Huang Baoshan 

The Martial Lineage of Gansu Tianshui: Masters Shao Yin, Sun Yanbiao, and Huang Baoshan:

Great Master Shao Yin (邵銀, 1862–1930), remembered as “Shao Silver-Earring” (邵銀環), was born in Shaojiacun village (邵家村), Zhangchuan County (張川縣), within the old Longshan garrison (隴山鎮) of Gansu. He was the second of three brothers, known from a young age for his strength and mastery of the Shaolin martial arts. Although his teachers are unknown, his fame spread widely, and in time he became a legend across the province. His nickname came from the silver earring he always wore, which made him stand out among martial performers. Like many wandering masters of the time, Shao Yin earned his living by dueling, traveling, teaching, and performing martial arts from town to town. In his forties, he often toured with a troupe of fighters, presenting spectacular martial shows and qigong demonstrations, following the old tradition of “selling the art” (賣藝) to the delight of village audiences.

Shao Yin mastered the art of hard qigong and an immense repertoire of forms—more than one hundred in total—ranging from boxing to stick methods. His specialties included the Red-Style Boxing system (Hongquan 紅拳) as the Two-Roads Red boxing (Erlu Hongquan 二路紅拳), Small Red-boxing (Xiao Hongquan 小紅拳), Big Red-boxing (Da Hongquan 大紅拳), Small Plum Blossom Boxing (Xiao Meihua quan 小梅花拳), Black Tiger boxing (Heihu quan 黑虎拳), White Tiger Boxing (Baihu quan 白虎拳), Shaolin Eight Drunken Immortals Boxing (Shaolin Zuibaxian quan 少林醉八仙拳), Shaolin Arhat Boxing (Shaolin Luohan quan 少林羅漢拳), Shaolin Bodhidharma Boxing (Shaolin Damo quan 少林達摩拳), the Twenty-Eight Lunar Lodges Boxing (Ershiba su quan二十八宿拳), Seven-Stars Boxing (Qixing quan 七星拳), Shaolin Vajrapani Boxing (Shaolin Jingangquan  少林金剛拳), Hong boxing of Zhili (Zhili Hongquan 直隸洪拳),  Hong Boxing of Guandong (Guandong Hongquan 關東洪拳), etc. His routines were often performed on the traditional “Four Doors” pattern, a cross-shaped design enabling free striking in all directions. Because of this, his art became associated with the style known as “Four Doors Fist” (Simen quan 四門拳), which already had a strong presence in Gansu since the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras, but which Shao Yin enriched with new variations and performance elements. Among his many disciples were Wang Bugao, Sun Yanbiao, Wang Ye, Ma Zhongli, Shao Yinhai, Ma Wangquan, Ma Xingrong, and Ma Jinming, all of whom helped spread his teachings across the region. Shao Yin’s legacy endured through them, representing both the wandering performer and the serious transmitter of martial traditions.

Shao Yin’s foremost disciple was Sun Yanbiao (孫彥彪, 1878–1975), later known as the “Ningxia Military Officer” (寧夏軍官). A native of Tianshui (天水), Sun grew up during the turbulent years of the late Qing and the early Republic. He studied under Shao Yin, acquiring both the breadth of forms and the spirit of his master. During the Boxer Rebellion, he even served as a bodyguard to the Empress Dowager Cixi. In the Republican era, Sun joined the military, eventually becoming an officer in the army of Lieutenant-General Deng Baoshan, stationed in Guyuan, Ningxia. His imposing physique, strength, and martial excellence earned him renown throughout northwestern China, and his followers often called his style the “Military Barracks School” (軍營派), reflecting his years of training soldiers in the army camps.

Sun Yanbiao mastered a vast array of boxing systems as the ones mentionned above, including Black Tiger Boxing, Bodhidharma Boxing, Twenty-Eight Lunar Lodges Boxing, Drunken Eight Immortals Boxing, Jingang Boxing, Arhat Boxing, Rag-Palm Throwing, the Eighty-Three Techniques, Seven-Stars Boxing, and Turning Eight-Steps.

He also preserved and expanded the complete system of Red-Style Boxing alongside Gao Zhangkui, nicknamed “The Hawk.” His weapon expertise was even more extensive, centered on the staff and cane, but also including broadswords, spears, three-section staffs, guandao halberds, double spears, and the meteor hammer. His staff methods included the Straight-line pole (Paikou Tiaozi 排口條子), the White Snake pole (Baishe Tiaozi 白蛇條子), the Yellow Dragon Pole (Huanglong Tiaozi 黄龍條子), the Pole of the  Wulang Spirits  (Wulang Tiaozi 五郎條子), the Plum-blossom Pole (Meihua Tiaozi 梅花條子), The Spiral stick (Niusi gun 扭絲棍), the Drunken Stick of Luda (Luda Zuigun 魯達醉棍), the Eight Immortals Drunken Stick (Zui Baxian gun 醉八仙棍), the Eight Immortals stick (Baxian gun 八仙棍), the Four Gates Stick (Simen gun 四門棍), the Old Han Watching the Field stick (Laohan Kantian gun 老漢看田棍), the Black Tiger Stick (Heihu gun 黑虎棍), the Eight Tigers stick (Bahu gun 八虎棍),  the Plum-Blossom cane (Meihua biangan 梅花鞭杆), the Five Tigers Herding Sheep Cane (Wuhu qunyang biangan 五虎群羊鞭杆), the three sections stick, the Double-headed spear, the Meteor-hammer, etc. among many others. Stories of Sun defeating aggressors, even unarmed or with simple sticks, became legendary, and he was widely regarded as an invincible fighter of his time.

In his later years, Sun returned to Tianshui, where he became a famous local teacher. Among his best students were Xu Shengfu, Sun Dingcheng, Wang Ziyu, Tao Fan, and most importantly, Huang Baoshan (黄寶珊 1910-1998), who carried his lineage into the modern age. Sun Yanbiao passed away at the remarkable age of eighty-eight, leaving behind a flourishing martial tradition deeply rooted in both Gansu and Ningxia.

Huang Baoshan was born in Tianshui and began his training with Mu Songlin before joining Sun Yanbiao. He quickly distinguished himself as one of Sun’s finest disciples, inheriting not only his teacher’s technical repertoire but also his spirit of discipline and humility. Huang rose to prominence in the mid-20th century, participating in the First National Wushu Competition in Tianjin in 1953 and the All-China Competition in Beijing in 1958, where his dazzling performance of the Drunken Stick of Luda earned great acclaim. He also traveled to the Shaolin Monastery and later to Wolong Temple (臥龍寺) in Xi’an, where he studied the Chan-Buddhist Cane with Nine Rings (Jiuhuan chanzhang 九環禪杖) under Abbot Ranzhao. This ceremonial and combative staff weapon, symbolizing Bodhidharma’s nine years of meditation, was used by Shaolin monks for both defense and ritual, and Huang’s mastery of it linked him directly to the most ancient traditions of Buddhist martial arts.

Huang Baoshan’s training methods were as rigorous as his repertoire was vast. Known for his powerful grip, he strengthened his hands by stripping bark from trees and striking heavy sandbags filled with iron. He mastered over forty martial forms and specialized in staff work, while also excelling in striking methods such as Powder Hands (粉手) from Lanzhou. Even in his late eighties, he could effortlessly neutralize attacks, countering with blinding speed. Respected not only for his skill but for his virtue, Huang taught some three hundred students over his lifetime, transmitting the essence of Sun Yanbiao’s system. He exchanged knowledge with such figures as Monk Hai Deng and the famous Hui fighter Wang Ziping, and remained a central figure in the martial world of Tianshui.

During personal encounters, Huang astonished students with his speed and precision. In 1992, when asked to be attacked barehanded and with a stick, he diverted both attempts instantly, counterattacking before his opponent could react, even at the age of eighty-seven. Living simply in his clay house, he embodied the virtues of dedication and humility. After his passing, his close disciple He Tianfu continued his teachings, ensuring that his lineage did not fade.

The stories of Shao Yin, Sun Yanbiao, and Huang Baoshan form a continuous thread through the martial culture of Gansu and Ningxia, bridging the world of wandering performers, Republican-era military officers, and modern Wushu competitors. Shao Yin, the legendary silver-earring wanderer; Sun Yanbiao, the fearsome Tiger of Ningxia; and Huang Baoshan, the national competitor and devoted teacher, together represent the endurance, adaptability, and spiritual depth of Chinese martial traditions. Their lives illustrate how martial arts were preserved, transformed, and handed down through generations, keeping alive the living flame of Shaolin Traditional gongfu in the northwest of China.