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Kung fu atlas

Seventeen kung fu styles and the places where each one’s story begins, from the Shaolin Temple in Henan to Hong Kong cinema. The pale line on the map follows the order of this page.

Yellow River Yangtze
  1. 1 Shaolin
  2. 2 Chen
  3. 3 Yang
  4. 4 Bagua
  5. 5 Baji
  6. 6 Xingyi
  7. 7 Mantis
  8. 8 Changquan
  9. 9 Eagle Claw
  10. 10 Wudang
  11. 11 Emei
  12. 12 Hung Ga
  13. 13 Wing Chun
  14. 14 Choy Li Fut
  15. 15 Five Animals
  16. 16 Drunken
  17. 17 Opera to film
  • Ink dot: the place where the style began.
  • Red dot: Chenjiagou.
  • Empty circle: a style with no fixed place of origin.
  • Pale line: the order of the journey on this page.

Coast and rivers: Natural Earth, public domain. naturalearthdata.com

The journey starts at Mount Song, at Shaolin. About 50 km north, across the Yellow River, lies Chenjiagou. From there it goes north to Yongnian, Cangzhou and Beijing; east to Shandong; west to Shanxi; south to Wudang and Emei; and ends in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Along the Yellow River and in the north

1

Shaolin

少林 · Shàolín

Shaolin Monastery, at the foot of Mount Song (嵩山), Dengfeng, Henan

Tradition tells: Bodhidharma (達摩) brought Chan Buddhism to Shaolin in the 6th century and meditated for nine years facing the wall of a cave above the monastery. Tradition links him to exercises called the "18 Hands of the Luohan".

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Thirteen Shaolin monks helped the future Tang emperor Taizong (Li Shimin). Stone carvings at the temple commemorate the monks.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. schoolgirlmilkycrisis.com

The monastery buildings are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 2010.

  1. newworldencyclopedia.org

Shaolin is called an external (外家 wàijiā) style. The split between internal and external first appears in Huang Zongxi's 1669 epitaph for Wang Zhengnan.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

The saying 天下功夫出少林 is common but now widely questioned: Chinese martial arts have many separate roots.

  1. zh.moegirl.org.cn

Techniques

  • Strong stances
  • Long and short strikes
  • Staff work (棍 gùn)
  1. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Xiao Hong Quan (小洪拳), described as the basic routine for learning all other Shaolin empty-hand routines.

  1. homabooks.com
天下功夫出少林

tiānxià gōngfu chū Shàolín

All kung fu under heaven comes out of Shaolin.

  1. zh.moegirl.org.cn

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2

Chen-style taiji

陳式太極拳 · Chén shì tàijíquán

Chenjiagou (陳家溝), Wen County, Jiaozuo, Henan, north of the Yellow River

UNESCO describes taijiquan as originating in Wen County, Henan, in the mid-17th century. In 2020 taijiquan was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

  1. ich.unesco.org

Chen Wangting (陳王廷, c. 1600–1680), 9th generation of the Chen family, retired to Chenjiagou after the fall of the Ming. Sources say he combined boxing, military strategy, Yijing yin-yang theory, meridian theory and daoyin breathing exercises.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. oocities.org

Chen Changxing (陳長興), 14th generation, is credited with arranging the Old Frame (老架 lǎojià) routines. One German historian notes that no document proves this.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. die-pagode.de

Chen Xiaowang (陳小旺) is considered the current head of the style. Chen Xiaoxing (陳小星) is principal grandmaster of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School, and Chen Zhenglei (陳正雷) runs schools including a Beijing headquarters.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. chentaijiquangb.com
  3. zltjsy.com

Techniques

  • Silk reeling (纏絲勁 chánsī jìn): spiral power through the whole body
  • Slow movement broken by sudden release of power (發勁 fājìn)
  • Stamps and jumps
  • Five steps (五步) and eight methods (八法), routines and push hands (推手)
  1. wikipedia.org
  2. ich.unesco.org

Form

Laojia Yilu (老架一路, "Old Frame, First Road"), the oldest remaining routine in the Chen syllabus. The second routine, Erlu, is the Pao Chui (炮捶, "Cannon Fist").

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. jiantaiji.co.uk
文有太極安天下，武有八極定乾坤

wén yǒu tàijí ān tiānxià, wǔ yǒu bājí dìng qiánkūn

For the civil, taiji brings peace to the world; for the martial, baji settles heaven and earth.

  1. zdic.net

Chenjiagou in depth Back to the map

3

Yang-style taiji

楊式太極拳 · Yáng shì tàijíquán

Guangfu town (廣府), Yongnian County, Hebei

Tradition tells: Yang Luchan watched the lessons in secret, at night, through a broken wall.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Yang Luchan (楊露禪), from a poor farming family in Yongnian, worked at the Taihetang pharmacy owned by Chen Dehu of Chenjiagou, who sent him to Chen Changxing. Accounts differ: he served for years as a household servant, or watched lessons as an outsider. After more than a decade he returned to Hebei, earned the nickname 楊無敵 ("Yang the Invincible"), and later taught the Qing court and guards in Beijing.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

His grandson Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫, 1883–1936) standardised the large-frame form, removed most fajin, jumps and stamps, and spread the style beyond Beijing. Fu Zhongwen (傅鍾文), born in Yongnian, was his disciple.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Even, slow, large-frame movement
  • Push hands (推手)
  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Form

The traditional long form, counted as 85, 88, 103 or 108 movements depending on the counting. The Yang family today teaches the 103 list.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org
任他巨力來打我，牽動四兩撥千斤

rèn tā jùlì lái dǎ wǒ, qiāndòng sì liǎng bō qiān jīn

Let him attack me with enormous force; I lead it, and four ounces deflect a thousand pounds. (Song of Sparring Hands, 打手歌, attributed to Wang Zongyue.)

  1. tyxk.scnu.edu.cn
  2. sammasichinternalarts.substack.com

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4

Baguazhang, Eight Trigram Palm

八卦掌 · Bāguà zhǎng

Beijing; the founder was born in Wen'an County, Hebei

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Tradition tells: sources link the circle walking to a Daoist (Quanzhen) practice of walking in a circle while chanting. This origin is disputed.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. newworldencyclopedia.org

Dong Haichuan (董海川; born 1797 or 1813, died 1882 or 1883) arrived in Beijing around 1864 and worked in the household of Prince Su, where he trained servants; he later won court patronage. Nearly every bagua school puts him at the start of its lineage.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. newworldencyclopedia.org

His students included Yin Fu (尹福) and Cheng Tinghua (程廷華), his fourth disciple.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Circle walking (轉掌 zhuǎn zhǎng, "turning palms", the early name)
  • Mud-wading step (泥步 níbù)
  • Twisting and turning; palm strikes instead of fists
  • 一走、二視、三坐、四翻: first walk, second look, third sit, fourth turn
  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. ihchina.cn
以掌為法，以走為用

yǐ zhǎng wéi fǎ, yǐ zǒu wéi yòng

The palm is the method; walking is the use.

  1. ihchina.cn

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5

Bajiquan, Eight Extremes Fist

八極拳 · Bājí quán

Mengcun (孟村), Cangzhou, Hebei, a Hui Muslim autonomous county

Tradition tells: Wu Zhong (吳鍾), called the "god of the spear", served as an instructor at the imperial court and later returned to Mengcun. His teachers are disputed; one account names two Daoist monks, in 1727.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Listed in China's second national intangible heritage list on 7 June 2008.

  1. zdic.net

Li Shuwen (李書文, 1864–1934), "God Spear Li", taught Huo Diange (霍殿閣) and Liu Yunqiao (劉雲樵), who took baji to Taiwan.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Short-range explosive power
  • Shoulder and elbow strikes
  • Stamping steps; "baji" means force reaching the eight far directions
  1. shaolin-kungfu.com
  2. zdic.net

Form

Jin Gang Ba Shi (金剛八式, Eight Postures of the Vajra Guardian), adapted by Li Shuwen for army training.

  1. kungfutoday.com
文有太極安天下，武有八極定乾坤

wén yǒu tàijí ān tiānxià, wǔ yǒu bājí dìng qiánkūn

For the civil, taiji brings peace to the world; for the martial, baji settles heaven and earth.

  1. zdic.net

Back to the map

6

Xingyiquan, Form-Intent Fist

形意拳 · Xíngyì quán

Shanxi (Taigu) and Hebei (Shen County); the earliest known figure came from Yongji, Shanxi

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Ji Longfeng (姬龍峰, also Ji Jike, 1588–1662) of Yongji, Shanxi, is the first documented practitioner. The Ji clan chronicle says the art is based on spear combat.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Li Luoneng (李洛能, born 1807 in Shen County, Hebei) learned Xinyi from the Dai family and turned it into Xingyiquan. His students split into a Shanxi branch (Che Yizhai 車毅齋, Song Shide 宋世德) and a Hebei branch (Guo Yunshen 郭雲深, the most famous).

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org
  3. kungfutoday.com

Techniques

  • Straight-line advances
  • Defence and attack at the same time
  • The San Ti (三體式) standing posture
  • Five Element Fists and Twelve Animal forms, shared by both branches
  1. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Wuxing Quan (五行拳), the Five Element Fists: 劈 pī splitting (metal), 鑽 zuān drilling (water), 崩 bēng crushing (wood), 炮 pào cannon (fire), 橫 héng crossing (earth).

  1. en.wikipedia.org
打人如走路，擊人如蒿草

dǎ rén rú zǒu lù, jī rén rú hāo cǎo

Hitting a man is like walking; striking him is like cutting through weeds.

  1. sohu.com

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7

Northern Praying Mantis

螳螂拳 · Tángláng quán

Shandong Province (marker at Yantai)

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Tradition tells: Wang Lang (王朗), around 1650, lost a match and went out to clear his head. He watched a praying mantis fight a cicada, caught the mantis and studied its twelve methods of attack and defence. One version puts his loss on a lei tai in Kaifeng, against the tongbei master Han Tong.

  1. depts.washington.edu
  2. leanpub.com
  3. en.wikipedia.org

Luo Guangyu (羅光玉) was a master of Seven Star Mantis.

  1. leanpub.com

Techniques

  • The mantis hook: one to three fingers, like a whip
  • Circular deflections followed by fast strikes
  • Monkey footwork; the Seven Star step
  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. wuzong.com
勾、摟、採、掛、刁、進、崩、打、拈、黏、貼、靠

gōu, lōu, cǎi, guà, diāo, jìn, bēng, dǎ, niān, nián, tiē, kào

The twelve-character hand formula: hook, grasp, pluck, hang, seize, advance, crush, strike, pick up, stick, cling, lean.

  1. wuzong.com

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8

Northern Shaolin and Changquan, Long Fist

北少林 · Běi Shàolín · Cháng quán

Northern China, no single place (marker on the Shandong–Hebei plain)

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Changquan (長拳) is a family of northern styles with long, extended movements, high kicks and jumps. Chaquan (查拳), from the Hui Muslim tradition, belongs to it. Competition wushu's changquan is a standardised descendant.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Gu Ruzhang (顧汝章, 1894–1952), in Cantonese Ku Yu-cheung, the "Southward-bound Tiger", taught Songshan Shi Lu Shaolin Quan (嵩山十路少林拳): ten empty-hand routines, weapons and qigong. He was famous for Iron Palm. The Jingwu Athletic Association did much to spread the northern systems south.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. chinesemartialstudies.com

At Pak Shao Lin, Northern Shaolin is the base of training.

Techniques

  • Long reach
  • Snapping kicks (彈腿 tántuǐ)
  • Leaps
  • Low stances
  1. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Tan Tui (彈腿, "Springing Legs"), the basic kicking set, practised road by road. Gu Ruzhang's father, Gu Lizhi (顧利之), practised Tantui and Zhaquan.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
南拳北腿

nán quán běi tuǐ

Southern fists, northern legs. The south is known for hand work, the north for kicks; the dividing line is traditionally the Yangtze.

  1. kungfutoday.com

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9

Eagle Claw

鷹爪 · Yīng zhǎo

Shaolin Temple / Hebei Province, according to the old Pak Shao Lin site

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Tradition tells: the style goes back to General Yue Fei of the Song dynasty.

Techniques

  • Gripping and twisting techniques
  • Joint locks and holds
  • Pressure point strikes
  • Great finger strength
  • Combines long and short range

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The central mountains

10

Wudang

武當 · Wǔdāng

Wudang Mountains, Shiyan, Hubei

Tradition tells: the Daoist Zhang Sanfeng (張三豐) watched a crane fight a snake, and the snake's yielding movements defeated the crane's strikes. His dates vary: Song, Yuan or early Ming.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Historians find no documented link between the Wudang and Shaolin labels and the real places; early 20th-century martial historians chose the labels. "Wudangquan" is an umbrella name for the internal (內家 nèijiā) styles tied to Daoist inner alchemy: taiji, xingyi and bagua.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

The UNESCO World Heritage listing (1994) is for the "Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains", not for the martial arts.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

A saying goes: 北崇少林，南尊武當, "in the north they revere Shaolin; in the south they honour Wudang".

  1. secretchina.com

Techniques

  • Circular movement
  • Yielding
  • Internal power
  • Straight sword (劍 jiàn) work
  1. chinatravel.com

Form

Wudang Sanfeng Taiji Jian (武當三豐太極劍), the taiji straight sword.

  1. neidan.discourse.group
以柔克剛

yǐ róu kè gāng

Softness overcomes hardness. Tradition attributes the teaching to Zhang Sanfeng.

  1. shaolin.org
  2. chinatravel.com

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The west

11

Emei

峨眉 · Éméi

Mount Emei, Leshan, Sichuan

Tradition tells: the hermit Situ Xuankong (司徒玄空) learned from the monkeys on the mountain and made Emei Tongbi Quan (峨眉通臂拳). The Southern Song Chan master Bai Yun (白雲) is credited with Emei qigong.

  1. chinatravel.com

Emei is a group of Sichuan martial arts that combines internal and external methods. It entered China's second national intangible heritage list in 2008. The official page lists "four categories, eight gates, eighteen families"; the eight gates are 僧, 岳, 趙, 杜, 洪, 化, 字 and 會.

  1. wikipedia.org
  2. ihchina.cn

The famous Emei Sect of warrior nuns is fiction, from Jin Yong's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

  1. wikipedia.org
  2. thetaichinotebook.com

Techniques

  • Sichuan short strikes
  • Monkey-like agility, from the legend
  • Qigong
  1. chinatravel.com
一樹開五花

yī shù kāi wǔ huā

One tree opens five flowers. An old description of the Emei school, recorded in the monk Zhanran's Quancheng (拳乘).

  1. news.ifeng.com

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The south and the sea

12

Hung Ga

洪家拳 · Hóng jiā quán · Hung Ga Kuen

Guangdong (marker at Guangzhou)

Tradition tells: Hung Hei-gun (洪熙官) was a southern Shaolin disciple of the monk Jee Sin.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Hung Ga stands first among Guangdong's five great southern styles: 洪 Hung, 劉 Lau, 蔡 Choy, 李 Li and 莫 Mok.

  1. news.ifeng.com
  2. news.dayoo.com

Wong Fei-hung (黃飛鴻), the Foshan-born physician and master and hero of many films; his student Lam Sai-wing (林世榮), who wrote books on the three main forms; and Tit Kiu Saam (鐵橋三, "Iron Bridge Three").

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Low, deep stances
  • Strong bridge arms (橋手 kiu sau)
  • Tiger claw and crane beak
  1. news.ifeng.com
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Gung Ji Fook Fu Kuen (工字伏虎拳, "Taming the Tiger"), Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen (虎鶴雙形拳, "Tiger Crane Double Form", choreographed by Wong Fei-hung in his lineage) and Tit Sin Kuen (鐵線拳, "Iron Wire").

  1. en.wikipedia.org
硬橋硬馬

yìng qiáo yìng mǎ · ngaang kiu ngaang maa

Hard bridge, hard horse: solid skill, built through hard training.

  1. cantonese.hk

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13

Wing Chun

詠春拳 · Yǒng chūn quán

Foshan, Guangdong

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Tradition tells: the nun Ng Mui (五枚) taught a young woman who sold tofu, Yim Wing-chun (嚴詠春), who used the art to defeat a bully trying to force her into marriage. No one can prove who created Wing Chun.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. dragoninst.com

Tradition tells: the legend also links it to the Red Boat Opera troupes of Foshan, with little reliable evidence.

  1. scientia-artis-martialis.uni-bielefeld.de

Leung Jan (梁贊), a Foshan physician; Chan Wah-shun (陳華順); and Ip Man (葉問), who moved to Hong Kong around 1949. Hong Kong Wing Chun is a Hong Kong intangible heritage item.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. fitz.hk

Techniques

  • Centreline
  • Simultaneous block and strike
  • Chain punches
  • Sticking hands (黐手 chi sau)
  1. fitz.hk
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Siu Nim Tau (小念頭, "Little Idea"), first of three empty-hand forms, followed by Chum Kiu (尋橋) and Biu Jee (標指).

  1. en.wikipedia.org
來留去送，甩手直衝

lái liú qù sòng, shuǎi shǒu zhí chōng

What comes, receive; what leaves, escort; when the hand is freed, thrust straight in. This is the goal of chi sau training.

  1. fitz.hk

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14

Choy Li Fut

蔡李佛 · Cài Lǐ Fó

King Mui (京梅) village, Yamen town, Xinhui, Guangdong

Taught at Pak Shao Lin

Chan Heung (陳享, 1806–1875) founded the system in 1836 and named it after his three teachers: Choy Fook (蔡福), a Choy Gar monk; Li Yau-san (李友山), Li Gar; and his uncle Chan Yuen-woo (陳遠護), Fut Gar, the "Buddha" style. Choy Fook agreed to teach him only if he studied Buddhism. A Japanese paper gives 1863: the dates differ.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org
  3. sapporo-u.repo.nii.ac.jp

Listed in China's second national intangible heritage list in 2008. Jeong Yim (張炎) is a key master of the Hung Sing branch.

  1. m.sfccn.com
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Long swinging arms: whips, hammers and uppercuts
  • Power from the waist
  • Mobile stances; the Ng Lun Ma (五輪馬, Five-Wheel Stance) footwork
  1. homabooks.com

Form

Ng Lun Chui (五輪捶, "Five-Wheel Hammer"), one of the basic training sets.

  1. homabooks.com
北有太極，南有蔡李佛

běi yǒu tàijí, nán yǒu Cài Lǐ Fó

In the north there is taiji; in the south there is Choy Li Fut.

  1. m.sfccn.com

Back to the map

15

Five Animals of Shaolin

五形拳 · Wǔ xíng quán · Ng Ying Kuen

Southern traditions of Guangdong and Fujian (marker at Quanzhou, Fujian)

One source places the set at the southern monastery in Quanzhou, Fujian. The Henan origin story is disputed; the five animals as a set are rare in northern Shaolin. Hung Ga and Choy Li Fut carry it.

  1. shaolin.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org

Do not confuse: Xingyi's twelve animals are a separate system, and "wuxing" can mean five forms (五形) or five elements (五行).

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Techniques

  • Dragon (龍): trains the spirit (神 shén)
  • Snake (蛇): trains breath and energy (氣 qì)
  • Tiger (虎): trains the bones (骨 gǔ)
  • Leopard (豹): trains strength (力 lì)
  • Crane (鶴): trains the essence (精 jīng)
  1. shaolin.org

Form

Ng Ying Kuen (五形拳), the Five Animal Fist.

  1. shaolin.org
龍練神，蛇練氣，虎練骨，豹練力，鶴練精

lóng liàn shén, shé liàn qì, hǔ liàn gǔ, bào liàn lì, hè liàn jīng

The dragon trains the spirit, the snake the breath, the tiger the bones, the leopard the strength, the crane the essence.

  1. shaolin.org

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16

Drunken boxing

醉拳 · Zuì quán

No fixed origin (a floating marker near Mount Song)

Tradition tells: the immortal Lü Dongbin (呂洞賓) inspired the style. In the novel Water Margin (水滸傳), the hero Wu Song fights drunk.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

The sources say it is nearly impossible to point to a time or place of origin. There are two branches: a Buddhist one tied to Shaolin, and a Daoist one built on the tale of the drunken Eight Immortals (醉八仙). The 18th-century Quan Jing (拳經, Boxing Classic) describes Shaolin monks practising "eight drunken immortals" boxing, derived from ground fighting (地躺拳 dìtǎng quán).

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Jackie Chan's film Drunken Master (醉拳), directed by Yuen Woo-ping, made the style world-famous.

  1. zh.moegirl.org.cn

Techniques

  • Swaying, stumbling, falls and rolls
  • Strikes, locks and feints hidden in "drunken" motion
  • Usually one of the last styles a student learns
  1. en.wikipedia.org

Form

Zui Ba Xian (醉八仙, Drunken Eight Immortals).

  1. en.wikipedia.org
形醉意不醉

xíng zuì yì bù zuì

The body is drunk; the intent is not.

  1. zh.moegirl.org.cn

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17

From Peking opera to Hong Kong film

京劇 · Jīngjù

Beijing, then Hong Kong (marker at Hong Kong)

In 1960, at about age six, Jackie Chan entered the China Drama Academy (中國戲劇學院), a Peking opera school in Hong Kong run by Master Yu Jim-yuen (于占元), when his father moved to Australia to work.

  1. en.wikipedia.org
  2. thebioneer.com

Training lasted about ten years: acrobatics, singing, acting and martial arts, with strict discipline. Students took "Yuen" (元) from their master's name; Chan's stage name was Yuen Lo (元樓). The best students performed as the Seven Little Fortunes (七小福); members included Sammo Hung (Yuen Lung), Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan.

  1. en.wikipedia.org

Opera school graduates became Hong Kong's action choreographers and stars (Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Corey Yuen) and turned stage acrobatics into the Hong Kong action style.

  1. variety.com
  2. lcsd.gov.hk

Techniques

  • 唱 chàng: sing
  • 念 niàn: recite
  • 做 zuò: act
  • 打 dǎ: fight
  1. variety.com
台上一分鐘，台下十年功

tái shàng yī fēnzhōng, tái xià shí nián gōng

One minute on stage, ten years of work off stage.

  1. ourchinastory.com
  2. chinesepod.com

Other masters, from opera to film Back to the map