Zhang Luping

Zhang Luping was a Chinese martial artist and mathematician who was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province in 1945. He was a descendant of Zhang Jun, a famous poet and prime minister of the Southern Song dynasty, and Zhang Jiugao, the brother of Zhang Jiuling, another renowned poet and chancellor of the Tang dynasty. He started learning Shaolin Kung Fu when he was 13 years old from Shaolin and Jin Woo grandmaster Fang Nan Tang. He later became interested in tai chi and learned from many masters of different styles, such as Cai Hong Xiang, Wang Zi-Ping, Fu Zhong Wen, Dong Xiang Gen, Du Wen Cai, Gu Liu Xin, and Sun Ren Zhi. He also studied Xin Yi, another internal style similar to tai chi, with the well-known Shanghai-based master Zhang Hai Sheng. He was noted for his deep knowledge of the five styles of tai chi, his superb application of the principles, and his highly developed internal power. He was also known for his exceptional skill at tai chi's push hands, and for an incident in his hometown in which he accidentally broke a weightlifting champion’s forearm during an arm wrestling match. He was respected and admired by many martial artists for his skill and generosity in sharing his knowledge. He also had a successful academic career as a professor of mathematics. He earned his master's degree in mathematics at East Normal University in Shanghai under Prof. Cheng Chang Ping, who had done extensive mathematics work with Prof. Wolf Von Wahl at the University of Bayreuth in West Germany. He also studied under professor Wang Guang Yin at the math research department of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. He published several papers and books on mathematics, and was invited to give lectures at various universities and conferences. He died in 1998 at the age of 53. He left behind a legacy of books and students who continue to spread his teachings and honor his memory.