There was a tradition in the Chinese martial arts of youngsters being taught by teachers of a generation older than their parents'.
Both Yang Shaohou and Wu Jianquan were famous for their "small circle" martial expertise.
During the 1930s, he wrote a well-known commentary on the classic writings in 40 chapters on tai chi that his grandfather had inherited from Yang Banhou.
[1][3] His commentary (including the original 40 chapters) was published as Wujia Taijiquan (Chinese: 吳家太極拳; lit.
In addition to his teaching and literary contributions to the art, Wu Kung-tsao became known as a specialist in the neigong aspect of tai chi training, both for martial purposes and for therapeutic interventions along the lines of traditional Chinese medicine.
During and for a short time after the Cultural Revolution of 1964-1978 he was imprisoned by the Red Guards due to his history as a Nationalist military officer, a traditional Confucian scholar and Taoist teacher as well as a hostage to ensure the "good behaviour" of the rest of his family who were at the time living in Shanghai and Hong Kong.