Wu Quanyou

Life

Wu Quanyou was a military officer in the Yellow Banner camp in the Forbidden City, Beijing and also an officer of the Imperial Guards Brigade during the Qing dynasty. Wu wished to study under Yang Luchan, the tai chi instructor for that banner camp, but he was still a middle grade officer and Yang refused to teach him. Instead, Wu and two other officers, Wan Chun (萬春) and Ling Shan (凌山), were asked to become disciples of Yang Banhou, Yang Luchan's oldest adult son and also a tai chi instructor for the Qing military.

When Wu retired from the military, he set up a school in Beijing. Wu's Beijing school was successful and there were many who studied with him, he was popularly known as Quan Sanye (全三爺) as a term of respect. His disciples included Wang Maozhai, Guo Songting (郭松亭), Xia Gongfu (夏公甫), Chang Yuanting (1860-1918; 常遠亭), Qi Gechen (齊閣臣), and Wu's own son, Wu Jianquan (see Wudang tai chi lineage). Wu's skills were said to be exceptional in the area of softly "neutralising" (化勁; huà jìn) hard energy when attacked, which is a core skill of good tai chi. Chang Yuanting's son Chang Yunji taught a style known as "Quanyou laojia tai chi" (全佑老架太极拳) or "Chang-style tai chi" (常氏太極拳).

Wu's son, Wu Jianquan also became a cavalry officer and tai chi teacher, working closely with the Yang family and Sun Lutang, promoting what subsequently came to be known as Wu-style tai chi in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.