Guan Guilin

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Guan Guilin, Male, Manchu, from Shenyang, Liaoning, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Wrestling (Ⅵ-21). The tradition is documented in Shenyang, Liaoning. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wrestling in Shenyang, Liaoning: Shenyang Beishi wrestling originated in the Beishi (North Market) area of Heping District, Shenyang; when it rose to prominence in the 1920s, the "three wonders" of Beishi entertainment — acrobatics, storytelling and wrestling — were at their height, and wrestling grounds were mostly set in the courtyards of tea houses. Thereafter the wrestling grounds spread within and beyond Fengtian city, with exchanges with the Tianjin wrestling scene and the Shanghai wrestling grounds; Beishi wrestling also spread throughout the Northeast with the migration into Manchuria and the movement of immigrants, and to the Korean peninsula and Japan, becoming an important branch of wrestling in the Northeast region. Beishi wrestling in Shenyang originated in the Manchu buku, and rose to prominence in the Beishi market of Shenyang in the 1920s. Shenyang Beishi wrestling originated from Manchu buku and stands as a witness to cultural exchange between the Manchu and Han peoples.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Guan Guilin is anchored in the documented technical standards of Wrestling in Shenyang, Liaoning. Within the documented technical tradition of Wrestling in Shenyang, Liaoning: At that time, wrestling masters from all over the country came to Shenyang in succession to compare skills, so that the art of Beishi wrestling steadily improved and gradually formed its own distinctive techniques. Centered on the Beishi market of Shenyang, it spread throughout the country, and later, with the migration of overseas Chinese, to neighboring countries and the countries of Southeast Asia. Shenyang Beishi wrestling combined the traditional wrestling techniques of the Manchu and Mongolian peoples with the essence of Xin Jianhou's xingyi boxing, creating a new wrestling method that added martial arts to wrestling and made its movements more elegant and its spectacle greater. It is technically demanding, comprising thirty-six major throws, with techniques such as hooking, lifting, charging, stabbing, leaning, digging, raking, kicking and twisting; the attacking movement varies with the part of the wrestling jacket gripped, the opponent's body angle and the direction of force. Wrestling emphasizes that the hands are two doors while victory depends entirely on the legs; it stresses "using skill to overcome a thousand pounds", eschewing brute and clumsy force and making good use of clever leverage, borrowing the opponent's force against him. It requires "eyes like meteors, hands like arrows, the waist like a serpent, the feet like drills" — quick of eye and hand, adapting to circumstances, with myriad changes in the course of a clinch. Its competition rules are unarmed one-on-one contests, decided by the best of three rounds, with victory determined when three points touch the ground; the bout stops upon contact and is safe and civilized. Its signature techniques include the "Thousand-Handed Lift", "Flying from the Waist", "Black Dragon Wagging Its Tail", "Night Battle on All Sides", "Cold Crow Floating on Water" and "Su Qin Carrying a Sword on His Back". It is an all-round form of exercise combining speed, endurance, explosive power and flexibility; it stops upon contact and is safe and civilized, makes few demands on venue, equipment or clothing, is readily accepted by the public and easy to promote and popularize, and has good fitness and health-building benefits. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Founders Dong Yongshan, Luan Shusheng and Liu Changqing": The Beishi wrestling ground was founded jointly by Dong Yongshan, Luan Shusheng and Liu Changqing, and passed on master to disciple thereafter. "Thirty-six major throws": Its technical backbone is thirty-six major throws — hooking, hooking aside, carrying, tripping, pressing, scooping, raking, kicking and twisting — varied by grip, body angle and direction of force. "Signature throws": The style is famed for signature throws such as the thousand-hand hoist, the waist fly, the black dragon's swinging tail, night battle on eight sides, the hovering crow and Su Qin's back sword. "Hands are the two leaves, legs are the arbiter": Its maxims — eyes like shooting stars, waist like a snake, feet like gimlets — express an art that borrows the opponent's force rather than meeting it with brute strength.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Guan Guilin was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Wrestling, with Shenyang, Liaoning as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Wrestling in Shenyang, Liaoning: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Shenyang, Liaoning as its declared area, and Shenyang Heping District Haofengbeishishuaijiao Development Service 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. Guanguilin (Shenyang, Liaoning) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Guanguilin · China ICH Official Archive