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Lu Songgao (1875 - 1961)

Biography of Lu Songgao (盧嵩高)

Lu Songgao (盧嵩高, 1875–1961) was a Hui Muslim master from Zhoukou (周口), Henan Province (河南省) and is remembered as a major transmitter of Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) and the Shidaxing (十大形) tradition in Shanghai. According to lineage testimony preserved by Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, Zhoukou harbored practitioners of Xinyiliuhequan since the Ming Dynasty, and Lu Songgao is remembered as an eighth-generation successor of this tradition.

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In his early years, he worked as a bodyguard, in a period when martial artists were hired to protect villages and mosques. He is remembered as the first to leave the Zhoukou Muslim region to teach his art outside its secluded community. In the 1930s, he settled in Shanghai and began teaching both Hui and non-Hui students — a step that reportedly drew criticism from some within the Hui community.

Training and Teachers — Henan Xinyi Transmission

 

Lu Songgao’s training is traditionally placed within the Henan Xinyiliuhequan stream, rooted in long-standing practice communities in Zhoukou. His teacher is recorded as:

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  • Yuan Fengyi (袁鳳儀) — primary teacher in the Henan line

  • Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) — internal boxing method emphasizing intent, structure, and harmonies

  • Shidaxing (十大形) — ten animal strategies transmitted as a core teaching frame in the Shanghai tradition

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Lu’s method is remembered for practical clarity: structural power, direct application, and strong internal body method.

Early Career and Reputation

 

In his early period, Lu Songgao is described as working as a professional bodyguard, reflecting the wider historical role of martial specialists in community protection, including safeguarding villages and mosques. In later martial biography traditions, he is consistently remembered as a fearless and expert fighter whose skill carried real authority.

 

While many stories belong to later martial portrait traditions, the consistent memory of his reputation contributed to his ability to establish students and teaching activity outside Zhoukou and later in Shanghai.

Expansion to Shanghai

 

In the 1930s, Lu Songgao settled in Shanghai and began teaching Xinyiliuhequan publicly. His teaching extended beyond the Hui community to include non-Hui Chinese students, which reportedly led to criticism from some within the Hui community, since the art had previously been transmitted in a more secluded cultural setting.

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Shanghai became the place where Xinyiliuhequan was widely associated with Shidaxing (十大形), and Lu Songgao is remembered as a foundational figure in shaping this teaching stream.

Teaching System and Core Method

 

Lu Songgao transmitted Xinyiliuhequan / Shidaxing as an internal training system centered on:

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  • internal body-method and structural power

  • direct martial function rather than performance

  • the ten animal strategies of Shidaxing (十大形) as a core pedagogical framework

  • applied understanding through practice and testing

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His transmission is remembered as both technically clear and socially decisive: it moved the art from a guarded community inheritance into a broader teaching tradition.

Influence on the Shanghai Tradition

 

Lu Songgao’s influence is essential for understanding the internal culture of Shidaxing in Shanghai. His Shanghai teaching established:

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  • a recognizable pedagogy centered on the ten animal strategies

  • a broader transmission network reaching beyond one community

  • the conditions for later inheritors to carry the tradition forward

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His reputation was further strengthened through students who held him in high regard and helped spread his name and influence.

Lineage and Disciples

 

Lu Songgao taught a range of students in Shanghai, including both Hui and non-Hui practitioners.

According to Dan’s transmitted knowledge, notable students include:

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Tao Zihong later taught many students, including:

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Connection to Taoist-Lifestyle Lineage

 

Within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, Lu Songgao is honored as the key origin figure of the Shidaxing stream preserved in the modern teacher line. According to internal lineage testimony:

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This lineage preserves the Henan–Shanghai tradition of Xinyiliuhequan and Shidaxing within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com today.

Acknowledgment of Gratitude

 

Taoist-Lifestyle.Com honors Lu Songgao (盧嵩高) as a major lineage master in the Henan–Shanghai transmission of Xinyiliuhequan / Shidaxing 十大形. His role as transmitter and bridge figure continues to support the living practice of internal martial method and its preservation within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com

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