Michael DeMarco of Santa Fe, New Mexico, got a master degree in Asian Studies. After graduation he continued to study and worked in many Asian countries. His martial art journey started before his college years, first with Chinese-Indonesian hybrid style and later on Tai Chi Chuan. What makes DeMarco unique is he combines his knowledge in Asian history, culture, and philosophy with a deep understanding of diverse martial arts and make him an expert in Asian martial arts with profound insight. For over twenty years, he published the peer-reviewed quarterly “Journal of Asian Martial Arts” with hundreds of articles. To learn more about Michael’s background, you can read my article about his another book “Wuxia America: A good Read”.
Michael also has a talent in story telling. In “Martial Art Essays from Beijing, 1760”, he told a very compelling story of Master Yang Mingbin (approximately 1664-1766), who was a court painter in the early Qing Dynasty (1661-1799) and a master in Chinese martial arts with a background in multiple styles and forms. Nevertheless, as an introvert, Master Yang pretty much treated martial arts as his hobby not to mention that he had an important career as a royal painter. His employment at the court provided an opportunity to work and befriend with the most famous painter of the time Lang Shining. Lang was an Italian Jesuit and his original name was Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), who was highly respected and trusted by the three famous Qing emperors – the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Lang’s paintings, a fusion of traditional European and Chinese techniques, are still treasured in Palace Museums both in Taipei (Taiwan) and Beijing (China). Due to common interests in paintings, art, history, and philosophy, Master Yang and Lang became close friends. Yang shared many thoughts including ones on martial arts with Lang because there are commonalities between Chinese paintings and martial arts.
Master Yang wrote 64 essays, primarily on martial arts, and showed to Lang. For unknown reason(s), Lang took the possession of the manuscript after Yang’s death. Two hundred years later, the precious writings were discovered by two visiting scholars from Macau University while conducting research in the Vatican. Eventually, the manuscript was returned to Master Yang’s only identifiable offspring Yang Qingyu, a Tai Chi master living in Taiwan and DeMarco’s teacher. Intriguing, right? Indeed, it was. With all the historical references and Michael’s relationship with Master Yang Qingyu and his photo with Yang Qingyu in the book, I firmly believe it was a true story until Michael clarified that it was a work of fiction. Master Yang Mingbin was an imaginary figure and never existed. Yes, on the book cover, it prints “Martial Arts/Fiction” underneath Michael’s name with tiny font in a reverse color, too small for me to discern the words. Even though I felt like a fool once realizing that Yang Mingbin actually is the alter ego of Michael, it does not take away the value of the profound knowledge shared throughout the fictional manuscript.
Each essay in the book is relatively short with a specific title focusing on a particular subject. Most of the essays address the general principles of martial arts and tradition, not limited to Tai Chi chuan. In early Qing Dynasty, martialy arts flourished and new styles and forms, such as Bagua and Xing Yi, were created. At the highest skill level, all martial arts including Tai Chi share the common principles, such as the importance of of the proper body alignments, relaxation during practice, mindfulness during movements, censoring one’s own energy and listening to the opponent’s energy, and the philosophical roots. The book provides explanations of how certain movements should be executed, offering readers a better understanding of these ideas beyond abstract concepts. It also explains the traditions of the relationship between a teacher and a student, how to excel in one’s skill level, and the important to realize the martial art applications behind the movements.
Initially believing the original writings were created over two hundred years ago by a real master named Yang Mingbin, I was surprised by the contemporary language and methods used to expound on the mechanics of movements from the perspectives of body physics, kinetics, and psychology. Michael cleverly stated in the foreword that, in his attempt to translate as clearly as possible, he used modern names and terms rather than those of eighteenth-century China. In the book, he also referenced the historical fact that Jesuit Matteo Ricci and Chinese scholar Xu Guangqi translated Euclid’s “Elements” into Chinese in 1614, introducing Western mathematical concepts to China, which convinced readers that Yang Mingbin acquired knowledge of algebra so he could interpret martial arts maneuverings mathematically.
While “Wuxia America” can be read in one sitting, I do not recommend reading “Martial Art Essays from Beijing, 1760” hastily. Each chapter has its own important message. I typically read one essay at a time, contemplating its content and sometimes following the instructions to practice them so I can truly experience the concepts and feelings. The majority of the chapters resonate with me immediately; however, still I allow the ideas to sink in further before moving on.
This book is small, with dimensions roughly 5.5” x 8” x 0.5”, fitting right in my hand. It weighs 6 oz but speaks volumes. Each essay is like a pearl, strung together to form a precious necklace.
Appendix: Below is the list of the Essays’ titles:
- Sacred Space
- Unity in Diversity
- Inspiring Factors
- Levels of Skill
- The Paradox of Movement
- Bathing in Stillness
- Standing on One Leg
- One Step at a Time
- Slow Versus Fast
- Magic Knuckles
- Split the Globe
- Straight at an Angle
- Pushing and Punching Distance
- Footwork as Brushwork
- Shoulder to Shoulder
- Practical Techniques, Proper Forms
- The Attack Makes the Defense
- Sources of Tension
- Better Vision
- A Monitoring Touch
- One Technique, Multiple Applications
- Bellows Breathing
- Two-Way Tension
- No Resistance, No Pressure
- Right, Wrong, or Variation
- Impressive Movements
- Mirrorlike Mind
- The Martial Family
- Daoist Philosophy
- Daoist Quest for Immortality
- Finding a Master, Finding a Disciple
- Physical Connections
- The Body’s Architectural Design
- Maintaining and Improving Health
- Organic Patterns
- Weapons and Empty-Hand Practice
- The Teacher’s Effects
- The Learning Continuum
- Moving from Time to the Timeless
- Telltale Signs
- Inspiration
- Spontaneous Naturalness
- Help your Attacker
- Water Ways
- Seeing Targets
- Elbow Moving the Wrong Way
- Techniques and Distance
- Mental and Optical Illusion
- Power behind the Punch
- Principles for Fighting and Health
- Explosive Kicks and Strikes
- Personality and Personal Style
- Solo Routines and Self-Defense
- Teacher-Disciple Relationship
- Manchu Military
- Laws of Boxing
- Angles of Defense and Offense
- Analysis and Intuition
- Pleasing the Eyes
- Wave Currents
- Meditation: Training the Mind
- Martial Ingenuity
- Martial Arts, Religion, and Healing
- Experiment, Test, Prove
Whether the imaginings of fiction can serve as sources of knowledge has been debated often. Does fiction inform our understanding of the actual world or contaminate it? While there is a need to be able to distinguish fact from non-fact (itself a massive challenge with so much of modern “alternative” musings about health and well-being) maybe we should view fictional writing as a conversation between writer and reader that acknowledges the evolving nature of a common ground. Aristotle felt that the elements of any dramatic plot must be bound together by an “internal necessity” that makes the work strong, complete, and, in a manner suggesting both logic and purpose, inevitable. This all reminds me that my own evolving understanding of the quality of “sōng” in tai chi depends on the relaxation of the firewalls. And only then may all the wonderful ornaments, stated, shown, or imagined, be smuggled into my practice