The Wudang Sect of Taoism was founded by Zhang Sanfeng in the Ming Dynasty on Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province. It is also known as the Wudang Taoist Sect. The main deity is the God of True Martial Arts. In fact, Wudang Mountain was already a holy place for Taoist activities long before the Ming Dynasty. Before the Han and Wei dynasties, it was said that many hermits and hermits had lived here to practice in seclusion. Liu Qiu of the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties resigned from his post and practiced fasting in Wudang. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Yao Jian was the Wudang commander, but later he retired to lived in Wudang, Chen Tuan of the Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty had lived in Wudang, reciting the “Book of Changes” in Wudang Wulong Temple, and lived in Wudang Jiushiliyan for more than 20 years, and in the Yuan Dynasty, there were masters Ye Xizhen, Liu Daoming, and Hua Dongzhen who served as Wudang's point [i.e., Taoist officials]. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Wudang Mountain was burned by soldiers. Zhu Di, the Ming Emperor, and Zhu Qizhen, the Ming Emperor, especially, worshiped the god of “Zhenwu” and ordered Guo Jin, the Minister of the Ministry of Works, and Zhang Xin, the Marquis of Longping, to supervise more than 300,000 workers and spend a total of one million silver coins over a period of seven years to renovate the palace on Wudang Mountain. Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di also asked Zhang Sanfeng, “I want to learn Taoism. Who is the happiest?” Sanfeng replied, “Eating delicious food, enjoying the benefits, and doing extremely happy things.” Later, he cured the emperor's illness, which deeply convinced the emperor. As a result, Zhang Sanfeng's reputation soared, and Wudang Mountain flourished and continued to grow. Zhang Sanfeng, a native of Yizhou in Liaodong, was also known as Junbao, Sanfeng, and Xuanxuan. He was known as Zhang Sanfeng because his clothes were worn and torn, and he did not care about his appearance. During the Yuan Dynasty, he studied Taoism at the Taicheng Palace in Luyi, Henan, and read the classics. He also went to Jintai Temple in Baoji, Shaanxi, to learn the art of prolonging life. After the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, he went to the Wudang Mountain Yuxu Palace in Junxian, Hubei, to practice the Wudang Neijiaquan, Neidan sleeping technique, yin-yang breathing technique, and foundation building technique. The most important characteristics of the Wudang Taoism he founded are: 1 1. It worships “Zhenwu Dadi” as the main god. “Zhenwu Dadi” is also called “Xuanwu Dadi” because of taboo. It is the collective name of the seven stars in the northern constellation, namely, the Big Dipper, the Bull, the Cow, the Maiden, the Weaker, the Chamber, and the Wall. It is named “Xuanwu” because it resembles a tortoise and a snake. Its status is high and stable. It is also the god of the north worshipped in ancient China, and it is also worshipped by Taoism and even more by the Wudang sect. Second, it is the practice of the Wudang Neijia boxing techniques of Zhang Sanfeng. Zhang Sanfeng's Neijia boxing takes the Taoist approach of using stillness to overcome aggression, and it combines Taoist internal alchemy, inaction, emptiness, weakness, and nature in martial arts, forming a unique style that values softness and intention. It is actually a fusion of internal alchemy and martial arts. Later taijiquan, baguazhang, xingyiquan, etc. were all developed from the Wudang Neijia boxing. Third, the Wudang Sect advocates the unity of the three teachings, with “Tao” as the common source of the three teachings. It believes that Taoism gives birth to the world and its creatures, contains the mechanism of yin and yang, and contains the mystery of creation. It emphasizes that Confucianism cannot be Confucianism without this Tao, Buddhism cannot be Buddhism without this Tao , and the fourth is the emphasis on internal cultivation, which advocates the cultivation of both life and soul. It emphasizes that in order to cultivate the Tao, one must first cultivate humanity. It also advocates that the cultivation of the Tao begins with the cultivation of the heart and the soul. It believes that “one must first cultivate the soul before refining the pill, and one must first cultivate the heart before refining the great medicine. He also emphasized that “medicine” is divided into internal and external, believing that “internal medicine is essence, external medicine is qi, internal medicine nourishes the nature, external medicine nourishes life.” Then refine essence into qi, refine qi into spirit, refine spirit into emptiness, and ultimately return to emptiness and merge with the Dao. Zhang Sanfeng's main works on the Wudang Sect of Daoism include “The Golden Pills Directly Pointing to the Dao” and “The Secrets of the Golden Pills.”

  武当派兴起于明代,由张三丰于湖北均县武当山创立,固称武当派、武当道。以供奉真武大帝为主神。其实,武当山在明代以前早已是道教的活动圣地.汉魏以前就传说有不少羽客、隐士在此隐居修炼,南朝刘宋时的刘虬,就解官辟谷于武当,晋太康中[280—290]有谢道通辞官入道,西上武当于石室中结茅修炼,唐太宗时姚简曾为武当节度,后已隐居武当,五代宋初的陈抟已曾隐居武当,诵<<易>>于武当五龙观,又隐居武当九室岩服气辟谷二十余年之久,元代有法师叶希真,刘道明,华洞真等任武当提点[即道官],元末,武当山遭兵焚,至明,特别是明成祖朱棣,明英宗朱祁镇崇奉“真武”之神,曾命工部侍郎郭进、隆平侯张信等督丁夫三十余万人,费银计百万,历时七年,大修武当山宫殿,共建成八宫二观及金殿、紫禁城等,并赐名`“太和太岳山”.成祖朱棣还问张三丰“吾欲学道,谁最乐者?”三丰对答:“食美嗜,遗通利,极乐事.”后又为成祖疗病,深得成祖信服,于是,张三丰名声名大振,武当山由此大兴,并不断发展壮大。张三丰,辽东懿州人,名全一,又名君宝,号三丰,又号玄玄子,因衣裳褛烂,不修边服,人称张邋遢。元时曾于河南鹿邑太清宫学道,熟读经书, 曾至陕西宝鸡金台观学得养生延命之术, 明洪武后又至湖北均县武当山玉虚宫五边树结茅庵修炼,修炼内丹大法,如武当内家拳,内丹睡功,阴阳调息功,筑基功等,他创立的武当道最大特点是:一、以崇拜“真武大帝”为主神,“真武大帝”即“玄武大帝”,因避讳而改称“玄武”，为北方七宿即斗、牛、女、虚、危、室、壁等七星的合称,以其形似龟蛇,故名“玄武”,其地位崇高而稳定,又为我国古代所崇奉的北方之神,亦为道教所供奉,更为武当派崇拜。二是重习三丰武当内家拳技.张三丰内家拳取道家以静制动,融合道教内丹炼养、无为、虚静、柔弱、自然于武术中,形成贵柔尚意的独特风格,实为内丹气功与武术的融合,晚后的太极拳、八卦掌、形意拳等均是从武当内家拳演绎发展而成的。三是武当派主张三教合一,以“道”为三教共同之源,认为道统生天地人物,含阴阳动静之机,具造化玄微之妙,统无极,生太极,是万物的根本、本始和主宰,并强调:儒离此道不成儒,佛离此道不成佛,仙离此道不成仙、四是重内丹丹法,主张性命双修,强调要修仙道,先全人道,又主张大道以修心炼性为首,认为“未炼还丹先炼性,未修大药且修心,心修自然丹信至,性清自然药材生 。”又强调“药”分内外,认为“内药是精,外药是炁,内药养性,外药养命”。而后炼精化炁,炼炁化神,炼神还虚,最终还虚而合仙道。张三丰开创武当派主要丹法著作有《金丹直指》、《金丹秘诀》等。