inyi Liuhe Quan is a very old, and somewhat rare system of Chinese martial arts, originating in the Chinese military before being passed down among Hui Muslim communities and then finally finding its way to Shanghai at the turn of the 2oth century. The system is considered an “internal” style of martial arts, a fairly fuzzy term, which implies that power is derived through relaxation and correct alignment of the body as opposed to brute force. It is considered the ancestor of several more modern martial arts systems such as Xinyi Quan and Da Cheng Quan.

心意六合拳是一种既古老又稀有的中华武术。它始创于古代的军队，后进入回族社会，然后最终在20世纪初来到上海发展。这门派可以算是内家拳之一。内家拳是一个比较抽象的概念，旨在表示以放松，协调全身来发力 。心意六合拳发展之后又分出了别的门派，比如形意拳与大成拳。

The movements and strategies of Xinyi Liuhe Quan reflect the military nature of the system, as legend has it they were derived from the famous general and patriot Yue Fei, who made a system of hand-to-hand combat based on his high level of skill with the spear and bow-and-arrow. The movements are outwardly linear, however they utilize coiling of the body to generate power, and require flexibility and strength in the hips and waist. There are no high kicks or flashy, performance based movements. The overruling strategy is to engage the opponent directly and finish the fight as quickly as possible, focussing all your power forward. If you imagine a regiment of troops in battle, all marching forward towards the enemy, then this concept is easy to understand. Just as a regiment moves as a whole unit, in Xinyi Liuhe Quan, the body also moves as one. The Chinese word Liuhe in fact means “six harmonies” and refers to the feet, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and hands all moving unison. At the same time the practitioner must have a kind of “killer intent” when they fight, concentrating totally on the task at hand, which is one of several interpretations of Xinyi, which literally translates as heart-mind.

心意六合拳的动作的拳论以军队思想为主。据传 它是从爱国将军岳飞根据他高水准的矛枪以及弓箭术所创建的近身格斗发展而来。动作外观看似直线，实则它以身体转动来发力，因此要求很灵活的胯和腰。像高踢腿这样夸张的表演性动作，最大的概念是向前注力，直面迎接对方的攻击，以最快的速度击倒对方。把这个概念简化理解，就是把它想象成一个部队，几十人一起向敌方进军。就像一个部队需要协调，一个人身体也需要协调。六合就是讲究这点:脚，膝，胯，肩，肘和手都要同时动。同时练拳的人也要在练习中培养有“杀气”的眼神。这也是心意的一个解释。

The core of the system is made up of Shi Da Xing, or ten great shapes. In fact, in Shanghai, the system is colloquially known just by that name. The ten great shapes are ten different animals, however it doesn’t mean imitating animals movements, rather understanding and implementing the characteristics of certain animals, for example the raw power of how a tiger pounces on prey, the agility of a monkey or the speed and viciousness with which an eagle swoops. The ten animals are: hawk, eagle, chicken, swallow, snake, dragon, bear, tiger, monkey and horse. Each animal has its own strategies and techniques, and suits a person of a certain body type, for example a large bulky framed person might focus on bear, which uses a lot of heavy power to overwhelm, whereas a slim framed person might focus on swallow, which swoops down suddenly only to dart up again unexpectedly. Several weapons are also taught, including of course, the spear, as well as the sabre, sword and two-sectioned staff. The weapons are regarded as an extension of the hands, and so the techniques and strategies are much the same regardless.

这门派里最主要是叫十大形。其实在上海本地心意六合拳就被称为十大形。十大形就是十个动物，不过它不等于模仿十个动物的样子，而是要理解那些动物的精髓以及利用它们的特点，比如老虎捕食的力量，猴子的灵活或者老鹰抓食物。十大形有：鹞，鹰，鸡，燕，蛇，龙，熊，虎和马。每个形适合一个人的体制，比如一个身体壮的人可能会练熊形，而一个身体瘦的人可能适合燕形。心意六合拳也有练兵器，包括枪，刀，剑，盘龙棍等。

Besides being an effective fighting system, Xinyi Liuhe Quan is also well known for the longevity of its practitioners. Many masters have lived to be in their 90s and even 100s and practiced right up to their last days. This is due to the holistic workout gained through training; there are three levels a student will go through. The first will be training of the muscles, the second is the training of the tendons and bones, and the last level is the training of the blood and qi. The combination of relaxation and tension, as well as the twisting movements of the trunk of the body ensure a whole body workout, while various meditative exercises are also carried out to train the mind.

除了非常实用以外，心意六合拳也是很讲究养生的，而且练习者经常很长寿，他们活到90岁以上还一直能打拳。这是因为心意六合拳的训练方法对人的整个身体有很好的作用。训练有三个阶段：第一是练肌肉，第二是练骨头和筋，第三是练血和气。松紧的结合，加上经常扭动身体的动作形成一个非常完整的训练，同时也有一些内功法可以让心静下来。

Xinyi Liuhe Quan was passed down in Henan province among communities of Muslim Hui people, who were historically very conservative and closed people, due to discrimination by the Han majority. It is possibly due to this that the system was able to remain relatively unchanged and preserve the brutal nature that arose from its military origins. It was brought to Shanghai early in the twentieth century by a man named Lu Song Gao, a native of Zhoukou County in Henan. Born in 1875 and passed away in 1961, he began his martial arts training during childhood, studying under the seventh generation master Yuan Feng Yi. As a young man he took a job as an armed bodyguard escorting cargo around China, before moving to Anhui and Nanjing, before finally settling in Shanghai where he was hired to work security at a flour factory. It was here that he had a lot of free time to refine his art, and his reputation grew as an excellent fighter. During this time he made acquaintance with a man named Ding Ren 丁仁, who was also a native of Henan.  Ding was also highly, and was two generations higher than Lu. Being impressed with Lu’s skill, he told him that passing on Xinyi Liuhe Quan would be his responsibility, and so spent the next six months visiting him in the Mosque daily to learn all he could from him.

Transmission outside of the Muslim community is generally acknowledged as beginning with a man named Jie Xing Bang, who was originally a native of Hebei province, but grew up in Shanghai where he was an underground agent for the communist party while working as a police detective for Yangpu district during the Republic era. At 1.9m tall, he was keen on martial arts from a young age, and in order to study Xinyi Liuhe Quan pretended to be a Muslim to gain access. He became a student of Lu Song Gao and became a top class fighter who was admired by his peers. It was after encountering him that Lu Song Gao opened his doors to all whether Muslim or not.

被当时在河南的回族百姓传承下来。因为过去回族受到汉族的歧视，他们很保守，不往外传。因为这样的背景，心意六合拳几百年没有什么变化，一直保持原滋原味。20世纪卢嵩高大师把心意六合拳带到上海来，在这里让它发扬光大。卢嵩高是河南周口人，回族，生于1875年，卒于1961年。他从小习武，跟随第七代传人袁凤仪学心意六合拳。年轻时他当了保镖，走遍四川，安徽，江苏等地区，然后最终来到上海居住。他当时在上海普陀区的一家面粉厂做保安，有很多时间可以研究武术提高自己，从而成为了小有名气的斗士。这时，他也认识了丁仁，也是河南人，第五代心意六合拳传人。丁大师对卢很满意，叫他后半年每天来到清真寺，跟他学习。如同大家了解的，解兴邦开始将心意六合拳传出回族社会。。他是河北人，在上海长大，是一个中共地下党党员，白天在杨浦区当警察。身高1米9，他也从小喜爱武术。为了学到心意六合拳，他装自己是回族人，认识到卢大师。逐渐的，他成为了卢大师的高徒，并让其他同门师兄弟羡慕不已。也正是因为他，才让卢大师决定开放传授大门，无论是不是回族人。

Since that time Xinyi Liuhe Quan has spread throughout Shanghai and become one of its representative martial arts styles. Today you can find people in almost every park in the city practicing in the morning, who are attracted to it for its health benefits, as well as more serious practitioners who practice the system in its entirety, albeit often behind closed doors. My teacher, Yu Jiang, a native of Henan, is one of the leading masters of Xinyi Liuhe Quan currently teaching in Shanghai today. A second generation descendant of Lu Song Gao, he is one of few who openly teach the system without holding back any “secrets”.  I would like to thank him for contributing much information to this article, as well providing all the photographs.

从此心意六合拳在上海发扬光大，变成上海的代表拳之一。如今早上每个公园都能看到老百姓练心意六合拳以强身健体，还有一些更认真的人还保持它的实战性，当然，通常都在门内。我的老师，余江，河南人，是在上海教正宗心意六合拳的老师之一。他是卢大师的第二代传人，而且他教拳很开放，不保守。我也特别在此感谢他为我提供了宝贵的资料和照片。

The author is an international student at the School of Chinese Studies and Exchange, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).