Zhaobao Town is located in the east of Wen County on the northwest edge of Henan Province, adjacent to Jincheng in the southeast of Shanxi Province, and on the bank of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has a long cultural history. According to historical records, Zhaobao Town was the border of the State of Zhao during the Guofeng period. There is the ancient Sishui Ferry of the Yellow River in the south, the Taihang Mountains in the north, the Wangwu Mountain in Mengzhou in the west, and the North China Plain in the east. It is a transportation fortress that ancient military strategists have fought for. Standing on Qingfeng Ridge in the center of Niujiaochuan, there was the Jin Tomb first, and then the Zhaobao Town Tomb. It is more than 20 meters high, and the soil is yellow and white. In ancient times, there was a military defense post on the tomb. This is not only a cross-traffic route, but also a commercial center with a radius of 100 miles. This tomb was later destroyed.
It is said that during the Yuan-Ming War, Zhu Yuanzhang once washed Huaiqing three times (Wen County was originally under the jurisdiction of Huaiqing Prefecture). Therefore, there was once a rare population here, and the fields were barren. According to the records of the family temple, the original population all migrated from Hongdong, Shanxi during the Hongwu period (1368-1398 AD), and has been multiplying for more than 20 generations. Due to the chaos at that time, the migrants practiced martial arts and boxing in order to survive and defend themselves. There are so many boxing names that later generations cannot remember them in detail.
In the 24th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1596 AD), Wang Zongyue from Yangcheng, Shanxi, and his party of two people went to Zhengzhou by Sishui River and crossed the Yellow River to check the business. They passed through Zhaobao Town from Taihang Mountain and stayed at Zhaobao Inn at dusk. The two of them saw people practicing boxing here, so they talked about it in the inn. Wang Zongyue said in his conversation that those who wear purple flowered cloth shirts have good talent. This was known to the owner of the inn. The person wearing the purple flowered cloth shirt was Jiang Fa, so he told him. Jiang Fa heard the words and knew that there must be a master of art, so he hurried to the inn with the owner to visit the guest. Wang Zongyue was on a business trip, so he refused to accept Jiang Fa’s request at first. Only after Jiang Fa and the shop owner begged him to accept Jiang Fa as his disciple did he agree to accept him as his disciple. The next day, Wang Zongyue set off and sent his master to Quan Fanshui Ferry. Before leaving, they agreed to return here on a certain day and take Jiang Fa back to Shanxi to teach martial arts. When the time came, Jiang Fa went to Sishui Ferry to welcome his master, and indeed met Wang Zongyue returning. This showed the virtue and trustworthiness of Master Wang. Jiang Fa took his master home, made some arrangements, and then followed his master to Yangcheng, Shanxi.
Jiang Fa studied martial arts at his teacher Wang Zongyue’s home for seven years. He respected his teacher as his father and was deeply loved by Wang Zongyue. He taught him Wudang Zhang Sanfeng Tai Chi and various exercises and key points. Jiang Fa studied hard day and night and finally became a Tai Chi master. After Jiang Fa finished his studies, he returned to Zhaobao. From then on, Tai Chi spread in Zhaobao, with successors from generation to generation, and it grew stronger day by day. This Tai Chi style is unique and can be practiced by people of all ages, both young and old, the weak and the strong. It is deeply loved by people. Because it is mainly passed down in Zhaobao Village, it is honored by later generations as Zhaobao Tai Chi.
The main inheritance path is that Jiang Fa passed it on to Xing Xihuai, Zhang Chuchen, Chen Jingbo, Zhang Zongyu, Zhang Yan, and Chen Qingping. It was passed down from generation to generation in secret and never left the village. It was not until the tenth generation of masters Zheng Wuqing, Zheng Boying, and Hou Chunxiucai that the boxing was passed on to Xi’an and other places. Now the boxing has been widely spread in China and overseas. The boxing has been handed down to this day and still systematically retains the characteristics of the three-in-one boxing frame, pushing hands, and free-hand fighting created by the founder Zhang Sanfeng. The boxing method is derived from the way of nature, the conclusion of using softness to overcome hardness, the principle of lightness, flexibility, and flexibility, and the method of practice. The boxing frame or theoretical works passed down by successive generations after hundreds of years of reasoning and practicing skills are all passed down by the master orally and by example.