The Shamanic Origins of Tai Chi
continued
Every style has its own folklore regarding its origins. Often they are like parables that teach moral and philosophical lessons as well as the style's origins. But there is also a pattern to many of the tales. The following story is typical of these and contains classic story elements that point to an even older origin.
In 15th century China, Wang Lang was a young bully who had studied martial arts from a young age. He would strut and intimidate the locals with displays of Kung Fu, but the older men in the village were unimpressed. "Ah! Who do you think you are?," they would mutter, "Your skills are nothing compared to even a Shaolin novice." Stinging from such rebukes, Wang vowed to find this Shaolin Temple and defeat its master. After an arduous journey, Wang reached the temple and challenged the monks to a duel. Initially the monks ignored him, but day after day Wang issued his challenge and finally the monks accepted. Expecting to duel with the master, Wang was chagrined to find himself faced with the lowest ranking monk. Even more humiliating was his quick defeat at the novice's hands. Wang sulked off to the nearby mountains where he trained for months. After his confidence was restored, Wang returned to Shaolin and defeated the novice monk that had beaten him earlier; however, his next opponent was a senior monk who flounced him effortlessly.
Wang again retreated to the mountains to contemplate his failure. Then one day, while sitting in meditation, Wang was distracted by sounds coming from some bushes nearby. Investigating the source of the commotion he discovered a struggle between a praying mantis and a cicada. As he watched, Wang was fascinated by the mantis's martial techniques. He captured the mantis and kept it in a cage built from sticks. He used a straw to poke and attack the insect in order to study its fighting strategy. Wang incorporated the strategies of the mantis into his martial arts and returned to the temple. He then defeated every one of the monks sent against him. The abbot finally ordered a stop to the contest after conceding victory to Wang. The abbot was curious about his unique style of fighting and asked Wang how he came about it. Wang told the story of his encounter with the Mantis. Having also learned humility from the insect, Wang Lang became a Shaolin monk and his Praying Mantis style became famous throughout China.
As a parable this tale illustrates three of the most important strategies of warfare: deception, speed, and surprise. There are also the moral lessons: persevering in the face of failure, learning humility, and the benefits of learning to be in harmony with nature.
But from the perspective of cultural anthropology such folktales may contain an ancient memory of an even older tradition, that of the "Vision Quest." Common to Shamanism, the Vision Quest is a ritual whereby a young warrior first undergoes a period of training after which he sets off alone into the wilderness. He must bear the hardships of isolation while fasting and meditating until he has a vision. The vision usually takes the form of an animal that reveals certain secrets. This animal then becomes the warrior's kindred or guardian spirit and shares his powers with the warrior. For example, if the visionary animal was a fox, the warrior would take on the qualities of cunning; an eagle would bestow far sight; a bear strength, and so on. Compare the elements of the Vision Quest to the story of Wang Lang: his training and initial defeat, his departure into the wilderness to contemplate his failure, the encounter with the Mantis who reveals secrets of strategy and tactics, and finally, Wang's triumphant return possessed with the powers of the Mantis, as well as a newfound humility.
