Taijiquan

Ⅵ-11Traditional Sports, Games and AcrobaticsYongnian, HebeiBatch 2 (2008)Extension ItemFeatured

01 · Historical Records

Yongnian Wu-style Taijiquan originated in the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns of the Qing dynasty and was created by Wu Yuxiang, a native of East Street in Guangfu, Yongnian, Hebei; it has a history of more than a hundred years. Its boxing theory derives from classic works of traditional Chinese philosophy, medicine and martial arts such as the Yijing (Book of Changes), the Huangdi Neijing, the Huangting Jing and the Jixiao Xinshu, and over its long development it absorbed reasonable elements of Daoist, Confucian and Buddhist culture, so that it is called the national essence of Chinese martial arts. In addition, Wu Yuxiang, the founder of Wu-style Taijiquan, came from a household of officials and gentry, did not take boxing as his profession, and seldom accepted disciples, devoting himself mainly to his own amusement and study; although the style formed a school of its own, it did not spread widely and urgently needs protection.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Wu-style Taijiquan combines the Chen new frame with the Chen old frame, and also joins Yang Luchan's "large movements" to the Chen "small movements"; in its boxing it values the body method, stresses opening and closing and the handling of empty and solid, directs the qi with the mind and moves the body with the qi. Its movements are concise and compact, leisurely and steady; although the postures are small they are never cramped, and the advance, retreat and rotation of the chest and abdomen always stay centred, while the footwork is strict, the empty and the solid clearly distinguished, and the manner small, deft and agile. The body method of Wu-style Taijiquan chiefly includes hollowing the chest and lifting the back, wrapping the crotch, guarding the dui at the hip crease, lifting the crown of the head, suspending the crotch, dropping the elbows and centring the tailbone; the postures of the boxing stress rising, carrying, opening and closing, and hold that "going and returning must involve folding, advancing and retreating must involve conversion", seeking the union of intent, qi and form. Taijiquan is a perfect combination of the dialectical theoretical thinking of the Chinese nation with martial arts, art and qigong guiding exercises, and it is a high-level form of body culture.

Rising, carrying, opening, closing

The postures follow rising, carrying, opening and closing, with folding in the return and conversion in advance and retreat, seeking the union of intent, energy and form.

The eight body requirements

The body method includes hollowing the chest and lifting the back, wrapping the crotch, lifting the crown, dropping the elbows and centring the tailbone; the frame is small yet never cramped.

Wu Yuxiang of the gentry household

Created in the Xianfeng-Tongzhi years by Wu Yuxiang of eastern Guangfu street, the style draws its theory from the Yijing, Huangdi Neijing and Jixiao Xinshu and is called a national treasure.

Fusing the Chen frames with Yang Luchan's large movements

The style fuses the Chen new and old frames and joins Yang Luchan's large movements with the Chen small ones; its gentry founder taught few, so it never spread widely.

The medical effects of taiji

Research across medicine, physiology, biochemistry, anatomy, psychology and mechanics indicates taiji helps prevent and treat falls in old age, hypertension, heart and lung disease, arthritis and neurasthenia.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Wu-style Taijiquan centres on Guangfu in Yongnian, Hebei, and has also been transmitted to Handan, Xingtai, the Beijing-Tianjin area, Shanghai and other places.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The practice of taiji is both natural and refined; not only does it build strength and good health, but research in medicine, physiology, biochemistry, anatomy, psychology, mechanics and many other disciplines has also shown that taiji is highly effective in preventing and treating chronic conditions such as falls in old age, hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, hepatitis, joint disease, gastrointestinal disease and neurasthenia. For more than a hundred years, Wu-style Taijiquan, as a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation, has been increasingly loved by the peoples of China and of the world, and protecting and promoting it has become a new demand of the times. Yang Zhenhe (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in 1953, a native of Yongnian in Hebei. His Taijiquan is soft and slow, round and continuous, tightly structured and even in speed; his body method stays upright, clearly distinguishing empty and solid, joining inner with outer, keeping the upper and lower body in step, hiding a needle in the softness and holding firmness within gentleness, relaxed and quiet in a natural way, expansive and dignified, and welcome to young and old alike. It is praised as "a sturdy grass in a strong wind, a living sculpture". In China he has taken on hundreds of formal disciples, and well over a thousand people have inherited his art; in Germany too he has several hundred disciples. Representative inheritor of Taijiquan (Yang-style Taijiquan), the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. Yang Zhenhe himself and his students have repeatedly won major awards in martial arts competitions both at home and abroad. In 1998 he was granted the title of "Taiji Master" at the International Taijiquan Friendship Association, and in May 2004 he was specially engaged as chairman of the taiji association by the European Yongnian Taijiquan Association; he has on many occasions published articles in periodicals such as the Yongnian Taiji Magazine. Han Huiming (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in 1925, a native of Yongnian in Hebei. Han Huiming carried on the original manner of Yang-style Taijiquan; his boxing is soft and slow, round and continuous, expansive and dignified, relaxed and quiet in a natural way. So that Yang-style Taijiquan could be handed on better, both Han Huiming's sons and his grandson took up the style, and his eldest son Han Qingming and third son Han Qianmin likewise became well-known Yongnian taiji teachers, acting respectively as president of the Yongnian Yang Chengfu Taijiquan Academy and president of the Yongnian Yang Luchan Taijiquan Academy. For seventy years Han Huiming has gone on transmitting Yang-style Taijiquan in his home district, teaching more than a thousand pupils, among them more than a hundred inner-door disciples. Now close to ninety years of age, Han Huiming still receives taiji enthusiasts from China and abroad at the Yang Luchan former residence, lecturing to them and giving demonstrations. He has in addition published one set of personal teaching video discs as well as textbooks and similar materials. Representative inheritor of Taijiquan (Yang-style Taijiquan), the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. In 2007 the Ministry of Culture conferred on Han Huiming the title of "Chinese Folk Martial Artist".

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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