Xingyiquan
形意拳A Chinese art of straight forward movement and explosive force with the five fists wuxing, twelve animals and traditional training beginning with the spear.
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About Xingyiquan
Xingyiquan is a Chinese martial art with three branches, the Shanxi, Hebei and Henan ones. Its beginnings are associated with Ji Jike of Shanxi, nicknamed Divine Spear, whose art liuhe came from fighting with the spear. The sources place his life in the years 1588–1662, or give him around 1750. Tradition venerates General Yue Fei of the Song dynasty as the founder, but this attribution is disputed, and the historian Brian Kennedy considers the story of a found manual a probable legend. The art was given its modern form by Li Luoneng from Shen County in Hebei, who around the sixties of the 19th century in Taigu in Shanxi created his own style on the basis of the xinyi of the Dai family.
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Technically xingyiquan rests on direct movement forward and explosive force (fajin) at short range. The five fists (wuxing) metaphorically represent five martial states, and the twelve animals imitate the tactics of the animals, not only their movement. The main training stance is santi shi, training includes the static stances zhan zhuang, and traditionally the spear was taught first and only after it fighting without a weapon. The level of skill is described by three levels of force jin, ming, an and hua. In the 20th century a shortened version was taught to officers at the military academy in Nanjing, and Sun Lutang devoted the book Xingyiquan xue to the art in 1915. After the Cultural Revolution some routines were adapted for competitive wushu, but xingyiquan appears in competitions relatively rarely. On the national list of intangible cultural heritage of the PRC there is the version from Hebei since 2008 and the version from Shanxi since 2011, and the Henan lineage xinyi liuhe quan has a separate entry from 2008.
History
The beginnings of xingyiquan are associated with Ji Jike (Ji Longfeng) of Shanxi, the first person generally believed to have actually practised the art. He was nicknamed Divine Spear, and his art liuhe (six harmonies) came from the principles of fighting with the spear. The sources differ in the dates: they give the years 1588–1662, or the historian Brian Kennedy places him around 1750 as the founder of modern xingyi. Tradition venerates General Yue Fei of the Song dynasty as the founder, but the attribution is disputed, and Kennedy considers the story of a manual found in a cracked statue of Yue Fei a probable legend.
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The main students of Ji Jike were Ma Xueli and Cao Jiwu. Ma Xueli, a Hui from Luoyang, according to tradition studied with Ji Jike while pretending to be mute, and after his return founded in Henan the xinyi quan lineage, spread mainly among the Hui Muslims and divided into the Luoyang and Nanyang schools. Kennedy gives him the years 1714–1790, and the national entry of the Henan lineage places the adoption of the art in the middle of the 17th century. The first written records come from the 18th century, and Dai Longbang’s preface to the Book of Six Harmonies bears the year 1750. Li Luoneng (given as 1807–1888) from Shen County in Hebei is regarded as the founder of modern xingyiquan. He studied the xinyi of the Dai family from Qi County for about ten years and around the sixties of the 19th century in Taigu in Shanxi created his own style. That Dai Longbang taught him directly is doubtful. His students included Che Yonghong (1833–1914), who came to him in 1856, Song Shirong and in Hebei Guo Yunshen, whose dates the sources give as 1829–1900, or 1820–1901. Li Cunyi (1847–1921) passed on the text Yue Fei’s Intent Boxing, publicly published in two volumes in 1934, and his student Shang Yunxiang (1864–1937) gave a name to the Shang direction, spread around Beijing.
How it differs
Xingyiquan divides into three main branches. According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, Li Luoneng created xingyiquan with five fists and twelve animals in Taigu around the eighteen-sixties, on the basis of the Dai family's xinyi, which has a separate item on the list. According to the Hebei listing, his students founded the Hebei and Shanxi styles. The Hebei branch, with the lineage of Li Taihe, Guo Yunshen and Liu Qilan, relies on the basic stance santi shi, five fists and twelve forms, and the listing describes it as simple, focused on short close-range fighting and fast attack. The Henan lineage of xinyi liuhe quan has a separate listing. According to it, its main content is xinyi ba, ten great forms, four fists, and the liuhe sword and spear. The historian Brian Kennedy sums up that the core of the Hebei-Shanxi lineage is five fists and twelve animals, and that of the Henan lineage ten animals. The Henan branch is also called Muslim xingyi, and Kennedy judges that it probably represents a more faithful form of early xingyi. Sun Lutang linked it with baguazhang and taijiquan. He studied xingyiquan under Li Kuiyuan and Guo Yunshen, baguazhang from 1889 and taijiquan from 1914, and combined all three in his own system. We did not find a direct technical comparison with these two internal styles by an independent expert.
Technique
Xingyiquan is characterised by direct attacking movement forward and explosive force (fajin) at short range. Its foundation is the five fists (wuxing) pi, beng, zuan, pao and heng, which metaphorically represent five martial states and draw on concepts of traditional Chinese medicine. The five fists are described as the basic “mother” of the art, which Guo Yunshen adapted. They are followed by the twelve animals (shierxing), which imitate the tactics of the animals, not only their movement. Three branches are distinguished. The Shanxi one works with a narrower stance, lighter steps and more evasions, the Hebei one is usually described as accessible, the Henan one as markedly offensive. The national entry of the Shenzhou branch from Hebei states that it arose from xinyi liuhe quan, that the basic stance is the three body positions santi, the basic exercise the five elements and twelve forms, and that the sword and staff are also practised. The Henan branch is called xinyi liuhe quan in the Hui Muslim community in Luoyang, and its basis is four fists and ten great forms, ten animals. In the lineage of Ma Xueli the routines sijia quan and bashi and the steps jixing bu, maxing bu and luoxuan bu are given.
Training
The main training stance is santi shi (three bodies), which Li Luoneng placed at the centre of training. It is accompanied by static zhan zhuang stances, whose length is given as from two minutes to two hours. Traditionally students learned the spear first and only then bare-handed fighting. The spear remains the weapon most associated with xingyiquan, and alongside it the straight sword, sabre, staff and halberd are practised.
Ranks and progression
Progress in xingyiquan is traditionally described by three levels of force, jin. Ming jin is clear, visible force, an jin hidden force and hua jin transforming force, which is regarded as the highest level. These are levels of skill in controlling force, not belts or technical grades. We have not been able to document an established system of examinations and grades for xingyiquan.
Competition
After the Cultural Revolution some xingyiquan forms were adapted for competitive wushu with an emphasis on aesthetics, but it appears in competitive wushu relatively rarely. It is not an Olympic sport. The IWUF traditional wushu rules (trial version 2019) divide the competition into bare-hand forms, forms with weapons, duilian and group forms. Xingyiquan is not named in them, the application form lists taijiquan, nanquan and another bare-hand style. The age groups are shared by all styles, from group A up to 8 years to group F from 60 years.
Philosophy
According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, xingyiquan rests on the doctrine of the five elements, which explains the principles of the fists, technique, attack, defense and health. The five fists pi, beng, zuan, pao and heng correspond to metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Training begins with the santi shi stance, and imitation of twelve animals' attacking and defensive qualities is added to the five fists. The Hebei text says xingyiquan combines philosophy, daoyin exercise and martial art, and serves health, self-defense and the care of life. According to Brian Kennedy, manuals use mnemonics such as the Eight Threes, including three sinkings, where qi, shoulders and elbows must sink. According to the national text, attack and defense training follows six principles, gong, shun, yong, ji, hen and zhen.
Today
Practical use has accompanied xingyiquan since the 19th century. Li Luoneng and his students became famous as personal bodyguards and escorts of caravans. During the Second Sino-Japanese War a shortened version of the art was taught to officers at the military academy in Nanjing for close combat, including the bayonet and the sabre. Sun Lutang, who studied xingyiquan with Li Kuiyuan and from 1882 with Guo Yunshen, devoted to it the book Xingyiquan xue in 1915. Xingyiquan is on the national list of intangible cultural heritage of the PRC as item no. 798 (code VI-26) in the category of traditional sports, games and acrobatics. In the second batch in 2008 the version from Hebei was entered, submitted by the city of Shenzhou, with the protected unit Shenzhou Xingyiquan Association, and the representative holder is Zhang Yulin. In the third batch in 2011 the version from Shanxi was added, submitted by Taigu, with the protected unit Taigu Xingyiquan Association, and the representative holders are Bu Bingquan, Gao Baodong and Song Guanghua. The Henan lineage xinyi liuhe quan has on the list a separate entry from 2008 (item no. 802, code VI-30) with protected units in Luohe and Zhoukou. We did not find a study of health effects or injuries focused directly on xingyiquan, nor its inclusion in the grading system of the Chinese Wushu Association.
Did you know
The name xingyi is translated into English as form-mind boxing, boxing of shape and mind. The legend that Ji Jike found Yue Fei's manual hidden in a cracked statue is considered by the historian Brian Kennedy a probable legend, because paper manuscripts do not survive in statues for hundreds of years. According to him, historians consider the surviving text bearing the title of Yue Fei's Manual of Six-Harmony Boxing to be a much later creation. The spread of xingyiquan in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei was, according to the national listing, closely connected with the development of Shanxi merchants. Dai Longbang of Qi County, from whose lineage Li Luoneng took over xinyi, ran caravan protection and developed his techniques while protecting merchants. Sun Lutang studied xingyiquan under Li Kuiyuan, who led an armed escort, and published Xingyiquan xue in 1915, Baguaquan xue in 1916, Taijiquan xue in 1921 and Quanyi shuzhen in 1925.
Frequently asked questions
What is xingyiquan?
According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, xingyiquan is one of the four famous Chinese fist styles with a history of over three hundred years. The name translates as boxing of form and mind. The art is built on direct forward attack and on the five fists pi, beng, zuan, pao and heng derived from the doctrine of the five elements.
What are the five elements in xingyiquan?
The five elements are the theoretical basis of xingyiquan. According to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, the five basic fists correspond to the five elements: pi to metal, beng to wood, zuan to water, pao to fire and heng to earth. The doctrine explains the principles of technique, attack, defense and health.
Who founded xingyiquan?
China's national list of intangible cultural heritage names Li Luoneng from Shen County in Hebei as the creator of modern xingyiquan, who created the style around the 1860s in Taigu on the basis of the xinyi of the Dai family. According to the record, the older xinyi liuhe arose at the end of the Ming dynasty with Ji Jike, while historian Brian Kennedy considers the attribution to General Yue Fei a legend.
Similar styles
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