In the 2020s, while it’s still uncommon, it’s no longer unheard-of to see a Tai Chi “fast form” demonstration, whether it’s a Yang Shaohou or Yang Banhou Fast Form, a Wu Fast Form, or other variations (the Dong / Tung family has a fast form but it was created by the family). What’s particularly interesting about the Wu Fast Form is that it is transmitted only through the Shanghai branch of the Wu style teaching.
To understand why this is interesting, we need to look at the history of Wu style Tai Chi, at least the part that is relevant to this story.
Quan You 全佑 was a Qing dynasty Bannerman of the Yellow Banner group in Beijing. He learned the “Small Circles” and “Large Circles” Tai Chi from Yang Luchan 楊露禪, the founder of Yang style Tai Chi, and his older son, Yang Banhou 楊班侯.
Quan You’s family sinicized their clan name 烏佳哈拉 (Wūjiāhālā) to Wu 吴, and Quan You’s son Wu Jianquan (Wu Chien Chuan) 吴鑑泉 started teaching Wu style Tai Chi in Beijing in the early 1900s.
There is another branch of Wu style mainly taught by the earlier students of Quan You and Wu Jianquan in the Beijing area, which we will not discuss further here.
Wu Jianquan was a contemporary of Yang Luchan’s grandsons Yang Shaohou 楊少侯, and Yang Chengfu 楊澄甫. Wu Jianquan and Yang Chengfu both taught at the Shanghai martial arts association in the 1920s and 1930s.
To popularize Tai Chi to the masses, Yang Chengfu created the large frame form and Wu Jianquan similarly created the large frame Wu style. Yang Chengfu’s form is the most popular Yang form today.
Yang Chengfu had an older brother, Yang Shaohou, who mainly learned from their uncle Yang Banhou. Yang Shaohou did not have many students but was known for his Fast Form and Application Form, both of which were practically unknown in the West until China opened up in the 1980s. Indeed, there are many teachers that claim lineage from Yang Shaohou, but that will take another essay to untangle.
Like many family inheritors, Wu Jianquan’s eldest son Wu Gongyi (Wu Kungyi) 吴公儀 began teaching alongside his father and his brother-in-law Ma Yueliang 馬岳樑 at the Shanghai school in the 1920s and 1930s.
Wu Gongyi went to Hong Kong in 1937 and started the Wu Jianquan school there. He returned to Shanghai in 1942 and moved to Hong Kong permanently in 1949 after the Communist revolution.
Also in 1949, Yang Chengfu’s son Yang Shouzhong (Yeung Sauchung) 楊守中 moved to Hong Kong as well, to Yuen Long, New Territories. In 1952, Dong Yingjie 董英傑 and Wu Gongyi together respectfully invited Yang Shouzhong to take up residence on Lockhart Road on Hong Kong Island.
Let’s take a recap: Yang Chengfu and his brother Yang Shaohou were contemporaries of Wu Jianquan. Wu’s son Wu Gongyi moved to Hong Kong, while his brother-in-law Ma Yueliang and sister Wu Yinghua 吴英華 stayed in Shanghai. Yang Chengfu’s eldest son Yang Shouzhong also moved to Hong Kong at around the same time.
In Hong Kong, Wu Gongyi and his family members were initially known for teaching the Round and Square forms to the public, and the Small Frame Wu Tai Chi to more senior students. In the last years of his life, Wu Gongyi developed the Square Small Frame further into the Quanjit form 關節拳, with precise instructions on how to move and rotate each joint in each movement. This is the form now taught by the Hong Kong Wu Tai Chi Association.
Meanwhile, in the early 1980s, China started to open up, and the martial arts world was stunned by a Wu Fast Form performed by Shi Meilin 施梅林, the adopted daughter of Ma Yueliang and Wu Yinghua. Previously known for the “Shanghai” Wu Round Form and their reputation for excellent Push Hands skills, this until-then little-known aspect of Wu Tai Chi was an eye-opener.
Unlike the slow, even pace of the Shanghai Wu slow form, the Fast Form has Fajin 發勁 and performed at varying speed. This form was practically unheard of in 1982. The Chen style second routine Paochui 炮捶 also has similar characteristics but looks nothing like the Wu style.
At that time there was some speculation about the origin of the Wu Fast Form, but Ma Yueliang was adamant that he had seen Yang Shaohou practicing the same form with Wu Jianquan. Questions arose as to why the Hong Kong Wu branch does not have the form, even though Wu Gongyi was the son of Wu Jianquan and should have inherited all his father’s skills. Moreover, it was noted that both Wu Gongyi and his brother Wu Gongzao 吳公藻 also learned directly from Yang Shaohou as well. Multiple sources have also confirmed that the Wu Fast Form is essentially the same as (one of) the Yang Shaohou Fast Forms.
So to reconcile how two branches of the same martial family settled on two different advanced forms, there can be several possibilities. After studying Tai Chi for a few decades now, and having been exposed to several systems, with my primary learning from Sifu Sam Tam, my opinion is that the respective masters emphasized different paths to mastery. This is of course only my humble opinion, as I have not personally experienced the Quanjit form, and have only a small understanding of the Wu Fast Form. However, a common saying is that there are many paths to the mountain top. Both forms embody the principles of Tai Chi, and it is very instructive to trace the origin and history of these two forms.
For reference:
Shi Meilin performing the Wu Fast Form:
Eddie Wu 吳光宇 (grandson of Wu Gongyi) performing 108 Quanjit Form