Investigation concerning the date of "Xiao Ao Jiang Hu"
by: Chang Jiang San Xia
Abstract: The background date for "Xiao Ao Jiang Hu" (here after "Xiao") has always been a big mystery in the field of Wu Lin Historiography. We will first prove that "Xiao" happen during the Ming dynasty, after that we will through researching the recorded developments of the various martial arts schools in "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" (here after "Yi"), "Xiao", and "Bi Xue Jian" (here after "Bi") calculate the year in which "Xiao" took place.
1) Intorduction:
The date when the events in "Xiao" occurred has forever been an important research topic in the field of Wu Lin historiography.
Other writers have always tried to find clues from within the pages of "Xiao", in other word, they have employed a "uni-literature method" to search for that elusive date. But in this essay, the writer will utilise a different method. I will employ the "multi-literature method" -base my research on a variety of sources which contain information that would be valuable in trying to disentangle the intertwined historical veins which would lead us to the background date in which "Xiao" occurred.
2) The dynasty in which "Xiao" happened:
In order to pin point the dynasty in which the events in "Xiao" took place, first of all we must take a look at "Yi".
According to "Yi", The Wu Dang martial arts school was founded by Zhang San Feng during the early days of the Yuan dynasty("Yi" 16: 74). By the closing days of the Yuan dynasty, it was able to co-chair the leadership position with the Shao Lin monastery ("Yi" 16: 105, 120). And at that time Zhang San Feng was still alive and active, and still the leader of his Wu Dang school. In "Xiao", the head of the Wu Dang school was no longer Zhang San Feng, it was instead the daoist, Chong Xu ("Xiao" 30: 1067, 1112), therefore we can deduce that "Xiao" must have occurred in the dynasties which came after the Yuan, which are the Ming and the Qing.
But since the Qing dynasty is a dynasty in which an alien race had usurped the dragon throne and the middle kingdom, it would only be natural for the courageous Wu Lin individuals to take it upon themselves the responsibilities of dethroning the Manchus. Suppose that "Xiao" happened during the Qing dynasty, Liu Zheng Feng's excuse for retiring from Wu Lin and all activities, buying a position from the court, and becoming a local bureaucrat and administrator("Xiao" 28: 233), this definitely would have been looked down upon by all Wu Lin members, and therefore it would be unthinkable of Liu Zhaeng Feng to hold his retirement ceremony - "jin pen xi shou [the washing of his hand in a golden basin]"in such a grand manner. Hence, undoubtedly, "Xiao" has to occur during the Ming dynasty.
3) The year in which "Xiao" happened:
The Ming dynasty was founded in the year 1368 when Zhu Yuan Zhang proclaimed himself "Hong Wu Di [the emperor with supreme and abundant military prowess]", and it ended in the year 1644 when the last official Ming emperor, Si Zong emperor hanged himself upon a hill (present day Jing Shan in the Jing Shan park behind the imperial palace - the Forbidden City). Altogether the Ming dynasty lasted for 276 years. But when this period of time, how many years after the founding of the Ming dynasty did "Xiao" really take place?
Below, we will try to first establish an upper and a lower limit for the years in which "Xiao" could occur:
a) Lower Limit:
In "Xiao", it was mentioned that the Tai Ji manuscript which was written by Zhang San Feng was stolen by the Ri Yue Shen Jiao more than 80 years ago ("Xiao" 31: 1676-77). Since the lead character of "Yi", Zhang Wu Ji, originated from Wu Dang - his father Zhang Cui Shan was the student of Zhang San Feng, and after his parents' death he was looked after by Zhang San Feng and his students, and alter became the leader of the Ming Jiao -the forbear of the Ri Yue Shen Jiao, plus the fact that both his martial arts skills and his reputation are unrivalled and second to none, it would have been impossible that as long as he was alive the Ri Yue Shen Jiao would dare raid Wu Dang.
Zhang Wu Ji retired from Wu Lin when he was around 30 years old, and that very same year, Zhu Yuan Zhang drowned Han Lin Er ("Yi" 19: 1659) which is roughly 20 years before the birth of the Ming dynasty. Due to the fact that Zhang Wu Ji's martial arts is so powerful, looking at the example of Zhang San Feng, ti wouldn't be a surprise if Zhang Wu Ji was also able to live to a ripe old age of 100. Consequentially, that would make the earliest possible date of the theft of the Tai Ji manuscript by the Ri Yu Shen Jiao at 50 years after the founding of the Ming dynasty, therefore, the year in which "Xiao" transpired must be 130 years after the birth of the Ming dynasty.
In addition, in "Yi" the Song Shan school is a very weak and relatively obscure martial arts school with only a couple of capable martial arts experts, but in "Xiao" the Song Shan school has become a very prominent and influential martial arts school. And for such a development to happen, a conservative estimate is that a school would need 100 years of development, that would fit very well with our above calcualtion.　　
จากคุณ :
Peking Man 
- [
11 เม.ย. 48 10:50:32
]
Investigation concerning the date of "Xiao Ao Jiang Hu"
