"Small steel cannon" Gao Fuzhou
This side compartment, a stool, a stack of red bricks. A burly old gentleman squatted down and raised his palm, but only saw the bricks shattered and bricks flying...
Over there, a steel ball, a burst of luck. A skinny old gentleman swallowed the steel ball into his belly, followed by a low roar, and the steel ball rolled from his mouth to the ground...
In the world of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and talented Wuqiao Acrobatics, this breathtaking thrilling performance stunned the audience. It was only after a few moments that the people who had eased up with God responded with warm applause and applause...
This is one of the "Eight Monsters of jianghu" "small steel cannon" Gao Fuzhou and "skin and bone" Li Yinhuai, one of the "eight monsters of the jianghu", to send a wonderful hard qigong performance to the audience.
In order not to lose this skill, Gao Fuzhou and Li Yinhuai, who are the 5th generation inheritors of the provincial intangible cultural heritage hard qigong, are still in their posts although they are already in their ancient years.
"Skin and bone" Li Yinhuai
Pat the bricks into the belly and cut the vegetables
"The little copper gong is round and leisurely, learning to play tricks and rivers and lakes." Nanjing took Nanjing, Beijing received Beijing tour..." In the Wuqiao Acrobatic World Jianghu Culture City, Gao Fuzhou, with a thick waist and a round waist and a white beard, knocked on the gong while selling "mouth". He walked slowly onto the stage, and as soon as he got on the stage, he used the acrobatics to bring the audience into a relaxed and humorous atmosphere.
Next, there was the hard qigong hand clapping red brick link mentioned earlier. At this time, the staff moved a bench and placed a stone slab on the bench. Gao Fuzhou laughed with the audience and laid several red bricks flat on the stone slab. Luck — crouching — twisting your crotch — raise your palm and start tapping the red brick with your hand. One after another, I saw that the bricks were slapped into large pieces by him with one palm, and then into small pieces, and the bricks were splashed in the process.
Subsequently, he began to perform the belly cutting of greens. I saw him open his shirt and put green vegetables on his belly, and the knife fell and the leaves flew. His belly was not scarred at all.
"A brick can be photographed by me at most more than 20 pieces." Picking up a brick, Gao Fuzhou, who gave the beautiful name "Small Steel Cannon", said easily. However, the joints of his hands were covered with calluses. The hardships behind this may only be understood by himself.
Gao Fuzhou said that since ancient times, all schools of Chinese martial arts have retained advanced hard qigong skills, but there is a difference between acrobatic hard qigong and martial arts hard qigong. General hard qigong is through a special breathing method, as well as physical resistance to blow training, so that some parts of the body pain tolerance and cell density intensity increased. In this way, the body's endurance is also practiced. However, acrobatic hard qigong is the redevelopment and utilization of hard qigong, with the addition of stories and interpretations.
The gathering of masters is wonderful
Wuqiao's hard qigong project, in addition to hand clapping red bricks and cutting vegetables on the belly, there are also "swallowing steel balls, swallowing swords", "nose nails, eye stubble", "palm splitting stubborn stones", "air breaking wire", "gas breaking steel chains", "steel bar wrapping around the neck", "iron plate shooting ribs", "overhead bottles", "feet stepping on sharp blades to carry buckets", "liding thousands of pounds" and so on.
Li Yinhuai, whose ancestors were qigong artists for four generations, belonged to the "door out". He has followed his father Li Fuyou to learn art and perform since he can remember, and at the age of 13, he went to the rivers and lakes to sell art alone, and was one of the "Eight Monsters of jianghu" in the Wuqiao acrobatic world, known as "skin and bone".
Li Yinhuai, who has trained a steel and iron bone, is witty and humorous in his performance, and has a national atmosphere. His best skills are "swallowing steel balls, eating swords", "breaking steel wires", "steel bars around the neck", "opening bricks with one hand", "two dragons spitting whiskers" and other qigong programs.
After years of polishing by Li Yinhuai, these traditional programs are more thrilling and exciting. Li Yinhuai can swallow three steel balls into his abdomen in a row and spit them out one by one; he inserts a long sword from his mouth into his abdominal cavity; his steel bars wrap around his neck and lock his throat, which can be seen around the field for up to 5 minutes.
In particular, his performance of "Erlong Tushu" was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as early as 2002. During the performance, he inserted two 8-centimeter-long bull bone needles from his nostrils, stomped his feet, and drank, each of which was exposed from his eyes...
Li Yinhuai said: "I have been practicing this trick of eating the sword for more than 60 years, and the sword has also grown in size, from more than ten centimeters to more than 40 centimeters now. When I was a child, I once ate a sword without good luck, scratched my esophagus, and vomited blood. Therefore, if the children have not been taught and practiced hard by the master, do not imitate! ”
Li Yinhuai's son Li Liang inherited his father's business, and from the age of 6 he learned acrobatics with his father, and now the acrobatic world performs "Shangdao Mountain", which is known as "Strange Leg Li" of "Eight Monsters of Jianghu".
Gao Fuzhou lost his parents at an early age and lived with his uncle and mother. At the age of 15, he studied hard qigong under the famous acrobatic artist Qi Qingchen. Qi Qingchen is good at various acrobatics and magic tricks, the most famous of which is "immortal picking beans" and empty bowls to change flowers, wine, copper coins and so on.
In order to earn money to honor his uncle and grandmother, Gao Fuzhou practiced hard qigong. He got up in the dark every day to practice the basic skills, and at night he practiced until midnight. Therefore, he has a solid foundation and has mastered this unique skill with ease. After completing his studies, Gao Fuzhou followed his master to the south and north to perform. "At that time, we mainly walked along the canal by boat, performing acrobatics on boats, docks or in villages and towns along the coast." Gao Fuzhou said.
Once, during a performance in Beijing, Gao Fuzhou split 300 bricks into pieces in one hour. After a figure with considerable influence in Beijing saw it, he repeatedly called "good". The man gave a thumbs up and praised: "Little steel cannon, you are a small steel cannon!" Since then, the nickname of "Little Steel Cannon" has been called away.
Xu Linghui, 35, is 15 years old and studied art with Gao Fuzhou. Now, in the acrobatic world, he mainly performs the sword and eats the steel ball project. During the performance, he can swallow the steel ball in his mouth and swallow it, spit it out by luck, or insert a 45 cm long iron sword from his mouth into his abdominal cavity, leaving only the hilt of the sword.
Gao Fuzhou (right) and his beloved disciple Xu Linghui
Originated from the Han Dynasty, it has been passed down for 2,000 years
Gao Fuzhou said that Wuqiao Hard Qigong originated in the Han Dynasty.
Hard Qigong is rumored to have been transmitted in Wuqiao in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, Liu Xiu, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was chased by Wang Mang to the village of Madian, the king of Wuqiao. Wang Cheng, an acrobatic entertainer in this village, is a righteous man. He changed clothes with the injured Liu Xiu and galloped on horseback to lead the pursuing soldiers away. The pursuing soldiers fired arrows in unison, and Wang Cheng performed hard qigong and horse kung fu, came to a stirrup to hide, and rushed away. After the pursuing soldiers left, Wang Cheng returned unscathed.
"This is the legend of master Wang Cheng, a famous master in Wuqiao, who relied on hard qigong to save Han Shizu." Gao Fuzhou introduced with a smile.
As the saying goes, "one minute on stage, ten years off stage". The art of "cutting vegetables on the belly" seems simple, and it is also very difficult to practice. Gao Fuzhou lifted his clothes, and the dense scars on his belly recorded his years of hard work and efforts.
Gao Fuzhou has received a total of 10 apprentices, and now they are distributed in various acrobatic troupes to perform. He never scolded his apprentices, but was reasonable, telling them to "be a man first, then learn the art" and "to be an actor to practice skills is an invisible passbook"...
"Practice the muscles and bones outside, practice a breath inside, and pay attention to both internal and external cultivation." Li Yinhuai said.
In the years of performance, exchange and inheritance, Li Yinhuai attaches great importance to practicing the real style. He has always instructed his son Li Liang and his apprentices that they must focus on "actual combat" in training, only in this way can they win the reputation of the acrobatic world with a "housekeeping skill", and can they inherit and develop the hard qigong in Wuqiao acrobatics.
(Reporter Niu Jiancun, Cui Rujing, Wei Zhiguang, correspondent of this newspaper, Hong Feifei, photo report)