Hand Combat 125
school. Nevertheless, Cao repeatedly failed the licentiate exams, and hence he
could not aspire to an educational, let alone a government, career. He chose,
therefore, the martial arts as his vocation:
Hand combat is an excellent method for protecting one’s body and
preventing humiliation. It originated at the Shaolin Monastery. My
fellow townsman Zhang Kongzhao once met a mysterious person (yiren)
who transmitted it to him. This technique alone reaches divine subtlety.
At the time there were many who studied it, but only three who
received [Master Zhang’s] authentic transmission: Cheng Jingtao, Hu
Wojiang, and Zhang Zhonglue. Afterward it branched into numerous
substyles, gradually losing the original method. Sometimes, gifted
practitioners rise to prominence, and, for a while, become famous.
However, for the most part, they strain their muscles and expose their
bones, waste their energy (qi) and use force. None of them has heard of
Master Zhang’s technique’s ingenious applications, of the subtlety of its
limitless transformations.
Practicing the Master’s hand combat method, one guards his spirit
between the eyebrows, and directs his qi to the lower belly. Fighting, it is
like a beautiful woman plucking flowers. Resting, it resembles a literatus
laying down his brush. It could be compared to Zhuge Liang’s (181–234)
scholarly cap and feathered fan, to Yang You’s (221–278) elegant sash
and dignified robes. How could it possibly have sharp edges?
We are four brothers in my family, me being third. My eldest
brother is Yanchun, style Peiyu. In our native village the weak were
insulted and the few bullied. I was always afraid of being abused, and
therefore I was devoted to the martial arts. My father did not object to
my training. On the contrary, he invited from afar an outstanding
martial artist to teach me. At the time I was thirteen, and I was studying
the classics in our clan school. When I would return from school I would
practice with him.
When I was eighteen I obtained Master Zhang Kongzhao’s Hand
Combat Classic (Quan jing), which he compiled while serving under my
clan’s remote great-uncle in Huguan County (in Southeastern Shanxi,
near Henan’s border). I took it with me to school and investigated it day
and night, treating it as if I had obtained a rare treasure. When I arrived
at the “[Shaolin Close-Range Hand Combat] Ten Principles of Strik-
ing,”^33 my resolution was firm and my spirit concentrated. I pondered it
strenuously, until suddenly I dreamt that two old men explained it to
me. Thereafter I dreamt about them several times. My body grew
suppler and my hands became livelier. My mind grasped the subtlety of
“cultivating qi” (lianqi).
When I reached twenty-eight, because I had repeatedly taken the
licentiate exams and failed, I left home and looked for success else-