Li Ziming (李子鳴) (June 25, 1902 – January 23, 1993) was a martial arts expert and third generation descendant of the creator of

Baguazhang ''Baguazhang'' () is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the '' Wudang'' school, the other two being tai chi and '' xingyiquan''. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or ''neijia''). ''Baguazhang'' literally means "eigh ...

Dong Haichuan Dong Haichuan (13 October 1797 or 1813 – 25 October 1882) is regarded as a skillful martial artist and widely credited to be the founder of Baguazhang. Most, if not all, existing schools of Baguazhang place Dong Haichuan at the beginning of ...

, under the lineage of

Liang Zhenpu Liang Zhenpu (梁振蒲) (1863–1932) was a Chinese martial artist. Biography Liang Zhenpu was born in Beihaojia Village in Ji County in Hebei province on May 20, 1863 during the Qing dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. He trained ...

- progenitor of Liang Style Baguazhang.

Life and work

Li Ziming was born in Lijia Village, Ji County in

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

province on June 25, 1902, and died on January 23, 1993, at the age of 90. He had a very cultured upbringing including the study of

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and martial arts, and was very talented at

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

and

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. In 1921, he became a disciple of the second generation Baguazhang master,

, and a friend of his father. He began an intensive study of Baguazhang. Liang passed down the art of Baguazhang through the oral tradition. He practised every day until he achieved a very deep understanding of the fighting secrets of Baguazhang. After extensive training with Liang, Li entered the

province Martial Arts Academy and trained in martial arts under the famous masters Zhang Zhankui, Shang Yunxiang and Ju Qingyuan. He later returned to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where he often exchanged techniques and sparred with martial arts brothers Guo Gumin, Li Shaoan and Zeng Xingsan, as well as many other famous martial arts masters. Li reached a very high level of technical proficiency and attainment in all aspects of Baguazhang including forms, weapons, theory and fighting methods. He was especially skilled at the art of fighting and his hand-to-hand combat skills increased perceptibly over the years. Li dedicated his life to the preservation of Baguazhang forms, the research of Baguazhang theory and the popularization of the art. In 1979, in order to protect Dong Haichuan's tomb, he suggested to move it to Wanan Public Cemetery from the old location; on August 2 and 3, 1980, a group of over 100 Beijing Baguazhang practitioners under his leadership moved Dong's remains as well as accompanying stone tablets to the new location in Wanan Public Cemetery.
Chinafrominside.com website Li Ziming was conscientious and meticulous with all things relating to Baguazhang. He was not given to flattery, and followed a strong code of morals and righteousness. He was well known for being generous, kind, modest, amiable, charitable, and benevolent to others. He was very patient when teaching his students, while never holding anything back from them. Li Ziming conducted extensive research about the applications of other styles of Baguazhang, and took the best elements from each style. He inherited the complete Baguazhang system and fostered the development of many famous martial artists and masters. In 1981, he helped establish the first single-style research association in China - The Beijing Baguazhang Research Association - and he was elected its first president; he held this title until his death in 1993. He also established a Baguazhang coaching station. He received many honors of distinction from both national and international martial arts associations. After his death, he was the second person to be buried next to Dong Haichuan after Liang Zhenpu in Wanan Public Cemetery. Li Ziming's more famous disciples include Ma Chuanxu (馬傅旭) (second president of the Beijing Baguazhang Research Association), Wang Shitong (王世通), Zhang Huasen (張華森), Zhao Dayuan (赵大元), Di Guoyang (邸国勇) (former president of the Beijing Xingyiquan Research Association),

Sui Yunjiang Sui Yunjiang () is a famous Chinese martial artist. He was born in Heilongjiang province on 18 November 1945. From an early age he studied martial arts with famous masters including Li Ziming, Han Qichang, Wang Zhizhong, and Zhao Shide. His spe ...

(隋云江), Li Gongcheng, Wang Tong (王桐) (also former president of the Beijing Xingyiquan Research Association), Ling Chengyong, Zhang Quanliang (张全亮) (who has released several VCDs and DVDs), Sun Hunyan and Ma Ling.

References

External links

Beijingbagua.com website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ziming Chinese baguazhang practitioners Chinese Taoists 20th-century Chinese sportsmen 20th-century Taoists People's Republic of China Taoists I Ching 1902 births 1993 deaths Sportspeople from Tianjin

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links