Li ShuWen 李书文

Li ShuWen 李书文
Other names	"God Spear Li" (神槍李)
Born	1864
Died	1934
Status	Deceased
Nationality	Chinese
Martial arts
Main styles	Bajiquan
Generation (Bajiquan)	5th
Generation (Within branch)	1st
Teachers 師傅	Huang SiHai
Noteable TouDai 徒弟	Liu YunQiao

Li ShuWen (Chinese: 李书文) (1864–1934) is one of, if not the most famous practitioner of the martial art of Bajiquan. His prowess with the spear earned him the name "God Spear Li" (神槍李) while his boxing skills were so great that he could boast that he did not know what it felt like to hit an opponent a second time. According to the "Cang County Chronicles" of the Republic of China, Li Shuwen was "short, barren and thin, but slender and powerful." He was also known by the epithet "God Spear Li" 神槍李 due to his prowess with the Liu He Da Qiang as well as Shen Chiang (神枪, Magical spirit spear).

In his later life, he became an adviser to Fu ZhenSong, grandmaster of Wudangquan, after famously fighting him to a standstill. Several of Li's students went on to become the personal bodyguards for Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, and Henry Pu-Yi, earning Bajiquan the nickname of "Bodyguard Style.

Biography

Early Life

Li Shuwen, whose given name was Tongchen, was born to a Han ethnicity family in the third year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1864 - though some accounts list his birth as 1862) in Wangnanliang Village, Yanshan County, Cangzhou, Hebei.

Beginning Training

When he was young, he first studied under Zhang JingXing, the fifth generation of Baji, learning Bajiquan for three years and later learned the LiuHe DaQiang for six years under the master Huang Sihai. There are many other stories about his training practices such as:

It his said that Li's home was about 5 miles away from the teacher's home. It would take him around an hour to walk each way, and on his journey he would practice a punch, palm or elbow strike with each step to develop his kungfu on the way. He would hit jujube trees and locust trees with thick boughs, killing them in the process; he practiced with sandbags weighing between 50 kg to 300 kg; when drilling "withdrawing" and "wrapping" techniques with his spear the force would smash the door frame and killed all of the jujube trees in front of and behind his house. Furthermore, he is said to have been so accurate with his spear, training striking on thick and thin trees, that he could pierce the eye of a coin during the day and the head of the incense at night; he could hit the dates out of the trees in the jujube grove by his house; when practicing in front of the mirror, he could touch it with a strike but not break it.

Some alternate accounts credit Jian Dian Sheng (b. 1785) of Meng Village as Li's first teacher - claiming that Li trained with him prior to moving to Luo village.

Continued Training

After twelve years of diligent study, Li Shuwen's masters Li Dazhong and Zhang Keming, masters Huang Shihai, and Zhang Jingxing gave guidance and mastered their boxing skills and spear skills, forming their own style of attack.

During Li Shuwen's martial arts training, due to his smart talents, amazing power, and willingness to study hard to practice, he was greatly loved by two masters Li Dazhong and Zhang Keming. Li Dazhong, Zhang Keming, Huang Sihai, and Zhang Jingxing's master and apprentice are all martial arts elites who are famous for their big guns and mark local records, and they are all from the same village. Li Shuwen's martial arts practice is in the "magic gun den" where celebrities are born in large numbers, and he is like a fish in water.

Career

At one point, while training in his hometown, Li accidentally injured another martial artist who was his senior, using a palm strike, and, as a result, ended up leaving to set up a teaching apprenticeship in Tianjin. During this time, he posted a sign reading "Friends of Martial Arts" in front of the door and carried a staff on the flagpole. As a result, soon after, Beijing’s “big gun” Liu DeKuan made a special trip to Tianjin to challenge Li's skills with the staff. Liu used a heavy 15 kilogram pole while Li took a shorter, six-foot wax rod. After a short exchange, Li defeated Liu handily and was acknowledged as a superior fighter. As a result, Liu would later become his student.

He has served as the head coach and senior advisor of the Guoshu Museum in Hebei, Shandong and Central Guoshu Museum.

In the spring of the next year, the martial artist Yin from Sichuan Province had outstanding spear skills and was invincible in Sichuan. He made a special trip to Tianjin to visit Li and proposed special spear skills. After the two of them hit the pole, Li shot down the opponent's pole. Youbi, Li said: "It's more likely to hurt you, pay attention to your left eye." Yin refused to listen, and rushed into Li. Li Yi sat on the waist, took out the left eyeball of Yin Mou with a pinch, and Yin held it with his hand. Rubbing his eyeballs in and praising him again and again, it really deserves to be a "smart gun". Yin said that he was visiting Li three years later.

In order to cope with Yin’s three years later, Li Shuwen returned to Luo Tuan for the second time to study spearmanship from his master Zhang Keming. Because Zhang Ke was too old next year to demonstrate spearmanship, he used chopsticks. Point a gun to Li Shuwen's spear skills. It took more than three years to study at this time, at which time his spear skills reached a peak, but Yin has never visited again. Later, Master Li Shuwen, Zhang Keming, introduced that he went to Beijing to find Wang Zhongquan, the head of the dart board at the time, to learn cudgel skills. At this time, his martial arts became better again. A leap, reaching the highest limit.

At that time, there was a famous cudgel master in Beijing, known as the "Zhou Iron Cudgel". Zhou's cudgel was more than 20 kilograms, which was very rare in Beijing, and Zhou was domineering in Beijing. Later, Zhou and Li competed with each other. In an instant, Li cut Zhou's finger with a stick and knocked it over to the ground. Li Shuwen won the game beautifully and became famous in Beijing. No one knew it. At that time, many martial arts masters in Beijing felt a little afraid of Li Shuwen.  

1895

　　In 1895, Yuan Shikai began to train at the small station in the southern suburbs of Tianjin. He used various methods and relationships to win over martial arts and powerful men, and heavily hired Japanese karate masters and German military instructors to train his elite troops. Li Shuwen’s master Huang Shihai received Yuan Shikai’s letter of appointment. Because of his advanced age, he recommended his disciple Li Shuwen to teach. After Li Shuwen arrived at the barracks, he was led to see Yuan Shikai in the military performance hall. Yuan Shikai and the instructors saw that he was not amazing, thin and dry, carrying a big gun, and mistakenly thought he was the servant or family boy of the big gun Huang Shihai. When asked about the situation, knowing that Li Shuwen was the instructor for the master, everyone laughed. Yuan Shikai's guard martial arts instructor Ito Taro, contemptuously said to Li Shuwen: "A big sick man of East Asia." And pointed down with his little finger. In an instant, Li Shuwen punished him with his stunt of shooting a wall fly at lightning speed. Everyone was astonished, and Ito was furious. He swung a long Japanese sword and smashed Li Shuwen's head with the momentum of Mount Tai. Li Shuwen flicked his big gun, smashed the knife, and then took advantage of the situation to pierce Ito's throat with a "loach over the flower", then took another big shot and threw the dead body out of the martial arts hall. Everyone exclaimed. Japanese martial arts instructors Akino, Inoue, and Noda saw their companions being stabbed to death by Li Shuwen, and they all swept their swords at Li Shuwen viciously. I saw Li Shuwen attack like lightning, retreat like a arrow, the big spear flicked like a dragon out of water, stab left and right, and suddenly flesh and blood flew. In an instant, the bodies of three Japanese martial arts masters were thrown out of the martial arts hall. When everyone was shocked, Li Shuwen swung his spear and stabbed the fly on the pillar of the hall. The flies fell and there was no mark on the pillar. Thunderous applause broke out in the hall immediately. Yuan Shikai repeatedly shouted: "Sharp Spear! Sharp Spear! Really Sharp Spear!" From then on, "Sharp Spear Li Shuwen" became famous all over the world.

Fight with Malotov (1910)

The following store is currently lacking in sources. You can help Bajipedia by finding some to help verify.

In the second year of Xuantong in the late Qing Dynasty (1910), it is said that a famous Russian boxing champion Malotov came to Beijing to challenge local martial artists, putting up challenge posters and insulting a number of local artists. After defeating several Beijing and Tianjin martial artists, Zhang Jing-Xing, Li's second teacher who was teaching at the "Chinese Warrior Association" in Tianjin, sent a letter to Li Shuwen asking him to take action. Though Li was tending to his sick master, Huang Si-Hai, in his hometown (Huang had no children, hence Li went to care for him), Huang still sent Li to Beijing for the challenge.

It is said that the difference in stature between the two was significant and Malotov mocked Li by placing hands on his shoulders and spitting at him. Li responded with a whipping palm strike, which dazed him and allegedly tore an "egg sized" chunk of flesh from his cheek. Li then took advantage by following up with techniques from the Liu Da Kai, cracking his opponents ribs and knocking him out of the ring. The Emperor, Xuantong and his court officials were so impressed that they gave a golden Buddha statue as a reward which Li is said to have handed over to his disciple Huo Dian-Ge after returning to his hometown, however, it is said that the statue was last during war.

(1918)

In 1918, Li Shuwen went to Fengtian as a guest at the invitation of Feng's general Xu Lanzhou (Li Shuwen fell in love with Xu Lanzhou and Xu Jiafu, the son of Xu Lanzhou, was a disciple of Li Shuwen). Fengjun General Zhang Zuolin heard the name of "Gunsling Li Shuwen" for a long time, and learned that Gunsling Li was a guest in the Xu Lanzhou department. He personally visited the door and was honored as the chief martial arts teacher of the Fengjun army (the three services are: guard, cavalry, infantry officer training camp). Li Shuwen hindered Xu Lanzhou's face and had to agree. Li Shuwen took office on the first day and was accompanied by Zhang Zuolin to the guard training ground. At that time, it was Japan that supported Zhang Zuolin, a warlord of the Feng system. Therefore, the main martial arts instructors in Zhang Zuolin’s troops were Japanese, followed by Chinese. When Li Shuwen, Zhang Zuolin and the generals sat on the observatory according to their identities, they could see that the famous "Gunsling Li" invited by Dashuai Zhang was a slender, dry, small old man (when 56 years old), many people feel that it is hard to pay. Following the command of Adjutant Zhang Zuolin, the martial arts instructors showed their skills, and the audience continued to applaud. However, Li Shuwen did not have a trace of expression on his face, nor did he applaud to cheer him up, which angered Japanese martial arts instructors, Okamoto and Murano, who wanted to compete with Li Shuwen. Okamoto proposed to Zhang Zuolin: To compete with Li Shuwen, the condition is: if Li Shuwen wins, Li Shuwen will serve as an instructor here, and all the Japanese will go; if Li Shuwen loses, they must leave immediately. Zhang Zuolin also wanted to see how high Li Shuwen's kung fu was, whether it was as evil as people have said, so he used his eyes to ask Li Shuwen for his opinion. Li Shuwen saw Zhang Zuolin's intentions, and he was no longer angry at the challenge to the Japanese, so he said: "The two are more skilled, they are not the same, and they will inevitably be disabled. I am a bad old man who is about to fall into the soil. The Japanese is hurt. I don’t care; but if I hurt the Japanese, how can the Japanese authorities give up with you, Dashuai Zhang. Let’s do this, let’s write a life and death document according to the rules: no matter which side is disabled, don’t pay for your life, so I Only to fight against the Japanese.” Zhang Zuolin had seen Okamoto’s kung fu and thought to himself: Li Shuwen is over 50 years old, and he always doesn’t talk about bones and muscles, how can he hurt Okamoto; if Okamoto hurts Li Shuwen, it probably won’t be fatal. , I am a big handsome, and I have to explain to Xu Lanzhou. So it was agreed that the two parties would make a life and death document, and Li Shuwen walked off to confront Okamoto. Okamoto, who had set up a life and death document, was even more arrogant. He eagerly waved his palms and slammed Li Shuwen on the neck like a tiger catching a sheep. Li Shuwen quickly dodged sideways, and hit Okamoto's shoulder with a palm. Okamoto's shoulder blades were immediately shattered. The Japanese martial arts instructors were not convinced, and they had to compete with Li Shuwen, but Zhang Zuolin stopped them.

Fight with Li Jing-Lin

Various accounts are given for this fight, listed below:

Initially, Li clashed with Li Jinglin's cousin Cane Cane Huang in the Shandong Guoshu Museum, wounding Huang grieviously; he later died of injuries. Li refused to apologize and, as a result, tensions increased. Li Jinglin knew that Li recognizes skill and does not recognize people, so Li Jinglin personally came out and challenged him to a duel. In this account, after a few exchanges, Li Jing-Lin used a diagonal step to advance and place his blade at Li Shu-Wen's throat, leaving him no option but to admit defeatand leave the Shandong Guoshu Museum.

This account is debated for four main reasons:

1. Li Jinglin was a warlord and it is unlikely that he would have challenged Li Shu-Wen over a death stemming from a challenge match
2. Li Jinglin learned from Li Shu-Wen
3. This passage is not well known or published
4. At the beginning of the Shandong Guoshu Museum, Li Shuwen invited by Li Jinglin, and Li Jinglin and Li Shuwen Bajiquan, also asked Huo Qingyun to call him the facade, and for someone who could defeat his master, he would ask his apprentice to support the facade. It might be slightly wrong.

Other statements:

1. Li Shuwen's knife victory over Li Jinglin is from Mr. Xu Yuchen's article "The Anecdote Confirmed by Sharp Spear Li Shuwen". Li Jinglin was indeed not Li Shuwen's apprentice, but a student. It was when he was a supervisor 25 years later. Later, because Li Shuwen killed and wounded the master Li Jinglin invited, the two were estranged. Li Jinglin's kung fu skills are superior to Li Shuwen, which is purely ignorant. As for Wang Xiangzhai and Li Jinglin in Tianjin for 25 years, they only conducted hands-on exchanges. "The Anecdote Confirmed by Sharp Spear Li Shuwen" [ 1 ]

2. Li Jinglin's victory over Li Shuwen was made by Li Jinglin's subordinate Hu. After Li Shuwen killed someone, he left after a dispute with Li Jinglin. But Li Jinglin is known as the sword fairy, and his subordinates like to praise him, saying that he defeated Li Shuwen. Li Shuwen later hated Li Jinglin for spreading rumors, but Li Jinglin was in a high position and he couldn't take him.

3. Huang Zhidong died of Li Shuwen's hand because he was provoked by others, but he was not seriously injured but killed by a palm. At that time, Li Jinglin asked Li Shuwen to teach boxing at Shandong Guoshu Museum. Later, Li Jinglin gave Li Shuwen some ocean to let him leave for a while. Li Shuwen knows that he has been separated and regrets it!

4. According to the memoirs of Mr. Liu Yunqiao:

General Li Jinglin is an excellent martial artist. When he was the governor of Shandong Province, he invited many martial arts masters to teach in Shandong. Once he invited a nicknamed iron-armed player from Shanxi, and hosted a big banquet to entertain him and various martial artists. During the banquets, Li Jinglin would exaggerately praise iron-arms, and the attitude of iron-arms was also Really arrogant, this time I violated the great taboo of the first teacher. After the meal, the first teacher asked the iron arm to fight and try his kung fu. Unexpectedly, the first teacher beat the iron arm to death with a move of the tiger to climb the mountain. Li Jinglin lost a lot of face, and because of this reason for Li Jinglin's rift with Xianshi, Xianshi was soon so angry that he returned to Laoao, Cang County, Hebei, but he vowed that he would return to Shandong gloriously in this life.

1927

In the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927), he defeated Japanese martial arts masters with superb martial arts, and was selected as the martial arts master instructor of the late Qing emperor Aixinjueluo's 9-9 Puyi guards. His nephew Huo Qingyun was the imperial guard. Later disciple Liu Yunqiao (from 1909 to 1992, from Jibeitou Village, Nanpiwangsi Town, Cangzhou), he became his teacher at the age of seven. He has been a master of pure skill for several years, and has been diligent and brave. He defeated the master of Japanese kendo Tokusaburo Ota. In 1949, Liu Yunqiao moved to Taiwan and served as a martial arts instructor in the guards of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo. After retiring, he founded the Taiwan Martial Arts Training Center, with three thousand disciples, all over Asia, America and Europe. The late disciples Li Yuhai and Liu Yunqiao were from the same village. They were the sons of a poor tenant who had been paid to Liu Yunqiao’s house by "Sharp Spear Li Shuwen". They practiced martial arts at the same time as Liu Yunqiao. Li Yuhai participated in the revolution after finishing his martial arts studies and served as a martial arts instructor in the central guard.

Building Reputation        

Later, Li Shuwen went to the three provinces of Northeast China. There was a man called the "Iron Head King" in Changchun. This man was extremely manpower. He could hit 280 catties of stone tablets with his head, and the stone tablets were shattered without any damage to his head. Such a master, then go to compete with this person. "Gunsling Li" said: "I told you to hit me with my head three times, and I would lose. After the three hits, Gunslinger Li did not move. Gunslinger Li said: "Pick me with your head." He slapped the head of the Iron Head King and was killed on the spot. From then on, "Sharp Spear Li" has become a household name in the three provinces of the East, and his fame has greatly increased.

In Tianjin, "Sniper Spear Li" went to Wuqing Chengguan to visit "Nose Li" Li Ruidong secretly, and was found out by "Nose Li". After that, "Nose Li" exchanged skills with "Sharp Spear Li". , They admired each other very much, and then the two knelt down and exchanged posts, commensurate with each other as "senior brothers", and established a deep friendship. At present, the 108-style "Yang-style Tai Chi" boxing method among Bao's Bajiquan is the result of two martial arts masters exchanging skills and exchange of skills, and it has been passed down to this day.

During the reign of Guangxu, Beijing "sacred sticks" Wang Zhongquan and Li Shuwen traveled to Beijing, Tianjin, and Shen to meet Xu Lanzhou. This man was a martial artist. He had known the names of Wang Zhongquan and Li Shuwen for a long time, and he hired Li Shuwen as a military teacher. Later, due to political changes, Xu Lanzhou announced that he would accept the dispatch from the central government. At that time, Xu Jun had five battalions of cavalry, four battalions of infantry, and two battalions of artillery. He left Qiqihar, Heilongjiang for Fengtian, and joined Zhang Zuolin as chief of staff and Jihei bandit. Li Shuwen traveled between Heilongjiang, Tianjin, and Shenyang. At this time, there were many generals in the army he taught. Xu Lanzhou introduced Li Shuwen to Zhang Zuolin. In the army, "Sharp Spear Li" performed spear technique "Three Embrace the Moon", a carbine, the spear flower was like a whirlwind, which surprised everyone present. , Zhang Zuolin, Xu Lanzhou, and Ren Guodong admired the five-body cast to the ground, and since then he has left the "Sharp Spear Li" in the army as the chief instructor. At that time, a soldier in the army was so powerful that he refused to accept the discipline. He was shot six meters away by the hand of a sharp gun Li, then bounced on the wall and bounced back, vomiting blood and died.

Li Shuwen Bajiquan pays attention to the power of nature, that is, the output must be heavy and lively, only in this way can the boxing be used handily. Never use brute force or stiffness. How to use the force of nature requires people who practice Bajiquan to be smooth. To spit and suck, spit and suck freely.

In addition to martial arts, practicing Bajiquan is more important for fitness. This is the first essence of Bajiquan. In addition to practicing Bajiquan, you also need to practice other internal skills, so that you can achieve the effect of training your body and mind. Therefore, in addition to Li Shuwen's Bajiquan, there are various basic skills and qigong matching with it. Only in this way can the qi and blood be more coordinated, the internal organs in the body will be stronger, and the bones and muscles will be stronger and stronger.

Death

In Li Shuwen's later years, his son Li Etang founded the Guoshuguan in Changsha, Hunan. He did not adapt to life in the south and lived in the place of Li Zhifang, the grandson of Beizhakou, the southern suburb of Tianjin. One night in the autumn of 1934, Li Shuwen was sitting on a chair in the courtyard, drinking tea and instructing his grandchildren to practice martial arts. He died of a sudden illness (cerebral hemorrhage) at the age of 72.

"Sharp Spear Li Shuwen" has been upright and upright throughout his life, and he is wicked. He is famous at home and abroad for his fine skills and pure kung fu, suppressing evil, resisting foreign insults, and using force to show his power. According to incomplete statistics, there are as many as 10,000 people at home and abroad among the disciples of "Gunsling Li Shuwen". Every year on the eve of Qingming Festival, worshippers from different countries and skin colors often fly to Cangzhou to worship at Li Shuwen's cemetery.

Martial Arts Career

Tianjing

During his time in Tianjing, he became sworn brothers with with Li Cunyi and Li Ruidong and exchanged his Bajiquan with Li Ruidong for training in Jingang Bashi. This leads credence to the implication that the Jingang Bashi are very useful for Bajiquan, as Li Ruidong was considered one of (if not the) best martial artists in Tianjing at the time - it is not likely that Li Ruidong would have shared his skills for anything that was not of equal value.

When travelling with a young Liu Yun-Qiao to TienJin city, another of Li's disciples, Zhang Xiang-Wu was teaching his young kung fu brother Wu Dang Tai Chi and Wu Dang Sword (Kuen Wu Sword). When he saw this scene, Li questioned Zhang about the techniques and asked to cross swords. According to accounts, Li managed to disarm Zhang multiple times very quickly. When asked what style he was demonstrating, Li replied "WuJi Sword" - a name he had made up - which was an application of DaQiang and Baji techniques into sword. Following this, Li then modified and converted Zhang’s Kwen Wu Sword into “Kwen Wu Jien Route 2” or “Baji Jien”.

Recorded Feats

God Palm Li

Li Shuwen is like a raging fire, jealous of evil like hatred, and he will inevitably help when he sees injustice. In the spring of the seventh year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (that is, 1882), the city of Cangzhou was dry and rainless for a long time. There was a group of bandits in the Dalangdian Reed Dang near Li Shuwen’s home. The bandit leader was named Wang Dahai, who gave him the nickname "Living Yan Wang". Not only did Xiao Yuxiong, who was nicknamed "Black Bear" colluding with the local bully, bullied the male and female, he also dared to rob the market during the day and enter the house at night. 

One day, on the market day, Li Shuwen picked up his shoulder and carried a bag to go to the market. Not long after he arrived at the market, he suddenly heard people shouting in horror: "Run! The bear is coming! Run!" Li Shuwen I thought to myself: I often hear that this bully is bullying and bullying. It is a scourge. Look at me today except this bully for the common people!

Thinking of this, he raised his head and looked carefully. Suddenly, he saw a big black man snatching from the ground with rogues. This black man was seven feet tall, with a big waist and a round beard, and his eyes leaked fiercely. The big black bearish man saw a beautiful young woman on the street. The young woman couldn't avoid it, and was struck by the big black man. The young woman was powerless to struggle and desperately called for help.

Seeing this, Li Shuwen was angry from his heart and stepped forward and shouted: "Stop! Let go of her!" The black man was taken aback, seeing a withered and thin young man standing in front of him, and said contemptuously: "You kid After eating the leopard guts, dare to take care of my Xiao Yuyou's business, and I will kill you." After that, he resorted to a vicious tiger to rush towards Li Shuwen. Li Shuwen saw a group of dark shadows rushing, but he didn't see any panic. He flashed to the left, flew up and kicked his right foot, violently kicking the black man's left rib, the "dog bear" fell to the ground, his ribs When he was kicked off, he vomited blood and screamed on the ground in pain.

At this time, I saw a group of people hurriedly rushing to Wuyangyang from the south end of the market. The leader looked fierce and evil, with a knife scar falling from his face. This person was the bandit "Living Hades" Wang Dahai. From a distance, he saw Xiao Yuxiong, the "dog bear" being knocked over and vomiting blood on the ground, his eyes were splitting, and as soon as he got close, he sprinted with both fists and hit Li Shuwen viciously, trying to kill Li Shuwen with all his strength.

When it was said that it was too late, Li Shuwen saw the double fist attack, stepped to the right, dodge his fist by a few minutes, and then slapped his left hand, and the palm of his right hand from the waist hit the back of his head. Wang Dahai "Head into the neck and the eyes burst out", he was killed instantly. Where did the bandits have seen such an expert! Looking at Li Shuwen's stunned glares, he was so frightened that he pissed off. A group of people hurriedly threw their helmets and armor and fled. In this way, Li Shuwen did harm to the local villagers and won the love and praise of the villagers, who gave him the nickname "God Palm Li".

自此“神枪李书文”的名气就传遍大江南北。Before God Spear Li

There is an old saying that Qin can make up for the clumsiness. Li Shuwen has a shameless appearance, but he is assiduously and practically. In the days of practicing marksmanship, he keeps the essentials of marksmanship in mind every day and practice hard every day. It is said that even on the way home, Li Shuwen practised the fence, holding, and piercing of his marksmanship one step at a time, one elbow. Some people say that because of his great internal skills, he killed several jujube trees in front of his house.

In 1985, Yuan Shikai hired Li Shuwen’s master to train soldiers for his Tianjin Station. Master Li Shuwen, due to his advanced age, handed the matter to Li Shuwen. After Li Shuwen arrived at Yuan Shikai's barracks, Yuan Shikai thought he was a servant or a family boy, and did not put Li Shuwen in his eyes. When he learned that Li Shuwen was training soldiers for his master, the soldiers around Yuan Shikai roared with laughter. How could this ugly and seemingly thin person be an instructor? Some Japanese even humiliated Li Shuwen in public. Seeing this, Li Shuwen drew a spear and pierced the Japanese who had humiliated him, and threw his body out of the lobby. When the other soldiers saw this, they rushed towards Li Shuwen. Li Shuwen stab left and right, advancing like lightning, retreating like bows and arrows, and knocked back the soldiers who tried to deceive more than two. Seeing the bloody scene, everyone present was stunned. At this moment, I only heard one person applauding. Looking back, it turned out that it was Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was surprised and delighted. He called Li Shuwen "Skillful spear! Great spear!".

He lined up his palms indoors, five feet away from the window, and the window paper vibrated with noise; the fly was stabbed with a big staff/stick (gun), and the fly fell without the wall mark. The iron cone entered the wall (earth wall), it was very difficult to pull it out, he stirred it with a big spear, and the cone came out. The folks of his tribe often said that when he helped the villagers collect grain, he turned his back to the cart that carried the grain, hooked up the 80-jin grain bag with his feet, picked it over his head, and threw it onto the cart. When he helped the villagers build the beams of their houses, he used a big gun to pick the purlins onto Fangshan. According to Huo Qingyun, an student of Li's for over ten years and bodyguard of Emperor Xuantong, Li's students weer unable to practice using Li's Great Spear as it was too heavy. He was able to use it to pick up an 80-jin cart and "whirl like a pinwheel" and "practiced like this often, effortlessly".

Legacy

Li Shu Wen's Monument

After receiving contributions from Wu Tan students and supporters, spearheaded by Su Yu Chang, a project was planned to renovate Li's tomb, located in Nanpi, China starting April 22, 2011. His remains will remain in his home town of Nanpi and the monument will include a list of all disciples and students who have made contributions on a commemorative plaque. On April 23, 2011, a grand ceremony for erecting the stele of Li Shuwen, the master of Bajimen, was held in Yanshan County, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province.

Lineage

Bajiquan

Wu Zhong > Wu Ying > Zhang Ke-Ming > Huang Si-Hai > Li ShuWen

Notable Students

 Li Shuwen had many disciples throughout his life, many of whom had went on to become reknowned martial artists in their own rights. Among those who went on to careers in the military were: Xu Lanzhou, Ren Guodong, Chen Fugui, Zhang Xiangwu, Na Yukun, Liu Xudong, Liu Huchen, Shen Honglie, Huo Diange, Xu Jiafu, Xu Jialu, Li Etang, Gao Xichen, Wei Hongen, Wei Hongbin and Liu Yun-Qiao. His students also included eminent martial artists such as Bao Yousheng, Wu Yukun, Yang Tongmao, Zhang Shizhong, Wang Shaoxian, Huo Qingyun, Liu Ziming, Bian Tingjie, Bian Yanbin, Liu Jinshan, Liu Qirui, Li Zikun, Xu Yusheng and Hao Hongchang. Some of his most reputable students are:

• Liu YunQiao - Founder of Wu Tan Martial arts.
• Zhang XiangWu - A notable practitioner of WuDang fist and sword

In popular culture

• Li Shuwen is featured in several chapters of the Kenji manga series, which was written by Ryuchi Matsuda and illustrated by Yoshihide Fujiwara
• Li Shuwen is featured in several pieces of media from the Type-MOON franchise, including:
  • Assassin in the Koha-Ace (コハエース) manga, the Type-Moon Academy Chibichuki! (TYPE-MOON学園 ちびちゅき) manga, Capsule Servant (カプセルさーばんと) PSP VITA game and '''Fate/EXTRA (フェイト/エクストラ) PSP game.
  • Lancer in the "Koha-Ace (コハエース) manga and Fate/Grand Order (フェイト/グランドオーダー) mobile game.

References

China Papers Network http://www.xzbu.com/6/view-2896423.htm