Wu Ch'uan-yu

Wu Ch'uan-yu or Wu Quanyuo was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial China. He is credited as the founder of the Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan. As he was of Manchu descent and would have been named by his family in Manchu. The name "Wú" was sinicisation that approximated the pronunciation of the first syllable of his , ''U Hala''.

Background

Wu Ch'uan-yu was a military officer in the camp in the Forbidden City, Beijing and also an officer of the Imperial Guards Brigade during the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Yang Luchan was the martial arts instructor in that banner camp, teaching t'ai chi ch'uan. In the camp, there were many officers studying with Yang Luchan, but only three men, Wan Chun , Ling Shan and Ch'uan Yu studied diligently and trained hard enough at t'ai chi ch'uan to become disciples. However, they were unable to become Yang Luchan's disciples, because Yang Luchan taught t'ai chi ch'uan to two men of very high status in the military; they were Shi Shaonan and General Yue Guichen.

At that time Wan Chun, Ling Shan and Ch'uan-yu were middle grade officers in the banner camp and because of their rank, they could not be seen as fellow classmates with nobility and high grade officers. As a result, they were asked to become disciples of Yang Pan-hou or Yang Banhou, Yang Luchan’s oldest adult son and an instructor as well to the Manchu military.

Wu Ch'uan-yu as a teacher

When Wu retired from the military, he set up a school in Beijing. Wu Ch'uan-yu's Beijing school was successful and there were many who studied with him, he was popularly known as Quan Sanye as a term of respect. His disciples were Guo Songting , Wang Maozhai , Xia Gongfu , Chang Yuanting , Qi Gechen etc. Wu's skills were said to be exceptional in the area of softly "neutralising" hard energy when attacked, which is a core skill of good t'ai chi ch'uan practice as a martial art.

Formation of the Wu style

Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'uan also became a cavalry officer and t'ai chi ch'uan teacher, working closely with the Yang family and promoting what subsequently came to be known as Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

Family tree

This family tree is not comprehensive.

LEGENDARY FIGURES
|
Zhang Sanfeng*
circa 12th century

|
Wang Zongyue*
T'AI CHI CH'?AN
|
THE 5 MAJOR CLASSICAL FAMILY STYLES
|
Chen Wangting
1600–1680 9th generation Chen

|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
Chen Changxing Chen Youben
1771–1853 14th generation Chen circa 1800s 14th generation Chen
Chen Old Frame Chen New Frame
| |
Yang Lu-ch'an Chen Qingping
1799–1872 1795–1868
Chen Small Frame, Zhao Bao Frame
| |
+---------------------------------+-----------------------------+ |
| | | |
Yang Pan-hou Yang Chien-hou Wu Yu-hsiang
1837–1892 1839–1917 1812–1880
Yang Small Frame |
| +-----------------+ |
| | | |
Wu Ch'uan-yü Yang Shao-hou Yang Ch'eng-fu Li I-yü
1834–1902 1862–1930 1883–1936 1832–1892
| Yang Small Frame |
Wu Chien-ch'üan | Hao Wei-chen
1870–1942 Yang Shou-chung 1849–1920
1910–1985 |
|
| Sun Lu-t'ang
Wu Kung-i 1861–1932
1900–1970
| |
Wu Ta-kuei Sun Hsing-i
1923–1970 1891–1929

Note to Family tree table

Names denoted by an asterisk are legendary or semilegendary figures in the lineage, which means their involvement in the lineage, while accepted by most of the major schools, isn't independently verifiable from known historical records.