Tracing the Wu Style Taiji Quan Lineage of Shum Yee Leung

I often asked Grandmaster Shum Leung (full name Shum Yee Leung – Cen Yu Liang, 岑譽亮 – 1937-2025), about the lineage of our Wu Shi Taiji Quan (吳氏太极拳) – Wu Style Taiji Quan. I was never able to get anything more than “I leaned from my Sifu.”

During my years of publishing the Wu Gong Journal and the Journal of Chinese Martial Arts, I have amassed a mountain of notes. I have also met many Sifus with different backgrounds from the numerous ICMAC (International Chinese Martial Arts Championship) events that I promoted throughout the United States. I have developed the habit of keeping detailed notes and have learned to compartmentalize these notes according to subject.

In doing research on Chinese martial arts, where information is hard to come by and often misleading, I have found that I have had to work backwards. And so it is with Shum’s Wu Style Taiji Quan.

I will present what I have found and have been able to confirm, providing Pinyin terms and Chinese characters. I will provide a glossary at the end of this article with the corresponding Cantonese names mentioned here.

Tracing the Roots

Grandmaster Cen Yuliang learned Wu Style Taiji Quan from his Shifu, Wu Huinong (吳惠農, 1902-1991). In turn, Wu Huinong learned from Zheng Rongguang (鄭榮光,1903–1967).

Zheng Rongguang, who was originally from Guangdong, learned Wu Style Taiji Quan from Wu Jianquan (吴鉴泉, 1870-1942), who came to Hong Kong in 1937 at the invitation of the South China Athletic Association (南華會) – Nan Hua Hui. Zheng became a formal disciple of Wu Jianquan sometime thereafter.

Grandmaster Ye Yuting (葉雨亭, 1892-1962) was the Chief instructor of the Shaolin department at the South China Athletic Association and had been teaching Mizong Luohan Quan (迷蹤羅漢) there since 1933. This means that Ye Yuting was at South China when Wu Jianquan visited, and it is from here that I was able to start connecting the dots.

Note: Zheng Rongguang taught Wu Style Taijiquan at the South China Athletic Association from 1948 until 1952, while Ye Yuting was still teaching there. This information was very helpful in my research.

While I have Wu Huinong’s dates of birth and death as 1902-1991. I haven’t been able to confirm it.

Grandmaster Cen Yuliang’s Wu Taiji Quan Form

The Wu Style Form taught by Cen Yuliang deviates from the orthodox routine taught by Wu Jianquan and Zheng Ronguang. Whether Cen Yuliang made these changes to the routine himself, or whether the sequence was changed by Wu Huinong, I have not been able to confirm.

Interestingly, Kuang Tiefu (鄺鐵夫, 1926–1999), who learned Wu Taiji Quan from Wu Huinong, settled in Boston in 1970. Calvin Chin learned Wu Style Taiji Quan from Kuang Tiefu. I have seen Calvin Chin, and students from his martial arts school in Massachusetts, demonstrate Wu Style Taiji Quan and the sequence differs from Cen Yuliang’s version. This leads me to believe that Cen Yuliang altered the routine, but this is not confirmation.

Furthermore, traditional Wu Style Taiji Quan as taught by Wu Jianquan, who moved to Shanghai in 1926, differs from the Wu Style taught in Beijing. These two branches are now known as the Northern Wu Style and the Southern Wu Style.

The Northern and Southern schools are referred to in the Wu Taiji Quan community as Nan Wu Bei Wang (南吳北王), which means “Wu in the South and Wang in the North.” Nan Wu (南吳) refers to the style taught by Wu Jianquan in Shanghai, and Bei Wang (北王) refers to the style propagated by Wang Maozhai (王茂齋, 1862-1940), who taught in Beijing.

The Wu Style Square and Round Forms

Wu Jianquan’s Taiji Quan contains two routines. The foundational routine is known as the Fang Quan (方拳) – Square Form, commonly referred to as the Slow Form. The Yuan Quan (圓拳) – Round Form, is commonly referred to as the Fast Form. I have seen both forms demonstrated at the ICMAC tournaments and I have the recordings.

I first saw the Wu Style Round/Fast Form demonstrated by Johnny Kwong Ming Lee, at one of my ICMAC tournaments in Orlando, Florida, and I found the form to have many similarities to the Yang Shi Taiji Quan Yong Jia (楊氏太极拳用架) – the Yang Style Usage Frame, also known as the Xiao Jia (小架) – Small Frame or Kuai Jia (快架) – Fast Frame. This Yang Style form was propagated by Yang Banhou (楊班侯, 1837–1890), and later by his nephew Yang Shouhou (楊少侯, 1862–1930), older brother to Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫,1883–1936).

What Cen Yuliang calls the Wu Style Fast Form is not comparable to the Round/Fast Form taught in Shanghai. In his book, Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan, Master Leung Shum states: “When, from beginning to end, the whole form is connected and there is no stopping from the first technique to the last, only then does it become Goon Chuen (Fast Form) of Tai Chi Chuan.”

Note: I have added the Cantonese name after the book title, “Master Leung Shum,” as it appear on the cover of the Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan book.

Hong Kong and Malaysia Jing Wu Associations

I mention here the Hong Kong Jing Wu Association and the Malaysia Jing Wu Association because Wu Gongyi (吳公儀, 1898–1970), the eldest son of Wu Jianquan, taught widely in Southeast Asia and his influence was felt both at the Hong Kong and Malaysia Jing Wu Associations.

Wu Gongyi was known as the Shou Men (守門), literally the “Gatekeeper” of Wu Style Taiji in the South. Shou Men is a traditional honorific title bestowed on the lineage holder of a style. Gongyi retained the title until his death in 1970.

Wu Gongyi had three children: Wu Daikui (吳大揆, 1923-1972), Wu Daqi (吳大齊,1926-1993), and Wu Yanxia (吳雁霞, 1930-2001), who was considered the female Gatekeeper of Wu Style Taijiquan. They carried on the family heritage of Wu Style Taiji.

Note: Traditionally, the “Lineage Holder” of a style is known as Chuan Ren (傳人). Wu Yanxia has videos of Wu Style Taiji Quan on YouTube, which are worth watching.

Wu Gongyi had two siblings who stayed in Shanghai. I mention them here as a source for anyone who wishes to conduct further research. Wu Gongzao (吳公藻,1902–1983) and Wu Yinghua (吳英華, 1907-1996). Wu Yinghua married Ma Yueliang (馬岳樑, 1901 -1998), from whom Johnny Lee learned the Wu Style Round Form.

Closing comments

After Grandmaster Cen Yuliang’s passing in 2025, I felt compelled to finish this research on tracing his Wu Style lineage. It fulfills my innate desire to learn, and I hope it will be of use to my students and to other Wu Style Taiji Quan practitioners.

Pinyin and Cantonese Glossary

I am providing the Cantonese terms only for masters who settled and taught in Hong Kong and other parts of Southeast Asia. Typically, Cantonese names are hyphenated, and I have shown that here. The Pinyin Romanization in bold precedes the Cantonese with the Wu Family descendants shown separately.

Wu Jianquan – Ng Gam-Cyun, his son Wu Gongyi – Ng Gung-Ji. His two sons Wu Daikui – Ng Dai-Kwai, and Wu Daqi – Ng Dai-Cai, and his daughter Wu Yanxia – Ng Ngan-Ha.

Zheng Ronggaung – Zeng Wing-Gwong.

Wu Huinong – Ng Hui-Nong and his disciples Cen Yuliang – Shum Yee-Leung and Kuang Tiefu – Kwong Tit-Fu.

Ye Yuting – Yip Jyu-Ting (Mizong Luohan Master at South China Athletic Association).