Zhou Tong (archer)

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This is an article about the teacher of Yue Fei. He should not be confused with the Water Margin bandits Zhou Tong and Zhu Tong, the Shu Kingdom officer Zhao Tong, or the Legend of the Condor Hero character Zhou Botong.
Zhou Tong
Zhou Tong stroking his beard.
Zhou Tong stroking his beard.
Teacher of General Yue Fei
Known in English as: Jow Tong, Chow Tong, Chou Tung, Zhou Dong, and Zhou Tong
Chinese: 周侗
Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōu Tóng
Wade-Giles: Chou T’ung
Cantonese: Jau1 Dung6 or Jau1 Tung4
Martial nickname: Iron Arm[1][2][3]
Simplified Chinese: 铁臂
Traditional Chinese: 鐵臂
Hanyu Pinyin: Tiě Bèi
Wade-Giles: T’ieh Pei
Cantonese: Tit3 Bei3

Template:ChineseText Zhou Tong (Chinese: 周侗; pinyin: Zhōu Tóng; d. late 1121 CE) was the archery teacher and second military arts tutor of famous Song Dynasty general Yue Fei. Information regarding his actual life is largely absent in history records. However, the fact that Zhou was Yue Fei's teacher has led to his popularity in Chinese folklore. Various sources portray him as four distinct people with backgrounds in Military and civilian combat arts. Several of these personas are said to have taught these arts to Lin Chong, Lu Junyi, and Wu Song, three of the "108 outlaws" on whom the Water Margin novel is based.[4] Because of his association with these bandits, he is often confused with the similarly named Water Margin character Zhou Tong.[5]

For centuries, Zhou has had an intimate connection with topics related to Yue Fei, including martial arts, film, and literature. Many martial arts styles associated with Yue Fei—Eagle Claw, Chuojiao and Xing Yi—commonly include Zhou Tong within their lineage history.[6] In the folk biography of Yue Fei, Zhou's abilities as a martial artist are described as being "high and strong."[7] However, the oldest historical record that mentions his name only says he taught archery to Yue Fei.[8] Nothing is ever said about him knowing or teaching a specific style of Chinese martial arts. Zhou's character appeared in a string of black and white Yue Fei films during the early half of the 20th century, one of which featured a ten year old Sammo Hung.[9] There is even an individual wuxia novel that focuses on Zhou's fictional adventures as a young man.[1]

History

Mention in Yue family memoirs

On his deathbed, Yue Fei's third son Yue Lin (岳霖, b. 1130)[10] asked his own son, the poet and historian Yue Ke (岳珂, 1183 – post 1240)[11] to complete Yue Fei's memoirs. This two-part memoir was completed in 1203, some sixty years after the general's political execution, but was not published until 1234.[12] It was later rewritten and published under the title Yue Fei Biography as part of a larger dynastic chronology in 1345 during the proceeding Yuan Dynasty.[13] Zhou is only briefly mentioned in the second paragraph of the entire work. It reads, "[Yue Fei] learned archery from Zhou Tong. He learned everything and could fire with his left and right hands. After [Zhou] Tong's death, [Yue Fei] would offer sacrifices at his tomb."[8][14][15]

The unaltered passage from the twenty-eighth chapter of Jin Tuo Xu Pian, the second part of Yue Ke's original published memoir, reads:

"One day, [Chou] T'ung gathered his pupils for an archery session and to display his ability put three arrows in succession into the center of the target.[16] Pointing to the target to show grandfather [Yue Fei], he said: 'After you can perform like this, you can say you are an archer.' Grandfather, thanked him and asked to be allowed to try. He drew his bow, let fly his arrow and struck the end of [Chou T'ung's] arrow. He shot again and again hit the mark. T'ung was greatly amazed and subsequently presented to grandfather his two favorite bows. Thereafter grandfather practiced still more [until] he was able to shoot to the left and right, accurately letting fly the arrow as he moved.[17] When he became a general he taught this to his officers and men so that his whole army became skilled at shooting to the left and right and frequently used this technique to crush the enemy's spirit."[18][19]

The last sentence of the passage is similar to one from the Republican era Biography of Song Yue, Prince of E. It mentions how after the tutor's death, Yue taught what he had learned from Zhou to his soldiers who were victorious in battle.[20]

Tutelage

File:Zhoutong&students.jpg
Zhou teaching Yue archery.

Noted Sinologist Hellmut Wilhelm commented in a research paper that Yue Fei purposely patterned his life after famous Chinese heroes from dynasties past. Despite being literate, giving him a chance to become a scholar, Yue chose the military path because there had never been any tradition of full-fledged Confucian civil service in his family history. Zhou was therefore hired to teach the boy "archery, swordsmanship, and lanceplay."[21] (Although most historical and scholarly sources state Zhou only taught Yue archery.) Western Washington University history professor Edward Kaplan explains the historical Zhou was a "local hao" (豪 - "heroic person").[22] Hao can also mean "a ‘knight errant’ in poetic translation, or in prosaic terms a professional strongman and bodyguard.’"[22] This means Zhou was a local hero from Tangyin County, Anyang prefecture, Henan province (the same as Yue Fei).[23][24]

Zhou was actually Yue's second military arts tutor after a certain Chinese spear master named Chen Guang (陈广). But Dr. Kaplan describes Zhou as the "most important" of the two.[22] The twenty-eighth chapter of Yue Ke's memoir states, "When Yue Fei reached the conferring cap period, his maternal grandfather, Yao Daweng, hired a spear expert, Chen Guang, to teach Yue Fei spear fighting."[25][26] The "conferring cap", or Ji Guan (及冠), refers to an ancient Chinese term that means "twenty years old" where a young man was able to wear a Guan (冠 - "formal cap") as a social status of adulthood.[27][28] Zhou was later hired to teach Yue archery after the boy had rapidly mastered Chen’s spear techniques.[25][29] The Biography of Song Yue, Prince of E states Yue learned the spear from Chen at age eleven and archery from Zhou at thirteen.[20] Zhou continued to teach the boy until his death, prior to Yue's legal adulthood.[21]

Death

Following Zhou's death, Yue became extremely depressed since his tutor had been the greatest influence on his early life.[18] Well after his funeral, Zhou's student would regularly visit his tomb in secret with sacrifices of meat and wine and would shoot three arrows in succession with one of the two bows his tutor had presented him with.[30] (It is never mentioned whether any of Zhou's other archery pupils came to visit his tomb.) Dr. Kaplan comments this continuous unusual display of mourning "went far beyond the ceremonial appropriate for even a highly respected teacher."[18] Hellmut Wilhelm claims even though the display of grief was genuine, it was also a way of emulating his heroic idols and "[establishing himself] in the public eye."[21] Yue Huo later secretly followed his son to the tomb after striking him during an argument at home over his melancholic behavior. There he saw him perform the unorthodox obediences involving the meat, wine, and three arrows. When he finally confronted him, the son confessed that "his gratitude for Chou's instruction could not be requited simply by the usual first and middle of the month ceremonies and so he...shot off the three arrows to symbolize that Chou had been the source of his inspiration as an archer."[31] The proceeding conversation between father and son led Yue to admit that he would gladly die for China if only given the chance. Dr. Kaplan's states this happened just prior to Yue's entrance into the army and that the entire event served as a metaphor for Yue's "entrance into responsible adulthood."[31]

The Chronology of Yue Wumu lists Zhou's death as happening "in 1121 when Yue was nineteen",[29][32] but Yue would have been eighteen in that year since he was born on "the fifteenth day of the second month of 1103."[33] However, the author of the original source material was probably using East Asian age reckoning, in which a child is already considered one year old at birth. Since Yue joined the military shortly after Zhou's death, a relative time frame can be given for when he passed away. During the early months of 1122, the Song empire mobilized its armed forces to assist the Jurchen in confronting their common enemy, the Liao Dynasty.[34] Therefore, it appears that Zhou died in late 1121, before the call to arms was issued.

Fiction

Several sources have been consulted to provide a non-definitive biography for the fictional Zhou. There are numerous oral legends about Zhou that describe events different from those presented below, especially in regards to martial arts, but most of them are not published in reliable sources. Historical facts have been interspersed throughout the following sections to balance out the material.

Adulthood

File:Zhou and his teacher.JPG
Young Zhou and his teacher, Jin Tai.

All fictional sources neglect to mention Zhou’s birth, childhood, or who his parents were. If his early life is depicted, sources begin when Zhou is a young adult in his twenties. However, Zhou’s childhood is alluded to in a drawing from his twentieth century biographical comic book, which is a prequel to the mid Qing Dynasty wuxia fiction The Story of Yue Fei. Zhou is portrayed as having learned martial arts as a child from a high-ranking military-officer named Jin Tai (金台).[35] Jin Tai stars in his own wuxia novel in which Zhou is mentioned.[36]

In the first volume of Zhou’s comic book, the corrupt court minister Tantai Wei has the bandit-chief Yang Jin kidnap Jin Tai’s wife, Lin Yaxian, so he will leave his military post to find her, allowing foreign invaders to enter China's border unimpeded. Zhou discovers where she is being held and gathers the heroes of Wutong Manor to rescue her. He then delivers her back to Jin in Pingnan prefecture.

Since the military situation on the border is urgent, Zhou and Jin return to face the immanent invasion with awaiting Song Dynasty troops. There, Zhou forcefully removes the imperial "war immunity" plaque that forbids military action, beheads the foreign commander Qini Dalang in battle, and reports his victory to the elated troops. Zhou and Jin then vow not to return to the Song court until they reclaim the sections of land taken from China by foreign invaders. During the following volumes, he battles the wicked monks of Stone Buddha Temple, the pirates of Tai Lake, and the armies of the Liao Dynasty and later takes the future-Water Margin bandits Lin Chong and Lu Junyi as his students. The series ends upon his death as an elderly man in The Story of Yue Fei.[37]

Old age

In The Story of Yue Fei, Zhou is a secondary character, appearing in only four chapters (two through five) out of seventy-nine before his death. Zhou first appears seven years after newborn Yue Fei and his mother, Lady Yao (姚夫人), are swept from Henan to Hubei by the Yellow River flood and rescued by Wang Ming (王明), a country squire and Zhou's friend. Zhou comes from Hebei to Hubei to inspect land purchased with the earnings saved from teaching military skills to the millionaire Lu Junyi. During his stay, he becomes the new precept of the Wang estate in Unicorn Village, home to brutal children known for berating and expelling their tutors. The following day, Zhou has a confrontation with a child wielding an iron ruler as a weapon. He dodges the child’s advances and quickly makes an example of him by beating him soundly in front of the other children. From this time forward, the children are submissive and concentrate on their studies.

Meanwhile, seven year old Yue stands on a stool and secretly eavesdrops on Zhou's lectures. One day, Zhou presents a literary examination for his three pupils to finish when he is called away from the classroom by a visitor. Seeing that the tutor is gone, Yue Fei ventures inside the classroom to look around and is captured by Wang Gui (王贵), the Squire’s son. Knowing that he was well educated by his mother, the boys ask Yue to finish their exams so they can visit their mothers, a clever guise for playing outside. Wang Gui locks him inside of the classroom so he can’t escape before finishing. After easily completing the task, he writes a heroic poem on a whitewashed wall and signs it with his name. As Zhou returns, the children burst into the classroom and tell Yue Fei to run before he is caught. The teacher later grades their exams to find that someone had answered them in their stead. After reading Yue Fei’s poem and admonishing the children for their lies, Zhou sends Wang Gui to invite Yue Fei to the classroom. When he arrives, Zhou questions Yue about his style name and his family background. Zhou then asks Yue to fetch his mother so he can discuss important matters with her. With the entire Wang household assembled in the main hall, Zhou asks Lady Yao for her blessing to have Yue as his adopted son and student. After some polite protest, she consents and Yue Fei knocks his head on the ground eight times to complete the adoption. The following day, Yue takes his seat amongst Zhou's students. Because Zhou knows Yue is poor, he commands the four students to become sworn brothers. Zhou also begins to teach Yue all of the eighteen weapons of war.

Zhou adopts Yue.

Six years later, Zhou takes the group to visit his old friend, the abbot of a small Buddhist temple on the "Hill of Dripping Water". Thirteen year old Yue wanders behind the temple and finds the "Cave of Dripping Water", in which lives a magical snake. When it lunges at Yue, he dodges to one side and pulls on its tail with his supernatural strength, turning it into an eighteen foot long, gold-plated spear named the "Supernatural Spear of Dripping Water". When they return home, Zhou begins to drill all of his students in the military arts—eighteen weapons of war, archery, and hand-to-hand combat. After three years of practice, Zhou enters them into a preliminary military examination in Tangyin in which sixteen year old Yue wins first place by shooting a succession of nine arrows through the bullseye of a target two hundred and forty paces away. After his display of marksmanship, Yue is asked to marry the daughter of Li Chun (李春), an old friend of Zhou's and the county magistrate who presided over the military exams. Father and son then return home to their village.

Magistrate Li writes out a marriage certificate and dispatches a messenger to deliver the document to Yue Fei in Unicorn Village. Zhou and Yue set out at dawn and travel back to Tangyin to thank the Magistrate for his generosity and kindness. There, Li prepares a great feast for them, but when food is brought out for any servants that might have accompanied them, Zhou comments that they had come on foot without help. Li decides to let Yue pick from any one of his thousands of horses because every able military man needs a strong steed. After finishing their feast, Zhou and Yue thank Li once again and leave Tangyin to return home. During their journey, Zhou recommends that Yue runs the horse to test its speed. Yue spurs the horse on leaving Zhou in pursuit. When they reach the village gate, the two dismount and Zhou returns to his study where he feels hot from the race and removes his outer garments to fan himself. But he soon falls ill and stays bedridden for seven days until he passes away at age seventy-nine. After Buddhist and Taoist priests chant prayers over his body for forty-nine days, Zhou is laid to rest beside the Hill of Dripping Water. Yue lives in a shed by his grave through the winter and in the second lunar month of the following year, his martial brothers come and pull the building down, forcing him to return home and take care of his mother.[38]

Personal life

According to The Story of Yue Fei, Zhou was from Shaanxi Province and was married with a son.[39] But Zhou comments his "old wife" died and his "small son" was killed in battle against the Liaos after leaving with Lu Junyi to fight in the war.[40] In Zhou's comic book, his wife is named as Meng Cuiying (孟翠英) and his son, Zhou Yunqing (周云清).[41] He defeats Meng in a lei tai martial arts contest and wins her as his wife.[42] According to the Water Margin, Lu Junyi left to fight the Liao sometime after the Outlaws' rebellion, which would put Zhou Yunqing's fictional death around 1123. But there is some conflicting information between the interconnected story lines.

Zhou later asks for seven year old Yue Fei to be his adopted son and sole heir from the boy's mother, Lady Yao:

"I see that [Yue Fei] is clever and handsome and I, an old man, wish to have him as my adopted son[43] ... He need change neither his name nor his surname. I only want him to call me father temporarily so that I can faithfully transmit all the skills I have learned in my life to a single person. Later, when I die, all he has to do is to bury my old bones in the earth and not allow them to be exposed, and that is all."[44]

Lady Yao consents and Yue Fei knocks his head on the floor eight times to finalize the adoption. However, the adoption is fictional since it is never mentioned in Yue's historical biographies. In addition, the historical Zhou was from Henan,[23][22] not Shaanxi, and there is insufficient historical evidence to support any personal information regarding what family he may or may not have had.

Students

Water Margin bandits

See also: Index of the 108 heroes
A 1886 block print by Yoshitoshi, depicting Lin Chong outside the Temple of the Mountain Spirit, after he has killed Lu Qian and all his other captors.

According to various sources, Zhou took the future-Water Margin bandits Lin Chong Lu Junyi, and Wu Song as his students. One source even counts the villain Shi Wen-gong among them.[45] Another implies Zhou was the martial arts grandmaster of Yan Qing, Lu Junyi's adopted son.[4] The Story of Yue Fei reads:

"Zhou Tong had been the tutor of Lin Chong, an instructor of eight thousand Imperial Guards; and he also taught military skills to Lu Junyi, a millionaire of the Prefecture of Da Ming in Henan Province, whose ability in military matters was also considerable."[46]

Zhou is portrayed as openly lamenting the death of Lin and Lu, who die years before he takes Yue as his student, on more than one occasion.[47] The Water Margin states Lin Chong was "about thirty-five years old" at the beginning of the story, which means Zhou would have, according to the in-universe chronology, taken him as his pupil before his appointment as the weapons instructor of the Imperial Guards. Zhou's comic book has him taking Lin and Lu as his students when they were still children.[48] Wu Song is not included among his students in The Story of Yue Fei or the comic book, but the folktale Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance counts him as being among his pupils.[49]

The Story of Yue Fei says he taught Lin and Lu literary and military lessons.[50] According to Northern Praying Mantis lineage Master Yuen Man Kai, Zhou taught Lin and Lu the "same school" of martial arts that was later combined with seventeen other schools to create Mantis fist.[51] This combination of various schools refers to an eighteenth century martial arts manual that describes the highly debated gathering of eighteen masters at the Shaolin Monastery that supposedly took place during the early years of the Song Dynasty.[52] Lin Chong and Yan Qing are listed as two of the eighteen masters invited, which means their skills of Mandarin Duck Leg and stick and ground fighting are treated as two separate schools, instead of one. But he believes Mantis fist was created during the Ming Dynasty, and was therefore influenced by these eighteen schools from the Song. He also says Lu Junyi taught Yan Qing the same martial arts as he learned from Zhou.[4] Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance states he taught Wu the "rolling dragon" style of swordplay utilizing the Chinese broadsword.[53]

However, there is no historical evidence to support the claim that Zhou was their teacher. These fictionalized bandits were not mentioned in Yue Ke's memoirs or the Yue Fei Biography. Nor is Zhou Tong, not to be confused with the similarly named "Little King", ever mentioned in the Water Margin written prior to 1540 during the Ming Dynasty.[54] But one to two hundred years later, two of the three bandits appear as Zhou's pupils in the The Story of Yue Fei initially published in 1684 or 1744 during the early Qing Dynasty.[55] This could mean the connection was born from popular legend and later added to the novel or visa versa.

Yue Fei

The Story of Yue Fei also comments Lu Junyi was Zhou's last student prior to taking on seven year old Yue Fei and his three sworn-brothers Wang Gui, Tang Huai (湯懷) and Zhang Xian (張顯). He taught them literary and military lessons on even and odd days. The novel says Yue was talented in all manners of "literary and military matters" and even surpassed the skill of Lin and Lu.[50] After Yue Fei acquired his "Supernatural Spear of Dripping Water", Zhou tutored all of his students in the eighteen weapons of war, but each excelled with one in particular; Yue Fei and Tang Huai, the spear; Zhang Xian, the "Hook-Sickle" spear and Wang Gui, the Yanyue Dao. All of them learned the skill of archery in addition.[46] The three are mentioned in Yue Ke's memoir as being his grandfather's childhood friends, but they are never portrayed as being Zhou's students.[56]

The "Four Generals of Zhongxing" painted by Liu Songnian during the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei is the second person from the left.

Non-scholarly sources written by modern-day martial artists say Yue became Zhou’s student after working as a tenant farmer for the official-general Han Qi (韓琦, 1008–1075).[57] (This is, of course, impossible since Han Qi died almost 30 years before Yue's birth.)[58] During this time, he supposedly learned all types of military weapons, horseback riding, and hand-to-hand combat. The same source claims Yue later created Xingyi and Eagle Claw boxing from his internal and external training under Zhou.[59] Yue historically worked as a tenant farmer and bodyguard for descendants of Han Qi in 1124 after leaving the military upon the death of his father in late 1122,[60] but he learned from Zhou well before this time.[58][61] Practitioners of Emei Dapeng Qigong believe Yue trained under Zhou as a child and competed to become China’s top fighter at an early age. Their lineage story dictates Zhou also took Yue to a "Buddhist hermit" who taught him said qigong style.[62] Master Yuen says Zhou taught him the "same school" of martial arts as he did Lin and Lu, which would make Yue a legendary proponent of one of the eighteen schools fused to create Northern Praying Mantis boxing.[4] One source even claims the skills Yue learned from Zhou and later adapted to create his own style were later discovered and wielded by Bai Mei during the Qing Dynasty.[63]

Conflicting information

Because both novels are fiction, the Water Margin and The Story of Yue Fei have conflicting information when the two stories cross. One example is that the former states Lin Chong is the arms instructor of eight hundred thousand imperial guards,[64] while the latter says it was only eight thousand.[46] But this might be an error made by one of the translators. A second example would be that The Story of Yue Fei says Lu Junyi is from the "Prefecture of Da Ming in Henan Province." It also says Zhou taught Lu in the "Eastern Capital".[46] However, in the Water Margin’s sixieth chapter it reads, "Lu Junyi ... is one of the Three Remarkable Men of Hebei province."[65] During the Song Dynasty, the "Eastern Capital" was Kaifeng. The "Northern Capital" of the era was Beijing and it resided in Daming Prefecture of Hebei province.[66] Therefore, the fictional Lu Junyi in the Water Margin was from Beijing and not Kaifeng. It must be taken into account that the Water Margin was published over a century before The Story of Yue Fei.

Modern sources record Yue Fei as being born in 1103.[67] The Story of Yue Fei states Zhou took Yue as his student and adopted son when he was seven years old, which would be 1110 if the fictional chronology is matched up with the historical. During this time, Zhou comments that his students Lin Chong and Lu Junyi were previously killed by evil officials.[40] However, the Water Margin says the bandits are not given imperial amnesty and orders to fight various enemies of the crown (that is, Fang La, Wang Qing, Tian Hu, and the Liaos)[68] until 1123.[69] Lu's poison-related drowning does not take place until after he returns from war and is made governor of Luzhou prefecture.[70] That is at least a thirteen year difference in story chronology. In addition, Lin Chong is stricken with paralysis and dies from the illness six months after returning from war.[71] In this version of the story, he is not killed by officials.

In chapters twenty-three through twenty-six of the Water Margin, Wu Song fights a man-eating tiger in Shandong and then later takes an assignment to Kaifeng early the following year. The folktale "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" says Wu fought the tiger in the "Xuanhe year [1119]" (the emphasis belongs to the original author)[72] and Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance, which is from the same school of storytelling, states this happened "in the middle of the tenth month".[73] This can be taken to refer to the tenth lunar month of 1119. The Water Margin comments after delivering the gold "[Wu] spent a few days looking around the busy streets...then returned to Yangyu with his men. The whole mission had taken exactly two months ... It was the end of winter when Wu Song had departed. When he returned it was the start of the third lunar month [of 1120]."[74] Meeting Zhou By Chance records Wu learned swordplay from Zhou Tong while on this assignment.[53] However, The Story of Yue Fei states Zhou "passed away in the ninth month" of the year Yue Fei was sixteen (1119).[75] It also comments Yue lived by Zhou’s grave for five months and "soon the winter had gone and suddenly it was the second month of the year [1120] when, according to ancient custom, one should worship at the graves of those near and dear to him."[76] If the Water Margin and The Story of Yue Fei are compared, Zhou died in Hubei before Wu set off on his mission to Kaifeng, Henan province. These two storylines have a six month chronology difference in regards to Zhou's time of death.

Martial arts

Main article: Military and civilian combat arts of Zhou Tong

There is insufficient historical evidence to support the claim he knew any skills beyond archery. Yue Ke never once mentions Zhou teaching his grandfather boxing. Despite this, various wuxia novels and folk legends have attributed many different kinds of military and civilian martial arts to Zhou. These range from mastery of the bow, double swords and Chinese spear to that of Wudang hard qigong, Chuojiao boxing and even magical X-ray eyes.

Zhou can also be linked to these combat arts through his historical and folklore students. Practitioners of Eagle Claw, Chuojiao and Xingyi commonly include him within their lineage history because of his association with Yue Fei, the supposed progenitor of these styles. He is also linked to Northern Praying Mantis boxing through his students Lin Chong and Yan Qing, the adopted son of Lu Junyi. One folktale even represents him as a master of Drunken Eight Immortals boxing.[77]

Very few references are made to the people who supposedly taught martial arts to Zhou's fictional personas. In his comic book, Zhou learned as a child from the military-officer Jin Tai.[35] Practitioners of Chuojiao claim he learned the style from its creator, a wandering Taoist named Deng Liang.[78] Another person was Han De, a "chivalrous person" from Shaanxi.[63]

Fictional death

Yue making obediences to Zhou on his death bed.

During their journey to visit the Buddhist abbot in The Story of Yue Fei, Zhou marvels at the beauty of a "smaller hill to the southeast of the Hill of Dripping Water".[79] He asks who the land belongs to and luckily it is the property of the Wang family. He tells his students that the hill has good geomancy and that he wishes to be buried there upon his death. A few chapters later, Zhou develops a fever brought on by an exciting horse race between him and sixteen year old Yue Fei. Before his death, he tells his friends to make sure their sons do not leave Yue’s side. Otherwise they will never make a name for themselves. Then the book describes his death and burial:

"Having uttered these words, his phlegm bubbled up and he died. This was on the fourteenth day of the ninth month in the seventeenth year of the Reign of Xuan He, and his age was seventy-nine ... Buddhist and Taoist Priests were asked to come and chant prayers, for seven times seven, namely forty-nine days. Then the body was taken up to be buried beside the Hill of Dripping Water."[76]

The quoted death date is not reliable because the book is fiction, but also because the Xuan He reign era of Emperor Huizong lasted only seven years (1119–1125) and not seventeen.[80] Although The Story of Yue Fei states Zhou died shortly before sixteen year old Yue took a wife, he historically died three years after Yue married and fathered his first child.[29] It is likely that the original author invented this fictional date.

Description

Illustration of an elderly Zhou Tong from his fictional wuxia biography.

He is generally portrayed as an elderly man. In The Story of Yue Fei he is said to be seventy-nine years old and in the Yue Fei Biography, another wuxia fiction not to be confused with the historical Yue Fei Biography, he is said to be over the age of sixty.[81][76] According to Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance, "[Zhou] was beyond the age of fifty, he was more than fifty, and standing upright he measured about eight feet. His face had a golden tan, arched brows, a pair of bright eyes, a regular head form, a square mouth, a pair of protruding ears, and under his chin there were three locks of beard, a grizzled beard [which he tied into a knot to avoid cutting it off during sword practice]. On his head he wore a sky-blue satin scarf, and he was dressed in a stately sky-blue satin coat with a silken girdle, a pair of wide black trousers without crotch and satin boots with thin soles."[82]

Heroes and religious masters with above normal height are a reoccurring theme in Chinese folklore. For instance, his student Wu Song is said to be over nine feet tall in the same folktale.[83] In The Story of Yue Fei, Yue Fei simultaneously duels with two other warriors vying for first place in a military exam; one is nine feet tall and the other is eight feet tall.[84] A Hagiography of the Taoist saint Zhang Daoling states he was over seven feet tall.[85]

In his comic book, young Zhou is portrayed as having a topknot tied with a red ribbon, dark tan skin, large arching eyebrows, a thin nose and square jaw. On top of his stocky frame, he wears a long blue tunic with a yellow neck, white undershirt, and black forearm guards in which he hides throwing darts. His entire waist is wrapped in a brown protective military girdle, which is fastened with a red belt and large black circular belt buckle. Various buttons on the girdle allow him to carry his weapons: a single, melon-shaped meteor hammer hangs from a chain to his front right side, while a Chinese broad sword hangs to his rear left side. At the bottom of his white trousers, he wears embroidered black, pointed-toe boots with thin white soles. [86]

A wall mural in Yue’s Mausoleum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province portrays Zhou as a very large, stocky elderly man with a black bandana on his head and a long white beard that spills over his chest like a waterfall. He wears a light blue-gray tunic with dark blue-trimmed lapels and sleeves and a cream-colored undershirt. The tunic is secured with a golden rope belt that is tied in the front and dangles to his knees. Below his olive green trousers, he wears black pointed-toe boots with gray trim around the toes and thin white soles.

When Zhou is vocalized in "Yangzhou storytelling", he speaks in "Square mouth public talk", which is a manner of speaking reserved for martial heroes, highly respected characters, or, sometimes, lesser characters that "pose as if they 'are somebody'."[87] Square mouth public talk is actually a mixture of two forms of dialogue. Fangkou ("square mouth") is a manner of steady, yet forceful over pronunciation of dialogue that was possibly influenced by Northern Chinese opera.[88] Guanbai ("public talk") is monologue and dialogue that is sometimes used for "imposing heroes".[89] This mixture of styles means Zhou Tong is treated as a highly regarded hero.

Four personas

Various sources render Zhou as four distinct, yet interchangeable people: Shaolin monk, martial–scholar, Chinese knight-errant, and instructor of military skills. The first one is mentioned the least, while the last three occur and cross-over the most.

Shaolin monk

Eagle Claw boxing Grandmasters Leung Shum and Lily Lau believe Zhou was a full-fledged Shaolin monk who brought Yue Fei to the famed monastery and taught him various boxing styles, most notably qinna joint-locking techniques that would later be adapted and expanded by Yue to create Eagle Claw.[90][91] One source says Zhou sought refuge in the mountains after being forced from his office as abbot of Shaolin for political reasons.[45] However, none of Yue's various biographies or any modern day scholarly works about the General mention Zhou in this capacity.

File:Zhoupic7.jpg
Young Zhou wielding a long spear in battle against a soldier of the Liao Dynasty.
Martial–scholar

A martial-scholar is someone who is "adept with the pen and the sword."[51] Internalist Dr. Yang Jwing Ming believes Zhou was a scholar who studied at the Shaolin temple to attain his martial arts skills.[57] Northern Praying Mantis lineage Master Yuen Man Kai says Zhou was not only a teacher of Chinese linguistics, but Chinese martial arts as well.[51] (It must be noted that he does not mention Zhou as being a Shaolin master.) The Story of Yue Fei states Yue Fei "wanted [Zhou] to teach him poems and compositions and to instruct him in the arts of war."[44] General Zong Ze (宗澤), one of Yue's first military commanders, comments in the book that he heard about how Zhou refused to become an official.[92] Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance states Zhou is "an expert in civilian and military matters."[2]

Chinese knight–errant

These were lawless people who wandered the land protecting common folk from bandits and oppressive regimes enacted by courtly officials. Unlike their European counterpart, they did not come from any social caste and were anything from butchers to poets.[93] Zhou's portrayal as such is directly connected to his fictional Water Margin students since the novel is considered one of the best examples of Chinese knight-errant literature.[94] In Yangzhou Storytelling, Zhou is treated as a revered hero. For example, Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance says "Among the itinerant people of the rivers and lakes [Zhou] was of illustrious fame, a fame reverberating like thunder."[2] The "rivers and lakes" is a reference to the underworld society known as Jiang Hu, in which the knights live.[95] Jiang Hu originally referred to the place in which "hermits" retired to escape the stress of official office or hid as a way of declining the office altogether.[95] As previously mentioned, The Story of Yue Fei states Zhou refused to become an official. The idea of Zhou as a knight-errant has become common place for some Chinese. For example, Veteran martial arts actor Yu Cheng Hui, who played the villain "Wang Renzhe" in Shaolin Temple and "Master Shadow-Glow" in Seven Swords,[96] referred to Zhou in a 2005 interview as the "Shaanxi knight-errant Iron Arm, Zhou Tong."[3][97]

Instructor of military skills

There are numerous times in The Story of Yue Fei when Zhou is referred to as a master of military skills or his students are praised for their military abilities. One good example of this is Lin Chong who is the arms instructor for eight thousand imperial guards.[46] A 1930’s Xingyi boxing manual says the "military leader Zhou Tong" taught Yue the "deployment of troops" apart from archery.[98] Of course there is the previously discussed historical information that refers to Zhou as Yue's "most important military tutor."[22]

In popular culture

Main article: Media about Zhou Tong

Zhou has appeared in various types of media; including black and white films, wuxia novels, and folktales. He namely appears in material dealing with Yue Fei, but also in media about his other students and even his own fictional biography and comic book.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Wang, Yun Heng (汪运衡) and Xiao Yun Long (筱云龙). Tie Bei Jin Dao Zhou Tong Zhuan (铁臂金刀周侗传 - "Iron Arm, Golden Broadsword: The Biography of Zhou Tong"). Hangzhou: Zhejiang People's Publishing House, 1986 (UBSN --- Union Books and Serials Number) CN (10103.414) and 464574
  2. ^ a b c Børdahl, Vibeke. The Oral Traditions of Yangzhou Storytelling. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1996 (ISBN 0-7007-0436-1), pg. 376
  3. ^ a b Template:Zh icon Liang Lijie. "Shandong actor would like to portray Zhou Dong and make him popular". Populace daily paper. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Yuen, Man Kai. Northern Mantis Black Tiger Intersectional Boxing. Wanchai, Hong Kong: Yih Mei Book Co. Ltd., 1991 (ISBN 962-325-195-5), pg. 8
  5. ^ Template:Es icon Rodrigo Wolf Apolloni. "Shaolin to Brazil: Study on the Presence and Transformation of Eastern Religious Elements in Kung Fu Practiced in Brazil" (PDF). The Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. Retrieved 2007-07-17. See number 6 on page 4. Notice the author portrays him as the bandit from the Water Margin and spells his name as 周通, instead of the correct 周侗.
  6. ^ "Eagle Claw Lineage". Eagle Claw Kung Fu Society. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  7. ^ Qian, Cai. General Yue Fei. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd.,1995 (ISBN 978-962-04-1279-0), pg. 94
  8. ^ a b Toktoghan (脫脫). Song Shi-Yue Fei Zhuan (宋史·岳飞传 – "History of the Song: Yue Fei Biography") (Volume 365), 1345. A rewritten version of Yue Ke's memoir. (See also, "岳飞子云 [[:Template:Zh icon]]". Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help))
  9. ^ Template:Zh icon "Yue Fei Chu Shi". China Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  10. ^ Kaplan, Edward Harold. Yueh Fei and the founding of the Southern Sung. Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Iowa, 1970. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1970. (rare bound edition published in 1972), pg. 16
  11. ^ B. J. ter Haar. "Newly Recovered Anecdotes from Hong Mai's (1123-1202) Yijian zhi" (PDF). Sinological Institute, Leiden. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  12. ^ Kaplan: pg. 2
  13. ^ Wright, Arthur F., and Denis Crispin Twitchett. Confucian Personalities. Stanford studies in the civilizations of eastern Asia. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1962 (ISBN 0804700443), pg. 147
  14. ^ Selby, Stephen. Chinese Archery. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2000 (ISBN 9622095011), pg. 258
  15. ^ "學射与周侗，盡其術，能左右射。侗死，溯望設祭于其冢。"
  16. ^ Shooting three successive arrows was known as "three-in-row", which was one of the "Five Archery Techniques" according to the Tang Dynasty archery manual of Wang Ju (王琚) - Selby: pg. 202
  17. ^ This sentence refers to a technique taught to Song calvary archers that involved them "[moving] their feet in co-ordination with their draw so that they could advance or retreat and shoot at the same time." - Selby: pg. 242
  18. ^ a b c Kaplan: pg. 11
  19. ^ Li, Hanhuan (李汉魂). Yue Wumu Nianpu (岳武穆年谱 – "Chronology of Yue Wumu"). Shanghai: Shangwu Press, 1947 - Chapter 4, pg. 3b
  20. ^ a b Henning, Stanley E., M.A. "Chinese General Yue Fei: Martial Arts Facts, Tales and Mysteries". Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Vol. 15 #4, 2006: 30-35, pg. 31
  21. ^ a b c Wright: pg. 149
  22. ^ a b c d e Kaplan: pg. 10
  23. ^ a b Hammond, Kenneth James. "The Human Tradition in Premodern China". Human tradition around the world, no. 4. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002. (ISBN 0842029591), pg. 95
  24. ^ Kaplan: pg. 5
  25. ^ a b Yue, Ke (岳柯). Jin Tuo Xu Pian (金佗续编), 1234 - Chapter 28, pg. 16
  26. ^ "岳飞及冠时,外祖父姚大翁聘请当时的枪手陈广教授岳飞枪法。"
  27. ^ "English-Chinese Dictionary". chinese-tools.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17. Type "ji guan" for a definition. The link works after double clicking twice.
  28. ^ Li Yang. "A Study of the Gender and Religious Implications of Nü Guan" (PDF). Department of Religion at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 2007-07-17. See page 18.
  29. ^ a b c Kaplan: pg. 13
  30. ^ This means the tomb was somewhere close to his home.
  31. ^ a b Kaplan: pg. 12
  32. ^ Li, 1947: pg. 9
  33. ^ Kaplan: pages 3-4
  34. ^ Kaplan: pg. 32
  35. ^ a b Xiong, Ti (匈棣). Zhou Tong Zhuan Qi (周侗传奇 – "The Legend of Zhou Tong") (Vol. 1-10). Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House (浙江美术 出版社), 1987 - Vol. 1, pg. 8
  36. ^ Lou, Yun He (楼云和). Jin Tai San Da Shaolin Si (金台三打少林寺 - "Jin Tai has three fights with the Shaolin Monastery"). Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House (浙江文艺出版社), 1986
  37. ^ Xiong: Vol. 10, pg. 109
  38. ^ Qian: pages 24-57
  39. ^ Qian: pg. 24
  40. ^ a b Qian: pg. 25
  41. ^ Xiong
  42. ^ Xiong: Vol. 2, pages 68-75
  43. ^ Qian: pg. 33
  44. ^ a b Qian: pg. 34
  45. ^ a b "The Creation of Xing Yi". Cai Wen Yu Association of Traditional Martial Art and Chinese Culture. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  46. ^ a b c d e Qian: pg. 39
  47. ^ Qian: pages 25 and 33
  48. ^ Xiong
  49. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pages 365-376
  50. ^ a b Qian: pages 39-40
  51. ^ a b c Yuen: pg. 7
  52. ^ "Luohan Xinggong Duan Da". Journal of Sport History and Culture (体育文史), No.1, (2001). P.36-37,9 (ISSN 1671-1572)
  53. ^ a b Børdahl, Vibeke. Four Masters Of Chinese Storytelling: Full-length Repertoires Of Yangzhou Storytelling On Video. Nordic Institute of Asian Studies; Bilingual edition, 2004 (ISBN 8-7911-1464-0), pg. 166
  54. ^ Embree, Ainslie Thomas. Encyclopedia of Asian History. New York: Scribner, 1988 (ISBN 0684186195), pg. 293
  55. ^ Degkwitz, Jochen. Yue Fei und sein Mythos. Die Entwicklung der Yue-Fei-Saga bis zum, Shuo Yue quan zhuan. Chinathemen 13, Ed. Helmut Martin, Volker Klapsch and Martin Krott (Bochum: N Brockmeyer, 1983 (ISBN 3883393215)
  56. ^ Kaplan: pg. 8
  57. ^ a b Liang, Shou-Yu and Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. Xingyiquan: Theory, Applications, Fighting Tactics and Spirit. Boston: YMAA Publication Center, 2002. (ISBN 978-0-940871-41-0), pg. 15
  58. ^ a b Wright: pg. 150
  59. ^ Liang, 2002: pg. 16
  60. ^ Kaplan: pg. 37
  61. ^ Liu, James T. C. "Yueh Fei (1103-41) and China's Heritage of Loyalty." The Journal of Asian Studies. Vol. 31, No. 2 (Feb., 1972), pp. 291-297, pg. 291
  62. ^ Liang, Shou-Yu, Wen-Ching Wu, and Denise Breiter-Wu. Qigong Empowerment: A Guide to Medical, Taoist, Buddhist, Wushu Energy Cultivation. The Way of the Dragon, Limited, 1996 (ISBN 1-8896-5902-9), pg. 321
  63. ^ a b Master Zhang Han Xiong. "A Brief History of Penang Yue Fei Martial Art Centre". Martial Arts Gathering. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  64. ^ Shi, Nai’an and Luo Guanzhong. Outlaws of the Marsh. Trans. Sidney Shapiro. Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1993 (ISBN 7-119-01662-8), pg. 10
  65. ^ Shi: pg. 1284
  66. ^ Ulrich Theobald. "Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279): government, administration and law. A political system balancing between military and civil officials". China Knowledge. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  67. ^ Wright: pg. 146
  68. ^ Liu, 1967: pg. 110
  69. ^ Goodrich, L. Carrington. "Outlaws of the Marsh. Volumes I & II by Shi Nai'an, Luo Guanzhong, Sidney Shapiro". Pacific Affairs, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Spring, 1982), pg. 113-115
  70. ^ Shi: pages 2123-2124
  71. ^ Shi: pages 2104-2105
  72. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pg. 262
  73. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pg. 375
  74. ^ Shi: pg. 43
  75. ^ Qian: pg. 63
  76. ^ a b c Qian: pg. 57
  77. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pg. 373
  78. ^ "Chuo Jiao Fist". Plum Publications. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  79. ^ Qian: pg. 35
  80. ^ Li, Feng. Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC. Cambridge University Press, 2006 (ISBN 0521852722), pg. 325
  81. ^ Huanzhulouzhu (還珠樓主). Yue Fei Zhuan (岳飛傳 – "Yue Fei Biography"). Taiyuan: Shanxi People's Publishing Agency: Hengshan article publishing house (太原 : 山西人民出版社 : 北岳文藝出版社), 1998 (ISBN 720303738X)
  82. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pages 366-367
  83. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pg. 370
  84. ^ Qian: pg. 102
  85. ^ Wong, Eva. Tales of the Taoist Immortals. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2001 (ISBN 1-57062-809-2), pg. 77
  86. ^ Xiong: Various drawings from throughout the series. The color of each garment is taken from the cover of Vol. 3
  87. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pages. 92 and 94
  88. ^ Børdahl, 1996: pg. 84
  89. ^ Børdahl, 1996: Footnote #38, pg. 84
  90. ^ Leung, Shum and Jeanne Chin. The Secrets of Eagle Claw Kung Fu: Ying Jow Pai. Tuttle martial arts. Boston: Tuttle Pub, 2001 (ISBN 0804832153), pages 13 and 15
  91. ^ Lily Lau and Cindy Lee (July 28 2007). "Eagle Claw Fan Tsi Moon & Lau Fat Mang's History - Part I". Kung Fu Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  92. ^ Qian: pg. 94
  93. ^ Liu, James J.Y. The Chinese Knight Errant. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967 (ISBN 0-2264-8688-5), pg. 54
  94. ^ Liu, 1967: pages 108-116
  95. ^ a b Kennedy, Brian, and Elizabeth Guo. Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey. Berkeley, Calif: North Atlantic Books, 2005 (ISBN 1556435576), pg. 75
  96. ^ "Yu Cheng Hui". Hong Kong Cinemagic. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  97. ^ "陕西大侠铁臂膀周侗"
  98. ^ Jin, Yunting. The Xingyi Boxing Manual: Hebei Style's Five Principles and Seven Words. Trans. John Groschwitz. North Atlantic Books; New edition, 2004 (ISBN 1-5564-3473-1), pg. 40

External links

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