The lone swordsmen

Qingcheng kungfu from southwest Sichuan province has been shrouded in mystery for centuries.

Once known locally as the "greenwood-hero style," it was practiced in the mountains of Sichuan by outlaws during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Historical records show that Qingcheng kungfu has been ranked among the top five martial arts branches, along with the Shaolin, Emei, Wudang and Kunlun sects, since the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

This rich, neijia (internal) kungfu style boasts of at least 10 sub-branches and over 100 sets of combat skills and has developed for centuries in isolation.

It is often deemed a "water-element style" martial art which "uses soft to beat hard, small to fight big, weak to win over strong, short to defeat long".

Qingcheng kungfu practitioners were quite active in the late Qing Dynasty until the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). In the 1930s, author Li Shoumin wrote many novels about the Qingcheng masters.

But Hong Kong writer Louis Cha gave this kungfu genre a negative image in his novels. When Cha's The Legendary Swordsman was adapted into a popular TV drama series in 2000, it caused an uproar among Qingcheng kungfu practitioners.

But Liu Suibin, chief master of the Qingcheng sect, staged a grand welcome ceremony for Cha in 2004. He and 32 disciples showed off the Big Dipper Sword Battle Formation at the entrance to Mt Qingcheng.

Moved by Liu's sincerity and warmth, Cha apologized for overlooking the historical facts.

"We have since then become good friends," says Liu, who is an advisor to the China Wuxia Literature Studies Society.