Zhang Sanfeng 张三丰 and Zhang Sanfeng 张三峰
Yan Zhiyuan, 2008.1.15
Translated by Josh Capitanio
People commonly confuse the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) Wudang Daoist Zhang Sanfeng 张三丰, creator of the Thirteen Postures, with Daoist Zhang Sanfeng 张三峰 who lived 700-800 years earlier in the Liu-Song era (420-479). And because of their confusion between the Liu-Song period and the later Song period, they place that Zhang Sanfeng during Huizong’s rule (1100-1125), as done by Ming-Qing scholar Huang Zongxi 黄宗義.
According to the “Mirror of Divine Transcendents”: “Zhang Sanfeng of the Liu-Song period was known as Puyangzi. Before becoming a Daoist, he had taught 'bedroom techniques' of sexual cultivation. The Heavenly Emperor disliked him, but in the end he attained transcendence on a remote island. Once the transcendent sister He Yiyang, traveling to Mt. Hua, saw his secret formula for attaining the Golden Elixir, and applied herself to practicing it. However, she did not receive the summons of Heaven, and was unable to ascend to the Jade Towers, and deeply regretted it.”
There are no records of this Zhang Sanfeng 张三峰 from the Song, Jin, Yuan, or Ming periods; Huang Zongxi, in Kangxi 8 (1669) mistakenly and irresponsibly placed him during that period.
The Zhang Sanfeng 张三丰 of the Yuan dynasty was said to have had interactions with many historical personages whose existence can be verified, such as Liu Bingzhong 刘秉忠 (1216-1274), and later Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋, the Prince of Qiyang岐阳王, and Shen Wanshan沈万山. Zhang Sanfeng’s disciples from the late Yuan/early Ming are known, such as Qiu Yuanjing 邱元靖, Lu Qiuyun卢秋云, Li Suxi李素希, Pu Shanyuan蒲善渊, Sun Biyun 孙碧云, and others, and he is known to have had contact and influenced other well-known Daoist figures.
A few writings attributed to Zhang Sanfeng have been passed down since the Ming period. Now, if this Zhang Sanfeng were the same as Zhang Sanfeng 张三峰 of the Liu-Song or Song, then why is it that we cannot find any writings attributed to a Zhang Sanfeng during the hundreds of years between these periods and the Zhang Sanfeng of the Yuan?
According to the Pre-Heaven Hidden Transcendent sect, Chen Tuan 陈抟 taught Zhang Wumeng 张无梦, Zhang Wumeng taught Chen Jingyuan 陈景元, Chen Jingyuan taught the Perfected Fire Dragon 火龙真人, who was Zhang Sanfeng’s teacher. This lineage accords well with the proper chronology.
After the Ming dynasty was established, in addition to Zhu Yuanzhang, who sought the secrets of longevity from Zhang Sanfeng (actually, Zhang Sanfeng had already passed away twenty years before; Zhang lived from 1247-1366, to the age of 119; Chen Tuan lived to be 118, and the late Qing Xinyi master Ma Meihu 马梅虎 also lived to be 119), the next four emperors all continued to spread the legend that Zhang Sanfeng was still alive, for political reasons (it was said that Zhang had returned to life and lived another several hundred years, yet there is no record of anyone coming into contact with him; this is just like the legends of Jesus or Bodhidharma being resurrected, which may be believed by those who are fond of fantasy, but are not true).
Thus, people have moved the real Liu-Song Zhang Sanfeng 张三峰 to the Song, and then confounded this imaginary Song-era Zhang Sanfeng with the Zhang Sanfeng of the Yuan, adding in the myth of Zhang Sanfeng’s resurrection, resulting in a single Zhang Sanfeng who supposedly lived for 500-600 years from Huizong’s reign in the Song to the end of the Ming dynasty.
This five or six hundred year old Zhang Sanfeng, created from the minds of the masses, has become unpopular in the last hundred years or so, and the resulting rejection of that imaginary Zhang Sanfeng has brought about the conclusion that “Zhang Sanfeng was a myth, who never existed, and since he did not exist, he could not have been the creator of the Thirteen Postures.”
Thus, the mistaken theory of Chen Zouting [Chen Wangting] creating Taijiquan has been rolled out so that people, in their confusion, could have something to hold on to, otherwise they would suffer a nervous breakdown!
But reality is reality; the patriarch Zhang Sanfeng 张三丰 was born in 1247, died in 1366, lived to the age of 119, and was the creator of the Wudang school Thirteen Postures.