Wudang is credited as the birthplace of an entire family of martial arts built around softness rather than force, traced to a founder whose own historical existence is not fully confirmed.
A legendary founder
Chinese martial tradition credits Zhang Sanfeng, a semi-legendary Taoist figure whose exact historical existence and dates are debated among scholars, with founding the internal martial arts associated with Wudang, most famously tai chi, built around principles of yielding, redirection and internal energy cultivation rather than direct forceful confrontation, a philosophy explicitly linked to Taoist thought about softness overcoming hardness.
A warrior god's mountain
The mountain's temple complex is dedicated principally to Zhenwu, also called Xuanwu, the Perfected Warrior, a major Taoist deity associated with the north and with martial and protective power, whose mythology, including accounts of extended ascetic practice on the mountain before his own deification, is echoed throughout the layout and dedication of Wudang's various temples and shrines.
As this entry's companion article covers
The scale of the Ming dynasty temple-building project at Wudang, funded by an emperor whose claim to the throne rested on having overthrown his own nephew, is addressed directly in this entry's companion article rather than repeated here.