Gu Ruzhang

Quick Facts

Date of Birth1894

Date of Death1952

Country of OriginChina

OccupationSoldier

Biography

Gu Ruzhang (1894–1952), in Cantonese Ku Yu Cheung, was a Chinese master of Northern Shaolin (Bak Sil Lum) and of the iron palm technique. He was born in 1894 in Funing in Jiangsu Province. We know his biography mainly from the research blog Chinese Martial Studies, and we have not been able to read Chinese sources.

His father ran an escort agency and from 1906 trained him in Tantui. Around 1911 he went to Shandong to Yan Jiwen, nicknamed Big Spear Yan, and stayed with him for at least eleven years. He learned ten sets of Northern Shaolin, weapon forms, the iron palm and the Golden Bell qigong. In 1922 Yan declared his training complete.

In October 1928 he took part in the first national Guoshu examination in Nanjing and gained the title guoshi. In 1929 he was among the so-called five Southern Tigers who came to teach northern styles in Guangzhou. In June 1929 he founded the Guangzhou Guoshu Institute and became its president, and in 1934 he was chief instructor of Guoshu of the Eighth Army. In the early nineteen-forties he withdrew from public life and died in 1952 aged 58.

Early life

He was born in 1894 in Funing in Jiangsu Province as the second son, with an older brother and a younger sister. We have not found the exact date of birth. His father ran a successful escort agency, mastered Tantui and was almost illiterate. The English Wikipedia names him Gu Lizhi. In 1901 Gu completed one year of primary school. From 1906, at the age of eleven, his father began to train him, first in the set Shi Lu Tan Tui. Chinese Martial Studies states that these details come from the account of Gu himself.

Training and teachers

Around 1911 he went to Shandong to the friend of his father Yan Jiwen, nicknamed Big Spear Yan, a former escort-service worker with a small school. He was accompanied by his cousin Ba Qingxiang. He stayed with Yan for at least eleven years, learned Tantui again and in addition ten sets of Northern Shaolin, weapon forms, the iron palm and the Little Golden Bell qigong. In 1922, when he returned home because of the death of his mother, Yan declared his training complete. The English Wikipedia names further teachers: Yu Zhensheng for Chaquan, Li Jinglin for Yang-style taijiquan and Bajiquan, and Sun Lutang for Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. Chinese Martial Studies does not name these teachers.

Contribution and innovations

In October 1928 he took part in the first national Guoshu examination in Nanjing and gained the title guoshi. The English Wikipedia states that because of injuries the examination declared no single winner and ended with fifteen champions, among whom he was included. In March 1929 Li Jishen opened the Liangguang Guoshu Institute in Guangzhou, and among its five Southern Tigers were Wan Laisheng, Fu Zhensong, Li Xianwu, Wan Laimin and Gu Ruzhang. The institute ceased to exist after about two months, when Li Jishen resigned. In June 1929 Gu founded the Guangzhou Guoshu Institute and became its president. In 1936 the institute received a government award and in 1938 it closed under the Japanese occupation. In 1934 Gu became chief instructor of Guoshu of the Eighth Army.

Legends and documented facts

It is said that with a single blow he killed a Russian horse, which died the next day, and that he refused to pay the owner compensation. The English Wikipedia and the author of Chinese Martial Studies both regard this story as a legend, according to the author probably connected with paid demonstrations. Wikipedia mentions a photograph in which he broke twelve bricks. Some websites connect his photographs with other masters, which we could not verify. His knowledge of Xingyiquan is also disputed, which Wikipedia states and readers under the Chinese Martial Studies article question.

Legacy

In the early nineteen-forties he announced his retirement and disappeared from public life. He died in 1952 aged 58, according to some of his pupils of heart trouble. We have not found the place of death, and the author of Chinese Martial Studies states that he has no information about his last years. We have not been able to document the names of his pupils from the sources checked.

Teachers, students and family

Associated Martial Arts