View source for Qinggong

{{Short description|Chinese martial arts technique}}
{{Chinese martial arts}}
{{for|rulers from ancient China|Duke Qing (disambiguation)}}
{{Chinese
| t = 輕功
| s = 轻功
| p = qīnggōng
| j = hing1-gung1
| y = hìng-gùng
|l=lightness skill
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|q|ing|1|.|g|ong|1}}
| w = ch'ing<sup>1</sup>-kung<sup>1</sup>
}}
'''Qinggong''' ({{respell|ching|kung}}) is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the [[Chinese martial arts]].<ref Name="Timofeevich">{{cite book|title=Lian Gong Mi Jue: Secret Methods of Acquiring External and Internal Mastery|last=Timofeevich|first=Andrew|author2=Yiming Jin|author3=Cuiya Guo|year=2007|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-84753-371-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAyq4PehB3oC&dq=%22Qing+Gong%22&pg=PA8}}</ref> One way of training is to run up a slightly inclined ramp, gradually increasing the steepness of the incline until it is vertical.<ref Name="Lutang">{{cite book|title=A Study of Taijiquan|last=Sun|first=Lutang|author2=Tim Cartmell|year=2003|publisher=North Atlantic Books|isbn=978-1-55643-462-4|page=25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVqGOf1WB9EC&dq=%22Qing+Gong%22&pg=PA25}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[Chinese characters|characters]] used for this skill are 輕功, where the meaning of the first character is 'light [in weight]; easy; soft; gentle' and the second means 'achievement; effort; skill; results'. It is sometimes translated as 'lightness skill'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNeil |first=Simon |title=What is Wuxia Literature? |url=https://www.kungfumagazine.com/index.php?p=article&article=873 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.kungfumagazine.com}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
The use of qinggong has been exaggerated in [[wuxia]] fiction, in which martial artists have the ability to move swiftly and lightly at superhuman speed, and perform gravity-defying moves such as running on water surfaces, traversing across rooftops, and even balancing on a stalk of grass.<ref>{{Citation |last=White |first=Luke |title=Toward an aesthetic of weightlessness: Qinggong and Wire-fu |date=2017-12-18 |url=https://spsl-projects.net/roch-fans/rochfansandlegendsfreeebook/ |editor-last=lok |editor-first=susan pui san |place=Derby / Manchester |publisher=QUAD / Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art |language=en |isbn=978-0-9954611-0-9 |access-date=2023-02-22}}</ref> In some wuxia and [[martial arts film]]s, qinggong stunts are simulated by actors and stunt performers suspending themselves from wires, earning the name of "[[wire fu]]".<ref>{{cite news|last=Rahner|first=Mark|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002129305_martialarts24.html|title=Wire-fu flicks: Pouncing public, hidden treasures|date=2004-12-24|access-date=2010-12-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629073548/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002129305_martialarts24.html|archive-date=June 29, 2011|publisher=[[Seattle Times]]}}</ref>

Qinggong was taught at the [[Peking Opera School]] in the 20th century. The school's most notable students are the [[Seven Little Fortunes]], including [[Sammo Hung]] and most famously [[Jackie Chan]], providing a basis for their acrobatic [[stunt work]] in [[Hong Kong action cinema]]. In turn, this influenced the development of [[parkour]] in France.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Leon |last2=Wing-Fai |first2=Leung |title=East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film |date=2010 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |isbn=978-0857712271 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA229}}</ref><ref name="Angel">{{cite book |last1=Angel |first1=Julie |title=Breaking the Jump: The Secret Story of Parkour's High Flying Rebellion |date=16 June 2016 |publisher=[[Aurum Press]] |isbn=978-1-78131-554-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iAxjDAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Chinese martial arts]]
[[Category:Wuxia]]
[[Category:Parkour]]

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