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Many people are fascinated with the mystical taiji (Tai Chi) legend of the Taoist
monk, Zhang Sanfeng, who allegedly invented taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) through
dreaming about or observing a fight between a snake and a crane in Wu-dang
Mountains. Although there were historical implications and various
circumstantial factors involved in the popularity of the Zhang Sanfeng legend, it
is, for the most part, human nature to enjoy and believe in legendary stories. As
filmmakers continue to make films with this half-legendary and half-fictional
character, Zhang Sanfeng, based on the stories written by famous Chinese
martial arts novelists such as Jing Yong, this legend will continue to live for
centuries. People always enjoy passing on this kind of legendary story to future
generations like the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood.
Chen Changxing (1771-1853), the 14th generation Chen patriarch, was the first
to teach Chen Taijiquan to an outsider, Yang Luchan (1799-1872). Vowing to his
master to never teach Taijiquan to the public or use its name, Yang was finally
taught the Chen family martial art. He later traveled to Beijing and became
known as "Yang the Invincible." True to his oath, Yang formulated his own
Taijiquan form based on Chen Family Taijiquan's first form (Lao Jia Yi Lu) and
became the founder of Yang Taijiquan. Another possible reason for Yang Luchan
to formulate his own Taijiquan form might be due to the fact that during those
days, the Yang family was employed by the Manchu rulers of the Qing Dynasty
to manage the practice and teaching of war. As Manchus were considered the
oppressive foreign rulers by the people in their sovereignty (i.e., the Han
people), the Yang family probably decided to teach the Manchus only the boxing
form, but not the boxing methods nor its applications. Manchus were taught to
be soft as cotton so they would not use Taiji to attack or kill. Direct Yang family
members and close disciples, on the other hand, were secretly taught both the
hard and soft aspects of Taiji. Yet, the soft taiji form started to gain its popularity
and gradually Taiji was recognized and associated with the soft form while
people in Chen Village continued to practice both the soft and the hard forms.
It's also uncertain when the name "Taijiquan" was given to this Chinese martial
arts system. It's very likely that there was no name for Taijiquan when Chen
Wangting initially developed this martial arts system because he meant to pass
it down to his descendant. It is common for a Chinese family to develop their
own style of martial arts. These arts then become known as the style of the
family. Chen Wangting didn't know the martial arts system he created would one
day become one of the most popular health exercises in the world. The name
taijiquan was given later possibly because this unique martial arts system was
created based on the principles and theory of Taiji, "Grand Ultimate or Extreme"
– yin and yang reaching the ultimate balance and regenerating from each
other. Today there are five major popular styles evolved and developed with
individual variations and transformations from the original boxing art created by
Chen Wangting (Gu Liuxin, 1983; Chen Qingzhou, 2002):
1)Chen Style: Various Chen styles--including Da Jia (Big Frame), Xiao Jia
(Small Frame), Lao Jia (Old Frame), Xin Jia (New Frame), etc.--are continued to
be practiced by Chen Family descendants and disciples. It is generally
characterized by fast-slow, soft-powerful, and up-down spiral movements with
jumping, punching, and qin na. It contains two basic empty-hand forms. The first
form is soft and slow, also known as Yi Lu (First Form), while the second form is
powerful and fast, also known as Er Lu (Second Form) or Pao Chui (Canon
Fist). The Da Jia system, which Chen Changxing taught to his descendants and
students, is commonly referred to as "Lao Jia". A modified "Lao Jia" system,
which Chen Fake and his second son, Zhaokui, taught in Beijing, is known to be
the seed of Xin Jia (of the original Da Jia). The modified "Lao Jia" system (Xin
Jia) has more obvious coiling, spiraling, and large circular movements when
compared with Lao Jia, which has a more direct martial arts approach with
smaller and more subtle circles. Currently, the Xin Jia system is still undergoing
the process of being modified and changed. Chen Zhaopi, a nephew of Chen
Fake, insisted on maintaining and preserving the original postures and
sequence of the Lao Jia system and passed this unmodified system to his
students and descendants. One of his disciples, Chen Qingzhou, has taught the
Lao Jia system unchanged and without any influence of Xin Jia. However, his
other disciples including famous Chen descendants such as Chen Xiaowang
and Chen Zhenglei also learned Xin Jia from Chen Zhaokui.
5)Sun Style: It is characterized by a high stance with fast paces and a unique
dexterous, tight, and compact style. This style was developed by Sun Lutang
based on the Taiji he learned from Hao Weizhen and his earlier Xingyi and
Bagua training.
For generations, the practice of Taijiquan has been compromised to the extent
that it has lost its original essence. Of the major styles practiced today, Chen
family Taijiquan continues to offer the most complete training system including
qigong, empty-hand forms, silk-reeling exercises, push-hand practice, weapon
sets, etc. It has gone through the least amount of change as a martial art and
preserved most of the training methods as well as some of the most unique
training tools (e.g., Taiji ruler, Taiji sphere, etc.). Therefore, although a person is
not required to be athletic in order to learn Chen Taiji, patience, consistent
practice, and time commitment are essential for a Chen Taiji learner to truly
benefit from this ancient internal martial arts system. Beginning students usually
start with Yi Lu, qigong, and silk-reeling exercises to help them establish a
strong foundation and to prepare them if they wish to continue and further
pursue the martial aspects of the system. It is hoped that through the promotion
of Traditional Chen Taijiquan, the public will again recognize Taijiquan not only
as a health exercise, benefiting both mental and physical health, but also a truly
valuable Chinese martial arts system.