Bajiquan (Eight Cardinal Boxing) and Liuhe daqiang (Six Harmony Spear)[1]

Ma Mingda

In this short paper I will discuss the relationship between Bajiquan 八極拳 and Liuhe daqiang 六合大槍.

My late father Ma Fengtu composed a treatise called Bajiquan Three Character Stanzas (Bajiquan sanzi jing 八極
拳三字經) back in November 1953, which opens with the following stanzas:-
八極拳，吳鍾傳；槍中王，慶雲縣；莊科村，樹教範。師張公，禮超凡。

[The art of] Bajiquan,

Was passed down by Wu Zhong;
He was known as 'King of the Spear',
He lived in Zhuangke Village, Qingyun County;
He set the standard.

Taught by Master Zhang,

With exemplary courtesy.[①]

The ‘Bajiquan’ referred to above is an integrated concept, which represents both a martial arts style (liupai 流派)
and a school (menpai 門派), and should not be understood to stand for a form of boxing alone. Just like Taijiquan,
we should not understand ‘Baji’ as merely designating a form of empty-handed martial arts: when we say ‘Taiji’
or ‘Baji’, we commonly refer to the entire system of martial arts subsumed under that name, which beside boxing
techniques also include other weapon forms and practices such as ‘Taijiqiang’ 太極槍 (Taiji spear) and ‘Taijijian’
太極劍 (Taiji double-edged sword). Indeed, one of Baji’s most salient characteristics is its intimate link to Liuhe
daqiang, which complements and is in many ways inseparable from Bajiquan. This is the reason why when my
late father wrote the Bajiquan Three Character Stanzas, he clearly set forth Liuhe daqiang’s position in the Baji
system in the opening stanzas, stating that the Baji master Wu Zhong was known as ‘king of the spear’ in
Zhuangke village in Qingyun county, which tacitly conveys the inseparable relationship between quan (拳
boxing) and qiang (槍 spear) within the Baji system.

Liuhe qiang represents the mainstream spear form in China since the Ming Dynasty. Diverse spear forms have
been practiced from the Ming period onwards, but if we look carefully into their origins we will discover that they
invariably stemmed from Liuhe. In a word, Liuhe constitutes the core of spear techniques in China. Amongst the
rest of the spear forms, some of them are branches that grew from its trunk, others are localized techniques known
only within a limited geographical area, while yet others are spear techniques that have lost all applied functions
and are useful only on the stage. In any case, the historical genesis of Liuhe qiang is fundamentally clear, and in
spite of the complexities involved in its dissemination and inheritance in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, enough
evidence survives to guide a devoted inquirer through this entangled web of relationships. Naturally, this is a
specialist issue and does not concern us in the present paper.[②] Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to consider the
following questions:-

When did Bajiquan become so closely bound up with Liuhe qiang?

And how did the two come to form such an inseparable alliance?

The first Bajiquan master in the Cangzhou area was Wu Zhong, who was famous for his mastery of the spear and
bore the epithet ‘divine spear Wu Zhong’ (shengqiang Wu Zhong 神槍吳鐘). From Wu down all subsequent Baji
masters liked to advertise their expertise with the spear and were commonly known as ‘the divine spears’. In
particular, Luo Tuan’s Baji branch in Cangzhou boasted consecutively such luminaries as ‘divine spear’ Zhang
Keming, ‘divine spear’ Li Dazhong, ‘divine spear’ Zhang Jinxing, and the celebrated ‘divine spear’ Li Shuwen.
Similarly, my father Ma Fengtu, shishu 師叔[2] Han Huacheng, and uncle Ma Yingtu all set much store by their
skills with the spear, and were wellknown in contemporary circles for their expertise in this weapon. Thus in a
certain way Bajiquan’s renown was won with the point of the spear and not with the thrust of the elbow. In olden
days, when Baji masters held a contest with martial artists of other schools, they commonly fought with a spear
rather than engaged in unarmed combat, which they perceived as a lowly, plebeian art. In this way those who
dabble in Bajiquan are necessarily conversant with Liuhe daqiang. As to Baji practitioners who do not know the
use of the spear, or those who have not been taught its proper techniques, who incessantly ‘make violent leaps and
sudden thrusts [with their elbows]’ (蹦撼突擊 benghan tuji) are in reality shallow in their understanding who
have given up the ends to pursue the means.

To return to our main subject, if indeed the great spear occupied such an exalted position in the Baji system, when
did the fusion between Liuhe daqiang and Baji occur? During his life my late father often talked about this
problem and offered a number of hypotheses, although he was unable to come to any conclusion due to a lack of
reliable historical sources. According to accounts he heard in his native village in his youth, Wu Zhong learned
the principles of Liuhe from a certain Mr. Zhang from Yueshang. Before this encounter Wu Zhong already knew
the use of the spear, but did not understand the principles of Liuhe spear, particularly ‘the combined combat
methods of advance and retreat’ (進退合戰之法 jintui hezhan zhi fa). After he received the teaching from Zhang,
he devoted his efforts to studying and mastering Liuhe spear. Eventually, while visiting Beijing and Tianjin he
managed to defeat a number of well known spear masters, and earned the nickname ‘divine spear’. Thus, my late
father points out very clearly in the Three Character Stanzas that when Mr. Zhang from Yueshang taught Wu
Zhong Baji, his teachings included the principles of Liuhe daqiang, and Wu Zhong treated Master Zhang with
exemplary reverence and courtesy, and afterwards set up in Zhuangke village, in Qingyun county, a ‘paradigm’
school for teaching Baji and Liuhe.

In fact, with a little care we will also discover that the ancient terms ‘liuhe’ (six harmonies) and ‘baji’ (eight
cardinals) have a clear and discernible relationship, especially when they appear in the same martial arts school.
Indeed, the founder who originally conferred the name ‘Baji’ on his school of martial arts must have first
considered its resonance with ‘Liuhe’, as the latter term appeared much earlier in martial arts nomenclature and
was already well-established by that time. In this way, by conceptually fusing Baji and Liuhe and ascertaining
their complementary character, he successfully elevated an established and well recognized technical term to a
higher philosophical plane. The denomination of Bajiquan was an instance of this transformation, as were the
subsequent Taiji, Xingyi, Tongbei, and Bagua. This phenomenon represents a significant stage in the
development of classical Chinese martial arts, where a high degree of rationalization occurred. In this connection,
I need to point out that the ‘six harmony’ (liuhe) in spear techniques originally meant ‘six combinations of
combat’, which refer to six combinations in training that systematically integrate different techniques into fixed
routines. To counterpoise liuhe with baji connotes a sense of interdependence between the two terms, and is
indeed a touch of genius.[③] On the other hand, the popular interpretation of ‘liuhe’ current in martial arts circles
– as a combination of ‘hands, elbows, shoulders, feet, knees, and hips’ – is rather strained and probably only arose
in recent times, which has deviated from the original sense of ‘liuhe’ in Ming Dynasty spear use.[④]

Moreover, the fusion of Baji and Liuhe extends beyond the conceptual domain but exists at the technical level. In
many ways, the two have an interdependent and complementary character. Simply put, to practise Bajiquan, to
study the methods of generating force (勁道 jingdao) in Baji, and to receive the special ‘zhuang kaojing' (樁靠勁)
training in Bajiquan, etc., are most beneficial to spear practice, to generating the type of power closest to spear
use, which may directly assist in understanding the application of spear techniques and their adaptations in certain
antagonistic situations. In this respect my late father once advanced the remark that ‘from Baji liuhe, its power
transmits directly without obstacles’, and was fond to use the adage ‘zhulian pihe’ (珠聯璧合 literally, ‘united
pearls and merged jade’) to describe the two’s relationship. He also liked to cite Confucius’ teaching, ‘without
learning poetry, one lacks the words for language’, [⑤] to stress Baji’s importance for spear practice, saying that
without knowledge of Baji one lacks the foundation for spear practice, and that if one does not study the use of
the spear after mastering Baji he is akin to ‘riding on an empty saddle and pretending to be on a horse’. In
addition, my father often said that between the end of Qing and the beginning of the Republic of China era, he
met Li Shuwen on three occasions in Beijing and Tianjin, and in their conversations Li only spoke about spear
and never raised a word about boxing, even though he also trained in the latter and that his ‘Bada zhao’ (八大招
Eight great techniques) and ‘Jingang bashi’ (金剛八勢 Nryana eight movements) – which he learnt from Li
Ruidong – were very strong and well practised. My father said that it was not Li’s custom to demonstrate Baji in
front of an audience, and in public he only performed with the great spear. In a certain sense, therefore, Baji
training lays the foundation and is the best preparation for great spear practice.

As a traditional martial art that has preserved a considerable degree of classical character, the most distinctive
feature about Bajiquan is its simplicity and absence of embellishments. Its simplicity is made manifest in two
principal ways. First, Baji have a simple structure with only three main sets: Baji xiaojia (八極小架 Baji small
set), Bajiquan (八極拳 Baji set), and Baji duijie (八極對接 Baji sparring form). The three are learned sequentially
with each focusing on specific aspects of Baji training, and the relation among them is very clear. There is a
further ‘Liu zhou tou’ (六肘頭 Six elbows) which is a basic training method used for enhancing hitting and
resistance abilities. The ‘Six openings’ (六開 Liukai) and ‘Eight techniques’ (八招 Bazhao) used in closed-door
training are also simple, clean, and direct, without unnecessary flowery embellishments. Second, the force
employed in Baji (jingdao) is likewise simple, clean, and direct, drawing a clear line between movements and still
postures, empty feints and concrete strikes, and is devoid of complicated twists and turns and their accompanying
exegesis: so long as a vigorous youth applies his efforts, he will grasp the principles of Baji and reap the benefits
of training, and will not be befuddled by empty mysticism. Unfortunately, the development of Chinese martial
arts has fallen under the shadow of superficiality in recent years. In this atmosphere, and pushed on by personal
ambition and greed, certain individuals have taken the initiative to ‘transform’ the gems in classical Chinese
martial arts (including Bajiquan) for their own gain, freely adding branches and leaves and foisting theories from
other martial arts styles on to Baji, about which they have not a single sensible word to say, and merely adding
froth and theatrics in order to enhance their weak techniques, even going as far as to invent ‘secret ancestral
formulas’. It has eluded them that unembellished simplicity is the most sublime form of beauty between heaven
and earth! This is particularly true for such a fine specimen of classical martial arts as Baji, whose structure
gradually took shape through several centuries of development. In the process it has received improvements by
past masters, and has changed here and there in minor details, but in general a single principle has prevailed,
which is that the utmost care must be taken not to facilely introduce changes, and thereby be guilty of ‘adding feet
while drawing a snake’. Whoever is guilty of such an act is also guilty of destroying a valuable national cultural
heritage, guilty of offending our predecessors who have faithfully preserved and passed on Baji, and should be
punished for his crime.

Indeed, it is under the premise of simplicity that Baji accomplished its fusion with Liuhe daqiang. Anyone with a
rudimentary knowledge of the martial arts knows that the daqiang (great spear) has to have a certain length. If the
spear shaft is too thin it becomes soft and cannot be properly wielded, which means it must possess a certain
thickness, and requirements of length and thickness necessitate a certain weight. I will not burden my readers here
with the manufacturing standard of the daqiang, for those who are interested I refer their attention to Qi Jiguang’s
New Book on Military Discipline (紀效新書 jixiao xinshu) and Cheng Chongdou’s Selected Readings on Long
Spear Techniques (長槍法選 changqiang faxuan). In the Baji tradition, long shafts not lighter than four or five jin
are customarily used for spear practice, while some of the past masters, such as Mr. Zhang Gongcheng and Mr. Li
Shuwen, used shafts weighing up to eight jin for daily practice; and my late father employed a wooden staff of
about five to six jin even into his seventies. Such long and weighty staffs can scarcely be held without adequate
strength in the arms, let alone employing techniques of lan 攔, na 拿, quan 圈, zha 紮 and move up and down
with it while making advancing and retreating movements. Of course, staffs used for performance and
competition tend to be much lighter, for too great a weight impedes free use of techniques, and without
techniques one is no better than ‘a clumsy man tamping a wall, or a labourer chopping fire-wood’ as the old
saying goes. On the other hand, it is a well-recognized principle that one should always use heavy equipment in
training.

Baji is a powerful form of boxing effective in close range combat. Long periods of training in Baji, coupled with
other supplementary training methods, are conducive to increasing muscular strength in the arms. Baji lays
particular emphasis on the use of explosive force – which can be employed in short and sudden attacks – and
overwhelming the opponent with strong attacking movements. This use of force may be adapted to spear practice,
and is suitable for wielding a spear both in training and in applied combat situations. Daqiang stresses ‘long
motion with quick rhythm’ (勢長節短 shichan gieduan), as exemplified by the dynamics of crossbow, whose
arrow lies pregnant with energy while sitting in the mechanism. The parallel here is self-evident and I need not
dwell further on this point.

One of the salient and most impressive aspects of Baji performance is daduozi 打跺子, which is also called
zhengjiao (震腳 stamping). Youthful performers often stamp their feet with a great deal of force, which has led
some observers to comment that Baji can cause concussion. For example, Mr. Xu Zheng (Zhedong) wrote in the
introduction to Bajiquan, authored by Liao Jinjie, that ‘I have often seen Baji performers apply too great a force
when stamping their feet, which can damage the brain, so I advised them not to stamp so fiercely. Even though
Baji practitioners insisted on the importance of stamping, I strongly advised against it.’[⑥] In the 1950s, when
Mr. Xu Zheng was teaching at the Northwestern Institute for Nationalities in Lanzhou he frequently visited my
house. The institute was not far from my home, and Mr. Xu liked to walk over after dinner to watch me and my
brothers train in the open courtyard. On those occasions he was always excited and spoke much, only he had a
heavy southern accent and we could barely understand what he said. He once broached this subject with my late
father, who just smiled in return and added a few short notes by way of explanation. Afterwards he said to me that
Mr. Xu was a literati who had taken to the martial arts, specializing in Taiji, but was too small and slight of built
to wield a daqiang, and did not understand the use of duozi, so what purpose would it serve to talk about it? Mr.
Xu was a learned scholar with a keen sense of inquiry, but he was not physically very strong. In fact, to a very
large extent duozi is a necessary method in the training of daqiang, and represents a stepping movement that is
employed in some of the most important techniques in the Liuhe spear – such as ‘white bull drilling its horns’ (白
牛轉角 bainiu zhuangjiao), ‘white ape hoisting a sword’ (白猿拖刀 baiyuan tuodao), etc. To put it simply, in
certain situations duozi helps to make sudden adjustments in the use of force, changing in an instant the spatial
relationship between the protagonist and his opponent, and helps to psychologically threaten the antagonist with
an unexpected jolting movement. This is a crucial technique in daqiang practice and must be rehearsed
repetitiously over a long period, so that it may be spontaneously employed in combat situations. There is an
ancient saying that ‘a thousand ounces of gold cannot buy a sudden commotion, and a sudden commotion sends
one to the king of the underworld!’ (千金難買一聲響，一聲響處見閻王！qianjin nanmai yi sheng xiang, yi
sheng xiang chujian yanwang) This proverb is hard on the ear but its rationale is unquestionably correct.
Naturally, some of the practitioners have not grasped the true principles of Baji and falsely believe they
demonstrate their prowess by forcefully da duozi in performance. Obviously, this is incorrect practice and I would
like to take this opportunity to point out this mistake to Baji practitioners among my readers.

More important, Baji stresses the need to ‘draw slow postures (架子 jiazi) and hit quick punches’ (慢拉架子，快
打拳 man la jiazi, kuai daquan). In a broad sense the jiazi here refers to all the postures, but more specifically it
means the Baji xiaojia set. Xiaojia has a rather small number of movements but its structure is extremely taut; it
demands the practitioner not to rush through the motion and to execute each movement with great clarity, which
has to be slowly and patiently ‘drawn’ out. Each movement should be executed with the proper power, and each
posture should be made with precision, circulating one’s breath as one goes through the routine, so that the qi is
complete and full force is manifest, like a cloudless blue sky or a spotless window, or sitting down leisurely to
read Liu Gongqun’s calligraphy, such as shence junbei 神策軍碑. Undoubtedly, as far as spear practice is
concerned, this is an extremely important method of training that is beneficial to both physical and mental
wellbeing. There are many important elements in spear practice, but as Mr. Ma Fengtu said there is none more
important than ‘stillness’: 'Once the daqiang is held in the hand, the first thing to do is to still one’s qi. There is an
ancient adage which says that “whenever a momentous event occurs one must always manifest a still qi”, this also
holds true for use of the spear. Lone practice requires stillness, a two-person set practice requires stillness, and
agonistic practice involving real attack and defence requires even more stillness, for proper techniques cannot be
employed when stillness is absent, and when one’s hand does not follow his heart he is likely to suffer losses. In
the past when people practiced with spears, it often happened that one of the antagonists lost as soon as he made a
movement with his spear. There are many reasons for this but the most important is impatience and too great a
desire for victory.’[⑦]

There are many other technical similarities between Bajiquan and Liuhe daqiang that cannot be exhausted in this
short paper. I believe to truly inherit a traditional martial art, the most important criterion is to clarify its basic
principles, to understand its integral structure, and progress step by step through devoted study and practice.
During this process it is most important to simultaneously deepen one’s cultivation, understanding, and
techniques. Only then can one hope to slowly penetrate into the depths of its core until he finally attains its
essence. If one becomes filled with pride after learning only a few sets, and starts making up new combinations in
order to flaunt his knowledge, or deludes himself into thinking he has mastered the art, I believe this is
symptomatic of lack of true understanding – or at best a very superficial understanding – and has grossly
underestimated the value and profundity of historical martial arts. Traditional martial arts share common features
with any other type of traditional culture, one of which is that martial arts ‘sets’ were created under particular
historical circumstances and possess a certain formulaic quality. Such quality is in itself a cultural heritage and
should be regarded as a manifestation of a given society’s inner cultural pattern. As inheritors of culture we are
not at liberty to introduce changes, and must not add or delete according to our whims, for doing so would create
confusion and lead to the art becoming deformed, falling into decline, and finally condemned to death all but in
name. The misfortune of contemporary Chinese martial arts lies in the fact that the official body openly promotes
‘self-selected sets’, and determines the standard of such superficial creations of purely performative value on the
basis of ‘regulations’, even giving additional scores to those sets which are deemed to be ‘good’. In this way
Chinese martial arts have become a jigsaw puzzle that can be assembled and dissembled according to one’s
wishes, or a pliable pile of mud which can be freely manipulated into any shape. With the help of an anachronistic
name and a cover of mysticism, any garbled creations may be elevated to the pedestal of ‘traditional martial arts’.
At present, although there is a revival in interest in traditional martial arts, their future is besieged by a host of
problems, and they are yet to be rescued from the on-going crisis. From my personal point of view, to protect and
pass on our true martial arts heritage, the first thing we need to do is address this problem, by imposing restrictive
measures to prevent counterfeits from posing as ‘authentic’ historical martial arts, and raising the relevant
department’s ability to verify the genuine articles, which in addition should be cautioned to proceed with care.
Otherwise, the future of traditional martial arts is bleak and worrying, and Bajiquan’s present predicament is a
case in point.
[1] In one sense, ‘liuhe’ or ‘six harmony’ refers to the different spatial directions and may be taken to embrace the
entire universe; it can also mean ‘under the heaven’, or be equated with the phenomenal world of experience. In
martial arts nomenclature, and in particular when the term is used in the context of spear practice, ‘liuhe’
traditionally means ‘six combined methods of combat’.
[2] ‘Shi shu’ is an honorific title for a person who studied with the same teacher of one’s master.
________________________________________

[①] Wu Zhong, also known as Hongsheng, was a Muslim from Zhuangke village, Qingyun county, who lived
during the emperors Kangxi and Yong Zhen’s reigns. He was the first person to teach Bajiquan in Hebei and
Shandong provinces. Wu Zhong learnt Bajiquan and liuhe daqiang from Zhang Yueshan, who was a private
martial artist from jiaozuo yueshan 焦作月山 Monastery in Henan, and is alluded to as ‘Master Zhang’ in the
Three Character Stanzas. Qingyun county was originally part of Cangzhou city in Hebei province, but is now part
of Dezhou city in Shandong province.

[②] Many different styles of Liuhe spear were practiced in the Ming Dynasty, the most famous being the Yang
family, the Sha family, and the Ma family styles, which display distinct technical characteristics and have
different specifications for the dimension and material of the spear. Of the extant historic spear manuals the best
known and most complete is the Yang family spear manual preserved in the tenth chapter – ‘On the short methods
of long weapons’ (長兵短用說 changbin duanyong shuo) – of New Book on Military Discipline (紀效新書 jixiao
xinshu), which was written by the celebrated general Qi Jiguang. Yang family style Liuhe-spear is also called
‘Pear blossom spear’ (梨花槍 lihua qiang), whose name is frequently met with in Chinese popular culture. The
various spear techniques contained in Selected Readings on Long Spear Techniques (長槍法選 Changqiang
faxuan), written by the Anhui native Cheng Chong-dou in the late Ming, and Records of Arms Shoubei lu 手臂
錄), composed by Wu Shu in the late Ming and early Qing period, are basically similar in contents, and may be
identified as falling under the Liuhe-spear umbrella. The Liuhe-spear preserved in the Baji system belongs to the
Yang-family style. Even though some of its techniques and terms have changed over time, in principle it has
remained faithful to the original teachings. Among traditional martial arts schools and styles in China, the Liuhe
qiang in the Baji system is the most complete form and has best preserved the characteristics of classical martial
arts. However, most contemporary practitioners of Bajiquan tend to focus on bare-handed techniques and know
very little about the use of the spear, sometimes even making up new methods and skills which have no bearing to
the historical Liuhe techniques.

[③] The six ‘combinations of combat’ refer to six routines in spear practice which integrates various offence and
defence techniques. These methods were employed in military training in the Ming period, which incorporate the
principal elements in attack and defence in spear-use. For the sequence of these combinations I refer the readers’
attention to Chapter 10 in New Book in Military Discipline (戚繼光 Qi Jiguang).

[④] Private martial artists have different interpretations of the term ‘Liuhe’ 六合 (six harmony); one such
explanation divides ‘six harmony’ into ‘inner three harmony’ (nei sanhe 內三合) and ‘outer three harmony’ (wai
sanhe 外三合), and some martial artists even named the style(s) they practiced Liuhe. Looking at it within a
temporal framework, it seems quite clear that all subsequent use of ‘liuhe’ derived from ‘Liuhe daqiang’, and its
increasing use in ‘lay’ martial arts circle should be seen as a result of the popularization of military martial arts.

[⑤] Confucius made the statement ‘without learning poetry, one lacks the words for language’ (不學詩，無以言
bu xue shi, nan yi yan) while educating his son, Kong Li. The sense of it is that without a good command of
poetry one does not know how to speak. See Yang, Bojun, lun yu zhe zhu: ji shi bian di shi liu 論語譯註：季氏
篇第十六, Zhonghua Publication, 1965, p. 185. Ma Fengtu used this paradigm to stress the importance of
Bajiquan training as a foundation for learning Liuhe daqiang.

[⑥] Xu Zheng (1898-1967), aka. Zhe Dong, was a native of Changzhou in Jiangsu province. He was a well-
known author who published widely on topics related to martial arts history and the study of Taijiquan, including
Taijiquan kaoxin lu (太極拳考信錄 Records of Inquiries into Taijiquan), guoji lunlue (國技論略 On the National
Techniques), etc. See Xu Zheng die wen ji: Xu Zheng jian ie (徐震佚文集：徐震简介 Xu Zheng’s Selected
Writings: Brief Introduction to Xu Zheng), Shanxi Scientific Technology Publication (shanxi kexue jishu
chubanshe), 2006.

[⑦] Quoted from Ma, Fengtu, Recorded Sayings on Martial Arts: On Spear (Quan yu lu: lun qiang), unpublished
manuscript.

Preamble on the Origin and Development of Hung Kuen

Lam Chun Fai

Hung Kuen (洪拳) is one of the most important and representative martial arts styles from southern China. Many
theories and hypotheses surround the origin of Hung Kuen but most deal with legends and have little factual
basis. From my father I have heard many anecdotes about Hung Kuen’s early history, particularly apropos the life
and times of Lam Sai Wing (林世榮), but being of pragmatic rather than theoretical disposition and not having
made any in-depth investigation, I can only offer my own interpretations and personal understanding.

According to popular tradition, the origin of Hung Kuen is related to the destruction of the Southern Shaolin
Temple during the Qing Dynasty. In some editions of the martial arts manual Gung Ji Fuk Fu Kuen (工字伏虎
拳), written by Master Lam Sai Wing during the the early 20th century, it is said that the Buddhist monk Ji Seem
(至善禪師) founded Hung Kuen after escaping from the destruction of Shaolin:

During Emperor Yongzhen’s reign of the Qing Dynasty the Japanese invaded and occupied Taiwan. The Qing
state was shaken by the news, but in spite of repeated attempts by civil and military officials throughout the
domain to recapture Taiwan, the Japanese repulsed every effort. It happened that a group of Shaolin monks from
Fujian province came upon the battle scene. Fighting courageously, they defeated the Japanese and retook
Taiwan. Upon hearing the news, the Qing court was greatly pleased and wished to confer ranks of officialdom
and rewards on the monks. However, being ascetics they accepted only paddy fields and grains as reward. Then it
suddenly occurred to the Qing government that if the temple harbored men of such extraordinary talent and
ability, it could easily threaten the state if it decided to take up the revolutionary cause. Goaded by a mixture of
caution and jealousy, secret orders were dispatched to use the grains as incendiary, and in the course of the night
the temple was set on fire. As soon as the monks realized what was happening they fled from the temple and
scattered to other provinces. Ji Seem alone fled to Guangdong province where he settled at Nam Hoi
Zhong Temple in Guangdong . From then on he started to teach martial skills inside the temple.’[1]

Master Lam Sai Wing's book is among the earliest martial arts manuals to be published in Guangdong. It is a
seminal work for popular martial arts in Guangdong and a major contribution to the development of southern
Chinese martial arts.

Even though the origin story recorded here cannot directly explain Hung Kuen’s historical genesis, it offers
valuable clues to understanding its early development. In the ‘Brief Introduction’ to Gung Ji Fok Fu Kuen Master
Lam Sai Wing makes several significant claims: (1) Hung Kuen started in Fujian but developed in Guangdong;
(2) for an extended period Hung Kuen was suppressed by the Qing government; (3) its early development and
dissemination was to a large extent conducted underground and only became legal around Master Lam Sai
Wing’s lifetime during the early Republic of China era. What is noteworthy is that Hung Kuen’s origin story is
fundamentally the same as the Hong Men Society’s foundation myth; the earliest information on the destruction
of the southern Shaolin comes from Hong Men’s surviving texts. Indeed, Fujian’s specific socio-historical and
cultural background made it a breeding ground for secret societies in the late Qing Dynasty, notably Hong Men,
and according to contemporary historical research, secret societies often used local temples as centers for their
activities, towards which the state pursued a steadfast policy of persecution and suppression, and regularly
destroyed illicit temples. The precise relationship between Hung Kuen and Hong Men is scholars’ specialist
domain, and their underlying relationship awaits further historical research. But I am certain is that it is not purely
accidental that Hung Kuen and Hong Men share a common origin myth.

When did Hung Kuen become an independent martial arts style? This is a difficult question but from the early
20th century at the latest, five family-styles, consisting of ‘Hung, Lau, Choy, Lei, Mok' ( 洪, 劉, 蔡, 李, 莫), were
acknowledged as the leading martial arts styles in Guangdong. That Hung Kuen is listed at the head of the five
families says much about its prestige and influence at the time. A hundred years ago Guangdong abounded with
martial arts schools and organizations, and the social position of a given martial arts teacher depended directly on
his pugilistic abilities and martial prowess. Unquestionably, a significant reason for Hung Kuen’s status as the
premier martial arts family in Guangdong boils down to Master Lam Sai Wing’s unparalleled skills as a martial
artist. According to my father, back in those days any martial artist who wished to open a school in Guangdong
had to first pay a courtesy call to Lam Sai Wing and obtain his approval. This indicates he held a position of great
prestige in Guangdong martial circles. Indeed, such was the extent of his influence that most of the Hung Kuen
practiced today descends directly from Lam Sai Wing’s teaching –– an eloquent testimony to the unique
contributions he has made to traditional Chinese martial arts. Naturally, this is not to say that the techniques and
sets preserved and passed on by Master Lam Sai Wing represent the entire Hung Kuen repertoire in Guangdong at
the time. However, popular martial arts had suffered grievous losses during the catastrophic decade of the
Cultural Revolution, and it is impossible to gage either the extent of damage or the nature of these losses. All I
can say is that Master Lam Sai Wing laid the foundation for the Lam Family Hung Kuen, and that most
contemporary Hung Kuen styles have derived from this system.

Master Lam Sai Wing’s Hung Kuen system has diverse sources, the core of which descends from Master Wong
Fei Hung (黃飛鴻) –– Gung character Crouching Tiger Boxing (Gung ji fuk fu kuen), Tiger and Crane Boxing
(Fu hok sheung ying kuen 虎鶴雙形拳), Iron Wire Boxing (Tit sin kuen 鐵線拳), Ng Long Eight Trigram Staff
(五郎八卦棍 Ng long ba gua gwan), etc. –– but also includes Hung Kuen techniques passed down within the
Lam family, such as War Palm (Jin zhern 戰掌) and Che Chong Double Broadsword 車沖雙刀, as well as
unarmed and weapon techniques and sets absorbed from extraneous styles, including Plum Blossom Spear (梅花
英槍 Mui fa ying chern), Commander’s Broadsword (指揮刀 Ji fai dou), Yu’s Family Great Fork (瑤家大扒 Yu
gar tai pa), etc. During the 1920s and 1930s, under the patronage of the Republican Government, traditional
Chinese martial arts became the national symbol for 'New China' and a burgeoning Self-strengthening Movement;
by the end of the war, martial arts development entered a golden period of growth and popularity, which saw a
blossoming of schools from around the country with an unprecedented exchange between the North and the
South. For a time a strong martial spirit infused the whole nation, and Hung Kuen became the symbol for a
relentless self-strengthening spirit in southern China.
Following Lam Sai Wing the second Hung Kuen grandmaster to emerge is his nephew, Master Lam Jo, who not
only inherited Master Lam Sai Wing’s teachings, but introduced important innovations and reforms to the
inherited techniques. His reforms mainly concern two aspects, in respect of contents and sam fa (身法 body
positioning and movement). Regarding the former, the repertoire of today’s Lam Family Hung Kuen is almost
twice as large as the original corpus. The reason for this is that Master Lam Jo composed a number of two-person
sets based on existing routines, such as Tiger and Crane Two Person Set (虎鶴雙形對拆 Fu hok sheung ying dui
cha), Single Broadsword versus Spear (單刀對槍 dan dou dui chern), Double Broadsword versus Spear (雙刀對
槍 sheung dou dui chern), Double-ended Staff Two-person Set (雙頭棍對拆 sheung tao gwan dui cha), Great
Broadsword versus Spear (大刀對槍 dai dou dui chern), etc. At the same time, he integrated a number of sets
from other martial arts styles and schools into the repertoire. These include boxing sets, such as Lau Family
Boxing (劉家拳 Lau gar kuen), Bang bou 蹦步, etc., as well as sets in weapon training, such as Lau Family Staff
(劉家棍 Lau gar gwan), Butterfly Double Broadsword (蝴蝶雙刀 Wu dip sheung dou), etc. Concerning the latter,
Master Lam Jo’s innovations transformed Hung Kuen stylistically and technically from the ‘hard bridge and
stance’ (硬橋硬馬 ngan kiu ngan ma) of old into a more agile and flexible style; greater emphasis was placed on
control over distancing and positioning, to avoid and neutralize attack through skillful body movements, and to
maximize power by utilizing body momentum. Conversely, Master Lam Sai Wing was exceptionally well-built
and possessed enormous physical strength; and added to this, years of hard training, the fighting style of ‘hard
bridge and hard stance’ was well suited to maximize his body advantage.

Martial arts from southern China are commonly perceived as belonging to the system of ‘short-range striking’ (短
打) suitable for close-range combat only. Actually, this is not completely correct; take Hung Kuen for example,
even though its methods and principles posses characteristics of duanda, they also contain techniques typical of
Northern style long-range striking (長拳), and thus may be more appropriately seen as a combination of Northern
and Southern martial arts. Hung Kuen also possesses techniques that involve big swinging arm movements, which
are not seen in more conservative southern martial arts, as for instance the combination of ‘Seoi long paau ceoi’
水浪拋槌 and ‘Ling wan za ngo’ 連環責岳, which are reminiscent of Northern Pigua sequences. Nonetheless,
fundamentally Hung Kuen has retained salient features of southern style martial arts –– firm, immovable stances
and low kicks not higher than the waist –– and in my opinion represents a style of martial arts that is rich in
southern flavor but not limited by the techniques of traditional short-range striking.

Essentially, martial arts are a dynamic cultural phenomenon. As conceptions and understanding of the human
body evolve through time, or as one’s body condition alters, changes necessarily occur in martial practice and
performance. Today, living in a society increasingly governed by the rule of law, martial arts are largely separated
from the reality of combat and needs of self-defense, and have transformed into a cultural activity to cultivate the
mind and the body, a way to enrich one’s physical and spiritual wellbeing, and a channel to experience and
rejoice in traditional culture. At the same time, reviewing the development of traditional martial arts, particularly
southern style Chinese martial arts over the past decades, I have mixed feelings about their future, commingling
hope and optimism with a sense of worry and anxiety. On the one hand, in both in China and and Hong Kong,
fewer and fewer people are taking up traditional martial arts, such that the martial spirit in the days of my youth
has all but vanished. This probably has to do with the Westernization of society over the past half-century, and the
impact of globalization on indigenous sports. On the other hand, traditional martial arts (including Hung Kuen)
have maintained a vital role in the cultural life of overseas Chinese communities; and in the wake of transnational
kung fu movement in recent decades, Chinese martial arts are attracting a rising following in the west, whose
interest and devotion to the martial arts exceeds even that in China and Hong Kong. What I find regrettable is that
on the evidence of this contemporary trend, traditional southern martial arts are slowly becoming an overseas
‘Kung Fu Culture’.

Please note that some transliterations based on Cantonese pronunciation have been used in this article in order
to avoid confusing those that are already accustomed to their usage.
[1] 林世榮著，《工字伏虎拳》，民國 75 年，台北：華聯出版社印行 Lam, Sai Wing, Gung ji fuk fu kuen,
Seventy fifth year of the Chinese Republic, Taibei: Hualian Press

Shaolin Kung Fu-a Cultural Treasure for Humanity

Shi Yongxin

Shaolin kung fu was created at the Shaolin Temple, Mount Songshan, in China. For generations, the techniques
and knowledge of Shaolin kung fu were handed down and preserved by guardian warrior-monks known as the
Sangha. Today, Shaolin kung fu is recognized as an invaluable and unique cultural heritage not only in China but
for the whole of humanity.

In general, Shaolin kung fu, as transmitted and taught by the Sangha, refers to ancient martial practices created
under specific cultural conditions at Songshan Shaolin Temple, and embedded in the temple’s long historical
development. At the core of Shaolin kung fu is the tenet of protecting the Buddhist dharma, which permeates
every aspect of Shaolin Sangha’s daily activities and religious life, and the belief of using martial arts as a vehicle
to understand and practice Chan (Zen) Buddhism. In time, guided by the principles and spirituality of Chan
teachings, Shaolin kung fu evolved into a spiritual activity to cognize the fundamental principles of Mahayana
Buddhism and cultivate instinctive wisdom.

Shaolin Temple has been the center of Chan Buddhism since the Wei Dynasty (5th century AD). Through a
prolonged and dynamic process of development and exchange, Buddhism absorbed Confucian and Daoist ideas
into its doctrines, and finally transformed to a new orthodoxy known as Chan. Strongly imbued with Chinese
ethical values and philosophical notions, the concept of the ‘unity of man and Heaven’ lies at the very heart of
Chan Buddhism, and its practice focuses on the pursuit of esoteric, transcendent knowledge through meditation.
In important ways, therefore, Chan Buddhism was a syncretic belief system born out of cultural exchanges among
different religions and philosophies. In turn, Chan Buddhism was to exert an enormous and lasting influence on
Chinese culture and spiritual life.

During the political turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty (AD581—681), Shaolin monks began to organize
militia units for self-defense, thus inaugurating the emergence of Shaolin Temple as a military force. The perfect
utilization of body movements in Chinese martial arts, together with the threefold notions of spiritual harmony (of
inner being), social harmony (between man and society), and cosmic harmony (between man and nature),
coalesced to develop the unique culture of Chan Buddhism at Shaolin. On the one hand, Chan Buddhism elevated
martial arts into a spiritual endeavor and a vehicle of cultivating awareness, whereas on the other, meditation
provided a gateway to empowerment for martial artists, by opening the door to self-knowledge. This combination
laid down the foundation for a system of knowledge that incorporated the duality of Chan Buddhism and martial
arts, in consonance with human progression towards greater spiritual peace and social harmony. Indeed, the
continuing relevance and value of this philosophy and unique way of life is recognized not only within the
temple, but acknowledged and practised by people hailing from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Over
the past millennium, this fusion of Chan spirituality and martial arts became the cornerstone of Shaolin kung fu,
which in time blossomed and spread to every corner of the world.

Shaolin kung fu is the most outstanding representative of traditional Chinese martial arts. It includes 708 sets of
empty-handed and armed martial arts routines and 156 sets of qigong breathing exercises, some of which are
preserved and documented in historical martial arts manuals. Within this system, Shaolin kung fu is divided into
several coherently related classes, whose techniques are based on an intimate understanding of the human
anatomy and scientific principles of body movements. It stresses the dynamic intercourse between motion and
stillness, quick and slow movements, the importance of proper breathing, and puts into martial practice traditional
philosophical concepts about yin and yang, the equilibrium between hardness and softness, and unity between
man and Heaven. Moreover, for Sangha warrior-monks who follow the martial way, Shaolin kung fu is an
indispensable means to cultivate Chan Buddhism, to realize the nirvana state of ‘all things but one mind’, and to
‘perceive the Buddha nature in oneself with an enlightened heart’. That is why Shaolin kung fu, qua a vital
channel of Chan Buddhism, puts special emphasis on moral training, and seeks to instill virtues of self-restraint,
discipline and peace through a regime of physical training. Combat is open to the Sangha warrior only as a last
recourse, who is taught to strike at the eight vital spots that may immobilize without causing fatal injury to the
opponent, in accordance with Buddha’s teaching to respect the sanctity of life. In this way, the unity of Chan
Buddhism and martial arts makes Shaolin kung fu a unique, life giving form of martial arts, and allows Shaolin
kung fu to play an active role in promoting dialogue, mutual understanding and respect among individuals and
communities.

For hundreds of years, Shaolin Sangha have practiced martial arts as a vehicle of observing and intuiting the
principles of Chan Buddhism. In this process, Shaolin kung fu has been imbued with the spirit of ‘justice,
harmony, and peace’, and thus become an important heritage of traditional Chinese culture.

After the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in November 1997 and
adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in October 2003, Shaolin
kung fu was listed as a cultural item under municipal, provincial and state protection; and since 2004 it has been
shortlisted by the Chinese government for submission to UNESCO as a masterpiece of intangible heritage. If this
application is approved, Shaolin Sangha may assume the duty of passing on their knowledge with a strengthened
sense of identity and purpose; while the Chinese state, and the public at large, will work together towards
providing a better environment for the future development of Shaolin kung fu. Indeed, the value of Shaolin kung
fu is increasingly appreciated and recognized through both public and private efforts to protect, promote and
perpetuate it as an intangible cultural heritage. Today, Shaolin kung fu has an immense global following in excess
of 1,000,000 students, while literature, films, TV programs and stage performances based and inspired by Shaolin
kung fu afford popular entertainment to the peoples, societies, and nations around the world.

Right now, we are doing everything in our power to safeguard the heritage of Shaolin kung fu and the Temple.
Firstly, the Shaolin Temple has actively participated in the process to nominate Shaolin kung fu as an intangible
cultural heritage at different administrative levels in China. Secondly, as custodians of Shaolin kung fu, we have
taken legal measures to register and protect its trademarks, in order to prevent further damage to Shaolin kung fu's
public reputation by unauthorized and illegal use of its name and image. Thirdly, the Shaolin Temple has
endeavored to improve its system of teaching and dissemination. Over the past few years, the temple’s ancient
patriarchal clan system has been fully restored, a wide range of materials about Shaolin kung fu has been
collected, and a concerted effort has been made to comprehensively document the heritage of Shaolin kung fu.

At the same time, acknowledging the fact that the Shaolin Temple is where Shaolin kung fu is practiced,
maintained, and taught, the Temple and its principal affiliated structures have been recognized as key cultural
monuments under state and provincial protection. From 2001, the Shaolin Temple, directed by the of ‘Law of
Cultural Relics of the People’s Republic of China’, initiated a thorough clean-up of the surrounding environment
and restoration of its historical architecture and related facilities. Areas where Shaolin kung fu is practiced, such
as the meditation halls, commandment altar, and martial arts training halls have either been restored or rebuilt. As
a result, the space for transmitting Shaolin kung fu has been fully restored and upgraded in recent years. Further,
in order to promote scientific research and greater understanding of Shaolin kung fu, in 1999 the Shaolin Temple
established the Shaolin Cultural Research Institute. To date, three international symposiums have been held, while
dozens of books on the study of Shaolin kung fu have been published. In addition, to oversee and more closely
supervise research projects directly related to the Temple and its culture, we founded the Shaolin Press, which
includes Chan Lu among its publications, a quarterly journal with research papers and reports pertaining to the
study of Chan Buddhism. We have also launched an official website (www.shaolin.org.cn) in bilingual (Chinese
and English) versions. Last but not least, the Shaolin Temple has organized Shaolin kung fu performance teams to
promulgate Shaolin kung fu and conduct cultural exchanges worldwide.

What we are doing is not only for the preservation of Shaolin’s martial tradition; but in so far as Shaolin kung fu
is an integral part of China’s martial culture, to preserve, promote, and revitalize China’s classical martial arts
heritage, which is increasingly pressurized by the economic and cultural forces of globalization. It is our duty to
protect this cultural treasure, and to ensure that it continues to develop and play an active role for the betterment
of humanity and world peace.