Wu Kung-tsao or Wu Gongzao (1902–1983) was a famous Chinese teacher of

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 internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...

. He taught in

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 ...

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 flowin ...

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a popul ...

and

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 Delta i ...

. The second son of

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, ...

, he was the grandson of the first teacher of

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 styl ...

, Wu Ch'uan-yü. Wu Kung-tsao was the younger brother of

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 the older brother of

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 ...

. The Wu family were originally of Manchu ancestry.

Biography

As a young man, he studied t'ai chi ch'uan, along with his brother, under the supervision of

Yang Shao-hou Yang Shaohou (, Pinyin: Yáng Shàohóu; 1862-1930) was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫; 1883-1936), represents the third generation of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Grandmaster of his generation and known for ...

. There was a

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

in the

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

that youngsters be taught by teachers of a generation older than their parents'. Since Wu Ch'uan-yü had died the same year Wu Kung-tsao was born, he and his brother were taught by Yang Shao-hou, who was technically a generation senior to their father. Both Yang Shao-hou and Wu Chien-ch'üan were famous for their "small circle" martial expertise. The motions of t'ai chi ch'uan forms and pushing hands are all based on different sized circles, small circle movements in the forms and applications follow a more compact pathway for different leverage applications than larger circles. In the 1920s Wu Kung-tsao served first as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

officer in the Thirteenth Brigade of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

army until 1929, then later as a

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

instructor for the

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

Martial Arts Training Centre as well as an instructor for the famous Ching Wu martial art school. During the 1930s, he wrote a well-known commentary on the classic writings in 40 chapters on t'ai chi ch'uan that his grandfather had inherited from

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 ...

. His commentary (including the original 40 chapters) was published as ''Wu Chia T'ai Chi Ch'uan'' (吳家太極拳, Wu family T'ai Chi Ch'uan), also known by English speakers as ''The Gold Book'' because of the colour of its cover. In 1937, he established his family's first school in Hong Kong. In addition to his teaching and literary contributions to the art, Wu Kung-tsao became known as a specialist in the nei kung aspect of T'ai Chi training, both for martial purposes and for therapeutic interventions along the lines of

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

. Wu Kung-tsao stayed on the mainland after the Chinese Communist takeover in 1949. During and for a short time after the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

of 1964-1978 he was imprisoned by the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

due to his history as a Nationalist military officer, a traditional

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

and

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

teacher as well as a hostage to ensure the "good behaviour" of the rest of his family who were at the time living in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He was routinely tortured while a prisoner but was finally released in 1979, when he moved again to Hong Kong. Wu Kung-tsao's second son Wu Ta-hsin was also known as an expert martial artist and teacher who in his turn was the senior instructor of the Wu family schools internationally from 2001 until 2005.

Generational senior instructors of the Wu family

''1st Generation'' Wu Ch'uan-yü (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'u ...

and

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

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

(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-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

Detroit, Michigan Wu style website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu Kung-Tsao 1902 births 1983 deaths Chinese tai chi practitioners Manchu martial artists