Introduction

Zhang Sanfeng, the founding master of the Wudang Quan School, was a legendary figure. According to ancient records, he was born in the Yuan Dynasty and died in the Ming Dynasty, living for more than two hundred years. Throughout his life, he was deeply concerned about the people's conditions, kind-hearted and generous, hated evil, acted bravely for justice, was humorous and amiable, and was deeply loved by the common people. He offered advice to the imperial court and carried out major renovations of the Wudang palaces and temples. With the might of the True Wu Emperor, he intimidated many ambitious princes and grandsons, effectively stabilizing the internal political situation of power struggles and unrest within the royal family. This enabled Emperor Yongle to free his hands to quell border threats and maintain national unity, thus mapping out the territory of China for the descendants of Yan and Huang. He was eclectic and advocated the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which brought the development of Taoism in Wudang to its peak and made it the number one Taoist temple in the world. In particular, based on the Taoist theories such as "following the natural way" and "maintaining softness and dealing with femininity", he integrated, created and evolved the inner alchemy of Taoism, the guiding and guiding techniques of health preservation experts, the boxing techniques of martial artists and the military strategies of military strategists, making a comprehensive contribution. He created an inner alchemy as the body, combat as the application, health preservation as the priority and self-defense as the key Wudang Quan, which features unique principles, techniques, movement systems and forms, is characterized by using softness to overcome hardness, stillness to control movement, leveraging force to strike, and responding from behind. For hundreds of years, Wudang Quan has been under the banner of Zhang Sanfeng, with numerous schools returning to their roots, passed down from generation to generation, and numerous sects emerging. It has hundreds of millions of disciples and enjoys a high reputation both at home and abroad, benefiting all mankind. Because of Zhang Sanfeng's tremendous contributions, he has always been respected by people throughout history. When Emperor Yongle was still alive, he built the Yuzhen Palace for Zhang Sanfeng on Wudang Mountain, cast statues to enshrine him, and offered incense and sacrifices to him, allowing him to enjoy the treatment of an emperor. Today, the bronze statue of Zhang Sanfeng on Wudang Mountain still showcases the demeanor of this kind and amiable moral sage and martial arts elder. Through a wealth of historical materials and classics about Zhang Sanfeng, wiping away the dust of hundreds of years, a real and living Zhang Sanfeng in history has finally come towards us, with a vivid voice, appearance and smile, and with the vigorous Wudang Fist. (Note: All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication is prohibited.)