Tongbeiquan (Through-the-Back Boxing)
通背拳A northern Chinese style of long, fast strikes imitating a monkey's arms. The Beijing tradition has three schools and has been on the national list since 2014.
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.
About Tongbeiquan (Through-the-Back Boxing)
Tongbeiquan, literally the fist passing through the back, is a northern Chinese style that, according to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, is widely practiced in Beijing. It imitates the long arms and speed of a monkey. Strikes are fast and far-reaching and should be heavy, long, cold and sharp. Power is released on touching the opponent's clothing, and targets are often acupuncture points, joints and tendons. The Beijing tradition has three main schools. Baiyuan, White Monkey, came from Shandong and has eight generations, Qijia, the Qi family, came from Hebei and has nine generations, and Wuxing, Five Elements, has five generations. We have not been able to verify the founder or the year the style originated. Training rests on individual techniques. The hand portion has 108 sanshou techniques, 24 forms and several sets of six, with work on the post, the bag and partner practice, chuanjia duilian. Sets are only a supplement. Since 2014 tongbeiquan has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as item VI-73, with Beijing's Xicheng district as applicant. A separate item is Hongdong tongbei chanquan from Shanxi, a different tradition of a similar name.
History
According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, tongbeiquan is one of the traditional arts widely practiced in Beijing. The Beijing tradition has three main schools with their own lineages. The Baiyuan branch, White Monkey, came to Beijing from Shandong and spread over eight generations around Niujie and Guang'anmen. Its lineage runs through Lu Yunqing to Shi Hongsheng and on to Ma Xiaohe and Zhang Wencheng. The Qijia branch, the Qi family, came from Hebei and developed over nine generations in the Tianqiao and Dongsi areas. It runs from Qi Xinyu through Qi Taichang and Chen Qing to Cui Jing and Wang Zhanchun. The youngest branch, Wuxing, Five Elements, has five generations in the Haidian and Fengtai districts and runs from Zhang Ce to Ma Xichun and Dong Xiusheng. We have not been able to verify the founder or the year the style originated.
How it differs
Tongbeiquan shares long whipping strikes with piguaquan. For piguaquan the national portal states that it draws on tongbeiquan, and according to English Wikipedia the unified piguaquan took over skills from the 24 forms of tongbeiquan. Beijing tongbeiquan differs from Hongdong tongbei chanquan in both content and origin. According to the portal, the Hongdong tradition has 108 forms of so-called mother fists and similarities to the Chen family taijiquan, while the Beijing style rests on individual sanshou techniques and partner practice.
Technique
According to the national portal, tongbeiquan imitates a monkey's long arms and speed. Strikes are fast and far-reaching and should be heavy, long, cold and sharp. Power is released the moment the hand reaches the opponent's clothing, and the technique combines hard and soft movements. The style is distinctive for attacks on acupuncture points, bone seams, tendons and joints. The hand portion of Beijing tongbeiquan has 108 sanshou techniques, 24 forms, six sets each of zongshou, tazhang and chaiquan, and 24 pao. Of the weapons, the portal names the duanmen qiang spear, the Tiangang sword and saber and twelve staffs.
Training
Training rests on individual technique, not on sets. According to the national portal, the main methods are solo repetition of sanshou techniques, post work and bag strikes, and partner practice, chuanjia duilian, is important too. Sets are only a supplement. The technique is passed on orally from master to student.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a grading system of its own for tongbeiquan in the sources. As the current bearer of the Beijing tradition, the national portal names Li Zhanhua. Among the historical figures of the style it names Shi Hongsheng, Qi Xinyu, Qi Taichang, Ma Xichun, Zhang Ce and Dong Xiusheng.
Today
Since 2014 tongbeiquan has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, in the fourth batch as item VI-73 with serial number 1304. The applicant was Beijing's Xicheng district and the style is protected by the Beijing Wushu Association. The list also includes a separate item, tongbei chanquan from Hongdong county in Shanxi province (VI-57, number 1140, third batch 2011). It is a different tradition, which according to the portal was brought to Hongdong under Emperor Qianlong by Guo Yongfu and was passed down over ten generations.
Did you know
The name is written in Chinese with the characters 通背拳 and 通臂拳, so it reads both as the fist passing through the back and as the fist passing through the arms. For piguaquan the national portal speaks of tongbiquan. Sets named tongbei are also practiced in other systems. According to the American teacher Nick Scrima, the Mizong Luohan system has three sets of this name, one unarmed and two for pairs.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name tongbeiquan mean?
Literally the fist passing through the back. In Chinese it is written 通背拳 and 通臂拳, that is, also as the fist passing through the arms. The national portal describes the style as an imitation of the long arms and speed of a monkey.
What are the branches of tongbeiquan?
According to the national portal, the Beijing tradition has three main schools, Baiyuan (White Monkey) from Shandong, Qijia (the Qi family) from Hebei and Wuxing (Five Elements).
Is tongbeiquan on the intangible heritage list?
Yes. Since 2014 it has been on China's national list as item VI-73, the applicant being Beijing's Xicheng district. Hongdong tongbei chanquan from Shanxi (2011) is inscribed separately.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.