The revival and promotion of Zhaobao Taijiquan in the contemporary era is largely due to the efforts of teachers and students such as He Qingxi, Zheng Wuqing, and Zheng Boying. Among them, Zheng Wuqing’s life is particularly full of legendary colors.
1, Cure illness and practice boxing to keep fit
Zheng Wuqing was originally named Wuqing, and later changed to Wuqing, with the courtesy name Fengchen. He was born on the 5th day of the 9th lunar month in the 21st year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1895) in Zhaobao Town, Wen County, Henan Province, in a family that was half farmer and half businessman. His father, Zheng Xiang, with the courtesy name Chusan, ran Hesheng Cloth Shop in Kaifeng. There were four brothers, three of whom were engaged in business and one was engaged in farming, and none of them had any offspring. Zheng Xiang had his son Wuqing at the age of 48. He was the only son in the fourth room, so he naturally regarded him as a treasure and doted on him abnormally. Excessive doting and irregular life made Zheng Wuqing very weak in childhood. At the age of 7, he suffered from “child tuberculosis” and was delayed until he was 10 years old to enter a private school. When he was 16, his father sent him to a pawnshop in Qinghua (now Boai County) as an apprentice. Three years later, he was promoted to the accountant at the front counter. When Wuqing was 19, his father died. He was too sad and his body became weaker and weaker. Most of his hair fell out. Because of the heavy workload in the pawnshop, he became ill due to overwork. He had been suffering from pulmonary atrophy and hematemesis for a long time and could not get up. He had to return home to recuperate.
Wuqing’s classmate Li Junxiu, who was from a family of traditional Chinese medicine and a Tai Chi enthusiast, believed that Zheng Wuqing’s illness could not only be treated with medicine, but also exercise. The best way to exercise was to practice Tai Chi. On the one hand, he diagnosed and treated Zheng Wuqing, and on the other hand, he taught Zheng Wuqing to practice Tai Chi. After 3 months of treatment and practice, he saw miraculous results and his chronic illness gradually disappeared. Having tasted the benefits of practicing Tai Chi to cure diseases and practicing martial arts to keep fit, Zheng Wuqing realized that Tai Chi is a “magic boxing” that cultivates both body and mind. So, despite the fact that he was about to turn thirty, he formally became a student of the famous Tai Chi teacher He Qingxi (1857-1936) from the same village. Under the careful guidance of Teacher He, he studied hard and eventually became the best among He’s disciples.
2, Meeting a wise master and inheriting the tradition
Speaking of He Qingxi, he is also a famous Tai Chi master worth introducing. His grandfather He Zhaoyuan (Zi Yuji, 1810-1880) was a student of the famous Tai Chi master Chen Qingping in this town and had superb boxing skills. He Qingxi followed his grandfather to practice boxing from the age of 8 to the age of 18. At the age of 32, due to the financial difficulties of his family, he gave up farming and did business and stopped practicing boxing. In 1928, the government vigorously promoted martial arts, and martial arts halls were opened in various places. Inspired by the situation at that time, He Qingxi, who was already 72 years old, spent 8 months recalling and sorting out his ancestral boxing techniques in order to promote Zhaobao Tai Chi, regardless of his old age, and opened a door to accept disciples to teach art. He taught everyone. The oldest of his disciples was over 30 years old, and the youngest was only 10 years old. There were farmers, businessmen, and students. He taught students according to their aptitude and taught art according to people. In just a few years, he taught a large number of disciples with unique skills, such as Zheng Wuqing, Zheng Boying, Chai Yuzhu, Hao Yuchao, Guo Yun, etc., who became the backbone of promoting Zhaobao Tai Chi in the future. In order to commemorate this teacher who taught well, his disciples called the boxing style taught by He Qingxi Zhaobao He Style Tai Chi.
When Zheng Wuqing followed He Qingxi to learn martial arts, she was already 29 years old. In addition, she was weak and had just recovered from a serious illness. According to her condition, teacher He taught her the Japanese “proxy frame”, which was high, lively, small, and agile, and it was both health-preserving and martial arts. Under the careful training of her teacher, Zheng Wuqing was not discouraged by her old age and poor physical condition. Instead, she followed the teacher’s requirements and worked hard every day. She practiced the frame no less than 30 times a day and practiced the “hundred-day exercise” in winter and summer. In fact, the pawnshop she was engaged in was closed down for liquidation, so she had enough time to practice boxing every day. Three years later, she transferred to the Meifu Company in Zezhou, Shanxi, and lived in Huixing Town, Henan (in Sanmenxia). She stayed here for seven years and found the environment quiet and quiet, so she could practice boxing. During these ten years, Zheng Wuqing devoted herself to research and practiced diligently, and finally reached the peak of boxing skills.
When my mother was practicing boxing, she met a famous Feng Shui master named An Boyi (from Sishui) who was famous on both sides of the Yellow River. Feng Shui was called Kanyu in ancient times. It is a technique for surveying, selecting houses, and repairing houses and cemeteries. People who were engaged in this business probably existed in ancient times. Later, people who were proficient in this technique were called Feng Shui masters or Kanyu masters. As a culture, Feng Shui also has things worth studying if its superstitious and backward dregs are eliminated. For example, the inventor of the compass was an ancient Feng Shui master, and it was later used in Chinese and foreign navigation and made great contributions. Other discussions such as the relationship between house construction and nature and the human ecological environment are recorded in many Feng Shui works. Its theories of conforming to nature, utilizing nature, embellishing nature, and the unity of man and nature are quite insightful. Among the Feng Shui masters who are good at this aspect, there are many people with high cultural level, and An Boyi is one of them. Zheng Wuqing went to school late in his childhood and studied in a private school for a few years. He was not well educated. In his middle age, he became good friends with An Boyi. Fortunately, he received a lot of cultural guidance from An, which enabled him to read the “Book of Changes”, “Inner Canon of Medicine” and “Tao Te Ching” and integrate his learning experience into Tai Chi. This is also an important reason why he became a famous Tai Chi master.
There are three conditions for learning Tai Chi well: one is that the individual and the society must have a stable environment, the second is that there is a teacher with high moral character to teach from the two aspects of art and martial arts, and the third is personal interest and perseverance. Only when the above conditions are met can there be hope for success. These words reflect the experience of practicing boxing and are also a summary of teaching work. They are indeed talk of experience and are of great reference value.
3, Understand the teaching method and cultivate students.
With the guidance and help of good teachers and helpful friends, Zheng Wuqing finally mastered the true meaning of Tai Chi after ten years of hard practice. His boxing is small and delicate, with even speed, soft and flexible, which embodies the characteristics of “softness as the body, softness as the use, and softness overcoming hardness”. His punching moves are small and changeable, which can control people without hurting them, so many people admire his boxing skills.
Although Zheng Wuqing had mastered the true meaning of Tai Chi, he was still a businessman at that time. Practicing Tai Chi was still “for fun”. Although he also taught others, it was mostly amateur. He really “went into the sea” to become a professional boxer when he was nearly 50 years old. In 1937, the Japanese invaded China. In 1939, Zhaobao Town in Wen County was also looted by the Japanese invaders. Zheng’s family moved to Jiaozuo and fled to Xi’an in 1942. In order to make a living, he was introduced by someone and began his teaching career as a Tai Chi master. It lasted for 46 years (until he returned to his hometown in Wen County in 1981). There were countless students who studied in several provinces in the northwest. Because the boxing he taught was high-profile, active, small and fast, and the speed was uniform, it was called “Japanese small frame”, which made a positive contribution to the popularity of Zhaobao Japanese Tai Chi in the northwest.
In terms of teaching, Zheng Wuqing followed the teachings of his teacher He Qingxi. He taught everyone according to their aptitude. His students included officials, farmers, businessmen, and students from all walks of life. They were old, young, and those who wanted to maintain their health or practice martial arts. Zheng treated them all equally, without favoring one over the other. He used different teaching methods according to their individual characteristics, and taught by example. He was meticulous. For the elderly and the weak, health preservation was the main thing, followed by boxing skills, and self-defense skills were even less important. For young learners, boxing skills were the main thing, followed by martial arts, and health preservation was even less important. If young and middle-aged learners could learn martial arts, boxing skills, and health preservation, they would be required to be more strict. Zheng believed that Tai Chi boxing skills, health preservation, and martial arts were inseparable, but when teaching, the teaching methods should be differentiated according to the different people, so that greater results could be achieved in a shorter period of time. Practice has proved that this teaching method of teaching students in accordance with their individual needs and distinguishing between the primary and secondary is quite desirable. Therefore, he has taught a large number of disciples with outstanding boxing skills, who have become the backbone of the current promotion of Zhaobao Heshi Taiji. For example, Zheng’s female disciple Ji Changxiu later moved to Hong Kong and established the “Hong Kong Zhaobao Heshi Taiji Wushu (International) Association”, actively carried out teaching activities and achieved remarkable results. His disciple Xu Mali (a Chinese overseas in Thailand) won the second place in the Xi’an International Taijiquan Invitational Tournament in 1984, and his daughter Zhang Wanzhu won the women’s Taijiquan championship in the Hangzhou International Wushu Invitational Tournament in 1988. She now teaches boxing in Australia. Zheng’s disciple Li Suicheng’s disciples Sun Jindou and Zhao Jun won the three-level push-hands championship in Shaanxi in 1984. Zheng’s disciple Song Yunhua organized the “China Chang’an International Tai Chi Competition Research Association”, served as the vice chairman of the Thai-Chinese Industrial and Commercial Culture and Art Exchange Co., Ltd., and was employed by the Cambridge Chinese World Publishing (Limited) Company in the UK as the editor-in-chief of the “Dictionary of Chinese Overseas Chinese Celebrities”, actively developing Japanese Tai Chi in Southeast Asia. Zheng’s disciple Liu Rui went to Guangzhou three times to teach his art. Many of Zheng’s descendants also wrote books and worked hard to promote Zhaobao Tai Chi.
4, Good health preservation leads to a long life
In 1976, Zheng Wuqing was old and homesick, so he moved back to Zhaobao, Wen County from Xi’an. He died in 1984 at the age of 90. Zheng Wuqing practiced Tai Chi in his spare time after a serious illness. Not only did he cure his illness, but he also lived to a ripe old age. His hair fell out due to illness before he was 30, but it grew back after he was 60. In his later years, he still had a mouth full of white teeth, a loud voice, could read without glasses under the light, and walked with a breeze. These all strongly illustrate the miraculous effect of Tai Chi in health preservation. However, there are many Tai Chi practitioners who did not live to a ripe old age. Why did this miracle happen to Zheng alone? This requires exploring other aspects of Zheng Wuqing in order to find a more comprehensive way to Zheng’s longevity, which will also be more inspiring to future generations.
As mentioned above, Zheng lived a relatively affluent life in his early years, and his environment was relatively stable. In his middle age, he changed his profession to teach boxing, and his life was still well-off. After liberation, he survived all the political movements without being involved. Although his family was large, they were very harmonious. When his father died, he was only 19 years old. Thanks to his mother’s good management of the family, his two sons and one daughter were all brought up. Zheng Wuqing’s father-in-law and grandfather were both scholars, so Zheng Wuqing’s wife was also a typical good wife and mother, who made many contributions to assisting her husband and raising children. His eldest son Zheng Rui studied business outside since he was a child and helped his father to support the family. The second son Zheng Jun was loyal and hardworking. Therefore, Zheng Wuqing rarely worried about household chores throughout his life.
In addition, Zheng Wuqing was open-minded and indifferent to fame and fortune. During his time practicing boxing in Boai and teaching boxing in Xi’an, he made many friends, such as Wang Bingrui (proficient in Shaolin boxing), a martial artist from Jin Province, Jing Guozhu (proficient in Bagua, Xingyi, and Tai Chi), Xi’an martial artists Zheng Ziyi, Yang Wenxuan, Bai Yuxiang, Zhao Bin, and Cui Yishi, a famous Tai Chi master from Beijing. They all took the exchange of boxing skills as their principle and had no sectarian views. This spirit of making friends through martial arts was deeply appreciated by his peers. He lived a simple life and had no bad habits of smoking and drinking. In addition to teaching, practicing, and talking about boxing, he entertained himself with reading and calligraphy. He behaved generously, and his students described him as: sitting in a proper way, standing in a proper way, and walking in a proper way, which was another reflection of his solid Tai Chi foundation. In addition to teaching boxing skills and health preservation, he also taught people how to be human. He often told his students: “Taijiquan is a magic weapon for health preservation and fitness, and it is definitely not an ordinary martial arts. You must not rely on your skills to do illegal things. Otherwise, in addition to suffering the consequences, I will lead the crowd to beat the drums and attack you, and will not be included in this way.” His words were sonorous and powerful. Therefore, none of his disciples relied on their strength to cause trouble. His disciple Song Yunhua told me that he learned boxing from teacher Zheng Wuqing at the age of 14. After school, his teacher taught him to read the Four Books in vernacular Chinese and “Zuo Zhuan” and other books. Teacher Zheng’s catchphrase was “sword courage and piano heart”. Talking about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting is a great pleasure in life. Song Yunhua read books and practiced calligraphy, played the flute and played the piano under the influence of teacher Zheng, and became a self-taught talent, which laid a good foundation for him to enter the cultural circle in the future.
Zheng Wuqing’s noble character is deeply respected by his friends and disciples in the Northwest Wulin. In 1987, many of his disciples rushed to Zhaobao to erect a monument for Zheng. The inscription praised Zheng for being “upright and upright, with a noble character. Under the influence of the teacher’s words and deeds, the Northwest disciples have their own insights.” This shows the disciples’ gratitude to their teacher. “The benevolent live long” is probably another important reason why Zheng Wuqing, a famous Tai Chi master, enjoys a high age.
In China, Tai Chi masters have emerged in successive generations, but there are not many who are similar to Zheng Wuqing. Please think: Those who have Zheng’s skills may not enjoy Zheng’s longevity; those who have Zheng’s longevity may not have Zheng’s skills; those who have Zheng’s longevity skills may not be like Zheng, who entered the Tai Chi hall at the age of thirty with a long-term illness and finally won the pearl. “He taught for more than 40 years and his students came from all walks of life, and countless of them stood out” (quoted from the “Zheng Wuqing Memorial”). This is Zheng Wuqing’s extraordinary and unique feature! I wrote this short article for Tai Chi enthusiasts to study more. Perhaps they can learn some truths from Zheng Wuqing’s unique life, which will be helpful for popularizing Tai Chi, improving Tai Chi skills, and even improving the ideological and moral level and boxing skills of the entire martial arts community.