The Muslim Master of Cangzhou
In December 2003, Wushu Scholar passed through the city of Cangzhou in northern Hebei Province. We met many famous masters, most memorable among them an amazing Muslim Baji stylist in his eighties called Zhang Shao Fu. Witness to a bygone era, he is a survivor of a generation of practitioners fast disappearing.
Master Zhang first demonstrated his Baji (Eight Directions) style to us at the Cangzhou Wushu Institute. He was the oldest master there by a considerable margin, and his smiling wrinkled face and luxuriant white beard underlined that fact. Yet in his every movement his body was like that of a man thirty years his junior, solid and full of energy. Smiling warmly to the applause of his fellow stylists, he took to the stage to perform a pattern.
Every punch, every step exuded power and certainty, with no trace of age or frailty perceivable. When he finished, he once again shrugged off the applause and quietly sat back down. Unlike the local masters in the room, who had seen this before, we were truly stunned by such a commanding performance. For the rest of the evening we could not take our eyes off this heavy set, bearded man smiling at us, his Muslim cap worn slightly askew on his head.
After the demonstrations were over we celebrated our newly made acquaintance with a stupendous feast. Bai jiu (a strong Chinese liquor) flowed freely for those who drank, although Master Zhang abstained, drinking only tea. Towards the end of the dinner, he suddenly rose and demonstrated his talent at singing traditional Chinese Opera. Moving his chair back and placing his hands on his knees with elbows akimbo, smiled at us, he began to sing with such power you could feel the sound reverberate through the glasses and crockery left standing on the table.
Chinese opera is sung in different keys and registers from traditional western music. Often the most sought after ability is to modulate sound at very high falsetto pitch. A singer should breath from the pit of their stomach, and the volume of sound achieved is a mark of the singer's qi development.
After finishing his song Master Zhang glanced at his watch and suddenly became agitated, immediately excusing himself from the dinner table. We inquired discretely what had caused him to leave so urgently. The other masters told us that Master Zhang had followed a strict regime since his teens, sleeping, eating and training at specific times. He had realised that he was running late and so left in order to return home and train.
The following morning, we piled into a cramped minibus and made our way through the narrow alleys of Cangzhou to Master Zhang's home. Indistinguishable from other houses in the street, as soon as we entered we were confronted by weapons everywhere, from tall spears and Guan Daos, to straight swords and broadswords. At the centre of the compound was a courtyard covered by a makeshift roof. This was the main training area, opening out on one side onto a raised stage, which was decorated with wall to wall weapon racks.
Master Zhang was there together with his son and grandchildren. He welcomed us warmly and to our huge embarrassment began jumping to and from the stage carrying chairs for us to sit down and rest!
Performing in his own home imbued Master Zhang with even more energy than we had seen the previous day, as he demonstrated a whole series of patterns for us, including freehand, Guan Dao and long staff routines (RELATED VIDEO: Master Zhang Shao Fu). As the demonstration drew to a close, we were finally afforded the chance to ask the questions that had been burning in our minds since we first saw this remarkable man. Above all, how had he managed to maintain such a youthful vigour even into old age?
His answer was simple: train hard, wake up early, have a good regime and stick to it. Master Zhang was born in 1922 in a different world. His life was no easier than anyone else's in those troubled times, but what set him apart was his devotion to kung fu. He learned a number of styles from the best masters in his area: Baji from Master Ding Wen Tong; Liu He from Li Qing Lin and Zhang Feng Shan; Pigua from Guo Rui Lian, Hong Quan from Hong Lin. He loved to exercise. Everyday he would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and train outside till 8 o'clock, constantly honing his skills and learning new things.
Master Zhang has stuck to his strict regime throughout the long years of his life, and even now it is rare for him to oversleep beyond 8 o'clock. Every day he trains, then eats a hearty breakfast of bean curd milk and steamed bread that his wife prepares for him. His advice to us all was simply ?don't stay in bed too long?.
After the interview we thanked Master Zhang and wished him and his family well for the future. He is a truly remarkable man, one of the few people who can bring sunshine and good humour into the life of everyone he meets, a feeling that still resonates long after the meeting itself is over.
