Qu Hanquan, a highly skilled modern martial arts master, was born in Guangzhou in 1917, with ancestral roots in Yunfu. He lost his parents at a young age and began learning Cai Li Fo Quan (Cai Li Fo Fist) and Hong Quan under the tutelage of the martial arts teacher Fang Yushu at the age of 12. With his bright and diligent mind, he excelled in his studies and obtained the authentic teachings of Fang Yushu. He also studied traditional Chinese medicine and traditional bone-setting techniques.
In 1932, he opened a martial arts school in his ancestral home left by his father in Guangzhou and invited Chen Yaochi, a third-generation heir of Cai Li Fo Quan, to teach there, embarking on the path of imparting martial arts. In 1937, Qu Hanquan invested in his hometown to establish the “Chengxi Quan Yitang Martial Arts Society,” which integrated a martial arts school, a medical clinic, and a charity hall. Apart from teaching martial arts, the society also provided free medical treatment for the local community.
With decades of dedicated martial arts practice, Qu Hanquan pursued excellence and innovation, inheriting traditional routines while breaking free from their limitations. He reformed more than a dozen important intermediate and advanced routines, such as Bai Mo Quan (White-Haired Fist) and Shi Zi Kou Da (Cross-Striking). By eliminating redundant or unreasonable movements and making appropriate adjustments, he perfected these traditional routines, highlighting the distinctive style of Cai Li Fo Quan in competitions and performances.
Qu Hanquan’s profound achievements in martial arts earned him the highest rank of “Badan” in Chinese martial arts at that time, and in 1995, he was honored as one of China’s “Top Ten Contemporary Martial Arts Masters.” This was the only martial arts master selection since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and Qu Hanquan was the only person from Guangdong to receive this prestigious recognition.
In addition to his martial arts expertise, Qu Hanquan also had a deep understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and orthopedics. With decades of medical practice, he achieved remarkable results in treating injuries to tendons, bones, and lumbar vertebrae. In his earlier years of teaching martial arts, he even operated a clinic for bone-setting treatments. Since the establishment of the Guangdong Martial Arts Hall, he prepared medicines every day and provided immediate treatment for injured students, earning their deep respect and admiration.
Apart from teaching martial arts and providing medical care, Qu Hanquan was dedicated to organizing and preserving valuable martial arts and medical teachings. He compiled works such as “Modern Guangdong Martial Arts History,” “Xiao Kou Da” – a primary routine of Cai Li Fo Quan, and “Notes on Bone-Setting and Traumatology,” making significant contributions to the development of martial arts in Guangdong.
In 1946, he founded the “Xishan Martial Arts Society” in Guangzhou, adhering to amateur teaching while actively collaborating with provincial and municipal sports departments to establish martial arts training classes and bone-setting training classes. In 1984, he served as the head coach of the first martial arts training class at the Guangdong Martial Arts Hall, where he taught Cai Li Fo Quan. Over several decades, Qu Hanquan cultivated numerous talents in martial arts. Among his accomplished students were Chen Changmian, a national-level referee and vice chairman of the Guangdong Martial Arts Association; Peng Zhengting, winner of the first prize at the 1979 National Martial Arts Demonstration; Dong Deqiang, Secretary-General of the Guangdong Martial Arts Association and an official of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Commission; Venerable Yunzhong, the former abbot of Hong Kong’s Bao Lian Temple; and Qiu Jianguo, the champion of the Sixth National Southern Fist Competition. Additionally, numerous winners in provincial and municipal martial arts competitions, such as He Ju, Liang Huatian, Hong Yongxing, Mai Haoran, Peng Zhihui, Huang Zhanrong, Cai Jintang, Liang Jinxuan, Qu Weichang, He Sanmei, and Hong Shaozhen, were also students of Qu Hanquan.
The Unbreakable Bond with Hometown
Qu Hanquan’s hometown is located in the Qiao Wu Dai Wei Village, Yuncheng District, Yunfu City. Although he grew up in Guangzhou, he often cherished his hometown.
In order to promote the essence of Chinese martial arts in his hometown, Qu Hanquan returned to Yunfu in 1934 and opened a “Jian Min Guo Shu She” (Healthy People Martial Arts Society) on Xijie Street in the city to cultivate martial arts talents. A year later, due to some reasons, he returned to Guangzhou, but he frequently visited his hometown and developed a deep bond with his fellow villagers.
In 1966, the “Cultural Revolution” began. As martial artists were relatively marginalized before liberation, they had connections with both the red and black sides. In 1970, Qu Hanquan was labeled as “counter-revolutionary” and a “black instructor,” and his whole family was sent back to their rural hometown in Yunfu.
Back in his hometown, Qu Hanquan, who had nothing to do but couldn’t display his martial skills, couldn’t sit still. He secretly taught some brothers and nephews martial arts and treated illnesses for the villagers. As more and more people in the village learned martial arts from Qu Hanquan and sought his medical treatment, it caught the attention of the commune’s revolutionary committee. They publicly accused him on the radio of running an underground club and charged him with “teaching martial arts and inciting violence, running an underground clinic in the village.”
“At that time, our family was living in poverty. We could only rely on disciples and relatives in Hong Kong to send money to support us. Sometimes we couldn’t even afford a proper meal for several days and had to fill our stomachs with coarse grains.” Qu Weichang had a deep sense of the difficult times they went through. He mentioned that despite the hardships, his father refused to accept any payment from villagers and neighbors who sought his medical treatment. Their meager living expenses were mostly used by his father to buy medicine to help people get better.
Despite the tough environment and humble living conditions, Qu Hanquan still insisted on teaching martial arts for free. In 1972, the only martial arts team from Dai Wei Village in Yunfu that he organized and guided training for was selected by the Guangdong Provincial Sports Commission to participate in the Youth Martial Arts Performance Competition. In 1974, both Qu Hanquan and his son, Qu Weichang, worked as coaches at Yunfu Sports School, where they nurtured martial arts talents for their hometown. One of the players Qu Hanquan carefully trained, Qu Qin, achieved a top-three ranking in Guangdong Martial Arts Competition.
After the reform and opening up, Qu Hanquan’s reputation in Guangdong’s martial arts community grew steadily. In 1992, when Yunfu County established a martial arts association, he contributed significantly to the organization and coordination, and was appointed as the honorary chairman of the Yunfu County Martial Arts Association. Qu Hanquan made positive contributions to the development of martial arts in Yunfu.
The Unbreakable Bond with Hometown
Qu Hanquan’s hometown is located in the Qiao Wu Dai Wei Village, Yuncheng District, Yunfu City. Although he grew up in Guangzhou, he often cherished his hometown.
In order to promote the essence of Chinese martial arts in his hometown, Qu Hanquan returned to Yunfu in 1934 and opened a “Jian Min Guo Shu She” (Healthy People Martial Arts Society) on Xijie Street in the city to cultivate martial arts talents. A year later, due to some reasons, he returned to Guangzhou, but he frequently visited his hometown and developed a deep bond with his fellow villagers.
In 1966, the “Cultural Revolution” began. As martial artists were relatively marginalized before liberation, they had connections with both the red and black sides. In 1970, Qu Hanquan was labeled as “counter-revolutionary” and a “black instructor,” and his whole family was sent back to their rural hometown in Yunfu.
Back in his hometown, Qu Hanquan, who had nothing to do but couldn’t display his martial skills, couldn’t sit still. He secretly taught some brothers and nephews martial arts and treated illnesses for the villagers. As more and more people in the village learned martial arts from Qu Hanquan and sought his medical treatment, it caught the attention of the commune’s revolutionary committee. They publicly accused him on the radio of running an underground club and charged him with “teaching martial arts and inciting violence, running an underground clinic in the village.”
“At that time, our family was living in poverty. We could only rely on disciples and relatives in Hong Kong to send money to support us. Sometimes we couldn’t even afford a proper meal for several days and had to fill our stomachs with coarse grains.” Qu Weichang had a deep sense of the difficult times they went through. He mentioned that despite the hardships, his father refused to accept any payment from villagers and neighbors who sought his medical treatment. Their meager living expenses were mostly used by his father to buy medicine to help people get better.
Despite the tough environment and humble living conditions, Qu Hanquan still insisted on teaching martial arts for free. In 1972, the only martial arts team from Dai Wei Village in Yunfu that he organized and guided training for was selected by the Guangdong Provincial Sports Commission to participate in the Youth Martial Arts Performance Competition. In 1974, both Qu Hanquan and his son, Qu Weichang, worked as coaches at Yunfu Sports School, where they nurtured martial arts talents for their hometown. One of the players Qu Hanquan carefully trained, Qu Qin, achieved a top-three ranking in Guangdong Martial Arts Competition.
After the reform and opening up, Qu Hanquan’s reputation in Guangdong’s martial arts community grew steadily. In 1992, when Yunfu County established a martial arts association, he contributed significantly to the organization and coordination, and was appointed as the honorary chairman of the Yunfu County Martial Arts Association. Qu Hanquan made positive contributions to the development of martial arts in Yunfu.
