174 Fist Fighting and Self-Cultivation
experienced tolerance and mutual borrowings between Confucianism, Bud-
dhism, and Daoism. To be sure, the tendency to find common traits in the
three faiths had existed in earlier times as well. However, during the six-
teenth and the seventeenth centuries the syncretistic urge reached an un-
precedented height, engulfing the entire society, from commoners who
worshiped side by side the three religion’s deities to leading intellectuals who
argued that the three faiths were no more than different paths to the same
ultimate truth. The Neo-Confucian Jiao Hong (1540–1620) advocated the
study of Daoist and Buddhist scriptures, for they could elucidate the mean-
ing of the Confucian classics, and Lin Zhaoen (1517–1598) advanced one
step further, arguing that the three religions were equivalent and hence in-
terchangeable.^113 The spirit of the age was certainly espoused by the “Purple
Coagulation Man of the Way,” whose spiritual goal was phrased in terms of
immortality and Buddhahood alike. His postscript to the Sinews Transforma-
tion Classic is typical, addressing both Daoist and Buddhist readers:
I have been studying the Sinews Transformation Classic because I realize
that in the two schools of Buddhism and Daoism those who seek the
Way are as numerous as cattle’s hair, but those who obtain it are as few
as the unicorn’s horn. This is due not to the Way being hard to achieve,
but to the adepts not recognizing its gate. Lacking a foundation, in
Chan meditation there is the danger of insanity; in gymnastics there is
the fear of exhaustion; in sexual practices there is the specter of
premature death; and in drug taking there is the anxiety of being
parched—all because people have not read the [Sinews Transformation]
Classic. If they obtain it and practice it—if they take it and expand upon
it—then on a large scale they will render the state meritorious service,
and on a small scale they will protect self and family. The farmer will by
it diligently till the land, and through its practice the merchant will
carry heavy loads on long journeys. The sick will regain his health, and
the weak will be strengthened. The childless will abundantly reproduce,
and the old will revert to his youth. The human will progress into a
Buddha, and the mortal will be transformed into an immortal. Little
practice will bring modest results; thorough practice will lead to great
accomplishments. The Sinews Transformation Classic is indeed the world’s
ultimate treasure.^114The Sinews Transformation Classic suggests that the emergence of the late
imperial martial arts might have been related to Ming syncretism. Its author’s
fascination with the Shaolin fighting techniques was doubtless sustained by his
tolerance of their religious practice. An atmosphere of spiritual inclusiveness
might have contributed to the Buddhist monks’ acceptance of Daoist teachings
as well. If leading Buddhist thinkers such as Zhu Hong (1535–1615) could pro-
mote Confucian and Daoist values, then Shaolin monks could just as well prac-