Some history about Chen family Taijiquan

Quote First it must be made clear that Taijiquan was developed by a retired soldier, a fighter who had knowledge of martial arts as well as Chinese medicinal and cultivational practices. t was primarily developed as a martial art practice with the intention of making the best use of the human body!s cultivational facility while practicing. t originally was not developed with the idea of giving old people a method of moving slowly in the morning to alleviate arthritis although it can be used that way. Taiji quan is over "## years old as a system and takes its roots from further back. the system was developed in northern central China by a retired general $or some sort of soldier official% &amed Chen 'ang Ting, who had a great and broad martial arts skill. (e )i*ed his vast skill with ancient +aoist and ,uddhist breathing and meditation methods as well as traditional medicinal theory and Qi gong. Quote Chen 'angting, &inth -eneration member of the Chen Family, served as a professional soldier for the )ing +ynasty fighting rebel forces. (e was e*posed to a variety of battlefield martial arts, which were more important militarily before the gun appeared on the battlefield. +espite his background and perseverance, in ./00, Chen ended up on the losing side. 1ebel forces began to gain an upper hand, and soon thereafter the )ing +ynasty fell. t is then that Chen 'angting likely retreated to Chen 2illage and developed the comprehensive martial art and internal training system we now call Chen 3tyle Taijiquan.

.### battles, .### victories 4ineage5 4ineage Quote Chen ,u Founding 6ncestor 7riginally from 3han*i province. &earing the end of the )ing +ynasty, Chen ,u migrated to (enan province and moved his family to present day Chenjiagou 2illage in the County of 'en*ian. 6t that time the village was called Chengyang village $mainly consisting of people with the surnames Chang and 8ang%. 'hen the Chen clan prospered and its population increased, the village name was changed to Chenjiagou $!Chen! 5 surname, !9ia! 5 the family of, !-ou! 5 gully or ravine, because the village lies in a gully not far from the 8ellow 1iver%. Chen ,u was an accomplished martial artist, so everyone in the village has been practising kung5fu since then.

Chen 'ang Ting $./##5./:#%, 6lso known as Chen ;outing5 of the <th generation from the founding ancestor Chen ,u, is traditionally held to be the originator of the Chen style of Taiji. t is said that he was a sucessful candidate in the imperial military e*aminations at the provincial level in the late )ing dynasty. n ./00 $ the .0th year of Chong=hen in the reign of emperor 3i=ong5 also the final year of the )ing dynasty, in which the combined influences of )anchu military e*peditions from the north and rebel insurgences in central China served to topple the dynasty% he was appointed Commander of the -arrison Force of 'en*ian county. (e engaged in military e*peditions against rebel forces commanded by 4i ;icheng in 3handong. >pon the fall of the )ing, his opportunities for advancement ruined by the change of dynasties, he retired to Chenjiagou. t is said that while in retirement, he fused techniques from the teachings of the )ing general Qi 9i?uang with traditional medical theory and taoist breathing techniques to form a unique yielding form of martial art. Chen 3ou 4e .#th generation +uring the last days of the )ing dynasty, $."/:5./00% the country was in disorder, brigandage and anarchy were becoming prevalent. a citi=en of the same couty, from ,eipinggao 2illage, named 'ang 9un ,o, was very wealthy. 3everal hundred cruel robbers from 3handong @rovince wanted to steal his treasure. 'ang heard this news and was going to ask Chen 3uo 4e for help. 7n the way to see him,before he arrived at the village, he met Chen 3uo 4e!s two sons, his eldest son Chen 3hen 1u and his second son Chen Aun 1u $nicknamed ,ig 3ky -od and 3econd 3ky -od%. 'ang told them of his plight and asked for assistance. they resolutely undertook to help him. The brothers were twins of nearly si*teen years of age and were skilled in bo*ing. 6t 'ang!s request, they went $to ,eipinggao 2illage% where all was made ready according to plan. That evening, when bandits came they were all dealt with in one fell swoop, an immediate resolution to the dangerous situation. The people of 'en county admired the two youths who were able to kill the robbers. 6 drama was composed, titled B6 @air of (eroes +efeat the ,anditsB. t is often performed during village festivals.B Cwritten by 9i Fu, Chen ;hao @ei, DE<E"D, (enan, 'en*ian, Chenjiagou Chen -uangyin ..th generation Chen ;heng 1u ..th generation

Chen 3han=hi .Fth generation

Chen 9ingjie .Fth generation Chen 9ingbai .Fth generation B n the 9ia qing reign $.G</5.:F.% of the qing dynasty, my ancestor Chen 9ingbai, whose martial arts skill was of the highest level, travelled as an armed escort in 3handong province for a number of years. (is reputation was such that robbers upon hearing that he was guarding the transport would not dare to attack. in Qing =houfu he defeated 'ang +ing -uo, a famous monk of the 3haolin sect. Chen 9ingbai was widely praised and admired.B CChen ;hao @ei

Chen ,ingwang $.G0:5H% ."th generation Teacher of Chen Chang Ain. Chen ,ingren ."th generation Chen ,ingqi ."th generation Chen -ong=hao ."th generation Chen 8ao=hao ."th generation

Chen Chang Ain $.GG.5.:D"% .0th generation. ?nown as B)r. 6ncestral TabletB for his upright posture and reverent attitude, he is best remembered as the instructor of 8ang 4u Chan, the founder of the 8ang school of Taijiquan. (e has been traditionally credited with synthesi=ing the empty hand routines attributed to Chen 'ang Ting into two formsI 8i 4u and Jr 4u $@ao Chui, or Cannon Fist%. These routines, along with the weapons sets came to be known as 4ao 9ia $or 7ld Frame% Quote 6 third branch was headed up by another fourteenth generation member of the Chen family named Chen 8ouheng. Chen 8ouheng developed what many see as the first &ew Frame of the style. This &ew Frame was not a watering down of Chen style by any stretch of the imagination. nstead, it was viewed as an even more martial rendering of

the style adapting to the ever changing face of military hand5to5hand combat. This approach was e*emplified by his offspring, Chen 9ishen and Chen ;hongshen who were recogni=ed as warriors who successfully stood up to the Taiping rebels during the reign of the Jmperor (sien Feng. 3ome accounts credit Chen ;hongshen specifically with adding further developments of a B,ig 3tyleB that emphasi=ed a martial prowess, and made the style more practical and adaptable to battlefield considerations.

Quote Chen ?ung 8uen .Dth generation. The son of Chen Chang*in, he served as a convoy guard $piao5shih% for the gentry in 3handong. (is prowess was well knownI a monument to him was erected in 3handong attaining to his proficiency as a guard. Chen 8an*i ./th generation. The son of Chen ?ung 8uen, (e was noted as the instructor of the household of 8uan 3hi ?aiI Bfamous martial arts e*perts who met him in contests were invariably defeated. From 3handong he went on to tianjin, teaching continuously for si* years. Then, because his mother was getting old, he took his leave and returned home, practicing medicine for the rest of his daysB CChen ;hao @ei (e is also remembered as the instructor of +u 8u Tse. Quote Chen Fa ke $.::G5.<DG% .Gth generation The son of Chen 8an*i, and the great grandson of Chen Chang*in, Chen Fake was a sickly child. (e was not a serious student of Taijiquan until it became obvious that the heriditary title of standard bearer for the art would pass from his father to a more deserving practitioner. This inspired him to practice in earnestI he is said to have risen in the middle of the night to practice in secret for years until his skill developed. (e was recogni=ed as a master when he was .G years old. n .<#G, at the age of F# he participated in a tournament in 'en*ian, winning top honors. 'ord of his skill reached the warlord (an Fuju, who wished to employ him as a bo*ing teacher. Chen refused, and as a result, the angered warlord ordered a subordinate to attack Chen with a spear. Chen easily countered his attack, grasping the tip of the spear as it jabbed toward him, and reversing the force against the attacker. (e was also attacked by a man with a broadsword, and forbidden to use his hands. (e disarmed the man with his feet. (e is remembered for his diligent practice, performing at least "# sets of bo*ing a day, as well as "## repetitions of Bpole shakingB e*ercises.

n .<F: he travelled to ,eijing at the request of Chen ;haopei, his nephew. (e established a name for himself, defeating a number of noted martial artists. 6s a result of this, Chen family Taijiquan became well known. (e cofounded the Capital 'ushu 6ssociation of 3han*i with (u 8ao=hen $Aingyi instructor of Feng ;hiqiang%. Chen Fake taught a number of students, among them his second son, Chen ;haoAu, his third son Chen ;haokui, Feng ;hiqiang, and Tian Aiuchen.

Chen Fa KeQuote $.::G5.<DG%, seventeenth generation descendant of Chen clan, famous Chen style Taijiquan master, Chen Chan Aing!s -reat grandson. Chen became famous in his hometown for victories in lei tai $free fighting% competitions held in the county and for defeating opponents armed with spear and sabre while Chen stood barehanded$after he rejected the post offered to him by (an Fuju, local warlord%. n .<F< , through Chen ;haopi!s recommendation , Chen Fa ?e left Chenjiagou and went to ,eiping $today!s ,eijing% to teach Taijiquan . 2ery modest, used to say about himself B&o -oodB and for this reason became known as BChen &o -oodB. )any times challenged by martial arts practioners $including ,agua and Chinese wrestling e*perts% , defeated them in great style, without hurting anybody