Ru Jia Quan
Confucian Family Boxing
Video for the inclusion of Ru Jia Quan as one of Fuzhou's official Intangible Cultural Heritages.
This tape includes footage of both the present inheritor Pan Liteng and his teacher master Tu Jiqing.

Ru Jia Quan is a rare system practiced in the Fuzhou city area.
The style it's self is divided into four sections consisting of Ru Fa "Confcuian Scholar's Methods", Ji Fa "Rooster Methods", Gou Fa "Dog Methods", and Yu Fa "Fish Methods"
The known history of the style traces back to the Qing/ Republican transition period when army cook Chen Peiguan was stationed with division in the Guan Di Shrine in Quanzhou.
While there he would practice boxing in the Shrine hall when ever no one was around.
The shrine's Miaozhu (ritual functionary in charge of incense and other duties) happened to see him there often at practice.
Seeing Chen's enthusiasm, effort, and good foundation he decided to pass on the secret boxing methods that had been practiced at the shrine.
This system was called Ru Jia Quan "Scholar's Boxing" and consisted of 4 distinct methods of boxing each with their own forms, special skills and training regimen. These were Gou Fa "Dog Methods", Ji Fa "Rooster Methods", Yu Fa "Fish Methods" and Ru Fa "Scholar's Methods".
Chen stayed at the shrine and mastered each of these methods before retiring from the army and returning to his native home in Fuzhou.
There he settled in the Old Drumtower District of Fuzhou city and met a young man named He Guohua who was already an extremely skilled boxer and master of another secretly passed system known to only a small group of workers at the local Qing Xiang Incense factory and shop.
This style of Luohan Boxing was for this reason known as Xiangdian Quan and the time of his meeting this young man roughly corresponds to the period in which it first began to be taught openly.
He Guohua would go on to become a famous boxer in Fuzhou locally known as Fei Lai Shi "Flying Master" and would teach the Incense Shop Boxing style to many students.
He would occasionally show or impart some Rujia Quan skills and his methods of Boxing came to be known as Xiang Dian Men with the various Rujia methods called as Xiang Dian Ji Fa, Xiangdian Gou Fa, etc.
However with exception of occasionally teaching a Xiangdian student some basic skills or a set of Ru Jia Quan movements as part of their Xiandian training, he only passed the complete independent Ru Jia Quan style onto one student.
This student was master Tu Jiqing who also came to be known as one of Fuzhou's great boxers and taught the Xiangdian style to many students. But like his teacher's before him he only passed on the style to a single inheritor, master Pan Liteng.
Both Xiangdian Quan and Rujia Quan are now listed as intangible cultural heritage of Fuzhou city.
Today master Pan Liteng has begun to openly accept students in both the Xiangdian and Rujia Quan systems and is currently teaching Rujia Quan to a group of local youngsters who he has officially accepted as disciples in the Rujia Quan style.
He holds his classes in Rujia Quan on the grounds of the Fuzhou's ancient Wen Miao (Confucian Temple) located in the Old Drumtower District.
The oral mythology of this style traces its origins back to the Ming dynasty when a group of four scholars from Fujian and Guangdong traveled together to take the Imperial Exams.
After arriving at the capitol all four of them failed the examinations in the first round.
Having become close while traveling together they decided that, while they were obviously not destined to become high ranking officials, they would travel the country and learn together.
While touring the country they visited many of the famed ancient temples.
In one of these temples they found that the monks there were inheritors of the 7 methods of divine boxing passed down by the 8 women who had studied under the immortal goddess Li Shan Lao Mu* "Ancient Mother of Mt. Li" during the Tang dynasty.
The 7 methods consisted of of Scholar, Crane, Fish, Chicken, Monkey, Dog and Ox.
Taking inspiration from Confucius's teachings that both scholarly and martial knowledge were needed by a learned man, they decided to try their hands at martial arts.
Each of them mastered one of the methods (Dog, Rooster, Fish, and Scholar) at the monastery and later they combined their knowledge, founding the Rujia style.

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