangliang Village, stands a complex of brilliant ancient buildings covering an area of about 1.5 hectares of land. This large ancestral temple was built almost 1000 years ago. According to an ancient folk legend, a man named Lu Sheng came across a Taoist Priest named Lu Weng when he passed by Handan on his way to attend an imperial examination in the capital. The old Taoist gave him a green porcelain pillow, saying that if Lu Sheng slept with this pillow, his ambitions would be fulfilled. Lu Sheng fell asleep and dreamed of passing the exam and becoming a prime minister, marrying a beautiful wife, and enjoying his life to the utmost. When he awoke, it was only a dream. He had been asleep for such a short time that the innkeepers Huangliang (millet) was barely cooked. Later, a temple was built on this spot and given the name Millet Dream (Haungliangmeng). On display in Lu Sheng Hall is a stone statue of Lu Sheng lying with his head on a green porcelain pillow. With a smile on his face, he is dreaming his fond dream. We were told you could touch any particular part of his body and that if you had any ills they would be cured.

On the Silk Road

After visiting the Millet Temple we hopped onto the coach and went to visit a silk factory, this was very interesting and they showed us the fascinating process of manufacturing and producing silk. Silk fabric was first developed in ancient China, possibly as early as 6000 BC and definitely by 3000 BC. Legend gives credit to a Chinese empress, Xi Ling-Shi (Hsi-Ling-Shih, Lei-tzu). Silks were originally reserved for the Kings of China for their own use and gifts to others, but spread gradually through Chinese culture both geographically and socially, and then to many regions of Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants because of its texture and lustre. Silk was in great demand, and became a staple of China's pre-industrial international trade. In July of 2007, archaeologists discovered intricately woven and dyed silk textiles in a tomb in Jiangxi province, they are dated to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, roughly 2500 years ago. Although historians have suspected a long history of a formative textile industry in ancient China, this find of silk textiles employing "complicated techniques" of weaving and dyeing provides direct and concrete evidence for silks dating before the Mawangdui discovery and other silks dating to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). The first evidence of the silk trade is the finding of silk in the hair of an Egyptian mummy of the 21st dynasty, c.1070 BC. Ultimately the silk trade reached as far as the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. This trade was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia has become known as the Silk Road. The Emperors of China strove to keep knowledge of ser' iculture secret to maintain the Chinese monopoly. Some of the group treated themselves to silk gifts in my experience this was the highest quality of silk we had come across.

Wushu display at Ren Wen University

We jumped back on the coach and headed to Ren Wen university. Ren Wen is the university of "The People and Literature". Here like many universities it has a Wushu faculty. Its head Li DeShan, a very good friend of Professor Li Deyin, was there to greet us. They laid on a demonstration, the demos included a display of Qi Beng Gong (Basic Wushu Training). Many Southern and Northern styles of Chinese martial arts, Nan Quan, Chiang Quan and Tong Bei Quan. There was also some imitation boxing styles, Eagle claw, Northern Mantis and Drunken Boxing and Di Tang (Tumbling Boxing). The group also performed many weapon forms. These included the whip, broadsword and cudgel and some internal styles such as various Taiji forms and Chen style sword routines and also a display of the lesser known style of Yi Quan. Mixed martial arts tournaments are becoming popular in China and we were treated to a Zhong He San Da display by Jia Bao Lin, eight times champion. Jia Bao Lin is of Mongolian origin and joined us later for dinner, he proved to be very popular and after the meal he sang a Mongolian folk song. To Jia's great surprise Khoji performed a Mongolian chant.

Sunday morning Taiji exchange on Wuling platform

On Sunday morning we met on Wuling for a Taiji exchange. Wuling Congtai Terrace, located in Congtai Park at the centre of Handan, is said to have been built in the period of King Zhao Wuling (who reigned between 325 BC and 299 BC). According to Hanshu, "Close to one another, the terraces are not a single unit, thus acquiring the name Congtai". King Zhao built the terraces to watch military drills and enjoy singing and dancing. On the terraces there originally existed a Bridge, Snow Cave, Flower Garden and Dressing Attic, which were wonderfully decorated. The existing ancient terrace consists of three stacks, 26 metres high, 59 metres wide from east to west and 80 metres long from north to south. Wuling Hall, the major building that faces the south, was built to commemorate the famous statesman and strategist, King Zhao Wuling. Congtai Terrace has been famous and many scholars and officials used to inscribe poems about it.

Pilgrimage to birth place of Yang and Wu

Yongnian, Handan is the birth place of the Yang and Wu styles taiji. This has been mentioned in previous newsletters.

Simon Watson

Longfei Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 2 Table of Contents