Xingtai plum blossom boxing

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Xingtai plum blossom boxing

Applicant: Xingtai City, Hebei Province

Item No.: 294

Project No.: VI - 12

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics

Region: Hebei Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Xingtai City, Hebei Province

Protection unit: Guangzong County Cultural Center, national intangible cultural heritage meihuaquan Pingxiang houmazhuang protection and inheritance Association

Introduction to Xingtai plum blossom boxing

Applicant: Xingtai City, Hebei Province

Plum blossom boxing is popular in Guangzong, Pingxiang and Weixian counties of Xingtai in Southern Hebei Province, mainly in Guangzong and Pingxiang counties. According to the records of Guangzong County annals and Pingxiang county annals, plum blossom boxing was introduced into the local area in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. It combines the eight trigrams of Zhouyi with boxing theory, and transforms Yin Yang and five elements into martial arts.

The organizational form of plum blossom boxing is divided into two parts: the literary field and the martial field, and the literary field leads the martial field. The leadership of the school focuses on the study of the arts and sciences which collect the essence of the "Three Religions" theory, and is responsible for the management of boxing affairs; the students of the school can understand the boxing principles and techniques through martial arts training. The level and form of martial arts training can be divided into four parts: shelf, Chengquan, Xuanquan and equipment. The movement routine of plum blossom boxing is simple and generous, powerful and majestic, which has both the performance value and the actual combat function. The guiding ideology and routine of plum blossom boxing follow the principle of "five elements, eight trigrams, nine palaces and Taiji limitless" in traditional Chinese culture, so it is also known as "cultural boxing".

Xingtai plum blossom boxing has been popular in Guangzong and Pingxiang for more than 300 years. It takes patriotism and love of the people as the boxing rules and training. The relationship between teachers and successors is clear. It has been handed down to the seventh generation and has a boxing score. Plum blossom boxing is mostly taught by oral and personal teaching, with the longest boxer being 87 years old. Guangzong and Pingxiang plum blossom boxing and their ways of transmission are regarded by experts and scholars as "living fossils" to explore the origin of Chinese martial arts and their skills, routines and fighting. Practicing plum blossom boxing can not only strengthen the body, but also activate the cultural life of the masses and inspire the national spirit. But now all the boxers who can master the unique skills of plum blossom boxing are old or dead, and many skills are lost, especially the plum blossom pile is nearly extinct. Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen the rescue and protection of plum blossom boxing.