Going to Court overTaiji

Posted on August 12, 2009

by yosaku

I came across an article originally published in 2007 in the

Eastern Daily (from here) that illustrates how deep feelings run
over historical/lineage issues in China, and thought Id share it.
For the last 80 years, the origin of taijiquan has been hotly
disputed. One side contends that it was created by Zhang Sanfeng
from Wudang mountain; the other contends that it was created by
Chen Wangting.
In August of 2004, He Youlu, a 6th-generation inheritor of He
style taijiquan sued a martial arts enthusiast over damage to his
reputation. This not only caused great consternation in the MA
community, but also attracted the attention of Chinese TV and
other mainstream media.

On 2 June 2007, the Chinese Association of Folk Artists declared

Wen county as taijiquans site of origin. On the 5th of June, He
Youlu won the lawsuit and collected 20,000 RMB in
compensation from Wen county Peoples Court.
Back in 1992, the relevant provincial departments started to
create the two brands of Shaolin and Taiji. Over the last 15 years,
Shaolin Temple has already become a famed tourist hotspot, yet
Chenjiagous tourist appeal is still in its infancy.
Wen countys declaration and hard work notwithstanding, can
Wen countys taijiquan really be industrialised? How should Wen
countys taijiquan be developed?

TAIJI INHERITOR SUES WUDANG MAGAZINE

On the 5th of June 2007, He Youlu collected 20,000 RMB from
Wen county Peoples Court, signalling the end to a 2-year long
reputational damage lawsuit.

He Youlu is a 6th-generation inheritor of Zhaobao taijiquan from

Zhaobao village in Wen county. In June 2003, he published A
Manual of He Style Taijiquan, a book that had been 2 years in the
making.
In his book, in the chapter The Creation of He Style taijiquan,
reads He style taijiquan started with He Zhaoyuan (1810-1890),
who was from Zhaobao town in Wen county, Henan province. He
learnt taijiquan from the famed master Chen Qingping, and was
Chens senior disciple
A martial arts enthusiast named Zhang Jie from Qinyang city
(also in Henan) felt that He Youlu, by only mentioning Chen
Qingping but not that He style ultimately derived from Zhang
Sanfeng of Mt Wudang, was deliberately avoiding the issue of
taijiquans origin. In the 2004 Issue 7 of Wudang magazine,
Zhang wrote an article accusing He Youlu of betraying his
ancestors and buddying up to Chen style.
In August of 2004, He Youlu took Zhang and Wudang magazine
to court, demanding an apology and compensation.
The court found that He Zhaoyuan was a student of Chen
Qingping and indeed the founder of He style taijiquan. As for the
lineage prior to Chen Qingping, the court found that there was
still controversy around this subject and that it was not necessary

for He Youlu to trace it beyond. The court judged that the

defendant, Mr Zhang, had clearly blackened He Youlus
reputation. It also judged that Wudang magazine had not properly
carried out its editing duties.

A group picture of taijiquan masters taken at a banquet organised by Wen

county government. From L-R: He Youlu, Wang Xi'an, Chen Xiaowang, Local
Government Ocial, Chen Zhenglei, Zhu Tiancai & Chen Qingzhou

!
In December of the same year, the court reached a verdict: the two
defendants should retract their comments in appropriate media at
the same level, as well as paying the plaintiff compensation for
mental distress of 15,000 RMB and 5,000 RMB respectively.
On 23 January this year, Zhang carried out his duties after being
formally detained by the police. On 29 May of this year, officers of

Wen county peoples court impounded Wudang magazines bank

account in Danjiangkou city, Hubei province.
80 YEARS OF CONTROVERSY
The roots of this case actually lie in an argument over the place of
origin of taiji.
In 1927, the outstanding Chen style master Chen Zhaopi set up a
Leitai (traditionally, a ring for kungfu challenge matches) in
Beijing, going 17 days undefeated, a feat which caused uproar in
Beijing. From then on, the fame of Chen style taiji spread far and
wide, but it also caused a dispute over the origins of taiji.
One theory is that taiji originated from Wudang mountain, and
was created by the Taoist Zhang Sanfeng; another is that it was
created in the early Qing dynasty by Chen Wangting from
Chenjiagou.
So what relation is the Chen Qingping mentioned in the He style
taiji lineage to either of these?
Yuan Fuquan, the current Secretary of Wen county Taijiquan
Development & Research Centre and former head of Wen county
Athletics Bureau, says that records show that Chen Qingping was
a 7th generation inheritor of Chen style taijiquan, who was taught
by Chen Youben, his uncle. Later, he moved to Zhaobao town
(4km away) for business, and it was his disciple He Zhaoyuan who
created He style taiji.
He said that the Zhang Sanfeng theory is just a legend, theres no
supporting evidence.

According to Yuan, Tang Hao, the Chief Editor of Reference

Materials for History of Chinese Physical Culture, was a
trailblazer in chinese martial arts who visited Chenjiagou 3 times
during the course of his research. His conclusion, that Taijiquan
was created by Chen Wangting and was passed down within the
Chen clan has become widespread. Kang Gewu, the secretary of
the Chinese Martial Arts Association and head of the research
department at the Chinese Wushu Management Centre, also
concluded after investigation that Chenjiagou is the birthplace of
taiji.
Some experts, however, reject this theory. The taiji authority Wu
Tunan, in his A General Discussion of Chinese Martial
Arts (Guoshu Gailun)wrote that the lineage of taijiquan was
Zhang Sanfeng Wang Zongyue Jiang Fa Chen Changxing.
The former vice-editor of Zhonghua Wushu magazine considers
that Chen Wangting is the originator of Chen style taijiquan, but
not the originator of taiji as a whole.
On a separate note, Zhaobao village considers, based on the 1936
book Orthodox taiji that Zhaobao taiji developed before Chen
style taiji, and hence Zhaobao is the home of taiji.
In view of this hotly disputed topic, some authoritative figures in
the martial arts world have pointed out that certain places and
styles have distorted history, used legends, or even resorted to
fabricating historical evidence for their own benefit. This
phenomenon has been bad for the development of taiji as a whole.
CONCLUSION: WEN COUNTY PROCLAIMED BIRTHPLACE,
SETTLES DISPUTE BETWEEN CHENJIAGOU & ZHAOBAO

To Yuan Fuquans delight, on 2 Jun this year, the dispute over

taijis origins was finally settled. The General Secretary of Wen
county Literature & Arts Federation Zheng Fuzhen told reporters,
in August of last year, Wen county formally applied to the Chinese
Folk Arts Association to be recognised as the birthplace of taiji.
On the 20-21 of March this year, a task force made up experts
from the fields of martial arts, archaeology and folklore examined
Wen Countys claim to be the birthplace of taiji. The CCTV
Channel 7 programme Countryside filmed a documentary about
the whole process, which was edited into an episode called The
Birthplace of Taijiquan, which introduced in detail taijiquans
origin, evolution and development.
The taskforce unanimously agreed that: Taijiquan originated in
the Zhaobao and Chenjiagou villages of Wen county, and that it
was created by Chen Wangting of Chenjiagou based on the martial
arts passed down within his family, with contributions from many
other arts. Later on Chen style taijiquan gave birth to offshoots in
the form of the Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu (Jianquan), Sun and He
styles.
Note that the final decision essentially sticks to the Chen Qingping
theory for the origin of Zhaobao taiji, despite the existence of
Zhaobao lineages that do not descend from Chen Qingping.