Masters of the Traditions

1862–1934

Li Shuwen

Li Shuwen (1862–1934), the Divine Spear of Cangzhou, shaped Bajiquan's most influential lines. His life, the county-gazette record, and his students' transmission.

Known for: Six-Harmonies great spear; Bajiquan transmission; the Cangzhou gazette record

July 11, 1883–March 3, 1936

Yang Chengfu

Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) fixed the Yang large frame and carried Tai Chi south to the public. Life, books, and lineage, restored from dated sources.

Known for: The large frame · the Ten Essentials · the 1934 photographic book

1806–1875

Chan Heung

Chan Heung (1806–1875), courtesy name Ziying, founded Choy Li Fut in 1836 under teachers Chan Yuen Wu, Li Yau San, and Choy Fook. Life, lineage, and sources.

Known for: Founding Choy Li Fut in 1836

1886–1942

Huo Diange

Huo Diange (1886–1942), top student of Li Shuwen, defeated Japanese challengers to become Puyi's martial teacher and founded Huo-style Bajiquan.

Known for: The 1927 Zhangyuan trials; founding Huo-style Bajiquan; the court guard of Puyi

February 25, 1909–January 24, 1992

Liu Yunqiao

Liu Yunqiao (1909–1992), last closed-door student of Li Shuwen, founded the Wutan magazine and center and made Bajiquan the martial art of Taiwan.

Known for: The Wutan magazine; instructor to the presidential guard; carrying Bajiquan to the world

1812–1880

Wu Yuxiang

Wu Yuxiang (1812–1880), scholar of Yongnian, trained with Yang Luchan and Chen Qingping, founded Wu (Hao) style, and wrote the theory that defined Tai Chi.

Known for: Founding Wu (Hao) style; the Lianrangtang manuscript corpus; Tai Chi theory

20th century

Steffan de Graffenried

Steffan de Graffenried founded Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers in 1997 in northern Alabama. His teaching and translations are documented in this archive.

Known for: Founding Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers (1997); classic translations

c. 1731 – c. 1843 (computed)

Choy Fook

Choy Fook (c. 1731–c. 1843), a Fujian Shaolin monk known as the Rotten Head Monk, taught Chan Heung ten years on Mount Luofu — the Choy of Choy Li Fut.

Known for: Third and final teacher of Chan Heung; ten years of instruction; first character of the system's name

1763–1840

Li Yau San

Li Yau San (1763–1840), hao Sezhai, master of the Li family fist and second teacher of Chan Heung; the Li in Choy Li Fut records his contribution.

Known for: The Li family fist; second name in Choy Li Fut

1763–1832

Chan Yuen Wu

Chan Yuen Wu (1763–1832), armed escort and Shaolin lay disciple of King Mui village, taught the young Chan Heung and set the Fut element of Choy Li Fut on its path.

Known for: First teacher of Chan Heung; source of the Fut element; guide to Li Yau San

1906–1997

Hu Yuen-chou

Hu Yuen-chou (1906–1997), first of Chan Yiu-chi's Four Kings of Heaven, closed-door student of Yang Chengfu, and founder of Lingnan Wudang sword.

Known for: First of the Four Kings of Heaven; closed-door student of Yang Chengfu; founder of Lingnan Wudang sword; physician; teacher of Doc-Fai Wong

1948

Doc-Fai Wong

Doc-Fai Wong (b. 1948) trained under Lau Bun, Hu Yuen-chou, and Wong Gong, founded the Plum Blossom Federation, and brought Choy Li Fut to the West.

Known for: Uniting three branches of Choy Li Fut in one line; the Plum Blossom Federation; the first English-language exponent of the system

1824–1893

Jeong Yim

Cheung Hung-sing (Jeong Yim, 1824–1893), founder of the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon and — in Hung Sing tradition — co-founder of Choy Li Fut alongside Chan Heung.

Known for: Founding the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon; the 'three teach-nots'; the inner-and-outer Baqua method

1838–1896

Chan On-pak

Chan On-pak (1838–1896), elder son of founder Chan Heung, kept the King Mui ancestral school for life and standardized the system's written curriculum.

Known for: 'Divine Spear On-pak'; the Five Blossoms spear; lifelong keeper of the ancestral school; the 193-set written curriculum

1842–1916

Chan Koon-pak

Chan Koon-pak (1842–1916), second son of founder Chan Heung, took Choy Li Fut from King Mui to Jiangmen, Foshan, Guangzhou, and western Guangdong.

Known for: Carrying the system to the cities of the delta; the urban adaptation of the curriculum; the Guangzhou schools

c. 1880–c. 1947

Chan Yiu-chi

Chan Yiu-chi (c. 1880–1947), grandson of Chan Heung, moved the King Mui mainline to Guangzhou, trained the Four Kings of Heaven, and adapted the art for city life.

Known for: Urbanizing the King Mui mainline in Guangzhou; the Four Kings of Heaven; the Guangzhou frame

1799–1872

Yang Luchan

Yang Luchan (1799–1872), born Yang Fukui, studied eighteen years with Chen Changxing, taught the princely courts of Beijing, and founded Yang style tai chi.

Known for: Founding Yang style; the gazetteer's "Yang the Invincible"; the great transformation of taijiquan

1837–1892

Yang Banhou

Yang Banhou (1837–1892), second son of Yang Luchan, carried the small-frame method to Beijing and seeded the line that became Wu style tai chi.

Known for: The small frame that seeded Wu style; "Little Yang the Invincible"; the court classrooms of Beijing

1839–1917

Yang Jianhou

Yang Jianhou (1839–1917), born Yang Jian, held the Yang family teaching for forty-five years, completed the middle frame, and passed the art to Yang Chengfu.

Known for: The middle frame between small and large; forty-five years as keeper of the family art; the ancestor of every worldwide Yang lineage

July 29, 1931–September 14, 2026

Liang Yiquan

Liang Yiquan (1931–2026): first Shaolin 9th duan, author of the PRC's first Shaolin manual, founder of China's first professional wushu school.

Known for: First Shaolin 9th duan; China's first professional wushu school; the systematization of Shaolin boxing

1893–1955

Shi Zhenxu

Shi Zhenxu (1893–1955), Shaolin abbot and 43rd patriarch of its Yonghua Hall line, taught the masters who rebuilt Shaolin martial arts after the 1928 fire.

Known for: Holding the dharma line through the temple's burnt decades; the guard regiment chief instructor; teacher of Su- and De-generation masters

1911–May 12, 1980

So Doshin

So Doshin (1911–1980), born Nakano Rikio, founded the Japan Shorinji Kempo Federation in 1947 and reopened the Shaolin road between China and Japan in 1979.

Known for: Founding the Japan Shorinji Kempo Federation; the 1979 homecoming pilgrimage to Songshan; the 1980 return monument

June 15, 1968

Liang Shaozong

Liang Shaozong (b. 1968), heir of Liang Yiquan, turned the cave-founded Ebo school into a modern wushu education group as the lineage’s seventeenth generation.

Known for: The 1994 return and the Ebo group; the 2008 Olympic torch; the one-axis-two-wings expansion; the three-block daily curriculum