Like Shaolin and Wudang, Emei Martial Arts also has enjoyed a long history. Together, they are the three major schools of martial arts in the Central Plains, especially in the southwest region of China.

Emei Martial Arts is so called because it originated from the Emei Mountain. Located in the central and southern region of China’s Sichuan Province, the Emei Mountain along with Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui, and Wutai Mountain in Shanxi are known as the Four Famous Mountains of Buddhism. Emei Martial Arts is deeply influenced by the religious cultures of Taoism and Buddhism, as well as the regional cultures of the unique folk customs and styles of Sichuan. Emei Martial Arts has become a unique school of martial arts after a long term of development with strong points of various sects blended in.

A number of complicated folklores regarding the origination of Emei Martial Arts have added a shroud of mystery to Emei martial arts. For example, legend has it that Huolong Zhenren (the immortal one of fire dragon) of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) composed Can Tong Qi, and in accordance with the theory in the book, the Taoists of Emei created Huo Long Quan (the Fire Dragon Fist) in imitation of the actions of apes. In the novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong, a master writer of Chinese Wu Xia tales, the school was said to be founded by Guo Xiang as follows: Guo Xiang was the daughter of Guo Jing, a hero from Xiangyang, and Huang Rong in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). She was traveling the world when her sudden enlightenment changed her into a nun and the founder of the School of Emei. This explanation of the origination of Emei Martial Arts prevailed because of the wide distribution of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. In actuality, this story is but fiction from the novel. A more popular legend tells that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring Periods (770 B.C. – 221  B.C.), a man named Situ Xuankong was plowing the land for something living in Emei Mountain. By imitating the actions of apes, he created a set of techniques called Tong Bi Quan based upon hunting skills. Since Situ Xuankong often wore a white robe, his followers called him the “White Ape Patriarch”.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoism and Buddhism were introduced to Emei Mountain. Influenced by the religious culture, Emei Martial Arts achieved progress and development. Taoists and monks absorbed Taoist regimen and Buddhist Zen cultivation to develop a perfect sect of martial arts that integrated toughness with softness, combined the static with the dynamic and coupled the internal techniques with the external ones.

After the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Emei Mountain became a famous Chinese Buddhist mountain as the temple site for Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The Emei Mountain thrived in burnt incense and housed a great number of monks, many of whom were martial artists. During the reign of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1130), Zen Master Baiyun of the Jinding Temple in Emei Mountain based his study on the Taoist internal alchemy, Dao Yin and breathing techniques, and the mechanism of waning and waxing in human body, coupled with the static and dynamic exercises and fighting skills in martial arts, and created Emei Qi Zhuang Gong, also known as the Twelve Zhuang Gong of Emei. During the Southern Song Dynasty, another monk from Emei Mountain, Deyuan the Elder, imitated the climbing and jumping movements of apes, and created the Ape Fist. Since Deyuan the Elder had white eyebrows, Ape Fist also came to be known as the Bai Mei Quan (white eyebrows fist) in the martial arts world. In Deyuan the Elder’s Quan Shu, a systematic summary was provided for Emei Martial Arts, which became a self-contained hallmark of the matured development of Emei Martial Arts.

Emei Martial Arts saw an unprecedented development during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). In the Ming Dynasty, Tang Shunzhi’s Collected Works of Mr. Jing Chuan contained a “Fist Song of the Emei Taoist”, which vividly described the profound martial arts techniques of the Emei Taoists. The Emei-style spear techniques, swordplay and others among the Eighteen Arms of Martial Arts techniques had also reached the highest point of proficiency. In the Ming Dynasty, Wu Shu’s Shou Bi Lu chronicled the protean techniques of Emei spear and included such subjects as mind cultivation, body cultivation, quietism-orientation, dynamism-orientation, offense and defense, examination of situations, alert and scrutiny, backhand, jabbing techniques, and counter-weapon moves among others, which enriched the theories of Emei Martial Arts. In the Qing Dynasty, as Emei Martial Arts was widely circulated, so many subdivisions and sectors emerged that over 300 of them were known as unique schools and sects, such as the Monkey Fist, Ox Horn Fist, the Fire Dragon Fist and Duck Fist.

Emei Martial Arts have complicated and overloaded contents. Its fist fighting techniques, weapons skills and practice methods have not only absorbed the essence of various schools like Shaolin, Wudang, and others, but also established its unique features. The Emei School of martial arts stresses the integrated internal and external cultivation, the unity of body with mind, the combined usage of toughness and softness, and the self-controlled degree of opening up and closing up. When compared, the Shaolin school is masculine, specialized in offense, and characterized by long-range usage of hand techniques; the Wudang school is feminine, specialized in breathing techniques, and characterized largely by short-range usage of hand techniques; and the Emei school is characterized by the combined manifestations of both the tough style and the soft style, the internal and external techniques, the long-range and short-range exercises as well as the offensive and defensive approach.

Emei Martial Arts advocates the combined usage of both the static and dynamic movements. In the dynamic part, there are the famous Twelve Zhuang of Dynamic Techniques: Tian (sky), Di (earth), Zhi (going), Xin (heart), Long (dragon), He (crane), Feng (wind), Yun (cloud), Da (large), Xiao (small), You (tranquil), and Ming (darkness); For the static, there are the Six Specialized Techniques of Static Techniques: Hu Bu Gong (the Tiger Step Technique), Zhong Chui Gong (the Heavy Hammer Technique), Suo Di Gong (the Land Shrinking Technique), Xuan Nang Gong (the Sack Lifting Technique), Zhi Xue Gong (the Pressure Point Technique), and Nie Pan Gong (the Nirvana Technique). In Emei Martial Arts, attacks are delivered by outstretched fingers and the palm in the front. The body moves in soft but agile ways in order to make the best use of the power of the five peaks and the six elbows. The five peaks are the head, shoulder, elbow, hip and knee. The six elbows refer to the upper elbow, the lower elbow, the left elbow, the right elbow, the back elbow, and the reverse elbow.

Emei Martial Arts also have the techniques of Three Main Weapons— the sword, the hairpin (Emei pierce), and the needle (hidden weapon). Emei’s swordplay and hairpin techniques utilize beautiful postures but are filled with power. Together, they both are the unique techniques of Emei Martial Arts.