Sun Wanrong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Sun Wanrong, Female, Han, from Xicheng, Beijing, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Taijiquan (Ⅵ-11). The tradition is documented in Xicheng, Beijing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Taijiquan in Xicheng, Beijing: Sun-style Taijiquan was founded in Beijing by Sun Lutang. During the years of the Republic of China he taught boxing in turn in the capital, in Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhenjiang and other places, and his disciples spread everywhere; later his daughter Sun Jianyun and his students founded societies in Beijing, Baoding, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong and other places to teach it. Today Sun-style Taijiquan societies and research organisations have been established in many parts of the country, and dozens of countries and regions overseas also practise it. Sun-style Taijiquan is a renowned school of Taijiquan founded in the early twentieth century by Mr Sun Lutang.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Sun Wanrong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Taijiquan in Xicheng, Beijing. Within the documented technical tradition of Taijiquan in Xicheng, Beijing: Sun-style Taijiquan is fairly widespread throughout the country, has spread far to dozens of countries and regions overseas, and is practised by very many people. Sun-style Taijiquan has a complete system of martial thought and of martial theory and technique; it stands apart from the multitude and forms a school of its own. It holds to the unity of the three boxing arts, considering that Xingyi, Bagua and Taiji complement and fuse each other and together constitute an inseparable martial whole. In Sun-style Taijiquan, every advance is followed and every retreat is accompanied; the movements are agile, rounded, lively and compact, carried consistently through in a single flow, like drifting clouds and flowing water, unceasingly continuous, and every turn to the left or to the right is joined by an opening and a closing. It takes the mutual support of yin and yang in Taiji and the utmost degree of suppleness as its substance; in the course of performance it takes in the principle of the inner and outer harmonies of Bagua, seeking the balance of movement and stillness and the unity of inner and outer, and exploring to the utmost the subtlety of balanced and agile change; at every moment of performance it cultivates through the stance work of Xingyi boxing the instinct within the body that awaits a single release; in its mode of performance it takes as its law that one "uses reversal within following and practises following within reversal", thereby governing the meanings of rising, drilling, striking and tumbling; in its performance psychology it takes non-action as the foundation for nourishing the spirit and seeks within emptiness the balance that is put to use, reaching the capacity that "without seeking to overcome others, one's spirit moves and one's mechanism is round, and no one is able to overcome him". Sun-style Taijiquan takes the traditional 98-form as its main practice set; in addition there are such practice sets as the 97-form of Sun Jianyun, the competitive 73-form, the simplified 35-form and the Sun-style Taiji sword. At present the project is in good condition of continued existence, with many practitioners spread throughout the country and far overseas. Sun-style Taijiquan established a system of martial thought joining boxing and the Way, and was the first to put forward that the purpose of practising boxing lies in cultivating the body and fostering virtue and in perfecting the conscience and natural abilities of human beings; it has pioneering significance in the history of Chinese martial arts. It established a body of martial theory centred on the study of the Yijing and a technical system centred on the balanced internal force and based on the unity of the three boxing arts, drawing on and connecting the hundred schools, thereby enriching the theoretical and technical system of Taijiquan. Practising it not only strengthens the body and builds health but also cultivates character and nurtures the mind; it has positive significance for promoting the health of the people and building a harmonious society. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Three boxing arts made one": Xingyi, bagua and taiji are held to complement one another in a single indivisible whole; every step is followed, every turn joined by opening and closing. "The 98 forms and Sun Jianyun's 97": The traditional 98 forms are the main set, alongside Sun Jianyun's 97, a competition 73, a simplified 35 and the Sun-style taiji sword. "Reversal within smoothness": Taking the mutual aid of yin and yang as its body, the art joins inner and outer bagua, nurtures a hair-trigger instinct through xingyi standing and governs rising, drilling, falling and overturning by reversal within smoothness. "Uniting boxing with the Way": After decades of study Sun Lutang fused the three arts and proposed the idea of uniting boxing with the Way, aiming at the completion of human conscience and capacity.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Sun Wanrong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Taijiquan, with Xicheng, Beijing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Taijiquan in Xicheng, Beijing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Xicheng, Beijing as its declared area, and Beijing Xicheng District Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Sunwanrong (Xicheng, Beijing) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Sunwanrong · China ICH Official Archive