He Quan or Crane boxing is the general name for five styles of crane-imitating boxing. The five styles are jumping crane boxing, flying crane boxing, crying crane boxing, sleeping crane boxing and eating crane boxing, all of which have a history of some 300 years. In south part of China, such boxing is very popular.

 

In the reign of Emperor Tongzhi (1862-1874) of the Qing Dynasty, Fang Shipei, a native in Fuqing County of Fujian Province, went to learn martial arts at the Tianzhu Temple on Mount Chashan. After 10 years of hard training he had achieved a great deal. He saw a partridge perching in a tree and the tree shaking when it cried. He realized that it was an articulation of energy. When he saw shrimps jumping out of water and dogs shaking off the water on their bodies after a swim, he realized that it was the force of vibration. Fang Shipei then tried to combine these forces in his style of boxing to create ZongHequan (the jumping crane boxing).

 

In the later years of the Qing Dynasty, Lin Shixian, an expert in the Yongchun white crane boxing, went to teach his martial arts at Fuzhou. He passed it on to Pan Yuba who spread it to others. When it was passed on to shoemaker Xie Chongxiang in Changle, Fujian Province, it had undergone many changes.

 

Lin Chuanwu from Chengmen of Fuzhou went to study this style at the Shimen Temple. Lin studied with Monk Jue Qing for five years and then went back to Fuzhou and set up a club to teach the fist play.

ShiHe Quan (Eating Crane Boxing)

At the turn of the Qing Dynasty, after learning the eating crane boxing, Fang Suiguan from Beiling of Fuzhou passed it on to Ye Shaotao from Changshan of Fuzhou. Ye also followed Zhou Zihe to master the essentials of the eating crane boxing and all its 36 tricks.

 
FeiHe Quan ( Flying Crane Boxing)

In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Ji, master of the third-generation of disciples of the Yongchun white crane boxing, was fond of the flying crane boxing and learned the essence of it from Zheng Li. Zheng Ji was famous in Fuqing and Qingzhou. His style of fist play was passed down to three more generations and is still practised today. In the execution of the jumping crane boxing, boxers are required to rove around in circles with their bodies and arms relaxed. They build the power and energy throughout their body before passing it to their shivering hands which are held out straight.

 

The crying crane boxing emphasizes forceful palm plays. The sleeping crane boxing stresses trapping the opponent by pretending to be half sleep and half wake. Its actions are fast and hidden, its hand intensive and powerful, and its footwork steady and sound. It imitates the sharp claws of the crane utilizes the power and force of opponent. The eating crane boxing pays attention to hand tricks of claw, palm, fingertips and hooks. It centers on single-hand attack and three-point, five plum blossom stances which are steady. The flying crane boxing imitates the flight, leap, wing extension, walk and stand of a crane. Its movements are comfortably extended, spread out, and true to life. The upper limbs are more used in the actions and movements which have a great variety of changes to deal with different situations. When the opponent is hard, flying crane boxers play supplely to soak up the hardness; when the opponent is supple, they play hard to penetrate.