Kung Fu, Tao Te Ching, and the Peach Blossom Land of an American Taoist
Jake Lee Pinnick has been living in seclusion on Wudang Mountain. It's quiet and safe here. Walking on the winding mountain road, tourists sometimes come forward to talk, "You are a foreigner, are you 70 years old?"
If it weren't for having a Western face, Jack would indeed look like an old immortal who came out of the mountains - wearing a black Taoist robe, with a long black beard and light yellow hair tied up at the back of his head. He often carries a long sword or a bamboo flute and walks through the Wudang Mountains. His appearance and posture make him appear older than his actual age. "Actually, I was born in 1990 and am 33 years old
And his more formal identity is the 16th generation disciple of the Sanfeng School martial arts in Wudang Mountain.
Wudang Mountain, a Taoist holy land located in Shiyan, Hubei, has always been low-key and mysterious. From the late Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, this was the resting place for those who sought immortality and Taoism. In Mr. Jin Yong's writing, it is "lush and verdant, with dense forests and majestic mountain terrain".
In the past decade, the low-key and mysterious Wudang Mountain has launched an international martial arts class, recruiting students from all over the world. Trainees need to undergo strict assessments and pass two years of training before they can officially become disciples under the sect.
Jack arrived at Wudang Mountain at that time. This young man who grew up in a small town on the plains of Illinois, USA, has been obsessed with Chinese Kung Fu since his youth and has been studying martial arts at Wudang Mountain for 13 years.
In these 13 years, he became a teacher in Wudang Mountain, got married and had children - his wife was a girl from Ankang, Shaanxi. In her opinion, Jack "is more traditional than the Chinese anywhere except a face that is not like the Chinese".
He meditates and practices Tai Chi every day, devoting himself to studying the Tao Te Ching and Huangdi Neijing; He learned Chinese musical instruments such as the Dongxiao and Guqin. Jack felt that the Dongxiao was an instrument very close to Taoism, and that "tradition itself is a language for people to express emotions".
Jack, who lived in seclusion, found his own paradise in traditional Chinese culture.
It's not difficult to find Jack on Wudang Mountain, which covers a total area of 312 square kilometers. Almost all the security guards on Wudang Mountain are familiar with his activity path. They can get Jack's WeChat message or be told where to find the black bearded American.
His activity path is also regular - he practices Tai Chi from 6am to 7am, then walks past the peeling vermilion walls of the Yuxu Palace for hundreds of meters, crosses the Jianhe Stone Bridge surrounding the palace walls, and helps his master substitute and practice martial arts at 8:30am.
In the afternoon, we will teach Xingyi Quan and Baxian Stick. In the evening, we will meditate and play Dongxiao. We will also have two hours of online classes to teach overseas students Wudang Kung Fu and traditional Chinese culture. Occasionally, I enjoy watching the sunrise on the mountain in the morning and admiring the sea of clouds at night.
In the past decade or so, except for the four years when he returned to the United States, he rarely left Wudang Mountain. In six months, he hasn't even been to a commercial pedestrian street one kilometer away.
The ancient architectural complex of "800 Li Wudang" is a "Heavenly Palace" built by emperors throughout the Ming Dynasty, corresponding to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Jack's martial arts school was located at the foot of the mountain in the Jade Void Palace. Later, the martial arts school moved to a new building, but Jack still lives next to the Jade Void Palace.
In 2018, Jack helped his master with his disciples at the Jade Void Palace. Respondent provided pictures
In 2010, Jack took a train from Beijing to Wuhan, which took 18 hours; It took six or seven hours to reach Wudang Mountain by taking the green train from Wuhan again. "It was summer and it was very hot on the train," he said.
That was his first time leaving his hometown - Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois, a small town in the central northern plains with a population of 13000. It was also his first time leaving the United States. Jack made sufficient preparations before deciding to go to China. He learned how to pick up popcorn with chopsticks in the United States ahead of time and experienced hand pain.
So far, he has not corrected the wrong way of holding chopsticks. Before coming to China, my mother was worried and customized a T-shirt for him with the Chinese words "My name is Jack" printed on it. She's afraid that if I don't speak Chinese and come, others won't know who I am, "Jack said.
My mother saw news on TV about frequent thieves in Beijing and even sewed several pockets on the inside of his clothes to store his wallet and passport. After arriving in China, he found that it wasn't actually that dangerous.
Jack has been interested in Chinese kung fu movies since he was young. He went to the store to rent DVDs and watched all the movies and TV shows he could find, including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen, many times. Afterwards, he gradually developed the idea of learning kung fu. In the United States, most martial arts schools do not teach authentic martial arts.
Many people only learn something in Wudang Mountain and then go back to take on apprentices. It's like making too much tea and losing its flavor, "Jack used an inappropriate but very Chinese metaphor. He believes that in order to find true Chinese martial arts, one can only look for its roots.
He found a video of Yuan Shimao, the 15th generation descendant of the Sanfeng Sect of Wudang Mountain, on YouTube and was immediately attracted by the beautiful Eight Immortals Stick movements. Actually, Shaolin Temple is more famous abroad, but their backflips and other movements are all hard martial arts. I prefer the combination of hardness and softness in Wudang martial arts
Yuan Shimao's martial arts movements further opened up his imagination. He compared them in his mind and said, "Tai Chi and Nei Jia Quan are mainly based on qigong, with static braking and no age limit. They can be practiced for a lifetime
"I thought everyone in China knew Kung Fu." Jack spent a year preparing - first, he sent emails to martial arts schools everywhere. Besides Wudang, he has also sent emails to Shaolin Temple and Emei, 'But my heart still belongs to Wudang Mountain, and my favorite video is their martial arts style.'
In addition, Tai Chi, Neijia Quan, and Laozi Taoist philosophy also attracted Jack. Jack has always been reserved and introverted, embodying the simplicity and humility of Taoism, which is in line with him.
At that time, Jack was studying Business Administration at university. In 2008, in order to study martial arts on Wudang Mountain, he applied to switch his courses to online classes, working two jobs to save money while attending school, and only sleeping for three or four hours a day. After earning enough tuition for a year and a half, he decided to set off. "I'm afraid that if Wudang Mountain stops enrolling students in the future, I'll lose the opportunity to learn martial arts forever," he said
At the end of May 2010, Jack graduated from university and arrived at the gate of Wudang Mountain at 5:30am on June 1st. Every year on June 1st thereafter, he would commemorate this special day,
From 2008 to 2009, Wudang Mountain had admitted two classes of foreign students, but in the first two years, the international teaching at Wudang Mountain was still a "health class", mostly short-term classes, and students came and went freely.
In 2010, the International Martial Arts Class was officially launched. This year, Master Yuan Shimao's martial arts school enrolled four martial arts classes with a duration of five years. Jack's "International Class Three" had 40 students. Only 13 people ultimately persevered and graduated.
In 2014, when graduating from the international class, Jack took a photo with his master Yuan Shimao. Respondent provided pictures
In order to teach these foreign apprentices, Yuan Shimao self-taught English and signed an agreement to "teach in traditional Chinese ways, with the option of corporal punishment." These corporal punishments included hitting the clapper, squatting on the horse steps, doing push ups, and so on.
The first time Jack saw a teacher hitting a student's hand, he was somewhat surprised. "In the United States, if a teacher hits a student like this, the student can sue the teacher." But soon, Jack understood that this was a traditional Chinese educational concept. He still retains a video of being punished for doing push ups. My master and senior brothers are all standing by and laughing, and I am also laughing while doing it. It's quite joyful
In the first five years, Jack suffered a lot. He got up at 5:30 every morning and started practicing soft qigong, which includes breathing and adjusting breath. During the day, he practiced hard qigong, tying bamboo with thick fingers and tapping his body. At first, he had bruises all over his body.
Once, Jack had a broken left rib and asked his master for leave. His master said, 'The rib is broken, but the leg can still be trained.'.
After arriving at Wudang Mountain, the students all called Yuan Shimao their "master". But this title is only equivalent to teacher or coach. Until the third year, the martial arts class held a formal apprenticeship ceremony, and Jack and others participated in Yuan Shimao's "apprenticeship ceremony". From then on, he officially became the 16th generation disciple of the Sanfeng Sect.
The inheritance of Wudang Sect has always been very secretive and the number of disciples is very small, to the extent that there are only a dozen or so disciples in the 15th generation of Sanfeng Sect. With the increasing popularity of martial arts culture, Wudang Mountain culture has also become more inclusive, and Yuan Shimao alone has received more than 300 disciples from both domestic and foreign countries.
The Taoist name given to Jack by his master is "Ping Mao Zi Gen" - "Ping" stands for Ping Nick, "Mao" is taken from his master's Taoist name, "Zi" is the unified generation of sixteen disciples, and "Gen" means the root of Wudang that Jack pursues.
During his first few years in China, Jack had to return to the United States every year to renew his visa. His family didn't understand his choice. In fact, when Jack said he wanted to go to China, his parents couldn't believe it - most American youth would choose to go to Europe or Africa. But Jack's parents always supported him and provided him with funds.
They just didn't expect that their son would stay in China for so many years.
In September 2014, International Class Three graduated, which means that the students obtained coaching qualifications. Thirteen disciples returned to their respective countries. On Christmas Day in 2013, Jack returned to the United States with his girlfriend Cao Lingling, whom he met on Wudang Mountain.
At that time, Cao was working at a supermarket in Wudang Mountain. Her mother saw a foreigner wearing a T-shirt with the words "My name is Jack" and was very curious. She asked her daughter, who knew a little English, to ask him questions. Later on, in order to pursue Cao Lingling, Jack suggested that she teach him Chinese. Once and for all, the two fell in love. In January 2014, they got married and at the end of the year, their daughter Lina was born.
Jack's family of three. Respondent provided pictures
In order to make a living, Jack tried teaching Chinese martial arts in some schools and even went to a Wudang martial arts school in Canada. But in his opinion, it's not real martial arts, it's just some people learning a few simple moves in their spare time or attending a short-term class. "Many people practiced Tai Chi in front of me, but he stopped when he came home
My hometown has become unfamiliar to Jack, as if he is suspended between Chinese and American cultures, with nowhere to go - his former classmates have their own lives, and Jack has lost contact with them. The people in the small town neither understand Wudang martial arts nor Jack, they cannot distinguish the difference between Wudang martial arts, taekwondo, and karate at all.
Jack went to the mountains of western Colorado, hoping to plant a seed of Wudang culture there, but soon he began to strongly miss everything about Wudang Mountain, "the feeling of being completely immersed in it every day, staying with his master and brothers, that traditional martial arts
There are large mechanized farms scattered in the small town of Jack's hometown. His grandfather was a farmer who had hobbies such as carpentry, collecting and polishing stones.
The lack of exercise among locals, coupled with unhealthy diet and lifestyle habits, has led to widespread obesity and various diseases. Jack was very interested in health since childhood, and he was more fascinated by exploring people's bodies and hearts than how to make money.
In the view of young Jack, people's physical constitution is mostly inherited from their parents, their ideas and concepts are given by their families, and their work is also provided by their place of life. However, such a life is "without choice, without freedom". He hopes to understand his body and mind, and then control them.
During the four years he returned to the United States, Jack read the English version of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. He felt that 'this is a process of cultivation and polishing'. He even started studying traditional Chinese medicine and made it a hobby.
Western medicine is like a machine, while traditional Chinese medicine is like a garden, "Jack made an analogy." The two should not be in conflict
When he left the United States in 2010, some of his peers went to Afghanistan to join the military. Jack felt that the military was not suitable for him. "Compared to letting others control me in the military, I prefer self-control. Martial arts is a good way to explore and control myself. The self-discipline it cultivates is intrinsic and can be maintained for a lifetime." Those friends who went to Afghanistan only maintained "discipline" for 4 years and are not happy now.
In 2018, Jack decided to return to Wudang. As an ordinary martial arts coach, I may not have any problem. But if I want to become a master, accept 17 generations of disciples from the Sanfeng Sect, and inherit the sect, I cannot do it. I still need to learn, "Jack said about learning, which includes not only martial arts, but also traditional Chinese medicine, culture, and art." It's like four legs on a table, without one, it can't stand up. It's a system
So he contacted his master Yuan Shimao and returned to Wudang Mountain. In the following years, he stayed here.
At that time, everyone said he was the most handsome in the martial arts school, "recalled his wife Cao Lingling. In the first two years after coming to Shiyan, Jack was very obedient," silly ", and respectful to his master. Every time I go out, I report detailed plans and tasks to my master. My master often says, 'Jack is the most obedient'.
Jack hasn't bought a house in China for over a decade, and Cao Lingling was once very anxious. When we first got married, our family lived in a small dormitory in the martial arts school, where we had to lay the floor and the windows were all broken. For a period of time, Jack felt that the mountain was too noisy and wanted to rent a house suitable for cleaning and repairing on Wudang Mountain. His wife had a big argument with him before he gave up.
In fact, even the mountains have not been so peaceful in recent years - during the May Day holiday in 2023 alone, Wudang Mountain received 225000 tourists. Almost all the scenic spots and Taoist temples on the mountain are filled with the God of Money.
"Chinese people have parents and children, so the social pressure is great." Jack felt that this was also a reflection of people's anxiety.
But he had a calm mindset and said to his wife, 'Why do you need so much money? Just have food and drink.'.
Last August, they rented a three bedroom bungalow in a residential area at the foot of Wudang Mountain. The entrance was a living room and tea room, with a rectangular wooden table and a guqin in the living room. There were also two bedrooms and a "music room". The music room was set up by Jack for writing his Dongxiao tutorial.
Jack thinks that the Dongxiao is a musical instrument that is extremely close to Taoism. Unlike many artificial metal instruments, the special feature of the Dongxiao is that it is closer to the "Dao Fa Nature". "The guqin and erhu are also like this, without scales, and your playing relies entirely on feeling. They convey more human emotions than machines
Jack is blowing the whistle at the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain. Respondent provided pictures
Because of Jack, American families have also been influenced by traditional Chinese culture.
On Christmas Day in 2013, when Cao Lingling went to the United States for the first time, Jack's grandparents specially put on red sweaters to welcome her granddaughter in law, and Jack's mother gave her a "red envelope" according to Chinese customs - the envelope was not available locally, so she gave her a red wallet as a gift.
Before learning that she was going to the United States, the family went to a local Chinese restaurant in advance to eat Chinese food and learn how to use chopsticks. After his grandparents found out about me, they started studying Chinese history. Later, they called their friends every day to show off, saying, 'My granddaughter in law is Chinese, and her cooking is really delicious, more authentic than Chinese restaurants.' Cao Lingling remembers that after her daughter Lina was born in 2014, her grandparents wrapped red envelopes in red cloth small lucky bags.
Later on, Jack was unable to return to the United States for a period of time. His family in the United States used WeChat and often made video calls between the two sides. They are very happy that I have found something I love here
After returning to Wudang Mountain from the United States, Lina attended a public elementary school at the foot of the mountain. She often wears red Hanfu when she goes out to play. Jack posted a video online, using his daughter as a model, demonstrating the technique of tying a "Taoist style" hair bun. Netizens say that Jack has a high hairline, but Jack always explains that this is a "family gene".
We educate her according to traditional methods. "In Jack's eyes," tradition "is not a bad word.
Taoist culture emphasizes cleanliness and refinement, with a restrained style. Some elderly Taoists even choose to spend the rest of their lives in caves. Most of Jack's senior brothers also dislike using mobile phones and other electronic devices.
Jack is not so traditional at this point - he and his wife played Tiktok, Kwai, video number, station B, and wanted to promote Wudang culture as a "foreign Taoist".
He asked his wife to help record a complete set of motion analysis videos for Tai Chi, wrote an English tutorial, and posted it online for free. If we don't inherit and spread it, Wudang Mountain culture may regress and there will be no next generation. "He even started studying traditional Chinese medicine and made it a hobby.
As an internet celebrity, while gaining a large number of fans, he also had to step down from Wudang Mountain. The speed at the foot of the mountain is several times faster than when he first arrived in Wudang - in 2016, Wudang Mountain Airport was built, which can fly to the whole country. In 2019, after the full opening of the Han Shi high-speed railway, it only takes 2 hours to travel from Wudang Shanxi Station to Wuhan.
After the policy was relaxed, Wudang Mountain became active. In recent months, Jack has frequently gone down the mountain and spent a busy summer.
Wherever he goes, he always wears the Taoist robe of Wudang Mountain, carrying his flute and sword. When he was in the United States, he also dressed up as a Taoist, and some people said he was a gimmick and had a "white skin and yellow heart". He neither refutes nor explains, 'My method is to ignore him and stick to myself.'.
In late April, Wudang Mountain held an "International Taoist Talent Training and Exchange Symposium". Jack met Taoist disciples from Germany, Switzerland, Vietnam, and other countries who had been away for many years. Many of them had established Taoist associations in their own countries. "I haven't seen so many 'foreigners' for years!" Jack exclaimed.
In 2018, Jack and his students were at the Wulong Palace on Wudang Mountain. Respondent provided pictures
In the past six months, he has been to Wuhan multiple times, sometimes invited to perform Wudang culture. When showcasing Tai Chi and Wudang swordsmanship to tourists in front of the Yellow Crane Tower, some tourists can even call out his name directly.
On May 19th, he went to Chengdu again to participate in the "A date with China" event. He took a wooden boat with a tour guide dressed as' Su Dongpo 'and toured the Jinjiang River. Su Dongpo explains the history of the Nine Eyed Bridge to Jack. Upon learning that Jack could play the flute, they went ashore to retrieve the dongxiao.
