Dahe Daily · Yu Video Reporter Zhou Bin
Introduction
High walls and wide gates, with three golden characters on the stone plaque: “Zhuo Zheng Yuan”. In front of the gate stands a white-clad “heroine” with flowing black hair and a vigorous figure, performing several forms of Taijiquan to a powerful and heroic melody, blending softness with strength, exuding vitality. She stands firmly in a horse stance, each move flowing like water, showcasing her solid foundation.
Li Linghui
This is a Douyin video released on July 9, featuring the “heroine” named Li Linghui, whose Douyin account is @TaijiLingEr, and she is a “post-90s” individual. Speaking of her family background, she has quite a lineage; born in 1991 in Chenjiagou, the birthplace of Chen Style Taijiquan in Wenxian, Henan, her mother, who is also her mentor, is a national first-class coach and practitioner known locally as the “Taiji Empress”, Chen Chunai.
Having practiced the Chen Style Taijiquan Old Frame since childhood and being the 13th generation inheritor of Chen Style Taijiquan, Li Linghui adds many trendy elements to this traditional martial art, aiming to present a “youthful spirit” in Taijiquan.
Carrying the Family Mission of Martial Arts Since Childhood
A fan of Li Linghui left a message on her Douyin account asking, “Can my 3-year-old child learn martial arts?” Li Linghui replied with heartfelt sentiment: “Let them wait a couple of years to have a happy childhood.”
At the age of 4, Li Linghui was taken by her mother to the training ground. “Drinking the water of Chenjiagou makes you kick your legs.” For children in Chenjiagou, practicing martial arts from a young age is quite common. Especially for inheritors like Li Linghui, who have a generational connection, practicing martial arts is not just a personal endeavor; after mastering it, they bear the mission of promoting and carrying forward their family’s martial arts legacy.
Li Linghui practicing Taiji with her mother
She told reporters: “My mother and I are not just mother and daughter; we are also teacher and student. In traditional martial arts, a disciple is different from a student; students practice for health and fitness for a period, while disciples formally apprentice, abide by school rules, and practice for life, bearing the responsibility of spreading and passing down the techniques, which is also the family business of martial arts.”
Through the changing seasons, Li Linghui spent her childhood and youth at the ancient training grounds by the Donggou River, where generations of masters practiced and sought enlightenment.
On July 10, 2011, Taiji Network published a message: “Li Linghui, the daughter of the authentic inheritor of Chen Style Taijiquan, Master Chen Chunai, has received an admission notice from the Wushu College of Beijing Sport University.” In the report, Li Linghui expressed: “I strive to achieve excellent results to repay my hometown.”
As she stated, during her university years, she learned various traditional martial arts weapons and systematically studied kinesiology. After graduation, she returned to Chenjiagou and, like her mother before her, became a coach and practitioner. Now, she is the vice president of the Chen Chunai Chen Style Taijiquan Association, named after her mother, taking on the family business passed down to her.
A New Year Video Propels @TaijiLingEr into the Spotlight
Although she returned to her hometown with an academic title, under the aura of her mother and many predecessors, as well as the fame of her peers, Li Linghui was just a small practitioner and coach, not very noticeable. However, in just over a year, the Douyin platform has made her famous online. Flowers bloom outside the walls, and in the gathering of masters in Chenjiagou, Li Linghui gradually stood out among the younger generation.
Since 2020, the once bustling Chenjiagou has gradually become quiet. Faced with a lot of free time each day, Li Linghui began to register an account on Douyin, posting videos of her martial arts, but it remained lukewarm.
On February 5, 2022, Li Linghui led over ten family members and disciples to perform several powerful forms at the famous scenic spot “Yang Luchan’s Martial Arts Place” in Chenjiagou, releasing a Douyin short video titled “New Year Greetings from Chenjiagou.” Although it was the Spring Festival, people were in a state of anxiety during a special period. This video, filled with the indomitable spirit and uplifting essence of traditional Chinese culture, quickly spread online, attracting coverage and reprints from major news media across the country.
Not only did it garner hundreds of thousands of views for the first time, but more importantly, many news outlets reported on it. In a short time, @TaijiLingEr “broke through the ground”.
Although this video received a great response, upon re-examination, Li Linghui realized that the camera work, scenes, music, costumes, editing, and packaging were all very simple and plain, incomparable to the well-produced videos on Douyin. From then on, she began to focus more on video creation.
She sought various locations, not only at the historical sites of Chenjiagou but also at Yuntai Mountain, Laojun Mountain, the Magic City Building, and West Lake, leaving her presence in various places; she changed her attire, almost every video featuring a new outfit that was either dignified and grand or light and flowing. This year’s Dragon Boat Festival, she even led a group of beautiful women dressed in vibrant and gorgeous Tang Dynasty attire to perform Taijiquan that combined martial arts and dance.
Li Linghui during a live broadcast
More importantly, she creatively reinterpreted the Taijiquan movements displayed in her videos, shifting away from the slow and steady impression of Taijiquan, emphasizing the dynamic and powerful aspects of Taijiquan, and with the accompaniment of popular music, her works exhibited a bright and strong rhythmic quality.
Leading Local Practitioners to Form a Douyin Taiji Matrix
Li Linghui divided her video works into four sections: Taijiquan teaching, Taijiquan life, Taijiquan and geography, and fitness with Taijiquan. One teaching video featuring a set of powerful fast punches garnered over 12.7 million views, with 270,000 likes and 14,000 comments.
In just over a year, @TaijiLingEr has accumulated over 380,000 followers, many of whom are young people born in the 2000s. “I never knew Taijiquan could be so cool!” Many expressed their admiration for Taijiquan and Chenjiagou in the comments.
Douyin @TaijiLingEr
Li Linghui said: “In my Douyin videos, I not only showcase martial arts but also share the life philosophies and health knowledge contained in Taijiquan culture. What I gain more is that I use the Douyin platform to promote the cultural and scenic beauty of my hometown, contributing to the cultural tourism industry of my hometown.”
Under her influence, many local practitioners have also registered their Douyin accounts. Now, accounts like @TaijiLingEr, @Wang Zhanjun Taiji, @Taiji Zhang Baozhong, and @Zhang Fuwang have formed a Taijiquan matrix on Douyin, integrating Taijiquan culture with local martial arts schools, scenic spots, homestays, and specialty products, becoming a new channel for promoting local cultural tourism.
Works Must Reflect the ‘Youthful Spirit’ of Taijiquan
Li Linghui told reporters that her work’s positioning is to first reflect the beauty of the artistic conception of Chinese traditional culture contained in Taijiquan, while also showcasing the “youthful spirit” that Taijiquan exudes. Such works are more in line with modern aesthetics and can attract young people to pay attention to and practice Taijiquan.
As a new generation practitioner of an ancient martial art, Li Linghui has her unique insights on how to present traditional culture on short video platforms to attract young audiences and promote its inheritance.
She told reporters: “My video style is mainly based on music beats, explosiveness, feminine aesthetics, Taijiquan teaching, and clothing, to guide the general public who have never been exposed to Taijiquan. I want more people to change the perception that Taijiquan is only practiced by the elderly. I want everyone to see the beauty and power of Taijiquan. The inheritance and development of traditional culture require not only a foundational audience but also the engagement of young people. Making Taijiquan fashionable, trendy, and instilling a sense of cultural confidence is my creative direction.”
Regarding how to plan her future in short video creation, Li Linghui believes that Taijiquan culture has a vast expansion space as a short video creation theme.
“Taijiquan has a significant advantage on short video content platforms. Chen Style Taijiquan possesses teaching extensibility, sustainable long-term planning, and cultural heritage. In short video creation, Taijiquan culture can extend to traditional Chinese studies, Traditional Chinese Medicine, guiding breathing techniques, health preservation, private domain transformation, performance, Chinese aesthetics, clothing, music, and more. I hope to see more diverse expansions of Taijiquan culture in short video creation.”
Actively Participating in ‘Taiji Tide Rising in Henan’ as a Local Influencer
Li Linghui’s creative direction aligns with a public welfare project promoted by Douyin.
2023 marks the third year since Taijiquan was successfully listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The public welfare project “Mountain DOU is Good Scenery” initiated by Douyin in collaboration with the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association’s Taijiquan Professional Committee launched the “Taiji Tide Rising in Henan” initiative, exploring cultural tourism integration development in Chenjiagou Village, the birthplace of Taijiquan, providing digital training for 40 intangible cultural heritage inheritors and businesses in the province.
As of July 15, the project-related topics #A New Trend Called Taiji All-Net Challenge Activity received 47.33 million exposures, with 13,700 submissions, ranking in the national TOP 51; #Visiting the Origin of Taiji to Become a Martial Arts Master reached a cumulative heat of 3.466 million and 345,000 views; the “Taiji Tide Rising in Henan” Douyin topic accumulated 44.267 million exposures, with 1,380 videos created. The project invited top creators to collaborate with local Taijiquan masters in creating movements, promoting Taijiquan tourism and culture while boosting tourism in Jiaozuo and supporting rural cultural tourism development. Chenjiagou in Wenxian has also gained a youthful presence on Douyin due to this project.
To better promote this event, the project organizers adopted a dual approach of online and offline influencer traffic: online, they selected top influencers to promote content by posting videos related to local attractions, traditional martial arts Taijiquan, etc., creating trending topics and hot events to spark more fan interaction; offline, local influencers visited Taijiquan scenic spots to explain and promote local food and scenery, using Douyin’s local hot list for fermentation, jointly promoting local rural cultural tourism brands.
Public information shows that the “Mountain DOU is Good Scenery” project began in 2022, aiming to drive rural cultural tourism industry development through short videos and live broadcasts. By the end of 2022, the project had been implemented in 10 provinces/regions nationwide, covering 464 counties, assisting 2,268 businesses, and helping to sell cultural tourism products worth over 430 million.
This year, the project aims to expand its regional coverage while boosting income for rural scenic spots and homestays, as well as exploring culture and art, creating a business card for the rural cultural tourism industry. Li Linghui actively participated in this event and spoke as a local Douyin influencer representative at the offline launch of “Taiji Tide Rising in Henan” on May 17. Her “Taiji Dream” will continue to spread further in Douyin, promoting her hometown.