<title>Gu Liu-Xin</title>
The late Master Gu Liu-Xin is China's most well known martial arts researcher and theorist. Devoting his whole life to China's taiji and wushu undertaking, development and evolution, he had tremendous influence both inside and outside of China. He is one of the most prominent representatives of the martial arts of China.
Master Gu (1908-1991) was renowned for his martial arts skill, particularly his taiji skill. He was one of the most celebrated Chinese martial artists and prominent historians, especially in his research of taiji and the martial arts. From age 11 he had learned from more than 10 famous wushu (kungfu) masters. Master Gu was also a scholar as well as a high-ranking administrator in various important government leadership positions.
He was the first to be invited into the central government in Beijing to teach many well known Chinese leaders taijiquan. In 1957 Master Gu also was sent by the Chinese central government as the best taiji instructor to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, to teach taijiquan to Ho Chi Minh. He was kept by Ho Chi Minh in the president's palace for five months to teach Ho Chi Ming and other high ranking Vietnamese officials taijiquan.
Master Gu was a student of the well known Yang Cheng-Fu and Chen Fa-Ke. He was highly skilled in wushu and was the best known taiji master in terms of practical skill and knowledge in taiji and push-hands technique. His knowledge extended beyond the practical application and usage of taijiquan, Master Gu was a scholar and historian and was the only one in the martial arts and taiji circles to systematically and scientifically research and sum up the whole history and development of taijiquan.
He has written extensively on the subject and is recognized as being the foremost authority. His books range from works in the Chen-style paochui to Yang-style taijiquan. There is as yet, no English translation of his works.
Gu Luixin (Yang Laoshi studied on a weekly basis with Gu Liuxin (1908-1991) in Shanghai from 1980-1984. The following is a translation of Gu Liuxin's biography from his book Pao Cui (Hai Feng Press, Hong Kong, 1983):
Mr. Gu Liuxin was born in 1908. He was an internationally renowned the Taiji expert, and had visited many countries representing the Chinese government to teach Taiji. He visited Japan in 1977 and 1980, and his high level push-hands skill was well respected by Japanese Taiji community.
Master Gu started his martial art training when he was 11 years old. He spent more than sixty years practicing, visiting well accomplished teachers all over the country to continue his study, and studying theories from different schools. He was the Associate Director of the Shanghai Sport Science Institute, a Professor of Marital Arts, the Chairman of Shanghai Martial Art Association, and an editor of the Sport Edition of the Encyclopedia of China. He is the author of the following books:
Professor Qu Shi-Jing knowingly or unknowingly wrote a hit piece on the Gu Liuxin crowd. It's unknown why, but here are the relevant quotes from the aforementioned book; and it goes without saying to point out that this report is not credible:
As a martial art, Yang Taiji is excellent; but how and why has it become known primarily as a mere health exercise? Regarding the development of Yang Taiji, I don’t know the history of what happened in other places. However, I do know and quite understand the history and evolution of Yang Taiji in Shanghai over the past 60 years.
According the tradition of the Yang family, those who learned Yang Style Taiji were categorized into three groups: students, disciples and lineage-holders. These “students”; dominate the numbers of all who practice Yang Taiji. However, they merely practice the form without any Neigong training or study of the martial aspects of Taiji. “Disciples” have been through the Bai Shr Ceremony and are specifically trained in the Basics and foundations of Taiji as a martial art, such as holding postures and the spear drill. Disciples practice the form with its' use as a martial art in mind, in order to smoothly circulate and strengthen the internal energy throughout the whole body. Although the Taiji form that students and disciples practice are similar externally, only disciples are taught how to cultivate the internal aspects of the form. The master carefully sifts through a few of his more skillful and talented disciples to find the potential “lineage-holders,” and these few in-door disciples may inherit the high level of martial skills from the master. The lineage-holders of Yang Taiji are rare, and there have been only just a few in each generation.
Nowadays, the Shanghai Taiji society is full of “Masters” so-called. Such an unusual phenomenon was created by a key man, Mr. Gu Liuxin. As mentioned above, “students” practice the form only for the purpose of maintaining and improving health. Whereas “disciples” receive more training in the martial aspects of Taiji. Such a two-pronged training system has worked effectively, and no contradiction existed between these two ways of training. Gu who acted as the leader of the martial arts community in Shanghai, actually was a proletarian revolutionist, rather than a martial artist. Knowing his lack of standing in the martial community, he should have paid respects to those real martial artists, humbly consult the Taiji seniors and fully develop the traditional Taiji culture.
Perhaps Mr. Gu’s original intention was to do just that. Brother Zhang Yu was a member of a key group in the martial arts community of Shanghai in the early 1950’s. According to Zhang’s memory, Gu first expected that Uncle Tian Zhaolin would just present the marvelous treasures of Yang Taiji and fully disclose his real martial skills and secrets of the art to Gu. Unfortunately, Uncle Tian didn't understand what the government leader expected of him, and he refused to actively cooperate with Gu. At that time, those Taiji seniors such as Uncles Tian Zhaolin and Chen Weiming, were lacking in any interest of politics, and they were somewhat oblivious to the changing political climate, so they couldn’t understand why they must obey Gu’s guidance and directions.
In 1950, there was a benefit entertainment that was performed by the martial arts community of Shanghai. When Uncle Tian Zhaolin performed push hands with his students, a Shaolin boxer emerged on the stage and challenged Tian. Gu, who helped organize the event and was present, thought that Uncle Tian would demonstrate his amazing Taiji skills through such a challenge. Should not Mr. Tong Zhongyi have immediately stepped in, reconciled the two and prevented further embarrassment, the situation might have gotten out of control and eventually trigger a real and serious fight on the spot. From this event, Mr. Gu knew that he was really unable to control the fourth generation of Yang Taiji seniors who owned amazing Taiji skills.
Fu Zhongwen, a distant relative of Chengfu by marriage, he also taught Yang Style Taiji on the roadside near the Xianle (仙樂) Book Market. Therefore, Gu promoted him to be the representative of Yang Style Taiji and assigned him to teach the Taijiquan form at a public gym in Shanghai. Moreover, Gu invited Brother Zhang Yu to teach Yang Style push hands for the Martial Arts Association of Shanghai, and the teaching place was located at a triangle-shaped garden area at the intersection of Huang-Po Road (黃陂路) and Wu-Sheng Road (武勝路).
However, what Gu had done in separating the health and martial aspects of Taiji was based on the demands of the political situation at the time. Therefore, I don’t think that Gu should be condemned for doing what he did. Although, should Gu have been willing to humbly consult with the Taiji seniors and had patiently tried to persuade Uncle Tian Zhaolin to act as the leader of Yang Taiji in Shanghai, I believe that the development of Yang Taiji in Shanghai might have been totally different. What a pity that this didn't happen! Unfortunately, Uncle Tian and Mr. Gu didn’t cooperate at all, and Yang Taiji lost such a wonderful chance to further develop in Shanghai. I can't help but lament what could have been.
Nowadays, should you ask any person in the parks of Shanghai what Yang Style Taijiquan is all about, I believe that around 80~90 percent of those asked would consider that Yang Taiji is merely a kind of exercise only for the purpose of health. Should you tell them that Yang Taiji is an amazing martial art, I think that those people wouldn't believe what you say, and consider that the notion is nonsense created by novelists who write martial arts fiction.“Yang Taiji is One Family Across the Straits” by Prof. Qu Shijing
GU LIUXIN
Gu Liuxin（顧留馨1908~1990）was born in Shanghai and graduated from South Asia High School of Shanghai in 1925. Then, Gu enrolled in Wen Zhi (文治) University also located in Shanghai. Gu studied “Liu Ho Fist” (六合拳) with Liu Zhennan (劉震南) in 1926. In 1927, he joined the Zhi Rou Taiji School of Chen Weiming, and later joined Wu Huichuan' s Taiji School to learn Yang Taiji. Gu studied Yang Taiji twice, but each time it was for less than one year. Studying for such a short period of time, one was unlikely to really become familiar with the form, and learning Taiji Neigong was certainly out of the question. In 1934, Gu joined the Communist Youth League of China and later joined the Communist Party. Because Gu had contributed to the Communist Party, he was appointed to act as Chief of the Huangpu District in Shanghai after 1949. In 1950, Gu acted as the Chairman of the Martial Arts Association of Shanghai, and he was in charge of the Sports Hall. At that time, because, Zhang Qinlin, Dong Yingjie, Yang Shouzhong, Zheng Manqing, Niu Chunming and Li Yaxuan were not in Shanghai and Wu Huichuan had died, Gu became the top leader of the martial arts community in Shanghai.
Shanghai probably had the most Yang Taiji lineage holders concentrated in one place. Tian Zhaolin taught Taiji at Bund Park; Tian Zuolin, Ye Dami, Zhang Yu and Hua Chunrong (華春容) at Fu Xing Park; Chu Guiting at People Park; Wu Yunzhuo at Zhong Shan Park; Wu Guiqing at Xiang Yang Park; Chen Weiming at the Ningbo Clan Association, Fu Zhongwen and his brother at a vacant lot on Nanjing Road. Moreover, there were my teacher, Dr. Huang and Miss Pu Bingru, both highly skilled, but neither of whom were professional Taiji boxing teachers, unlike the others mentioned.
So at that time, there were many experienced teachers of Yang Taiji in Shanghai. Therefore, should Gu, as the top leader of the martial arts community in Shanghai, have carefully taken care of and promoted and managed those teachers there, the Chinese martial arts may have been developed very well. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Gu himself wasn’t a real boxer, he only merely acted as an autocratic chairman of the martial arts community. Gu wanted to organize boxers from different branches to put on a public display. He first invited Tian Zhaolin who learned Taiji with Jianhou, Shaohou, and Chengfu, and expected Tian to perform the real skills of Yang Taiji at his bidding. Tian’s martial skills had been developed through decades of very hard training. So why would Tian make a public performance of his real skills so easily without any reason? Therefore, when Gu told him to perform, Tian just touched his bare head, pretended to know nothing and simply said, “I am old and I've lost my memory.”
Tian Zhaolin and Chen Weiming thought that Taijiquan should only be supported and promoted by real martial arts masters, and they didn’t have the notion that obeying the Communist Party regarding the martial arts was extremely important. So Tian and Chen, of course, were unwilling to obey Gu. In 1950, there was a benefit entertainment that was performed by the community of martial artists at the gym on the Shanxi South Road (陜西南路) in Shanghai. I saw Tian perform amazing martial arts skills, and his issuing energy was sharp and simply straightforward. Suddenly, a Shaolin boxer emerged and challenged Tian. Tian loved such challenges, and so he started to perform the skills that he used when he engaged in a gang fight in Hangzhou in the 1920’s. In order to prevent a serious public dispute, Tong Zhongyi (佟忠義), a senior boxer, immediately stepped in and reconciled the two and prevented further embarrassment. Tong continued the benefit show by performing a two-person dueling sword form with his granddaughter.
Gu realized that he wasn’t able to control the fourth generation of Yang Taiji practitioners, all of whom had amazing martial arts skills. Therefore, Gu publically declared Fu Zhongwen as the “representative” of Yang Taiji. Gu employed the media to promote Fu, and intentionally snubbed those senior Yang Taiji boxers, such as Tian Zhaolin, Tian Zuolin and Chen Weiming. Gu invited Fu to teach the Yang Taiji form at the Sports Hall. Also, Gu invited Zhang Yu to teach Yang style push hands.
Because Chen Weiming’s senior disciple, Zhao Diqi, was assassinated by Japanese gangsters, and his only son died early, Chen felt so frustrated and despondent that his life became fully focused on Buddhism. Moreover, Chen was malevolently criticized by Tang Hao (唐豪) and Gu Liuxin. Finally, Chen died from anger and sorrow. Tian Zuolin died from poverty and sickness. Zhang Yu was responsible for raising money to bury Zuolin. Although Tian Zhaolin had amazing martial arts skills, he was unable to get a job teaching Taiji at the Sports Hall. Zhaolin could only act as a “civilian boxer” to teach Taiji in parks. Because Zhaolin didn’t have a fixed income, he sometimes drank too much in order to relieve his depression. One day, a disciple gave Zhaolin two bottles of liquor and they drank together. After that disciple left, Zhaolin continued to drink alone and finished the rest of the liquor. When Zhaolin’s family tried to wake him up the next morning, he had already died of alcohol poisoning.
But since then, and even now, the numbers of those learning Yang Taiji are growing. But, most of these are learning just for health and exercise and not to develop real martial skills. The real martial arts skills of Yang Taiji are rarely seen now. However, I've heard that real Yang Taiji is alive and well and preserved in other locations in the lineages of Uncle Yaxuan in Sichuan, Uncle Chunming in Hangchow, Uncle Yingjie, Uncle Shouzhong and Uncle Manqing overseas. I honestly pray that the essence of Yang Taiji can continue to be preserved and promoted.“Yang Taiji is One Family Across the Straits” by Prof. Qu Shijing
“The importance of historical truth”
Mr. Lu also said, “The truth of history won’t be changed by anyone’s wish.” How wonderful is his saying! In 1944, I learned Taijiquan from Mr. Tian Zuolin (田作霖) for one year, and in 1951, I started to learn Taijiquan from Dr. Huang. Over the past several decades the transitions of Taiji history have been so clear, and it seems like they happened only just days ago. In the early 1950’s, there were a lot of Yang Taiji lineage-holders in Shanghai, such as Tian Zhaolin, Tian Zuolin, Chen Weiming, Chu Guiting ,(褚桂亭) Pu Bingru, Huang Jinghua, Ye Dami, Yue Huanzhi,(樂煥之) Dong Shizhuo (董世倬), Zhang Yu, Wu Yunzhuo (吳雲倬), Wu Guiqing (武貴卿) and Hua Chunrong (華春容). As a junior member in the hierarchy of the Yang Taiji family at that time, Fu Zhongwen and his brother taught Taijiquan on the sidewalk of the Xianle Exhibition Hall. Meanwhile, Mr. Gu Liuxin (顧留馨) acted as the Chairman of the Martial Arts Association, and he couldn’t control those senior Yang Taiji lineage-holders mentioned above. Mr. Gu had no choice but to choose Fu Zhongwen to be the official representative of Yang Taiji. Because of this event, Fu’s political position was promoted quickly. What is unbelievable was that Niu Chunming, who became Master Chengfu’s disciple in 1902, was changed to be Fu’s “Younger Brother” according to Fu’s new position, declared by Gu Liuxin, in the Yang lineage. Mr. Lu questioned this event mentioned in my article by asking, “Which of Master Chengfu’s disciples did dare to declare that he was Fu’s teacher?” Currently, all of Master Chengfu’s disciples have passed away. Doesn’t Mr. Lu ask a question he already knows that none is capable of answering? Unexpectedly, Mr. Yan Chengde (嚴承德), Chu Guiting’s disciple, wrote an article published in volume No. 254 of the Wu Lin Journal in which he stated, “Fu Zhongwen kowtowed to Cui Yishi (崔毅士). When Cui came with Master Chengfu to the south for teaching, Fu accompanied Cui.” Nowadays, a lot of friends who started to practice Yang Taiji in the early 1950’s are still alive. Therefore, the truth of this history can be verified by those friends. I have asked some senior Yang Taiji boxers, and they all said that Fu never kowtowed to Master Chengfu as “Teacher”. Because I don’t have time to verify whether or not Fu is Master Chengfu’s disciple, I am temporarily witholding any conclusion in this matter. Chinese always emphasize family ethics, so how can a grandson kowtow to his grandfather and call his grandfather as “Teacher?” Therefore, I really doubt that Master Chengfu can accept Fu as a disciple. Dr. Huang said that he once heard Fu call Master Chengfu “granduncle”, but he never ever heard Fu call him “Teacher.”
Commentary: The author seems to really not like Fu Zhongwen and his brother coming from Yongnian to Shanghai where they were previouslys under Yang Zhoupeng, the son of Yang Banhuo. “Yang Taiji is One Family Across the Straits” by Prof. Qu Shijing
He really seems not to like Gu Liuxin!
Someone claimed himself as the Chairman of the Chinese martial arts community in Shanghai, and designated someone’s type as the standard form of Yang Taijiquan. How strange! The five Grand Masters, Luchan, Banhou, Jianhou, Shaohou and Chengfu, each have their own type of form and those types are different. How could you define whose type is standard? If we take Chengfu’s type as the standard, can we say that other Masters’ types don’t fit the standard? Chengfu’s form in his early age is different from that of his latter age. How could you judge which type of form is the standard based on age? If you believe that Chengfu’s slow form is the standard, can you also say that his fast form fits the standard? Yang Taijiquan belongs to the internal boxing rather the external. Neigong is the core of Yang Taiji. Externally, the types may not be exactly same, but the internal parts have to fit the requirements of Chengfu’s “Ten Important Points.” Therefore, the key point is Neigong. Without profound Neigong, just the form can not be considered as genuine Yang Taijiquan. Looking at the forms between Chengfu’s early and later disciples, we may find that they are different, but all of them are real Yang Taijiquan. Once there was an argument between disciples of Uncle Yaxuan and Uncle Manqing regarding their form postures, so I wrote an article, “Yang Style Taiji Is One Family,” in order to reconcile their views. What is the meaning of “One Family”? It means that the Neigong they practice is the same.