Elbow pounding

Elbow pounding

This is a rather mysterious school, which originated from a famous family in Linqing, and is closely related to the chivalrous spirit inherent in the Chinese people; it is a fierce school, but it has some sense of Taiji gossip; it developed in troubled times, once known in Beijing and Shanghai, but now most of the people are hidden in Linqing. In a corner, I live a plain life. This is Linqing's elbow pounding on the door, a skill gradually forgotten by people.

Now, 90% of the people still live in the ancient city of Linqing, Shandong Province. They all hope that Linqing's elbow beating can spread to the north and south of the Yangtze River like Shaolin Quan and Taijiquan, and create the splendor of the elbow beating. However, these people also know that elbow beating is a rare thing. Recently, the reporter came to the home of Shen Xiaosheng, the elbow beater in Linqing, and listened to him tell the storms behind the elbow beating.

On May 23, 2011, Elbow Chuan was listed in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list with the approval of the State Council.

The Story of Knocking on the Door with the Elbow

Fighting bullies to create elbows and pounding doors

Zhang Donghuai, the founder of Elbow Chuan, was born in Yaopo Village, Tangyuan Township, at the junction of Linqing and Guanxian County in 1844. According to Linqing County Chronicle, Zhang's family is a well-known family in the local area. Zhang Rubin, the father of Zhang Donghuai, is a student of Yiyang Sheng (i.e., a scholar of Fuzhou County School, which is equivalent to a scholar), who writes well and is appreciated by the local county. Besides, Zhang Rubin is also proficient in Yi Li and traditional Chinese medicine, and is a famous doctor in the local area.

After Zhang Donghuai was born, he studied Zhouyi and medicine with his father, and also learned some boxing and footwork with his uncle and grandfather. In Yaopo village at that time, besides Zhang's family, there was another family with a bit of "underworld" background.

"At that time, there were two brothers in the village. They were local bullies. One was called the King of Seven Yans and the other was called the Eight Kings." Shen Xiaosheng, the fifth generation inheritor of elbow beating in Linqing, is also the only inheritor who has mastered all elbow beating techniques in elbow beating door. Speaking of his grandfather Zhang Donghuai, Shen Xiaosheng, 65, was thrilled: "These two bullies will do their best to oppress the fruit farmers in the village."

One year, the two bullies took a fancy to the orchard of a couple of orphans and widows in the village and began to bully them and ask them to hand over the orchard. At this time, Zhang Donghuai, although he can do some work, knows that his work may not be able to deal with the bully. So in a rage, he ran away from home, looked for famous knights everywhere, learned all kinds of martial arts from them, and created a set of martial arts by himself.

A few years later, the first thing Zhang Donghuai did when he returned to the village after studying art was to teach the two bullies a good lesson. "At that time, when Grandpa and them met, all the onlookers were stunned, because Grandpa's Kungfu was very unique, it looked like a push hand of Taiji gossip, but it was fast and powerful, so he dared not fight the two bullies back to the village from now on." Shen Xiaosheng said that Zhang Donghuai's set of Kungfu was later elbow beating.

Zhang Donghuai's chivalrous warfare, the use of his original kungfu to defeat the bully news, quickly spread to the local, so many young people are willing to worship under the door of Zhang Donghuai, Professor Zhang Donghuai this kungfu. The name "elbow beating" was also spread throughout the western Shandong region.

Wuju worship of the last dynasty went under the elbow and pounded the door

Since ancient times, Linqing people had the custom of worshipping martial arts. It is not uncommon to dance guns and sticks here. The oldest type of boxing in Linqing was the pool legs of Five Dynasties and ten countries. In Ming and Qing dynasties, the six-step big frame (Dahong Quan), elbow beating, plum blossom Quan and Erlang Quan were all well-known at that time, and Linqing became a sacred place of Wushu learning in Western Shandong.

Zhang Donghuai's original elbow beating was unavoidably challenged at the beginning of its establishment in such a place with strong martial custom. "There are many people to challenge. Some of them want to discuss and verify Kung Fu. Others want to extinguish the prestige of elbow beating and wipe out the Kung Fu completely." Shen Xiaosheng said. Among the people who came to challenge Zhang Donghuai, the biggest "wrist" was Yu Yuezhou, the imperial examiner in the late Qing Dynasty.

One day in 1893, Yu Yuezhou came to Zhang Donghuai's pharmacy. He saw Zhang Donghuai grabbing medicine behind the counter. He walked forward without hesitation and took a copper coin on the counter and said, "The shopkeeper, grab medicine for me." Turn around and go.

When Zhang Donghuai looked down, he found that the copper coin had been embedded in the counter. "This is the call board. The purpose of writing letters to Grandpa is to try Grandpa's Kungfu and courage." Shen Xiaosheng said that Zhang Donghuai at that time only said, "Stay." Then a palm clapped on the counter, the copper money which had been embedded on the counter bounced up, Zhang Donghuai grabbed the copper money and gave it to Yu Yuezhou.

Yu Yuezhou just took over the copper coin. He felt a sudden sense of strength lifting himself up. His strong body brought Zhang Donghuai, a thin man, to the counter. The speed of the technique made Yu Yuezhou astonished. At this time, Yuezhou realized that he had met a "hard hand". "Later, Yu Yuezhou found another friend. Liu Ruqin, the captain of Linqing, was arrested at that time. As a result, the two brothers were beaten down by Zhang Donghuai. Shen Xiaosheng said that after several fights, Yu Yuezhou and Liu Ruqin were convinced by Zhang Donghuai's personality and kungfu, and eventually worshipped under Zhang Donghuai's door and became the second generation of disciples of elbow pounding. There are more people who learn elbow beating for a while.

Extreme Martial Arts Promoted

The current situation can not only create heroes, but also better promote kungfu. Huo Yuanjia, Chen Zhen and others were undoubtedly heroes created by the current situation, and their maze boxing was the martial arts created by the current situation. Similarly, the elbow hammer, which appeared at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, has also been "promoted" in troubled times.

In 1898, the "Liyuan Tun Teaching Case" took place in Guanxian County, Liaocheng, Shandong Province. The case occurred only a dozen miles away from Yaopo Village. No one can say whether Zhang Donghuai participated in the teaching plan, but it is certain that some of Zhang Donghuai's disciples must have participated in the Boxer Movement and brought a big trouble to Zhang Donghuai.

Shen Xiaosheng told reporters that the Boxer Movement was suppressed in 1900, and it was also at this time that Zhang Donghuai, 57 years old, died of illness. After the Boxer Movement failed, Zhang Donghuai committed suicide in exchange for his life to protect the lives of Boxer disciples. As a result, the "righteous act" of Donghuaigong was spread in Linqing.

After the death of Zhang Donghuai, two of his disciples, Yu Yuezhou and Liu Ruqin, took over the responsibility of inheriting elbow beating and began to collect and teach elbow beating in Linqing area. Not only that, they also selected several well-qualified disciples to disassemble the elbow beating together, and simplified the original "old ten beatings" handed down by Zhang Donghuai into a new ten beatings (a total of 130 beatings).

Among the disciples Yu Yuezhou and Liu Ruqin received, the most intelligent one was Zhou Ziyan (named Songshan, Ziyan is a character). According to the memories of the old generation in Linqing, Zhou Ziyan's family was in good condition. His parents left him more than ten hectares of land. As long as Zhou Ziyan took care of it carefully, he could live a life of clothes and food. On the contrary, Zhou Ziyan has a certain demeanor of "Wu Chi". After taking over the industry, regardless of the question, he visits Wushu masters everywhere every day to prove his elbow-beating skills, and his family situation is also declining.

In 1928, Zhou Ziyan, who had good skills in the first National Academy Examination, met the referee of the National Academy Examination at that time. Later, the founder of Dachengquan, Mr. Wang Xianzhai, a well-known martial artist in China, became the founder of Dachengquan. "Wang Xiangzhai held a Chinese Academic Class in Shanghai and invited Zhou Ziyan to study." Shen Xiaosheng said that after Zhou Ziyan studied for some time, Wang Xianzhai began to pay attention to this Shandong man. "One day, Zhou Ziyan gave Wang Xiangzhai a set of elbow beating. Wang Xiangzhai was very interested in it. He had to compare it with Zhou Ziyan." At that time, Zhou Ziyan was only a spectator in the academic class, while Wang Xianzhai had been famous for a long time and was also a university professor. They competed and stood high and low.

"Later, Zhou Ziyan thought that, compared with your professor, I would win if I were not defeated by you." Wang Xiangzhai thought it would be easy to subdue Zhou Ziyan, a hairy boy, with his own efforts. The two men fought for most of the time. Zhou Ziyan only defended with his elbow and did not attack. He was shocked by a tie with Wang Xianzhai.

According to Shen Xiaosheng, Wang Xianzhai left Shanghai after that: "At that time, the Shanghai tabloids also reported that Zhou Ziyan beat Wang Xianzhai with his elbow. Maybe Wang Xianzhai also felt humiliated. He couldn't get a newborn boy, so he went to Beijing. Zhou Ziyan went back to his hometown in Shandong and continued to practice his kungfu.

In 1940, Wang Xianzhai founded the Dacheng Boxing Research Society in Beijing. "Later, Zhou Ziyan received an invitation from Wang Xianzhai and went to Beijing." In Beijing, Zhou Ziyan became a great disciple of Wang Xianzhai. His main task was to meet the challenges and learn Dacheng Quan at the same time.

By the end of the hour, convince the teachers and younger students

It is said that once Zhou Ziyan arrived in the capital, he beat many disciples under Wang Xiangzhaimen with his elbow.

"There was a disciple in Wang Xiangzhai's hand at that time. He had good kungfu. When Wang Xianzhai introduced Zhou Ziyan to him, he asked these disciples to call him Brother Zhou Ziyan. The disciple was quite dissatisfied, so he went to Challenge Zhou Ziyan in private, and the process of the Challenge was also interesting.

According to Shen Xiaosheng, when Chinese martial arts masters were discussing martial arts, they were somewhat similar to fencing: "Everyone put on white powder, put on protective gear and fight each other. After the competition, we will see who gets hit with more white dots, and who loses." After a match, Zhou Ziyan was hit twice by his opponent on the chest, but the other was not hit. So the disciple proudly ran to Wang Xiangzhai.

"At that time, the disciple's protective gear went by without taking it off. He said,"Master, I defeated Zhou Ziyan." Wang Xianzhai did not believe it. In his opinion, Zhou Ziyan's elbow-beating Kungfu was pure and could not be defeated by his disciples. So he asked his disciples to call Zhou Ziyan. "When the disciple turned around, Wang Xiangzhai saw that all the white spots behind him were beaten by Wang Xiangzhai. That is to say, in the course of the confrontation, Zhou Ziyan unconsciously hit the other side several times, but the other side was unconscious." Wang Xianzhai knows that Zhou Ziyan is saving face for his teachers and disciples. After seeing the white spots on his back, his brother and teacher were convinced by Zhou Ziyan's Kungfu and personality. He was called "Grand Brother" by oral administration.

To complement the whole set of ways to learn art in Beijing

Shen Xiaosheng, a fifth generation of disciples born in 1944, was very interested in martial arts. At the age of 27, he worshiped Zhang Duo and Hu Shiming, the fourth generation descendants of Elbow Chuan in Linqing, and became their disciples.

"After several years of study, I learned that the original master's elbow beating was not complete, only learned the first five of the new ten trips." Shen Xiaosheng later overheard the conversations of his masters, and learned that there was an old man named Zhou Ziyan in Beijing, the only one who had mastered all the elbow beating routines.

So Zhou Ziyan saved enough money to go to Beijing, and went to Beijing to look for Zhou Ziyan, hoping to make up for all the elbow beating routines. Speaking of the first meeting in that year, Lao Shen was very excited. He told reporters about the situation like a commentary book: "At that time, my master was in his 70s. Listen to me, if I want to learn elbow beating, I need to give him a try. I thought to myself, he's an old man over 70 years old. Can he get a punch from me? So I gave three points. Unexpectedly, Shen Xiaosheng's three-point effort hit Master, but Zhou Ziyan shook his head discontentedly and said, "No, too light, with all his strength." Shen Xiaosheng then suffocated his strength and hit Zhou Ziyan with a heavy blow.

"Oh, who knows that this punch just came close to Master's body, he raised his hand, sealed my wrist, and then dragged along with the situation, I flew out immediately,'clap', fell on the opposite kang, almost did not hit the master's grandmother who was doing stitching work on the kang." Shen Xiaosheng said that Zhou Ziyan's skill also came from elbow beating, but it was the first time for him to see, "I asked Master to teach me all the tricks of elbow beating."

In the next few years, Shen Xiaosheng came to Zhou Ziyan's home in Beijing many times. Under the guidance of Zhou Shiye, he learned Linqing's five punches after ten beats of elbow. Several times in Beijing, every time Shen Xiaosheng had to save a long period of money before he could go on his way. To this day, he still feels worthwhile. "If I hadn't gone to Beijing to find Master Zhou, I'm afraid that Linqing's elbow beating would have been lost."

Difficulty of Inheritance

Through years of hard work, Shen Xiaosheng mastered all the "new and old ten times" elbow beating skillfully, and sorted out books. But when it comes to the spread of elbow beating, Shen Xiaosheng felt some difficulties.

"The reason why elbow beating is difficult to get out is that we are very strict in entering the room." Shen Xiaosheng told reporters that the "elbow beating" school has its own characteristics: first, as a teacher, after receiving apprentices, they must take their apprentices with them. "The apprentices'food, drink and sleep are all borne by the teacher, and when disciples in the income room, the teacher must pay his own money and invite all his teachers and brothers to eat together. During the meal, we can introduce our apprentices to the public. In addition, according to the traditional way of worshiping teachers in our country, it is human nature for apprentices to bring gifts for "filial piety" teachers on New Year's Day. This is a "big taboo" in the process of pounding on the door with elbows. More stringently, to be the heir of pounding on the door with elbows, one to three years'study period is required.

Shen Xiaosheng said that the reason why elbow beating door is so strict is mainly to consider the reputation of elbow beating: "elbow beating is a very lethal set of kungfu, if your disciples character is not good, learning this kungfu is tantamount to endangering society, so the grandfather took character as the first element of apprenticeship. If you have a bad character, you can't get into the door even if you have excellent qualifications and insights."

Because of this, nowadays in Linqing, there are not many people who are really qualified to learn two sets of elbow beating. Shen Xiaosheng, 65 years old, has 60 or 70 apprentices up to now, but only 10 are really qualified to be "disciples in the room" and to learn elbow beating. "Ten apprentices have different temperaments, but none of them have the same personality. The longest one was three years, and the shortest one was more than one year. This led me to teach them elbow beating."

Nowadays, Linqing elbow pounding has been declared as a national intangible cultural heritage successfully, and has passed the verification of relevant departments. To be honest, it is really difficult to find a doorman for elbow pounding. It's entirely something that can't be expected."