Bajiquan
01 · Historical Records
The origins of Bajiquan are generally traced back to Wu Zhong of Mengcun, Cangzhou, Zhili, during the Yongzheng era of the Qing dynasty. The art was thereafter passed down from generation to generation in the Cangzhou area, and in the late Qing and early Republic period, masters such as Li Shuwen and Huo Diange earned fame among the military, escort businesses, and martial arts halls. After the Central Martial Arts Institute was founded in Nanjing in 1928, Bajiquan was included among the styles taught at the institute; as its instructors moved north to Beiping and Tianjin, the art took root in Beijing, forming a transmission network based on boxing societies, martial arts halls, and park coaching stations. It has now been transmitted through eleven generations.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Bajiquan has been transmitted since the late Ming dynasty, a history of more than 350 years. It is found in more than 20 provinces and cities of China and has spread to more than 40 countries overseas; it is a martial arts style much loved by the people. Bajiquan is a discipline that cultivates both internal and external aspects, training mind and form together; it has a complete system combining theory with practical movements, and stands on its own through its unique style and training methods. It has distinctive insights and theories regarding combat theory, the relationship between offense and defense, and the dialectical relationship between hard and soft and between force and power. It holds that external movement must originate internally, and internal movement must manifest externally; internal training emphasizes the combination of essence, energy, and spirit and of mind, intent, and force; external training emphasizes the coordinated unity of the four limbs and the entire body. Technically, it takes the way of combat as its core, organically combining mind, breath, and force: the mind moves the breath, the breath promotes the force, the breath follows the force, and the force is issued from the breath — combining hardness and softness, advancing emptiness and fullness together, with mind and form unified and interior and exterior joined as one. In practice, attention is paid to the relationship between the whole and the parts: the body must have no fixed support point from top to bottom, and every part of the body must act like a spring, so that each movement embodies the coordinated unity of all parts of the body, internal and external. Bajiquan proceeds from actual combat: its postures are swift, violent, and vigorous, plain and practical; within opening there is advancing, within advancing there is opening; one technique has many variations, and the three levels strike in linked succession. Practice requires a distinct rhythm and strong explosive power; movements must be both steady and substantial and also nimble and lively. The main routines of Bajiquan include the Six Major Openings, Bajiquan free-hand exercises, two sets of Lei Boxing, and three sets of Taiji soft frames. The main weapons include the Wansheng double sabers, the Zhenshan staff, the guardian double hooks, and the Yuexia sword. Bajiquan involves many fields such as bionics, psychology, and qigong methods, and is a comprehensive artistic expression of various disciplines. It is an important component of traditional Chinese martial arts, accumulated and enriched by the people through long-term social practice; it has a broad mass base and is of great significance for spreading excellent traditional culture and strengthening social cohesion and stability.
The six great openings
One of the main routines of Baji boxing, built on opening while advancing and changing within a single move.
Baji free-hand applications
The fighting applications of Baji, swift and austere, converting theory into contact.
Two thunder routines and three soft frames
The thunder routines supply explosive force while the soft frames temper it, giving the style both hardness and yielding.
The weapon sets of Baji boxing
The chief weapons of the style, through which the principle of leading breath by intent and force by breath is carried into armed practice.
Springs in every part
The whole body must be sprung and without dead support, every movement uniting inner spirit and outer frame.
Triple-level combination
Upper, middle and lower levels strike in combination, seeking repeated hits at the shortest distance.
Eleven generations and modern courses
Eleven orderly generations on, the art is now transmitted through both traditional apprenticeship and modern courses.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Beijing Bajiquan uses boxing societies, martial arts halls, and park coaching stations in urban districts such as Chaoyang, Haidian, and Xicheng as its main transmission sites. In the early 20th century, most instruction was provided by masters with backgrounds in the military, escort businesses, and martial arts institutes, and students were mainly students, workers, and office staff. Drawing on institutions such as the Beijing Bajiquan Martial Studies Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Chaoyang District carries out training and performance exhibitions, and maintains exchanges with Bajiquan organizations in places such as Mengcun in Hebei and Tianjin. The mode of transmission has also gradually evolved from the traditional master-apprentice system to a pattern in which the master-apprentice system and a curriculum-based system coexist.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Bajiquan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Bajiquan has an orderly transmission with a clear lineage, and has been passed down through 11 generations to the present. In terms of transmission method, it has undergone a gradual evolution from the traditional master-apprentice system to a modern curriculum-based system; at present, multiple modes of transmission coexist.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ma Dexing 03-1212
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。