What are Tai Chi Chuan Styles?
After more than 600 years of inheritance, Tai Chi has already established many schools and hundreds of millions of disciples. Tai Chi has gone beyond China and has become popular all over the world. A “Tai Chi fever” is gaining momentum around the world.
The inheritance of Tai Chi has been divided into southern and northern schools in history. That is:
Zhang Sanfeng – Wang Zong – Chen Zhoutong – Zhang Songxi, Zhang Songxi founded the southern school of Tai Chi;
Zhang Sanfeng – Wandering Taoist (Liu Guquan) – Wang Zongyue – Jiang Fa, Jiang Fa founded the northern school of Tai Chi.
The southern school has preserved fewer boxing classics of Zhang Sanfeng, and Zhang Sanfeng’s original boxing techniques have also been processed to form the system of the Songxi school.
The northern school has preserved more boxing classics of Zhang Sanfeng and his early successor Wang Zongyue, and the boxing forms are basically not far from Zhang Sanfeng’s original style.
1, Southern School of Tai Chi Chuan
As the founder of Tai Chi, Zhang Sanfeng traveled around the China for many years after creating the boxing, and his traces were all over the country, which provided convenience for his boxing. However, since Taoism is very cautious in selecting disciples, the teaching of boxing is very secretive, commonly known as “Taoism is not passed on to six ears”, which means that a third person is not allowed to be present when a Taoist teaches a disciple, so it is generally passed on to one person. Therefore, the development of Tai Chi in the Ming Dynasty was relatively slow. It was not until Zhang Songxi and Jiang Fa that Tai Chi developed rapidly, and the Southern School of Tai Chi and the Northern School of Tai Chi appeared.
According to the inheritance relationship of Southern School of Tai Chi, Zhang Sanfeng first taught boxing to Wang Zong in Shaanxi. According to “Tai Chi and Qigong” written by Hu Zhuanyun and Huang Wei: Wang Zong was from Guanting Village, Baqiao, Xi’an, Shaanxi, and his ancestors lived in Yuyao, Zhejiang. Guanting Village is located near the “Xiahou Tomb” of the eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty, and was originally named “Xiahou Village”. After Wang Zong learned boxing from Zhang Sanfeng, he returned to his hometown in Yuyao, Zhejiang, and his family has practiced martial arts for generations. Wang Shouren, the son of Wang Zong, was named Yangming, and was successful in martial arts. Later, he served as the Minister of War. He advocated “unity of knowledge and action” and opposed “Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism”, which had a great influence on later generations.
Wang Zong’s disciple Chen Zhoutong, who was from the same hometown and worked with Wang Zong, worked as a copywriter in Xi’an government office for many years. According to “Research on the Transmission of Inner Tai Chi” written by Song Zhijian of Taiwan, “The first chapter of “Inner Boxing Martial Arts” written by Ni Heqing of Yongjia is “Chen Zhoutong’s Inner Meaning and Heart Transmission”, signed as “Gengchen, Oujiang Fishing Old Man Chen Zhoutong, Washing Hands and Respectfully Postscript in the Fifteenth Year of Dade in the Ming Dynasty (1520).” Here Chen Zhoutong called himself a fishing old man, which should be the year when he returned to his hometown to fish for his own amusement in his old age.
Zhang Songxi, the third-generation inheritor of Southern Tai Chi, was born in Wenzhou around the first year of Zhengde (1506) and died in Yuping, Guizhou around the first year of Taichang (1620). He studied under Chen Zhoutong, taught several disciples, and founded the Southern School of Tai Chi, also known as the Songxi School of Wudang Inner Boxing. Zhang Songxi’s internal boxing “resists the enemy without any gaps to attack” and “uses stillness to control movement, and the offender will fall down immediately”. Zhang Songxi passed on his skills to four disciples, with Siming Ye Jimei (Jinquan) as the leader; Jinquan passed on his skills to Wu Kunshan, Zhou Yunquan, Shan Sinan, Chen Zhenshi, and Sun Jicha; Wu Kunshan passed on his skills to Li Tianmu and Xu Dai; Li Tianmu passed on his skills to Yu Bozhong, Wu Qilang, and Chen Maohong; Zhou Yunquan passed on his skills to Lu Shaoqi; Chen Zhenshi passed on his skills to Dong Fuyu and Xia Zhixi; Sun Jicha passed on his skills to Chai Xuanming, Yao Shimen, Seng Er, and Seng Wei; Shan Sinan passed on his skills to Wang Zhengnan.
Wang Zhengnan (1617-1669), whose name was Laixian and whose courtesy name was Zhengnan. He joined the army in his early years and was promoted to Linshan Bazong for “breaking the target with seven arrows”. Due to his “repeated military exploits”, he was promoted to “Deputy General of the Dudu”. Later, he lived in seclusion in the countryside and “ate vegetables all his life to show his ambition”. Although Zhengnan stopped working and stayed at home, people who admired his talent and skills kept visiting him. This led to a wonderful competition between Wang Zhengnan and a martial arts teacher in Songjiang. According to the Epitaph of Wang Zhengnan, “Zhengnan declined the offer. The teacher opened his eyes and said: Can you give it a try? Zhengnan refused. The teacher thought he was afraid of him, so he pushed him harder and harder, and Zhengnan had no choice but to respond. The teacher fell. He asked him to do it again, and he fell again.” In his later years, Wang Zhengnan secretly accepted many disciples and taught them martial arts. Huang Baijia, the son of Huang Zongxi, a great writer and thinker in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, worshipped Wang Zhengnan as his teacher and learned Wudang internal boxing. In the year when Wang Zhengnan passed away, Huang Zongxi, a great scholar, wrote an epitaph for him. For the first time in the history of Chinese martial arts, he said: “Shaolin is famous for its boxing and bravery, but it focuses on fighting people, and people can also take advantage of it. There is a so-called internal school, which uses stillness to control movement, and the offender will fall immediately, so Shaolin is separated from the internal school. It was probably originated from Zhang Sanfeng in the Song Dynasty.” Seven years after Wang Zhengnan’s death (1675), his disciple Huang Baijia wrote “Internal School Boxing” and “Biography of Mr. Wang Zhengnan”. It introduced Wang Zhengnan’s internal school boxing in a relatively comprehensive way. Its theory and method of skills and the principle of selecting disciples of “five non-transmissions” are mostly the same as Tai Chi. After Wang Zhengnan, Southern Tai Chi was also spread to Nanjing, Sichuan and other places, and a large number of martial arts masters emerged.
2, Northern Tai School of Tai Chi Chuan
From the time of inheritance of the two schools of Tai Chi, the inheritance of Northern Tai Chi was slightly later than that of Southern Tai Chi. After Zhang Sanfeng, Tai Chi was passed on to Wang Zongyue in Shanxi (Shanxi was called “Shanyou” in ancient times). Wang Zongyue learned Taijiquan from Taoism. He was warned by the person who taught him Taijiquan not to reveal the name of his master to his descendants, and only said that it was taught by a “wandering Taoist”. He only wrote at the end of his “Taijiquan Shi”: “This is the legacy of Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang Mountain. He hopes that the heroes and heroes of the world will prolong their lives and not just be the end of the art.”
Wang Zongyue was born around the 14th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1535). He was from Xiaowangzhuang, Qiligang, Yangcheng County, Shanxi Province. He often traveled between Yangcheng and Zhengzhou, Henan Province to do business. Because of his high level of Taijiquan cultivation, he was called “the hero of North China”. He made outstanding contributions to the development history of Taijiquan. First, he explained Zhang Sanfeng’s six Taijiquan classics and wrote the epoch-making work “Taijiquan Theory” in the history of Taijiquan development. It summarized the true meaning of Taijiquan theory and practice, guided the healthy development of Taijiquan, and was revered as the first classic by various Taijiquan schools later. Furthermore, he had a unique vision. According to the principle of selecting disciples of Wudang Neijiaquan, he chose Jiang Fa from Henan as the successor, which enabled the Northern School of Tai Chi to be created and formed. His contribution was great.
In short, after more than 600 years of inheritance, Chinese Tai Chi has now become a variety of schools with hundreds of millions of disciples at home and abroad. In the inheritance and development process of the above traditional Tai Chi, those outstanding boxers, in the exchange and integration of martial arts, combined their own characteristics, skills and cultivation, gradually formed several relatively excellent, large-scale, and style-distinct Tai Chi styles, which are widely known. In this way, today’s many Tai Chi schools were formed.
How many Tai Chi Chuan Styles are there?
There are many traditional Tai Chi Chuan Styles. Common Tai Chi schools include Zhaobao, Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu, Sun and other schools. Each school has a heritage relationship and learns from each other. It also has its own characteristics, showing a state of blooming. Since Tai Chi is a modern martial arts style with many schools and a broad mass base, it is a very vital branch of Chinese martial arts.
Characteristics of Tai Chi Chuan Styles
1, Zhaobao Tai Chi
Zhaobao Tai Chi was formed in Zhaobao Town, Wen County, Henan Province. It is said to have been created by Zhang Sanfeng of the Wudang School, and passed on to Wang Zongyue by a wandering Taoist priest, who passed it on to Jiang Fa. Jiang Fa passed it on to Xing Xihuai, Zhang Chuchen, Chen Jingbo, Zhang Zongyu, Zhang Yan, Chen Qingping, Zhang Jingzhi, He Zhaoyuan, Niu Fahu, Li Zuozhi, Li Jingyuan, Ren Changchun, and in modern times to Zheng Wuqing, Zheng Boying, Hou Chunxiu and others. The characteristics of Zhaobao Tai Chi are: compact posture, natural rotation, straight and smooth, soft and full.
2, Chen-style Tai Chi
Chen-style Tai Chi is the Tai Chi posture handed down from generation to generation by the Chen family in Chenjiagou, Wen County, Henan Province. The Chen-style Tai Chi routines currently practiced in society are the seven routines handed down from the period of Chen Wangting (1600-1680) by Chen Changxing (1771-1853) and his contemporary Chen Youben. After being sorted out and simplified, there are two routines, the first and second (the second is also called Paochu). People in Chenjiagou call the boxing stance created by Chen Changxing “big stance”; the boxing stance created by Chen Youben “small stance”, also known as “new stance”. The two sets of boxing are basically the same in routine structure and stance style, but they are different in boxing stance and moves. The main characteristics of Chen-style Tai Chi are: low stance, stretched movements, spiral winding, combination of hardness and softness, fast and slow, jumping and exerting force, and strong offensive and defensive skills of the movements.
3, Yang-style Tai Chi
Yang-style Tai Chi was created by Yang Luchan (1799-1872) in Yongnian, Hebei. Yang Luchan learned from Chen Changxing, a famous Tai Chi master in Chenjiagou, Wen County, Henan Province. After learning Tai Chi, he went to Beijing to teach Tai Chi. According to the needs of the times and society, he simplified and innovated the original boxing form, removing the more combative movements such as jumping and shaking the feet in the original boxing form. It was finalized by his sons Yang Banhou and Yang Jianhou, and finally by his grandson Yang Chengfu (1883-1936). The characteristics of Yang style boxing are: stretching and generous, central and perfect, slow and gentle, strong and connotative, and continuous movements. Because it is easy to teach and learn, it has become the most widely spread Tai Chi style. The creation and promotion of Yang style Tai Chi marked the transformation of Tai Chi from attack and defense to sports and fitness.
4, Wu style Tai Chi
Wu style Tai Chi was created by Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880) in Yongnian, Hebei. Wu Yuxiang first learned boxing from Yang Luchan, and then went to Zhaobao Town to learn from Chen Qingping. After returning to his hometown, he created a new Tai Chi style that was different from other styles after years of careful research. After being continuously revised and improved by his successors Li Yishe (1832-1892) and Hao Weizhen (1849-1920), Wu Style Tai Chi gradually formed its own style. The characteristics of Wu Style Tai Chi are: compact style, slow movements, clear rhythm, each posture is connected by starting, carrying, turning and closing, the steps are clear, and the moves are not beyond the toes. Wu Style Tai Chi was taught in a small range before liberation, and it was not until liberation that it was promoted and spread.
5, Wu Style Tai Chi
Wu Style Tai Chi was created by Quan You, a Manchu from Daxing, Hebei, and his son Wu Jianquan (1870-1942). Quan You first studied under Yang Luchan, and then studied under Yang Luchan’s second son Yang Banhou (1834-1892). Yang Banhou taught a more compact style that he learned from Wu Yuxiang. Quan You was known for his ability to soften, and later passed on his skills to his son Jianquan. Because Jianquan’s surname was Wu, he was renamed Wu Jianquan. After Wu Jianquan improved and sorted it out, it was finalized in his later years to form Wu-style Tai Chi. The characteristics of Wu-style Tai Chi are: compact boxing, delicate and smooth, relaxed and natural, good at softening, and widely spread. At present, the boxing postures of Wu-style Tai Chi spread in the world are slightly different between the southern and northern boxing postures. The boxing postures in the south are more stretched, and the boxing postures in the north are more delicate, each with its own strengths.
6, Sun-style Tai Chi
Sun-style Tai Chi was created by Sun Lutang (1860-1933) in Wan County, Hebei Province. Sun Lutang loved martial arts since he was a child, and was proficient in Xingyiquan and Baguazhang. He was a famous martial artist of his generation, and later studied Tai Chi from Hao Weizheng. He combined Xingyi, Bagua, and Tai Chi into one, creating the unique Sun-style Tai Chi. The characteristics of Sun style Tai Chi are: the fist moves are small and compact, the stance is high and the steps are flexible, light and agile, and the opening and closing are natural; the footwork moves forward and backward, you must follow when you step forward and retreat when you step back, and turn around and change postures to connect opening and closing, so it is also called “opening and closing” Tai Chi.