Wu Yuxiang

武禹襄 Wu Yuxiang
Born	1812
Died	1880
Style	Wu (Hao)-style taijiquan
Notable students	Li Yiyu (李亦畬) Li Qinuan

Wu Yuxiang
Chinese	武禹襄
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wu Yuxiang Wade–Giles Wu Yu-hsiang

Wu Yuxiang or Wu Yu-hsiang (1812–1880) was a Chinese t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) teacher and government official active during the late Ch'ing dynasty.^[1] Wu was a scholar from a wealthy and influential family who became a senior student (along with his two older brothers Wu Ch'eng-ch'ing 武澄清 and Wu Ju-ch'ing 武汝清) of Yang Lu-ch'an.^[1] Wu also studied for a brief time with a teacher from the Chen family, Chen Ch'ing-p'ing, to whom he was introduced by Yang.^[1]

There is a relatively large body of writing attributed to Wu on the subject of t'ai chi ch'uan theory, writings that are considered influential by many other schools not directly associated with his style.^[1][2]

His most famous student was his nephew, Li I-yu (李亦畬, 1832–1892), who also authored several important works on t'ai chi ch'uan. Li I-yu had a younger brother who was also credited as an author of at least one work on the subject of t'ai chi, Li Ch'i-hsuan.^[1][2]

The style of t'ai chi ch'uan that Wu taught was eventually known, because of its later transmission by three generations of students of his nephew named Hao, as Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Hao Wei-chen subsequently taught Sun Lu-t'ang, the founder of Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan.^[2]

T'ai chi ch'uan lineage tree with Wu (Hao)-style focus

References

1. Wile, Douglas (1995). Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty (Chinese Philosophy and Culture). State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2654-8.
2. Yip, Y. L. (Autumn 1998). "A Perspective on the Development of Taijiquan – Qi, The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness Vol. 8 No. 3". Insight Graphics Publishers. ISSN 1056-4004.