Tai Chi Chuan, Taiji quan, History

History of T'ai-Chi Ch'uan

By Harvey Kurland NWTCCA

T'ai-chi ch'uan is an ancient Chinese martial art that comes in so many variations that it's often confusing to the layman. Some styles can trace their lineage back to the founding of the art, while others date back to the early part of this century. Some stress competition, while others emphasize health or self-defense. Obviously, without the proper information, choosing the one that is best for you can be a daunting task. This article will present an overview of the major styles of tai chi, and after reading it you'll be able to understand how one style begot another. And you'll be able to more easily choose one that is right for you. Before examining the many styles and sub-styles of the art, however, it's wise to heed the advice of t'ai chi instructor Tchoung Ta-tchen. He insists that all are valid and beneficial to the student as long as the basic t'ai chi concepts are adhered to - even though many teachers proclaim that theirs is the only correct method.

T'ai-chi ch'uan (taijiquan) is usually literally translated as "grand ultimate boxing". Instead of being an immodest title, the "Grand ultimate" portion of the name refers to the Chinese concept of the origin of the universe. That is the principle of yin and yang. In fact, the common yin-yang symbol is often called the t'ai-chi diagram.

The history of t'ai chi is foggy at best. There are many conflicting stories from the past, and the confusion continues right up to the present. To make matters worse, many revisionist versions of t'ai chi's history are expounded by those out to promote their own style as the best of most authentic.

Chang San-feng The foundation concepts of t'ai chi, which come from Taoism and Confucianism, go back to the beginning of written history in China. They come from Lao Tzu's monumental text, Tao Te Ching, from I Ching, and from various other health-promoting and breathing exercise treatises. The actual art can be traced back only 300 to 700 years, however. The mythological founder is said to be Chang San-feng, who is thought to have lived from 1279 to 1368. No one knows if he actually existed. Many older schools use him as the founder.

Many believed Chang was a Shaolin monk who decided to leave the monastery to become a Taoist hermit. On Wu Tang (Wudang) mountain, he gave up the hard fighting style he had learned and formulated a new art based on softness and yielding. One story claims he had a vision between a snake and a crane (although some say it was a magpie, an eagle or a hawk). In theory, the crane should have had an easy time killing the snake, but in Chang's vision, the crane would try to attack the snake's head, and the snake would evade and hit the crane with it's tail. When the crane would try for the snake's tail, the snake would bite the crane. This resulted in the discovery of the basic t'ai chi concepts of evading, yielding and attacking.

Chang assembled a martial art that used softness and internal power to overcome brute force. He is believed to have written: "In every movement, every part of the body must be light and agile and strung together. The postures should be without breaks. Motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, directed by the waist and expressed by the fingers. Substantial and insubstantial movements must be clearly differentiated."

This marked the beginning of t'ai-chi ch'uan, but at that time it was called chang chuan, or long boxing. Later, Chang formulated the 13 postures of t'ai chi. While no one knows what his art looked like then, it is thought that the movements were practiced as individual techniques and/or concepts.

Wang Tsung-yueh The next major historical figure was Wang Tsung-yueh, who wrote the second t'ai chi classic and his writings are the first to refer to the art as t'ai-chi chuan. He also coined the statement, "a force of 4 ounces deflects 1,000 pounds." He is thought to have expanded the original 13 postures into a linked form. Some historians believe Wang actually founded the art, while others dispute his existence. There is some evidence that the works attributed to Wang were really written much later.

Ch'en Style Another candidate for the role of tai chi founder is Ch'en Wang-ting (Chen Wangting). Some believe he created the art based on his military experiences, his study of local boxing methods and his gleaning of classical texts like Ch'uan Ching (Boxing Classics), which was written by Chi Che-kwong (1528 - 1587).

Ch'en developed several forms, and his family passed them along to its members. At the 14th generation, around the late 1700s and early 1800s, Ch'en's style spilt into the "old-frame' and the "new-frame" versions. The new frame was taught by Ch'en Yu-pen, and the Old frame by Ch'en Chang-hsing.

It was at this time that an outsider learned the art and started opening it up to the rest of the world. These days, students can learn several versions of the Chen style - including the old frame and new frame - as well as variety of offshoots that developed in towns located near the Chen family village.

The Ch'en form requires the body to be straight and upright. Variations of the horse stance are emphasized. In the most popular version, which was taught by Chen Xiaowang and Feng Zhiqiang, the basic stance has the toes pointing outward. (Other forms use a parallel-foot horse stance.) In all versions, the knees are positioned directly above the toes. Most movements are executed with a sideways orientation - as if one's opponents are standing to the side. Feng Zhiqiang was a student of Ch'en Fake the last master or the style and was instrumental in bringing back the Ch'en style after the Cultural Revolution (196601977) when all the arts were suppressed by the Chinese government.

It is interested that Feng claims to be responsible for bringing the Ch'en form back to the Ch'en village after the cultural revolution (1966-1976). That was due to the form being lost during this time. The so called "Cultural Revolution" was a time for these arts to be lost or stagnate in China as those practicing openly were oppressed by the government. Other forms continued to flourish in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States.

A novel part of the Ch'en style is the multitude of explosive movements: jumps, strikes and kicks. There is an emphasis on "silk-reeling energy", or the spiraling energy that flows from the feet to the hands. Even thought the art is performed quickly, the practitioner remains loose and relaxed. Any tension or disjointed movements mean it is being done incorrectly. It is difficult to practice the Ch'en style correctly because of the ease with which excessive force and muscle tension can creep into its movements. Perhaps this is why some hard stylists can do impressive imitations of this style - without using the correct concepts. It may also be the reason the Ch'en style appeals to martial arts students who need a tangible sense of speed and force.

 Yang Style

Yang Lu-chan (1799 - 1872) learned the old-frame style from Ch'en Chang-hsing. Many stories tell how this took place. A popular one holds that Yang wanted to learn the art, but the Ch'en family would not teach outsiders. So Yang took a job as a servant for the Ch'en's and learned t'ai chi by watching through a crack in the wall. Afterward, he would practice what he learned when he alone in his room. One day he was discovered and asked to spar with the other students. He easily defeated all of them and was taken under the wing of Ch'en Chang-hsing, who then taught him the whole old-frame style. Yang is said to have spent the next six years studying under Ch'en. The number of years he spent with the Ch'en family is uncertain.

Yang eventually returned to his hometown of Kuang P'ing (also spelled Guang Ping) and taught the old-frame Ch'en style. He later traveled to Beijing and became a military martial arts teacher for the Manchu government. After he altered the sequence of the movements in his form, it became known as the Yang style.

Some modern practitioners claim that Yang watered down the art he taught to the Manchus and reserved a different version of it for his townspeople and family. But this may be just a selling point for those who insist they teach the only "authentic" form.

It is important to remember that Yang played a pivotal role in opening the once-closed art to the outside world. Two facts are significant: He learned the old-frame Ch'en style, and he was never beaten in combat. Even as a beginner, he defeated all of Ch'en's students. For those who claim he didn't learn all the secrets of the Ch'en family, this action speaks louder than any speculation.

Because of his victories in challenge matches, he acquired the nickname "Yang the Invincible". Nevertheless, he always avoided hurting his opponent in a match. Two of his sons carried on his art and family tradition, they were Yang Pan-hou (a.k.a. Yang Yu) and Yang Chien-hou (a.k.a. Yang Jian). The senior Yang also taught Wu Yu-hsiang and was friends with Tung Hai-chuan who was the founder of pa kua chang.

Wu Style

Wu Yu-hsiang studied under Yang Lu-chan for an extended time. He then traveled to the Chen family village, and for three months he studied the new-frame style with Chen Ching-ping. After that, Wu founded his own version of t'ai chi, which is now called the Wu style, the old Wu style of the orthodox Wu style.

Wu is thought to be responsible for the classic text titled Expositions of Insights Into the Practice of the 13 Postures. Three offshoots stemmed from Wu Yu-hsiang: the Li, the Hao and the Sun styles.

Li Style Li I-yu was Wu Yu-hsiang's main disciple. He wrote several t'ai chi classics, including The Five Character Secret and Essentials of the Practice of Form and Push Hands. That text was based upon a secret manuscript, allegedly written by Wang Tsung-yueh, which the Wu family claimed it found.

 Hao Style

Li I-yu taught Hao Wei-chen, who then founded the Hao style of t'ai chi. This is another small-frame form, which means it uses tight small-circle movements and shorter stances.

In 1914 Hao embarked o a trip to visit a friend named Yang Chien-hou, who was actually Yang Lu-chan's son. Hao ended up contracting an illness before he could find Yang. A well-known hsing-i master named Sun Lu-tang came to his aid, and Hao repaid him by teaching him his fighting style. Sun was already renowned for his hsing-i and pa kau skills, but he decided to combine the Hao style of t'ai chi with the other two arts to form a new system which is now called the Sun style t'ai-chi ch'uan.

 Sun Style

Like the Hao style, the sun style is considered small frame. It employs many "step-ups" into its techniques, and this fact makes it somewhat similar to hsing-i. the Sun style also used short stances and straight leg kicks, but jumps have been taken out of its repertoire. It is said that the art melded pa kua's steps, hsing-I leg and waist methods, and t'ai chi's softness.

Sun Lu-tang is also well-known because he was highly literate and a prolific writer. This made him a rarity among martial artist of that time. He authored several books and popularized the term nei chia chuan, which translates as "Internal family arts" or "Internal martial arts." That term became popular for the "Internal Styles" of t'ai-chi ch'uan, Hsing-I ch'uan, and Pa-kua chang. But that term also lead to much confusion as to the arts. The style was carried on by Sun's daughter, Sun Jian-yun.

New Wu Style

Yang Lu-chan's two sons carried on his brand of t'ai chi. One of them, Yang Pan-hou, taught a modified small-frame style. He is also reported to have taught a watered-down form to the imperial family and still more authentic form to his towns-people.

Several versions of t'ai chi are now attributed to Yang Pan-hou. The most famous is the other Wu style of Wu Jian-chuan (1870 - 1942). Yang taught Wu Chuan-yu, who taught his son, Wu Jian-chuan. This style, called the "new Wu style" by some, this form is distinct from the Wu style of Wu Yu-hsiang.

Some new-Wu stylist advocate using a pronounced lean in many of the techniques to help the student gain leverage and power. Other practitioners remain upright as in the Ch'en style. The original form had 108 to 121 movements, but several short and modified versions now exist.

Part Two "How to Differentiate the Styles and Choose the One That's Right for You" Harvey Kurland Karate/Kung fu Illustrated August 1998, pp 84-87 � Kurland 1998

Kuang P'ing Style Another t'ai chi ch'uan offshoot from Yang Pan-hou is the Kuang P'ing (also spelled Guang Ping) style which was taught in San Francisco by Kuo Lien Ying. This is the form which Yang allegedly taught at one point in his life. It's interesting to note that there are very few similarities between the so called Kuang P'ing style and the Wu style. Kuo's from is more open and linear, and it uses a more sideways-oriented stance. It also has very extended arm movements and sometimes appears to be a bridge between the Ch'en style and the Yang style. As in the older Yang forms, and upright is used.

Kuo's form uses an upright stance and straight-leg heel kicks and jumping kicks. It is usually done at a faster pace, at least faster than the later Yang forms. The form also includes some fast step-up movements which are similar to those found in hsing-i ch'uan. Most of the techniques in the Kuang P'ing form are different from those of the Chen, Yang, or Wu forms. Several versions of the style are taught today, mostly in California. Some other instructors teach the art but call it the Ch'en style.

Kuo's history tells that Yang Pan-hou taught the Kuang Ping form to Wong Jiao-yu. His followers claimed it was a secret of the Yang family's that was never taught to the then hated Manchus. Wong supposedly taught Kuo Lien Ying, who was already a master of Northern Shaolin kung fu. Kuo later shortened the form and taught his condensed version to thousands of students. When Mao Tse-tung seized power in China, Kuo fled to Taiwan and later to San Francisco's Chinatown, where the couple taught the art.

Kuo has many students who also teach versions of the Kuang Ping style; some of these are very different from what he taught. They include his wife Simone, Henry Look, Y.C. Chiang, Tom Brayne, T.R. Chung and Harvey Kurland.

Kuo wrote two books, one of which was translated into English as Tai Chi Chuan in Theory and Practice, translated by T.R. Chung and has the original pictures of Kuo doing his form. I have a copy Kuo gave me in 1971. His wife later rewrote his book and other students wrote their version of his book including Wave Hands Like Clouds by Li Po and Ananda.

Old Yang Style

Yang Chien-hou (1842-1917) taught large-, medium-, and small-frame styles of tai chi. He was easier to get along with than his brother and had more students. One story told how he once held a sparrow in his hand and used his sensitivity to prevent the bird from taking off by neutralizing its push. In another story, armed only with a brush Yang is said to have defeated a martial artist who was wielding a sword. His sons, Yang Shao-hou and Yang Cheng-fu, carried on his art.

Stories of Yang Shao-hou described him as being brutal and often injuring or killing his students. Consequently, he did not have many followers, but the ones he did have were good martial artists. The well-known ones include his son Yang Chen-seng, Tian Shao-lin, Hsiung Young-hou, and Chang Ching-ling, all of whom carried on his unique small-frame method. Tian Shao-lin was one of the highest level none family students of Yang Chien-hou. Tian continued to train with Yang Shao-hou and Yang Cheng-fu. One of Tian's students was Shi Tiao-mei who taught Tchoung Ta-tchen.

After Yang Shao-hou died, his students became followers of his brother, Yang Cheng-fu. Some tai chi historians claim that many of the senior students of Yang Shao-hou, believing their skill was higher than Yang Cheng-fu's, went off on their own after he died. Thus, they were written out of the official lineage, and some practitioners do not consider their versions of the art authentic. Hsiung Yang-hou being one of those.

Some experts claim that Tian Shao-lin and Hsiung Yang-hou were also students of Yang Pan-hou. We do know that Tian taught Shi Tiao-mei, who taught Tchoung Ta-tchen. Hsiung also taught Tchoung Ta-tchen as well as Liang Tung-tsai the san shou form. Researcher Andy Dale refers to the San Shou form as another "secret" Yang style, which Yang Shau-chung claimed was derived from the Ch'en Ar Lu style (pao chui, or cannon fist), as taught by Yang Lu-chan.

Modern Yang Style Yang Cheng-fu (1883-1936) taught a large-frame tai chi from that used expansive movements. It was often said that he felt like a steel bar wrapped in cotton. Legend has it he was never defeated in combat. Chang Ching-ling also practiced with him and may have helped develop Yang's skill. Yang taught at the Central Kuo Shu Institute in 1926. He modified the form, taking out the fast kicks and the more strenuous movements. He is also credited with emphasizing the health benefits of the art and popularizing it among the educated class. Yang deserved much of the credit for the current popularity of the Yang style even though some claim he taught one art to the public and another to his closest disciples.

 Fu Style

Yang Cheng-fu taught several well-known instructors, including his son Yang Shau-chung, Tung Ying-chieh, Chen Wei-ming and Cheng Man-ching. Each went off to teach his own version of the Yang style. Fu Zhen-song studied with Yang and Sun Lu-tang, then formed his own style, which is called the Fu style. Fu style combines tai chi, hsing-i and pa kua chang.

Fu developed the form called liang-i, as well as his own version of pa kua chang (bagua zhang). Fu's forms contain a lot spinning, twisting, body ripping, and backward and forward leaning. Well-known teachers include Bow Sim Mark in Boston, Massachusetts; and Victor Fu in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Tung Style

Tung Ying-chieh (1888-1961) is a famous teacher of the Yang style and was Yang Cheng-fu's assistant. He was considered the #3 student of Yang Cheng-fu. Tian Shaolin being the #1 student. Tung was said to have helped edit Yang's book and wrote some books of his own. Tung later developed his own form, which he taught his students after they learned the standard form. His son, Tung Fue-ling, taught the style in Hong Kong, Hawaii and Los Angeles. Tung is also spelled Dong.

The Tung version of the Yang style became popular in Los Angeles and Hawaii. Huang Wen-shan, a student of Tung Ying-chieh, is usually credited with popularizing tai chi in the Southern California area through his classes and his book Fundamentals of Tai Chi Chuan. Huang's students are still teaching a modified version of that form. Tung Fue-ling's son Tung Kai-ying, continues to teach in Los Angeles.

The Tung style is said to have descended from the Yang Cheng-fu form, and the Tung family added fast forms it developed. The style is characterized by higher elbow positions, angularity, a greater amount of hand tension and reduced usage of the waist than the Chang Ching-ling derivatives. Tung Kai-ying's form shows wonderful "ward-off" energy and is beautiful to watch, but many of his students who left to teach on their own show only stiffness, and were probably not certified by him.

The Tung form seems to place more emphasis on peng (ward-off energy) and less on yielding. Many students who learn this and the standard Yang style use arm power instead of waist energy. This is a common trend in most Yang Cheng-fu variations, but not done by Tung and higher level students.

Chen Man-ch'ing Style

Cheng Man-ch'ing was a well-known student of Yang Cheng-fu who wrote several books, including his famous Cheng's 13 Chapters on T'ai-chi Ch'uan. Some historians have suggested that Cheng also trained with Chang Ching-ling and some students of Yang Shao-hou, but Cheng officially recognized only Yang Cheng-fu as his teacher.

Cheng at first taught the standard but later shortened it to 37 movements. In Taiwan he was a famous t'ai-chi instructor, and many skilled teaches worked with him, including Liu Se-heng, Ben Lo, Tchoung Ta-tchen, T. T. Liang, Abraham Liu and William Chen. Cheng was well-known for his push hands and softness, but had also had very good kicking skills. He moved to New York and started teaching there.

There are stories which tell how Cheng was knocked unconscious twice while engaging in push hands with Yang Cheng-fu. He is also reported to not have gotten along with Kuo Lien-ying or Hsiung Yang-hou, who did not like his style. There are now many versions and modifications of the Chang Man-ch'ing form.

 Yang Factionalism

Many versions of Yang style are taught today. Some are called the "standard" or "authentic" versions and claim to be based on Yang Cheng-fu's 1930s form. In reality, tai chi practitioners often shared information, sparred and worked out with practitioners of other styles, and this probably influenced everyone's technique.

For example, Chen Wei-ming, a well-known student of Yang Cheng-fu, was friends with Sun Lu-tang and studied pa kua chang and hsing-i chuan with him. As mentioned above, there is speculation that Chang Man-ching also worked with Chang Ching-ling and Yang Shao-hou's students. Yang Shao-hou was a friend of pa kua legend Cheng Ting-hua. And Yang Lu-chan was a friend of Tung Hai-chuan the founder of pa kua.

There are disaggreements over correct form by many masters. For example in the Yang family: the Fu Zhong-wen side and the Yang Zhen-dou side have differences in how they do their forms. Fu began studying with his uncle, Yang Cheng-fu when he was 9. Fu became a disciple of Cheng, and his followers even say he was Yang Cheng-fu's favorite family disciple. Fu recently died, and his son, Fu Sheng-yu, carries on his art.

Yang Zhen-dou is the son of Yang Cheng-fu and is considered by many to be the fourth-generation inheritor of the Yang style, even though simple math shows that he was only 10 when his father died. But Yang and Fu had plenty of expert family members from who to learn. There seems to be some controversy as to whether Fu or Yang carried on the true from of Yang Cheng-fu.

Outwardly the patterns are the same, but there are significant differences in the way the two forms are done. In the Yang Zhen-dou version, many of the movements - such as the one called "brush knee" - have a slight lean. (Interestingly, this is similar to how it's done in some versions of the "new Wu style.") But in the Fu version, the body is held upright, as is done in the Chen and Kuang Ping versions, Yang Zhen-dou argues that if you look at pictures of Yang Cheng-fu, you can see him lean. They both agree that their way differ from other forms, as well.

Tchoung Style

Tchoung Ta-tchen teaches his dual form of the old style of the Yang family form. At 220 movements, this form is much longer than the standard versions; it actually takes an hour to complete. Tchoung's "annotated form" is composed of 120 movements and can be traced back to Yang Pan-hou and Yang Shao-hou, depending on which historian is believed.

Tchoung also trained with Hsiung Young-ho (1886-1984), who was a student of Yang Shao-hou. From Hsiung he learned the san shou fighting form. He trained in push hands with Cheng Man-ch'ing and was a friend and practice partner of Kuo Lien-ying, Wang Shu-chin, Yuan Tao and Wang Yen-nien. Tchoung also studied the "Nature school of boxing" with Hsiung Chien-yuan and trained in chi kung at China's Emmei Shan monastery in 1942.

Like his friend Kuo, Tchoung traveled around and tried out other martial artists. If he heard that master was supposed to be good at push hands, Tchoung would visit him. According to Laurens Lee: "He was famous in t'ai-chi ch'uan push hands in Taiwan. During that period of time, there was a statement in Taiwan's martial arts field: 'Big Tchoung cannot be moved, and Little Tchoung cannot be pushed off balance.' Big Tchoung referred to eagle-claw master Tchoung Fu-sheng, and Little Tchoung referred to Tchoung Ta-tchen." More on Tchoung Ta-tchen at Tchoung Ta-tchen Conclusion As enlightened martial artists are fond of saying, the study of most any style will ultimately benefit the student. Therefor, the student should choose the style that most appeals to him. It is hoped that the historical and developmental information provided in parts one and two of this article will enable martial artists to better decide which style of tai chi chuan best fits their need. Because numerous experts devoted their life to perfecting each version of the art, they all deserve to be respected.

Based on Harvey Kurland Karate/Kung fu Illustrated June 1998, pp 22-27 "How to Differentiate the Styles and Choose the One That's Right for You" Harvey Kurland Karate/Kung fu Illustrated August 1998, pp 84-87 � Kurland 1998 Harvey Kurland

About the Author: Harvey Kurland MSc, MFS, CSCS, is a certified tai chi chuan instructor by the Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association. He studied with several Grandmasters of the Art including Kuo Lien Ying and Tchoung Ta-tchen. Kurland is also an exercise physiologist and teaches tai chi chuan for the University of California Riverside, Riverside Community College and Loma Linda University Drayson Center.