Part 5: The Development Of Wu
Yu Xiang Style Taijiquan
The founder of this form of
Taijiquan was Wu Yu Xiang (1812-1880)
who was a native of Yung Nien,
the home County of Yang-style
founder, Yang Lu Chan. Wu Yu
Xiang had two brothers, Wu Deng
Qing (1800-1884) and Wu Ru Qing.
Both brothers were officials
in the Qing government. Wu Deng
Qing was the magistrate of Wu
Yang, a County in Henan Province,
and Wu Ru Qing was a secretary
in the Penalties Department
under his older brother.
All three of the brothers were
very interested in martial arts,
having initially learned martial
arts from their father. The
main art learned was Shaolin
Hung Boxing thus they had a
good foundation in martial arts.
When Yang Lu Chan started teaching
Taijiquan at Yung Nien, the
Wu brothers went to watch him.
All three brothers were enthralled
by Yang Lu Chan's skills and
began studying under him. Wu
Yu Xiang also became a tutor
to Yang Lu Chan's sons, teaching
them reading and writing13.
Later, Wu Yu Xiang went to seek
out Yang Lu Chan's teacher Chen
Chang Xin to further his skills,
but instead ended up learning
from Chen Qing Ping at the Zhao
Bao village. (see later section
on why he did so) Wu Yu Xiang
had few pupils and his art was
made famous mostly through the
efforts of the Hao family who
learned Wu Yu Xiang's Style
of Taijiquan from his nephew,
Li I Yu. Indeed, occasionally
this style of Taijiquan is referred
to as Hao style. Li I Yu is
a important early recorder of
Taiji material and his works
are important references in
any study on the origins and
historical development of Taijiquan.
Today, Wu Yu Xiang's Taijiquan
is one of the major styles practiced
though it is still relatively
unknown in the West.
Wu Yu Xiang's Teacher
Yang Lu Chan
Wu Yu Xiang's family owned the
building which housed the Tai
He Tang drug store run by the
Chen family of Chen Jia Gou.
It was there, many years before,
that Yang Lu Chan had witnessed
a scene, which led him to the
Chen village to study under
Chen Chang Xin. Yang Lu Chan
also taught martial arts at
the Tai He Tang after he returned
from the Chen village following
many years of study.
The Wu brothers on seeing Yang's
consummate skill, went to study
under him and learned what is
now called the old Yang style
of Taijiquan (see the later
section on Wu Yu Xiang's early
form). The Wu brothers also
studied the Broadsword and the
Long Staff/Spear under Yang
Lu Chan.14
In an effort to better his skills,
Wu Yu Xiang decided to travel
to the Chen Village in 1852
to seek out Yang Lu Chan's teacher
Chen Chang Xin. On the way there,
he stayed at an inn in the Zhao
Bao Village. There he spoke
to the inn-keeper about his
desire to go to the Chen Village
to further his skills. The inn-keeper,
desiring to earn more of Wu's
money, sought to keep him in
Zhao Bao Village telling him
that Chen Chang Xin was old
and sick (he eventually died
the following year) and did
not teach anymore, but that
a highly skilled member of the
Chen family was teaching martial
arts in the Zhao Bao Village.
That teacher was none other
than Chen Qing Ping.
Wu Yu Xiang's Other
Teacher Chen Qing Ping
Chen Qing Ping is recorded in
Chen Xin's Chen Family Manual
as being a student of Chen Yu
Ben, who created the New Style
of Chen Taijiquan. The style
taught by Chen Qing Ping was
also known as the Gao Jia or
High Frame. The Zhao Bao Village
records show that Chen Qing
Ping also received instruction
from Zhang Yan whose art had
come down from Jiang Fa. So
whether or not Chen Qing Ping
founded Zhao Bao Taijiquan is
in dispute with the Chen family
claiming that he did and the
Zhao Bao lineages claiming that
he didn't. The postures of the
Zhao Bao Village form does show
resemblance to the Chen Taiji
form, but the way the postures
are executed has more of the
flavor of other Taiji lineages.
Based on the inn keeper's information
about Chen Chang Xin's health
and Chen Qing Ping's skill,
Wu Yu Xiang approached Chen
Qing Ping and studied under
him for forty days, gaining
a new understanding of the art.
When he returned he modified
his form to include skills he
learned from his second teacher,
as well as with the ideas found
in Wang Tsung Yueh's Taijiquan
Classic, which his brother had
discovered in a salt store.
(See later section about Wu
Yu Xiang's later form)
(1)(2)(3)
|