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Sanhuang Paochui or the three-emperor
cannon Chuan is also known as the cannon
Chuan. It is said to have originated from
the three legendary emperors of Fuxi,
Shennong and Gonggong in prehistoric China.
Others believe them to have been the heaven,
earth, and human emperors. Both beliefs are
intended to describe the long history of the
cannon Chuan, which is popular in Beijing,
Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Liaoning, Henan and
Jilin. This style of Chuan owes its name to
its rapid and powerful fist blows which are
likened to firing cannon balls.
According to ancient chronicles, at the turn
of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Monk Puzhao
toured Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, where
he met a Daoist priest from whom he learned
the Chuan. After mastering the art, Monk
Puzhao taught it to Qiao Sanxiu and Gan
Fengchi during Qing em-perors Kangxi and
Yong-zheng's reigns (1622-1735). He taught
Qiao to temper suppleness through hardness,
with suppleness as the core and hardness as
the outward application. In contrast, he
taught Gan to temper hardness through
suppleness, with hardness as the core and
suppleness as the outward application.
The Gan-style focuses on maintaining
health. The two styles gained their
respective followers. During the reign of
Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795), Qiao Sanxiu
passed his Chuan on to Qiao Heling whereas
the disciples of the Gan Fengchi-style are
unknown. Decades later Qiao Heling passed
the three-emperor cannon Chuan onto Song
Mailun and Yu Liandeng. Yu stuck to the
original style of Chuan while Song combined
it with more than a dozen other schools of
Chuan to form different routines and was
later known for his invention of three-hand
holds.
Eventually, people designated the gun Chuan
as the Song-style and Yu-style three-emperor
cannon Chuan while others further divided
the cannon Chuan into Yu's fists and Song's
hands.
 Sanhuang
Paochui is based on the theories of the
positive and negative, hard and supple,
substantial and insubstantial, attack and
defence, as well as advance and retreat.
Cross-hand fist blows are the foundation of
the skills and rounded squatting stance is
the basic stance. The three-emperor cannon
Chuan requires organic combination of eye,
hand and body movements, footwork, spirit,
mind, breathing and generation of force. It
pays attention to the close blending of
mentality, breathing and movements. While
practising Paochui, practitioners should
maintain a still mind and concentration.
When building up power, it is like pulling a
bow and when releasing power, it is like
discharging an arrow.
Cannon Chuan uses suppleness as its core and
hardness as its application and requires its
boxers to be consistent in both attack and
defence. According to cannon Chuan
theoreticians, attack is de-fence and ad
vance is retreat, and vice versa while the
positive and negative supplement each other. |