Shang Family Panshan Northern Shaolin Temple Boxing

Shang Family Northern Shaolin Temple Boxing
The Bei Shaolin Wushu system has been passed down for 6 generations within the Shang family of Gonglaoting village of Ji county in Tianjin.
The family originated from Tieling in Liaoning and served in the Plain Blue Banner since the time of Nuharchi. Later, family members went south with the invading Manchu army settling in Beijing and in the 18th century moved to Gonglaoting village at the foot of Mt. Pan in Ji county, Tianjin.
The family practice of this style traces back to Shang Shizhi 1795 - 1880.
As the child of a banner family, Shang Shizhi received a traditional Chinese education while simultaneously being trained in martial skills by his father.
At the age of 10 his father hired a skilled teacher of martial arts to tutor him. The man was very quiet about his past and after 2 years he was arrested by the local magistrate as an escaped criminal. Although after arrest he broke free and fled during transport.
After this, his father took the then 12 year old Shang Shizhi up the mountain to request instruction at the Northern Shaolin Temple. There he became a student of monk Jingli, under whom he studied Bei Shaolin martial arts for 6 years.
At the age of 18, in recognition of his skills, he is said to have been given a position as an Imperial Guard of the inner court. A year or two later he was sent as an official messenger to make a delivery to Henan province. On the road he stopped for water at a Daoist temple. The priest there was very skilled and after talking, suggested that Shang go to Songshan Shaolin for further training.
Applying for leave he left the military and, using an introduction from his previous teacher in Bei Shaolin, he was allowed to study martial arts at the Songshan temple where he stayed for 4 years.
In the aftermath of the 1st Opium War, Shang Shizhi became very concerned about foreign aggression. He began to teach martial arts widely to many people, opening a number of schools between Tianjin and the eastern outskirts of Beijing. He eventually became famous throughout the region and his students carried on his teachings to defend the country
In the following generations, the Shang family continued to be known for their martial skills and many people in Ji county came to them to learn Shaolin martial arts.
During the invasion of the 8 Nation Alliance, one of his students led local volunteers to help fight to keep the invading troops from reaching Beijing
During the mid 20th century, a disciple of Shang Family Shaolin served as the saber instructor for the 29th army Big Saber unit and several inheritors helped lead the rebellion against the Japanese that took place in Ji county.
There are many tales of the bravery of the Shang family Shaolin inheritors who fought and died fighting against foreign armies during the Boxer Uprising and the Japanese Invasion in WWII.
The Shang family Northern Shaolin martial arts contain a large number of forms and practices including hand sets, various weapon sets, two person sets, martial Gongfa, health practices, medical treatment skills, herbal medicine, liniments, etc.
Northern Shaolin temple history
The temple was founded as Faxing temple in the 3rd century AD during the Wei dynasty.
During the Yuan dynasty the Songshan Shaolin temple was repossessed by the Yuan government who expelled the older Shaolin lineage and gave the temple to Abbot Fuyu of the Caodong school.
At this time Fuyu was given the title of Guo Shi "National Teacher" and was given control of many Buddhist temples. First among them were five major temples (including Songshan Shaolin and Faxing temples as well as 3 other major temples) which each oversaw a number of subsidiary temples, shrines, and hermitages. A few decades later Fuyu's student would change the name of Faxing to "Bei Shaolin". However Faxing would be the only temple other than Songshan to be given the Shaolin name.
Later during the Qing dynasty Panshan would be praised by a number of emperors for it's beauty. A number of Qing imperial tombs would be built there, and the complex of Buddhist temples and shrines that covered Mt. Pan would be given imperial favor. In particular Bei Shaolin would be given imperial patronage by Qing emperors such as Qianlong.
In 1928 the Songshan Shaolin was destroyed. Following this Bei Shaolin temple was largely abandoned due to rumors that a contingent of soldiers had also been sent to destroy Panshan Shaolin. In 1939 Panshan Shaolin was attacked by bandits who looted the precious treasures of the monastery and destroyed and vandalized monuments.
In 1942 the temple buildings were destroyed by Japanese troops.
Many of the monuments and temples were destroyed as were many villages in the region. Ji county, especially the Panshan area were hotbeds of anti Japanese guerilla uprisings.
After the cultural revolution Shang Baoliang taught many local villagers. Today his son Shang Mianhui represents the 7th generation.