Li Style Tai Chi
李氏太极拳A taijiquan line from Wuqing near Tianjin, compiled by Li Ruidong. It rests on three boards of 36, 72 and 108 movements and is on China's national list.
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About Li Style Tai Chi
Li taiji, in Chinese Li shi taijiquan, is a line of taijiquan from Wuqing county near Tianjin, compiled at the end of the Qing dynasty by Li Ruidong. It was originally called fu nei quan, fist from the house, because Li compiled it in a gentry mansion. Earlier Li had studied huaquan, Shaolin methods and chuojiao, in 1880 he became sworn brother to Wang Lanting, an older student of Yang Luchan, and from him he took over Yang taiji. His other teachers were Dong Haichuan, founder of baguazhang, Yue Qingshan and Gan Danran. The core of the style is a system of three boards, the Heaven board of 36, the Earth board of 72 and the Human board of 108 movements, supplemented by the Li taiji form of 44 movements and other forms. Movement is relaxed and flowing with emphasis on the lower body, and hard and soft complement each other. Teaching rests on four elements: principle, stance, breath and timing. Of the weapons, sabre, sword, spear and staff are practised. Since 2014 Li taiji has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as one of nine taijiquan items. It is not counted among the five great family styles and is practised mainly in northern China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
History
Li taiji, in Chinese Li shi taijiquan, was put together by Li Ruidong of Wuqing near Tianjin. According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, it arose at the end of the Qing dynasty. Li first compiled it in a gentry mansion, hence the original name fu nei quan, fist from the house, and the style then settled in Wuqing. Before taijiquan he studied huaquan, Shaolin methods and, for nine years, chuojiao under Li Laosui of Raoyang. In 1880 he became sworn brother to Wang Lanting, an older student of Yang Luchan, and went with him to Beijing. According to the national description, his other teachers were Dong Haichuan, founder of baguazhang, Yue Qingshan and Gan Danran of the southern school. The Wuqing account taken over by the Sohu portal gives Li's years as 1851–1917 and a tradition that Wang Lanting began teaching him after losing a duel, but this is a legend. According to the same account, in 1912 Li co-founded the Zhonghua Wushihui in Tianjin and became its chairman.
How it differs
Li taiji derives from Yang taiji, which Li took over through Wang Lanting, and combines it with chuojiao, Shaolin, baguazhang and xinyi liuhe quan. Compared with other styles it has a strikingly rich repertoire: its longest form has 108 movements, whereas the Wu style from Beijing and Shanghai gives a form of 83 movements and the simplified form based on the Yang style from 1956 has 24. It is not counted among the five great family styles, but it stands on the national list as an item of its own. It is unrelated to the British Lee style presented by Chee Soo, whose origin we were unable to confirm independently.
Technique
According to the national description, the core is three boards. The Heaven board, Qixing Ruyi quan, has 36 movements, the Earth board, Bafa Qimen quan, 72, and the Human board, Taiji Wuxing chui, 108. They are supplemented by Li taiji with 44 movements, Liuhe Fengmo quan and the small and large frame of taiji. It is full-frame taijiquan with eight types of chui strikes. Movement is relaxed and flowing, stressing the lower body, and hard and soft complement each other. Weapons are the thirteen sabres of the Blue Dragon and White Tiger, sword, spear, six-harmony spear and staff. According to the Wuqing account, the style was formerly called Bagua Li shi taijiquan or Taiji wuxing chui.
Training
Teaching, according to the national description, rests on four elements: li, principle, shi, stance, qi, breath, and ji, timing, principle leading the rest. Training includes the exercises Taiji shisan dan, Taiji shier xing and eight hard and twelve soft exercises. The style is passed on through the family line and the master-student relationship, also in research societies, training halls and courses. The Wuqing account distinguishes moving training in the three-board forms from still training in five standing exercises and lists aids like a ruler, ball, board, sack and a roped post.
Ranks and progression
We found no grading system or competition form of Li taiji in the sources. According to the national description, the line is active in its fifth and sixth generations. The Wuqing account says teaching goes through the four elements li, shi, qi and ji, and a higher level includes correcting hand and eye position. The unified 24-movement competition form of 1956 is based on the Yang style, not Li's.
Today
Since November 2014, Taijiquan (Li shi taijiquan) from Wuqing county has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as one of nine taijiquan items, next to the Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun, He and other styles. UNESCO inscribed taijiquan as a whole on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. According to the national description, Li taiji is practised mainly in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and in more than ten countries including France, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The scholarly book Lesser-Known Tai Chi Lineages (2016) ranks it among the lesser-known lineages.
Did you know
The numbers 36, 72 and 108 are linked, according to the national description, with the 36 heavenly stars, the eight trigrams and the seasons. Li Ruidong had the nickname Bizi Li, Big-Nosed Li, and according to the Wuqing account got it for his flat nose. He exchanged skills with Wang Zibin of Cangzhou, known as Dadao Wang Wu. The same account gives him over a hundred students.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Li taiji?
Li taiji was compiled by Li Ruidong of Wuqing near Tianjin at the end of the Qing dynasty. He took over Yang taiji from Wang Lanting, a student of Yang Luchan.
What forms are practised in Li taiji?
The core is three boards of 36, 72 and 108 movements, with the Li taiji form of 44 movements and forms with weapons.
Is Li taiji one of the five main styles of taijiquan?
No. It is not counted among the five great family styles, but since 2014 it has been an item of its own on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.