Wu Yen-hsia
Encyclopedia
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
ancestry. She was the daughter of Wu Kung-i
Wu Kung-i
Wu Kung-i was a well-known teacher of the soft style martial art t'ai chi ch'uan in China, and, after 1949, in the British colony of Hong Kong. He was also the "gate-keeper" of the Wu family from 1942 until his death in 1970....
(吳公儀 1900-1970) from whom she learned t'ai chi. She also helped in the teaching of her father's students. Wu Yen-hsia was the younger sister of Wu Ta-k'uei
Wu Ta-k'uei
Wu Ta-k'uei was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan teacher of Manchu ancestry. The oldest son of Wu Kung-i, he was born in Beijing, raised in Shanghai and spent most of his adult life teaching in Hong Kong. Wu Ta-k'uei was active in the resistance to the Japanese invasion of China, yet he later taught...
and Wu Ta-ch'i
Wu Ta-ch'i
Wu Ta-ch'i was the descendant of the famous Wu style T'ai Chi Ch'uan founders Wu Ch'uan-yu and Wu Chien-ch'uan...
, and married Kuo Hsiao-chung, who was also a disciple of her father. She held the position of senior instructor of the Wu family from 1996 to her death in 2001 and was succeeded by her cousin Wu Ta-hsin
Wu Ta-hsin
Wu Ta-hsin was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan teacher who lived most of his life in Hong Kong. He was the great-grandson Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan founder Wu Ch'uan-yu and the grandson of the well-known teacher Wu Chien-ch'uan...
.
Wu Yen-hsia moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 1948. In an interview late in her life, she mentioned that she had often seconded her older brother Wu Ta-k'uei at his many challenge fights in those years. She mentioned applying first aid
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
to any injuries resulting from the fights, and she was "fearful that someone would be killed and there would be big trouble for the family" because her brother was "young and overly fierce".
She attended to the affairs of the Chien-ch'uan Tai Chi Chuan Association while training her students and disciples. She became known as a specialist with the t'ai chi sword
Taijijian
Taijijian is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art Taijiquan. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for upper body conditioning and martial training in traditional Taijiquan schools...
and t'ai chi spear
Qiang (spear)
Qiang is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield...
.
Generational senior instructors of the Wu family
1st GenerationWu Ch'uan-yü
Wu Ch'uan-yu
Wu Ch'uan-yu or Wu Quanyou 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...
(Wu Quanyou, 吳全佑, 1834–1902), who learned from Yang Lu-ch'an
Yang Lu-ch'an
Yang Lu-ch'an or Yang Luchan, ; also known as Yang Fu-k'ui , born in Kuang-p'ing , was an influential teacher of the soft style martial art t'ai chi ch'uan in China during the second half of the 19th century...
and Yang Pan-hou
Yang Pan-hou
Yang Banhou was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan in Ch'ing dynasty China, known for his bellicose temperament.-Biography:...
, was senior instructor of the family from 1870-1902.
2nd generation
His oldest son, Wu Chien-ch'üan
Wu Chien-ch'uan
Wu Chien-ch'uan , was a famous teacher of the neijia martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial and early Republican China....
(Wu Jianquan, 吳鑑泉, 1870–1942), was senior from 1902-1942.
3rd Generation
His oldest son, Wu Kung-i
Wu Kung-i
Wu Kung-i was a well-known teacher of the soft style martial art t'ai chi ch'uan in China, and, after 1949, in the British colony of Hong Kong. He was also the "gate-keeper" of the Wu family from 1942 until his death in 1970....
(Wu Gongyi, 吳公儀, 1900–1970) was senior from 1942-1970.
3rd Generation
Wu Kung-i's younger brother, Wu Kung-tsao
Wu Kung-tsao
Wu Kung-tsao was a famous Chinese teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan. He taught in Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hong Kong. The second son of Wu Chien-ch'üan, he was the grandson of the first teacher of Wu style T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Wu Ch'uan-yü. Wu Kung-tsao was the younger brother of Wu Kung-i and the...
(Wu Gongzao, 吳公藻, 1903–1983), was senior from 1970-1983.
3rd Generation
Wu Kung-i's younger sister, Wu Ying-hua
Wu Ying-hua
Wu Ying-hua ) was a famous Chinese teacher of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan. She was born in Beijing and died in Shanghai. She was the eldest daughter of Wu Chien-ch'uan, the best known teacher of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan...
(Wu Yinghua, 吳英華, 1907–1997), was senior from 1983-1997.
4th Generation
Wu Kung-i's daughter, Wu Yen-hsia (Wu Yanxia, 吳雁霞, 1930–2001) was senior from 1997-2001.
4th Generation
Wu Kung-tsao's son, Wu Ta-hsin
Wu Ta-hsin
Wu Ta-hsin was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan teacher who lived most of his life in Hong Kong. He was the great-grandson Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan founder Wu Ch'uan-yu and the grandson of the well-known teacher Wu Chien-ch'uan...
(Wu Daxin, 吳大新, 1933–2005), was senior from 2001-2005.
5th Generation
The current senior instructor of the Wu family is Wu Ta-k'uei's son Wu Kuang-yu (Wu Guangyu, Eddie Wu, 吳光宇, born 1946).
See also
- Wu style form list108 form Wu family T'ai Chi Ch'uanThe different slow motion solo form training sequences of T'ai Chi Ch'uan are the best known manifestation of T'ai Chi for the general public. In English, they are usually called the hand form or just the form; in Mandarin it is usually called ch'uan: 拳...
- Wu style tai chi chuanWu style tai chi chuanThe Wu family-style t'ai chi ch'uan of Wu Ch'uan-yu and Wu Chien-ch'uan is the second most popular form of t'ai chi ch'uan in the world today, after the Yang style, and fourth in terms of family seniority. This style is different from the Wu style of t'ai chi ch'uan founded by Wu Yu-hsiang...