Wu Zhaoji

Who was Wu Zhaoji?

Wu Zhaoji also known as Xiangquan, was born in Hunan in 1908, China. At the age of 4, his family moved to Suzhou, where he lived the rest of his life until his death in 1997. Raised in a musical family, he learned the guqin from his father, and in 1921 became a student of Wu Jinyang. From a young age, he enjoyed sports and martial arts. In 1928 he began studying the Yang Style of Tai-chi with Chen Weiming. One year later, he became a student of Li Shangyuan, who is a student of Hao Weizeng a descendent of the Wu Style Taichi family. After many years of study he created his own style of tai-chi based on Daoism.

Wu Zhaoji is popularly revered as an archetypal "literatus" qin player; his smooth, detached, intellectual, yet vigorous style made him one of the most highly-regarded amateur players in the late 20th century. The "Wu" school of qin playing currently centered in Suzhou takes him as a leading figure; noted players to transmit his style include Wang Duo and Yuan Jung-ping.