70. Xing yi quan & Jasmine green tea

Controversy can be a challenging word around the Yum Cha table. Even when all the dishes being pushed around by the Yum Cha girls are all so temptingly delicious. It can be a little humbling to discover that what gets served with the rice is usually Jasmine Green tea: the typical ordinary default choice for most people. During the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a General named Yue Fei 岳飛 who came to represent the epitome of loyalty in Chinese culture because he remained loyal, right to the end of his life when killed by conspiracies within the imperial court. Thankfully nowadays, as they sip their cups of Jasmine Green tea, most people never have to experience such a controversial life. Rather, we are blessed by an abundance never known by most people living before us. The martial arts of Xingyi Quan 形意拳, like its acclaimed ancestor Yue Fei 岳飛, is an internally focused style that also carries its fair share of controversy. Whether you believe any of it or not, Southern Song General Yue Fei created a style for his officers and soldiers to use in the heat of battle through the use of explosive internal chi by way of the fist or spear. Passed down from Yue Fei to Divine Fist Li - Li Luoneng 李洛能, the style has become rich and varied in our time, just like all those yum cha dishes. Hence something easy on the palette has to be drunk to cut through it all; practically and effectively. And Jasmine Green tea is what cuts through all of it. It is like a bitter-sweet refresher that allows one to enjoy all the dishes in their respective turn, just like a Xingyi fighter taking down one opponent at a time with explosive grace and ease. Controversial this may all be. The style of Xingyi Quan 形意拳 has always been so. Within the form resides the mind: within the complex reside the simple. And that is why the humble Jasmine Green tea reigns at the Yum Cha table. Liked what you heard & want to connect with me? Join me at… linkedin.com/in/peterhainzl/