Wu Yuxiang (Wu Yu-hsiang, 1812?–1880?) was the founder of

Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'üan was created by Wu Yuxiang (, birth name Wu Heqing, , 1812?–1880?), a member of a wealthy and influential family in Yongnian, Hebei, China. Wu trained for approximately ten years with the founder of Yang-styl ...

. Wu was a scholar from a wealthy and influential family who became a senior student of

Yang Luchan Yang Lu-ch'an or Yang Luchan, also known as Yang Fu-k'ui or Yang Fukui (1799–1872), was an influential Chinese practitioner and teacher of the internal style t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan). He is known as the founder of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'u ...

, the founder of

Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan Yang family-style () T‘ai-Chi Ch‘üan (Taijiquan) in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the primary five family styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. History ...

. Wu also studied for a brief time with

Chen Qingping Chen Qingping or Ch'en Ch'ing-p'ing (1795–1868) was a 15th generation descendant and 7th generation master of the Chen Family. He is also claimed to be the 7th generation successor of the Zhaobao style of Taijiquan. Alternatively, many Zhao ...

, a master of Chen-style and Zhaobao-style t'ai chi ch'uan. There is a relatively large body of writing attributed to Wu on the subject of t'ai chi ch'uan theory, writings that are considered influential by other t'ai chi styles were the source of what are now known as the

T'ai chi classics The T'ai chi Classics, or Taijiquan Classics (Chinese: ''Taijiquan Pu'' 太极拳谱 or ''Taijiquan Jing'' 太極拳經), is a collection of over 100 articles on the Chinese martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan written by the art's master practitioners ...

. Wu developed his own style of t'ai chi and shared it with members of his family, who also wrote about the art. He trained with his two older brothers Wu Chengqing (武澄清, 1800-1884)) and Wu Ruqing (武汝清, 1803-1887), and took on two nephews as disciples. One of those nephews Li Yiyu (Li I-yu, 李亦畬, 1832–1892), authored several particularly important works on t'ai chi ch'uan. The other nephew, Li Yiyu's younger brother Li Qixuan (Li Ch'i-hsuan, 李啟軒, 1835-1899), worked closely with Yiyu to further develop the art, and was also credited as an author of at least one work on the subject of t'ai chi. The style of t'ai chi ch'uan that Wu taught was eventually known, because of its later transmission by three generations of students of his nephew named ''Hao'', as

Hao Weizhen Hao Weizhen (1842–1920), or Hao Wei-chen, was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) teacher. Hao became a well known and influential teacher of Wu Yu-hsiang's style of t'ai chi ch'uan, his teacher Li I-yu was Wu Yu-hsiang's nephew. Hao passe ...

(郝為真, Hao Wei-chen, 1849-1920) subsequently taught

Sun Lu-t'ang Sun Lu-t'ang or Sun Lutang (1860-1933) was a renowned master of Chinese neijia (internal) martial arts and was the progenitor of the syncretic art of Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan. He was also considered an accomplished Neo-Confucian and Taoist sc ...

, the founder of

Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan The Sun style (孙氏) t'ai chi ch'uan is well known for its smooth, flowing movements which omit the more physically vigorous crouching, leaping and fa jin of some other styles. Its gentle postures and high stances make it very suitable for m ...

T'ai chi ch'uan lineage tree with Wu (Hao)-style focus

References

Chinese tai chi practitioners Martial arts school founders 1812 births 1880 deaths Sportspeople from Handan 19th-century philanthropists {{PRChina-martialart-bio-stub