Xingyiquan (Chinese: 形意拳; pinyin: Xíngyìquán; Wade–Giles: Hsing I Ch'üan) is one of the major "internal" or Wudang styles of Chinese martial arts. The word translates approximately to "Form/Intention Boxing", or "Shape/Will Boxing", and is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power. There is no single organizational body governing the teaching of the art, and several variant styles exist.

A practitioner of xingyiquan uses coordinated movements to generate bursts of power intended to overwhelm the opponent, simultaneously attacking and defending. Forms vary from school to school, but include barehanded sequences and versions of the same sequences with a variety of weapons. These sequences are based upon the movements and fighting behavior of a variety of animals. The training methods allow the student to progress through increasing difficulty in form sequences, timing and fighting strategy.

The exact origin of xingyiquan is unknown. The earliest written records of it can be traced to the 18th century to Ma Xueli of Henan Province and Dai Long Bang of Shanxi Province. Legend, however, credits the creation of xingyiquan to the renowned Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) general Yue Fei.

Zhou Yue (周岳) (died 893), courtesy name Junzhao (峻昭), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan) from 886 to 893.

It is not known when Zhou Yue was born, and not much is known about his background, as there was no biography for him in either of the official histories of Tang Dynasty (the Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang). It is known that he was from Zouxi (陬溪, in modern Changde, Hunan), and likely of non-Han extraction, for he was an associate of the non-Han Lei Man and hunted with Lei. On one occasion when they hunted together, they fought over the distribution of the meat, and he tried to kill Lei but could not.

In 881, Lei gathered a group of men and attacked and captured Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern Changde), which Zouxi belonged to. Zhou, hearing this news, gathered a group of men as well and attacked Heng Prefecture (modern Hengyang in Hunan), expelling the prefect Xu Hao (徐顥). Then-reigning Emperor Xizong, then facing the major rebellion of the agrarian rebel Huang Chao, commissioned Zhou as the prefect of Heng.