Liang Zhenpu

Who was Liang Zhenpu?

Liang Zhenpu was a Chinese martial artist.

He was born in Beihaojia Village in Ji County in Hebei province on May 20, 1863 during the Qing Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Tongzhi, and died on August 13 at the age of 69 due to illness. He trained in Tan Tui and Biaozhang during his early childhood. At the age of 13, he moved to Beijing to apprentice at his father's second hand clothing store. At this time he had the nickname "Second Hand Clothing Liang." It was during this period in 1877 that he became a direct disciple of Baguazhang creator Dong Haichuan. He studied with Dong for about five years and was well liked by all of Dong's students. He had the fortune of not only learning from Dong Haichuan but also from Dong's other students including Cheng Tinghua, Yin Fu, Shi Jidong, and Liu Fengchun. After the death of both parents at age 20, he opened a martial arts kwoon to make a living.

In Ji County he defeated the four "Batian" gangs. In the 25th year of Emperor Guangxu, he saw that there were many injustices being committed by local criminals in the Beijing suburb of Majiapu (马家堡）and single handedly fought over 200 gangsters armed only with a seven section chain whip, killing 20 and wounding over 50. He was subsequently imprisoned and sentenced to death. When the Eight-Nation Alliance army invaded Beijing to crush the Boxer Rebellion his prison was heavily damaged and he managed to escape.