Kung fu village

There is no kung fu practitioner on Taiwan who heaven.t heard about Xiulo village . Today ,Xiulo and surrounding area is well known for the variety and quality of the martial styles practiced there. In the time of the Qing dynasty , Xiluo village was one of the most important centers of Kung fu .

Story of Xiluo village starts in China in Guan –Po. During the Ming dynasty in Guan-Po lived unusual clan , unusual in a way that they wanted to keep memory to their maternal and paternal ancestor so they used both their names for their family name , Zhang Liao. They were loyal Ming followers and after the fall of the Ming dybasty many of the Zhang Liao clan followed Koxinga’s father and Koxinga himself . In 1701 Clan elders decided to send four of their members led by Liao Chao Kung to Taiwan to find a place where clan can relocate and move from Qing prosecution . This four members are founders of the Xiluo village. Later manyof the clan members joined them and in time there was seven villages in Xiluo area .

Xiluo Township

It is said that Zhang Liao clan brought bone medicine to Taiwan as well as Lion dancing and one kind of exotic fruit.

At that particular time ,Taiwan was a frontier country and although there was some government troops stationed on the Island , these troops were mostly in Tainan protecting government officials and prosecuting members of the resistance. People who lived outside of the city walls of Tainan faced the threat from head hunters aboriginal tribes , Japanese pirates , local gangs and there was major dispute between different ethnic groups , especially between Hakka people and everyone else. Villagers could not rely on anyone for protection but them self . Zhang Liao clan was particularly good in defending their land and people . Villages at the time formed militias and trained and armed young , strong people who’s main job was to protect the lives of the villagers as well as protection of the crops and land .Each of the seven Xiluo clan groups developed their distinct fighting style using as a base martial styles they brought from China. In 150 years Liao clan made a good living on Taiwan . In 1849 , to show their gratitude to the ancestor they built an ancestral temple.  This temple was not only religious center but also a center of social gathering and a place where elders meet to resolve legal issues. In time celebrations organized by Liaos were so huge that they became famous all over Taiwan and people from all over the island went there to participate .

In the early 1830's village government invited a Southern Shaolin expert , A Shin Shi to come  and improve martial arts in the area. Elders organized official school in each of the seven villages and most of training was responsibility of A Shin Shi .

A Shin Shi was an expert in Golden Eagle boxing , and was very skilled fighter . In time Golden Eagle boxing was wildly accepted by Liaos and became their main martial style. A Shin Shi retired in 1862 leaving behind a great number of excellent students who spread the his reputation all over the island. Golden Eagle style later developed in several sub styles .

A Shin Shi was and still is considered as one of the best if not the best Taiwanese martial artists of all time , even more , he was highly educated and his personalty was flawless , therefor he was and still is a role model for many martial artists on Taiwan.

Xiluo and surrounding villages still preserve their martial arts although traditional kung fu is far from popular these days. These arts were unfortunately long lost in mainland China. Due to specific historical, economical and social climate, kung fu in Xiluo ans well as in other places in Taiwan changed little from the times of the Qing dynasty and  these rare styles can give us pretty good picture how martial arts looked like at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19 th century.