Taijiquan

01 · Historical Records

He-style Taijiquan is one of the schools of Taijiquan. It was created in the late Qing dynasty by He Zhaoyuan, a native of Zhaobao Town in Wen County, Henan, and is transmitted in Wen County, Henan Province.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

He Zhaoyuan was born into a family of Chinese medicine practitioners. As a boy he studied literature, learned medicine and practised boxing at the same time, and studied Taijiquan under Chen Qingping. Later he enriched and reformed the boxing he had originally practised by drawing on the principles of the Yijing, of Neo-Confucian learning and of Chinese medicine, enriching and perfecting the boxing frame, the theory of the boxing method and the methods of practice, so that it formed a system of its own and created a boxing style in which the frame is played with lively steps and rounded circles and which is supple and natural. Because this style gives prominence to theoretical guidance and stresses the unity of body use and application and the matching of technique with principle, it is called "boxing that carries principle and frame" (da li jia). The theory of He-style Taijiquan is found chiefly in works such as the Essentials of Taijiquan, the Nine Essentials and the General Ballad on the Body Use of Taijiquan; and it has a system of practice sets covering bare-hand sets, weapon sets, pushing hands and combat. The bare-hand sets include the traditional 72-form and 18-form; the weapon sets include the saber, the sword and the staff; pushing hands is divided into fixed-step pushing hands and lively-step pushing hands, and its sets thread the principles of the Yijing through the boxing postures. It aims to imitate their form, to take their meaning and to apply their principle. Playing the frame in this way is commonly called "playing the boxing" (shua quan), and this is a distinctive feature of He-style Taijiquan. When the frame is played, the spirit and intention flow naturally, the postures are rounded and lively, the breathing is smooth and the footwork is agile. By the methods of yin-yang change it gathers the force of the body's opening and closing, forming the infinitely varied techniques and methods of the boxing, so as to achieve the effect in combat of being smooth as fish, sticky as glue, soft as cotton and hard as steel. He-style Taijiquan was at first transmitted only within the He clan. He-style Taijiquan pursues a dynamic balance of yin and yang in which the outward form is neither excessive nor deficient, the inner and the outer correspond to each other, and everything is supple and natural. It uses bodily experience to comprehend the wisdom condensed from the universe, nature, society and life, and it is a concrete embodiment in practice of China's traditional thought on the unity of heaven and humanity. He-style Taijiquan enriched both the boxing method and the theory of Taijiquan, valuing technique and principle alike, and carries a rich cultural content of martial arts.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

He-style Taijiquan originated in Zhaobao Town, Wen County, Henan. At first it was transmitted only within the He clan; from the third generation of heirs it began to accept disciples from outside the clan, and its range of transmission spread from Zhaobao Town to Wen County, Jiaozuo, Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, and, as heirs moved their residence, it spread far to Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei and overseas.

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

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

From the third generation of heirs, disciples began to be taken from outside the clan, and a batch of pupils skilled in both technique and principle were trained. The lineage of transmission has now reached seven generations, its range of transmission covers many provinces and regions of the country, and it has spread far to some countries and regions overseas. The moral cultivation such as benevolence, righteousness and trustworthiness which it advocates and demands helps to transmit the fine virtues of the Chinese nation, strengthen social cohesion and build a harmonious society. He Yilu (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): male, of the Han nationality, born in January 1964, a native of Wen County, Henan Province. He is a master of He-style Taijiquan. The frames and postures of his boxing are upright, relaxed and supple, light, agile and rounded, flowing easily and naturally; the boxing frame, pushing hands and free sparring are joined into one. He is the author of works such as the Manual of He-style Taijiquan and the Thirteen Forms of He-style Taijiquan. He has produced teaching video discs such as He-style Taijiquan, Sword, Saber, Staff and Pushing Hands. He actively disseminates He-style Taijiquan, takes disciples and transmits the art, and his students are found at home and abroad. He is the representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the national-level intangible cultural heritage project Taijiquan (He-style Taijiquan).

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

1. Taijiquan (Wen, Henan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. He Youlu · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗