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1. A Chinese martial art.
2. Kung fu or gongfu is a well-known Chinese term used in the West to designate Chinese martial arts. Its original meaning is somewhat different, referring to one's expertise in any skill, not necessarily martial. Many consider wushu or kuoshu a better term for Chinese martial arts, as it translates directly into martial art.
The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu - the television series. Before that it was referred to primarily as "Chinese boxing". Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples.
The oldest evidence of Kung Fu, or Chinese martial arts goes back to the Zhou dynasty (1111-255 BC). There are passages in the Zhuang Zi (AKA Chuang Tzu) that clearly pertain to the psychology and practice of martial arts. The Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) by Lao Zi contains many principles that are applicable to martial arts, and is similar in point of view to the Sun Zi Bing Fa (Sun Zi's Art of War) which deals directly with martial arts. History says that Zhuang Zi lived during the reign of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi, which means that he must have lived within the span from 370 B.C. to 301 B.C. The dates of the author of the Dao De Jing are less clear. Tradition assigns him to a time earlier than Zhuang Zi, but the evidence indicates that the book itself was written down later than the time of Zhuang Zi. The Chinese writing system traces back to the dynasty that preceded the Zhou, the Shang (traditional dates 1766 BC - 1122 BC), so claims of entire books being written at even earlier times are strongly suspect.
According to some traditions, however, the first written history of Chinese martial arts comes from the reign of the legendary Yellow Emperor (traditional date of ascension to the throne, 2698 BC). The Yellow Emperor is described as a famous military general, who, before becoming China’s leader, wrote a lengthy treatise about martial arts. He is also credited with being the founder of China’s oldest known martial art – chang quan (long fist). Furthermore, Taoist monks are claimed to have been practicing physical exercises that resemble Tai Chi (or a soft form of Kung fu) at least as early as the 500 B.C. era. In 39-92 A.D. , "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting", were included in the Han Shu (history of the Former Han Dynasty) written by Pan Ku. Also, the noted physician, Hua T'uo, is said to have composed the "Five Animals Play" - tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird, around 220 A.D. As stated earlier, the Kung Fu that is practiced today developed over the centuries and many of the later additions to Kung Fu, such as the Shaolin Kung Fu style, later animal forms, and the drunken style were incorporated from various martial arts forms that came into existence later on in China and have accurate historical data relating to their inventors.
Today, popular kung fu styles include Bagua Zhang (Pa Kua Chang), Choy Li Fut, Drunken boxing, Eagle Claw Kung Fu, Hsing I (Xing Yi), Hung Gar, Monkey Kung Fu, Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Shaolin, White Crane, Wing Chun and Tai Ji Quan.
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