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Sun Shaofu (1914 - 1980) Shidaxing

Biography of Sun Shaofu (孫少甫)

Sun Shaofu (孫少甫, 1914–1980) was a Hui Muslim who came from Zhoukou village (周口) in Henan Province (河南省). According to lineage testimony preserved by Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, in 1922 he entered the Zhoukou Mosque and studied Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) under master Shang Xueli (尚學禮) for 11 years of rigorous practice.

 

In 1936, he reportedly won a martial arts competition against Japanese competitors. During the war against Japan, he served as an instructor in the dadao (大刀) unit — the big broadsword being one of Xinyiliuhequan’s essential weapons. He later settled in Shanghai and served in the Shanghai Police Bureau. Like many practitioners of traditional arts, he was condemned to imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution and was rehabilitated in 1978. In the final years of his life, he became a coach at the famous Shanghai Jingwu Tiyuhui (上海精武體育會) — where Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen first studied Xinyiliuhequan. In the same lineage memory, Fu Qinglong (傅青龍) is also remembered as having studied with Sun Shaofu.

Training and Teachers — Zhoukou Mosque Transmission

 

Sun Shaofu’s foundation is rooted in the Zhoukou mosque-based training environment, known for preserving Xinyiliuhequan within Hui community practice. According to Dan’s transmitted knowledge:

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  • 1922–1933 — studied for 11 years at the Zhoukou Mosque

  • Teacher: Shang Xueli (尚學禮)

  • Core tradition: Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) and its internal method

  • Training emphasis: rigorous practice, applied skill, and essential weapons training

Early Career and Reputation

 

Sun Shaofu’s early reputation is linked to both discipline and public testing. He reportedly:

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  • won a major competition in 1936, including against Japanese competitors

  • became recognized for functional skill and strong practical foundation

  • embodied the seriousness of Zhoukou training culture in a period of national upheaval

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His later life also reflects the challenges faced by traditional practitioners across modern Chinese history, including condemnation, imprisonment, and later rehabilitation.

Expansion to Shanghai and Public Service

 

After the war period, Sun Shaofu settled in Shanghai and served in the Shanghai Police Bureau. This reflects a broader historical pattern in which skilled martial artists were absorbed into public service roles, carrying traditional training into modern urban institutions.

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His Shanghai period became a key continuation of Zhoukou transmission into the city’s martial culture and ensured continuity through a time of major social change.

Teaching System and Core Method — Dadao and Applied Tradition

 

Sun Shaofu is especially remembered for his connection to dadao (大刀) instruction during the wartime period. The broadsword is remembered in this lineage as one of Xinyiliuhequan’s essential weapons traditions.

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His teaching emphasis is remembered as practical and grounded, transmitting:

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  • internal body-method and structural power

  • applied function under pressure

  • essential weapons method, especially dadao (大刀)

  • discipline forged through long-term rigorous training

Influence on the Shanghai Tradition

 

Sun Shaofu’s influence is significant for understanding how Zhoukou transmission continued into Shanghai institutions. His later role at Shanghai Jingwu Tiyuhui (上海精武體育會) represents an important cultural continuation — a place where traditional systems were taught and preserved through organized training environments.

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Within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com lineage memory, this connection is especially important because Dan’s first study of Xinyiliuhequan occurred within the Jingwu environment, and because Sun is also remembered as one of the teachers connected to Fu Qinglong (傅青龍).

Lineage and Disciples

 

Sun Shaofu belongs to the Zhoukou-based Hui transmission stream of Xinyiliuhequan. His public roles and later institutional teaching helped preserve the art through historical transitions.

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Within the Taoist-Lifestyle.Com lineage memory, his continuation is especially meaningful through:

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  • Fu Qinglong (傅青龍, b. 1933) — remembered as having studied with Sun Shaofu

  • the continuation of Zhoukou transmission into Shanghai institutions, including Jingwu

Connection to Taoist-Lifestyle.Com Lineage

 

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Within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, Sun Shaofu is remembered as an important predecessor within the broader Xinyiliuhequan / Shidaxing 十大形 tradition and as a historically significant bridge between Zhoukou and Shanghai.

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His last teaching role at Shanghai Jingwu Tiyuhui (上海精武體育會) is especially meaningful in the lineage memory of Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, as it connects to the early environment in which Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen first studied Xinyiliuhequan. In addition, Fu Qinglong (傅青龍) is remembered as having received instruction from Sun Shaofu, strengthening the continuity of the transmission line preserved within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com.

Acknowledgment of Gratitude

 

Taoist-Lifestyle.Com honors Sun Shaofu (孫少甫) as a key representative of the Zhoukou Hui transmission of Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) and as a figure whose life reflects both the resilience and historical challenges faced by traditional practitioners. His rigorous training, wartime service, rehabilitation, and final years of teaching at Jingwu continue to support the living memory of the tradition preserved within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com today.

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