Tongbeichan Boxing
01 · Historical Records
Hongtong Tongbei Chanquan, also known as 'Tongbeiquan' or 'Hongtong Tongbei,' is a boxing style popular in the Hongtong area of Jinnan, Shanxi. Its origins are not recorded in any historical text, and opinions differ widely among martial arts circles. Legend has it that during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, Guo Yongfu of Henan brought the art to Hongtong, Shanxi, and that it has been transmitted from master to disciple for ten generations since. Hongtong lies at the northern end of the Linfen Basin; the martial arts have flourished there since the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Tongbei Chanquan coexisted and exchanged with local schools such as Xingyi and Shaolin, gradually taking shape as an independent boxing style that issues force through the 'tongbei' (connected back) and defuses force through the 'chanquan' (entwining fists). The Hongtong County Tongbei Chanquan Association serves as its protecting organization; local masters set up teaching grounds by village and community, and the boxing manuals and mnemonic verses were transmitted through a combination of oral instruction and handwritten copies. Hongtong Tongbei Chanquan, also known as 'Tongbeiquan' or 'Hongtong Tongbei,' is a boxing style popular in the Hongtong area of Jinnan, Shanxi. Its origins are not recorded in any historical text, and opinions differ widely among martial arts circles. Legend has it that during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, Guo Yongfu of Henan brought the art to Hongtong, Shanxi, and that it has been transmitted from master to disciple for ten generations since. Hongtong lies at the northern end of the Linfen Basin; the martial arts have flourished there since the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Tongbei Chanquan coexisted and exchanged with local schools such as Xingyi and Shaolin, gradually taking shape as an independent boxing style that issues force through the 'tongbei' (connected back) and defuses force through the 'chanquan' (entwining fists). The Hongtong County Tongbei Chanquan Association serves as its protecting organization; local masters set up teaching grounds by village and community, and the boxing manuals and mnemonic verses were transmitted through a combination of oral instruction and handwritten copies. The routines of Tongbei Chanquan are divided into two series, the 'mother fist' (muquan) and the 'child fist' (ziquan): the mother fist is based on the 108 postures, while the child fist unfolds through 32 sets of paired hands and 27 sequences of entwining hands, with weapon and partner-practice forms rounding out the system. Practitioners usually begin with stance training to open the back, then break down the row postures within the mother fist, and progress to paired practice of the free hands. Local masters traditionally teach that practicing this art requires 'the back to be open, the hands to be entwining, and the steps to be lively,' and so the mnemonic 'Tongbei plus Chanquan—once in close quarters, no strike falls empty' circulates in the Hongtong area.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Hongtong Tongbei Chanquan, also called 'Tongbeiquan' or 'Hongtong Tongbei,' is a boxing style within the traditional martial arts. Tongbei Chanquan has its own distinct boxing theory, methods, and technical requirements. 'Tongbei' means that the whole body is open and connected, with force issued from the back. The back is the center of all movement of the body. 'Chanquan' carries three meanings: first, entwining, a method for defusing the opponent's force; second, a hand technique of endless variation, in which attack and defense never cease and counters never stop, as if the opponent were bound fast; and third, a reference to the 27 sequences of 'entwining hands' (chanshou) contained in this art. Hence the style is named 'Tongbei Chanquan' (Connected-Back Entwining Fists). Hongtong Tongbei Chanquan possesses a complete technical system. The 'mother fist' consists of the 108 postures, arranged in nine rows, with 24 postures of walking-fist forms, 28 postures of walking-fist forms, 72 techniques of free striking, and 108 techniques of close-quarter striking. The 'child fist' series comprises 32 sets of paired hands and 27 sequences of entwining hands. Weapons training covers four categories: long, short, miscellaneous, and soft. Partner-practice routines include empty-hand sparring, weapon sparring, multi-person sparring, and empty hand versus weapon.
The 108-posture mother routine
The mother routine contains 108 postures drilled in nine ranks, the foundation and sum of the whole system.
The twenty-four and twenty-eight posture routines
Two basic routines of twenty-four and twenty-eight postures that follow the mother routine in training.
Seventy-two and one hundred and eight applications
The system's fighting material, seventy-two free-fighting and 108 close-quarters techniques that pair with the routines.
Thirty-two sets and twenty-seven coils
The subsidiary repertoire, its twenty-seven coiling hands giving the art its name by endlessly turning aside force.
Long, short, mixed and soft weapons
The system trains four classes of weapon, long, short, mixed and soft, alongside the bare-hand routines.
Bare-hand, weapon and group sparring
Sparring sets cover bare hands, weapons, groups and unarmed against armed, testing mastery of the routines.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Over the past two hundred years, it has had numerous practitioners and produced many renowned masters, and it is widely practiced throughout the Jinnan region of Shanxi. Its routines fall into four major categories: 'mother fist' routines, 'child fist' routines, weapon routines, and partner-practice routines.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The origins of Tongbei Chanquan are unclear; since Guo Yongfu transmitted the art to Hongtong, Shanxi, during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, it has been passed down for ten generations. Tongbei Chanquan shares many similarities and points of commonality with Chen-style Taijiquan of Chenjiagou, Wen County, Henan, which is widely practiced today; this is a subject of close attention among contemporary martial arts researchers.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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