Bow Sim Mark’s martial arts lineage traces through some of the most influential masters of both internal and external traditions of Chinese martial arts. Her teachers represented diverse systems including Tai Chi, Bagua, Xing Yi, Wushu, and classical weapons, preserving knowledge passed through generations in China.
Bow Sim Mark inherited a rare martial lineage rooted in the Fu family tradition and the Wudang internal arts. Her training connected multiple generations of masters, preserving techniques, philosophy, and artistic expression that had traditionally been transmitted through close personal instruction.
The lineage extends beyond family succession. It represents an unbroken chain of knowledge carried through teachers including Fu Zhensong, Fu Wing Fay, Li Tianji, and others whose contributions shaped twentieth-century Chinese martial arts. The accompanying chart traces these relationships and the transmission of that knowledge across generations.
As one of the few women recognized as a true successor within this tradition, Bow Sim Mark helped preserve and expand the Fu family system while introducing it to new audiences through teaching, performance, publication, and institutional leadership.
Lineage
Foundational generation
Dong Haichuan · 董海川
Chen Yan Xi · 陳延熙
Sung Wei-I · 宋唯一
Transmission branches
Cheng Tinghua · 程廷華
Jia Feng Ming · 賈鳳鳴
Ma Gui · 馬貴
Li Jinglin · 李景林
Li Yulin · 李玉琳
Fu family and related masters
Fu Zhensong · 傅振嵩
Sun Lutang · 孫祿堂
Yang Chengfu · 楊澄甫
Li Shuwen · 李書文
Fu Wing Fay · 傅永輝
Li Tianji · 李天驥
Later transmission
Deng Kam To · 鄧錦濤
Fong Nan Yue · 馮男若
Bow Sim Mark · 麥寶嬋
Institutional branches
Chinese Wushu Research Institute · 中國武術研究所 · Founded 1976
Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association · Established 1995
living
LINEAGE
A living tradition passed through generations.
AHEAD OF ITS TIME
In 1982, WGBH’s Say Brother introduced television audiences to Bow Sim Mark, her school—the Chinese Wushu Research Institute (CWRI)—and its students. The program features demonstrations of Chinese Wushu during class and at other venues, an interview with Bow Sim Mark, and a striking performance of her signature Wudang Drunken Sword form. The broadcast is an early public record of the pioneering work she led in bringing Wushu to the West.
Watch the 1982 broadcast at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting → https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-29p2ph37
Preserved by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, a collaboration between GBH and the Library of Congress. WGBH. AAPB ID: cpb-aacip-15-29p2ph37.
Rules of Use → https://americanarchive.org/legal/orr-rules
a lifetime of Distinction
Selected honors recognizing contributions to Chinese martial arts, education, and cultural preservation.
For more than five decades, governments, educational institutions, martial arts organizations, cultural leaders, and international publications have recognized Bow Sim Mark’s contributions to Chinese martial arts and cultural heritage.
These distinctions reflect a lifetime dedicated to preserving tradition, advancing the martial arts, and helping establish Chinese Wushu throughout the Western world.
a legacy preserved
The Bow Sim Mark Archive is permanently housed at Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library.
In 2026, the Bow Sim Mark Collection was donated to Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. The collection documents more than five decades through journals, photographs, publications, audiovisual recordings, correspondence, and historical materials.
Preserved within one of the world’s leading research libraries, these materials will remain accessible to future generations of scholars, students, and the public, ensuring that this history remains available for research, education, and public understanding.
the branches of bow sim mark legacy
Throughout her lifetime, Bow Sim Mark established several organizations and educational initiatives, each serving a distinct role while sharing the same mission of preserving and advancing her teachings.
The Chinese Wushu Research Institute (CWRI), founded in Boston in 1976, became the foundation of her work in the United States, introducing modern Wushu and traditional internal martial arts to generations of students.
As her teaching evolved, she established the Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association to represent her official Tai Chi school, direct disciples, and authorized instruction. Tai Chi Arts became the home for her books, instructional videos, and educational publications.
Together, these branches operate under the stewardship of CWRI, Inc., the organization established to preserve Grandmaster Bow Sim Mark's intellectual property, archival collection, publications, and teaching legacy.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Master Mark encouraged many of her most dedicated student-instructors to establish independent schools under the CWRI name, extending her lineage into new communities throughout the United States and abroad.
Over time, unrelated organizations also began using the name Chinese Wushu Research Institute without affiliation or authorization. While these groups are independent, the official lineage, archival collection, intellectual property, and institutional legacy remain with CWRI, Inc.
official stewardship
This website and its associated social platforms represent the official stewardship of Grandmaster Bow Sim Mark’s legacy and the Chinese Wushu Research Institute (CWRI) under CWRI, Inc.
Student-organized schools, alumni initiatives, and independent events are separate organizations unless explicitly identified in writing as officially authorized.
Use of official logos, trademarks, publications, photographs, videos, and archival materials requires prior written permission.
For Grandmaster Bow Sim Mark's official books, instructional videos, and authorized Tai Chi curriculum, please visit the Tai Chi Arts collection.