According to the bafanquan manuals, during the Ming dynasty a master named Wang Zhiyuan had been taught the boxing by a mountain wanderer in the turn of the 17th century.

[2] There, the wanderer assisted with Wang's injuries and instructed him in the methods of bafanquan to improve his already good martial skills.

During the Qing dynasty, one of the most famous exponents of the style was Li Gongran from Xiong county in Hebei province.

His son Li Erlou, and disciple Feng Zhenyuan, taught the style in Sunning county.

Throughout history, bafanmen's techniques have been admired by many masters and as a result it is often recognized as Muquan, or Mother Fist, in representing how essential it is to the Chinese Martial Arts.