Huo Yuan Jia (Chinese: 霍元甲; pinyin: Huò Yuán Jiǎ) (c.1867-1910[1]) was a Chinese martial artist and co-founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Association, a martial arts school in Shanghai. A practitioner of the martial art Mízōngyì,[2] he is considered a hero in China for challenging foreign fighters in highly publicized matches at a time when Chinese sovereignty was being eroded by foreign concessions and spheres of influence.
Biography
Huo Yuan Jia (Fok Yun Gap in Cantonese) was born sometime between 1867 and 1869 in Xiaonan Village in Jinghai County in Tianjin, the fourth of his father Huo En Di's ten children. Huo En Di made his living by guarding merchant caravans traveling to Manchuria and back, as members of families with a long tradition of martial arts like the Huos often did, but the family's primary source of income was from farming. The Huo family had a long tradition of being practitioners of Wushu; Huo Yuan Jia, however, was born weak and susceptible to illness (at an early age he contracted jaundice that would recur periodically for the rest of his life), so his father forbid to teach him Wushu.
Because of his weakness, Huo En Di wanted his son Huao Yuan Jia to pursue scholarly interests instead of learning Wushu. This was perhaps a blessing, as he in later life became renowned for his humbleness and educated judgment, however at the time it was a great hurt to his pride. Local eight and nine year old children had continuously taken advantage of him frequently being ill, defeated and humiliated him even after he turned twelve. His father hires a tutor from Japan, Chiang Ho San, who in exchange for being taught his family style of martial arts called Mízōngyì, teaches Huo Yuanjia the values of humility and perserverance. Refusing to accept his father's word, Huo Yuan Jia hid in bushes and even dug out a small hole in the wall of the training area and secretly observed his father teaching his family's style of martial arts. Each day he quietly sat and watched, and each night he went to a tree grove and practiced secretly with Chiang Ho San. This continued for about ten years.
In 1890, a martial artist by the name of Du came from Henan Province to visit the Huo family. His manner provoked a trial of strength with the boxers of the family. After seeing a demonstration by Yuan Jia's younger brother, he was goaded into a fight. Huo Yuan Jia’s brother was beaten, but to the family's surprise Yuan Jia himself got up and avenged his brother’s defeat. No one expected Yuan Jia to win, but win he did. His father then officially accepted him and taught his younger son all that he knew. His name started to spread and he soon began defeating neighboring practitioners in local contests. These bouts made Huo Yuan Jia famous in his village and the neighboring areas.
Huo Yuan Jia began working in unison with his father, it has been said that one day, while escorting a group of traveling religious men, the two Huo men were confronted by a bandit who gave them a letter threatening the monks with an attack from his army. Unperturbed, Huo Yuan Jia met the bandit leader's challenge and defeated him, breaking both of the bandit’s arms in the process; his many troops dispersed. Knowledge of this feat spread fast, adding further to the growing fame of Huo Yuan Jia. On his return to his home he sold firewood to make a living, later taking jobs from a local loan collector as well as from a friend in the herb business, where he learned much about the world, and about the threat that the western imperialism posed towards China. The Boxer Rebellion helped to accentuate his growing realization that China was being torn up and humiliated by foreign powers, both Western and Asian.
During that time, China was in a state of turmoil. It was the end of the Qing Dynasty and China was weak and politically confused. The country was suffering from one natural disaster after another on top of oppression by European colonists. The Chinese people were regarded as invalids because of the miserable economic conditions. Many western foreigners arrived and referred to the Chinese as the "Sick Men of Asia". Phrases such as 'No Dogs and Chinese Allowed' were widely used by the Europeans forcibly occupying territories in China.
Huo Yuan Jia's real fame came when, in 1901, he responded to leaflets advertising a challenge by a wrestler from Russia in Xiyuan Park, Tianjin, where Huo Yuan Jia had already won many victories. The wrestler had openly insulted the Chinese, calling them "Asian weaklings" and the "Sick Men of the East" because no one would accept his challenge to a fight. When Huo Yuan Jia accepted his challenge, the Russian, who claimed to be the strongest man in the world, forfeited. He said through an interpreter that he was merely putting on a performance and that he had to make such challenges in order to make a living. Huo Yuan Jia then asked the Russian write an apology in the newspaper, which the Russian reportedly obliged.
Between 1909 and 1910, Huo Yuan Jia, accompanied by his apprentices Liu Zhen Sheng and Zhang Wenda, traveled to Shanghai twice to accept an open challenge posed by a boxer from Britain named Hercules O'Brien. The match was preceded by disagreement over the rules by which it would be governed. O'Brien insisted on Western boxing rules limiting attacks to punches above the waist. Huo Yuan Jia, on the other hand, was more accustomed to the rules of Chinese Leitai challenge matches, which lacked such restrictions. They finally agreed that the first person to knock down his opponent would be considered the winner; however, the match never took place, as Hercules O'Brien left the area before the date of the match. Thus, Huo Yuan Jia's fame spread even further and wider.
The teacher of the bandit whom Huo Yuan Jia had defeated on behalf of the monks, Zhang Wen Dat, held a month-long competition, inviting all contestants in the hope of luring Huo Yuan Jia. Yuan Jia however, felt no need to prove himself, so he did not enter. After the competition ended, Zhang Wen Dat, who had still not attained his aim, encouraged by an entourage in Shanghai, contacted Huo Yuan Jia and openly challenged him. Yuan Jia, feeling ill, allowed his top student Liu Zheng Shen to meet the challenge, and the two battled it out. No decision could be reached after a considerable period, and the next day the newspapers printed the result. Huo Yuan Jia fearing that such coverage by the papers might attract a bad element, approached Zhang Wen Dat to suggest an end and to "shake hands", but this was rebuffed by Zhang Wen Dat.
Following further derision from Zhang, Huo Yuan Jia finally accepted his challenge and defeated Zhang Wen Dat with just two moves. Huo Yuan Jia said to Zhang Wen Dat that although he was Chinese he had not learnt how to act humbly. His disappointment in people like Zhang Wen Dat and his realization that there was a new growth in the use of new technology like firearms led Huo Yuan Jia to debate the practical uses of Wushu, and he confided this to a friend. His friend said to him that, as Chinese people, they should just do their best, in practice, physically and mentally, therefore improving themselves spiritually, this being a timeless and most important aspect of Wushu, regardless of improving technology or unscrupulous people. These words inspired Huo Yuan Jia, and with the encouragement of his friends, money from sponsors, and the support from much of the population of Shanghai, he set up the Chin Woo Athletic Association at the North Gate of the city. But Huo Yuan Jia needed to disguise the fact that this school was for the learning of self-defense, the building up of health and mind, and the instilling of pride and patriotism into its members and the surrounding community. He thus opened it as an "athletic association" instead of calling it a "wushu school" in order to shroud its main intentions by supporting all physical exercises and activities.
The popularity of Huo Yuan Jia and what he stood for was obvious from the number of members who joined the club at the outset. The Chin Woo became very popular, and in its first summer its ranks swelled dramatically. Yuan Jia, still suffering bouts of jaundice and now tuberculosis, started seeing a Japanese doctor for medication and treatment and his health steadily improved. With his improving strength and speed, Huo Yuan Jia's impressive reputation was soon known throughout the Japanese martial arts schools. Yuan Jia's doctor, a member of the Japanese Judo Association, based in Shanghai, invited Huo Yuan Jia to a competition.
Huo Yuan Jia's top student, Liu Zheng Sheng, competed with a Judo practitioner. What happened next has been long disputed by both sides. The Japanese claimed their student won the match, and the Chinese claimed that Liu Zheng Sheng had won. What is generally agreed by both sides is that the disagreement ended up in a brawl and ten members of the Judo team were injured, some with broken fingers and hands, including the head instructor's. News that the entire Judo team was defeated singlehandedly by Huo Yuan Jia spread quickly throughout Shanghai. Embarrassed by such news, the Japanese government ordered the Judo team, as well Yuan Jia's doctor to return immediately to Japan.
With his doctor gone, Huo Yuan Jia's health seriously declined. He became violently ill and passed away on August 9th, 1910 at 41 years of age. (Some say it was 14th of September 1909 but this is debatable.) It is rumored among some Chinese, including some of his descendants, that the Japanese may have secretly poisoned him as revenge for their defeat during the Judo competition. However, it is more likely that Yuan Jia succumbed to tuberculosis. Before the advent of antibiotics, mercury, lead, antimony and arsenic were commonly used to treat tuberculosis, which might have perpetuated the poison theory.
Huo Yuan Jia died only months helping found the Chin Woo Athletic Association. Because Huo Yuan Jia was widely admired as a Chinese national hero, a series of other masters agreed to teach at the school including Eagle Claw master Chen Zizheng, Seven Star Praying Mantis master Luo Guangyu, Xingyi master Geng Xiaguang, and Wu Jianquan, the founder of Wu style Taijiquan. Due to Huo Yuan Jia's popularity and recent death, the masters had decided that he should be the "face" of Chin Woo, resulting in his strong association with it.
In July 1919, Shanghai Chin Woo Association sent five representatives to Southeast Asia to perform a missionary program to expand the Chin Woo activities overseas. They were Chen GongZhe, Li HuiSheng, Luo XiaoAo, Chen ShiZhao, and Ye ShuTian. They made their first stop in Saigon, Vietnam. They opened the first Chin Woo School outside of China there and later in parts of Malaysia and Singapore. To prove their skills, they were often required to give demonstrations or accept challenges. By 1923, these five Chin Woo Masters had opened Chin Woo schools all over Southeast Asia and visited nine different countries.
Currently, Chin Woo is one of the largest Wushu organisations in the world with branches in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Poland, Canada, UK, USA, Australia, and Switerland. It is so well known that famous actors such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li have made movies using myths, history, and achievements surrounding his life.
Huo YuanJia's legacy was carried on by 3 sons and two daughters and now has seven grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
In popular culture
The 1982 Chinese film Legend of a Fighter has often been cited as the first film to feature the character Yuan Jia. It follows him as a young boy where as the youngest of several brothers, his legendary "Huo family style" father refuses to teach him Kung-Fu because he perceived Huo to be weak, and undeserving of kung-fu education. His father enlists a Japanese teacher to educate the boy and distract his attention away from fighting, unbeknownst that the new teacher is a Japanese master who shares something in common with the boys branded "weakness". In secret, young Yuan Jia trains for eight years until the day arrives when he displays his honed abilities in defence of his ailing father.
The films Fist of Fury (1972) and its remakes New Fist of Fury (1976) and Fist of Legend (1994) are fictionalized accounts of the events following his death. The main character in all of these films is a fictional student of Huo Yuan Jia named Chen Zhen, who was portrayed by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury, Jacky Chan in New Fist of Fury and Jet Li in Fist of Legend. [1]
The film Fearless (2006) is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuan Jia, who is played by Jet Li.
See also
Notes
- ^ chinwoo.org.cn states that the Chin Woo association was founded on July 7, 1910. An interview with Huo Yuan Jia's great-grandson states that he died about 70 days after the Jingwu school was founded. However, chinwoo.com states August 1909 as the date of death.
- ^ Draeger, Donn F. (1980) [1969]. Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts. Tokyo: Kodansha International. p. 23. ISBN 0-87011-436-0.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Huo Yuan Jia's descendants seeks apology from Jet Li", Xinhua
References
Some versions of history presented by the links may not be true and is based upon unsubstantiated rumors and views. Some events of Huo Yuan Jia's life is poorly recorded and based upon myth and legends. Fok Yuen Gap is the Cantonese name for Huo Yuanjia.
- Chin Woo History
- Chinwoo Athletic Association As A Positive Expression Of National Chinese Feeling
- The Chin Woo Founder Master Huo Yuan Jia
- Britsh version
- Wushu and Qigong
- British pharmacopoeia dating from 1917 regarding the use of arsenic as treatment of tuberculosis
- Earlier film protraying Huo Yuanjia's biography