Zhouchui
01 · Historical Records
Practitioners revere Zhang Donghuai (1844-1901) of Yaopo Village, Tangyuan Township, Linqing, as the founder of the style, which has been transmitted to the sixth generation to this day. In 1932, Zhou Ziyan took Hu Shiming as a disciple, Liu Sanxing took Jia Wenyuan as a disciple, and Sun Jingyuan took Zhang Duo as a disciple. In 1940, Zhou Ziyan was invited to become an important member of the Beijing Boxing Research Society.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Zhouzhui (elbow-strike boxing) is transmitted in Linqing. Among the transmitters of Zhouzhui, Liu Ruqin, Yu Yuezhou, Zhou Ziyan, Feng Yanfu, Zhao Yanqing, Yan Rui, Sun Jingyuan, Sun Jingzhong, and Zhao Gongxiang were all renowned in their day. The basic content of Zhouzhui consists of four parts: boxing routines (quantao), free-hand practice (sanshou), training methods (gongfa), and theory and principles (lifa). The routines comprise Shitangzhui (Ten-Passage Elbow Striking), Sijizhui (Four-Seasons Elbow Striking), and Bafangzhui (Eight-Directions Elbow Striking). The sanshou forms are classified into the Heaven, Earth, and Human series. The main training methods include Liangtong (Two Passages) and elbow work, among others.
Ten Rounds, Four Seasons and Eight Directions
The three routine forms of the art, the Ten Rounds a long gateway set and the Four Seasons and Eight Directions named for their bearings.
Heaven, earth and human sparring
Sparring is graded under the Heaven, Earth and Human labels, weighting technique and live demonstration alike.
The two penetrations and elbow work
The art's core exercises, the two penetrations and elbow work, building the short power needed at close range.
Zhang Donghuai and six generations
The art traces to Zhang Donghuai of Yaopo village, and through its inheritors such names as Zhou Ziyan and Sun Jingyuan shine.
Zhou Ziyan and the Beijing boxing society
In 1932 Zhou Ziyan took Hu Shiming as a pupil and in 1940 joined the Beijing Boxing Research Society, carrying Linqing elbow boxing to the capital.
Shen Xiaosheng and the Linqing manual
Shen Xiaosheng wrote the art's technique verses and commentary and completed the third revision of its manual and theory in 2011.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhouzhui is practiced in the Linqing area of Shandong Province. Linqing lies beside the Wei Canal in northwestern Shandong; during the Ming and Qing dynasties it was a canal port and a Hui (Muslim) settlement, with merchants and travelers converging in great numbers and a flourishing martial arts culture. Zhouzhui took shape in this region and, with Linqing as its center, spread along the canal to Hebei and the Beijing-Tianjin area. Local masters were mostly Hui, who set up teaching grounds on the basis of families and mosque congregations; transmission between master and disciple relied mainly on oral instruction and physical demonstration, supplemented by handwritten boxing manuals. Zhouzhui's four-part structure—routines, sanshou, training methods, and theory—is complete: the routines comprise the ten-passage, four-seasons, and eight-directions elbow-strike sets; the sanshou are divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Human series; and the training methods center on Liangtong and elbow work. The Linqing Zhouzhui Research Association serves as its protecting organization, and the disciples of transmitters such as Shen Xiaosheng are distributed in Linqing, Shenzhen, Changsha, Anyang, Pingdingshan, Fuzhou, and other places. Zhouzhui is practiced in the Linqing area of Shandong Province. Linqing lies beside the Wei Canal in northwestern Shandong; during the Ming and Qing dynasties it was a canal port and a Hui (Muslim) settlement, with merchants and travelers converging in great numbers and a flourishing martial arts culture. Zhouzhui took shape in this region and, with Linqing as its center, spread along the canal to Hebei and the Beijing-Tianjin area. Local masters were mostly Hui, who set up teaching grounds on the basis of families and mosque congregations; transmission between master and disciple relied mainly on oral instruction and physical demonstration, supplemented by handwritten boxing manuals. Zhouzhui's four-part structure—routines, sanshou, training methods, and theory—is complete: the routines comprise the ten-passage, four-seasons, and eight-directions elbow-strike sets; the sanshou are divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Human series; and the training methods center on Liangtong and elbow work. The Linqing Zhouzhui Research Association serves as its protecting organization, and the disciples of transmitters such as Shen Xiaosheng are distributed in Linqing, Shenzhen, Changsha, Anyang, Pingdingshan, Fuzhou, and other places. Zhouzhui takes elbow technique and fist technique as its backbone, emphasizing close-quarters engagement in which every move subdues the opponent; it has traditionally been praised as 'gathering the strengths of a hundred schools, staying close to real combat, with no empty movements in its boxing paths.' Practitioners first hold stances and fix their steps, developing Liangtong and elbow work, then move on to routines such as the ten-passage elbow-strike set, and finally pair off in the Heaven-Earth-Human sanshou. Because Linqing sat on a vital stretch of the canal route, masters traveled frequently in the late Qing and early Republican period, and Zhouzhui was able to cross-reference with boxing masters in Hebei and the Beijing-Tianjin area; this is also why its system of theory is relatively complete and why a comparatively large number of handwritten boxing manuals have survived.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shen Xiaosheng (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Hui ethnic group, born in July 1945, a native of Linqing City, Shandong Province. He practiced martial arts from childhood. He is able to flexibly exploit the strengths of Zhouzhui—'gathering the strengths of a hundred schools, staying close to real combat, with no empty movements in its boxing paths, subduing the opponent with every move.' His writings include the 'Technical Mnemonics of Linqing Zhouzhui' and 'An Explanation of Linqing Zhouzhui'; in 2011 he completed the third revision of the 'Zhouzhui Manual and Treatises of Linqing.' His disciples are distributed in Linqing, Shenzhen, Changsha, Anyang, Pingdingshan, Fuzhou, and other places. Representative inheritor of the Zhouzhui project in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. In 2010 he participated in the 10th National Ziwumen Shaolin Folk Martial Arts Championship and won the gold medal.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Shenxiaosheng 05-2564
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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