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Post by siuyiu on Jun 12, 2014 5:21:45 GMT
This was one of the most awesome posts from the ex-ex board. Thanks for the revival. agreed!
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Post by yenchin on Jun 12, 2014 8:54:42 GMT
Interesting, I didn't notice the name "傅劍南" last time probably due to not believing such a guy would be on the list, but combining his name with his agency, surprisingly....
....His name and agency matches the character from the novel "Stealing the Fist" (偷拳, Tou Quan) which is about how the Yang Style Taichi creator secretly learned Taichi from the Chen Family. In the novel 傅劍南 is the eldest disciple of the Chen Style master who opened an agency.
Does this guy even exist? Did the author base this character on someone in real life? hmm........
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:10:29 GMT
This was one of the most awesome posts from the ex-ex board. Thanks for the revival. Due, in no small part, to your contributions, yenchin. I was very much enlightened by them.
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:13:39 GMT
Interesting, I didn't notice the name "傅劍南" last time probably due to not believing such a guy would be on the list, but combining his name with his agency, surprisingly.... ....His name and agency matches the character from the novel "Stealing the Fist" (偷拳, Tou Quan) which is about how the Yang Style Taichi creator secretly learned Taichi from the Chen Family. In the novel 傅劍南 is the eldest disciple of the Chen Style master who opened an agency. Does this guy even exist? Did the author base this character on someone in real life? hmm........ Well, Jin Yong borrowed names from real life people who lived during the time of his stories, so I would not be surprised if 傅劍南 really existed. I would dare say, however, that his character would have been romanticized, in the tradition of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:19:24 GMT
When I was in the Tong Xing Gong 同兴共 Armed Escort Agency, I took a few pictures related to Wang Shu Mao 王树茂 (1851-1937). " Studious in his youth, Wang started leading Armed Escorts at the age of 16. By the time he was 22, Wang was running the Armed Escort Agency and escorting goods as far as Henan Province’s XuCang, LuoYang, Xian’s SanYuan, Ningxia Province, Shandong, Hebei etc., successfully bearing up to these heavy responsibilities.
In 1900, during the invasion of the Eight Nation Alliance, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Daoguang fled Beijing to Xi'an via Pingyao. In Pingyao, Cixi ordered the southern provinces to send their money to Pingyao, after which she decided the money should go with her to Xi'an.
Tong Xing Gong Armed Escort Agency, together with a few other Armed Escort Agencies, escorted the money (and the Imperial Family) to Xi'an. for the first time, the escort agencies temporarily became Imperial Guards, for which they were bestowed an imperial plaque.
Due to the uncertainties of the times, the Tong Xing Gong Armed Escort Agency was dissolved in 1913. Subsequently, Wang was engaged as a security guard for a private family. Wang died in 1937 aged 86."
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:22:59 GMT
This is a picture of the Imperial plaque hanging above a plaque that was a gift from Wang's friends and customers for his birthday. This is a close-up of the plaque bestowed by the Emperor. Being an imperial gift, it was allowed to have dragons around it, but the dragon had four claws on each leg, not five. Dragons with five claws on each leg are reserved for imperial use. In addition, this plaque has to be hung higher than the others because no other plaques can be hung higher than one from the Emperor - in this case, Empress Dowager Cixi because DaoGuang was a puppet emperor .
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:24:58 GMT
Below was the observation of rpaterson, a fellow forumer from the old site.
"Interesting that Armed Escort Agencies aren't really that old. Late Ming? Seems very odd. There must have been similar agencies dating at least back to the Tang Dynasty to escort all those caravans on the Silk Road. I can't believe that they're such a modern invention.
Also, Jin Yong, with his great historical focus/accuracy, has Armed Escort Agencies running around in at least the Yuan Dynasty in HSDS.
Not that JY gets everything perfect, but there's something that doesn't quite seem to add up here."
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:27:00 GMT
... to which another forumer, JohnD, responded with...
"Goods and people were escorted, but the difference is that with the creation of the biaoju, now for the first time there is a company set up just for this purpose, a firm with professionally-trained guards whose main job is to ensure delivery of goods.
In Water Margin we see escorting at work, when Yang Zhi is tasked by an official to escort some birthday gifts to the Imperial Tutor, Cai Jing. In this case, Yang Zhi only works as a military officer for an official, and it is through this profession that he is assigned to escort goods. He is told to choose men to take with him to help protect the goods.
So why no dedicated escort companies until the late Ming or Qing? I'm only speculating, but it might be because of the amount of robbers during the late Ming. Banditry was rife in areas around the capital during the Ming dynasty; oftentimes garrison soldiers themselves would moonlight as bandits. So perhaps escort agencies sprang up because there was more need to have professionally trained men to ensure delivery of goods.
This wouldn't have been as needed during the Tang dynasty, except maybe following the An Lushan rebellion. But during its high point there was very little banditry."
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Post by chefying on Jun 12, 2014 16:30:13 GMT
Back to Chief Armed Escort, this is a pictogram of Wang's exploits. The general idea is that Wang was strong, and was heroic. The last panel showed the demise of Wang's armed escort agency in 1913, and attributed its closure to railroads and improved transport infrastructure.
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Post by chefying on Jun 13, 2014 4:52:28 GMT
This is a short bio of another famous armed escort Guo Chongzhan 郭崇善 (1884- 1956). He is the nephew of Wang (from Wang's wife's side of the family). Gua had only two year's schooling, and went on to learn martial* arts. He was proficient in both the internal and external martial arts skills. Guo lived to 82 years old. *I have dyslexic fingers, more than once, I caught my fingers typing "marital" instead of "martial". Generally, this error can be overlooked, except when I type "learned marital arts from xxx" instead of "learned martial arts from xxx" - this can cause great misunderstandings. Probably libellous as well!
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Post by chefying on Jun 13, 2014 4:55:38 GMT
This display shows the extent of Armed Escort Agencies in China circa year 1900. A close-up... I took this picture in the Tong Xing Gong Armed Escort Agency 同兴公镖局, and interestingly, it showed only one Armed Escort Agency in the City of Pingyao and that was Tong Xing Gong!
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Post by chefying on Jun 13, 2014 14:25:53 GMT
The contents of these two photos depict the lingo used by the Armed Escorts. I feel there is no point translating these as it would come out mainly as gibberish - which is the main reason for the armed escorts using their particular and peculiar lingo.
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Post by chefying on Jun 13, 2014 14:30:06 GMT
This is a display detailing the conditions under which a convoy of armed escorts would select - or reject - accommodation when they are on the road. DO NO STAY - in newly established places, - those moved to a new site, - places related to prostitution.
DO NOT DISTANCE FROM - weapons, - clothes (I think this is in fear of poisons introduced to clothes), - carriage and horses in the courtyard.
WHEN LODGING, BE VARY OF:-
Unfamiliar faces - before lodging, check the place to see if one is in the company of thieves. Unfamiliar wind (suspicious feeling?) - check the surrounding area of the lodging to see if one had been followed. Unfamiliar odors - check the rooms/lodgings for odd smells in case the robbers use poison (gases).
I found this most interesting indeed! It is probably even applicable now!
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2014 17:27:42 GMT
Thanks for reviving this topic Chef Anyway, perhaps you should post pictures of the locations of wuxia stories occured too. I remember that you even go to Zhang Jia Kou, the place where Guo Jing met Huang Rong for the first time
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Post by chefying on Jun 14, 2014 17:36:14 GMT
Thanks for reviving this topic Chef Anyway, perhaps you should post pictures of the locations of wuxia stories occured too. I remember that you even go to Zhang Jia Kou, the place where Guo Jing met Huang Rong for the first time Most welcomed, Admin. I shall revive the thread on pictures of locations of wuxia stories. Alas, I did not manage to go to Zhang Jia Kou - maybe the next trip!
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