Wuji Boxing
01 · Historical Records
Wuji Boxing arose in the mid-Qing dynasty. Legend attributes its creation to Liu Xiandao of Lefu in the Jiangnan region. It was later introduced to Tianjin and, through the efforts of generations of inheritors, developed into a boxing style with a complete technical system. It is now mainly practiced in the various districts of Tianjin, and is also transmitted in Hebei, Liaoning, Beijing, Shandong, Guangdong, and elsewhere. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, because the imperial court established a "military examination ground" in Tianjin, and thanks to the prosperity of canal grain transport and the customs ports, many martial arts masters from Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Zhejiang, and the Jiangsu and Fujian regions, along with boatmen, merchants, and officials, made their way to Tianjin. Wuji Boxing derives from Daoist thought in the Chinese tradition; it embodies the unremitting spirit of the martial artist and a profound and extensive martial arts culture, and is an important component of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Tianjin is the strategic passage to Beijing; since ancient times it has been the gateway to the capital and a military stronghold, a transport hub connecting the Bohai Sea outward and the North China, Northeast, and Northwest regions inward. Moreover, whether in ancient or modern times, Tianjin was an obligatory stop for people "braving the journey east of the pass" northward, as well as for people of the Northeast, North, and Northwest traveling south. Among the migrants passing through Tianjin were many renowned martial arts masters. At this time, boxing styles such as Wuji Boxing took up residence in Tianjin one after another and became characteristic styles of the city. Wuji Boxing takes the twelve forms of the earthly branches as its mode of practice. Its core content consists of single postures, boxing routines, weapons routines, internal-skill exercises, and controlled-sparring practice. Its technical system is elaborate, comprising five major categories: single postures, bare-handed routines, weapons routines, combat techniques, and internal-skill exercises. Wuji Boxing has a distinctive style, clear boxing theory, an orderly lineage, and a system of its own. It applies the doctrine of the chaos of heaven and earth and the "return to the infinite" teaching of the Tao Te Ching, using the generation and conquest of the five phases to guide attack and defense in the boxing methods. Combined with three consummate Wuji skills in controlled sparring, it integrates practice routines, sparring, qigong, and weapons into one; the training methods are simple, easy to learn and remember, and strongly practical in real combat. Through the efforts of generations of inheritors, the technical system of Wuji Boxing has been perfected, its boxing routines continually enriched, and its internal-skill repertoire supplemented. Taking the Daoist idea of "the infinite" as its intellectual foundation and the twelve forms of the earthly branches as its mode of practice, it expresses the idea of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, guides practitioners toward self-improvement and goodness, helps raise the physical quality of the people, and gathers positive energy, giving it a certain social-educational significance.
Twelve earthly-branch forms
The twelve earthly branches supply the sequence of postures and footwork that frames the whole system of the style.
The three Wuji special techniques
Five-phase generation and overcoming guide the offence and defence, combined with three special techniques and uniting practice, conditioning, breath work and weaponry.
The five technical categories
The system comprises single postures, bare-hand routines, weapon routines, technique and conditioning, each enriched by successive generations.
The principle of returning to Wuji
The style takes the Daoist notion of Wuji and the Daodejing phrase “returning to the boundless” as its theoretical foundation.
Liu Xiandao and six generations
Tradition credits Liu Xiandao of Jiangnan with founding the style in the mid-Qing; six generations have since been transmitted in Tianjin.
The Grand Canal and the military examination ground
The Qing military examination ground together with canal transport and customs traffic drew martial artists from many provinces into Tianjin.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
They "made a living by boxing", "made friends through martial arts", and "formed associations through martial arts", gathering and settling in Tianjin, so that the wharves of Tianjin were dotted with boxing grounds and teeming with schools, with the weapons of the various boxing styles vying for supremacy. As a result, Tianjin became a gathering place for many martial arts schools and, moreover, an important center for the transmission of Wuji Boxing. Wuji Boxing's first foothold in Tianjin was in the armed-escort agencies, martial arts halls, and merchants' guildhalls along the canal and the Haihe wharves; later, as inheritors set up separate grounds, it spread into the streets and lanes of the city. In the Qing dynasty Tianjin had a "military examination ground", and the flow of people brought by canal transport, customs, and salt administration kept boxing masters from Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Zhejiang, and the Jiangsu and Fujian regions stationed in Tianjin for long periods. Wuji Boxing accordingly took root amid the environment of "boxing grounds in profusion" and "schools springing up" around Tianjin, and branched into several teaching sites centered on the city proper. The Tianjin Dongli District Martial Arts Association is now its protecting unit and the main body of transmission; establishing a research society, setting up martial arts halls, and expanding channels of communication through digital means are the principal conservation measures of recent years.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Master-to-apprentice transmission and instruction in martial arts halls are the main modes of transmission of Wuji Boxing. In the more than 130 years since Wuji Boxing took root in Tianjin, it has been transmitted through six generations, with a clear and orderly lineage. Inheritors actively pass on their art and take on apprentices, devoting themselves to the spread and promotion of Wuji Boxing: establishing research societies and martial arts halls to improve conservation organizations; actively participating in fitness and community activities to broaden its influence; and using new media and digital means to expand channels of communication.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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