h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am not sure if I am posting the right place, but it was suggested to me that I re-post my comments/reply to the post regarding Pa Kua Chang. So here it is...


The truth is that Pa Kua Chang's origin has no connection whatsoever with the I Ching. Pa Kua Chang was created as nothing but a fighting art. People should do actual research about something before they talk or write about something they really don't know about and try to pass it off as valid information. The martial art itself did not exist prior to the martial art's creation by Dong Hai-Chuan, and the original name was Chuan Chang (Rotating Palm), then Pa Kua Chuan Chang, then just Pa Kua Chang. There was actually no connection to the martial art and the I Ching made until Sun Lu Tang (a student of Cheng Ting-Hua) started studying the I Ching and started writing about and teaching Baguazhang and a philosophical connection between the martial art that was now being called Ba Gua Zhang. Sun Lu-Tang was a scholar and could read and write, Dong Hai-Chuan was not a scholar and could most likely not read and maybe not write (most martial artist of that time usually could not read and write), and Dong Hai-Chuan was an old man by the time Sun Lu-Tang started learning the martial art from Cheng Ting-Hua. Prior to Cheng Ting-Hua and Sun Lu-Tang, there had been no connection being talked about or taught between the I Ching and Ba Gua Zhang. Being the case that Dong Hai-Chuan most likely could not read and write, how in the world could Dong Hai-Chuan even read and understand the I Ching, when it takes (at that time and still) a scholar to read, study and understand the I Ching? Dong Hai-Chuan was a martial artist - a fighter and an expert at it. He became expert at it by training and practicing martial arts, not reading and studying the I Ching. He created a martial art system and fighting philosophy, not a health exercise and spiritual philosophy. He collected taxes for the Emperor (tax collectors had to be skilled fighters in order to collect taxes, especially from people who would rather fight than pay) and trained the Imperial guards for a living. A philosopher can't do that kind of work and stay alive - they study, read and write books and do other scholarly things, they don't practice and train to fight and kill, they hire people like Dong Hai-Chuan to protect them. One more thing, Yin Fu was Dong Hai-Chuan's first student that he taught the art that came to be known as Pa Kua Chang (Ba Gua Zhang), and traind with him for almost 20 years (almost 14 years longer than any of his other students). Cheng Ting-Hua was Dong's third or fourth student, and traind with him for about six years. Dong Hai-Chuan lived from 1813 to 1882

Here are a few sources for some more reliable information regarding Pa Kua Chang (Baguazhang):

1 ---> http://www.jiangschool.com/pkcdir.htm

2 ---> http://web.syr.edu/~jbegovic/history.html

3 ---> http://www.jiangschool.com/morepkcinfo.htm

4 ---> http://www.jiangschool.com/Bagua's_Roots.htm

5 ---> http://www.shenwu.com/bagua.htm

These are all sources/resources that will give you more accurate, true and valid information regarding Baguazhang (Pa Kua Chang) and who created it and how it was created. There are a lot of stories about Baguazhang and who and how it was created, but only one person did an in depth thourough painstaking two year research and investigation specifically for the purpose of finding the truth and the true origins of martial art that is now known as Baguazhang. Thanks to Professor Kang Ge-Wu (K'ang Ko-Wu) in Beijing China.

Excuse me Lctbgz for interrupting.

Curators, I was the ACE who suggested that this new researcher post here.

The entry referred to is A510977

If the first posting is correct, then virtually the whole of the Edited Entry is a piece of fiction. I don't know enough about the subject matter to consider updating the Entry. Does anybody else?

Would there be a case for demoting this Edited Entry? (that is, removing it from the Edited Guide)

I have no idea about the subject matter either, but if it is as inaccurate as the first post suggests then I'd agree with you, Gnomon.