In May this year, the 188th anniversary party of the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club was held in Xinhui, Guangdong. Mr. Chen Zhongjie, the provincial representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Cai Li Buddha Boxing and the honorary president of the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Boxing Association, accepted an interview with us in his busy schedule, talking about the historical origin of the 188th anniversary of the Cai Li Buddha Boxing Club of the Nanquan school and the development status of the boxing club.
1 Cai Li Buddha Boxing: National Intangible Cultural Heritage Treasure
In 2008, Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Boxing was listed on the national intangible cultural heritage protection list, and this rare and wonderful southern boxing once again attracted the attention of the world. Cai Li Buddha Boxing is a major school of Lingnan boxing, which was founded by Chen Xiang, a native of Jingmei Village, Xinhui, Guangdong, in the 16th year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1836). In June 2008, Cai Li Buddha Boxing was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection catalog, and the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club was the national intangible cultural heritage protection unit. Counting from 1836, Cai Li Buddha Boxing has been founded for more than 188 years, this martial arts school is not secret skills to cherish, break the limit of the surname school, advocate martial arts and martial virtues, known as "the sea meets all rivers, to the martial arts friends" as the creed, so that Cai Li Buddha "from the people, to the people". After two centuries of development, there is a saying in the spread of international martial arts that "there is Tai Chi in the north and Cai Li Buddha in the south", Cai Li Buddha boxing is not only popular in Lingnan, but also throughout the five continents, with more than 13 million learners worldwide, becoming a major sect of martial arts in the world. Cai Li Fo has a huge boxing system, with 39 sets of boxing, 54 sets of pairs, 64 sets of equipment (including 14 sets of stick skills), 18 sets of pile exercises (commonly known as 18 wooden piles), 9 sets of lion art routines and a total of 193 sets of internal strength practice routines. There are 30 types of techniques, 28 types of palm techniques, 29 types of bridge techniques, 35 types of mallet (fist) techniques, 14 types of body techniques, 16 types of leg techniques, and 18 types of footwork. Its boxing features: magnificent, such as the water of driftstones, primary, intermediate and high three levels gradually, rigid and soft, offensive and defensive cooperation. Its action characteristics: fast and fierce, such as the broken owl, kicking, stepping, back staring, solo flying, left and right bows, and changeable footwork. Its move features: the combination of movement and static, such as a calm mountain, but also like a vigorous rabbit, vocal and cheering, flexible and steady, stretched and generous.
Chen Zhongjie believes that Cai Li Buddha Boxing can not only strengthen the body, but also pay more attention to the character cultivation of the inheritor, the so-called "drinking water and thinking of the source, perseverance" is its unique humanistic care, with universal cultural value. The biggest feature of Cai Li Buddha Boxing is to hone people's willpower, improve etiquette literacy, let people integrate into collective life, and treat people and things harmoniously, friendly and lovingly.
2 Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club is 188 years old this year
In 2024, on the occasion of the 188th anniversary of the founding of the Southern School of Wushu Cai Li Fo and the 24th anniversary of the registration and naming of the Xinhui Cai Li Fo Ancestor Boxing Club, martial arts history research experts believe that as the Xinhui Cai Li Fo Ancestor Boxing Club with a history of 188 years, it may be the earliest, longest surviving and oldest Lingnan martial arts professional group in Guangdong Province and even the whole country. Historically, the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club has used the "Hong Sheng" Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Hall, "Hongsheng" Cai Li Buddha Martial Arts Hall, "Xiongsheng" Cai Li Buddha Martial Arts Hall, Jingmei Martial Arts Team and other titles; in 2000, Cai Li Buddha disciples successfully registered a legal civil society with the government civil affairs department, and officially named "Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club", from the earliest "Hong Sheng" Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Hall to today's Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club, the development of the boxing club has gone through 188 years. Today's Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club has become a national intangible cultural heritage Cai Li Buddha Boxing project inheritance and protection unit, and is also a Jiangmen municipal intangible cultural heritage Cai Li Buddha medical inheritance and protection unit, as a non-governmental organization at the same time to inherit two important martial arts cultural intangible cultural heritage items, it can be said to be unique, inheriting the two intangible cultural heritage martial arts culture, and becoming an important responsibility and mission for every Cai Li Buddha disciple in the new era.
3 Loving the country and loving the hometown is the core spirit of Cai Li Fo's martial arts culture
Chen Zhongjie believes that Mr. Chen Xiang, the founder and ancestor of Cai Li Buddha Boxing, practiced the spirit and purpose of "strengthening the clan with martial arts and helping the world with medicine" when he founded the sect in the late Qing Dynasty, and followed it all his life. As we all know, Cai Li Buddha Boxing was born because of the Xinhui County Government's implementation of the "Attack on Bandits and Bao Liang Policy" in the late Qing Dynasty, and because of the "Anti-Smoking Movement" before the "Opium War", it quickly moved from the countryside to the central city; Subsequently, during the period of the old and new democratic revolutionary movements, the spring breeze blew and reborn, and the flowers bloomed and flourished endlessly, which was the general outline of the development of the modern and modern Cai Li Buddha Boxing School.
Time to the present day, the development of the Cai Li Buddha Boxing Association also has several twists and turns: according to the memories of the elderly disciples, after the founding of New China in 1949 to before the reform and opening up, Cai Li Buddha Boxing went into hiding, and there was basically no public inheritance activities; after the reform and opening up, the mind was emancipated, and the folk martial arts movement was able to regain its glory for the rest of its life. There has been a rare upsurge in recruiting young people to teach skills, and young people in rural areas are keen to learn martial arts and are eager to learn from teachers. But with the development of the economy, young people are more forced to leave the countryside to make a living in the city, the rural lion dance team quickly declined, as the birthplace of Cai Li Buddha boxing in Xinhui Yamen Town, Jingmei Village, want to pull up a lion dance team is also powerless, in 1986, overseas Chinese donated funds to build the Cai Li Buddha Boxing Club ancestor site has gradually changed its use, into a folk music club, Cai Li Buddha martial arts culture in the economic tide of loneliness and decline is sighing. The opportunity for change occurred in 1998, Chen Zhongjie and other part of the fifth and sixth generations of Cai Li Buddha Boxing Club disciples obeyed the instructions of their predecessors, carried the banner of the boxing club, and set up the first training point in the North Gate Stadium of Xinhui County, after 20 years of unremitting efforts, it slowly developed to today's scale.
Chen Zhongjie found in his research that in the late Qing Dynasty, the martial artist Mr. Chen Xiang was invited by the village elders to return to Jingmei from the Yongshengtang Pharmacy in Banzitang, Huicheng City, to teach Cai Li Buddha Boxing martial arts. From the details of Master Chen Xiangzu's naming of the fist faction and the fact that the first disciple Longzi is a member of the ethnic minority (Zhuang) in Guangxi, it can be seen that he has a profound mind and pattern as a generation of martial arts masters, and has a profound sense of the Chinese nation. From his exile overseas to spread and promote Chinese martial arts, and finally returned to his roots, Chen Xiang has always spared no effort to promote martial arts, in order to regain his majesty, and it can be seen that he has always been concerned about Sangzi. Therefore, loving the country and hometown, loving Sangzi, strengthening the body and health, and resisting foreign insults are the biggest genes and characteristics of Cai Li Buddha Boxing, which are worthy of serious study and compliance by today's Cai Li Buddha disciples.
4 The "Red Gene" of Cai Li Fo Boxing
The Cai Li Buddha Boxing School was born at the beginning of the turbulent modern history of Chinese society, firmly followed the road of popularization from the countryside to the city, broke the barrier of passing on men but not women, and changed the narrow form of "rich martial arts and poor women" in the traditional sense, and it was destined to spread rapidly and extensively, and the concept of advancing to resist foreign insults and retreating to strengthen one's body and courage will inevitably create countless heroes and heroes! From Feng Yunshan and Liu Lichuan, leaders of the peasant uprising in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, to Kuang Hui'an, a red agent, and Liang Guihua (revolutionary martyr), deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Guards of the workers of the Guangzhou Uprising, Wu Qin (revolutionary martyr) who fired the first shot of resistance against Japan in the Pearl River Delta, as well as the Sanyuanli Anti-British, the Xinhai Revolution, the Provincial and Hong Kong Workers' Strike, the Guangzhou Armed Uprising, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation, each important historical period is engraved with the righteous figures of many Cai Li Fo's sage disciples, these deeds are deeply touching and worthy of being remembered by those who come after us.
According to historical records, Chen Xianggong subdued the foreign strongman Killis who bullied overseas Chinese in Jinshan Dabu, the martial artist Huang Yusheng went to Osaka, Japan to attack and win a great victory, and the martial artist Liu Zhong in Hong Kong in the 30s of the last century, and the martial artist Hu Yunqiu in Foshan in the 40s respectively displayed their heroic style and defeated the foreign fighters who were invincible and vaunted their might, thus winning glory for the Chinese nation.
5 Cai Li Buddha Boxing: The business card of Chinese martial arts to the world
In recent years, Cai Li Buddha Boxing has once again blossomed at home and abroad, fragrant on five continents, and has become a Chinese martial arts business card to the world: in April 2007, "Cai Li Buddha Boxing (traditional sports, amusement and acrobatics)" was selected into the municipal intangible cultural heritage list, in June was selected into the provincial intangible cultural heritage list, and in June 2008, it was selected into the national intangible cultural heritage list. In March 2008, Chen Zhongjie, a disciple of Cai Li Fo, was selected into the list of representative inheritors of provincial intangible cultural heritage projects. In April 2017, the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club was selected as the third batch of Guangdong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Base. After the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club became a provincial inheritance base, the boxing club personnel did a lot of work. From two part-time legacy coaches in 2006, it has grown to eight full-time legacy coaches now. Huicheng training base from 2004 each session of 12 students to the current more than 100 people, but also sent coaches to schools, kindergartens, rural development of inheritance points, the existing Chen Ye kindergarten, Huangchong primary school, Chengnan primary school, Gangzhou middle school, overseas Chinese middle school, Meijiang school inheritance base; Overseas liaison offices include Macau Friendship Cultural and Entertainment Sports Association, Hong Kong Heng Association, Sydney Chua Lee Buddha Boxing Club in Australia, New York Cai Lee Buddha Boxing Association, Vancouver Cai Lee Buddha Boxing Club and other liaison offices. (Jiangmen Overseas Chinese Media Center: Huang Baijun/Photo Report)
In 2023, the 187th anniversary of the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club will be celebrated
Young disciples perform "Fierce Cai Li Buddha"
Chen Zhongjie (second from left), honorary president of Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club, was interviewed and talked about the development process of Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club
The 188th anniversary of the Xinhui Cai Li Buddha Ancestor Boxing Club