Wu Chien-ch'uan

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wu.
吴鉴泉
Wu Chien-ch'uan
Born 1870
China
Died 1942
Style t'ai chi ch'uan
Notable students Wu Kung-i
Wu Chien-ch'uan
Traditional Chinese 吳鑑泉
Simplified Chinese 吴鉴泉
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Wu Chien-ch'uan (simplified Chinese: 吴鉴泉; traditional Chinese: 吳鑑泉; pinyin: Wú Jiànquán) (1870-1942), was a famous teacher of the neijia martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial and early Republican China.[1]

Wu Chien-ch'uan was taught martial arts by his father, Wu Ch'uan-yu, a senior student of Yang Lu-ch'an and Yang Pan-hou.[1] Both Wu Chien-ch'uan and his father were hereditary Manchu cavalry officers of the Yellow Banner as well as the Imperial Guards Brigade, yet the Wu family were to become patriotic supporters of Sun Yat-sen.[2]

At the time of the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1912, China was in turmoil, besieged for many years economically and even militarily by several foreign powers, so Wu Chien-ch'uan and his colleagues Yang Shao-hou, Yang Chengfu and Sun Lu-t'ang promoted the benefits of t'ai chi ch'uan training on a national scale. They subsequently offered classes at the Beijing Physical Culture Research Institute to as many people as possible, starting in 1914. It was the first school to provide instruction in the art to the general public. Wu Chien-ch'uan was also asked to teach the Eleventh Corps of the new Presidential Bodyguard as well as at the nationally famous Ching Wu martial arts school.

As the focus of t'ai chi ch'uan teaching in his time changed from a strictly military art to a discipline made available to the general public, Wu Chien-ch'uan modified the teaching forms he learned from his father somewhat.[3] Wu Chien-ch'uan's changes to the initial forms shown to his students included smoothing overt expressions of fa chin, jumps and other abrupt time changes in the training routines in order to make those forms easier for the general public to learn.[3] These modified elements were preserved and taught in various advanced forms and pushing hands, however.

Wu Chien-ch'uan moved his family to Shanghai in 1928. In 1935, he established the Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association (鑑泉太極拳社) on the ninth floor of the Shanghai YMCA to promote and teach t'ai chi ch'uan.[4] What he taught has since become known as Wu style T'ai Chi Ch'uan and is one of the five primary styles practised around the world, the others being Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan, Wu/Hao style T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Sun style T'ai Chi Ch'uan.[2]

The Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association schools have subsequently been maintained by Wu Chien-ch'uan's descendants. He was succeeded as head of the Wu family system by his oldest son, Wu Kung-i, in 1942.[2] His second son, Wu Kung-tsao, also became a renowned T'ai Chi master. Wu Kung-i moved the family headquarters to Hong Kong in 1949.[2] Today the Association still has its international headquarters in Hong Kong and is currently managed by Wu Chien-ch'uan's great-grandson, Wu Kuang-yu, with branches in Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.[2]

Several of Wu's disciples also became well known T'ai Chi teachers. Prominent in that number were the senior disciple, Ma Yueh-liang, Wu T'u-nan and Cheng Wing-kwong.[4] His daughter Wu Yinghua and her husband Ma Yueh-liang continued running the Shanghai Chien-ch'uan T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association until their deaths in the mid 1990s.

Contents

T'ai chi ch'uan lineage tree

This lineage tree is not comprehensive. Names denoted by an asterisk are legendary or semi-legendary figures in the lineage; while their involvement in the lineage is accepted by most of the major schools, it is not independently verifiable from known historical records.

Legendary figures

Zhang Sanfeng*
c. 12th century
NEIJIA
 
 
 
 
 
Wang Zongyue*
1733-1795

Five major classical family styles

Chen Wangting
1580–1660
9th generation Chen
CHEN STYLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chen Changxing
1771–1853
14th generation Chen
Chen Old Frame
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chen Youben
c. 1800s
14th generation Chen
Chen New Frame
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yang Lu-ch'an
1799–1872
YANG STYLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chen Qingping
1795–1868
Chen Small Frame, Zhaobao Frame
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yang Pan-hou
1837–1892
Yang Small Frame
 
 Yang Chien-hou
1839–1917
 
 
 
 
 
 Wu Yu-hsiang
1812–1880
WU/HAO STYLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wu Ch'uan-yu
1834–1902
 
 Yang Shao-hou
1862–1930
Yang Small Frame
 
 Yang Chengfu
1883–1936
Yang Big Frame
 
 Li I-yu
1832–1892
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wu Chien-ch'uan
1870–1942
WU STYLE
108 Form
 
 
 
 
 
 Yang Shou-chung
1910–1985
 
 Hao Wei-chen
1849–1920
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wu Kung-i
1900–1970
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sun Lu-t'ang
1861–1932
SUN STYLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wu Ta-k'uei
1923–1972
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sun Xingyi
1891–1929

References

  1. ^ a b Wile, Douglas (1995). Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty (Chinese Philosophy and Culture). State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791426548. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Yip, Y. L. (Autumn 2002). Pivot – Qi, The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness Vol. 12 No. 3. Insight Graphics Publishers. ISSN 1056-4004. 
  3. ^ a b Philip-Simpson, Margaret (June 1995). A Look at Wu Style Teaching Methods - T’AI CHI The International Magazine of T’ai Chi Vol. 19 No. 3. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049. 
  4. ^ a b Li, Liqun (October 1998). A Remembrance of Ma Yueh-liang – T’AI CHI The International Magazine of T’ai Chi Ch’uan Vol. 22 No. 5. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049. 

External links