Yang Zhenhe
The Weaver
- Power72
- Root88
- Balance84
- Breath80
- Focus78
- Stamina74
The thread does not fight the loom.
1955–1987 Federation register of title holders
Hall of Champions: Every Taiji World Champion from 1955 to 1987
Thirty-three championships, nineteen champions. The register below lists every title holder from the first championship in the courtyard of Silk Weaving Mill No. 3 to the final at the crater rim of Tianchi in 1987, which Philipp Nopper won 4:3 against WuShu Lee. The full story of that final is told in our feature on the 1987 Taiji World Championship.
The five outstanding champions
Profile values are assessed by the federation’s archive on a scale from 0 to 100 across six categories: Power, Root, Balance, Breath, Focus and Stamina.
Chen Yulan
Iron Lotus
- Power70
- Root82
- Balance90
- Breath86
- Focus88
- Stamina80
Yield first. Then let them discover they cannot pass.
Liang Guoxiong
The Open Gate
- Power84
- Root78
- Balance80
- Breath76
- Focus74
- Stamina82
Let everyone in. Not everyone gets through.
WuShu Lee
The Monument
- Power93
- Root98
- Balance90
- Breath88
- Focus99
- Stamina85
Patience is not waiting. Patience is pressure.
Philipp Nopper
The One Who Does Not Step Back
- Power78
- Root92
- Balance97
- Breath90
- Focus88
- Stamina98
Water does not argue with the stone.
Register of world champions
The column “Title no.” gives the champion’s running count at the time of each title. Format reforms: best of five from 1979, best of seven from 1983. For the eras behind these names, see the history of the championship.
| Year | Champion | Host city | Title no. | Final format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1956 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 2 | Best of 1 |
| 1957 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 3 | Best of 1 |
| 1958 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 4 | Best of 1 |
| 1959 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 5 | Best of 1 |
| 1960 | Yang Zhenhe | Suzhou | 6 | Best of 1 |
| 1961 | Zhou Minghua | Suzhou | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1962 | Guo Shanbao | Kaifeng | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1963 | Chen Yulan | Kaifeng | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1964 | Chen Yulan | Kaifeng | 2 | Best of 1 |
| 1965 | Chen Yulan | Kaifeng | 3 | Best of 1 |
| 1966 | Chen Yulan | Kaifeng (warehouse) | 4 | Best of 1 |
| 1967 | Ma Tiejun | Kaifeng | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1968 | Han Weiping | Kaifeng | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1969 | Sun Jinglong | Xi'an | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1970 | Liang Guoxiong | Chengdu | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1971 | Liang Guoxiong | Xi'an | 2 | Best of 1 |
| 1972 | Fang Lixue | Chengdu | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1973 | Liang Guoxiong | Xi'an | 3 | Best of 1 |
| 1974 | Du Hanqing | Chengdu | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1975 | Lu Baoshan | Xi'an | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1976 | Tan Yuefeng | Wuhan | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1977 | Qiu Shoulin | Nanjing | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1978 | Xu Peiyun | Wuhan | 1 | Best of 1 |
| 1979 | Jiang Heming | Nanjing | 1 | Best of 5 |
| 1980 | Bai Wenzhi | Wuhan | 1 | Best of 5 |
| 1981 | Ren Qiuhong | Nanjing | 1 | Best of 5 |
| 1982 | WuShu Lee | Hangzhou | 1 | Best of 5 |
| 1983 | WuShu Lee | Shenyang | 2 | Best of 7 |
| 1984 | WuShu Lee | Guangzhou | 3 | Best of 7 |
| 1985 | WuShu Lee | Harbin | 4 | Best of 7 |
| 1986 | WuShu Lee | Beijing | 5 | Best of 7 |
| 1987 | Philipp Nopper | Baishan (Changbai Shan) | 1 | Best of 7 |