Zui Quan

Drunken boxing (zui quan 醉拳) is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Drunkenness is a theme linked to the Taoist tradition since antiquity, which knew a form of drunken dance named Zui Wu (according to the Jinbi Shilei).

Drunken boxing is mentioned for the first time in the Quanjing Quanfa Beiyao, a work written under the Ming (1368-1644) or the Qing (1644-1912), which transcribe the song of the eight drunken immortals (Zui Baxian Quang). Drunken boxing is a mimetic style, like the animal styles.

Originally it is a matter of simulating the state of inebriation and of using suppleness and relaxation in order to fight. There exist different traditional forms of drunken boxing:

• boxing of the eight drunken immortals (zui baxian quan).
• boxing of the drunken ascetics (zui luohan quan).
• boxing of the drunken madman (zui dian quan).
• boxing of the drunken monkey (zui hou quan).
• boxing of the drunken praying mantis (zui tang lang quan).
• the boxing of white wine.
• …

Some of these styles include weapons such as the drunken staff (zui gun), the drunken sword (zui jian) and the drunken spear (zui qiang). There are several well-known forms of drunken boxing. The boxing of white wine is in all likelihood the oldest.

The boxing of the Eight drunken immortals, which is the best known and the most widespread in the world, mimics the different attitudes that characterise each of the eight drunken immortals of the Taoist pantheon. Each sequence has a martial specificity and characterises the immortal it represents.

Sometimes the hands and the elbows will be the most used parts of the body, sometimes the feet. The personality of each immortal gives the execution of the sequences a theatrical aspect, which marks the importance that these eight figures have in Chinese folklore.

One clearly makes out the handicap of the lame immortal (Li Tieguai), which is practised by calling above all upon one leg. Han Xiangzi pretends to play the flute.

The one and only female immortal of the group (He Xiangu), whose femininity is clearly displayed in the taolu, uses many hip movements and a typically feminine gesture. In traditional drunken boxing the movements have a martial meaning.

This makes all the difference from a purely aesthetic execution of the form, such as is found in the modern forms. A perfect execution, in which "force" (fa jing) manifests itself, is still transmitted today, even if its development has remained limited.