Wu Ta-hsin or Wu Daxin (1933–2005) was a Chinese

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 ...

teacher who lived most of his life in

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 ...

. He was the great-grandson

Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan The Wu family style () t'ai chi ch'uan (Taijiquan) of Wu Quanyou and Wu Chien-ch'uan (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 ...

founder

Wu Ch'uan-yu 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 the grandson of the well-known teacher

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 ...

. He directed the Wu family's lineage for four years from the Wu family headquarters in Hong Kong after the death of his cousin

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 ...

Biography

Born into a

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 ...

military family known for their contributions towards preserving knowledge of the traditional

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. Th ...

, Wu Ta-hsin endured strict training from his grandfather Wu Chien-ch'uan, uncle

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 father

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 ...

. He eventually became known as a teacher and for his expertise with the t'ai chi

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 ...

and

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 ...

as well as for his

qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

and

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 ...

skills. When Wu Kung-i moved with his family to Hong Kong in the 1940s, Wu Ta-hsin assisted him in the promotion and teaching of t'ai chi ch'uan. During the 1950s, at the direction of Wu Kung-i, Wu Ta-hsin and his cousins Wu Ta-kuei and

Wu Ta-ch'i Wu Ta-ch'i or Wu Daqi (1926–1993) was the descendant of the famous Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan founders Wu Ch'uan-yu (1834–1902) and Wu Chien-ch'uan (1870–1942). He directed Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan instruction outside of Mainland China afte ...

often travelled to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

to start and manage several Wu style academies. Later in his life, he also travelled extensively to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, teaching t'ai chi ch'uan 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 ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Generational senior instructors of the Wu family

''1st Generation'' *

Wu Ch'uan-yü 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 ...

(Wu Quanyou, 吳全佑, 1834–1902), who learned from

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'ua ...

and

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 ...

, was senior instructor of the family from 1870 to 1902. ''2nd generation'' *His oldest son,

Wu Chien-ch'üan 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, 吳鑑泉, 1870–1942), was senior from 1902 to 1942. ''3rd Generation'' *His oldest son, Wu Kung-i (Wu Gongyi, 吳公儀, 1900–1970) was senior from 1942 to 1970. *Wu Kung-i's younger brother,

(Wu Gongzao, 吳公藻, 1903–1983), was senior from 1970 to 1983. *Wu Kung-i's younger sister,

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 bro ...

(Wu Yinghua, 吳英華, 1907–1997), was senior from 1983 to 1997. ''4th Generation'' *Wu Kung-i's daughter,

(Wu Yanxia, 吳雁霞, 1930–2001) was senior from 1997 to 2001. *Wu Kung-tsao's son, Wu Ta-hsin (Wu Daxin, 吳大新, 1933–2005), was senior from 2001 to 2005. ''5th Generation'' *The current senior instructor of the Wu family is Wu Ta-k'uei's son Wu Kuang-yu (Wu Guangyu, ''Eddie Wu'', 吳光宇, born 1946).

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

References

External links

*
International Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan Federation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu Ta-Hsin 1923 births 2005 deaths Chinese tai chi practitioners Manchu martial artists Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong