Qinggong

Qinggong
Qinggong
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	輕功
Simplified Chinese	轻功
Literal meaning	light skill
Hanyu Pinyin
showTranscriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	qīnggōng
Wade–Giles	ch'ing1-kung1
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	hìng-gùng
Jyutping	hing1-gung1
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Khinh công
Hán-Nôm	輕功
Japanese name
Kanji	軽功
Hiragana	けいこう

Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang.^[1] The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progresses.^[2]

Etymology[]

Puns play a significant role in creating Chinese terminology. While the characters used for this skill are 輕功 \ 轻功 (Trad.\ Simp.), where the meaning of the first character is light [in weight]; easy; soft; gentle, and the second means achievement; effort; skill; good result, since the training involves incrementally changing the slope or incline of a plank of wood used as a platform, there's a suggested pun with substituting 傾 \ 倾 (Trad.\ Simp.) for the first character, where its meaning is to overturn; to collapse; to lean; to incline. Note that both 輕 \ 轻 and 傾 \ 倾 are pronounced identically, with the same tone.

Popular culture[]

The use of qinggong has been exaggerated in wuxia fiction, in which martial artists have the ability to move swiftly and lightly at superhuman speed, and perform gravity-defying moves such as gliding on water surfaces, scaling high walls and mounting trees.^{[citation needed]} In some wuxia and martial arts films containing elements of wire fu, qinggong stunts are simulated by actors and stunt performers suspending themselves from wires.^[3]

Qinggong was taught at the Peking Opera School in the 20th century. The school's most notable students are the Seven Little Fortunes, including Sammo Hung and most famously Jackie Chan, providing a basis for their acrobatic stunt work in Hong Kong action cinema. In turn, this influenced the development of parkour in France.^[4]^[5]

References[]

^ Timofeevich, Andrew; Yiming Jin; Cuiya Guo (2007). Lian Gong Mi Jue: Secret Methods of Acquiring External and Internal Mastery. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-84753-371-5.
^ Sun, Lutang; Tim Cartmell (2003). A Study of Taijiquan. North Atlantic Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-55643-462-4.
^ Rahner, Mark (2004-12-24). "Wire-fu flicks: Pouncing public, hidden treasures". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
^ Hunt, Leon; Wing-Fai, Leung (2010). East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0857712271.
^ Angel, Julie (16 June 2016). Breaking the Jump: The Secret Story of Parkour's High Flying Rebellion. Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-78131-554-5.

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[Timofeevich-1] Timofeevich, Andrew; Yiming Jin; Cuiya Guo (2007). Lian Gong Mi Jue: Secret Methods of Acquiring External and Internal Mastery. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-84753-371-5.

[Lutang-2] Sun, Lutang; Tim Cartmell (2003). A Study of Taijiquan. North Atlantic Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-55643-462-4.

[3] Rahner, Mark (2004-12-24). "Wire-fu flicks: Pouncing public, hidden treasures". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-17.

[4] Hunt, Leon; Wing-Fai, Leung (2010). East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0857712271.

[Angel-5] Angel, Julie (16 June 2016). Breaking the Jump: The Secret Story of Parkour's High Flying Rebellion. Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-78131-554-5.

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