Wu Ch'uan-yu Information & Wu Ch'uan-yu Links at HealthHaven.com

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wu.

Depiction of a Manchu Imperial Guards Bannerman wearing similar uniform and gear to that worn by Wu Ch'uan-yu as a military officer

Wu Ch'uan-yu or Wu Quanyou (simplified Chinese: 吴全佑; traditional Chinese: 吳全佑; pinyin: Wú Quányòu) (1834–1902) was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial China. He is credited as the founder of the Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan.^[1] As he was of Manchu descent and would have been named by his family in Manchu. The name "Wú" (吳) was sinicisation that approximated the pronunciation of the first syllable of his Manchu clan name, U Hala.^[2]

[edit] Background

Wu Ch'uan-yu was a military officer in the Yellow Banner camp (see Qing Dynasty Military) in the Forbidden City, Beijing and also an officer of the Imperial Guards Brigade during the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Yang Luchan (楊露禪) (1799–1872) was the martial arts instructor in that banner camp, teaching t'ai chi ch'uan.^[1] In the camp, there were many officers studying with Yang Luchan, but only three men, Wan Chun (萬春), Ling Shan (凌山) and Ch'uan Yu (全佑) studied diligently and trained hard enough at t'ai chi ch'uan to become disciples. However, they were unable to become Yang Luchan's disciples, because Yang Luchan taught t'ai chi ch'uan to two men of very high status in the military; they were Shi Shaonan and General Yue Guichen.^[2]^[3]

At that time Wan Chun, Ling Shan and Ch'uan-yu were middle grade officers in the banner camp and because of their rank, they could not be seen as fellow classmates with nobility and high grade officers. As a result, they were asked to become disciples of Yang Pan-hou (楊班侯) or Yang Banhou, Yang Luchan’s oldest adult son and an instructor as well to the Manchu military.^[2]

[edit] Wu Ch'uan-yu as a teacher

When Wu retired from the military, he set up a school in Beijing. Wu Ch'uan-yu's Beijing school was successful and there were many who studied with him, he was popularly known as Quan Sanye (全三爺) as a term of respect. His disciples were Guo Songting (郭松亭), Wang Maozhai (王茂齋), Xia Gongfu (夏公甫), Chang Yuanting (常遠亭), Qi Gechen (齊閣臣) (see Wudang Tai Chi Chuan Lineage) etc. Wu's skills were said to be exceptional in the area of softly "neutralising" (化勁, hua jin) hard energy when attacked, which is a core skill of good t'ai chi ch'uan practice as a martial art.^[3] Wu Ch'uan-yü had three primary disciples: his son Wu Chien-ch'uan, Wang Mao Zhai and Guo Fen.^[4]

[edit] Formation of the Wu style

Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'uan (吳鑑泉) (1870–1942) also became a cavalry officer and t'ai chi ch'uan teacher, working closely with the Yang family and promoting what subsequently came to be known as Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.^[1]^[5]^[6]

[edit] Family tree

This family tree is not comprehensive.

 LEGENDARY FIGURES    | Zhang Sanfeng* circa 12th century NEI CHIA    | Wang Zongyue* T'AI CHI CH'ÜAN    | THE 5 MAJOR CLASSICAL FAMILY STYLES    | Chen Wangting 1600–1680 9th generation Chen CHEN STYLE    |    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+    |                                                                   | Chen Changxing                                                     Chen Youben 1771–1853 14th generation Chen                                     circa 1800s 14th generation Chen Chen Old Frame                                                     Chen New Frame    |                                                                   | Yang Lu-ch'an                                                      Chen Qingping 1799–1872                                                          1795–1868 YANG STYLE                                                         Chen Small Frame, Zhao Bao Frame    |                                                                   |    +---------------------------------+-----------------------------+   |    |                                 |                             |   | Yang Pan-hou                      Yang Chien-hou                   Wu Yu-hsiang 1837–1892                         1839–1917                        1812–1880 Yang Small Frame                     |                             WU/HAO STYLE    |                                 +-----------------+                      |    |                                 |                 |                      | Wu Ch'uan-yü                      Yang Shao-hou     Yang Ch'eng-fu          Li I-yü 1834–1902                         1862–1930         1883–1936               1832–1892    |                              Yang Small Frame  Yang Big Frame            | Wu Chien-ch'üan                                        |                    Hao Wei-chen 1870–1942                                           Yang Shou-chung         1849–1920 WU STYLE                                            1910–1985                 | 108 Form                                                                      |    |                                                                        Sun Lu-t'ang Wu Kung-i                                                                   1861–1932 1900–1970                                                                   SUN STYLE    |                                                                          | Wu Ta-kuei                                                                  Sun Hsing-i 1923–1972                                                                   1891–1929

Note to Family tree table

Names denoted by an asterisk are legendary or semilegendary figures in the lineage, which means their involvement in the lineage, while accepted by most of the major schools, isn't independently verifiable from known historical records.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wu, Ying-hua (1988). Wu Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan – Forms, Concepts and Applications of the Original Style. Shanghai Book company, Ltd., Hong Kong.
^ ^a ^b Wu, Kung-tsao (1980, 2006). Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan (吳家太極拳). Chien-ch’uan T’ai-chi Ch’uan Association. ISBN 0-9780499-0-X.
^ Zhang, Tina (2006). Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan. Blue Snake Books Berkeley, california. ISBN 978-1583941546.
^ 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.
^ Philip-Simpson, Margaret (June 1995). A Look at Wu Style Teaching Methods - T’AI CHI The International Magazine of T’ai Chi Ch'uan Vol. 19 No. 3. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.

Tina Chunna Zhang, Frank Allen (2006). Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan. Blue Snake Books. ISBN 978-1583941546

[edit] External links

International Wu Style Tai Chi Ch'uan Federation at www.wustyle.com Wu family website with a link to a biography of Wu Ch'uan-yu (listed as "Wu Chuan Yau")

[Wile1995-0] 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.

[Wu_1988-1] Wu, Ying-hua (1988). Wu Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan – Forms, Concepts and Applications of the Original Style. Shanghai Book company, Ltd., Hong Kong.

[Family_T_1980-2] Wu, Kung-tsao (1980, 2006). Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan (吳家太極拳). Chien-ch’uan T’ai-chi Ch’uan Association. ISBN 0-9780499-0-X.

[northwu-3] Zhang, Tina (2006). Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan. Blue Snake Books Berkeley, california. ISBN 978-1583941546.

[4] 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.

[5] Philip-Simpson, Margaret (June 1995). A Look at Wu Style Teaching Methods - T’AI CHI The International Magazine of T’ai Chi Ch'uan Vol. 19 No. 3. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.

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