Taijiquan originates from Chenjiagou, a small village to the east of
Wenxian County,
Henan Province.
Written
accounts about the boxing arts, figures and stories of Taijiquan began
from records of Chen Wangting, the descendant of the ninth generation of
the Chen family. Chen Wangting, a celebrated name in
Henan and
Shandong area during the period between the end
of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing dynasty, had once mopped up
the bandit gangs in
Shandong and won such a great reputation that
the gangsters dared not approach him. Yet in the unrest society, he
could not fulfill his ambitions, so he lived in seclusion in his old age
and created Taijiquan, which was based on the martial arts handed down
from his ancestors, absorbing the merits of various kungfu schools and
combining the theory of yin and yang, the doctrine of jingluo
of traditional Chinese medicine and the art of expiration and
inspiration. Chen Wangting passed on five sets of Taijiquan, one set of paochui (powerful boxing), 108 positions of changquan (long boxing), double tuishou (pushing hands) and weapons such as dao (broad sword), qiang (spear), gun (staff), jian (mace), double nian qiang (a special spear), etc. The double tuishou and the double nian qiang,
in particular, are unprecedented and innovative. Most works of Chen
Wangting could not be found any more due to long years and only his Ballad on Arts of Boxing and one poem named Changduanju (Random Sentences) are handed down.
Exercising
taijiquan is very popular in Chenjiagou, and everyone there, young or
old, man or woman, all do such exercises. The local saying goes like
this: “Whoever drinks water of Chenjiagou will know how to practice
taijiquan.” Such customs are passed on from generation to generation,
thus many famous kungfu masters emerged through the ages.
Taijiquan of Chen Family has gradually developed into four major styles. Nowadays, taijiquan has been popularized in
China, and has been known aboard. While the martial arts of
Shaolin
Temple are celebrated for its strength and
swiftness, the taijiquan of Chen Family is world-renowned for its
combination of force and gentleness.
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