East of the Jiang Nan

          TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS FROM FUJIAN AND ZHEJIANG

 

In ancient times, during the three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD), China was dividedinto the Wei Kingdom (Central Plains), the Wu Kingdom and the Shu Han Kingdom (Emei). In 755 AD a large part of the area that was of the Wu kingdom was divided into two major parts. Jiangnan to the area below the Changjiang river and Lingnan. Those areas were also held by the Southern Song dynasty )

Here we refer to the current provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang as the East of the Jiang Nan areas. Fujian province is a very mountainous region including the famous Wuyi Mountains range spans much of the interior of the province and contains rich diversity of fauna and vegetation, some rare and unique to the mountains. On the coast the Quanzhou ports were historically of great importance and the famous Zheng He expeditions were staged from here in the Ming Dynasty. Its isolation from other regions by the mountains has created unique sub-cultures and there is large language diversity as well. Zhejiang province although not as moutainous is still very hilly and contains famous moutains as the Yan Dang Mountains. Hangzhou has been famous as one of the most beautiful cities in China, and the culrute of Zhejiang included the famous Yueju style of Chinese Opera. Although the province is not rich in natural resources, the people of Wenzhou in the south of Zhejiang are famed for their entrepreneurial spirit.

In terms of martial arts, historically to protect their coastal areas including invasions and battles with pirates, there are many boxing methods practiced along the various parts of the province. Although mostly known for strong stance and focus on upper body techniques (usually because of the mountainous landscapes and hilly slopes, coupled with on boat combat), the region has also a diverse range of mmethods throughout its history such as the internal boxing (neijiaquan) from Huang Baijia and Wang Zhengnan who were the first to coin up such a term. Due to the mountains there used to be a lot of fauna in the area, including wild animals such as tigers, monkeys and various birds. Thus much of their influence is found in the types of boxing styles of the area.

Some of the styles of this area have become popular worldwide such as Hequan (Crane boxing) and Wuzuquan (5 Ancestors), which is due mostly to their exportation by practitioners into South East Asia including Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. Whilst others have remained very local and are unknown or less known to the world. The Taiping Institute practice some of the arts of this area and through many expeditions to Fujian meeting masters and fellow practitioners, we have learnt more of the rare yet fascinating traditional boxing found here. Below we note some of the more known (focusing on original methods less than on derivatives (of which there are many)) martial arts styles, and we highlight (in grey) those practiced by the Taiping Institute to which you may find further information, for the others we will gradually introduce them as we write some introductory articles about them.

Style	Origin Area	Province	Further Information
Chuan Quan (Boat Boxing) 船拳	Huzhou, Wenzhou	Zhejiang
Wu Zu Quan (5 Ancestors Boxing) 五祖拳	Quanzhou, Pu Jiang, An Hai	Fujian
Tai Zu Quan (Great Ancestor Boxing) 太祖拳	Nan An, Pu Jiang	Fujian	●
Jin Suo Quan (Golden Lock Boxing) 金锁拳	Ningbo, Jian De	Zhejiang
Gang Rou Fa (Hard Soft Method) 刚柔法	Wenzhou, Pingyang, Rui An	Zhejiang
Hei Hu Quan (Black Tiger Boxing) 黑虎拳	Taizhou	Zhejiang
Hu Zun Quan (Tiger Boxing) 虎尊拳	Yong Tai (Yong Fu)	Fujian	●
Ji Fa (Rooster Method) 鸡法	Lian Jiang, Fuzhou	Fujian
Shi Fa (Lion Method) 狮法	Ming Qing, Bai Yan Shan	Fujian
Niu Fa (Ox Method) 牛法	Luo Yuan, Ning De	Fujian
Luo Han Quan (Arhat Boxing) 罗汉拳	Fuzhou, Ningbo	Fujian/Zhejiang	●
Liang Cheng Quan 连城拳	Ge Chuan, Long Yan	Fujian
Long Zhuang (Dragon Boxing) 龙桩拳	Sha Yang Zhen, Gu Tian, Min Hou	Fujian
Mei Hua Quan　(Plum Blossom Boxing) 梅花拳	Lu Feng Xiang, Shang Hang	Fujian
Tiang Gang Quan (Heaven Boxing) 天罡拳	Jian De, Fu Yang	Zhejiang
Yong Chun Bai He Quan (White Crane) 永春白鹤拳	Yong Chun	Fujian
He Quan Fa (Zong,Ming, Fei, Shi, Su) 福州鹤拳（纵、鸣、飞、食、宿）：	Fuzhou	Fujian
Da Zun Quan 达尊拳	Zhangzhou	Fujian
Ba Bao Quan (8 Treasures Boxing) 八宝拳	Putian	Fujian
Di Shu Quan (Ground/Dog Boxing) 地术犬法	Quanzhou, Fuzhou Xiyuan, Yongtai	Fujian	●
Shaolin Quan 少林拳	various	Fujian/zhejiang