Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)
螳螂拳A northern Chinese style from Shandong imitating the mantis's hunt. Its signature is the hooked hand that catches and pulls; the southern mantis is a separate lineage.
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About Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)
Tanglangquan, the northern mantis fist, is a traditional Chinese martial art from the Jiaodong region of Shandong province. According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, it arose at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties by imitating mantis movements and is traditionally attributed to Wang Lang. The story of the mantis hunting a cicada is a legend, and the first documented bearer is Li Bingxiao of Laiyang under Emperor Qianlong. The style combines speed and forward pressure, long and short techniques, and hard and soft force. Four skills sum up the technique: hook, enclosing, grasping and tearing down. Training includes the iron palm exercise and luohan gong, and the weapons include the mantis sword and long weapons. The national list names taiji, meihua, qixing, liuhe and xiaojia as the main northern branches. It should not be confused with the southern mantis, an independent hakka art from southern China that shares its name with the northern one, not its origin. Tanglangquan has been on the national list since 2011. In 2026 the first international competition was held in Laiyang and a museum of the style opened there.
History
According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, Tanglangquan is a traditional martial art created by imitating the movements of the praying mantis, widespread in the Jiaodong region of Shandong province. It arose at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is traditionally attributed to Wang Lang. Chinese press states explicitly that the story of him devising the style after watching a mantis hunt a cicada is a legend. The first historically documented bearer, according to the Laiyang County Gazetteer cited by Qilu Evening News, is Li Bingxiao of Xiaochishan in Laiyang, who was active under the Emperor Qianlong. Other Laiyang transmitters include Zhao Zhu, Liang Xuexiang, Jiang Hualong and Song Zide, and the so-called three Shans of Laiyang: Wang Yushan, Cui Shoushan and Li Kunshan. According to historian Ben Judkins, Jingwu association instructors brought the northern mantis to the Hong Kong area in the 1920s.
How it differs
Northern Tanglangquan should not be confused with the southern mantis. According to the national list, the northern style arose by imitating the movements of the mantis and goes back to Wang Lang of Shandong. The southern mantis is a hakka art with a legend of the cook Chow Ah Naam from a mythical southern temple, and according to historian Ben Judkins it is generally not regarded as an imitative style. It relies on sensitivity training and paired exercises, supplemented by sunrise meditation and breathing exercises. We have found no direct technical comparison of the two styles in specialist sources. Within the northern mantis, the national list names as main branches taiji, meihua (plum blossom), qixing (seven stars), liuhe (six harmonies) and xiaojia (small frame). Taiji, meihua and xiaojia are especially widespread in Qixia.
Technique
The national list gives the style's features as speed, ferocity and forward pressure, long and short techniques combined, and both hard and soft force. Chinese press sums up the technique in four skills, gou, lou, diao and cai: hook, enclosing, grasping and tearing down. The basis is strikes, kicks and rolling movements combined. Xinhua says the technical content of the Seven Star branch includes work of the hands, body and steps, holds and wrestling. The style's weapons include the mantis sword, the two-handed sword and long weapons.
Training
Per the national list, external training is the iron sand palm exercise and internal training luohan gong. Xinhua says the Seven Star branch practises slapping strikes, paida gong, and the exercise of the eighteen luohans, shiba luohan gong. A report from a school in Yantai described an iron arm exercise in which the practitioner repeatedly hits a tree with the arm. Since 2018, Tanglangquan has been taught in Laiyang schools, and a local report says over ten thousand practitioners have been taught.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a unified system of grades or belts for Tanglangquan. Standing in the tradition is expressed rather by official recognition of bearers: Laiyang has, according to a local report, 5 bearers at provincial level, 23 at Yantai city level and over 200 at Laiyang level.
Today
Since the third batch in 2011, Tanglangquan has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage under number 805 (code VI-33), as an extension of the item of Laoshan district in Qingdao. Shinan district in Qingdao has another item in the fifth batch. The Hong Kong intangible heritage list carries Tanglangquan as item 391 with four variants. From 30 July to 3 August 2026, the first international Tanglangquan competition was held in Laiyang, with 118 teams and over 1 800 participants, including Brazil, Germany, the USA, Russia and France. China News Service says it was organised by the Wushu Management Centre and the Chinese Wushu Association. The China Tanglangquan Museum opened during the competition, according to the organisers the first of its kind in China.
Did you know
The China Tanglangquan Museum's collection in Laiyang includes handwritten manuals, old photographs and weapons such as the ten-finger star, a hand axe with a hook and a mantis sabre. China Daily says the style has been passed down in Yantai for almost 300 years, and a report says it combines the essence of 18 different martial techniques. Liuhe branch master Zhang Daojin took his first Spanish student in 2006 and has since taught thousands of people in Spain, according to China Daily.
Styles & Branches
A branch of Shandong mantis that Wikipedia classes as soft mantis and traces to the line of Wei San, Lin Shichun and Ding Zicheng.
According to Wikipedia and school websites, the name of Taiwanese master Su Yu-chang's institute, teaching several mantis branches and bajiquan in separate syllabi.
One of the main branches of Shandong mantis, which according to Wikipedia Luo Guangyu brought to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Frequently asked questions
What is the praying mantis style?
Tanglangquan is a northern Chinese kung fu style that, according to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, arose from imitating the movements of a mantis and spread in the Jiaodong region of Shandong Province. Its main branches are taiji, meihua, qixing, liuhe and xiaojia.
Who founded the praying mantis style?
Tradition attributes it to Wang Lang from the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the story of the mantis hunting a cicada is a legend. The first historically documented bearer is, according to the Laiyang Chronicle, Li Bingxiao, who was active during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.
What is the difference between northern and southern mantis?
Northern mantis comes from Shandong and arose from imitating the movements of a mantis. Southern mantis is a separate hakka art from southern China with a legend about the cook Chow Ah Naam, and according to historian Ben Judkins it is generally not regarded as an imitative style. They share a name, not an origin.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.