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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Sanfeng (simplified Chinese: 张三丰; traditional Chinese: 張三丰; pinyin: Zhāng Sānfēng; Wade-Giles: Chang¹ San¹-feng¹, variant 張三豐, pronounced the same) 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. His name is said to have been Zhang Junbao 張君寶 before he became a Taoist. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or clan name (氏; pinyin: shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese communities. ... Zhang (Traditional Chinese: 張, Simplified Chinese: 张, pinyin: Zhāng, Wade-Giles: Chang, Yale: Jeung, Jyutping: Zoeng1, Hong Kong Government: Cheung) is among the most common Chinese surnames. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Taoism (or Daoism) refers to a variety of related Chinese philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ... The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time, or in a state of timelessness. ... Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Bianjing (汴京) (960–1127) Linan (臨安) (1127–1276) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor  - 960–976 Emperor Taizu  - 1126–1127 Emperor Qinzong  - 1127–1162 Emperor Gaozong  - 1278–1279 Emperor Bing History  - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou... Capital Dadu Language(s) Mongolian Chinese Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1260-1294 Kublai Khan  - 1333-1370 (Cont. ... For other uses, see Ming. ...

A legendary culture hero, Zhang Sanfeng is credited by modern practitioners as having originated the concepts of neijia (內家); soft, internal martial arts, specifically T'ai Chi Ch'uan, as a result of a Neo-Confucian syncretism of Chán Buddhist Shaolin martial arts with his mastery of Taoist Tao Yin (neigong) principles. He is also associated in legend with the Taoist monasteries at Wudang Mountains in Hubei province. A culture hero is a historical or mythological hero who changes the world through invention or discovery. ... Nèijiā (Chinese: 內家; Pinyin: nèi jÄ«a; Wade-Giles: nei4 chia1) denotes the internal or soft styles of Chinese martial arts, as opposed to wàijiā (外家; external family), the external or hard styles, which are associated with Shaolinquan and its many derivatives. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan (Chinese: 太極拳; pinyin: ; literally supreme ultimate fist), commonly known as Tai Chi, Tai Chi, or Taiji, is a nei chia (internal) Chinese martial art which is known for the claims of health and longevity benefits made by its practitioners and in some... Neo-Confucianism (理學 Pinyin: Lǐxué) is a term for a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang dynasty. ... Chán is a major school of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Ever since 1669, when Huang Zongxi first described Chinese martial arts in terms of a Shaolin or external school versus a Wudang or internal school,[1] Shaolin has been used as a synonym for external Chinese martial arts regardless of whether or not the particular style in question has any... Tao Yin (Chinese: 導引; pinyin: guide and pull) exercises were an ancient precursor of qigong, specifically practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation, attested from at least 500 BC. Tao Yin is also said to be (along with Shaolin Chuan) a primary formative ingredient in the martial... Neigong 內功 , pinyin nèigōng, also spelt nei kung or neigung meaning internal skill is any of a set of Chinese breathing and meditation disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts. ... Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. ... This article is about the Wudang region of Hubei, China. ... Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Stories from the 17th century onward give him credit for the internal martial arts. 19th century and later stories give him credit for T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Zhang Sanfeng is also said to have been expert in the White Crane and Snake styles of Chinese martial arts as well as in the use of the Chinese straight sword or jian. According to relatively late (19th century) documents preserved within the Yang and Wu family's archives, the name of Zhang Sanfeng's master was Xu Xuanping (許宣平), said to be a Tang dynasty hermit poet and Taoist Tao Yin expert. Crane style martial arts may refer to: Fujian White Crane Tibetan White Crane Persatuan Gerak Badan This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... There are several Chinese martial arts known as Snake Boxing or Snake Style (Chinese: 蛇拳; pinyin: shéquán; literally snake fist) which imitate the movements of snakes. ... Kung fu redirects here. ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the novel of the same name, see Eric Van Lustbader. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Yang Cheng-fu in the Yang styles version of the form known as Single Whip 單鞭 Yang family style (楊氏) Tai Chi Chuan in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the... Wu Chien-chuan in the Wu styles version of the posture Cloud Hands 雲手 The Wu family style (吳氏 or 吳家) tai chi chuan (taijiquan) of Wu Chuan-yü (Wu Quanyou) and Wu Chien-chüan (Wu Jianquan) is the second most popular form of tai chi... Xu Xuanping (Hsu Hsuan-ping 許宣平), was a poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty in China. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ...

The Tai Chi Chuan families who ascribe the foundation of their art to Zhang traditionally celebrate his birthdate as the 9th day of the 3rd Chinese lunar month.

Traditional folktales

Much of the written material about him is mythical, contradictory, or otherwise suspect. For instance, he is reported by different people to have been born either in 960, 1247, or in 1279. He has at times been described as being seven-feet tall, with the bones of a crane and the posture of a pine tree, having whiskers shaped like a spear, and being able to cover 1000 li in a day (roughly 580 km or 350 miles). He is reputed to have worn a straw hat, and is usually depicted with one slung on his back, but two villages are reported in the 19th century Wu-yang Gazeteer (Wu-yang hsien-chih) to have believed that his hat was actually a cymbal, which only residents of the villages (famous for manufacturing cymbals) had permission to sound upon meeting him. Events Edgar the Peaceable crowned King of England. ... Events Shams ad-Din disappears resulting in Jalal Uddin Rumi writing 30,000 verses of poetry about his disappearance. ... For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century. ... One kind of modern beard. ... Li or li may refer to: Lee or Li is a transliteration of several Chinese and Korean family names, see Li (Chinese name) and Lee (Korean name). ...

Some sources record two Chinese emperors sending missions to Zhang Sanfeng to ask for his advice, although neither mission is reported to have found him. The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. ...

Owing to his legendary status, his name frequently appears in Chinese novels and Wuxia films of swordsmen as a spiritual teacher and master of martial arts. Wǔxiá (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ...

Today, Chinese readers and general public are most acquainted with Jin Yong's version of Zhang Sanfeng, thanks to the popularity of his Wuxia novels. In his book The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber, Zhang Sanfeng was a former Shaolin disciple in the late Song Dynasty, and born on April 9, 1247 at midnight (Day 9 of month 3 in Chinese calendar). He left Shaolin Temple to establish the Taoist monasteries in Wudang Mountains. In the book he had seven disciples, and was alive until the late Yuan Dynasty. Jin Yong (Chinese: ; Pinyin: JÄ«n Yōng; Cantonese Yale: Gàm Yùhng), born February 6, 1924, pen name of Louis Cha (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ), OBE, is one of the most influential modern Chinese-language novelists. ... WÇ”xiá (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber is a novel written by Louis Cha. ... Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Bianjing (汴京) (960–1127) Linan (臨安) (1127–1276) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor  - 960–976 Emperor Taizu  - 1126–1127 Emperor Qinzong  - 1127–1162 Emperor Gaozong  - 1278–1279 Emperor Bing History  - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Shams ad-Din disappears resulting in Jalal Uddin Rumi writing 30,000 verses of poetry about his disappearance. ... The Shaolin temples (少林寺; pinyin: Shàolín Sì, Wade-Giles: Shao-lin Ssŭ) are a group of Chinese Buddhist monasteries famed for their long association with Chán (Japanese Zen) Buddhism and martial arts. ... Capital Dadu Language(s) Mongolian Chinese Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1260-1294 Kublai Khan  - 1333-1370 (Cont. ...

References

• Wile, Douglas Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the late Ch'ing Dynasty (1996) State University of New York Press, Albany. ISBN 0-7914-2653-X
• Journal of Asian Martial Arts Volume 16, No. 4, 2007. Via Media Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico USA. ISSN 1057-8358

External links

• Who is Zhang Sanfeng by Bing YeYoung
• Master Chang San-Feng by Michael P. Garofalo