Depiction of a Manchu Imperial Guards Bannerman wearing similar uniform and gear to that worn by Wu Ch'uan-yu as a military officerWu Ch'uan-yu or Wu Quanyou (吴全佑) (1834–1902) was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan in late Imperial China. He is credited as the founder of the Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan. As he was of Manchu descent and would have been named by his family in Manchu. The name "Wú" (吴) was sinicisation that approximated the pronunciation of the first syllable of his Manchu clan name, U Hala.

Wu Ch'uan-yu was a military officer in the Yellow Banner camp (see Qing Dynasty Military) in the Forbidden City, Beijing and also an officer of the Imperial Guards Brigade during the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Yang Luchan (杨露禅) (1799–1872) was the martial arts instructor in that banner camp, teaching t'ai chi ch'uan.[1] In the camp, there were many officers studying with Yang Luchan, but only three men, Wan Chun (万春), Ling Shan (凌山) and Ch'uan Yu (全佑) studied diligently and trained hard enough at t'ai chi ch'uan to become disciples. However, they were unable to become Yang Luchan's disciples, because Yang Luchan taught t'ai chi ch'uan to two men of very high status in the military; they were Shi Shaonan and General Yue Guichen.

At that time Wan Chun, Ling Shan and Ch'uan-yu were middle grade officers in the banner camp and because of their rank, they could not be seen as fellow classmates with nobility and high grade officers. As a result, they were asked to become disciples of Yang Pan-hou (杨班侯) or Yang Banhou, Yang Luchan's oldest adult son and an instructor as well to the Manchu military.

When Wu retired from the military, he set up a school in Beijing. Wu Ch'uan-yu's Beijing school was successful and there were many who studied with him, he was popularly known as Quan Sanye (全三爷) as a term of respect. His disciples were Guo Songting (郭松亭), Wang Maozhai (王茂斋), Xia Gongfu (夏公甫), Chang Yuanting (常远亭), Qi Gechen (齐阁臣) (see Wudang Tai Chi Chuan Lineage) etc. Wu's skills were said to be exceptional in the area of softly "neutralising" (化劲, hua jin) hard energy when attacked, which is a core skill of good t'ai chi ch'uan practice as a martial art. Wu Ch'uan-yü had three primary disciples: his son Wu Chien-ch'uan, Wang Mao Zhai and Guo Fen.