Feicha
01 · Historical Records
It flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties and has been passed down for several hundred years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the ethos of valuing martial prowess and honoring letters was very strong.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yongliang flying-fork (feicha) is a folk traditional sport of the Wuqing area of Tianjin that combines physical fitness-building with performance. Yongliang flying-fork is located in Wuqing District, Tianjin, in the hinterland of the capital, with the Daqing River to the south, Tianjin to the east, the old capital to the north, and Hebei and Shanxi to the west. During performance, the flying fork leaves the hand but never leaves the body: the movements link ring upon ring without interruption, one technique containing the next, set to the beat of drums and cymbals, graceful, richly varied, and executed cleanly and briskly. Its representative "leg-work" techniques include Front Kick Covering the Top, Left and Right Side Kicks, Four-Direction Fighting Kicks, and Back Kick Covering the Top. The Front Kick Covering the Top in particular kicks the fork roughly five meters into the air with the leg, then uses coordinated upper- and lower-body movement to adjust the flying fork's center of gravity and speed, fully displaying a vigorous and forceful style. Yongliang flying-fork has a complete system of routines and flying-fork techniques; at present there are nearly 140 routines, which can be practiced solo, in pairs, or in groups, and suit flat ground, stages, and other venues alike. Yongliang flying-fork completes its techniques through coordinated limb movement, and its practitioners may be men or women, old or young, so it serves to build physical fitness. It is a traditional sport performance project integrating elements of martial arts, acrobatics, and dance, providing evidence for the study of traditional Chinese martial arts and folk culture.
Front kick to the crown
The signature move: the fork is kicked some five metres into the air and its balance corrected by the whole body, showing the style's force.
The four leg techniques
The representative leg-technique group controlling the fork's rise and fall, the technical marker of the Wuqing style.
The free-hand art
The fork leaves the hand but never the body, one link flowing into the next to the beat of drum and cymbals.
Nearly 140 routines
The system holds nearly one hundred and forty routines for solo, duo or group performance on any flat surface or stage.
The nine-headed bird and new costume
To suit modern taste performers changed from plain to colourful dress and created the nine-headed bird figure.
Seven generations
Flourishing in the Ming and Qing, the art has passed master to disciple through seven generations under the district cultural centre's care.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Local people combined martial arts and acrobatics in their recreation, adding dance and music, and gradually developed the flying-fork activity, refining and maturing it until it became a distinctive feature of traditional Tianjin culture. Yongliang flying-fork excels in "leg work," setting it apart from the flying-fork traditions of other regions; it is a unique "off-hand skill" (li-shou huo) feat that is martial in character yet distinct from martial arts proper. Yongliang flying-fork is practiced in the Wuqing area of Tianjin, a location south of the Daqing River, east of Tianjin, north of the old capital, and west toward Hebei and Shanxi, in the hinterland of the capital. During the Ming and Qing dynasties the ethos of valuing martial prowess and honoring letters was very strong, and local people gradually formed the flying-fork activity by combining martial arts and acrobatics in their recreation with dance and music. It excels in "leg work," setting it apart from the flying-fork traditions of other regions, and is a unique "off-hand skill" feat that is martial in character yet distinct from martial arts proper. At present it has nearly 140 routines, performable solo, in pairs, or in groups, and suited to flat ground, stages, and other venues; its core transmission area is now Wuqing District, Tianjin, radiating to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and the surrounding regions.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It now takes Wuqing, Tianjin, as its core transmission area, radiating to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and the surrounding regions. In recent years, to suit modern aesthetic sensibilities, inheritors have changed the former plain costumes to colorful ones and created a "nine-headed bird" formation, increasing its appeal as a spectacle. Historically, Yongliang flying-fork was transmitted mainly through the master-apprentice system, and has passed down seven generations to date. It is both popular and specialized, in keeping with traditional aesthetic sensibilities, much loved by the public, and distinctly characterized culturally, giving it high cultural and ornamental value.
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)
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。