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Wang Zi Ping
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Wang Zi Ping was born in 1881 and died in 1973. He had been the vice chairman of the Chinese Wushu Association, and was commonly called the "King of Thousand Pounds" for his seemingly superhuman strength.
Wang Zi Ping was born in Cang Zhou in Hebei Province to a martial arts family. He learned martial arts from Yang Hong Xiu, and was a master in Cha Quan (Cha Fist), Ba Ji Quan (Eight Extremes Fist), and Long Quan Jian (Dragon Spring Sword). He became a merchant in Northeast China, then joined the army, teaching kung fu to soldiers. He defeated many Western fighters who arrived in China during a time when the country was in turmoil due to foreign invasions. Once, he single-handedly defeated a squadron of foreign military police. |
Wang loved the martial arts. When the country was in turmoil, he was forced to travel to all corners of China and take on all kinds of jobs, but never stopped practicing kung fu. He started learning martial arts since six, and never stopped practicing it, even when he was more than eighty years old. Qing Long Jian (Green Dragon Sword) was something of his own creation, developed after he analyzed many styles of swordsmanship, including Western fencing and Japanese kendo.
In 1960, he accompanied Premier Zhou Enlai to Cambodia. At the time, he was the coach of a wushu team and was already eighty years old. However, in a demonstration of his love for the martial arts, he again performed his Qing Long Jian, with the enthusiasm and skill of someone much younger.
Wang had taken on minor roles in movies, usually in brief scenes showing some old martial arts master demonstrating a move or two. Although he was a well respected martial artist throughout the country, he never accepted money for his performances, claiming that his only goal was to promote martial arts. Wang was also a famous doctor, and has produced several medical works during his later years.
During his youth, Wang had repeatedly defeated Western boxers who challenged the Chinese to fights. Once, in a demonstration of his strength, he picked up a large millstone, and was since then known as the "King of Thousand Pounds".
