A Collection of Masters

Below is an excerpt from a post a Master's of IMA blog, about the history of The Central Guoshu Institute.The doors were opened in 1928, and some of the most famous masters in China taught there.

The CGI opened its doors in March 1928 as the Central Guoshu Research Institute [zhongyang guoshu yanjiu hui], with the name officially changing to the Central Guoshu Institute [zhongyang guoshu guan] in June of that year. It was initially situated in Han Jia Xiang [Han family lane] in Nanjing, and had to ‘borrow’ some rooms from the Chinese Christian Association. Li Jinglin [3], the vice-dean of the institute, as well as Ma Yingtu, Liu Yinhu and others, moved over to Han Jia Xiang as well. Amongst the ‘founding fathers’ of the CGI were the famous educator Cai Yuanpei, Kong Xiangxi [4], Yu Youren [5], Niu Yongjian, Zhang Zhijiang and Zhang Shusheng. The CGI was administered by a board of governors, with warlord Feng Yuxiang as head governor. An advisory committee was also set up, composed of famous people of the time. Every semester, these famous names would hold advisory meetings and make recommendations to the board.

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In its original incarnation, the faculty at CGI was divided into two schools, the Shaolin School headed by Wang Ziping and the Wudang school headed by Gao Zhendong. [6] Whilst the Wudang School taught the familiar neijia arts of xingyi, bagua and taiji, the Shaolin School actually included many arts not directly related to Shaolin gongfu, such as bajiquan, piguazhang, zha quan, etc. Soon after the CGI was founded, this structure led to challenges between the two factions, eventually resulting in clashes between the subject heads of the respective schools, which led to both the vice-dean Li Jinglin and Wang Ziping resigning from their posts in late 1928 and the restructuring of the CGI. Post-restructuring, all individual subject heads reported to the vice-dean, a role first occupied by Zhang Xiangwu [7] and then after 1939, Chen Panling [8].

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In its original incarnation, the faculty at CGI was divided into two schools, the Shaolin School headed by Wang Ziping and the Wudang school headed by Gao Zhendong. [6] Whilst the Wudang School taught the familiar neijia arts of xingyi, bagua and taiji, the Shaolin School actually included many arts not directly related to Shaolin gongfu, such as bajiquan, piguazhang, zha quan, etc. Soon after the CGI was founded, this structure led to challenges between the two factions, eventually resulting in clashes between the subject heads of the respective schools, which led to both the vice-dean Li Jinglin and Wang Ziping resigning from their posts in late 1928 and the restructuring of the CGI. Post-restructuring, all individual subject heads reported to the vice-dean, a role first occupied by Zhang Xiangwu [7] and then after 1939, Chen Panling [8].