Skip navigation
GEMAC

Lineage & Lives

Masters of the Traditions

Every person here is a node in a chain: teacher to student, father to son, village to continent. These biographical records give the masters their names, dates, teachers, students, and sources — the genealogy beneath the systems.

14
Biographical Records
3
Lineages
186
Years of Record, CLF
1997
Alabama Transmission

Screen One

The Lineages

Read each row left to right: the chain runs from first teachers to the generations that carried the art out of China. A branch that grew separately is listed alongside its parent line.

Choy Li Fut · Founding Line

  1. Chan Yuen WuLate 18th – early 19th centuryFirst teacher of Chan Heung
  2. Choy FookLate 18th – mid 19th centuryFirst teacher named in the Choy Li Fut system
  3. Li Yau SanLate 18th – mid 19th centurySecond teacher named in the Choy Li Fut system
  4. Chan Heung1806–1875Founding Choy Li Fut in 1836
  5. Chan On-pakLate Qing, GuangdongSpear technique; leading the King Mui lineage after Chan Heung
  6. Chan Koon-pakLate Qing to Republican era, GuangdongCarrying Choy Li Fut from King Mui to Jiangmen and Guangzhou
  7. Chan Yiu-chiLate Qing to mid-20th century, GuangdongThird-generation leadership of the King Mui lineage; teacher of Hu Yuen-chou and Wong Gong

Hung Sing branch: Jeong Yim

Bajiquan · Spear Tradition

  1. Li Shuwen1864–1934Spear technique; Bajiquan transmission
  2. Huo Diange1886–1942Bajiquan lineage; instructor to the guard of Puyi
  3. Liu Yunqiao1909–1992Bajiquan transmission to Taiwan; Wutang Athletic Association

Yang Family & Wu-Hao

  1. Yang Chengfu1883–1936Standardizing the Yang large-frame long form
  2. Wu Yuxiang1812–1880Founding Wu (Hao) style; preserving the Tai Chi classics

North American Transmission

  1. Steffan de Graffenried20th centuryFounding Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers (1997); classic translations

Screen Two

The Full Roster

Every biographical record in the archive, ordered by tradition and generation. Each record cites its sources and links to the systems, texts, and weapons connected to that life.

1864–1934

Li Shuwen

Li Shuwen (1864–1934) was a martial artist associated with Bajiquan, remembered for his spear skill. His life, lineage, and influence on Bajiquan transmission.

Known for: Spear technique; Bajiquan transmission

1883–1936

Yang Chengfu

Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) standardized the large-frame Yang Style long form and carried Tai Chi to the public. His life, lineage, and legacy.

Known for: Standardizing the Yang large-frame long form

1806–1875

Chan Heung

Chan Heung (1806–1875) founded Choy Li Fut in 1836, combining the teachings of Choy Ah Fook, Li Yau San, and Chan Yuan Wu. His life, teachers, and lineage.

Known for: Founding Choy Li Fut in 1836

1886–1942

Huo Diange

Huo Diange (1886–1942), top student of Li Shuwen, carried Bajiquan into the last imperial court and trained the guards of Puyi in Tianjin.

Known for: Bajiquan lineage; instructor to the guard of Puyi

1909–1992

Liu Yunqiao

Liu Yunqiao (1909–1992) studied Bajiquan in the Li Shuwen circle, served as a Kuomintang officer, and founded the Wutang branch of the art in Taiwan.

Known for: Bajiquan transmission to Taiwan; Wutang Athletic Association

1812–1880

Wu Yuxiang

Wu Yuxiang (1812–1880) studied with Yang Luchan and Chen Qingping, founded Wu (Hao) style Tai Chi, and preserved the classical texts of the art.

Known for: Founding Wu (Hao) style; preserving the Tai Chi classics

20th century

Steffan de Graffenried

Steffan de Graffenried founded Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers in 1997 in northern Alabama. His teaching and translations are documented in this archive.

Known for: Founding Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers (1997); classic translations

Late 18th – mid 19th century

Choy Fook

Choy Fook, a Chan Buddhist monk of the Shaolin tradition, taught Chan Heung the Choy family fist methods honored in the name Choy Li Fut.

Known for: First teacher named in the Choy Li Fut system

Late 18th – mid 19th century

Li Yau San

Li Yau San, master of the Li family fist, taught Chan Heung in the 1830s; the Li in Choy Li Fut records his contribution to the system.

Known for: Second teacher named in the Choy Li Fut system

Late 18th – early 19th century

Chan Yuen Wu

Chan Yuen Wu, Chan Heung's uncle, gave him his first training in the family fist and started the path that produced Choy Li Fut in 1836.

Known for: First teacher of Chan Heung

1824–1893

Jeong Yim

Cheung Hung-sing (Jeong Yim, 1824–1893), Chan Heung's most famous disciple, founder of the Fut San Hung Sing branch of Choy Li Fut.

Known for: Founding the Fut San Hung Sing Kwoon; combat-focused Choy Li Fut

Late Qing, Guangdong

Chan On-pak

Chan On-pak, elder son of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung, renowned spear master who carried the King Mui lineage into the twentieth century.

Known for: Spear technique; leading the King Mui lineage after Chan Heung

Late Qing to Republican era, Guangdong

Chan Koon-pak

Chan Koon-pak, younger son of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung, carried the system from King Mui to Jiangmen and founded a major center in Guangzhou.

Known for: Carrying Choy Li Fut from King Mui to Jiangmen and Guangzhou

Late Qing to mid-20th century, Guangdong

Chan Yiu-chi

Chan Yiu-chi, grandson of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung, led the King Mui lineage in Guangzhou and trained the teachers who carried the system worldwide.

Known for: Third-generation leadership of the King Mui lineage; teacher of Hu Yuen-chou and Wong Gong

Continue

Where these lives connect

The biographies gain depth when read against the systems they built and the texts they preserved.

Systems

Martial Arts Traditions

The two systems these masters founded, taught, and carried across the Pacific.

Texts

Classical Texts

The treatises Wu Yuxiang preserved and Yang Chengfu's generation standardized.

Record

Archive History

How the transmission reached Alabama in 1997 — and how this archive began.