What is the origin of Nanquan?

The origin of Nanquan

Nanquan is a general term for a large-scale boxing that has been popular in the south since the Ming Dynasty. Focusing on Fujian and Guangdong, it is widely spread in the south of the Yangtze River, so it is called "Nanquan".

Regarding the origin of Nanquan, there is a story that there is a Shaolin Temple in Fujian, which is a branch of Shaolin in Songshan, and it is called "South Shaolin Temple", where monks practice martial arts. During the reign of Kangxi, Xilu was attacked, and no one could be enemies. The monks of Shaolin Temple in Fujian volunteered to go out, broke the West Road State and returned home in triumph. Soon, a traitor entered the temple, and the Qing court sent troops to encircle the Shaolin Temple in Fujian. Only five monks survived in the temple. The five monks searched for heroes everywhere and founded the Hong Men (Heaven and Earth Society), vowing to "fight against the Qing Dynasty and regain sight". Nanquan in Fujian, Guangdong and Hubei was spread by these five eminent monks, so it was honored as the "five ancestors" of Nanquan.

In fact, during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was no Xilu State at all, and there was no so-called aggression. Of course, there would be no feat of South Shaolin Temple monks going out for their country. This is a story written by the Chinese community in Hong Men. However, whether there is Shaolin Temple in Fujian has become an unsolved case in history. Some people think this Shaolin Temple is in Putian, Fujian, others think it is in Quanzhou, Fujian, and some even say it is in Li Anping, Guangdong. 1996, a temple site was discovered in Fuqing, Fujian, and many cultural relics engraved with the word "Shaolin" were unearthed one after another. According to scholars' preliminary research, this place is Shaolin Temple in Fujian, which existed from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Yongzheng period in the Qing Dynasty.

The relationship between Fuqing Shaolin Temple and Nanquan Department needs further study. But there is no doubt that this South Shaolin Temple once played an important role in the formation and development of Nanquan. At the same time, we should also fully consider the factors of Fujian local Wushu.

Fujian folk customs are tough, especially in southern Fujian, which is famous for its bravery and belligerence, and its gathering and fighting style is famous throughout the country. Wushu in Fujian Province appeared as early as the middle of Ming Dynasty.

Yu (1504 ~ 1580), a famous anti-Japanese fighter and martial arts master.

I am from Jinjiang (now Quanzhou), Fujian. He was born into an officer's family. When he was a teenager, he studied the art of war and learned to ride a horse and shoot. Later, he studied fencing with Li and became a rare fencing master. When he was an official in Guangdong, Yu only led a few people into the barren hills and forests, and used swordsmanship to frighten many rebels into submission. He is also good at sticks and has taught foot soldiers widely. At that time, almost all the stick techniques in Quanzhou were introduced by Yu. At that time, Quanzhou's swordsmanship and stick skills were second to none in the country, and even Songshan Shaolin Temple was ashamed.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a monk named Ding Yin in Quanzhou, who had excellent martial arts. Once killed a tiger in Zhangzhou, with hundreds of disciples. After the Qing army went south, many of his disciples crossed the ocean and came to Taiwan Province to join Zheng Chenggong's rebel army.

The formation of the southern boxing system was also influenced by the northern martial arts.

Since the 4th century, there have been three large-scale migrations from north to south in China. The first time was in the Jin Dynasty, when some northerners moved to Fujian, which was called "Fu Lao". The second time was in the late Tang Xuanzong period, when Wang Chao and Wang Brothers from Gushi, Henan, led 5,000 troops and a large number of their families to move south to Quanzhou and Fuzhou. The third time was in the Song Dynasty, when more than one million soldiers and civilians moved south. The above three immigrants all started from Henan. These northern immigrants are called "Hakkas". While they settled in the south, they also brought more mature northern martial arts to Fujian and Guangdong.

In the middle of Ming Dynasty, another martial arts master, Qi Jiguang, led Qi Jiajun to participate in Pingbo War and moved to Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Qi Jiajun fought in Fujian for many years and was stationed in Fuzhou and Quanzhou. Qi Jiguang is from Penglai, Shandong. His ancestors were all officers for six generations. Qi Jiguang's martial arts should belong to north shaolin. In Qi Jun's martial arts training, except for those flashy movements, all boxing routines were written by him personally. Qi Jiajun's brilliant record of winning every battle will also make this kind of martial arts with obvious northern characteristics have a considerable impact on the development of Fujian and Guangdong martial arts.