An Introductory History of Xing-yi Training Manuals

By Brian Kennedy
Copyright EJMAS 2001. All rights reserved.
A note on transliterations: Although this article uses pinyin to transliterate t
echnical terms, personal names are presented using the spelling by which the per
son is (was) best known in English. Book titles are likewise presented as on the
ir covers.
The senior students looked anxiously around the table at each other. Not only ha
d the Master been murdered but the secret training manual had been stolen. That
manual, which had been passed down from master to senior disciple for over 500 y
ears, contained the key ideas that gave the school s techniques their frightening
efficacy. The manual had to be found and the master s murder avenged, no matter wh
at the cost.
"Secret training manuals" are a stock motif in Chinese martial arts movies and n
ovels. Unlike other stock motifs such as magic swords and flying through the air
, "secret training manuals" do have a basis in reality and have a long history i
n some Chinese martial arts systems.
Training manuals are books or manuscripts that teach the principles, techniques
or forms of a system, and as such are separate from books that discuss the histo
ry of martial arts or works of fiction. Xing-yi quan is one art where training m
anuals have existed for several hundred years, and that history is the focus of
this article.
Xing-yi Quan
Xing-yi quan means "form-mind boxing," and is romanized as xing-yi (pinyin), hsi
ng-i (Wade-Giles), and hsing-yi (Yang Jun-ming s transliteration). Stylistically,
it is one of the three internal Chinese martial arts, the other two being bagua
(pa kua) and taiji (t ai chi). Structurally, it is characterized by its seeming si
mplicity: the system consists of a limited number of forms and techniques that a
re drilled in series of short forms. However, whatever the system lacks in varie
ty, it makes up for in depth, requiring the student to make a long and intensive
study of the basic motions of combat. It is also undeniably practical, having b
een the system of choice during the late Qing and Republican periods for people
such as convoy escorts and bodyguards who made their living fighting.
Xing-yi has two major subdivisions, the Hebei-Shanxi tradition and the Henan tra
dition. The Hebei-Shanxi schools are much more prominent both in China and in th
e West. Their core training consist of the 5 element fists and the 12 animals fo
rms. Meanwhile, the Henan schools, although far less prominent, probably represe
nt a more accurate/faithful version of early hsing-i. Their core training consis
t of 10 Animal forms that are different from the 12 Animal forms of the Hebei-Sh
anxi lineage. The Henan branch is also known as Muslim xing-yi. The reason is th
at the historical founder of xing-yi, Ji Ji Ke, had two major students, who in t
urn founded the Hebei-Shanxi branch and the Henan branch. The Henan branch found
er, Ma Xueli (1714-1790), was Muslim, as were his family and all his students. S
ince the Henan branch of xing-yi tended to stay within the Islamic community, it
subsequently became identified as a Chinese Muslim ("Hui") martial art.
At any rate, the development of modern xing-yi is attributed to Ji Ji Ke, circa
1750, and the subsequent history of its training manuals can be usefully divided
into four periods: the legendary period, the hand-copies period, the Republican
period, and the modern period.
Legendary Period

The legendary period is here defined as the period for which no "hard historical
evidence" exists, "hard historical evidence" being defined as extant copies, ha
ving the work mentioned in library catalogues of the time, or having the work qu
oted or used in some other contemporaneous works.
For xing-yi, the legendary period starts with the Southern Song General Yueh Fei
, who was a noted spear master. For many centuries after his death the general s a
rt was lost, but subsequently it was rediscovered by Ji Ji Ke, a martial artist
living during the early Qing dynasty (circa 1750).
According to one version of this story, Ji Ji Ke was on a trip; night began to f
all and it started to rain. Therefore Ji took shelter in an old, dilapidated tem
ple dedicated to General Yueh Fei. Within the abandoned temple was a statute of
Yueh Fei which Ji took a close look at. He noticed that it was cracked, and thro
ugh this crack he saw something hidden inside the statute. His curiosity aroused
and his sense of reverence diminished, he took his sword and broke open the cra
ck. Within the statute he found a hand-copied manuscript called "Yueh Fei s Six Ha
rmony Xin Yi ["Mind-Intent"] Boxing Manual." Ji studied this manual and relentle
ssly practiced its teachings and thus became the historical founder of xing-yi q
uan.
Unsurprisingly, there are several versions of this story. In one, Ji finds the m
anual in a cave while in another the stock "mysterious Taoist stranger" presents
the manual to him and then disappears. And, while one version or another of thi
s story is recounted in many xing-yi manuals as historical fact, it is more like
ly a legend. After all, paper manuscripts generally don t survive several hundred
years embedded in statutes. Furthermore, there is a common desire in Chinese mar
tial arts systems to link their founding to an important or mysterious figure. T
he three most common choices for "founders" being General Yueh Fei, the sage Cha
ng Sung Feng, or some mysterious Taoist. (If you want to add further mystique, y
ou can say the Taoist monk was either an albino or a dwarf or was 200 years old
or some combination of those.) Modern historians generally disregard such claims
.
Note: Although there is a work known by the same title as the legendary work, Yu
e Fei s Six Harmony Xin Yi Boxing Manual, martial arts historians are sure that th
e extant work is a far more recent creation.
Hand-Copies Period
Xing-yi s oldest known hand-copied manuals date from the late Qing dynasty, that i
s the mid-eighteenth century. Such training manuals were hand-copied either from
other hand-copies or from notes made of a martial arts teacher s lecture. These e
arly training manuals tended to be quite basic but were sometimes illustrated wi
th line drawings.
HAND COPIED
Examples of hand-copied manuscripts from the early Republican period
These early texts were largely useless unless one had already trained in that sc
hool, the reason being that they tended to consist of a combination of shorthand
notes, mnemonic rhymes, and esoteric philosophy. But that wasn t a problem becaus
e such texts were intended exclusively for students of that lineage, and the lan
guage used was intentionally arcane, symbolic and otherwise vague. These are the
real life "secret kung fu manuals" that figure so often in martial arts fiction
and movies.

These manuals, as the name implies, were hand-copied from student to student. So
me of the manuals were "books" in the sense that the content was standardized. I
n other words, they contain the same mnemonic poems, the same symbolic images, a
nd the same rhymed couplets. Others can perhaps better be described as student n
otes which tended to be unique to that student, that teacher, and that school.
A few of these hand-copied xing-yi manuals still exist in private collections. A
variety of factors have made them extremely rare. Oftentimes there would only b
e one copy of the school s training manual. If a master was not satisfied with or
mistrusted his disciples, then he would not make the school s training manual avai
lable for copying. If that was the case, then the transmission of that training
manual ended when that master died. Other manuals were destroyed through fire or
war, and still others were intentionally discarded during the Cultural Revoluti
on, a time when the simple possession of such an item could cost the owner his f
reedom, or perhaps even his life. And probably most were simply thrown out by di
sinterested heirs who said, "Oh, this is just one of Grandpa s old notebooks. It d
oesn t make any sense, something about martial arts, so into the trash fire it goe
s."
An alert reader might wonder, since most pre-modern xing-yi practitioners couldn t
read, what was the point of the training manuals? For one thing, in those days
the simple possession of a manual had a certain talisman-like quality. For anoth
er, the person who had physical possession of such a book was viewed as being le
gitimately within that school or lineage and was perhaps viewed as having senior
ity within that school. The training manual was therefore a kind of symbol of au
thority. Finally, one should remember that even the smallest village usually had
someone (a Buddhist priest, a Muslim imam, a low-level official, or a retired s
cholar) who could copy a manual for a fee, or, for that matter, read it aloud to
the interested martial artist.
For an idea of what these hand-copied manuals contained, refer to the section in
Tim Cartmell and Dan Miller s book Xing Yi Nei Gong entitled "Xing Yi Quan Writte
n Transmissions." These "Written Transmissions" are to a large extent based on h
and copied texts. Wang Jin Yu and Zhang Bao Yang, who assisted in collecting thi
s material for the book, have made an important historical contribution by colla
ting and organizing this early material.
Republican Period
The Republican Period, which extended from the final fall of the Qing Dynasty in
1911 to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, was a kind of Golden Age for
xing-yi training manuals. The reason was the arrival of commercial publication a
nd photography.
SUN LU TANG
Sun Lu Tang
Until the Republican period, xing-yi manuals were, to a greater or lesser extent
, "secrets." (The phrase in Chinese is "closed door," and refers to a student or
a teaching that is not open to the public.) This sense of secrecy is reflected
in the fact that the hand-copied training manuals are to a large extent meaningl
ess unless one already is familiar with the system. Put most simply, you can t tea
ch yourself xing-yi based solely on a hand-copied training manual.
The Republican period marks a new attitude toward learning, and the Republican p
eriod xing-yi master and author Huang Bo-nien summarized this change when he wro
te: "Unfortunately, the fist forms in our country [China] were always kept secre
t. They were always taught orally and never recorded in written form. This is wh

y many excellent fist forms were lost. This is due to the ancestors stubbornness,
fears, lack of trust and suspicions. This is the biggest obstacle in the martia
l arts world." Statements like this, coming from a noted teacher such as Huang,
clearly mark a major change in approach.
The result is an increased sense of openness, and the training manuals written i
n this period give relatively full and comparatively clear explanations of how t
o practice xing-yi. There are few, if any, distortions in these books of either
the theory or actual techniques, and Jiang Rong-qiao s xing-yi manuals in particul
ar seem clearly designed for self-teaching with or without a teacher s guidance. I
ndeed, several manuals come out and state, in essence, "Although learning from t
his book is not as good as having a teacher, the student can still gain great be
nefit and make progress in learning the art." The question of whether anyone in
any period can learn xing-yi from a book is a debatable issue that lies outside
the scope of this article, but suffice it to say that in those days, self-educat
ion was not deemed impossible.
Republican period manuals also differ from hand-copied manuals in other ways. Fo
r one thing, they tend to stress the importance of physical health and martial s
pirit as a public policy. This is a reflection of the broader goal of the Republ
ican government, which was to strengthen the Chinese people and end the image of
Chinese as "the weak men of Asia." This is in turn a part of a broader sense of
nationalism that was becoming prevalent in China at that time.
By way of example let me quote sections from two prefaces of two well-known book
s of the time. In his preface to The Study of Xing Yi Boxing, Sun Lu Tang wrote:
A strong country cannot be composed of weak people. We cannot make people strong
without physical training. To brace up the people through physical training is
the way to strengthen the country Martial arts has been put into the curriculum i
n schools so that the students can be trained in both literary and military arts
.
Meanwhile, Jiang Rong-qiao wrote in a foreword to Huang Bo-nien s book:
A country s strength or weakness lies with its people. Strength or weakness of its
people lies in their physical prowess. This determines winning or losing; survi
ving or perishing. This is why martial arts must be revitalized.
The implication of such statements is clear: it is your patriotic duty to buy th
is book, learn xing-yi, strengthen yourself, and generally do your utmost for th
e new Chinese Republic. This is a far cry from the idea in most hand-copied xing
-yi manuals, where one was told, "You must hold these techniques secret, they ar
e not to be revealed to outsiders, and must only be used in direst emergency."
Another factor in the changing viewpoint was the creation of public martial arts
associations throughout China. Such associations had a number of goals includin
g making Chinese martial arts, including xing-yi, widely available to the public
. Toward that end, books were commissioned as a way of systematizing what was be
ing taught.
LINKED FIST
Page from Jiang Rong-qiao s 1934 text showing the fourth move of the set.
Since public dissemination of the martial arts was seen as representing sound go
vernment policy, especially in the area of physical education, early publishing
ventures were often financially sponsored by government agencies. Which governme
nt didn t really matter, either -- at various times the Republicans, Kuomintang, J
apanese puppet regime, and Communists all underwrote martial arts associations,
tournaments, and books.
The Authors and Books of the Republican Period

The most influential Republican-era xing-yi manual was written by Sun Lu Tang. S
un (1861-1933) was a rarity in any age in that he was both a skilled martial art
ist and a talented writer. (As a practical matter these two skills rarely go tog
ether, and the fact remains that many, perhaps most, highly skilled martial arti
sts desperately require editors or ghostwriters.) A self-educated man, Sun knew
quite a bit about Chinese philosophy, Chinese literature, calligraphy, and vario
us Taoist qigong (chi kung) practices. This knowledge combined with his martial
arts expertise put him in a unique position to write on xing-yi.
His first book, published in 1915 and entitled Study of Xing-yi Boxing, is consi
dered by many to be the single most influential book ever written on the subject
. This influence is based on a number of things. First and foremost was Sun s unus
ual combination of literary and martial skill. Thus he could explain things in a
way that others could follow, and generally agree with. Moreover, his book was
also the first to feature photos, to discuss the relationship between xing-yi an
d Chinese philosophy, to provide detailed instruction on the actual performance
of the techniques, and break the wall of secrecy. In other words, this book was
written for public consumption.
Stylistically, the book describes the five form fists, a set linking the five fi
sts (Lien huan), two different 2-person sets, the 12-animals forms and a set lin
king the 12-animal forms (Za Shi Chui). It is illustrated with photographs of Su
n doing the solo exercises and line drawings of the two-person sets. An excellen
t translation by Albert Liu and edited by Dan Miller is available as Xing Yi Qua
n Xue: The Study of Form-Mind Boxing. The photos and drawings accompanying this
translation are the originals.
If Sun Lu Tang was the most influential writer and publisher of the period, Jian
g Rong-qiao (1891-1974) was certainly the most prolific. Jiang trained in a numb
er of Chinese martial arts, including xing-yi, under Li Tsun-I and Zhang Zhao Do
ng. However, there are three things that establish Jiang s place in the history of
xing-yi training manuals. First, he established the Shang Wu Jin De martial art
s association in Shanghai. This association, partially financed by the governmen
t, was responsible for gathering together a number of hand-copied xing-yi texts
as well as bringing together teachers from a number of different traditions to c
ompare their techniques. Secondly, starting in 1932, Jiang worked in the publish
ing division of the government-financed Central Guoshu ("National Martial Arts")
Institute, and as a result he was able to publish a variety of Chinese martial
arts training texts during his tenure there. Finally, he was a prolific writer o
f martial arts texts. (Titles include Xing Yi Mother Fist, Xing Yi Eight Forms,
Mixed Forms Fist, Xing Yi An Shen Pao, and Xing Yi Five Forms Linked Fist.) The
first of these is the most comprehensive, while the latter three discuss specifi
c xing-yi forms. Joseph Crandall has translated a number of these texts into Eng
lish, and the translations feature the original photographs and line drawings of
their respective books.
Li Tsun-I s (1847-1921) contribution, Yueh Fei s Intent Boxing, is what might be cal
led a transitional work, as it blends the style of the hand-copied manuals with
the how-to of the Republican period. The work was reputed to be the original tex
t discovered by Ji Ji Ke and passed down in hand-copied versions to Li, who in t
urn dictated it to his student Dong Xiu Sheng (1882-1939). In 1934 Dong released
the book in a public version. This public version included Li Tsun-I s work along
with supplemental material that expanded it to two volumes.
Another prominent author of this period was Huang Bo-nien (1880-1954). His book,
Hsing-I Fist and Weapons Instruction, is interesting because it was the first x
ing-yi book written specifically for use by the military. Published in 1928, the
book was authored by Huang with Jiang Rong-qiao posing for the photos. The gove
rnment as part of their program to support Chinese martial arts both within the

military as well as the general public underwrote publication of this volume. Th

e book covers the basics of xing-yi s five-element fist and a version of Linking F
ist along with the basic training ideas of xing-yi.
Two things set this book apart. First are sections detailing the use of the bayo
net and saber based on xing-yi principles and forms. Second, it is explicitly de
signed for use by the military. Thus in discussing each of the five-element fist
methods, movements are broken down into the individual commands that a drill in
structor would use in drilling a large group of soldiers.
BAYONET PRINCIPLES
Line drawing from Hwang s Hsing-I Fist and Weapons Instruction, 1928
An English translation of this manual has been done by Chow Hon Huen, edited by
Dennis Rovere. The translation, entitled Hsing-I Fist and Weapon Instruction, fe
atures the original line drawings but substitutes modern photos for Jiang Rong-q
iao s originals.
All of the above writers were from the Hupei-Shanxi tradition. The Henan traditi
on s first book was Xing Yi Boxing Manual by Bao Ding (1865-1942), published in 19
31. Part one describes the basic theory of Henan xing-yi and provides some stori
es of the masters of that tradition, while the second part features photos of Ba
o Ding performing the Four-Fists, Eight-Posture form.
Lesser books also appeared, but in general the text and photos of such manuals t
end to be similar to those listed here.
Modern Period
The modern period begins about 1950, and extends to the present. During this per
iod, there are two major streams, the Nationalists on Taiwan and the Communists
on the mainland.
At various times both the Nationalist government in Taiwan and the Communist gov
ernment on the Mainland have given financial support and official approval to a
variety of xing-yi training manuals. Additionally, private publishers in both Ta
iwan and Hong Kong have put out a wide range of xing-yi training manuals.
In most ways the modern period is simply a continuation of the Republican period
. That is, the training manuals have photos, footwork diagrams, and textual expl
anations. Developments during the modern period include the introduction of text
s written in languages other than Chinese. For example, the first English langua
ge book distributed in the United States that was devoted entirely to xing-yi wa
s Hsing-I Chinese Mind-Body Boxing by Robert W. Smith. Published by Kodansha Int
ernational in 1974, this book is notable for two reasons. First, it featured pho
tographs of several of Taiwan s best-known xing-yi practitioners of the late 1950 s
and early 1960 s. Secondly, it includes quotes from a number of earlier Chinese la
nguage xing-yi manuals. This book is out of print and should not be confused wit
h a newer xing-yi book by the same author. A second development of the modern er
a is the advent of instruction via videotape and DVD. Finally, there have been a
number of books and articles describing xing-yi practitioners in an anthropolog
ical context. Examples include Dru C. Gladney, Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalis
m in the People s Republic of China (Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies,
Harvard University, 2nd edition, 1996).
What Xing-yi Manuals Contain

Disregarding the anthropological studies, xing-yi manuals of all eras are "all t
he same book," in the words of respected Taiwanese martial arts historian and pu
blisher Lue Kang-I. To a large extent, that is true. Xing-yi manuals of the hand
-copied period usually contained a fairly standardized list of mnemonic words th
at trigger by association the readers memory of various principles and techniques
. For example there is the "Eight Set of Threes": 3 presses, 3 hooks, 3 rounds,
3 quicks, 3 embraces, 3 sinkings, 3 curves, and 3 stretches. When the reader-stu
dent saw these s/he knew, for example, the three sinkings meant "the qi [chi] mu
st sink, the shoulders must sink and the elbows must sink."
Most hand copied manuals also contained "poems" for each of the fist forms. Thes
e poems were rhymed couplets, usually seven sets of two lines each, which in vag
ue "poetic" form described key points of the fist form. As an example of this, t
he first two lines of the poem for Splitting Fist form (one of the Five Forms) r
eads: "Both fist, united, rise up to the mouth; fist rise to eyebrow level, fist
drill." As both these examples make clear, unless one already knows xing-yi, th
ese various formulas make little or no sense. Additionally, hand-copied texts fr
equently contain lineage lists, anecdotes of prior masters, and general training
advice, and occasionally line drawings.
SPLITTING FIST
Page from Li Chunyi s book Yue s Intent Boxing (1934) showing Splitting Fist
Books of the Republican period included these same formulas, poems, and lineage
lists, but added photographs and detailed discussions of how to perform the vari
ous xing-yi forms. Basically, hand-copied manuals were designed for students alr
eady familiar with the art, and so they emphasized key points and principles. In
contrast, manuals of the Republican period were designed as do-it-yourself book
s. Now, it must be added that even during the Republican period, the books did n
ot "directly tell all," so to speak. Each of the manuals of the Republican perio
d will omit some key idea. For example, the "follow step," which is critical to
xing-yi striking power, is often glossed over or not mentioned at all in Republi
can era manuals. Another common omission is failing to stress the importance of
san ti training. Often referred to as "standing post" training, this consists of
holding a static posture for various lengths of time. This training serves a nu
mber of purposes, and is discussed in detail in Michael W. Jones article "Standin
g Like a Stake: Internal Pathway to Power," in the June 2001 edition of Physical
Training.
Modern books generally include mentions of such key ideas, but still go on to sa
y that nothing replaces tutelage under a good instructor.
Epilogue
Xing-yi practitioners are fortunate that their art has a long, documented histor
y of training manuals, as it allows them to directly consider the words and see
photographs of some of xing-yi s finest historical practitioners. In this regard,
the "secret training manuals" of popular novels and movies have been successfull
y guarded and passed down to future generations.
Bibliography
English-language Texts
Jiang, Rong-qiao. Hsingyi Mother Fist. Trans. Joseph Crandall. Pinole: Smiling T
iger Press, 1999.

Huang, Bo-nien. Hsing-I Fist and Weapon Instruction. Trans. Chow Hon Huen. Ed. D
ennis Rovere. Calgary: Rovere Consultants International, 1992.
Li, Cunyi. Xingyi Connected Fist. Trans. Joseph Crandall. Pinole: Smiling Tiger
Press, 1994.
Miller, Dan and Tim Cartmell. Xing Yi Nei Gong. Burbank: Unique Publications, 19
99.
Pei, Xirong and Li, Ying ang. Henan Orthodox Xingyi Quan. Trans. Joseph Crandall.
Pinole: Smiling Tiger Press, 1994.
Smith, Robert W. Hsing-I Chinese Mind-Body Boxing. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1974.
Sun, Lu Tang. The Study of Form-Mind Boxing. Trans. Albert Liu. Ed. Dan Miller.
Pacific Grove: High View Publications, 1993.
Chinese-language Texts
Bao Ding. Xingyi Quanpu (Xing-yi Boxing Manual). Shanxi Science and Technology P
ress, 2000.
Jiang Rong-qiao. Xingyi Za Shi Chui (Xing-yi Mixed Strikes and Eight Posture Rou
tines). Shanxi Science and Technology Press, 2000.
Li Chunyi. Yue Shi Yiquan Wuxing Jingyi (Yue s Intent Boxing, Five Element Essenti
als). Ed. Dong Xiusheng. China, 1934.
Taigu County Gazetter Office. Xingyi Quanshu Daquan (Complete Book of Xing-yi).
Shanxi People s Press, 1993.
Internet Resources
David DeVere s Kong Hua Xingyiquan page, http://www.emptyflower.com/xingyiquan/ind
ex.html
Jarek s Chinese Martial Arts page, http://homepages.msn.com/SpiritSt/xinyi/index.h
tml
Joseph Crandall s Smiling Tiger site, http://users2.ev1.net/~stma/
Tim Cartmell s Shen Wu site, http://www.shenwu.com
The Wushu Centre site, http://www.thewushucentre.ca
About the Author
Brian Kennedy is an attorney living in Taiwan who teaches and writes about crimi
nal justice. He has studied a variety of Chinese martial arts including hung gar
and xing-yi.