Xuan Tian Shang Di

[Rocky Lionmouth]

Yo!

 

So yeah, i was reading this book series called "Dark Heavens" and discovered a deity i'd almost totally missed (except for an article on "Dark Warrior Ba Gua" in an old magazine a while back): Xuan Tian Shang Di AKA Xuan Wu, the North Wind, Black Turtle and Snake, Emperor of the Four Winds, he is the Water element personified and second only to the Yellow Emperor himself. Pretty serious dude, apparently very popular all over China too.

He's the main male character in the books and it seems the author Kylie Chan is pretty well researched in mythology and martial arts. Apart from using the word "kata", wich really feels inappropriate to me, but i'm into traditional kung fu and therefore picky about terminology (apparently).

I'm liking the novels, it's a lot about impossible romance, friendship and loyalty in a modern day world where Gods, Immortals and Demons can walk the Earthly plane. Great beach-litterature.

 

So i got curious about Xuan Wu and wanted to know how he relates to Daoist practices, both in religion, qi gong and kung fu.

 

It's obvious that he's associated to the Wudang Shan arts and he holds a certain mudra called "Three Mountain Seal" (outstreched index, thumb and long finger connected, ring finger folded and little finger folded over the ring finger). He's got Lu Dongbins magic sword as well.

 

Wudang boxing seems to have a number of styles related to him: Xuan Wu Ba Gua Zhang, Xuan Wu Quan and Xuan Wu Gun (staff form). I'm guessing there's a straight sword form dedicated to him as well.

Being so very Yin i'm also thinking there should be some meditation practices related to him.

 

Wikipedia has a pretty good article about him.

 

So, any of you guys know him better? Or is this perhaps a secret and now you have to kill me?

[Tezjito]

I read her first book in the Dark Heavens trilogy having being attracted by the mythology and I take a deep interest in all things Taoist. The mythology was very well researched and there were a few things that I learned, which peaked my interest more, but I found her writing style, character development and plotting very much like a juvenile or teen fiction book like Twilight or Hunger Games. For this reason I was a little bit disappointed and I was never compelled to read any of the other books. Not to say that I might think about revisiting the series in the future because of the subject matter but her style of writing is not to my liking. I am more into complex plot lines and in depth character development, which is why I prefer Eric Lustbader's Ninja series for its historical as well as spiritual elements. It would be great to find a really good writer tackling the subject of Chinese mythology.