Wan Laisheng
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wan Laisheng | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 February 1903 Hubei, China |
| Died | 8 August 1992 (aged 89) |
| Native name | 萬藾聲 万籁声 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Style | Shaolin Kung Fu, Zi Ran Men |
| Teacher(s) | Liu Xinzhou, Du Xinwu |
| Other information | |
| Occupation | Martial artist, professor, writer |
| University | China Agricultural University |
Wan Laisheng (Chinese: 万籁声; 1903–1992) was a Chinese martial artist and author.
Wan was born into an affluent scholar's family in Hubei in 1903. He studied at the China Agricultural University and after graduation became a member of the faculty there. It was at the University that he met Liu Xinzhou, who taught him the Liu He Man (Six Harmonies Style) of Shaolin boxing. Wan also sought out the martial arts master Du Xinwu, who was working at the Ministry of Agriculture, and learned Zi Ran Men boxing from him.[1]
Writing career
Whilst working at the University, Wan wrote a series of articles on the martial arts for the Chen Bao Morning News. In 1928, these articles were republished as a book, A Collection of Reviews on Martial Arts. Over the course of his career Wan authored sixteen books on a variety of topics. The most well-known is The Common Basis of Martial Arts (1927), a treatise on many different aspects of the martial arts, with a distinct emphasis on the propagation of martial arts for public health. In The Common Basis..., Wan recommends the investigation and modernisation of traditional Chinese martial arts, a demand that was to be echoed by Bruce Lee and other revivalists some fifty years later.[1] Other books by Wan include titles on philosophy (One Zero Philosophy), medicine and bone-setting (Traditional Chinese Orthopedics), the martial arts (Zi Ran Men, Illustrated Shaolin Lou Han Boxing, Essence of Wushu) and historical biography (Zhang Sun Fen).[2]
