It has been called "xinyi liuhebafa" (心意六合八法拳) and is also referred to as "water boxing" (水拳; shuǐquán) due to its principles.

The Song dynasty Taoist sage Chen Tuan is often credited with its origin and development.

[2] The liuhebafa form zhu ji (築基; zhú jī) was taught in the late 1930s in Shanghai and Nanjing by Wu Yihui (1887–1958).

[4] Many of Wu Yihui's students had martial arts backgrounds and modified the form to merge it with their own knowledge.

This is one of several explanations for its similarities with other martial arts such as xingyiquan, baguazhang, tai chi and yiquan.