rongsheng wang temple made in china

Zhang Y, Fang C,Wang RE, Wang Y, Guo H, Guo C, Zhao L, Li S, Li X, Schultz PG, Cao YJ, Wang F. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Aug 6;116(32):15889-15894.

Wissler HL, Ehlerding EB, Lyu Z, Zhao Y, Zhang S, Eshraghi A, Buuh ZY, McGuth JC, Guan Y, Engle JW, Bartlett SJ, Voelz VA, Cai W,Wang RE. Mol Pharm. 2019 May 6;16(5):2028-2036.

Wang’s bio according to Chine.de - An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and ArtWang Lang 王朗 (died 228 CE) courtesy name Jingxing 景興, was a high minister and Confucian scholar of the early years of the Wei period. He came from Tan 郯 in the commandery of Donghai 東海 (today"s Tancheng 郯城, Shandong) and was, as proficient in the Confucian Classics, appointed gentleman of the interior (langzhong 郎中), then magistrate of Ziqiu 菑丘. In the turmoils of the Yellow Turban rebellion 黃巾起義 he became a follower of the warlord Tao Qian 陶謙, who promoted his appointment as governor (taishou 太守) of the commandery of Guiji 會稽. This region was contested, and Wang Lang had to ward off the warlord Sun Ce 孫策. The warlord Cao Cao 曹操 therefore decided to offer him the post of Grand Master of Remonstrance (jianyi dafu 諫議大夫), and made him concurrently military administrator of the Ministry of Works (can sikong junshi 參司空軍事). When Cao Cao, as factual regent of the empire, was made king of Wei 魏, Wang Lang was made governor of Weijun 魏郡 and "military libationer" (? jun jijiu 軍祭酒), later promoted to Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues (shaofu 少府), Chamberlain for Ceremonials (fengchang 奉常) and Chamberlain for Law Enforcement (dali 大理). When Cao Pi 曹丕 (Emperor Wen of Wei 魏文帝, r. 220-226) assumed the title of emperor, Wang Lang was appointed Censor-in-chief (yushi dafu 御史大夫) and given the title of neighbourhood marquis of Anling 安陵亭侯. Somewhat later he was made Minister of Works (sikong 司空) and promoted to Marquis of Leping Village 樂平鄉侯. Emperor Ming 魏明帝 (r. 226－239 CE) conferred upon him the title of Marquis of Lanling 蘭陵侯 and appointed him Minister of Education (situ 司徒). His posthumous title was Marquis Cheng 蘭陵成侯. Wang Lang wrote commentaries to the Classics Chunqiu 春秋, Xiaojing 孝經 and Zhouguan 周官 (Zhouli 周禮), and wrote numerous memorials to the throne. Most of his writings are lost.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms Wang LangIn the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Lang died at the age of 76 in 228. Despite his age, he led a group of soldiers and set up camp to do battle with Zhuge Liang. In the novel, Cao Zhen was defeated by Zhuge Liang. Cao Zhen called for his subordinates to help, and Wang Lang decided to try and persuade him to surrender (even though Guo Huai was sceptical that it would succeed) and engaged Zhuge Liang in a debate, but was soundly defeated. Zhuge Liang among other things scolded him as a dog and a traitor, from the shock of which he fell off his horse and died on the spot. There is no record of this in history, and instead, it is said that he merely sent a letter to Zhuge Liang recommending that he surrender. The letter was ignored.

The birth of mantis boxing has been well debated. Some claim it was a product of the Song dynasty (960–1279), while others place it in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The evidence however points to the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) as the likely period of birth, and Wang Lang is a contributing factor to the evidence.

How did Wang Lang become entwined with the history of Praying Mantis Boxing (Tángláng Quán - 螳螂拳) almost 2 millennia later? Is this the same Wang Lang, or was there someone else who founded this boxing style who went by the same name? I believe these are one and the same.

Wang, as with many famous generals in Chinese history, was deified. He became a god especially to those villagers and communities in the region near his birth. There is even a statue of Wang Lang located in Shandong province. There is however no mention in historical records of Wang Lang practicing or teaching something known as - praying mantis boxing. Wang existed long before mantis boxing appeared in the second half of the Qing dynasty. So how did Wang become the progenitor of this style in the 18th or more likely, the 19th century? Who incorporated Wang Lang into the mantis lineage, and why?

Was it Wang Rong Sheng (王榮生, 1854-1926) founder of the ‘seven star’ branch of praying mantis boxing? Even though Rongsheng had a different teacher (Li San Jian, also not a mantis boxer) than the other mantis boxers under Liang Xuexiang? Wang Rongsheng’s shared surname with the famous deity is likely a mere coincidence. Perhaps Wang Rongsheng’s family lineage tree did trace all the way back to the Han dynasty warlord. This is all conjecture. It is unknown who tied Wang Lang to Tanglangquan"s history, but the time period can be narrowed down by other cultural factors which existed in Shandong province in the late 19th century, and from these a reasonable explanation of how this connection was made can be discerned.

At this time opera and folklore was highly popularized in local villages, towns. Famous stories were acted out such as Water Margin, Journey to the West, The Enfeoffment of the Gods, and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Wang Lang’s exploits were part of these tales, and Wang was a hero that would have had personal meaning to the locals of Shandong as he hailed from their homeland.

Additionally, Esherick writes:“There was one paramount occasion when these temples became a focus for community activity: the temple fair, held annually at temples in larger villages or market towns. The name for these - “inviting the gods to a performance” (ying-shen sai hui). The center of attention was an opera, for the benefits of the gods.”

It important to capture this in the entirety of what Esherick writes next:“Above all, these occasions were welcomed for the relief they provided from the dull monotony of peasant toil. Relatives would gather from surrounding villages. Booths would be set up to sell food and drink, and provide for gambling. The crowds and opera created an air of excitement welcome to all. But the statement of community identity provided by opera and temple was also extremely important. It is important, too, that the gods were not only part of the audience: many of the most popular dramatic characters---borrowed from novels which blended history and fantasy---had also found places in the popular religious pantheon. Since few villages had resident priests, and few peasants received religious instruction at larger urban temples, it was principally these operas that provided substantive images for a Chinese peasant’s religious universe. This is why sectarian borrowing from popular theatre is so important. To the extent that sectarian groups incorporated gods of the theatre, they brought themselves into the religious community of the village---rather than setting themselves apart as a separate congregation of the elect.

Was Wang Rong Sheng spirit boxing with the deity Wang Lang? Was it one of his friends, Jiang, Song, or Hao, the founders of the other branches of mantis boxing (plum blossom praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate plum blossom praying mantis boxing) that emerged around this time? All of them acting together perhaps? Or was this something their teacher Liang Xuexiang being wiser, older, educated, and well traveled used to inspire the younger boxers under his charge?

Whatever the reasons for Wang Lang being assigned attributions as the creator of praying mantis boxing we can most likely determine from the popularity of spirit boxing and the trend in the late 1800’s that this period in time during the late Qing, when shen-quan was revitalized, was the period when Wang was incorporated into the lineage. We can view this same occurrence in Eagle Claw Boxing around the same time period to the northwest in Hebei province. Yue Fei, another famous general in Chinese history is credited with founding that style. Yue Fei also had no definitive connection to eagle claw boxing prior to this time period in the Qing.

In the second generation of the lineage charts in both mantis boxing and eagle claw, are similarly obscured. In both styles there is no definitive link between the founder and the next verified carrier of the torch. The two have very similar discrepancies within their histories after these deities supposedly invented them. The oral records claim the styles after being invented, then went into the Shaolin temple almost 900km (560 miles) to the west, and three to four weeks walking distance away from Yantai where mantis existed centuries later. There is no known record of mantis, or eagle claw styles being part of the Shaolin boxing system. Are we to believe these styles, if they did exist at Shaolin for a time, were suddenly spit back out hundreds of years later back in Shandong or Hebei?

It is much more plausible that these military legends, Yue Fei, and Wang Lang, were brought about into these styles in the late Qing as spirit boxing rose to prominence once more amongst the martial artists of the time. As we’ll see in the time period of Li Bingxiao (李炳霄 1731-1813 estimated), during the ‘High Qing’, martial artists did not stay with one teacher. They rather learned from a multitude of sources similar to a modern day university student, thus making it extremely difficult for the concept of ‘styles’ to gain root during this time unlike a few decades later.

This can explain the lack of history in between the founders, and the verifiable practitioners of these arts in the late Qing. Why they suddenly ‘disappear’ into temples in their lineage charts. Only to then reappear centuries later with traceable roots. It explains an oral history in mantis boxing that this style was an amalgamation of 18 different ‘styles’. This is far more believable and easier to comprehend in the realm of martial arts if each of these 18 ‘styles’ was a technique or two from each independent source the practitioner learned from. Finally, it can further explain why prior to the 18th and 19th century, there is no definable lineage for these arts.

HONG KONG, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the country’s largest private shipbuilder, said its chairman had stepped down just three months after the company posted its sharpest fall in half-year net profit.

Listed in November 2010, Rongsheng was hit by an insider dealing scandal involving a firm owned by Zhang ahead of the $15.1 billion bid for Canadian oil firm Nexen Inc by China offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC.

Rongsheng said earlier this month that investment firm Well Advantage, controlled by Zhang, had agreed to pay $14 million as part of a settlement deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In August, Rongsheng posted an 82 percent drop in half-year profit on a dearth of new orders and warned economic uncertainties would continue to weigh on the global shipping market.

As part of the changes at China Rongsheng, the company said that Zhang De Huang was retiring and had resigned as an executive director and as vice chairman of the board.

SHANGHAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Shipbuilder China Rongsheng Heavy Industries has snapped up a majority interest in a company searching for oil in Kyrgyzstan, marking a move into oil exploration amid headwinds in its core shipbuilding business.

Rongsheng said on Thursday it had, through a subsidiary, bought a 60 percent share in New Continental Oil & Gas Co. Ltd for HK$ 2.184 billion ($281.82 million). New Continental, together with Kyrgyzstan’s national oil company, operates four oilfields in the country.

In the announcement, which came after Hong Kong markets shut, Rongsheng said it will finance the deal by issuing 1.4 billion shares at a premium of 12.23 percent to its Thursday closing share price of HK$ 1.39 per share.

“Given the relatively adverse market conditions for shipbuilding industry for the time being, the acquisition can assist the group in diversifying operations and broadening its source of revenue,” Rongsheng said in the statement.

The oilfields, in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan that borders China, sit adjacent to the Fergana Valley where Rongsheng said a recent third-party reserve survey had found abundant oil and gas resources. The geological reserve of crude oil in such oilfields amounted to 276 million tons in aggregate, the firm said.

Rongsheng last year appealed to the government for financial help. In March it agreed with banks to extend loans and other financing. (1 US dollar = 7.7496 Hong Kong dollar) (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

The Northern Shaolin Seven-Star Praying Mantis System is one of the great fighting systems of kung fu. According to tradition, the founder of the style was Wang Lang, an unshaven monk of the Henan Shaolin Temple. Wang Lang was a native of Shandong Province. He came from a wealthy family and studied the martial arts in his youth. Wang Lang entered the Shaolin Monastery around 350-400 years ago, in the period between the Ming (1368-1644) and the Ching (1644-1911) Dynasties. It was a time of chaos for China, with the Manchus committing many atrocities. The Manchus were Mongoloid people of Manchuria, who conquered China in the 17th century, establishing an imperial dynasty that lasted until 1912. At Shaolin, Wang Lang would train with his kung fu brothers. Although he had obtained the techniques of seventeen different kung fu styles, he still could not defeat the other monks.

One day while out walking, Wang Lang witnessed a fight between a mantis and a cicada. Although at first glance it would appear that the small mantis had a distinct disadvantage against such a large insect, it fought with great courage. Wang Lang was fascinated by the aggressiveness, speed and strength of the apparently overmatched mantis. When the cicada attacked, the mantis would angle its body to the side, and with lightning speed and strength, it would pin the cicada with its powerful forearms. Wang Lang took the mantis back to his living quarters for further study. He used a reed to prod the mantis and carefully study its movements, examining how it reacted to various situations. Wang Lang would then imitate these actions, and over time, the system slowly evolved. This led to the development of the Mantis Style of Kung Fu, with its characteristic strong and rapid movements.

When Wang Lang was satisfied, he added to the new style the best techniques from the other seventeen styles which he had previously studied. He would later also combine the footwork of the monkey. Wang continued training and researching to further improve the skills of this new style. On leaving the Shaolin Monastery, Wang returned to Shandong and helped to establish a temple at Laoshan. The Seven-Star Mantis Style takes its name from the Big Dipper star constellation.

At the age of 60, he returned home to Shandong Province where he met Wang Rong Sheng (third generation), who was a national kung fu champion. It is said that Wang Rong Sheng was giving a demonstration of his skills when Li San Jian made some offhand remarks about his kung fu abilities. This enraged Wang Rong Sheng, and he immediately challenged the old man. In the ensuing contest, Wang Rong Sheng could not dent the old man’s defenses. Seeing that his kung fu was of such a high level, Wang Rong Sheng begged to be accepted as a disciple. Wang Rong Sheng came from a wealthy family and never taught the art openly.

Later in life, Wang Rong Sheng accepted a disciple by the name of Fan Xu Dong(fourth generation). Fan Xu Dong was born in Ji Mo County of Shandong Province. Fan Xu Dong was a giant of a man, weighing some 280 pounds. His skill with “iron-sand palm” was known over a large area. It is said that he used this technique to kill two charging bulls, and in 1870, he defeated a Russian strongman in a contest that took place in Siberia. This made him a national hero with the nickname “the giant with the broadsword.” Fan Xu Dong taught openly and had many students. Notable amongst these was Luo Guang Yu (fifth generation).

Shengwang Temple (Chinese: 聖王廟; pinyin: Shèngwáng Miào) is a temple located in Changhua City, Changhua County, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to Kaizhang Shengwang or Tan Goan-kong, a Tang dynasty official who was instrumental to the founding and development Zhangzhou in Fujian Province, a region where many have migrated to Taiwan from.

Shengwang Temple was built in 1761 by Zhangzhou migrants near the west gate of Changhua"s city walls and became the cultural center of the Zhangzhou population. In 1795, there was a rebellion against Qing dynasty officials organized by Quanzhou Tiandihui leader Chen Zhou-chuan[zh]. Since Zhangzhou settlers are often at odds with Quanzhou settlers, residents around Shengwang Temple aided the Qing counter-attack through the west gate. Unfortunately, Shengwang Temple was heavily damaged in the process and was not repaired until 1807. Later, there were two major renovations done in 1860 and 1912.

After World War II, Shengwang Temple was briefly used by the military for storage. Beginning in 1971, Shengwang Temple was used as a privately owned child care center until 1982, when the owners closed it due to concerns about the building"s structural integrity. On 27 November 1985, Shengwang Temple was protected as a level two national monument in Taiwan, which allowed for more renovation work to be done. The rationale for the temple"s protection was because of its cultural importance among Zhangzhou settlers and architectural significance.

Shengwang Temple is considered a rare surviving example of Qing dynasty Hokkien architecture. The main hall is dedicated to Tan Goan-kong, while the rear hall is dedicated to his wife. Notably, the temple contains multiple Qing era stone sculptures, including the two bazi walls (八字牆) on the exterior forming a 45 degree angle with the building, the pair of guardian lions, and the two stone columns with dragons sculpted on them. The temple also contains a plaque with the names of those who helped establish and repair the temple.menshen on the doors have two additional layers underneath, the earliest of which dates from at least 1912.

For evaluation of Axin peptide analogues, DLD-1 cells were cultured in 96-well flat bottom plates up to 70–80% confluency and were transfected with 200 ng M50 TOPFlash plasmid (a gift from Professor Raymond Habas, Temple Biology) and 50 ng pRL-TK plasmid (Promega). 12 h after transfection, cells were treated with DMSO vehicle or 15 μM of Axin peptide analogues for another 24 h. Luciferase activity was measured using the Dual-Glo luciferase assay kit (Promega) on a Biotek Synergy H1 plate reader using the Gen5 software. Data were processed as firefly: Renilla luciferase ratio for each control or treatment group, and were further normalized against the vehicle control group (100%) as the Relative Activities.