Wudang Zhang Sanfeng
In Taoist culture, Wudang Mountain is a famous mountain of Taoism. As early as the Xian Xia novels of the Republic of China era, there are a large number of legends about the "sword immortals" in Wudang Mountain. In Taoist mythology, Wudang Mountain is the dojo of Emperor Zhenwu. The legendary Zhang Sanfeng is cultivating truth in Wudang Mountain.
After the death of emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jianwen's lack of ability to govern eventually led to the usurpation of power by Zhu Di, the King of Yan. After Zhu Di seized power, he believed that he could seize power, that he was blessed by Emperor Zhenwu, and that he was the embodiment of Emperor Zhenwu, so he promoted the belief in Emperor Zhenwu throughout the ming empire, and even in the Liaodong region, there were temples of Emperor Zhenwu (such as the Temple of God in Gaizhou, Liaoning, which is dedicated to Emperor Zhenwu).
Under the spread of the belief of Emperor Zhenwu, the popularity of Wudang Mountain also increased. The great name of Zhang Sanfeng in Wudang also spread, and in modern times, Zhang Sanfeng has also become the protagonist of many martial arts novels.
Zhang Sanfeng's death issue
In folklore, Zhang Sanfeng was born during the Southern Song Dynasty and died in the early Ming Dynasty, throughout the Yuan Dynasty. In the TV series "Young Zhang Sanfeng", Zhang Sanfeng even had an intersection and relationship with Yue Fei, and participated in anti-gold activities. Then according to the timeline calculation, Zhang Sanfeng's youth was in the era of Song Gaozong's Nandu, and his death was more than two hundred years old.
Contemporary biotechnology and medical technology are unprecedented, but even with the blessing of biotechnology and medical technology, the average life expectancy of Chinese has not reached eighty years old. And an ancient person can live to more than two hundred years old under the medical conditions of the Song and Ming dynasties, which is very incredible, even anti-scientific.
So, what is the truth about Zhang Sanfeng's death of more than two hundred years? All this needs to be answered from historical sources.
The legend about Zhang Sanfeng, the earliest legend, occurred in the last year of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong of Song believed in Taoism and proclaimed himself Emperor Daojun. During the reign of Emperor Daojun, he had great respect for well-known Daoist priests. Zhang Sanfeng was a very famous Taoist priest at that time, so Emperor Daojun sent someone to invite Zhang Sanfeng, but Zhang Sanfeng refused.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the last era was Xuanhe (1119 in the Western Calendar - 1125 in the Western Calendar), from the last year of Xuanhe to the first year of hongwu (1368 in the Western Calendar), the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a time span of nearly 250 years. The legendary Zhang Sanfeng did not die in the first year of Hongwu, and he had already achieved a small achievement in the last year of Xuanhe, so the legendary Zhang Sanfeng's death was approaching three hundred years, which was undoubtedly impossible.
In addition, in the History of the Ming Dynasty, there is a record of the Taoist priest Zhang Sanfeng. Most of the public's perception of Zhang Sanfeng is the deeds of Zhang Sanfeng in the Ming Dynasty - such as living in the Yuan Dynasty, being treated by Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di's father and son, and so on. Even in the legend of the Ming Dynasty, there is also the Zhengde Emperor period, someone saw Zhang Sanfeng's record in Wudang.
Zhang Sanfeng of the Northern Song Dynasty and Zhang Sanfeng of the Ming Dynasty have in common that in addition to the similarity of names, they are both practicing in Wudang Mountain. Personally, I believe that the truth behind the so-called Zhang Sanfeng's life expectancy for hundreds of years is likely to be that Zhang Sanfeng, who existed in two eras, was confused by later generations and regarded as a person, and mixed with a large number of hearsay legends, which led to the public impression that Zhang Sanfeng had been alive from Emperor Huizong of Song - the Zhengde Emperor.