Quanjing 拳經

Quanjing 拳經 is the title of several books on fist-fighting.

One of them was compiled during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Chen Songquan 陳松泉 and Zhang Ming'e 張鳴鶚 (jinshi degree 1589) according to the instructions of Xuanji 玄機, a monk in Shaolin Monastery 少林寺. It was supplemented and revised during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Zhang Kongzhao 張孔昭 (c. 1700), courtesy name 横秋, and then commented on by Cao Huandou 曹煥斗 (fl. 1784).

The book provides, in a question-and-answer pattern, the essentials of fist fighting and martial arts. The methods described in the text show that Zhang Kongzhao was a disciple of Shaolin martial arts. The text is included in the series Miaoyuan congshu 邈園叢書.

In Republican editions, the book is called Xuanji mishou xuedao quanjue 玄機秘授穴道拳訣 (1930) or Quanjing quanfa beiyao 拳經拳法備要 (1936). The latter title was chosen because the book consists of two parts, the first of which explains the guidelines of boxing (quanjing 拳經), while the second one expounds methods (quanfa 拳法). Most editions rely on the edition of the Yinyin Lodge 蟫隱廬.

Another book with the title was published in 1918 by the Shanghai Dasheng Tushuju 上海大聲圖書局, and is a collection of various writings on fist-fighting. Some of the rules were written by unknown authors, like che chapters Shibazi jue 十八字訣, Chushou zongjue 出手總訣, Qiyan gejue 七言歌訣, Qinna jiefa 擒拿解法 or Konglian shi'er ze 空練二十則, but others were compiled by famous authors like Qi Jiguang's 戚繼光 (1528-1588) Changshou sanshi'er shi tu 長拳三十二勢圖, Huang Baijia's 黃百家 (1643-1709) Neijia juanfa 內家拳法, or the text Shaolin zongfa 少林宗法 compiled in the monastery of the same name. The third of the four fascicles is dedicated to the description of how breath, blood vessels and muscles (Qixue shuo 氣血說, Jieluo jie 筋絡解) operate, while the last juan focuses on training and medical care.