Sun Bin Quan (Sun Bin Boxing)
孫臏拳Shandong style, also called the long-sleeve fist, hands hidden in sleeves when striking. On China's national intangible heritage list since 2011, the Sun Bin name is a later attribution.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Sun Bin Quan (Sun Bin Boxing)
About Sun Bin Quan (Sun Bin Boxing)
Sun Bin quan, Sun Bin's Fist, is a Shandong style that, according to the national item description, is kept mainly around Jinan, Qingdao, Liaocheng, Zibo and Guantao. The name refers to the strategist Sun Bin, author of the treatise Sun Bin bingfa, and the style lays claim to his thinking, but the description says it was created by later generations under Sun Bin's name and that the time of origin differs in the sources. The sources name no founder or year of origin. It was added to China's national intangible cultural heritage list in the third batch of 2011 as item VI-60 in the category of traditional sports, games and acrobatics, in two applications: for Shibei District in Qingdao (protected institution: the Qingdao Wushu Literature and Art Association) and for the city of Anqiu (protected institution: the Anqiu Qingyunshan Martial Arts Hall).
Read more
The style's second name, the long-sleeve fist (changxiu quan), describes its most striking feature, the hands often hidden in long sleeves when striking. The description mentions spiral hand work in which attack and defence merge, springy strength and a whip-like strike, the elephant-trunk fist and a rocking step, and sums up the principles in five images: calm as a rooster, movement like a dragon's waist, agility like a monkey, spirit like an eagle's eye and relaxed shoulders like a gibbon. According to the description, the style combines elements of several schools. The traditional forms are basic exercises, one-hand exercises, the large, medium and small frame, Sixty Hands and Sun Bin's Staff. Transmission remains traditional, by acceptance as a disciple and oral explanation with demonstration. Since December 2017 the representative bearer of the national list is Liu Haigang of Anqiu (born 1971), fifth generation of the lineage. The Shandong site Qilu wang names Meng Xiantang as bearer of the third batch of 2011 and, as first generation, Zhang Jingchun of Chiping County, who spread the style at the end of the Qing dynasty as a travelling merchant. Versions of the family lineage differ in the sources.
History
The national item description says that later generations created Sun Bin quan under the name of the strategist Sun Bin and that the time of origin differs in the sources. The style draws on the thinking of the text Sun Bin bingfa and combines fighting elements of several schools. The sources name no founder or year of origin.
Read more
The family lineage is documented only in regional press and versions differ. The Shandong site Qilu wang (2020) names as first generation Zhang Jingchun of Chiping County, a merchant at the end of the Qing dynasty who spread the style on his travels, as second generation Yang Mingzhai, who in 1928 founded the Qingdao Guoshu Academy on Guangdong lu in Qingdao, as fourth generation Meng Xiantang and as fifth Lan Chunling, the first woman to head the school. The portal Sohu gives three versions of the first generation (Zhang from the village of Zhangjialou near Guantao, Zhang Jingchun of Chiping and Zhang Youchun of Linqing) and teaching in Qingdao from 1918 to 1936, a source without editorial oversight. Sun Bin quan was added to China's national intangible cultural heritage list in the third batch of 2011 as item VI-60 (serial no. 1143) in the category of traditional sports, games and acrobatics for Shandong Province, in two applications: for Shibei District in Qingdao protected institution: the Qingdao Wushu Literature and Art Association, and for the city of Anqiu protected institution: the Anqiu Qingyunshan Martial Arts Hall.
Technique
The style's second name, the long-sleeve fist (changxiu quan), comes from the hands often being hidden in long sleeves when striking. The national item description mentions spiral hand work uniting attack and defence, springy strength (tanhuang jin) and a whip-like strike (bianshao jin), the main elephant-trunk fist (xiangbi quan) and a rocking step. It sums up the principles in five images: calm as a rooster, movement like a dragon's waist, agility like a monkey, spirit like an eagle's eye and relaxed shoulders like a gibbon. The description gives the traditional forms as basic exercises, one-hand exercises, the large, medium and small frame, Sixty Hands and Sun Bin's Staff (guai). According to Qilu wang the medium frame has 32 movements, the small 64 and the large 96, and the full system has 360 according to Meng Xiantang, the article not explaining the sum.
Training
The national item description says the style is passed on by acceptance as a disciple and oral explanation with demonstration. Qilu wang says the traditional rule was to teach only men and only part of the system, and that Meng Xiantang broke it to preserve the whole style. We have no more detailed training syllabus from a federation or national-list source.
Today
The representative bearer on the national list is Liu Haigang of Anqiu (born 1971), fifth generation of the lineage, named in the fifth batch in December 2017, who also works in the Anqiu Wushu Association. Qilu wang names Meng Xiantang as bearer of the third batch of 2011, who according to the same article taught in more than forty countries, which we have not verified on the national list website. The protected institutions are the Qingdao Wushu Literature and Art Association and the Anqiu Qingyunshan Martial Arts Hall. Sun Bin quan is not a separate competition discipline of wushu, and the 2019 IWUF rules for traditional wushu do not name the style. We have not found any style-specific grades or duan.
Frequently asked questions
When was Sun Bin's Fist added to the national intangible heritage list?
In 2011, in the third batch, as item VI-60 in the category of traditional sports, games and acrobatics, in two applications for Qingdao and Anqiu.
Why is Sun Bin quan called the long-sleeve fist?
According to the description of the national item, the hands are often hidden in long sleeves while striking.
Where is Sun Bin quan practised?
The national item's description names Jinan, Qingdao, Liaocheng, Zibo and Guantao and their surroundings.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.