The Wu family style ()

t'ai chi ch'uan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

(Taijiquan) of

Wu Quanyou Wu Quanyou (1834–1902), or Wu Ch'uan-yu, was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial China. His son is credited as the founder of the Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. As he was of Manchu descent, and would have been named by his ...

and

Wu Chien-ch'uan Wu Chien-ch'uan or Wu Jianquan (1870–1942) was a famous teacher and founder of the neijia martial art of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial and early Republican China. Biography Wu Chien-ch'uan was taught martial arts by his father ...

(Wu Jianquan) is the second most popular form of t'ai chi ch'uan in the world today, after the Yang style, and fourth in terms of family seniority. This style is different from the Wu style of t'ai chi ch'uan (武氏) founded by

Wu Yu-hsiang Wu Yuxiang (Wu Yu-hsiang, 1812?–1880?) was the founder of Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Wu was a scholar from a wealthy and influential family who became a senior student of Yang Luchan, the founder of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Wu also ...

. While the names are distinct in pronunciation () and the

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

used to write them are different, they are often

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

the same way.

History

was a military officer cadet of

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

ancestry in the Yellow Banner camp (see Qing Dynasty Military) in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and also a hereditary officer of the

Imperial Guards Brigade The Imperial Guards () of the Qing dynasty were a select detachment of Manchu and Mongol bannermen responsible for guarding the Forbidden City in Beijing, the emperor, and the emperor's family. The Imperial Guards were divided into three groups: ...

. At that time,

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 ...

was the martial arts instructor in the Imperial Guards, teaching t'ai chi ch'uan, and in 1850 Wu Ch'uan-yu became one of his students. In 1870, Wu Ch'uan-yu was asked to become the senior disciple of

Yang Pan-hou Yang Pan-hou or Yang Banhou (1837–1890) was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) in Ch'ing dynasty China, known for his bellicose temperament. Biography He was the senior son of Yang Luchan to survive to adulthood. Like ...

, Yang Luchan's oldest adult son, and an instructor as well to the Manchu military. Wu Ch'uan-yu had three primary disciples: his son

Wang Mao Zhai Wang Maozhai (1862–1940) was one of Wu Quanyou's of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan three primary disciples. When Wu Quanyou's son Wu Chien-ch'uan (Wu Jianquan) moved from Beijing to Shanghai in 1928 he remained to lead the Wu-style Beijing group. He ...

and Guo Fen. Wu Ch'uan-yu's son,

, and grandchildren: grandsons

Wu Kung-i Wu Kung-i or Wu Gongyi (1898–1970) was a well-known teacher of the soft style martial art t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) in China, and, after 1949, in the British colony of Hong Kong. He was also the "gate-keeper" of the Wu family from 1942 unt ...

and

Wu Kung-tsao Wu Kung-tsao or Wu Gongzao (1902–1983) was a famous Chinese teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan. He taught in Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hong Kong. The second son of Wu Chien-ch'üan, he was the grandson of the first teacher of Wu-style t'ai chi ...

as well as granddaughter

Wu Ying-hua Wu Yinghua (1907–1996) was a famous Chinese teacher of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. She was born in Beijing and died in Shanghai. She was the eldest daughter of Wu Chien-ch'uan, the best known teacher of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Her older br ...

were well known teachers. Wu Chien-ch'uan became the most widely known teacher in his family, and is therefore considered the co-founder of the Wu style by his family and their students. He taught large numbers of people and his refinements to the art more clearly distinguish Wu style from Yang style training. Wu Chien-ch'uan moved his family south from

(where an important school founded by other students of his father is headquartered, popularly known as the ''Northern Wu style'') to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in 1928, where he founded the ''

Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association The Jianquan Taijiquan Association (also spelled as ''Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association'', ''Chian Chuan Taichi Chuan Association'' and in Chinese: 鑑泉太極拳社) is a well known school teaching Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan. It was foun ...

'' (鑑泉太極拳社) in 1935. Wu Kung-i then moved the family headquarters to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 1948.
His younger sister

and her husband,

Ma Yueh-liang Ma Yueliang or Ma Yueh-liang (1 August 1901 – 13 March 1998) was a famous Manchu teacher of taijiquan. He was the senior disciple of Wu Chien-ch'uan, the founder of Wu-style taijiquan, and married Wu's daughter Wu Ying-hua in 1930. Biogra ...

(Ma Yueliang, 馬岳樑, 1901-1999), stayed behind to manage the original Shanghai school.
Between 1983 and her death in 1996 Wu Ying-hua was the highest-ranked instructor in the Wu family system. Her descendants continue teaching and today manage the Shanghai school as well as schools in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

: * Ma Hai Long is the current head of the Shanghai

Jianquan Taijiquan Association The Jianquan Taijiquan Association (also spelled as ''Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association'', ''Chian Chuan Taichi Chuan Association'' and in Chinese: 鑑泉太極拳社) is a well known school teaching Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan. It was found ...

. * Ma Jiang Bao (1941-2016) lived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and taught traditional taijiquan throughout

. * Her granddaughter D
Jin Ye
lives and teaches in England. * Her adopted daughter

Shi Mei Lin Shi Mei Lin is a teacher of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. She is the adopted daughter of Wu Yinghua and Ma Yueliang A Wushu (sport), Wushu and Tai Chi champion in the 1970s and 1980s, she toured with Chinese Wushu teams internationally, including the ...

now lives and teaches Wu-style taijiquan in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, with students also in France and The United States. Wu Kung-i's children were also full-time martial art teachers: * His son

Wu Ta-k'uei Wu Ta-k'uei or Wu Dakui (1923–1972) was a Chinese Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan teacher of Manchu ancestry. Biography The oldest son of Wu Kung-i, he was born in Beijing, raised in Shanghai (where he was first taught t'ai chi ch'uan by his grand ...

was active in the resistance to the

Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, yet he later taught t'ai chi ch'uan in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

after the war. * His younger brother, Wu Ta-ch'i, supervised the family's Hong Kong and southeast Asian schools for many years and opened the family's first

western hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

school in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1974. * His daughter,

Wu Yen-hsia Wu Yen-hsia or Wu Yanxia (1930–2001) was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan teacher of Manchu ancestry. Biography She was the daughter of Wu Kung-i (1900-1970) from whom she learned t'ai chi. She also helped in the teaching of her father's studen ...

, was known as an expert with the t'ai chi chien (

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

). * His cousin,

Wu Ta-hsin Wu Ta-hsin or Wu Daxin (1933–2005) was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan teacher who lived most of his life in Hong Kong. He was the great-grandson Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan founder Wu Ch'uan-yu and the grandson of the well-known teacher Wu Chien-ch'u ...

, was also known as a weapons specialist, particularly with the t'ai chi

tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

(

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

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

Training

The Wu style's distinctive hand form,

pushing hands Pushing hands, Push hands or tuishou (alternately spelled ''tuei shou'' or ''tuei sho'') is a two-person training routine practiced in internal Chinese martial arts such as Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan (tài jí quán), and Yiquan. It is ...

and

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

s trainings emphasize parallel footwork and

horse stance The horse stance (sometimes called horse riding stance) is a common posture in Asian martial arts and takes its name from the position assumed when riding a horse. It is called ''mǎbù'' (馬步) in Chinese, in Japanese, and ''juchum seogi'' ( ...

training with the feet relatively closer together than the modern Yang or Chen styles, small circle hand techniques (although large circle techniques are trained as well) and differs from the other t'ai chi family styles martially with Wu style's initial focus on

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

, throws (

shuai chiao Shuai Jiao () is the term pertaining to the ancient jacket wrestling wushu style of Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding of Hebei Province in the North China Plain which was codified by Shan Pu Ying (善撲营 The Battalion of Excellency in Catching) o ...

), tumbling, jumping, footsweeps,

pressure point derive from the supposed meridian points in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, and martial arts. They refer to areas on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific ...

leverage and joint locks and breaks, which are trained in addition to more conventional t'ai chi

sparring Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively ' free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to minimize injuries. By extension, argumentative debate ...

and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

at advanced levels.

Generational senior instructors of the Wu family t'ai chi ch'uan schools

''1st Generation'' *Wu Ch'uan-yu (Quanyou, 吳全佑, 1834-1902), who learned from

and

, was senior instructor of the family from 1870–1902. ''2nd generation'' *His oldest son, Wu Chien-ch'uan (Wu Jianquan, 吳鑑泉, 1870-1942), was senior from 1902–1942. ''3rd Generation'' *His oldest son, Wu Kung-i (Wu Gongyi, 吳公儀, 1900-1970) was senior from 1942–1970. *Wu Kung-i's younger brother, Wu Kung-tsao (Wu Gongzao, 吳公藻, 1903-1983), was senior from 1970–1983. *Wu Kung-i's younger sister, Wu Ying-hua (Wu Yinghua, 吳英華, 1907-1997), was senior from 1983–1997. ''4th Generation'' *Wu Kung-i's daughter, Wu Yan-hsia (Wu Yanxia, 吳雁霞, 1930-2001) was senior from 1997–2001. *Wu Kung-tsao's son, Wu Ta-hsin (Wu Daxin, 吳大新, 1933-2005), was senior from 2001–2005. ''5th Generation'' *The current senior instructor of the Wu family is Wu Ta-kuei's son Wu Kuang-yu (Wu Guangyu, ''Eddie Wu'', 吳光宇, born 1946).

References

* Tina Chunna Zhang, Frank Allen (2006). ''Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan''. Blue Snake Books.

External links