Cangzhou Martial Arts
01 · Historical Records
Pigua quan originated in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, and was already in circulation by the middle of the Ming dynasty. In the Republican period two martial arts masters, Ma Yingtü and Guo Changsheng, systematically organised and collated the original Pigua quan.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Pigua quan is fast in action, explosive in force, severe in its techniques, unfathomable in its variations, attentive to attack-and-defence combat, and stresses practicality. Each routine of Pigua quan has its own characteristics. The main routines are the Pigua fast set, the Pigua slow set, Qinglong quan, Gua quan, Paochui, Feihu quan, Pigua gunleizhang and the like; the weapons are the miaodao, the Fengmo staff, the Pigua saber, the qi spear, the Qingping sword, the xinggou, the double-headed snake, the halberd and so on. Cangzhou Pigua quan draws on the strengths of other boxing styles such as Tongbi quan and Bajiquan, and has introduced fine boxing arts and weapons such as the miaodao. Every move and posture carries the traditional philosophical elements of Chinese culture — yin and yang, heaven and earth, square and circle, hardness and softness, interior and exterior — and is pervaded with the thought and meaning of Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, so it has rich cultural connotations.
Fast and slow sets and the green dragon form
Each routine has its own character, from fast and slow sets to the green dragon, cannon fist and flying-tiger forms, with a matching armoury of Miao sabre, staff, spear and sword.
Speed, explosive power and severity
Fast, explosive, severe and unpredictable, the style prizes practical attack and defence, its every move carrying the traditional polarities of yin and yang, square and circle.
The systematising of Ma Yingtu and Guo Changsheng
Popular since the mid-Ming in Cangzhou, the style was systematised in the Republican era by the masters Ma Yingtu and Guo Changsheng.
Absorbing Tongbei, Baji and the Miao sabre
Cangzhou Pigua boxing absorbed the strengths of Tongbei and Baji and adopted the Miao sabre, giving its technique a mutually supporting fist-and-weapon character.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Pigua quan originated in Cangzhou; since the middle of the Qing dynasty the principal centres of transmission have been Cang County, Qing County, Botou and Yanshan. In the Republican period martial arts masters such as Ma Yingtü and Guo Changsheng, who taught at the Nanjing Central National Wushu Institute, brought Pigua quan together with the miaodao and the Fengmo staff into the institute's curriculum, and it therefore spread from the single locality of Cangzhou to all parts of North China.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Cangzhou Martial Arts · Cangzhou Martial Arts · Cangzhou Martial Arts · Cangzhou Martial Arts.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Although the transmission of Pigua quan is supported by the martial arts association, it still faces the danger of finding no successors, and urgently needs strengthened protection. Shi Tongding (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, of Hui ethnicity, born in 1961, a native of Botou, Hebei. The Liuhe quan practised by Shi Tongding is characterised by movements that are extended, light and agile, by hand techniques that flow in unbroken sequence, by stillness containing movement and movement containing stillness, by clear footwork, by a balance of hardness and softness, by a marked contrast of movement and stillness, and by a free-flowing and practical character. It lays stress on yin and yang and demands that the rising and falling, the moving and the still, be coordinated and matched: mind accords with intention, breath with power, hands with feet, elbows with knees and shoulders with hips. Besides the basic skills common to all schools, there are also training methods for foundation work and special techniques, such as the routine 'Thirteen Guardians', the Five Animals, Xiantianjing, catching and tossing sandbags, and fancy jar-grabbing. The principal hand forms of Liuhe quan are the fist, the palm, the hook, the open and the concealed hand; the principal striking methods are chopping, smashing and thrusting; and the principal leg methods are flicking, kicking, pushing off, hooking and spinning. In 2002 Shi Tongding founded 'Liuhe Wu', using the club as its vehicle and the Liuhe name as its medium, jointly promoting the development of Liuhe quan. A representative inheritor of Cangzhou martial arts, a project of the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Since taking up the post of coach in 1985, Shi Tongding has trained disciples of whom new talents have repeatedly emerged, and they have won prizes many times in various national martial arts competitions. Chen Jingyu (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in June 1959, a native of Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. He was trained at the same time by two modern martial arts coaches, Hu Zhengshun and Liu Hongchang, organically combining Yanqing quan with modern martial arts and summarising unique training methods and teaching experience. His performance style is graceful in posture, well modulated in fast and slow, and free and unconstrained. A representative inheritor for Cangzhou martial arts (Yanqing quan), a project of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. He takes the protection and transmission of Yanqing quan as his own task, accepts disciples widely, and has successively trained and taught a large number of pupils free of charge.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Shi Tongding 01-0040
- Chen Jingyu 03-1205
- Wu Lianzhi 03-1206
- Guo Guizeng 05-2536
- Qi Mingsong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。