Sponsored Links
Figure 6. A group of Hui Muslim youths demonstrating their Kung fu skills, during a religious (Eid) festival
Kung fu was embraced by the Hui and became part of their madrasah (school) curriculum, social life, and religious life, especially during the festive season's celebration of Ramadan's Id al-Fitr (the feast of breaking fast), Id al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), and Maw/id an-Nabawi (the Prophet's Birthday). The Hui communities gathered in Mosque court yards for celebrations and entertained by Wu Shu demonstrations and exhibitions after ritual prayers had been offered. Such performances would include the "Hui Qashi Forms" known as the "Seven Warriors" or the old Muslim style of "Liuhequan" (Six Harmonies Boxing), a name derived from the six cornered Muslim cap.
However over the centuries, Muslim Arabic names were converted into Chinese, which suited both cultures, but caused Chinese historians to fail to mention the faiths of individuals and misrepresent Chinese Muslim achievements listed in the National Records. Some men adopted the surnames of their Han wives, and others used such names as "Ma" for Muhammad, "Ha" for Hassan or "Hu" for Hussain, " Te for Tahir, "Na" for Nasser, "Sha" for Salem and such surnames as Ma, Sha, and Zha. Thirteen surnames alone derive from the name of Syed Sini. One of the most popular surnames is that of the "Ma" family of Cangzhou County in Hubei Province. This originally belonged to the legendary Master Muhammad Ma Ho (Cheng Ho), also known as Zeng He (1371-1433 CE), the seven foot naval hero, explorer and martial art expert from Yunnan.
A prominent Ming military strategist, General Qi Jiquang recorded in his Martial Classic Jixiao Xinshu the excellence of three Schools of Spear Fighting, managed by the Yang, Ma and Sha families, during the mid and late Ming Dynasty.39 Further, the late Ming Dynasty also witnessed the prevailing fashion of the "Hui Hui Shi ba zhott, 18 Fist-Fighting Exercises of the Hui, which was considered the best combat exercises, and was later included in the "Huaquan Zongjiangfa", (A General Talk on Flower Boxing), written by the famous Shaolin hero Gan Fengchi, founder of "Bak Si/ Lum and Hua Quaff (Flower Boxing), Gan Fengchi was a popular figure in Chinese folk tales and like other Shaolin Monks he opposed the villainous Qing Emperor, Yongzheng (r.1723-1735 CE). Wu Shu schools also sprung vigorously during the mid and late Qing Dynasty, some established by Muslim Wu Shu masters.
Spear fighting techniques have survived through a chain of Muslim families down the centuries, and are still practiced today. According to Grandmaster Ma Xianda (b. 1932), one of the only four living Wu Shu masters and the youngest ever to obtain "Ninth Duan" (the highest level); his late father Grandmaster Ma Fengtu affirms in his You! Lu (List of Games) that both the "Ma" and "Sha", families were of Muslim origin. Grandmaster Ma Xianda also taught Master Gou Xian, who played a major role in the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and Li Lin Jei (Jet Lee), star of the famous Shaolin Temple movie and the versatile Champion of five National Wu Shu Contests; whose skill and vehement desire blended that of both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's performances.
Another Muslim Hui, holder of "Ninth Duan", is Grandmaster Zhang Wenguang who trained under Grandmaster Xianda's uncle, Grandmaster Ma Yintu. One of the many Muslim Kung fu masters who left an indelible imprint and contributed their whole life to one of China's greatest treasures in the last century, is Grandmaster Wang Zipping (1881-1973) who was best known as the "Lion of Chinese Kung fu". Chinese Muslims have been referred to as "Hui' since the Yuan Dynasty, which was zenith period of Islam in China, and they have lived geographically scattered throughout China's fourteen provinces and in every major city. However there is a large concentration in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Central China. They have adopted Chinese customs and Chinese surnames, wearing local garments with a Muslim white cap when practicing Wu Shu. Otherwise they were indistinguishable from the local Han Chinese.
However, Muslims in China suffered centuries of internal strife, oppression and devastating atrocities, resulting from foreign invasions of China. The historical works of Al-Masudi (d. 957CE) report in detail the massacre of 120,000 people, of mostly Muslim origin. There was brutality under various rulers, especially during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 CE). There was harsh rule by the Manchus, who unlike the majority of the Han came from a minority group. Muslims were segregated from the Han, and refused to learn Chinese causing animosity between the two communities, resulting in the political intrigues of the Manchus, who despite Muslim loyalty bitterly oppressed them and imposed restrictions on the way the Muslims dressed, worshiped, the building of mosques and performing their annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Emulating the bravery of their Arab ancestors several centuries previously, they refused to perform the traditional "K'o toil' (bow) to Emperor Hsuan Tsung. Discipline of such high order was fostered, through religious teachings, embedded in the Islamic doctrine, which paved the way for seriousness and obedience to Wu Shu masters, who often also played the role of an Imam (exemplar).
Generally speaking when the word "Kung Fu" (Gung fu in Cantonese) is mentioned, the generic term seems to cover literally hundreds of individual fighting arts of the Chinese martial arts. However the actual definition means "mastery of an art", "hard work or practice', for example the mastery that archer Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris ash-ShafiTs (767-820 CE), achieved when he was able to hit the same target ten times out of ten.4° One Muslim scholar, who without doubt would have participated in Muslim Kung fu, had he visited China was Master Scientist and genius Abu Rayhan al-BirOni (973-1051 CE), who spent four decades of his life travelling to various parts of the Muslim world, including India, where he spent over ten years, mastering Sanskrit and Hindu astronomy. Japa-Yoga was chanted in Sanskrit by the Hindu philosophers with whom Master al-BirOni sat and engaged in discussion about their Hindu beliefs. His interest in the Indian art of Yoga was expressed in his erudite translation of the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali into Arabic.
Explorer and traveler, Ibn BattOta (1304-1369 CE), also met many yogis in India. He described them as men of marvellous abilities, who followed strict food diets and were held in high esteem by the sultan. In Ceylon (Sri Lanka) four yogis, accompanied his entourage, on their way to the annual pilgrimage to the "Mountain of Serendib" (Adam's peak). In China, Ibn BattOta was well received and admired the talent and mastery of the arts attained by the Chinese people. Trumpets, bugles and drums were played on his arrival, followed by a variety of entertainment, including jugglers, who undoubtedly blended Wu Shu and acrobatics in their performance. He also reported seeing female warriors and bodyguards throughout Southeast Asia, where practice of the ancient arts of Silat and Kali were essential.
In Calicut, Southern India, from where Ibn BattOta sailed to China on a diplomatic mission, there exists a northern style of an ancient Indian martial art, called "Kalarippayattu", Kalari meaning battlefield or place, and ppayattu means practices. It is geographically divided into northern and southern style, similar to Chinese Kung fu and is composed of armed and unarmed combat and uses secret techniques of striking vital points. Ibn BattOta would have been intrigued by their fighting skill, which would have been useful once he left Delhi for China, to defend himself against his attackers. About a decade or so after Ibn BattOta left China, a peasant uprising was led by Zhu Yuangzhang (1328-98 CE). He was an orphan was raised at the Shaolin Monastery, where he attained mastery of martial arts, which he demonstrated in his early career as a bodyguard. Later, Zhu deposed the Mongols and founded the Ming (brilliant) dynasty (13681644 CE).
Many Muslims took part and contributed to the founding of the Ming Dynasty, including famous generals like Chang Yui chong, Hu Da Hai, Mu Ying, Lan Yui, Feng Sheng and Ding Dexing, top martial arts experts who were part of Emperor Zhu Yuangzhang's revolutionary army and his closest allies. General Chang Yuchun is said to have been responsible for developing the famous "Kaiping Qiangfa" (Kaiping Art of Wielding Spear), which is popular amongst Wu Shu practitioners even today.
According to one scholar, Jing Chee Tang (author of A History of Islam in China), Emperor Zhu Yuangzhang (Chu Yuan Chang) and his cousin, Koh Shiao-Tze, were both Muslims. Zhu's Empress, Ma, was from the Ma family of Chee Men, in Anhui province, where the Ma family has been a well known Muslim surname throughout the Ming and Ching Dynasties. Mr. Jing added; "when one reaches the second of the highest rank in office, one is prone to discard one's religion". However discarded the Ming period was without doubt considered the "golden age" of Islam in China, where Muslims fully integrated into Han society and were praised for their support.
Once Zhu had established his government in Nanking, he built a very large mosque called Chin Juieh (Pure Enlightenment), which he dedicated with a one hundred letter poem, mentioning the holy book of the Qur'an. A great many challenges were faced, before Muslim communities lived under the motto developed during the Yuan Dynasty, of "All Muslims are Brothers". Mosques were built in many parts and Muslims were employed in various fields of government. An example is Chen You, a Hui Muslim military commander and a martial arts expert who in 1447 CE financed the restoration of Beijing's Dong Si Mosque also known as "Faming Si" (Temple of the Propagation of Brightness). It was also a period when the Muslims developed and practiced martial arts on a wide scale.
Figure 7. The author (left) narrowly escapes a springing jumping double "Front Kick" dynamically used in the "External Styles of Kung fu", which focuses on muscle power, speed, and high kicking aerial manoeuvres in combination with "Arabian Handsprings". Culminating in a spectacular visual interpretation of Eastern impromptu; through a symbolic display of profound synchronized manoeuvers.
When a Chinese Muslim demonstrates his Kung fu skills, by performing a "form"(the equivalent in Karate is called a Kata), which is a series of choreographed hand and feet movements, followed by an Arabian Handspring, a foreign observer will immediately detect the manoeuvers, of the well known all China style Kung fu. However, despite the superficial resemblances, as if they come from the same root, they come from completely different inner religious and spiritual climates and so are inherently incompatible.
Such divisions were noted within the ethnic minorities, each having their own fighting skills, and were labelled as "Jiao-men". More particular, is the division within the different schools of Kung fu styles, of the Hui Muslim communities living in the Northern and Southern parts of China, which were categorized by the famous saying of "Southern Fists", "Northern Legs"and "Cha Boxing"in Shandong Province was originally bestowed upon, throughout the whole of China. Further more, many Muslim styles of Kung fu are also classified according to their city or province, in which they live.
Emperor Cheng-Te reigned between 1506 and 1521 CE and was immensely influenced by and avidly interested in Islamic arts. He even knew the Sanskrit, Tarter and Arabic languages, and there were even rumours from the palace that he had converted to Islam; most of the eunuchs at the palace were Muslims. Muslim designs were visible on porcelain plates that had Arabic scriptures, especially the blue-and-white ware which was the most numerous and characteristic of the period, and was divided into "Muslim" and "Dragon" designs. 41 A lid from a writing box from this period, bears an Arabic aphorism saying "Seek perfection in calligraphy for it is one of the keys to existence"and on the walls of its central compartment, the inscription in Persian "Knowledge is an inappreciable elixir", Ignorance is an irremediable evil". Hui Muslim calligraphers made an impact on Chinese characters, adding their own distinctive style and design.
Although in the old empire, a man who excelled in Kung fu could hardly earn a living, Muslims bridged the gap and left a legacy filled with tales of great Kung fu masters, who in their search for Islamic spirituality and inner truth, were confronted with tyrannical Emperors, marauding bandits and civil wars. Muslim Kung fu masters, have striven and were successful in reaching a pinnacle of innovative physical and awesome internal power with expanded dimensions, which have been a valuable asset to China for many centuries.
The spiritual key is the sacred Qur'an, which is only ritually valid in Arabic, and has miraculous powers to communicate and externalize thought. The Arabic writing system has an alphabet of 28 consonants and almost every word is derived from a simple "root.; The Hui still stress the importance of Arabic and consider it as one of their languages. Al-Biruni was not an Arab, but was a guest in both tongues, expressed his feelings by writing:
"Our religion and our empire are Arab ... subject tribes have often joined together to give the state a non-Arab character. But they have not been able to achieve their aim, and as long as the call to prayer continues to echo in their ears five times a day,and the Qur'an in lucid Arabic is recited among the worshipers standing in rows behind the Imam, and its refreshing message is preached in the mosques, they will needs summit; the bond of Islam will not be broken nor its fortresses vanquished.
Branches of knowledge from all countries in the world have been translated into the tongue of the Arabs, embellished and made seductive, and the beauties of the language have infused the veins and archeries of the peoples of those countries, despite the fact that each considers its own language beautiful, since it is accustomed to it and employs it in its daily offices. I speak from experience, for I was reared in a language in which it would be strange to see a branch of knowledge enshrined. Thence I passed to Arabic and Persian, and I am a guest in both tongues, having made an effort to acquire them, but I would rather be reproved in Arabic than complimented in Persian. 42
To ensure that the Arabic language, which was commonly used amongst the Hui community, would never be forgotten, there emerged the deadly art of Tan Tui (Springing or Snapping Legs). It was based on purely on the Arabic alphabet, and originally had one road set of practice for each "harf 'letter) of the 28 characters in the Arabic alphabets, before its compilation into its current name, "Ten Road Spring Leg". The mystical procedure of "Ilm al-Huruf" the science of letters in Islam consists of adding up numerical "abjad" values of letters in one word and constructing other words. The art of Tan Tui was originated by Master "Cha Mi Er"(Jamil in Arabic), from Sinkiang (Xinjiang) about 400 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty.
Tan Tui is a universally influential style, embraced by many different other styles including Shaolin Kung fu, a branch of praying mantis and contemporary Wu Shu, and also Gan Fengchi's "Bak Sil Lum Pai"(Northern Shaolin), one of the four systems originally taught at Shaolin monastery of Henan, where the Shaolin monks combined Tan Tui with their repertoire. The mystical power of the Arabic language which was in common use by the Hui community in China is however understood by few great masters of the past.
The new version of contemporary Wu Shu, which was created after the newly formed Republic of China, was based on the Muslim version of Cha Chuan "Jamil Fist", by adopting the Ten Sets, such as Long Fist and various other sets. Special consideration was granted by the Chinese Government for adopting the Muslim (Fist) version of Liao-men"meaning "Sect Fightingl out of many other Wu Shu styles that existed; thus Chinese Muslims have kept close within their communities and had less illegal involvement with other minority groups. There is therefore a consensus that Muslim Fist is "purer", and one of the most powerful, hence its depth and sacred techniques which have remained unchanged for centuries.
An example of such divination by "huruf" letters was given to Master Ibn Arabi when he was in the city of Fez, discussing with a pious man the prospects of the Almohad armies which had sailed across the straits into Spain. The pious man said; "God promised his Apostle a victory this year", as revealed in God's book in the words "Indeed we have given you a clear victory" (Fathan Mubinan,. Astonishingly, the numerical value of "Fathan Mubinan", when added together equals the year 591, which is the exact Hari year of the Muslim calendar, that the Almahadic Caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur gained victory over the Christains at Alarcos in 591/1194 CE.
It is therefore hardly surprising that the secrets of knowledge which have been transmitted amongst Muslims down the centuries had enigmatically transcended through the application of their vividly applied methods of Kung fu. It is also a unique system providing links with the language of (Arabic) Heaven, and the linguistic heritage inherited from their ancestral Arab forefathers, as well as a beneficial self defence application. In Baiqi Island of al-Zaytun (Quanzhou) there are some ten thousand Arab descendants by the surname of "Guo", and their tombstones are inscribed in both Arabic and Chinese. Many centuries of Kung fu practice by the Hui, resulted in the formation of many coherent systems, widely popular amongst the Hui Chinese community.
However, because of the persecution which they have suffered over the centuries, Chinese Muslims have kept their martial arts confined within their local communities. Muslim martial arts also may have travelled to Arabia centuries ago, during the pilgrimage season, by Chinese Muslims who subsequently never returned. The spread of martial arts in Arabia may have been limited because of the nature of the society in which Arabs are accustomed to live. At the daily call to prayer, shop keepers need not shut their shops for fear of thieves; they simply head for the Mosque to join the congregational prayers.
Muslim Chinese Kung fu masters contributed enormously to indigenous Chinese martial arts for many centuries, and have reached pinnacle of their careers with an unstoppable tide of professionalism, though very little of their magnificent ethos and formidable reputation is noticed by the outside world. However, modern technological advancements in communications have paved the way to deliver an introduction of Islamic martial arts to the outside world. Yet, the disproportionate misrepresentation of the Hui community and their current plight within secularist's movement is yet to be resolved.
A great many changes took place before the end of the 20th century which had a mass impact on oriental martial arts. Developments were encouraged which disengaged the core philosophical concept that forms the basis of the art and as a consequence by compromising its combative value, reducing the art to a leisure sport or even a computer game like those which have now come into vogue filling the life of many youths in the West and the Oriental East. In Japan, amusement arcades are full of new combat games like the Americanized Kick Boxing, or games based on the stunt-hero films of such as Jackie Chan. The spirit of Kung fu has circulated in the blood of many civilizations, especially in the latter quarter of the 20th century. It has frustrated the minds of many intellectuals from all walks of life, who hungrily squeezed every drop of sweat in reaching just that little bit further, in mastering a technique that was perfected previously by thousands of years.
It is the plight of modern Western society, that let one think has finally found the elixir of life, but it has only found oneself in an anomalous occidental world of modernity and engulfed by an infinite panorama of an art, backed by a myriad of intricate patterns, and mythological behaviour, inexplicable to modern science, which one desperately yearns to achieve.
Chinese Hui Muslims however, were indissolubly attached to the martial arts for many centuries, and have resolved every riddle in the book, through an arduous journey requiring the patience of a saint, in bridging the knowledge gap that is anxiously desired by the Western World. This is clearly demonstrated by the many Western pilgrims who perform their sacred journey to the Eastern world, searching to absorb and increase their knowledge with boundless enthusiasm.
Once on board the mystical carpet to the "Eastern Den", the magical force is felt with a powerful outflow of thrusting power, and on return the magical power fades, as if it is polluted by the air. Until the Kung fu dilemma is intellectually comprehended and resolved, civilization of the West is yet to respond to that of the East. Martial arts today, is no longer a rare phenomena as it once used to be half a century ago; it now belongs to the whole world although it's ethical tradition and extraordinary supernatural feats remain in its place of birth. Hassan al-Basri (642-728 CE), a famous scholar who attracted a large number of students to his circles, which regenerated intellectual activity when it declined during the Umayyad Dynasty, once said "
Hard is the life of a man if he be prudent, dangerous if comfortable, being wary ever of catastrophe, certain of his ultimate fate". He also famously quoted "The world is a bridge upon which you cross but upon which you should not build".
Figure 8. The author is "bridging the gap between the East and West". An ancient wisdom which extends its existence from the very background of this Lixus Roman ruins, near Larache, Morocco.
The Muslim legacy of martial arts influence, which stretched from the deserts of Arabia to the Shaolin Temple of China, will continue to be like a huge pulse in the heart of mother China, for the cup will stay barely empty embracing each drip with virtue, and will only fill once the bridge is finally crossed. Mistaken is to never be, of our master with whom we shall be, to enlighten the dimmed light of our hearts. At the crack of dawn, Hui Muslims gather in their quarters, ready to begin the journey of a thousand steps, supplemented by a melodious "Eastern " (Mashriqi) Adhan, for Fajr prayer.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment