Yuan Wenqing

Yuan Wenqing (Chinese: 原文庆; pinyin: Yuánwén qìng; born 1966) is a retired professional wushu taolu athlete from Shanxi, China. Nicknamed 'the prince of wushu,' he was known for his explosive speed and power, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest wushu practitioners of all time. It is said that in the sport of wushu, the 1970s belonged to Jet Li, the 1980s to Zhao Changjun, and the 1990s to Yuan Wenqing.[1]

Yuan Wenqing
Personal information
Nickname(s)武术王子 "The Prince of Wushu"
Born1966 (age 56–57)
Shanxi, China
OccupationMartial artist, athlete, coach
Sport
SportWushu
Event(s)Changquan, Daoshu, Gunshu
TeamShanxi Wushu Team
Coached byPang Lin Tai and Zhang Ling Mei
Retired1994, 1997
Medal record
Representing  China
Men's Wushu Taolu
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Kuala Lumpur Daoshu
Gold medal – first place 1997 Rome Changquan
World Championships (pre-IWUF)
Gold medal – first place 1988 Hangzhou All-around (CQ)
Gold medal – first place 1988 Hangzhou Changquan
Gold medal – first place 1988 Hangzhou Daoshu
Gold medal – first place 1988 Hangzhou Gunshu
Gold medal – first place 1990 Kuala Lumpur All-around (CQ)
Gold medal – first place 1990 Kuala Lumpur Changquan
Gold medal – first place 1990 Kuala Lumpur Daoshu
Gold medal – first place 1990 Kuala Lumpur Gunshu
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Beijing Changquan
Gold medal – first place 1994 Hiroshima Changquan
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 1989 Hong Kong All-around (CQ)
Gold medal – first place 1989 Hong Kong Changquan
Gold medal – first place 1989 Hong Kong Daoshu
Gold medal – first place 1989 Hong Kong Gunshu
In this Chinese name, the family name is Yuan.

Career

Early career

Yuan started practicing wushu at around the age of eight. At the age of 10, he entered his city's amateur sports school and in 1977, he joined the Shanxi Provincial Wushu Team and began to train under Pang Lin Tai and later Zhang Ling Mei.[2][3]

Rise to stardom

In 1982, he won his first national championship gold medal which was in shuangdao.[4] After having several more national championship victories, he was chosen to compete in the 1989 Asian Wushu Championships where he achieved a gold medal sweep to win the men's all around title. Yuan was then chosen by the Chinese Wushu Association to aid them in choreographing the first set of compulsory routines to be used by the International Wushu Federation.[5] The CWA used his changquan and gunshu routines and made minor adjustments to make them easier to execute, and the routines were later recorded by Yuan the same year.

A year later in 1990, Yuan competed in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, wushu's inaugural debut at the Asian Games, and won the gold medal in men's changquan.[6] Yuan then competed in the 1993 National Games of China with much success. Later that year, he competed in the 1993 World Wushu Championships and became the world champion in men's daoshu.[7][5] He returned to the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, and won once again in men's changquan despite a recent injury.[4][8]

He briefly retired from competitive wushu and acted in Iron Monkey 2 alongside Donnie Yen in 1996.[3] He returned to competition in 1997 by request of his coach, Pang Lin Tai, who wished to have a successful competitive season during his last year as coach of the team. Yuan was chosen to compete in the 1997 World Wushu Championships in Rome, Italy,[9] where he became the world champion in changquan. His last competition was the 1997 National Games of China where he won gold medals in changquan and daoshu/gunshu combined.[5] He finally announced his formal retirement from wushu at the age of 31.

Teaching

In 2004, Yuan opened a wushu school in Shanxi.[10] His students competed and achieved many victories at the Hong Kong International Wushu Grand Prix in 2007 which marked the 10-year anniversary of the Hong Kong return back to China.[11]

Competitive history
This table is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Event CQ DS GS AA DTQ SD
1983 National Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1984 National Championships ? ? ? 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1985 National Championships ? 2nd place, silver medalist(s) ? 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1987 National Games ? ? ? 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1988 International Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1989 Asian Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1990 International Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Asian Games 1 1 1 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1993 National Games 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) ? ? 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1994 Asian Games 1 1 1 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1995 Retired
1996
1997 World Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) ? ? 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Legacy

In the World Wushu Championships, Yuan's changquan and gunshu routines were used from 1993 to 2001. His routines are still used by Group B athletes who compete in the World Junior Wushu Championships since the event's conception in 2006.[12]

Film

Yuan Wenqing co-starred alongside Donnie Yen in the 1996 film Iron Monkey 2, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. In the film, Wenqing played the character Jin, a peasant with extraordinary martial prowess who gets embroiled in an arms smuggling plot.

Personal life

Yuan Wenqing is a cousin of Yuan Xindong and an uncle of Yuan Xiaochao, both of which were also members of the Shaanxi Provincial Wushu Team.

See also

References
  1. "回顾｜李连杰、赵长军、原文庆 中国武术界的三大全能王-体育频道-手机搜狐" [Retrospect｜Jet Li, Changjun Zhao, Wenqing Qing, the three great masters of Chinese martial arts]. Sohu (in Chinese). 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  2. "原文庆：一代传奇功夫之星" [Yuan Wenqing: Legendary Kung Fu Star of a Generation]. Global Kung Fu (in Chinese). 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  3. Lee, Matthew (2015-12-26). "What Made Yuan Wenqing So Great?". Jiayoo Wushu. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  4. Kang, Jinglin (2007-04-17). "原文庆 他是中国的武术王子" [Yuan Qing, prince of Chinese wushu]. Sina News (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  5. Burr, Martha (1998). "China's Brightest Star". Kung Fu Magazine. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  6. "Wushu results-11th Asian Games Competition" (PDF). Japan Wushu Federation. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  7. "2nd World Wushu Championships 1993 Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  8. "Asiad results of Wushu, Men's Changquan Three Events Combined -2-". Kyodo News. Hiroshima. Japan Economic Newswire. 1994-10-14. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  9. "4th World Wushu Championships 1997 Results" (PDF). International Wushu Federation. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  10. Chungeng, Li (2006-06-30). ""三冠王"原文庆能否成为品牌打出？" [Can "Triple Crown" Yuanqing become a brand?]. Sohu (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  11. "国际武术大赛原文庆弟子夺23金" [Yuan Wenqing’s disciples won 23 gold medals in the International Wushu Competition]. Sina (in Chinese). 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  12. "7th World Junior Wushu Championships Regulations" (PDF). International Wushu Federation.
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