A Historical Introduction to Shaolin and Taiji

China Wushu, also known as Kung Fu, is a pure form of folk culture, which retains its primitive and quaint features and strong regional characteristics. The Central Plains has long been in the political, economic and cultural center of China, and it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, with martial arts prevailing among the people. According to statistics, among the 130 kinds of Wushu boxing popular among the people in China, 40 kinds originated from or were popular in the Central Plains. There are two famous boxing methods: Shaolin Boxing and Chen Taiji Biography.

Shaolin Boxing originated from Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Dengfeng City, Henan Province. It is a large-scale and most representative martial arts school in China. Shaolin boxing covers almost all kinds of boxing in the northern region and has an important influence on many other kinds of boxing, so it has won the reputation of "Shaolin is the best in the world". The essence of Shaolin Boxing is "Zen into martial arts, and the combination of boxing and Zen". This unique feature makes Shaolin Boxing the most cultural and religious boxing in China. At present, the fame of Shaolin Boxing is in full swing, and various martial arts schools under the name of Shaolin are all over China. Internationally, it has become synonymous with "China Kung Fu". Many foreign dignitaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, made a special trip to Shaolin Temple to watch Shaolin Boxing and experience the charm of China Wushu.

The biography of Chen Taiji, which originated in Chenjiagou, wen county, Henan Province, is another wonderful work in the Central Plains. Chen Tai Ji Chuan is a new type of family boxing created by Chen, a villager in Chenjiagou in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, on the basis of ancestral boxing, combined with Chinese medicine guidance, breathing and meridian science. After hundreds of years of research, practice and infiltration, Chen Tai Ji Chuan has become increasingly mature and perfect, forming an independent and perfect boxing system, and gradually evolved into Tai Chi schools such as "Yang, Wu, Wu and Sun". Today, Tai Ji Chuan has become the martial arts sport with the largest number of participants in the world. In Chenjiagou Village, Wenxian County, more than 80% people in the village will call Tai Ji Chuan. There is also a saying that "drinking Chen Gou Shui will make your legs skip".

In recent years, Henan Province has done a lot of work in the excavation, protection and industrial development of Wushu culture. Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain and Chenjiagou Village in Wenxian County have become the concentrated exhibition places of Shaolin Boxing and Tai Ji Chuan culture, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists and martial arts practitioners to come here for sightseeing, root-seeking, boxing practice and experience the profoundness of "national quintessence" every year.