Wang Xiang Zhai was born and raised In Shenxian County, Hebei Province. He studied Xingyiquan with Guo Yunshen who on his deathbed pronounced that Wang was the only one who could inherit his legacy and carry it foward. When Wang began teaching his own students, he was dismayed at how they payed too much attention to form, but neglected the spirit of Xingyiquan. Wang once said, "In pracicing boxing, one seeks similarity not in form but in spirit. " In the mid 1920's, Wang initiated YiQuan (mind boxing) in order to capture the essence and to perfect the art of Xingyiquan (form and mind shadow boxing). Sometimes it is called Xinyiquan (heart and mind shadow boxing) but it is essentially the same thing. He wanted YiQuan to be a reminder to his students to correct their misconceptions regarding the importance of spirit over form.
Even though Wang strived for perfection, as a true master he realized that actual perfection is unattainable and thus always remained humble to the art.
Wang traveled extensively for a decade in search of a new master who could teach him, but could not find anyone with higher kungfu to himself. Instead, he held competitions among various stylist so that he could make friends, broaden the wushu circles, improve his skills through practice, and study the best of which each style had to offer. Though these friendly competitions were emensely envaluable to him, there was no one on a par with his level. He was unbeatable. Most people would have considered developing this incredible art of Yiquan a once in a lifetime achievement. Maybe Wang would have stopped there, but then came the 1940's...then came WWII...then came the Japanese...
Please watch for History of Dachengquan Part 2 coming soon.
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