History of Dong Haichuan and Martial Arts Before BGZ...

Translated from Dr. Xie's book, but  I lost the Chinese characters (I was dating this Chinese girl who always begrudged me for asking her to do it, but could quickly and easily write out the pinyin from Xie's books, which I then painstakingly used to input the characters, but later I accidentally deleted those originals):

{董海川 Dong Haichuan (1804-1882) Dong Haichuan was born in 1804 in Jingnan Township, Wenan County, Hebei Province. He is the founder and creator of the Chinese Martial Art called 八挂掌 Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm) and 八挂内功 Bagua Neigong (Eight Trigram Internal Training). When he was young he was extremely fond of the Internal Training practices and Martial arts. At the age of 12 he moved to 沧州 Cangzhou City, Cang County, also in Hebei Province and studied the art of 六合门 Liu He Men (6 Harmonies Martial System) under a man named 李 Li. After six years he successfully completed his training. He would often travel to seek out famous, highly skilled teachers and friends. He endured many hardships and character building experiences in the areas of Jiangsu province, Southern China, Chonqing city, and Sichuan province. He traveled over famous mountains and crossed many great rivers. (A classical saying which simply means: studied a lot of different martial arts.)

When Dong Haichuan was traveling through the mountains in Jiangxi Province in Southern China he happened upon two old men, one a monk of the Buddhist order, the other a Daoist priest. He was accepted as a student and under their instruction he studied and researched the He Tu, Luo Shu, Yi Jing (Book of Changes), Yi Zhuan (History of the book of changes), Xian Tian Bagua (Pre Heaven Bagua), Hou Tian Bagua (Post Heaven Bagua), Pre and Post Heaven Unified Bagua Form, Damo Hunyuan Damijue(Buddhist Immortal Secret Teachings), and other ancient Chinese combined practices. He had to develop himself through both the Daoist and Buddhist traditional techniques. After Dong completed his studies he came down from the mountains and combined the Internal Cultivation practices and Philosophy with his previous Martial Arts practices to create his original ‘School of Inner and Outer Cultivation Skills of Baguazhang’ (Nèi​ Wài​ Jiān​ Xiū​ Gōng​fu Bā​guà​zhang Mén​hù).}

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Baguazhang, was built upon the framework of all the older martial arts that Dong Haichuan had studied. Some of those Martial Arts had been co-mingling with Daoist monasteries since around the 800's ad or earlier, borrowing the cultivation practices to improve the overall health and fighting abilities for the Martial Artist. They started referring to these new styles of martial arts as 文化拳 Wenhua Quan (Cultured/civilized Martial Art) and the correlation of fighting to the theories of the Book of Changes and Five Elements, along with the Daoist and Buddhist practices is a very old practice with numerous variations and correlations.

In the case of Baguazhang we are very fortunate that the naturally skilled fighter/martial artist - Dong Haichuan spent his life traveling around China studying many different martial arts that all incorporated these philosophies with the fighting skills and he was able to organize and condense all these theories and relationships into one martial art. So the more time and thought you put into understanding how the 8 trigrams relate to your own movement and strategy the more answers you unlock about how and why Dong Haichuan organized it the way he did. He was a real genius, had a photographic memory, and his personal additions or re-organizations of the Martial Arts he studied is what makes us put more emphasis/interest in his work than on the Martial Arts that preceded him, although going back and looking at how the older styles incorporated the philosophies and practices can also lend some great insights into our Baguazhang sub-systems.

The only style we know he studied for sure was 六合门 Liu He Men (6 Harmonies Martial System) but he quickly learned that and was sent to other teachers around the Cangzhou city and surrounding area where many different styles were being practiced. One of them, which had probably already been incorporated into other systems and was then just a sub-system, was the art of Mei Hua Zhuang which was considered to be a 文化拳 Wenhua Quan Cultured/civilized Martial Art.

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{The Martial Art of 梅花桩 Mei Hua Zhuang

据《广宗县志》和《平乡县志》记载，梅花桩在明末清初传入当地。 它融周易八卦于拳理，化阴阳五行于招术，文武双修，不断发扬光大。 据《梅花桩根源经》和《梅花桩传承谱》记载：梅花桩第一代为收元老祖（虚拟），第二代张三省，传说在巫山羽化升天。

According to written records found in Guangzong County and Pingxiang County in Hebei Province the Martial Art of Mei Hua Zhuang , written records begin around the middle of the 1600's AD. It blended the Martial training with the philosophies of the 周易 Zhouyi (a.k.a. 易經 IChing Book of Changes), the 八卦 Bagua (Eight Trigrams), the changes of 阴阳Yin and Yang, and the 五行 Wuxing (Five Elements). The literary and martial skills were trained together to increase the overall development.


据《辞海》 “梅”字条目中记载： 梅花桩 。武术拳种。起源于明末，清乾隆年间流传较广。布桩图形有北斗桩、三星桩、繁星桩、天罡桩、八卦桩等。桩势有大势、顺势、拗势、小势、败势等五势，套路无一定型，其势如行云流水，变化多端，快而不乱。 行步有三法 ： 擺法 、 撤法和扎法 五勢變化由行步連接貫穿，構成架子。 成拳是梅花樁訓練技擊的方法，一般兩人對練。 梅花樁的器械除了刀 槍 劍 棍等常見種類外，另有獨門兵器多種。

According to the Cihai encyclopedia the first written account of Mei Hua Zhuang appears in the first half of the 17th century however the oral histories date back many centuries. Later in the 1700s the style became more widespread. The different standing (zhuang) Stances were Beidou Zhuang (Great Bear/ Big Dipper Stance), Sanxing Zhuang (Three Star Stance), Fanxing Zhuang (Many Star Stance), Tian Gang Zhuang (Northstar Stance), and the Bagua Zhuang (Eight Trigram Stance). There are also the Five Forms: Dashi (Big Force), Shunshi (Moving with the force), Ao Shi (Breaking the force), Xiao Shi (Small Force), and Bai Shi (Defeated Force). The Forms (Taolu) of Mei Hua were not fixed forms. One’s power and movement should be like ‘Running Water’, Changing (Bian Hua), Transforming, and Dynamic, very fast but not chaotic. There are three types of stepping methods: Bai Bu (Swinging Stepping), Che Bu (Withdrawing Stepping), and Zha Bu (Penetrating Stepping) The ‘Changes’ (Bian Hua) of the Five Powers follow the bodies movement and stepping and need to interlinked and continuous from beginning to end. This is the framework of Mei Hua Zhuang. To completely understand it one must extensively train it’s skills, strikes, and methods; Two-person exercises; Weapons such as the more commonly seen Saber (Dao), Spear (Qiang), Sword (Jian), and Staff (Gun) and other special weapons that only exist in the Mei Hua school.


梅花桩是总结了集干支术数之精华，融阴阳生克之奥理，星转斗移，寒暑往来，天下始于一，成于三，行于五，定于七，终于九，万物通变之术，皆其术数也。外有五式开合，内有吐呐升降，风格独特，简单易学，常持久练，身强体健，神清脑灵。梅花桩以文养武，以武济文，吸收佛道儒之精华，是中华武术中文武双修的拳派。

The most important aspects of Mei Hua Zhuang are how it uses the theories of the 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches, the harmonious nature of Yin and Yang, the Small Circle Turning and Seven Star Stepping, the Interchange of Hot and Cold, Heaven and Earth working as One, the Three Becoming One, Moving to Five, Stopping at Seven, and Ending at Nine, and the Method of the 10,000 Changes. In addition there are the Five Openings and closings, internally there is Speaking and Yelling exercises, Rising and Lowering. This style has many unique practices that are easy to learn and if one consistently practices the body will become strong and healthy, the spirit will become pure and the mind will become clear. Mei Hua Zhang also uses many classical texts to support the martial system. The most important parts come from Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian Religions and this combination of Martial application with Religious practices helped to make it one of China’s most important Martial Styles.

梅花桩内容丰富多彩，梅花桩多以口传身授形式授徒，基本内容包括文理和武功两大类：
1、文理“未学艺，先知理”，梅花桩的文理吸收了佛、道、儒三教的思想理论，融合了周易八卦阴阳五行等精义妙法，讲究修心养性，炼神炼气，要求练功者身心并练文武兼备，方可知“进退之中有妙招，趋避之内有利害”，“如天之无不覆，地之无不载”。
2、武功：梅花桩的练习，首先要从基本功练起，其内容主要有：拳法、腿法、腰法、步法等练习。武功锻炼的层次和形式分为架子、成拳、拧拳、器械四部分。

梅花桩还以文养武、以武济文，其指导思想和套路均遵循中国传统文化“五行八卦九宫太极无极”原理，因此梅花桩又被誉为“文化拳”。

The art of Mei Hua is very rich and deep. It’s teachings were only passed down orally and physically from teacher to disciple. The basic content consisted of the theory and martial work:
1- To understand Mei Hua one must first understand the inner essence of it’s underlying theory. It absorbed the religious teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, called the Great Three Religions. It combined these theories of the Zhou Yi (‘Book of Changes’ a.k.a ‘IChing’), the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), Yin and Yang, and the Wu Xing (Five Elements) into one clever method of applying these to the Martial Arts. Special attention is put on using meditation type practices to conserve energy and cultivate the mind and spirit. These practices are combined with the Martial practices to ensure that the mind and body are developed to high level. Methods one should understand are: One needs to be clever and tricky to know how and when to advance and retreat. One needs to have the capability to cause harm in order to understand how and when to attack or escape. When attacking from above one must understand how to cover or crush. When attacking from below one must understand how to lift up and carry.

2- The martial or physical side of Mei Hua requires that one spend a lot of time training and drilling it’s basic skills (Jibengong) of Striking Methods (Quan Fa), Kicking and Leg Methods (Tui Fa), using the power of the waist and dantian (Yao Fa), and the Stepping and Footwork Methods (Bu Fa). One must also spend a lot of time training the methods in different forms, such as the ‘Fixed Form Method’, the ‘Free Form Method', and using the 'Four Post Method'.

Mei Hua uses aspects of traditional Chinese culture to support the Martial fighting skills and at the same time the training of the fighting skills improves one’s knowledge of the traditional practices by combining the martial forms with the knowledge of the Five Elements, the Bagua, the Nine Palaces, the Taiji, and the Wuji. Thus these theories behind Mei Hua Zhuang cause it to be referred to as a “Civilized Martial Art”.

梅花桩所用木桩，直径3～5寸，下半截埋在地下，上半截高出地面3尺3寸，桩与桩之间的距离前后为3尺，左右为1尺5寸。随着功夫不断增进，桩要不断加高，有的加高到5尺；也有人以砖块代桩，先在平砖上练习，再站横砖，进而站立砖。布桩讲究上应天象，下合地时，中合节气，如“北斗桩”(又名七星桩)、“三星桩”、“繁星桩”、“天罡桩”、“八卦桩”、“五行桩”、“九宫桩”等。梅花桩，因立于桩上练习，故有别于诸拳，也不同于南拳中的梅花桩拳套，其难度远非地面练习可比，练起来要求式正势稳，要建立严格的动力定型。梅花桩最适合两人以上的集体练习，众人围成一梅花状，忽开忽合，伸缩无定，饶有兴味。其套路除五式固定外，无一定型，其势如行云流水，变化多端，活而不乱。

Mei Hua Zhuang uses a training area where wooden poles are set into the ground. The poles have a diameter of 3 to 5 inches, with the lower half of the poles buried in the ground. The upper half stick out of the ground about 3 feet and are used to step upon. The distance between the placement of the different poles is 3 feet or 1’5”. After a serious amount of practice and advancement through the art the poles are raised up in height to 5 feet. There are also supplemental practices of stepping on bricks on the ground in place of the poles. Gradually increasing the difficulty from standing on the bricks flat to placing them on end and standing on them.

The manner or pattern of using and walking on the Poles in the ground was based on certain astrological or star patterns, and other philosphical foundations of Heaven and Earth such as the ‘Great Bear’ Poles (or ‘Big Dipper’ also known as the ‘Seven Stars’), the Three Stars of Orion’s belt Poles, the ‘Fanxing’ or ‘Vast sky of stars’ Poles, the ‘Northstar’ Poles, the Bagua Poles, the Five Element Poles, and the Nine Palaces Poles.

梅花桩梅花桩
梅花桩分大架小架两种。桩势（式）有5式：①大式（丹凤朝阳）；②顺式（大鹏展翅）；③拗式（二郎担山）；④小式（猕猴攀枝）；⑤败式（霸王卸甲）。演练时，1式变2式，2式变3式，3式变4式，4式变5式，循环无端，变化无常。

梅花桩的步法有八方步和行步两种。①八方步，也称群步。八方步又分大中小3种。小八方步是基础步法，运动中便于闪、转，伺机进击。中八方步和大八方步用以对付多个对手，快而不乱，进退自如，可取主动之位置，占有利之地形，进退随情，起落随形，变化有法，动静有术。②行步有3法，即摆法、扎法、撤法。

Mei Hua Zhuang has two primary stepping methods (Bu Fa): Ba Fang Bu (Eight-Direction Stepping) and Xing Bu (Circular Stepping).
1) Eight-Direction Stepping Ba Fang Bu (a.k.a Qun Bu - weaving through a crowd stepping). In Eight-Direction Stepping there are 3 types of steps: Large, medium, and small. Small stepping is the basic or foundation stepping method and when using it makes it easy to Shan (dodge), Zhuan (turn), and properly time an attack. The Medium and Large stepping is used when dealing with multiple opponents. It’s very fast but not disordered or sloppy. It allows one to quickly advance or retreat to gain the initiative or get into the proper position to the opponents and find the advantageous position based on the surrounding location. Advancing or retreating depends upon the situation. Rising up or lowering down depends on the size of the enemy. Changing and transforming (bianhua) are the method, Movement and Stillness are the technique.
2) Circular Stepping 'Xing Bu' has 3 different types: Bai Bu (Swinging Stepping), Zha Bu (Penetrating Stepping), and Che Bu (Withdrawing Stepping).

梅花桩的器械练习套路有大刀、大枪十二路和大杆劈刺法；长柄器械类有戟、枪、棍、槊、镋、耙、倒钩矛、梢子杆等；刀剑钩刺类有连环刀、剑、虎头钩、月牙刺等；此外还有流星锤等。

练梅花桩，应该注重5式桩步的静力练习，这有利于练出通身一体的摔打功夫。桩式还有开裆顺胯的特点，以加大髋关节的活动幅度，提高灵活性。练梅花桩要求用鼻均匀地做腹式呼吸。经常从事梅花桩练习，对身体有良好的作用，可以使神经系统的稳定性、灵活性、准确性得到改善，提高某些肌肉和肌群的弹性和力量，增强心脏和呼吸系统的功能。

In Mei Hua Zhuang practice one should pay particular attention to the Five Standing Postures which should be calm, still, and powerful. Practicing diligently should toughen and strengthen the whole body. It will also open up the hips and develop a wide range of motion through the hip joints and increase overall flexibility. When practicing one breaths deeply into the abdomen through the nose. If it is practiced correctly everyday then one will begin to see many benefits such as a calm nervous system, flexibility, increased precision when moving through the forms, increasing the individual muscles and increasing the strength and tone of the whole body, and increasing the cardiovascular system of the heart and lungs.}


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