Xingyiquan
File:Xing2.gifFile:Yi4.gif
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| Pinyin: | Xíngyìquán |
| Wade-Giles: | Hsing I Ch'üan |
| Literally | "Form Mind Boxing" |
Xingyiquan is one of the three major internal Chinese martial arts—the other two being Taijiquan and Baguazhang—and is characterised by aggressive, linear movements and explosive power.
History
Like many Chinese martial arts, the exact origin of Xingyiquan is uncertain. The genealogy of Xingyiquan can only reliably be traced to the 18th century to Ma Xueli of Henan Province and Dai Longbang of Shanxi Province.
Legend, however, credits the invention of Xingyiquan to the renowned Song Dynasty (960-1279) general Yue Fei. This is inferred from a passage within an ancient Chinese text called the Preface to Six Harmonies Boxing (六合拳?; pinyin: Liùhéquán Xu) written in 1750. According to the Preface, Yue Fei created Xingyiquan for his officers, mimicking the fighting patterns of the spear.
Yang et al. argues that aspects of Xingyiquan (particularly the animal styles), are identifiable as far back as the Liang Dynasty (502-557) at the Shaolin Temple (2003, 11). Yue Fei, therefore did not strictly invent Xingyiquan but synthesised and perfected existing Shaolin principles into his own style of gongfu which he popularised during his military service. Nonetheless, Yue Fei is usually identified as the creator because of his considerable understanding of the art (as shown in his published work The Ten Theses of Xingyiquan) and his legendary status as a Chinese war hero.
After Yue Fei's death, the art was lost for half a millenium. Then, during the cusp of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Shaanxi Province's Zhongnan Mountains, Yue Fei's boxing manual was discovered by Ji Longfeng (also known as Ji Jike) of neighbouring Shanxi Province.
Like the Preface, the Ji Clan Chronicles (pinyin: Ji Shi Jiapu) describes Xingyiquan as a martial art based on the combat principles of the spear. The Chronicles, however, attributes this stylistic influence to Ji himself, who was known as the "Divine Spear" (神槍; pinyin: Shén Qiāng) for his extraordinary skill with the weapon.
The master who taught Xingyiquan to Ma Xue Li is conventionally identified as Ji Longfeng himself. However, the traditions of the Ma family itself say only that Xueli learned from a wandering master whose name is unknown.
The Preface identifies Cao Ji Wu as as student of Ji Longfeng and the master who taught Xingyiquan to Dai Longbang. However, other sources identify Dai's teacher variously as Li Zheng or Niu Xixian.
Xingyiquan remained fairly obscure until Li Luoneng (also known as Li Nengran) learned the art from the Dai family in the 19th century. It was Li Luoneng and his successors—which include Guo Yunshen, Li Cunyi, Zhang Zhaodong, Sun Lutang, and Shang Yunxiang—who would popularise Xingyiquan across Northern China.
Characteristics and Principles
Considered the most aggressive of the three major Chinese internal styles, Xingyiquan features quick, shocking attacks and direct footwork. The linear nature of Xingyiquan hints at both the military origins and the influence of spear technique alluded to in its mythology. Despite its hard, angular appearance, cultivating "soft" internal strength or qi is essential to achieving power in Xingyiquan.
The goal of the Xingyiquan fighter is to reach the opponent quickly and drive powerfully through them in a single burst—the analogy with spear fighting is useful here. This is achieved by coordinating one's body as a single unit and the intense focusing of one's qi.
Efficiency and economy of movement are the qualities of a Xingyiquan fighter and its direct fighting philosophy advocates simultaneous attack and defense. There are few kicks and techniques are prized for their deadliness rather than aesthetic value. Xingyiqun favours a high stance called Sāntǐshì (三體勢), literally "three bodies power," referring to how the stance holds the head, torso and feet along the same vertical plane. A common saying of Xingyiquan is that "the hands do not leave the heart and the elbows do not leave the ribs."
Overview
Animal Forms
Xingyiquan is based on ten distinct animal forms (形; pinyin: xíng). Present in all regional and family styles, these emulate the techniques and tactics of the corresponding animal rather than just their physical movements.
| Chinese | Pinyin | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | 熊 | Xióng | In Xingyi, "the Bear and Eagle combine," meaning that the Bear and Eagle techniques are often used in conjunction with each other. Also, there exists a bird called the "Bear Eagle," which is considered by some to cover the characteristics of both forms. |
| Eagle | 鷹 | Yīng | |
| Snake | 蛇 | Shé | Includes both Constrictor and Viper styles. |
| Tiger | 虎 | Hǔ | |
| Dragon | 龍 | Lóng | The only "mythical" animal taught. |
| Chicken | 鷄 | Jī | |
| Horse | 馬 | Mǎ | |
| Swallow | 燕 | Yàn | |
| Goshawk | 鷂 | Yào | Sometimes translated as 'Sparrowhawk,' though the more common character for "Sparrowhawk" used to be Zhān (鸇), which has fallen from use over the years. There are at least two different kinds of birds in China that can be translated as "Goshawk." One is, in Western terms, a Sparrowhawk; the other is is same species called a Goshawk in the West. |
| Monkey | 猴 | Hóu |
| Chinese | Pinyin | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Crane | 鶴 | Hè | |
| Crocodile | 鼍 | Tuó | This is a slight mistranslation since the animal it is meant to represent is the Yangtze River alligator. |
| Tai | 鳥台 (see note) | This is a flycatcher native to Asia. Sometimes this is translated as Ostrich, Dove, Hawk or even Phoenix. The Chinese for this animal is a single character, not two (as written); the character is not in Unicode. | |
| Blowfish | 鮐 | Tái | |
| Turtle | 龜 | Guī | Sometimes this is the same animal as Tuó, sometimes a separate animal. |
| Wildcat | 貓 | Māo |
The Five Elements
Xingyiquan uses the five classical Chinese elements to metaphorically represent five different states of combat. Also called the "Five Fists" or "Five Phases," the Five Elements are based on Taoist cosmology although the names do not literally correspond to the cosmological terms.
Xingyiquan practitioners use the Five Elements as an interpretative framework for reacting and responding to attacks. This follows the Five Element theory, a general combat formula which assumes at least three outcomes of a fight; the constructive, the neutral, and the destructive. Xingyiquan students train to react to and execute specific techniques in such a way that a desirable cycle will form based on the constructive, neutral and destructive interactions of Five Element theory. Where to aim, where to hit and with what technique—and how those motions should also work defensively—is determined by what point of which cycle they see themselves in.
Visualising the elemental cycles can be useful. It is arguably the case that the destructive cycle consists of the easiest applications. Each of the elements has variant applications that allow it to be used to defend against all of the elements (including itself), so any set sequences are entirely arbitrary. Some schools will teach the Five Elements before the Ten Animals because they are easier and shorter to learn.
| Chinese | Pinyin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splitting | 劈 | Pī | Metal | Like an axe chopping. |
| Pounding | 炮 | Pào | Fire | Exploding outward like a cannon. |
| Drilling | 鑽 | Zuān | Water | Drilling like a wave or a geyser. |
| Crossing | 橫 | Héng | Earth | Crossing across the line of attack. |
| Crushing | 崩 | Bēng | Wood | Holding a bow at full draw. |
It is perhaps unfortunate that the names used for the elements are also used as fundamental names for applications of energy or jìn (勁), since it can be confusing to describe the "heng jin contained within pi quan". It should be noted that the applications of energy referred to by the five element names are not the only ones, there are many others.
Schools
Roughly speaking, Xingyiquan has three main schools:
- Shanxi
- Hebei
- Henan
However, the identification of three separate schools (or styles) is tenuous because of the extensive cross-training that occurred across their lineages. This suggests that the schools did not evolve in isolation, thus diluting any major differences between them.
In general, Shanxi style has a narrower stance, lighter footwork and tends to be more evasive. Hebei emphasises powerful fist and palm strikes, with slightly different evasive footwork. Henan is typically the most aggressive of the three styles. Henan style is also known as Muslim style because it was handed down within the Muslim community in Luoyang in which its founder, Ma Xueli, belonged.
Both the Shanxi and Hebei schools use a Twelve Animal system with Five Elements while the Henan schools uses Ten Animals. Depending on the lineage, it may or may not use Five Elements. Due to the historical complexity and vagueness of the lineages, it is uncertain which school would qualify as the "authentic" Xingyiquan.
Because Li Luoneng learned Xingyiquan from the Dai family, its style is claimed to be the ancestral style of those Xingyiquan practitioners who trace their lineage to Li Luoneng, i.e. the majority of Xingyiquan practitioners. The family style of Ma Xueli of Henan, like the family style of Dai Longbang of Shanxi, can be dated reliably to the 18th century; however, its genealogy contains no Li Luoneng-like figure who disseminated the art widely.
Weapons
Traditionally, Xingyiquan is an armed art. Students would train initially with the spear, progressing to shorter weapons and eventually empty-handed fighting. Xingyiquan emphasises a close relationship between the movements of armed/unarmed techniques. This overlap produces greater learning efficiency.
Some common weapons:
- Spear
- Straight sword
- Saber
- Large Saber (used by infantry against mounted opponents)
- Long Staff
- Short Staff (at maximum length you could hold between the palms of your hands at each end - techniques with this weapon may have been used with a spear that had been broken)
- Needles (much like a double ended rondel gripped in the centre - on the battlefield this would mostly have been used like its western equivalent to finish a fallen opponent through weak points in the armour)
- Fuyue (halberds of various types)
Weapon diversity is great, the idea being that an experienced Xingyi fighter would be able to pick up almost any weapon irrespective of its exact length, weight and shape.
Some schools include other weapons, some even including the bow in their teaching—Yue Fei was known to support the flanks of his spearmen with archers against the more mobile mounted troops that he fought.
Famous Figures
Since the validity of lineages are often controversial, this list must be read as a provisional guide only. Names are presented in alphabetical order using pinyin romanization.
| Name | Chinese | Other Names | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cao Jiwu | 曹 繼武 | ||
| Che Yizhai | Che Yonghong | ||
| Dao Longbang | 戴 龍邦 | ||
| Guo Yunshen | |||
| Ji Longfeng | Ji Jike (姬 際可) | ||
| Li Cunyi | |||
| Li Luoneng | Li Nengran | ||
| Ma Xueli | |||
| Song Shirong | Originator of the Song Family Style. | ||
| Sun Lutang | Sun Fuquan | ||
| Zhe Yizhai |
Important Texts
A variety of texts have survived throughout the years, often called "Classics", "Songs" or "Theories".
- Classic of Unification
- Classic of Fighting
- Classic of Stepping
- Classic of Six Harmonies
In fiction
The fictional Tekken characters Julia Chang, Michelle Chang, and Wang Jinrei were written as Xingyiquan fighters.
The comic book Shaolin Cowboy, includes a character called "King Crab" who uses Xingyiquan terms for a number of techniques - though those terms are applied wrongly, and could be seen as a satirical view of the state of kung fu.
Controversy
Ancient Chinese texts, the source of Xingyiquan knowledge, often contain characters whose meanings are obscure or have disappeared completely from the language. Specialised terms which describe historically-specific concepts (names of ancient weapons for example) are commonly interpreted with regards for their closest, modern linguistic equivalent. The results can be problematic, producing translations which are linguistically correct but inconsistent within a fighting or martial context.
Another source of possible corruption within translation would be that the teaching of Xingyiquan is mostly through an oral basis. Few teachers will have provided their students with written texts, thus when the student decided to write a book they had to guess what character to use based off their knowledge of the sound of the character and their understanding of the movement - so even in relatively old texts there are differences in the characters that have been used.
Moreover, jargon from other martial arts seems to have entered the Xingyiquan vocabulary through cross-training. For example, some schools refer to a training method of "Xingyi Push Hands" - a term more commonly in use in training Taijiquan - which may be called by other schools "Five Elements Fighting"
The recognized founder of Baguazhang, Dong Hai Chuan, was reputed to have fought Guo Yun Shen with neither able to defeat the other - though it is possible that they were training together. It would have been controversial at the time for Dong Hai Chuan to have studied under Guo Yun Shen, since Dong Hai Chuan was the older of the two. The most neutral viewpoint would be to say that they trained together, which may explain the stylistic similarities between Baguazhang and the Xingyiquan Monkey. Frantzis (1998) argues that this encounter never took place and that Guo and Dong had little contact with each other. Frantzis also argues that a Xingyiquan-Baguazhang exchange was more likely to have occurred in Tianjin c. 1900 where Xingyi masters Li Cunyi and Zhang Zhaodong, Bagua master Cheng Tinghua, and four other Xingyi and Bagua teachers lived together (Frantzis, 1998, p. 179).
The founder of Yiquan, Wang Xiangzhai studied under Guo Yun Shen, and similarities in techniques between these arts can also be seen.
See also
References
- . ISBN 1-55643-253-4.
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- Szymanski, Jarek. Template:Web reference simple
- . ISBN 0940871416.
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Published Works
Translated Works
These may also be available in the original Chinese.
- . ISBN 0-9687517-1-7.
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- Xing Yi Quan Xue: The Study of Form-Mind Boxing, Sun Lu Tang (translated by Albert Liu)
English Works
- . ISBN 0804816174.
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