Xinyi Boxing
01 · Historical Records
The Lu family's Xinyiquan derives from Xinyi Liuhequan and is one of the representative schools of traditional martial arts distinctive to Shanghai. This school took shape in the 1920s, founded by Mr. Lu Songgao, and has a history of one hundred years up to the present.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Lu family's Xinyiquan takes the heart and intent as its substance, the six harmonies as its rules, the training of body and mind as its function, and martial skill, martial intent, and martial artistry as its expression; mastery is demonstrated in technique, intent, and artistry, and practicality and ease of entry are its principal characteristics. The boxing curriculum comprises eight large miscellaneous routines and seventy-two small hand techniques, with more than forty basic movements, including yaoshanba (swaying and shifting), yaozi fanshen (the hawk's turn), hu baotou (the tiger embracing its head), chuanquan (threaded punch), and shuangta (double stamping). Weapons training consists of four types — the thirteen-spear routine of Du Jin, nunchaku, the chicken-claw sword-sickle, and the Xinyi saber — each with five to seven routines. The training process advances in graded stages — muscle, sinew and bone, blood and qi, quiescent nurturing, qi nurturing, and naturalness, six stages in all — with targeted training subjects and methods appropriate to each stage. The Lu family's Xinyiquan places particular emphasis on repeated practice of individual drills, attends to the free transformation between every movement, and stresses the standardization, martial intent, and artistry of each movement. In the course of its transmission the Lu family's Xinyiquan has consistently preserved its character of combat and self-defense; the original purpose in constructing this boxing was to turn danger into safety in moments of crisis. It is strongly practical and serves to strengthen the body and improve health.
Xin Yi Liu He boxing comes to Shanghai
Founded by Lu Songgao in 1920s Shanghai on the basis of Xin Yi Liu He boxing, it is one of the city's signature martial arts.
The basic movements
The forty-odd base movements including the swaying dodge, the sparrowhawk's turn and the tiger's embrace.
The four weapons of the Lu school
Four weapon types, each with five to seven routines, keeping to the school's fighting principles.
Six stages of training
Training advances through six stages from muscle and tendon to quiet cultivation and childlike ease, each with its own drills.
The Lu school manuals
Theory is transmitted through three printed manuals covering paired principles, the three joints and four tips, the five elements and six harmonies.
Ten animals, ten body types
Ten animals correspond to ten human constitutions, and teaching selects the image that fits the pupil.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Lu family's Xinyiquan was declared from Putuo District in Shanghai, and its teaching sites are concentrated in the park boxing grounds, community fitness points, and professional martial arts halls of Putuo, Jing'an, Zhabei, and Yangpu districts, spreading along the Yangtze River and the coast to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, and onward to overseas Chinese communities. This branch has long maintained a short-range striking style that uses no locking, no seizing, and no throwing, studying only the instantaneous contact within three steps in an exchange, with three changes within a single posture. It was formerly transmitted mainly among Shanghai's workers, employees, and young students through the master-disciple relationship and oral instruction, and it now exists in a pattern in which training classes, teaching institutes, and campus martial arts clubs coexist.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xinyi Boxing · Xinyi Boxing.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It takes Shanghai as its core area of transmission and has since spread widely throughout the country and even overseas. It emphasizes practicality and has clearly defined offensive and defensive technical characteristics, studying only instantaneous contact, with victory decided in a single instant within three steps of an encounter; in actual combat it uses no locking, no seizing, and no throwing, with three changes within a single posture, focusing solely on kicking and striking. Its system is complete, comprising two parts: the boxing movements and the study of theory. The theoretical study of the Lu family's Xinyiquan rests on the Introduction to Lu-Style Xinyiquan, the Opening of the Boxing in Lu-Style Xinyiquan, and the Record of Lu-Style Xinyi Instruction, with content including one qi and two phases, three joints and four extremities, and the five elements and six harmonies. Its instruction varies from person to person and is adapted to individual aptitude, with ten animals modeled and interpreted as corresponding to ten parts of the human body. The Lu family's Xinyiquan is transmitted through the master-disciple relationship and oral instruction. At present the project survives in good condition, with more than one thousand registered disciples, nearly thirty branches in circulation, and a large body of enthusiasts. It is people-oriented, attends to the way of nurturing life, and values the cultivation of courage and the capacity for decisive action, embodying traditional Chinese philosophical thought and moral aspirations. Regular practice is conducive to the formation of the character of individuals and groups alike and to social harmony, giving the school considerable socio-cultural value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liang Xiaofeng 03-1213
- Mu Jinqiao 05-2549
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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