Yiquan (Dachengquan)
意拳Wang Xiangzhai's style without fixed forms, built on zhanzhuang standing. It emerged from xingyiquan in the 1920s.
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About Yiquan (Dachengquan)
Yiquan, fist of intent, later also called dachengquan, was founded by Wang Xiangzhai (1885–1963). Wang came from xingyiquan, which he studied under Guo Yunshen, and in the mid-1920s, according to the English Wikipedia, he concluded that xingyiquan stresses outer form too much. He therefore began teaching under a new name and without fixed forms. The Hong Kong style association gives 1926 as the year of the name, and we have not been able to verify it independently. The basis of training is zhanzhuang, standing in a stance, followed by shi li, slow movements that carry the sensations of standing into motion. The seven-stage standing system was put together by Wang's adopted son Han Xingqiao. In the 1930s Wang taught in Shanghai, and from 1937 in Beijing. The name dachengquan, great achievement, was used in the 1940s by his friends and students, but Wang returned to the name yiquan. After 1949 he taught in Beijing's Zhongshan park and zhanzhuang became famous as a health exercise. Han Xingyuan and Han Xingqiao brought the style to Hong Kong, and Wang's student Yao Zongxun wrote a book about it, Yiquan, a Chinese modern practical boxing.
History
Yiquan was founded by Wang Xiangzhai, who according to the English Wikipedia was born on 26 November 1885 in Hebei province and died on 12 July 1963 in Tianjin. As a weak child he studied under the xingyiquan master Guo Yunshen, from whom he took over the zhanzhuang stance. Around the age of thirty-three he travelled China studying under other masters, and after seven years he settled in Shanghai. In the mid-1920s, according to Wikipedia, he concluded that xingyiquan put too much emphasis on outer form and began teaching under a new name. The Hong Kong style association gives 1926, and we have not been able to verify the exact year independently. According to one version, the name was proposed in Shanghai by Chen Yen Tong. In the 1930s Han Xingqiao, Han Xingyuan and Shao Daosheng trained with Wang in Shanghai, and in 1937, according to the association, he settled in Beijing. The name dachengquan, great achievement, was used in the 1940s by Wang's friends and students. According to Wikipedia, Wang considered it pretentious and returned to the name yiquan.
How it differs
Yiquan differs from xingyiquan, from which it emerged, mainly in having no fixed forms. According to the English Wikipedia, Wang concluded that xingyiquan stresses outer form too much. By one version, the name yiquan, fist of intent, refers to both xingyiquan and xinyiquan.
Technique
Yiquan has no fixed forms. According to the English Wikipedia it also omits concepts such as qi, meridians and dantian, although part of this claim is disputed. Training divides into the zhanzhuang stance and shi li, slow movements carrying the sensations of standing into motion. We have not found other techniques, for example free sparring, described in higher-level sources.
Training
The basis of training is zhanzhuang, standing in a stance. According to the English Wikipedia, Han Xingqiao, whom Wang adopted and who lived with him for fifteen years, helped arrange zhanzhuang into a seven-stage system. The health effects of standing are also studied by modern medicine, for example in a randomized trial of three-circle standing in university students, whose protocol is listed in PubMed Central.
Ranks and progression
We have not found belts or grades in yiquan in the sources. Training progresses from standing to the slow shi li movements, and according to the English Wikipedia the seven-stage zhanzhuang system was compiled by Han Xingqiao. According to the Hong Kong style association, in 1958 Wang treated chronic illnesses with zhanzhuang at Beijing's Guang'anmen hospital, and in 1961 the Baoding traditional Chinese medicine hospital invited him.
Today
In 1947, according to the Sohu portal, Wang founded the Quanxue Yanhui society in Beijing's Taimiao. After 1949 he closed it and taught in Zhongshan park, where zhanzhuang became known as a health exercise. According to the English Wikipedia, Han Xingyuan (1915–1983) and Han Xingqiao brought yiquan to Hong Kong. Yao Zongxun (1917–1985) wrote the book Yiquan, a Chinese modern practical boxing. We have not found yiquan on the national or Hong Kong list of intangible heritage.
Did you know
In Shanghai, according to the Sohu portal, Wang clashed with a Hungarian boxer, which added to his fame. According to one English Wikipedia article, the Japanese Kenichi Sawai (1903–1988), founder of taikiken, met Wang in Beijing in 1939, while according to another he was taught only by Wang's student Yao Zongxun.
Frequently asked questions
Why does yiquan have no forms?
According to the English Wikipedia, Wang Xiangzhai concluded that xingyiquan stresses outer form too much. He therefore dropped fixed forms and built training on zhanzhuang standing and slow shi li movements.
What is the difference between yiquan and dachengquan?
It is the same style. The name dachengquan, great achievement, was used in the 1940s by Wang's friends and students, but Wang returned to the name yiquan.
What is zhanzhuang?
Standing in a stance, the basis of yiquan training. Wang took it over from the xingyiquan master Guo Yunshen, and Han Xingqiao arranged it into a seven-stage system.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.