FU SHU-YUN
Wushu is not an Olympic sport although, when the Olympic Games took place in Beijing in 2008, Wushu demonstrations were not absent. What many people do not know, and that includes most Chinese people too, is that an Olympic demonstration of martial arts first took place 72 years before in Berlin. Adolf Hitler was very impressed with Chinese wushu when he had the opportunity to watch some of China's top kungfu experts from the Nanking Central Martial Arts Academy perform at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. One of the star performers was Miss Fu Shu-Yun who provided information and photographs for this article.
Miss Fu was one of the most respected and revered martial arts authorities in Taiwan, the Republic of China, frequently sought by universities and academies, newspapers, magazines and movie companies for her knowledge of genuine kungfu. Miss Fu was one of the few remaining graduate instructors of the renowned Nanking Central Martial Arts Academy, a martial arts university employing as teachers some of the greatest martial arts masters at that time in China and whose purpose was to train their students to become Wushu instructors of the highest calibre. Miss Fu's life was devoted entirely to the martial arts; her experience included both internal and external styles and all kinds of traditional weapons.
Miss Fu was one of the most respected and revered martial arts authorities in Taiwan, the Republic of China, frequently sought by universities and academies, newspapers, magazines and movie companies for her knowledge of genuine kungfu. Miss Fu was one of the few remaining graduate instructors of the renowned Nanking Central Martial Arts Academy, a martial arts university employing as teachers some of the greatest martial arts masters at that time in China and whose purpose was to train their students to become Wushu instructors of the highest calibre. Miss Fu's life was devoted entirely to the martial arts; her experience included both internal and external styles and all kinds of traditional weapons.
Born in Tianjin in 1916, Fu Shun-Yun first came into contact with kungfu at junior high school where their military instructor invited the pupils to practice kungfu with him. Miss Fu and her classmates trained with him every morning before classes, eventually becoming so proficient that they were frequently called upon to give demonstrations to visiting dignitaries and perform in the North China sports festivals. As several of her relatives were kungfu experts, Miss Fu was encouraged to train seriously so that it was suggested that she apply to the prestigious Nanking Central Kuoshu Academy. Having passed the stringent entrance exams, Miss Fu was admitted to the academy in 1931.
At the Central Academy the students had to get up at 4.30 a.m. and be ready at 4.50 a.m. to go for a 20 minute run with the military coach. The principal of the college, Chang Zi-Chiang, being a general was quite keen on things being done in a somewhat military fashion. After running, they reviewed the previous day's kungfu until 6.40 a.m. then returned to the dormitory to eat breakfast at 7.20. The food was usually organised by the students who went to the market and brought things back to give to one of the cooks. For breakfast they usually had steamed bread, peanuts, soya beans and eggs. Other meals included various kinds of meat and vegetables. After breakfast they were supposed to go to church. Afterwards their time was their own until 8 p.m. During the summer vacation a group was organised to give demonstrations throughout China.
As regards the type of training available at the school, in the first year all students, no matter what their level of ability, started with basic kungfu, particularly 'standing'. This involved kicking out straight from a forward stance, holding the leg out very straight, pulling the leg back and carefully returning the leg to the ground. This was then practiced taking steps. Later they concentrated on standing in the 'horse' stance. As Miss Fu said, "for any kind of kungfu it is essential to be able to stand properly. How can anybody possibly learn a martial art if they don't even know how to stand?" They spent 2 months of the first term just practicing the 'horse' stance until they were really correct. Then they began a few simple forms including 'Lian Bu Chuan' ('connected steps’ form) and ‘Tan-Tui' (‘springing legs’). These forms emphasised exercising the legs to produce good kicking technique. As a result of this training, Miss Fu was still able to perform perfectly accurate kicks at the age of seventy. In the 2nd term, the students learned forms called 'Da Long Chuan' and 'Xiao Long Chuan' which were used to teach various shaolin techniques; kicking, punching, blocking, stepping etc. Then they progressed to the more advanced form 'Xiao Tan Tui'.
During the final term of the first year, in addition to the external styles mentioned above, Tai Chi Chuan was introduced. From this period and until graduating 2 years later, five kinds of Tai Chi were studied in detail. First was the Shaolin Tai-Chi taught by Master Ma Yung-Shen, a form of Tai Chi containing various fighting elements of Shaolin kungfu mixed with basic Tai Chi Chuan. Then Yang Cheng-Fu taught the Yang style. Next was the Wu style taught by Wu Jian-Chuan who had learned the Yang style and then created his own form. Then Wu Yin-Hua, personal student of Sun Lu-Tang, taught Sun's Kai-ho style (i.e. 'open-close'); however, it is not certain whether Sun himself did or did not actually teach at the Nanking Academy. According to Miss Fu, he did not. Finally, a form of Tai Chi called Bagua-Tai Chi which, as the name implies, included certain aspects of Bagua, was taught by its creator, Wu Jun-Shan. In order to learn this form one must have become proficient in the Yang style first. Master Wu taught Bagua-Tai Chi to only a few of the students. It is believed that Miss Fu was the only person in Taiwan who knew this style.
Xingi was taught in the first term of the 2nd year. All students practiced the five basic forms 'Wu Hsing' (i.e. 5 elements). These comprise Pi Chuan (splitting), Zuan Chuan (drilling), Beng Chuan (crushing), Pao Chuan (pounding), and Heng Chuan (crossing). The 5 elements are performed stepping forward, each one involving 2 or 3 apparently simple movements performed with speed and power. The 5 elements, as the foundation of Xingyi, had to be practiced very thoroughly. When they had been sufficiently mastered, the first longer form known as 'Lian-Huan Chuan’ was taught utilizing aspects of the five elements in a connected sequence. After this there were three more forms.
Finally, the students were taught the 12 animals, a series of short forms vaguely derived from the characteristics of animals, for example, snake, tiger, dragon, the tai-bird, horse, and so on. Their Xingyi teacher was Huang Buo-Nian, a famous Xingyi master who had learned directly from Li Tsun-l (1850-1925).
Finally, the students were taught the 12 animals, a series of short forms vaguely derived from the characteristics of animals, for example, snake, tiger, dragon, the tai-bird, horse, and so on. Their Xingyi teacher was Huang Buo-Nian, a famous Xingyi master who had learned directly from Li Tsun-l (1850-1925).
After Xingyi and Tai Chi, the students began to learn Bagua (Pa-Kua), the ‘internal’ martial art which emphasises circular movements, particulary the use of the waist in turning and blocking. Miss Fu says, "If you learn Tai Chi first and learn how to use your waist properly then later practice Bagua your movements will be more beautiful, graceful, and alive." Two kinds of Bagua were taught: the dragon style (long-xin) of Sun Lu-Tang which has one form, and the 64 movement style of Wu Jun-Shan. The basic training in Bagua required a great deal of walking around in a circle to develop the ability to rotate the body, and various postures based on animals such as the snake, bear, dragon etc. Thus by the end of the second year, students of the Nanking Academy had been introduced to 3 major internal styles all taught by some of the most eminent teachers of that time.
In the third year they were taught the staff, the curved sword, the straight sword, the spear, and the long spear. There were several teachers each specializing in a particular weapon. The styles learned in previous terms were, of course, still practised and reviewed. Around the time of graduation, various government officials visited the school to choose prospective bodyguards from among the male students.
In the third year they were taught the staff, the curved sword, the straight sword, the spear, and the long spear. There were several teachers each specializing in a particular weapon. The styles learned in previous terms were, of course, still practised and reviewed. Around the time of graduation, various government officials visited the school to choose prospective bodyguards from among the male students.
After graduating in 1934, Miss Fu was invited by the principal to stay on at the school as an instructor. Two years later she participated in a major Martial Arts competition in Shanghai from which she was selected to go to the Olympic games as a member of the Republic of China's Martial Arts team.
The team of 9 people - 6 men and 3 ladies (Liu Yu-Hwa, Jing Shi-Sheng, Kou Yun-Xing, Zheng Huai-Xian, Zhai Lian-Yuan, Zhang Er-Ding, Fu Shu-Yun, and one other) arrived in Berlin one week before the games commenced. During their expeditions into the city, the Chinese visitors found the Germans to be extremely friendly and helpful, creating a very favourable impression.
The Olympic competitions were held during the day and the demonstrations were given at night. Although many countries put on demonstrations, it was the Chinese team that made a particularly strong impact as kungfu was unknown to most people in the West at that time. Each member of the team gave several demonstrations - Miss Fu did a double-sword form, several empty-hand shaolin forms, a shaolin sword form, Bagua, and Tai Chi Chuan. They received tremendous applause from the audience and Miss Fu was asked to give several encores. Her performance of Tai Chi particularly impressed Hitler who, having invited the Chinese team to meet him in private, told Miss Fu that he thought Tai Chi was a really excellent form of exercise and that would be the type of martial art he would like to take up. He further expressed his admiration for the Chinese martial artists by presenting each member of the team with a special trophy. Unfortunately, Hitler did not have time to practice Tai Chi.
The team of 9 people - 6 men and 3 ladies (Liu Yu-Hwa, Jing Shi-Sheng, Kou Yun-Xing, Zheng Huai-Xian, Zhai Lian-Yuan, Zhang Er-Ding, Fu Shu-Yun, and one other) arrived in Berlin one week before the games commenced. During their expeditions into the city, the Chinese visitors found the Germans to be extremely friendly and helpful, creating a very favourable impression.
The Olympic competitions were held during the day and the demonstrations were given at night. Although many countries put on demonstrations, it was the Chinese team that made a particularly strong impact as kungfu was unknown to most people in the West at that time. Each member of the team gave several demonstrations - Miss Fu did a double-sword form, several empty-hand shaolin forms, a shaolin sword form, Bagua, and Tai Chi Chuan. They received tremendous applause from the audience and Miss Fu was asked to give several encores. Her performance of Tai Chi particularly impressed Hitler who, having invited the Chinese team to meet him in private, told Miss Fu that he thought Tai Chi was a really excellent form of exercise and that would be the type of martial art he would like to take up. He further expressed his admiration for the Chinese martial artists by presenting each member of the team with a special trophy. Unfortunately, Hitler did not have time to practice Tai Chi.
The following year, Miss Fu began to teach martial arts at a physical education college. But about a year later the Sino-Japanese war started, so Miss Fu became a nurse. During this time she still managed to keep on practicing kungfu in a secluded area behind the hospital. The principal of the National College of Physical Education discovered that Miss Fu was working as a nurse and succeeded in persuading her to become an instructor at the college.
She continued in this type of job until she escaped from mainland China to go to Taiwan, with her husband, martial arts master and war hero Meng Zhao-Xun, in 1949. In Taiwan she taught kungfu at many schools and universities, served as a national martial arts judge and at the age of 55 performed in her first kungfu film, 'Sunset in the Golden city' followed in 1972 by her second film 'Storm on the Ju-Jiang River' in which she played a leading role. In her later years Miss Fu made several trips to America and taught wushu there. She died a few years ago in her nineties.
Written by Alan W. Ellerton
More pics in slideshow below
She continued in this type of job until she escaped from mainland China to go to Taiwan, with her husband, martial arts master and war hero Meng Zhao-Xun, in 1949. In Taiwan she taught kungfu at many schools and universities, served as a national martial arts judge and at the age of 55 performed in her first kungfu film, 'Sunset in the Golden city' followed in 1972 by her second film 'Storm on the Ju-Jiang River' in which she played a leading role. In her later years Miss Fu made several trips to America and taught wushu there. She died a few years ago in her nineties.
Written by Alan W. Ellerton
More pics in slideshow below