ON a cloudy Sunday morning, 99-year-old Ling Hanxing walks into Shanghai’s Zhongshan Park, where one of his disciples teaches practitioners every week.

With clean-cut gray hair, a straight back and a red jacket, Ling walks slowly with a stick and is supported by his daughter on her arm. He greets the students. With the help of a looking glass, he autographs his training manual, published in 1994, inscribing on the first page with the old Chinese saying, “Continue to strengthen yourself.”

Ling’s calligraphy strokes are powerful with angular turns, as if the written characters might break through the thin paper. Those around him are in awe. He is the only living disciple of the legendary martial artist Lu Songgao (1873-1963).

Lu built his reputation from countless battles, where he is said to have defeated all his opponents, even those brandishing guns, with just a few quick movements. He was most active in the 1930s and 40s in Shanghai, an era when Chinese kung fu reached a peak of popularity among the general public.

Ling’s demeanor in the park is suddenly transformed when he is asked to instruct a young female disciple on how to improve her movements.

“Stop,” Ling says, disengaging himself from his daughter and throwing his walking stick to the group. “Why do you swing? You must not hesitate. When you put your foot forward, it must be sudden, with force.”

He imitates the swinging low kick of the practitioner and then follows it with the proper procedure. A kick that is forceful.

Observing more movements of the young woman, he changes the position of her left palm by a barely noticeable degree.

“You must not hit with your arm only,” he tells her, placing her hands on his waist. “The strength is here, from your entire body. Not just with the arms.”

Son of an affluent family, Ling was a graduate of the prestigious St John’s University in Shanghai. After graduation, he worked for foreign banks in the city.

“I am obsessed with martial arts,” he said during lunch with Shanghai Daily, where he wolfed down three large pieces of soy-sauced fatty pork along with other Shanghai specialties.

He still has all his teeth bar two. His daughter, gently chiding him, says he has been sneaking out of the house of late to buy and eat eight dumplings for breakfast.

“Young kids couldn’t begin to imagine how much money, time and energy I spent trying to find great masters to teach me,” Ling says. “It isn’t easy to find real kung fu.”

His father and uncles were martial art fanatics who began teaching him the movements when he was a child, but he wasn’t satisfied with his combat skills until he saw Lu performing at a public event when the old master was in his late 60s.

“I was utterly overwhelmed, even after having practiced all kinds of kung fu methods for more than 20 years,” he says, recalling vividly that first encounter. “He stretched his arms in a simple, powerful move and accidentally hit the stereo that was hanging above the stage. It came crashing down with all the cables.”

After the performance, Ling went backstage to ask Lu to become his mentor.

The old master had long earlier stopped taking new disciples, but he agreed to Ling’s request and continued to teach him until his death.

“You might think I’m strict with my students, but that’s because you have never met Master Lu,” Ling says. “You wouldn’t even dare ask him a question or he would hit you to the ground to remind you where the strength lay.”

From Lu, he learned Xin Yi Liu He (心意六合), literally meaning “heart consciousness in six harmonious styles.” The Chinese believe that the heart is not only the place where emotions originate, but also the source of ideas. Yi, or consciousness, is a quintessential term in many kung fu styles, referring to mindset, ideas and intent.

Legend credits the creation and the ancient boxing manual of the style to the heroic general Yue Fei (1103-42), who combined existing moves with that of the spear, a common battlefield weapon.

Noted for its remarkable explosive force, the style is considered among the most efficient, swift and powerful combat skill among thousands of Chinese martial arts styles.

“Fighting like you are kissing,” as the old saying goes, means the style is most effective at close range.

The “six harmonies” of the name include three external ones — the shoulder with hip, the elbow with knee, and the hand with foot. In practice, it means they should always be on the same vertical plane. The practitioner is required to crunch the body as much as possible to squeeze out the force of the entire body, attacking and defending simultaneously.

“A life is lost within the two characters — crunching and stretching,” the saying goes.

The three internal harmonies of the style include the heart and consciousness, consciousness and qi, and qi and force. As in other kung fu styles, qi refers not only to mysterious internal energy but also to breathing matching moves.

“Coordination of the entire body is key,” Ling wrote in his training manual. “How can one fight an entire body’s force with that of one fist or one kick? Even if you are smaller than your opponent, when you concentrate your entire body’s weight and force into one attacking point, with a speed fast as lightning, and hit your opponent’s weak spot, how can he maintain his balance without falling?”

While Western boxing mainly uses two fists, this style gives the practitioner 16 — both sides of the head, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet as well as belly and butt.

In Shanghai, the style is better known as the “Ten Shapes.” The movements mimic and are named after 10 animals. Many Chinese kung fu styles originate from observing and imitating animal movements.

In his training manual, Ling wrote that one should not only learn from the shapes and poses of the animals, but more importantly, the nature underlying such movements and the specialties of each animal.

“The dragon has its unique way of spiraling the body,” he says, listing a few. “The tiger pouncing on its prey, the monkey with swift hops, the eagle grasping with precision, the bear’s strength and the snake’s agility.”

Ling explains, “You have to be smart to learn martial arts well because you have to understand the ideas, but you won’t truly understand how to attack and defend, how to apply your force and how to combine the moves without patient and persistent practice.”

Then he adds, “Your mind won’t truly understand the idea until your body does, and when it does, it feeds back to your mind and you are at a more advanced level before noticing it.”

Ling can recite by heart the opening of the “History of the Three Kingdoms,” a record of the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280). In the history, General Zhang Fei, who died in AD 221, is said to have frightened an enemy army away by shouting.

In many martial arts novels, the so-called “lion’s scream” is often described as a mysterious form of shouting kung fu. Xin Yi Liu He includes a “storming sound” meant to surprise and scare opponents during battle.

Ling gave an example. Its force sent my heart pounding.

“I may not have the physicality of a young person, but I have the confidence and courage that I can still fight one for a few moves when necessary,” he says.

Ling’s son, Xiao Lixing, is carrying on his father’s heritage through the family’s Xin Yi salon, where disciples meet for training. There’s also an Internet platform for them to discuss martial arts skills. In addition to the Ten Shapes style, Xiao also teaches Liu He Ba Fa (六合八法), a kung fu school that means “six harmonies, eight methods,” which Ling started practicing every morning since 60 years of age.

You don’t have to ask Ling the secret of his longevity. That’s obvious. He has never stopped practicing kung fu, though he admits that methods are altered by age.

“Even if you don’t practice kung fu, there are three characters that will bring you good health if you follow them: relax, calm and happy,” he says.

老骥伏枥——百岁传奇老人与他老字号的中国功夫

在一个多云的星期天早晨，99岁高龄的凌汉兴走进了中山公园，他的一个门生每周来此教拳。

凌有着齐整的灰白头发，腰板笔挺，身着红色夹克，手持拐杖，在女儿的搀扶下缓缓走来。他向学生们致意，借助放大镜为他们在其1994年出版的拳书上亲笔签名，并题写中国格言：自强不息。

凌的字笔力遒劲，力透纸背。围着的人们对他满怀敬意。他是传奇武术大师卢嵩高（1873-1963）唯一在世的弟子。?

卢的声望来自于无数次的实战。据说他身手敏捷，击败了所有的对手，即使是对那些带着刀枪的。卢在1930-1940的上海滩最为活跃，那时中国功夫在民间盛行。

当凌在公园里为一名年轻女弟子指点时，整个人的状态瞬间改变。

“停”凌上前道，甩开女儿，扔开拐杖：“为什么要摇晃，你必须毫不犹豫，出脚时突然发力。”??

他先模仿练拳者错误的姿势，然后做出了正确的示范。一记踩步劲道十足。

又观察了一会儿后，他把她的左手掌的角度稍微变换了下，向胸前伸出。

“你不能只用手去击打”他告诉她，并将她的手放在自己的腰上“力量在这里，来自于你的整个身体，而不单是用手臂。”

凌出生在一个富裕的家庭，毕业于上海著名的圣约翰大学。毕业后，他在本市的一家外资银行工作。

“我痴迷于武术”，在与上海日报记者共进午餐时他说道，此间，他大快朵颐地吃下了三大块红烧肉以及其他上海菜肴。

凌的两排牙齿还是齐全的。他的女儿温和地责备说，他今天来之前已经溜出家门买了8只小笼包当早餐，一口气全部吃掉了。

“年纪轻的人难以想象我花了多少钱、时间和精力去找到大师来教我”凌说，“要找到真正的功夫不容易。”?

凌的父亲和叔叔都是武术爱好者，当他还是个孩子时就教他练功，但凌对技击并不满意，直到在一次公开场合看到年过60的卢嵩高表演拳术。

“我完全被震惊了，虽然20多年来我练过各种功夫，”凌说道，对与卢的偶遇记忆犹新，“卢老师以简单的一记拳法突然间击落了挂在讲台中央的立体声音响，连着所有电缆轰然坠地。

演出结束后，凌去后台找卢拜师。卢当时早已不再收弟子，但他同意了凌的请求，之后一直教他直到卢过世。

“你可能认为我对学生很严格，但那是因为你从来没有见过卢老师，”凌说，“对卢老师，你甚至不敢当面向他提问，否则，他很可能直接用拳脚来教你。”

从卢那里，凌学到了心意六合拳，字面意思是“六意的六合。“中国人认为心脏不仅仅是情感之源，也是思想之源。意，或意识，在许多拳种里都是很典型的术语，指的是心态，思想和意图。

传说，此拳的创始人和拳书作者是英雄岳飞将军（1103-42），其将长枪这一在战场上普遍使用的兵器的用法结合到动作中。

此拳以惊人的爆发力著称，在中国众多的拳种中被公认为是具有最为有效、快速和强大的技击。

正如拳经“打人如亲吻”，意思是最有效的进攻来自于近距离。

俗话说“束展二字一命亡。”

内三合包括：心与意合，意与气合，气与力合。与其他的拳种一样，气不仅仅是指神秘的内部能量，还意味着呼吸与动作的配合。

“整个身体的协调性是关键”凌在他的拳书中写道。一拳一脚怎能与整个身体的力量抗衡？即使你比对手瘦小，但当你把全身的力量集中在一点，快如闪电般地攻击对手的弱点，对手又怎能保持平衡而不被打到呢？

西方拳击主要用两个拳头，而这种拳则用到了十六个部位：头的两侧、双肩、双肘、双手、双跨、双膝、双脚、以及腹和臀。

在上海，此拳更多的被叫做十大形。动作模仿10种动物并以此得名。有许多中国拳种源自于观察和模仿动物的动作。

凌在他的拳书中写道，不仅应学习动物的姿态和动作，更重要的是，了解每种动物的特性和动作的内涵。

“龙有搜骨之法、虎有扑战之勇、猴有纵身之灵、鹰有捉拿之精、熊有战斗之情、蛇有拨草之巧”凌说。

凌解释到“学武术要聪明，因为你要去领悟。但不持之以恒就无法真正掌握技击，发挥力量，控制动作。

他又补充道：“除非你身体能够感受到，否则你无法理解。当身体感知到的时候反馈到你的头脑，你便可在不知不觉中有所长进了。”

凌能背诵三国演义的开篇词。在这段历史中，张飞将军据说大吼一声就能把敌人吓死。

在许多武打小说中，“狮子吼”被描写成一种神秘的功夫。心意六合拳中也有“雷声”，意思是在对打中吓倒对手。

凌示范了一下，力量之大让我心惊。

凌说”我可能没有年轻人的体力，但是，我仍然有信心和勇气在必要时用一些招式去打赢对方。“

凌的儿子肖力行，作为第二代传人执掌凌氏心意沙龙，指导门生拳艺。同时，肖还建立了网络平台作为武术论坛。肖除了教十大形之外，还教六合八法（学名），凌60岁以后每天早上都要打六合八法。

你无需问凌长寿的秘诀，显而易见，他从未停止过修炼武艺，尽管他承认练拳的方式随着年龄有所改变。

“即使你不练功夫，仍然有三样东西可以给你带来健康：松、静、乐”凌说。

上海英文日报 2015年5月4日 记者：姚敏吉