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In Chinese, the term Kung-Fu（功夫） literally means "high skill." This is a general term and doesn't necessarily have to have a connection with Chinese martial arts. As annoying as it is to hear someone call themselves a "kung-fu chef" or "kung-fu video game player," the phrasing can be accurate.
Until the Ming Dynasty(1368 – 1644 A.D.), when romantic novels were popular, the term Wu-Shu（武术） was commonly used for martial arts. The chinese word for Wushu is comprised of two characters. The first, wu 武, means to stop while the second, shu (术) is a spear. When read together the meaning becomes: conquering violence by overcoming weapons. This philosophy comes from an ancient saying: "Weapons are like fire - if they are not extinguished, they will burn the user." In many ways this is a similar saying to the Christian saying, "Live by the sword, die by the sword." The difference being the way of implementing peace.
Despite the histories of the two words, kung-fu and wushu, the modern usage has reversed. These days in martial arts communities kung-fu has come to mean traditional styles, often family styles. They are always controlled by a private school often with a head or family council. Wushu on the other hand has come to mean styles of martial arts approved by the Chinese government. These styles are often performance based, or not used for fighting, with the exception of Sanda, a muy-thai like system of fighting, and systems used by Chinese militaries and police.
The Beginnings
The beginnings of Chinese martial arts stretches back thousands of years into aether of time. The first written reference to marital arts occurs in the legends of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), the mythical, first emperor of China. It is told he used what was then "classical" Chinese wrestling techniques to vanquish his archenemy, Chi You. Although the Yellow Emperor legends may be based on a real person, most of his attributes are considered pure mythology.
During the Shang Empire (ca. 1600 BC - ca. 1046 BC) there are stories of wrestling techniques as well as the beginnings of hand-to-hand combat styles we now associate with kung-fu. From inscriptions on the oracle bones, animal bones with Chinese characters carved into them, we know people often dressed as animals to perform rituals. During these rituals there were often wrestling competitions. Although we do know during this time many Chinese used spears, axes, daggers as well as bows and arrows, historical records are very spotty so the skill at which they were used is not well understood.
In the Chou dynasty (c. 1027-256 B.C.) many schools of philosophy were established and archery and horsemanship became important in rites of passage. Archery was mandatory for students between 15 and 25 to prepare them for the "li" ceremony.
In about 700 B.C. poems begin to mention a style of fighting called Quan Po (or Quan Bo). On line of the poetry says, "Without the fist there is no bravery." Although we don't know anything about the system today we can surmise it was a forerunner of modern kung-fu.
The first emperor to unite China in 221 B.C., and builder of the first Great Wall, was named Huang Di. He was constantly afraid the peoples he conquered would rise up against him so he banned all forms of martial arts and the citizenry were not allowed to carry any kinds of weapon or face the death penalty. This continued through out his reign and three years into his son, Qin Er Shi's reign when the government was overthrown. During this time all martial arts outside of the military was practiced in secret. This is a theme that will be repeated throughout Chinese history.
In the book, Records of the Grand Historian, by Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-80 B.C.) there is mention of a warrior class who were skilled in military arts with a special emphasis on swordsmanship.
Around the time Buddhism was introduced in China, around A.D. 25, a new style of kung-fu named, Chang Shou (Long Fist) was developed by a man named Kuao Yee. The original techniques have been lost to time.
It was at this time the famous Chinese Medicine Doctor, Huato, created Qi-gong. For centuries Chinese people had been doing physical and breathing exercises as therapies for illness. Huato was the first one to codify exercises into forms. He took his inspiration from the bear, deer, tiger, eagle and monkey. In English this translates into "The Five Animal Play." Although the form was changed slightly by the Communist government it is still practiced in mostly the same way as it was centuries ago.
Birth of Shaolin Kung-Fu
The most famous of all Chinese kung-fu, Shaloin kung-fu, has had an influence on most later generation. Shaolin style was immortalized in Hong Kong cinema in the golden age of kung-fu films of the 1960s and 70s.
Shaloin kung-fu was sparked by one man, Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was an Indian, Buddhist monk who traveled through Tibet into China to spread the "true" meaning of Buddhism. This would later be called Chan, or better known to the West through the Japanese name Zen.
Bodhidharma first went to Nanjing where he was summoned by the Emperor Liang Wu Di (A.D. 502-549). The emperor wanted the famous monk's blessing for his piety to the Buddha. The emperor constructed many temples and had monks tirelessly copying religious scripts. Bodhidharma told Liang Wu Di all of his money spent was worthless.
Bodhidharma quickly left, crossing the Yangtze into Henan provence, arriving at the Shaolin monestary (少林寺). The abbot was afraid to let Bodhidharma in for fear of losing his position. Bodhidharma sat outside of the monastery for nine years meditating and perfecting his technique. Eventually he was let into the Shaolin monestary where he overthrew the leadership to start his own system.
Bodhidharma taught that the body and soul are inseparable so the body as well as the mind must be trained in order to reach enlightenment. He instituted an systematized exercises to strengthen the monks' bodies. Although Bodhidharma's intent was to work the physical in order to promote the spiritual, some of his techniques were clearly based on Indian fighting techniques.
Although many of the exercises had their roots in Indian fighting techniques, the original set of Shaolin exercises did not have much in the way of martial arts. It was mainly focused on building qi. Movements were intended to strengthen the body and clear thoughts after many hours of meditating. This was the beginning of the styles of Qi-gong, a type of exercise in which all movements are focused on breathing, that many in China and all over the world practice today.
It took until the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644AD) for martial artists to consider qi-gong and kung-fu inseparable, however, these early exercise regimes and meditation would set the stage for later generations.
These days Shaolin is internationally famous thanks to many Hong Kong films. Many of the famous animal styles as well as several form of qi-gon, e.g. Yijin jing, ba duan jing, and da bei quan, come from the temple.
Wudan and the Rise of Neigong
Wudan is perhaps the most famous Taoist temple in China where many forms of kung-fu have their origins. Taoism is the only native Chinese religion. It incorporates many beliefs such as yin-yang and the theory of five elements. Chinese medicine also incorporates many Taoist beliefs, this is especially seen in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing 黄地内径). Taoists like Buddahists believe in meditation, but believe sitting all the time will cause numbness, there by cutting the flow of qi.
It was the belief in living in harmony with nature that lead to the development of neigong (内功). Taoists had their own versions of qi-gong(气功） stemming from their standing meditation, exercises dating back to Huato and the older daoyin; an earlier form of qi-gong somewhat like dancing. Neigong uses the practitioner's qi as opposed to just the power of his muscles. Typical movements in these types of kung-fu are smooth, flowing and circular. By using natural movements and qi generates amazing amounts of force, speed and accuracy. Most modern Chinese martial arts films where people fly, shoot fireballs from their hands and paralyze people with a touch as well as the Jedi from Star Wars movie have their origins in in Taoism and Neigong.
The most famous form of Neigong is perhaps tai-chi (also written taiji and t'ai chi (太极拳)). Today most people are familiar with video of old Chinese people in parks practicing slow, graceful movements in order to keep fit. While traditional styles of tai-chi were graceful and sometimes slow, they were all about ruthless effectiveness. Tai-chi is the style used in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Tai-chi (太极) roughly translates to "the Grand Ultimate." Although its origins are shrouded in controversy, tai-chi was quickly adopted by taoist masters. This style of martial arts combines a soft-hard duality, rarely using straight movements. By using these deliberate movements combined with correct breathing the master cultivates qi.
Today the main styles of tai-chi are Chen, Yan, Wu, Sun, Wu Yuxiang and Hu Lei, although outside of China the Yang/government styles are the most recognized. After the communist purge in Mainland China, tai-chi lost it's focus on combat and instead was part of government propaganda to turn martial arts into something which focused solely on health and fitness. At this time the Yang style, which had been popular among the wealthy in Beijing, stepped in fill this role. The vast majority of Chinese wu-shu students and masters have only studied this type of tai-chi and have no idea how the movements were originally used.
Xing Yi, also spelled Hsing I（形意拳), is aggressive with a direct nature and hair-trigger responses. This style, based on the theory of wu-xing(五行) with the elements taking on the characteristics of strikes: fire/pounding, wood/crushing, earth/drilling, metal/splitting, water/crossing. Each of the strikes are said to benefit corresponding organs. These movements are unified with proper breathing techniques. Each of the movements have a countering movement
A Xingyi master will rarely counter an attack with straight, forward actions. Xingyi employs side-steps with trapping movements before counter-striking. Unlike the circular movements in tai-chi, xingyi tends to use straight, quick strikes. Another characteristic of xingyi is that kicks are usually limited to below the belt, because of the philosophy that big motion is wasted motion.
In the west it is difficult to find Xingyi masters. Most do not advertise so you need to find them through word of mouth.
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