This article is about the Fujian style of White Crane. For the Tibetan style, see Lama (martial art).

Fujian White Crane is a martial art which its traditions attribute to a woman named Fāng Qīniáng (方七娘; Amoy Min Nan: Hng Chhit-niâ). Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese, Modern Standard Chinese or Standard spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. ... Amoy (Xiamen) is a language/dialect which originally comes from Southern Fujian, in the area centered around the city of Xiamen. ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... This article is about the closely related Lama Pai, Hop Gar, and Tibetan White Crane styles of martial art. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Amoy (Xiamen) is a language/dialect which originally comes from Southern Fujian, in the area centered around the city of Xiamen. ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ...

The legend of the White Crane

The Fāng family lived in Fujian, a province of China, in a place where there were many cranes.
Qīniáng's father knew the Southern Chinese martial arts and taught them to his daughter.   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Genera Grus Anthropoides Balearica Bugeranus Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes, and family Gruidae. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

One day, while Qīniáng was doing her chores, a crane alighted nearby.
Qīniáng tried to scare the bird off using a stick and the skills she learned from her father but whatever she did, the crane would counter.
Qīniáng tried to hit the crane on the head, but the bird moved its head out of the way and blocked the stick with its wings.
Qīniáng tried to hit the crane's wings, but the crane stepped to the side and this time blocked with the claws of its feet.
Qīniáng tried to poke the crane's body, but the crane dodged backwards and struck the stick with its beak.

From then on, Qīniáng carefully studied the movements of cranes and combined these movements with the martial arts she learned from her father, creating the White Crane style of Fujian Province.

Branches

Over time White Crane branched off into several styles:

Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Mǐn Nán (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name Bân-lâm-gú; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ...

History

The Ancestral Crane master Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming dates the creation of Fujian White Crane to c. 1700.

According to the traditions of the Lee family branch of Flying Crane, Fāng Qīniáng was born in the mid-18th century.

According to its traditions, the lineage of the Ong Gong Shr Wushuguan in the town of Yǒngchūn (永春; Minnan: eng2 chhun1) in the prefecture of Quanzhou in Fujian Province was established when Fāng Qīniáng taught its founders during the reign of the Ming emperor Jiāzhèng (嘉政). However, there was no Ming emperor Jiāzhèng (嘉政); there was a Ming emperor Jiājìng (嘉靖), who ruled from 1521 to 1566. Mǐn Nán (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name Bân-lâm-gú; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... The characters 泉州 are also used for SenshÅ«, an alternate name for the former Japanese province of Izumi. ... Fujian (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... The Jiajing Emperor (September 16, 1507–January 23, 1567) was the 11th emperor of China (Ming dynasty) between 1521-1567. ...

Lǐ Wénmào (李文茂), a historically verifiable opera performer and leader in the 1854–1855 Red Turban Rebellion in Foshan, is said to have practiced the Yǒngchūn style of White Crane. 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Foshan (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

The Xu-Xi Dao style of White Crane as taught by Chen Zuo Zhen (Chen Zhuo Zhen) is described with pics on www.chinesemartialarts.eu > White Crane Style. The Xu-Xi Dao style derives from Zhong-Ho 'Springing Crane' and was developed in Taiwan by Huang Lao-Yang in the 1950s.

Influence

Fujian White Crane is one of the constituent styles of Five Ancestors. Five Ancestors Fist (Chinese: 五祖拳; Pinyin: ; Minnan: ngó chó kûn) is a Southern Chinese martial art that consists of techniques from five different styles: the hand techniques and the complementary softness and hardness of Yin/Yang of White Crane (白鶴拳) the agility and footwork of Monkey (猴拳) the precision and efficient movement...

Five Ancestors as well as various styles of Karate, notably Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu, obtained the routine San Chian from Fujian White Crane. San Chian is best known by the Japanese pronunciation of its name: Sanchin. For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ... Goju Ryu (Japanese for Hard-soft style) is a style of karate, so called as it allows a combination of hard and soft techniques. ... Uechi Ryu (上地流) is a style of Okinawan Karate originated by Kanbun Uechi (上地完文). // Early history Kanbun Uechi studied Pangai-noon (half-hard, half-soft) Kung Fu under Shushiwa, also known as Chou Tsu Ho, in the Fukien province of mainland China in the late 1800s and early 1900s. ... Best known by its Japanese name, Sanchin is a martial arts routine (Japanese: kata) of Fujianese origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate as well as the Chinese martial arts of Fujian...

See also

• Shaolinquan
• Zhang Sanfeng

Shaolin Quan or Shaolin Chüan (少林拳) (in Cantonese Siu Lum Kuen) is the term typically used to describe the Chinese martial arts that originate from the famous Buddhist Shaolin Temple and monastery at Songshan in Henan, founded in 495 by Tamo. ... Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-mythical Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty or Ming dynasty. ...

External links

• [http://www.chinesemartialarts.eu
• White Crane Martial Arts
• White Crane Fighting Arts U.K.
• Fujian White Crane Kung Fu Club
• Martin Watts' collection of Yǒngchūn White Crane (永春白鶴) videos
• Videos and articles about Southern Chinese (Fujian) Crane Styles
• The History of Fukien Shaolin White Crane
• Southern Crane Kungfu martial arts club