At the end of the Qing Dynasty, just when the martial arts system was gradually coming to an end, a legendary figure was born - Zhang Sanjia.
At the age of 22, he won the name of martial champion, and Huo Yuanjia, a generation of grandmasters, once challenged him, but he was defeated in just two moves.
So, why did he easily defeat Huo Yuanjia, and why was he known as the last martial champion of the Qing Dynasty?
All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources of information and is detailed at the end of the article.
A family of martial artists
In 1876, Zhang Sanjia was born into a family of Kaizhou martial arts. Since he was a child, he has been fascinated by martial arts, and he loves to read all kinds of martial arts cheats in the library.
Under the influence of such a strong martial arts atmosphere, Zhang Sanjia has shown amazing talent since he was a child. He practiced Xi Kung Fu diligently, and immersed himself in studying the mysterious changes of tricks.
刀、剑、枪、戟、棍、棒,他样样精通。
In order to realize the dream of becoming a strong country, Zhang Sanjia is determined to pass the martial arts examination and become a military general urgently needed by the country.
In the year of Guangxu Ding Younian (1897), Zhang Sanjia participated in the township examination and became a martial artist in one fell swoop. This attracted the attention of Prince Gong, who was in power at the time.
King Gong took the initiative to sponsor Zhang Sanjia and gave him the opportunity to enter Beijing to participate in the examination. With the help of King Gong, Zhang Sanjia entered the palace examination with the first result.
In 1898, 22-year-old Zhang Sanjia came to the capital and officially participated in the palace examination, competing with the best from all over the world. The palace test requires extremely high strength and skill, but Zhang Sanjia seems to be perfectly prepared.
He was holding a 180-pound big knife, only to see the knife light flying, and the power was amazing, but Zhang Sanjia was able to play with it freely, like child's play.
Zhang Sanjia, who was only 22 years old at the time, became famous in a fight, won the throne of the last martial champion in one fell swoop, and became a rising star at that time.
However, greater challenges and turmoil awaited him.
Compete with Huo Yuanjia
After winning the martial arts champion, Zhang Sanjia's name immediately spread throughout the martial arts. A lot of masters came to fight, wanting to compete.
Zhang Sanjia did not live up to expectations, as long as someone came to challenge, he never shirked. After each competition, Zhang Sanjia won all the victories.
One of the most eye-catching is the competition with Huo Yuanjia.
Huo Yuanjia and Zhang Sanjia are both from Tianjin, and they are also a well-known martial arts scholar who created a set of lost trace boxing. In terms of fame and qualifications, he is not lost to Zhang Sanjia.
After hearing that Zhang Sanjia won the martial champion, Huo Yuanjia took the initiative to come to him for a competition. The two sides agreed that if Huo Yuanjia couldn't knock down Zhang Sanjia in two moves, even if he lost.
Huo Yuanjia used all his strength and quickly made two moves in a row, and his speed and strength were almost unimaginable. But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Sanjia didn't move at all, as steady as an old tree.
After the second move, the winner is decided. Huo Yuanjia was shocked, but he also readily admitted defeat.
This competition undoubtedly proves that Zhang Sanjia's strength has reached a new height, and a 22-year-old young man can easily defeat such a famous senior!
Zhang Sanjia's reputation reached its peak as a result, and he became an invincible new star at that time.
However, his legendary career is coming to an end.
God is jealous of talent
After winning the martial champion, Zhang Sanjia originally wanted to take this as glory and join the army to serve the country. But after winning the championship, he was only assigned to idle errands such as imperial guards, which was far from his ambition to serve the country.
Zhang Sanjia has always been concerned about national affairs in his heart, seeing the decline of the Qing Dynasty and the increasingly serious external troubles, he has a body of martial arts, but there is nowhere to show it, and his heart is depressed.
Dealing with trivial matters in the palace all day long, I feel that the future is bleak.
At this time, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, and Zhang Sanjia was very anxious and wanted to go to resist the enemy and serve the country. But no one in the imperial court regarded him as a martial champion, and he was even more indifferent to martial arts talents.
Zhang Sanjia went to beg for a petition and asked to be transferred to the army, but the setbacks were repeated to no avail. He couldn't bear this kind of life, and decided to return to his hometown to save his family, and also wanted to find a way to serve in his hometown.
Unexpectedly, less than a month after returning to his hometown, Zhang Sanjia became seriously ill and was bedridden.
Maybe it was a long-term worry, or maybe there was nothing to be done about the evil disease, a month later, Zhang Sanjia, who was only 22 years old, died young.
Although Zhang Sanjia's life was short, he carved a legendary stroke as the last martial champion.
The martial arts system was abolished and he became the last man
Times have changed, and new weapons have made traditional martial arts lose their aura. But just as we can't forget the imperial examinations, we can't forget the history of the martial arts.
In ancient times, most civil servants entered the official career through the imperial examination. The military attaché was mainly hereditary, and was held by the emperor's confidant general.
While this ensured the emperor's safety, it was also prone to corruption.
In order to recruit talents, each dynasty set up a martial arts examination to select outstanding military attachés. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, special attention was paid to it, and the scale continued to expand.
More and more people are taking the martial arts exam, which has become the target of many Xi martial arts practitioners.
The martial arts exam is similar to the liberal arts, and it is also divided into multiple levels, with the last level being the temple exam. Wu Zhuangyuan is the best in the palace examination, and will be directly named and praised by the emperor, which is the highest honor for all martial artists.
As the last martial champion in Chinese history, Zhang Sanjia represents the last splendor of China's martial spirit. Although he did not have the opportunity to be loyal to the country, his extraordinary martial arts and patriotism still made future generations admire and remember.
Although he has been dead for many years, his heroic and righteous spirit still inspires the hearts of the Chinese people.
bibliography
[1] Puyang County Who's Who "Zhang Sanjia"
Wushu Research,2017,2(01):16-18.
[3] 《Manuscript of Qing History》