During centuries, the art of Kung Fu remains the same and it is only in the middle of the 19th century that it changes under the impulse of Kuo Yun Seng.
Kuo Yun Seng was called " the Divine Palm ", and he was the greatest expert of his time in Xing Yi Quan (the boxing of the unit of the body and the thought : Xing = form, Yi = will, thought, Quan = fist, boxing, or in its original significance " to do instantaneously what the heart decides ").
He insists on the postures and simplifies the form of the Tao Lu, then transmits his art to Wang Xian Zhaï, his preferred disciple.
1885 :
Master Wang Xian Zhaï was born in 1885 in the
Hebei province.
At the end of the 19th century, in China, Master
Wang Xian Zhai had observed that the Chinese
society changed. The profit, base of a modern
mode of production, revolutionized the
relationship between the men. The martial arts,
component of this same society, had them also
tendency to lose their essence. The practice of
the fast movements, therefore badly controlled,
the exaggeration of the importance of the
muscular force and hardening with excess of the
body, often with a conclusive aim, characterized
the majority of the practise. He then decided to
return to the sources of Kung Fu, at a time when
one could control " the movements of the
immobility ", immobility which is the " mother "
of any movement.
1913 :
In 1913 he was engaged as instructor with the
army.
1918 :
In 1918 he crosses China from North to the South,
he observes and learns the essence of other
styles which include techniques of fists and
legs. He also makes a stay at the monastery of
Shaolin where he is involved in particular with
the higher bonze, expert in Xin Yi Quan. (Xin =
the heart)
This assiduous study helps him to discover what
he seeks : control of the speed and the force by
the concentration, the relaxation, and the slow
movement, thus restoring a true return to the
sources of art. Until the 12th century indeed,
the practice of Kung Fu passed by the
mobilization of the thought, the control of the
posture and the slow movement, to reach the
explosive force. The method used named Zhan
Zhuang, which means " to remain upright such as
a tree or a pile ".
The two experts find themselves perfectly in
their mutual search. They share their techniques
to supplement their work.
1925 :
In 1925, Master Wang Xian Zhai declares that "
the practise in general neglect the importance
of the thought in the movement ". He creates Yi Quan
in which you find the linear work of Xing Yi,
circular displacements of Bagua, the principle
of " sticking and following " of Taïji and the
essence of other styles such as the essence of
the school of Shaolin, etc...
He preaches a martial arts serving health while
proving to be a method of effective combat.
It was a new way of considering the martial arts
because of the absence of forms (Tao-Lu), the
most significant being the concentration, the
will.
1940 :
In 1940, the colleagues of Master Wang in
Beijing recognize the value of his art and give
it the name of Da Cheng Quan.
The term Da Cheng means great success,
achievement, perfection.
Da Cheng Quan thus means the great achievement
of the harmony of the body and the spirit.
Later, Master Wang, always modest and conscious
that one never reaches the great achievement in
Wushu, returns definitively to the name Yi Quan.
It is just today to respect this desire.
From the beginning of the Fifties, he teaches Zhan Zhuang Gong
(position of the pile or position of rooting) in
various medical institutes.
1963 :
Master Wang Xian Zhaï died in Tien Tsin.
