Ceremony to unveil a statue at the grave of

Master Gu Ru/ Gu, Yu Cheung

Northern Shaolin Martial Arts Master Gu Ruzhang Southern Diversification
Graveyard and Statue Inauguration Ceremony took place at Binhai County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province
Zhouyaoguang Huangzelin
Zhou Yaoguang, Huang Zesen

--Translation By Josh Capitanio

In the 20s and 30s of the last century, Gu Ruzhang, who brought Northern Shaolin
to the south, diligently passed on the art of Northern Shaolin in Guangzhou
with the help of the Guangdong/Guangxi Guoshu Academy and the Guangzhou
Guoshu Association. Ultimately due to his efforts the Northern branch of
Shaolin took root and flowered in southern China and beyond to foreign countries.
We always remember the man who sowed the seeds of the Northern flower
in the southern lands. In order to express how deeply we cherish the memory
of Grandmaster Gu Ruzhang, the Northern Shaolin Society of the Guangzhou
Municipal Wushu Association, along with the Long Zixiang Northern Shaolin
Guoshu Association of Hong Kong, the Northern Shaolin Shangwu Guoshu Society,
the Jin Dongtang Wushu Association and other wushu groups repaired the
Grandmaster's tomb and held a ceremony for the erection of a stone memorial
at the site. Due to the hard work of many parties, the work was completed
smoothly in Grandmaster Gu's hometown of Zhenghong villate in Binhai county,
Yancheng, Jiangsu province. The cemetery is on a 4.6 acre plot of land,
and the stone bust is 1.8m high on a 2m tall base. A memorial inscription
was etched on the front of the base. The Grandmaster's image was erected
in a clump of green trees, and looks austere and solemn. On 4/28/2006,
Northern Shaolin students along with the government of Zhenghong city gathered
for the "eye-opening" ceremony at Grandmaster Gu's tomb.
On the day of the ceremony, Zhenghong village was full of people, several
tens of thousands of villagers and elders brought their wooden stools to
the site at daybreak just to get a seat. A tide of people poured out on
the celebration grounds; red banners floated in the wind, drum sounds rang
to the skies, dragon and tiger dances were performed, all of which contributed
to an atmosphere of joyous celebration. As the monument of Grandmaster
Gu was unveiled, the sound of eight simultaneous fireworks brought the ceremony
to a climax. The representative of Zhenghong county Mr. Xin Daoling, along
with the party chairman Mr. Fan Xiangdong both gave congratulatory speeches,
which were followed by speeches by Mr. Liu Weicong, chairman of the Jindongtang
Wushu association and Mr. Zhou Yaoguang, committee leader of the Northern
Shaolin Society of the Guangzhou Municipal Wushu Association. Gu Ruzhang's
daughter Gu Naixian expressed her thanks, which capped off the event.

Gu Ruzhang was born in 1894, in Funing county of Jiangsu province (present
day Zhenghong village, Binhai county, Yancheng city, Jiangsu). His father
Gu Lizhi was a skilled fighter and expert in Tantui. Grandmaster Gu followed
his family tradition from an early age, devoting himself to wushu, and following
his father's wishes apprenticed himself to Yan Jiwen to study martial arts,
applying himself diligently to attain the true transmission from Mr. Yan.
He was especially proficient in Northern Shaolin boxing and weapons, as
well as the Greater and Lesser Golden Bell internal practices, and also
practiced the Iron Sand Palm technique. Later, Grandmaster Gu studied Yang
Jianhou 's Taijiquan and Taiyi Sword from Li Jinglin, Zhaquan from Yu Zhensheng,
and Xingyiquan and Sun style Taijiquan from Sun Lutang. In all of these
efforts he was very successful, and was known in martial circles as "Golden
Spear Iron Palm Gu Ruzhang."
Grandmaster Gu Ruzhang followed the profession of martial arts his entire
life. In October of 1928 he attended the first National Wushu Fighting
Examination sponsored by the Zhongyang Guoshu Academy. After more than
400 people had been eliminated, he was among the top 15 competitors. In
winter of that year he accepted the offer of the senior officer Li Jichen
of the Guangdong Armed Forces and became an instructor at the Guangdong/Guangxi Guoshuguan, becoming one of what became known as the "Five Tigers who went to Jiangnan [the area south of the Yangzi River]," and was responsible for propagating Northern Shaolin in the south. In 1929 he established the Guangzhou Guoshu Society and continued to take students as the head of the society. From then on, the flower of Northern Shaolin martial arts, as represented
by the ten hand sets and various weapon sets, blossomed in the mainland,
Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and around the world. This was a remarkable contribution to the propagation of Chinese martial arts. In 1932, Grandmaster Gu became an instructor in the Hunan Guoshu Academy in Changsha, Hunan province.
In 1934, he became the chief instructor in the Guangdong Military Yantang
school at the request of Chen Jitang, senior officer in the Guangdong Armed
Forces.
Grandmaster Gu Ruzhang was open-minded and generous, breaking down the boundaries
between styles by getting along well with other martial arts teachers in
the area. The story of his friendship and student exchange with the Cailifo
teacher Tan San was well known in Guangzhou. Long Zixiang, Yan Shangwu,
Lai Ganqing and others were sent to study with Tan San, and Jiang An and
Liu Jindong were sent by Tan San to study with Gu Ruzhang. Other accomplished
students of Gu Ruzhang were Zhou Shenzhi, Hu Xianglin, Tang Qixian, Hu Shaobao,
Pan Zhu, Li Yaoshan, Chen Nianbo, Zheng Baili, Xie Zhongsheng, Feng Dean,
Song Yuwen, Chen Xianmin, Chen Xiantong, and others, including Gu's son
and daughter Gu Naixi and Gu Naixian.
During that period, Grandmaster Gu was often invited by various organizations
to perform his feats of Qigong and Iron Sand Palm at public ceremonies.
Even today the pictures of his performance of "Supporting a thousand pounds"
and "driving a car over the stomach" at the Guangzhou Primary Park (present-
day People's Park) survive.
Grandmaster Gu Ruzhang was completely dedicated to the study and refinement
of wushu, publishing such works as "Dragon Shape Sword," "Eight Steps Three
Palms," and others. Among his works was the manual "Taijiquan" published
in 1936, which contained two parts. The first part discussed the origins
of Taijiquan and the Taijiquan form, and the second part dealt with Taiji
Push hands. Gu Ruzhang performed the postures himself in the book's photographic
illustrations, and this work is now a classic of Gu style Taijiquan, which
has spread to many places throughout Hong Kong, Macao, and the rest of the
world nowadays.
In 1938 on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Guangzhou, Gu Ruzhang went
along with the military academy along the West River through Guangxi to
Guizhou. During his time in Guizhou he still devoted his strength to promoting
Northern Shaolin. In that area he had a great influence in martial circles,
and was known in the Southwestern martial scene as one of the "Three Gu
of the Southwest." In 1952, Grandmaster Gu passed away from illness in
Guiyang, and his remains were returned to his hometown for burial.
The Northern flower has blossomed in the south, and we cherish the memory
of the man who sowed the seed. Grandmaster Gu devoted his strength for
a long time to the promotion of traditional culture and popularized Northern
Shaolin wushu. For this he should be remembered eternally.