Taijiquan
01 · Historical Records
Li-style Taijiquan was created by Li Ruidong, a native of Wuqing city in Zhili under the Qing dynasty (today Wuqing District, Tianjin). Li Ruidong came from a wealthy family inside Wuqing city and was known as "Nose Li"; he entered the Qing palace to serve as a guard and taught boxing in a prince's residence, while also studying the arts of several schools, including Bagua, Xingyi, Tongbei and Chuojiao. He fused the martial learning of each school with the principles and methods of taiji and compiled the "Three Plates" boxing of heaven, earth and humanity, first called "boxing within the mansion"; it was later transmitted, centred on Wuqing, throughout the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The art is positioned according to the three powers of heaven, earth and humanity, and develops a "Three Plates" boxing system of heaven, earth and humanity, that is, Heaven Plate boxing (Seven-Star As-You-Wish Boxing) of 36 forms, Earth Plate boxing (Eight-Method Qimen Boxing) of 72 forms, and Humanity Plate boxing (Taijiquan Five-Element Striking) of 108 forms. The three plates correspond to one another: Heaven Plate boxing answers to the 36 heavenly gang and joins the 36 lunar lodges; Earth Plate boxing, using the earth to transform the four directions, forms the image of the eight trigrams and names its postures by verses; Humanity Plate boxing takes heaven and earth's interaction, which produces the climates first and the four seasons afterwards, and thereby forms the four joints; its way accords with the principles of the River and Luo diagrams and with the numbers of the Great Derivation. Its short and auxiliary fists include the small and large baji, the three-station squat, the four-gate cannon, the beginner's eight forms, the Six Harmonies eight forms, the Vajra eight forms, the eight methods of body form, the old three pushes, the thirteen postures, the thirteen elixirs, small-frame taiji, large-frame taiji, the Six Harmonies fengmo boxing, the forty-four-form Li-style Taijiquan, the external elixir skills of the taiji thirteen elixirs, the twelve taiji forms, the eight hard and twelve soft of taiji, the taiji bagua nine-extreme gold-lock jade interlocking hands, and so on. Its weapon skills and forms include the Li-school taiji Green Dragon thirteen sabres, the White Tiger thirteen sabres, the thirteen swords, the thirteen spears, the Six Harmonies spear, the snow-flake sabre, the Li-school taiji Clear Wind sword, the taiji thirteen-section staff, the brow-level staff, and so on. Li-style Taijiquan takes the finest techniques of many schools of martial learning, boxing and training and develops them into something new; it stresses the combination of nourishing the body and strengthening it with self-defence and combat, gives weight to the lower body, and is marked by a relaxed body, an easy tempo, continuity and agility. It also gives prominence to "whole-set taiji boxing" and is known for the great number of its set postures and of its striking postures. It began to take on disciples to be taught from the fourth-generation bearer onward. Li-style Taijiquan merges traditional Chinese culture into the principles and methods of the "Three Plates" boxing, brings out the artistic quality of the human figure in motion, and stresses that both literary and martial cultivation should be pursued and that virtue comes first. It is not only a traditional sporting activity that builds health and strength, but it also has positive significance for raising a person's spiritual cultivation and for building a harmonious society.
The three plates of heaven, earth and humanity
The art is built on the three powers: the heaven plate of 36 forms, the earth plate of 72 and the human plate of 108, answering the 36 stars, the eight trigrams and the four seasons.
Auxiliary sets and weapon methods
Auxiliary sets range from small and large Baji to the four-gate cannon and six-harmony forms, while the weapons include the green dragon and white tiger thirteen blades, thirteen swords and spears, snowflake sabre and staffs.
The integral taiji frame
Fusing many martial techniques into a new synthesis, the style stresses health and defence together, favouring the lower body and famed for the sheer number of its postures.
The palace style and Li Ruidong
Formed by Li Ruidong of Wuqing, the school was first compiled in the imperial palace as the “inner mansion boxing” and later spread around Wuqing across north China.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Li-style Taijiquan is a school of Taijiquan created by Li Ruidong, a native of Wuqing city in Zhili under the Qing dynasty (today Wuqing District, Tianjin), who blended the essence of the martial learning of many schools. The school was first compiled inside the imperial palace, where it was called "boxing within the mansion"; later, centred on Wuqing District of Tianjin, it spread through the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and other parts of northern China.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan · Taijiquan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Historically, Li-style Taijiquan was transmitted chiefly by members of the Li clan. The transmitting community of Li-style Taijiquan numbers more than a million people, and among its bearers are many noted masters. Institutions connected with its transmission are also flourishing.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yang Zhenhe 01-0041
- Han Huiming 01-0042
- Wang Xian 01-0043
- Zhu Tiancai 01-0044
- Yang Zhenguo 03-1207
- Chen Zhenglei 03-1209
- Diweichuan 05-2537
- He Youlu 05-2538
- Sun Wanrong
- Chen Peiju
- Chen Xiaoxing
- Luan Xinchun
- Li Jianfang
- Yao Zhiping
- Chen Bing
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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