The famous Taiji grandmaster Chen Fake (1887-1957) was born and grew up in the Chen Family Village of Wen County, Henan Province. He was the standard bearer of the 17th generation of Chen Style Taijiquan. His great-grandfather was the famous Chen Taiji grandmaster Chen Changxing. His grandfather Chen Genyun and father Chen Yangxi were also well accomplished Taiji masters.
Chen Fake was the youngest of three brothers. Both of his older brothers passed away in their early ages. His father was in his sixties when Chen Fake was born, and Fake was spoiled as a young child. There was no pressure from his parents for him to practice Taiji. In addition, he did not have a good diet. He eventually developed a stomach ailment and could not digest food very well, and his health was poor. While playing outside one day when he was 14 years old, he overheard family elders lamenting his laziness: “This family has produced so many famous/well accomplished masters: his ancestor, his grandfather, and his father. This glory seems to be ending now because he (Chen Fake) is only interested in playing and having fun and not in practicing Taiji”.
From then on, Chen Fake started working hard and practiced the form several dozen times a day. After a few years of training, he cured his stomach problem and became very strong. He had improved his Taiji skill tremendously and reached a high level. He was not satisfied with his accomplishment, however, and continued working hard under careful guidance from his father. He eventually reached a very high level of skill where his hunyuan nei qi was strong but also xuling, his silk reeling energy was both strong and soft, and his push hands (tuishou) was also cu shen ru hua. Masters from both within and outside his family all had difficulty handling him. He became famous after he defeated several martial art instructors in war lord Hang Fuqiu's army.
In 1928, master Chen Zhaopei (18th generation) was teaching Chen Taiji in Beijing. Then the Nanjing Martial Art Institute was established, and Chen Zhaopei was invited to teach there. Chen Zhaopei recommended Chen Fake to replace him in Beijing by saying: “I learned Taiji from my third uncle” (Chen Fake). He wrote a letter to Chen Fake before he left for Nanjing, asking him to teach in Beijing, and Chen Fake traveled to Beijing by himself after he received Zhaopei's letter.
Fake remained undefeated after taking open challenges for 17 days in Beijing and became very famous in the martial community, and people referred to him as “Taiji yi ren” (the best Taiji master). Since that time, the real gongfu of Chen Style Taiji started to be recognized and respected by the outside world. In order to share this art with general public, grandmaster Fake opened the “Zhongzhou Institute” to teach Taiji in Wai Luomashi Da Jie outside Xuanwu Men in Beijjing. Before then, Chen Style Taiji had been taught in a secret manner, kept in the Chen family and practiced only in a small region of China.
Grandmaster Fake's teaching changed this tradition, made this art available to the outside world, and opened a new era in the development of Chen Style Taijiquan. This became the second landmark in China's Taijiquan history. Grandmaster Chen not only had high martial art skill but also high moral virtue. Although he had compared skills with many martial artists in his nearly 30 year teaching career in Beijing, he seldom made enemies and had made many friends within the martial arts community in Beijing. He is called the “Quan Shen” (martial saint) by international martial artists.
Chen Fake, a seventeenth generation family practitioner, and ninth generation stylist from Chen Wangting, is recognized as one of the greatest practitioners of his family's style in the 20th century. Chen Fake (pronounced: Fah Ke) along with his nephew, Chen Zhaopei (who preceded him) brought the Chen family style of Taiji out of the closet as it were, and into mainstream martial arts when he went to Beijing in 1928. Although, Taijiquan had already went public in 1911, thanks to Yang Luchan, Yang Shouhao, Yang Chenfu, and Wu Jianquan.
Chen Fake was initially regarded as something of a novelty in Beijing, because he was both a Chen family member and practiced the style that greatly influenced the publicly known styles' development. It was soon clear that he was much more than a mere novelty. By all accounts, Chen Fake possessed superior skills due to his skill in Push Hands and his ability to use his skill to neutralize and ward off challengers.
In my opinion, those who claim to be his students, or students of his students, seem to miss even some of the most obvious aspects of Chen Fake's practice. This is exemplified by the subtle movements in his joints, especially in the extension of his elbow. Many of the practitioners who follow Chen Fake's lineage demonstrate constantly bent (or unbending) elbows that do not penetrate or twist with power whatsoever. Instead, they rely on tricks or force to carry forth some overt resemblance of power. Tricks and strength that can be rendered useless by those who understand and employ softness and ting jing (listening energy) in their application.
What's questionable is the idea that Chen Fake, and later his youngest son, Chen Zhaokwei, were teaching a “new” frame. It would seem that they were both teaching efficiency and practicality. It's easy to question the idea that which is more elaborate is “old,” and that which is efficient is “new.” Another question about Chen Fake's legacy is how different his style is from Chen Zhaokui's which, in my opinion, is further nonsense. When all of Fa-ke's verifiable students, bar a mere few, and Zhaokui's are similar; then this casts further doubt on the “old” frame, “new” frame argument. In all actuality, this may be just a way to shift attention from Fa-ke and Zhao-kui's popularity to another Chen family member's version or interpretation of the style. Despite any diversions, Chen Fa-ke and Chen Zhao-kui's Chen style remain the most popular to this day.http://www.chiflow.com/html/Taijiquan_Chen2.htm
A short collection.
The following story was related by Chen Fa-ke to his student Hong Jun-sheng (1907-1996). When Chen Yan-xi returned home after several years of teaching the sons of Yuan Shi-kai he was very pleased to see that Chen Fa-ke had made great progress in Taijiquan. Chen Yan-xi walked to the center of the courtyard, inserting his hands in the opposite sleeves of his traditional leather coat. He asked his son and several nephews to surround and attack him. As soon as someone touched him he would turn slightly and the attacker would be propelled to the ground. Chen Fa-ke, relating this story to Hong Jun-sheng, sighed with feeling ‘I’m not as good as my father. When I strike someone I still need to use my hands’. This episode left a lasting impression on Chen Fa-ke and inspired him to greater achievement. Hong Jun-sheng once told me that Chen Fa-ke finally did reach this standard in the later years of his life.
Chen Fa-ke had told Hong Jun-sheng much about his early life and training in Taijiquan. Chen Fa-ke was born when his father was quite old, and was the only surviving son in the family as his brothers died in an epidemic. He was spoilt and lazy as a child. As a result of poor eating habits and lack of exercise, he was unfit and developed a lump in his abdomen which at times was so painful that he would writhe in his bed. Although he was aware that Taijiquan is beneficial to health, and would probably help reduce the pain and heal the lump, he had become so weak he avoided training. Due to his ill health he was excused from practising, and up to 14 years of age he still had not trained very much.
Chen Fa-ke had a cousin who was living with them while his father was away teaching the family of Yuan Shi-kai. The cousin kept Chen Fa-ke company, and assisted with farm work and looking after the family. He was a strong healthy young man of sturdy build, and he was one of the best of the young Taijiquan artists in the Chen village. One evening, during an after dinner conversation among the elders at Chen Fa-ke’s home, the subject was brought up about the traditional family martial art. Someone in the group sighed regretfully, saying ‘In Chen Yan-xi’s family lineage each generation has produced a highly skilled practitioner. It’s a pity to see this tradition end in Chen Fa-ke’s generation. He’s already 14 but he’s still so weak and fragile he cannot put in the necessary effort. It appears obvious that it will lost forever.’ When Chen Fa-ke heard this comment he felt ashamed, saying to himself ‘No matter what the cost I won’t allow our family traditional skills to be lost at my hands. At the least I can catch up with my cousin.’
He then realised, ‘We eat, sleep, work and train together. I may train hard to improve, but so will he. How can I ever catch up?’ This problem disturbed him, and for days he couldn’t eat or sleep. One morning he and his cousin were walking to work in the fields. Partway there his cousin stopped, suddenly recalling that he had forgotten a farming tool. He said to Chen Fa-ke, ‘You hurry and retrieve it for me. I’ll walk slowly till you catch up’. Chen Fa-ke quickly complied. During lunch time Chen Fa-ke reflected upon his cousin’s chance remark, and was inspired to relate it to his plans for training in the martial arts. He concluded that if he trained harder than his cousin he would make speedier progress and eventually catch up.
From then on Chen Fa-ke resolved to practice much harder, without making his cousin aware of his extra efforts. In addition to training with him, he continued to train at midday when his cousin napped. He shortened his sleeping time to just over two hours, and would get up and train some more. Since he was afraid to waken his cousin by the noise of going outside to practice, he trained in the small space between their beds. He modified noisy movements such as stamping the foot and developed a gentler and more relaxed form.
Chen Fa-ke thus trained extremely hard for three years till he was 17, with his cousin completely unaware. Occasionally, Chen Fa-ke practiced push hands with his uncles, but dared not train with his cousin whose skill was superior. His cousin took push-hands seriously and often injured his partners. He would remark, ‘Martial art training should be taken seriously. You cannot take it lightly just because you’re training with someone you know. Once taking it lightly becomes a habit you will be disadvantaged when facing the enemy’. Even when training with family the cousin would not relent the tiniest amount, often throwing his opponents so hard they would injure themselves and bleed.
After training hard for three years Chen Fa-ke found that the lump in his belly had virtually disappeared and his fitness had improved. His health and strength had become normal for a boy of his age. Meanwhile his martial skills had progressed unnoticed. One day, in order to test how much progress he had made he invited his cousin to practice push hands. His cousin laughed and said, ‘Well, all but one of the young men of our family have experienced my skill. Previously you were too delicate and dared not push hands with me. Now that you have become stronger and sturdier, you should be able to withstand my strikes and throws. It is now time for you to get a taste of my push hands skill’.
Following this conversation they took position. His cousin tried three times to advance and throw Chen Fa-ke using fajin. On each occasion he was instead countered and thrown back by Chen Fa-ke. Not until the third time did his cousin suspect that Chen Fa-ke’s skill had surpassed his own, yet he wasn’t fully convinced. He was upset at losing, and as he was leaving he grumbled, ‘Every generation in your lineage produces master hand practitioners, probably by passing down secret techniques. Even hopeless ones like you who are not as good me can now defeat me. There is no point for any of my lineage to practice this art, for we don’t know the secrets’.
Chen Fa-ke informed Hong Jun-sheng, ‘In fact, my father had not been home those previous three years, so he could not have taught me any secret family techniques. My skill was purely the result of three years hard work’.
Through these incidents we can see the importance of hard training. Diligent and consistent practice is important to become stronger and make greater progress in our techniques. We cannot conclude from this story that there are no secrets in Taijiquan, but rather that secrets are relatively unimportant. It is true that for those three years his father could not have taught him any secrets. However, prior to this period Chen Fa-ke would have become aware of his father’s training methods and principles, he just had not put in the necessary effort to properly train them. Moreover, during the three years of his hard training he had also trained with his uncles, who would have reinforced the authentic principles of Taijiquan. To claim there are no secrets is simply to state that Chen Fa-ke did not know any principles or techniques unknown to his cousin. All martial artists in the Chen village were practising the traditional Chen style martial art. Chen Fa-ke had progressed quickly and achieved a great understanding of Taijiquan through his determination to work hard, firstly by spending more time, and secondly by training with feeling. In contrast, once his cousin had achieved a certain level of skill he was satisfied with his ability. Unlike Chen Fa-ke he didn’t train as much nor did he truly put his heart into it, thus he was eventually surpassed by him. For the normal Taijiquan practitioner like one of us it is certainly not sufficient to train hard. It is first essential to learn the correct techniques, following with hard training will lead us to success. Hong Jun-sheng always said, ‘We have to train Taijiquan the smart way. We need to use our brain. First we learn to train correctly, then we put in the hard effort’.
By Peter Wu Shi-zeng
Chen Fa-ke once told Hong about the time he was invited to defend his district. Although he did not say which year it occurred, it must have been before 1928 when he went to Beijing. Some of the materials I saw indicates that it was probably around 1926. In those years, China was then suffering a period of disintegration. Districts were dominated by different warlords, bandits were everywhere, and security of life and limb was at its lowest level. A bandit group called the “Red Spear Club”, a heretical organization, captured several towns and their surrounding environs. The Wen-xian city district was also under the threat of being overrun. The district administration requested Chen to lead his students to join protecting the district. The Chen village where Chen Fa-ke lived was under the administration of Wen-xian local government. After arriving at their City, Chen succeeded in seizing two of the bandits. (Several books describe this incident in detail, but their reliability is unknown). There are, however, two reliable stories of this time.
A martial art instructor had been hired by the district administration prior to Chen. When he heard Chen had arrived, he went to challenge him. Chen was sitting on the left side of the ‘bashen table’, a Chinese table enabling 8 people to seat around it, which was inside the main chamber of the house. In his left hand Chen was holding a bag containing tobacco and in his right a paper fire-lighter. The martial art instructor entered the house, stepped forward and punched Chen with his right fist while at the same time shouting, “See how you deal with this!” Chen had seen him entering the house, and was half way standing up to welcome him, when the punch reached his chest. Chen intercepted the fist with his own right wrist and pushed slightly forward. His opponent was sent flying backward out of the door and landed on his back. Chen returned to his room, packed up and left with no farewells.
When Hong Jun-sheng heard this story, he certainly believed it was within the capability of Chen’s skill, but he could not understand how Chen could counter so explosively at the instant of contact with his opponent. When Hong skill eventually improved, he was also able to make his opponents fly at the instant of contact with his opponents. He understood that this is achieved by channeling the chansi jin (‘spiral force’) of the whole body into the hand with smaller circles while at the same time speeding up the movements.
The “Red Spear Club” was an evil religious sect. Its members would utter spells and use magic charms, and by inscribing talismans on their bodies before any battle they believed they would become bullet-proof and impervious to knife thrusts. They would thus charge bare-chested into battle. When their gang had encircled Wen-xien, all but one of the citadel gates had been closed, and the drawbridge was lifted. Chen Fa-ke was standing on the bridge holding a bailagan pole (an extremely resilient tree branches for making spears). Holding the pole without a spearhead he awaited the gang’s attack. One of the “Red Spear Club” leaders rushed in with a spear and stabbed at Chen who instantly repulsed it with his wooden pole. The enemy’s spear was sent flying out of his hands into the air. Chen’s pole immediately followed through and shot forward, piercing the enemy’s torso. Seeing their leader killed, the other gang members fled in a panic. Thus was the town saved.
In 1956 Hong traveled from Jinan to Beijing to study further with Chen. He arrived to find two agents from the new local government questioning Chen about the incident mentioned above, which they treated it as a ‘man-slaughter case’. After he fare-welled the two government agents Chen told Hong that a good deed done for the people had become a troublesome matter. Fortunately, the new government did not bother Chen again, because the “Red Spear Club” was a reactionary group soon to be eradicated by the new government.
By Peter Wu Shi-zeng
Chen Fa-ke had spoken about how he came to teach Taijiquan in Beijing. His nephew Chen Zhao-pi (1893 - 1972) was in the business of transporting herbal drugs from their hometown to Beijing (then called Beiping). Yang style was most practiced Taijiquan in Beijing, and it was widely known that it is originated in the Chen village. Several members of the Henan community were very happy to learn that Chen Zhao-pi was from Chen village, who also practiced Chen style Taijiquan. They took it as an honor for the Henan people and invited him to teach Taijiquan in Beijing, where there were many students began to train under him. When Wei Dao-ming, the mayor of Nanjing (which was the capital at the time), discovered this he sent a large monetary incentive for Chen Zhao-pi to go and teach Taijiquan in Nanjing. Chen Zhao-pi was undecided between the option of more money or maintaining the newly established relationship with his students who had only been learning for a short period of time. He solved his dilemma by telling his Beijing students that he had learned Taijiquan from his third uncle whose skill was far greater than his, and who was currently available. He then invited Chen Fa-ke to teach Taijiquan in Beijing.
My ‘small-frame’ Chen style teacher Chen Li-qing (born in 1919, of the 19th generation of the Chen family) has told me of an incident related to Chen Fa-ke. Chen Li-qing was the only daughter in the family, and was nick-named Sai-nan (‘competes with males’). As a girl she would climb up trees, over walls, and onto roofs. She possessed more audacity than most boys. Her father Chen Hong-lie was one of the leading figures in Chen small-frame Taijiquan. Although he was one generation junior to Chen Fa-ke in the Chen family, in age he was about two to three years older. Both of them had been born in the same month, on the same date, and at the same time! In the year when Chen Li-qing was about nine years of age she and her father happened to meet Chen Fa-ke in the street. Chen Fa-ke mentioned going to Beijing, and his plans to gather students and some relatives in the evening at the Chen family Shrine for a farewell party, and also practice Taijiquan. Knowing she was too young to be allowed to attend, Chen Li-qing used a tree at the back of the shrine to help climb over the wall and hide herself under the altar table before the adults were due to arrive at evening. She came out to watch when the Taijiquan demonstrations commenced. After a number of students had finished their performance Chen Fa-ke also performed. When he stamped his foot, dust and sand fell from the roof with a cracking sound. His fa-jin made the flames of nearby lanterns to flicker and crackle. As a finale Chen Fa-ke practiced push-hands with his students. His fa-jin threw some students flying up the wall and falling down. This was the only Chen Fa-ke’s demonstration that Chen Li-qing saw but was very impressed. She had never seen his ability demonstrated as normally everyone practiced Taijiquan in their own courtyard. Chen Li-qing has described her father’s skill to me. He practiced ‘small-frame’ Taijiquan with very good skill, but he was not as good as Chen Fa-ke who practiced ‘large-frame’ Taijiquan. The two styles are come from different streams. I believe that Chen Li-qing would have no reason to be biased in favour of Chen Fa-ke. She told me that Chen Fa-ke was the most skilled of his contemporaries at the Chen village. She also said that from the generation of Chen Chang-xing to that of Chen Fa-ke, their particular lineage was the most prominent in Taijiquan skill as well as having a high moral standard!
By Peter Wu Shi-zeng
When Hong Jun-sheng was young his health was not very good. In 1930 he studied Wu Style Taijiquan from Liu Mu-san following an introduction by his neighbors. Liu Mu-san was the senior student of the Wu Style Taijiquan founder, Grand Master Wu Jian-quan (1870-1942). After practicing Taijiquan for more than 30 years Liu was prominent in Beijing. He was then about 50 years of age and worked as service supervisor of the Department of Telegraphs in Beijing. About 20 to 30 of his students would study Taijiquan every morning at his house. Liu had studied in France and was well educated. He valued theory, was skillful in lecturing, and demanded a high standard from his students. Liu’s skill at the time was considered to be of an extremely high standard by his students and by Hong. His body was stout in appearance, but his movements were very swift and light, steady and elegant when practicing Taijiquan and the sword. His push-hands skill earned great esteem from the students, his opponents could not stand firm when he utilized either ‘light’ or ‘heavy’ jin. When he taught nian jin (‘sticking energy’), he would tell the student to hold a firm stance and he would push forward with a burst of fajin, but pull back just before reaching the opponent’s torso. The student would loose his stance with a feeling of being dragged and toppled. It was the skill of taking advantage of his opponent’s reaction. Liu preferred to practice Taijiquan as slow as possible, to enable improvement to the level of “slow but continuous” motion. In 1982 Hong encountered Ma Yue-liang (1901-1998) in Shanghai. Talking about Liu, Ma said he knew of him as a fellow student under the same Taijiquan master. Hong joked with Ma and said, “I should call you student uncle”, and Ma laughed.
After Hong had been learning Wu style Taijiquan for 6 months, an article in the Beijing newspaper caught the attention of Hong and Liu: “Yang Xiao-lou, a prominent actor of the Beijing opera, practices the Chen style Taijiquan from Chen Fa-ke of the Chen Village”. They were very interested and wanted to learn more about Chen Style, as they knew that Yang style was derived from it. They resolved to let Liu to invite Chen Fa-ke to Liu’s house to negotiate teaching Taijiquan.
Chen Fa-ke was then 42 years old. After greeting them he took off his coat and commenced a demonstration in the courtyard. With the perception of being the better the skill the slower the movements, Hong and other students were prepared to spend about one to two hours to watch the demonstration of this prominent Taijiquan master. They were all astonished to see that it took less than 20 minutes to finish both routines. Not only were the movements swift, but there also stamping of the feet, jumping around, and expressing of fa-jin with sound when striking. Once Chen had gone home, there was an uproar among the students, “Taijiquan requires the footwork of stepping like a cat and channeling jin should be like drawing silk fibre from a cocoon. Such quick movements would surely break the silk fibre. With such heavy stampings that dust and sand falls off the roof, there is nothing like the stepping of a cat.” As Liu’s knowledge and skill were much higher, so was his understanding. He replied to them, “Although there was fast movements, they were turning in circular motion. There were many fa-jin performed, but they were executed in relaxation. Looking from his arms, his muscle did not tense up. This would appear to be internal art. Since we have already invited him to come teaching, we better learn from him once. Once we finish the forms, I will then practice push-hands with him. If his skill is greater than mine we will continue studying. Otherwise we won’t waste any more money”. Henceforth, each person contributed two dollars per month, with thirty people this amounted to sixty dollars per month, allowing Chen to teach them three times per week.
Master Liu always instructed his students learning Taijiquan that a straight and upright torso is essential, leaning forward or backward should not be allowed as this will break apart the jin in the waist. Footwork should be changed between substantial and insubstantial in a swift and steady manner. Their first push-hands session was conducted after Liu had completed learning series one of the Chen style routine. Hong and other students expected that Liu’s high level skill should equal Chen’s. Unexpectedly, the difference between them was so great and obvious that they were all astonished. Liu was like a two years old kid in Chen’s hands and was totally unable to control himself. His body would lean forward when pulled by Chen, and lean backward when pressed. The waist jin was totally broken and his footworks were completely wrong in order. Liu’s elbow joint was sprained in a pull drill by Chen, and the pain lasted over a month even after applying medicinal paste. The students were so intimidated that they dared not practice push-hands with Chen. Chen laughed and said to them, “The injury was caused by my inadvertent mistake of not being aware of Liu’s slight ding- jin (‘resistant force’). Just relax and follow the movements. I will pay more attention, and it should be all right. It is unacceptable to hurt people when teaching push-hands.” Liu and the students were mollified and continued their study.
(regarding Hong Jun-Sheng,) At an early age he moved to Beijing with his father. Poor health set him on a search for a good taiji master. Initially, he studied Wu Style Taijiquan from Master Liu Mu-san in Beijing. Master Liu was a famous Wu style teacher at the time. On hearing the news about a Chen Village master teaching in Beijing, Master Liu decided to invite him over for a demonstration. What they saw was Chen Fake’s demonstration of Chen Style second routine Paochui. No body could understand it, including master Liu. The execution of the moves was too fast, according to the popular understanding of Taijiquan at the time. However, master Liu had the foresight to decide to learn the forms from Chen.
After master Liu and his students finished learning the first set of the Chen form, they decided to ask master Chen to teach them push hands. Master Liu told the students that push hands is the real test of taiji skills. In order to teach it, master Chen would be forced to demonstrate his skills. If he failed, all students would keep the story quiet and continue with their Wu Style learning. If otherwise, everyone would continue to learn from master Chen.
Master Chen Fake decided to show the principles of Chen Style push hands with master Liu Mu-san. On initial touching, the students already saw the difference. Master Liu acted like an invalid infant. He could not hold his stance. Master Chen declared that he would within one minute put master Liu in a chair that was situated far away from them in the corner of the courtyard. Master would fall into the wicker chair. If the chair fell down, or master Liu fell down outside of the chair, Chen would admit defeat. This was an outlandish claim. Chen Fake was not talking about ability to fight at all. He was talking about precision only. That was how proud he was of his skills.
His every claim came true so in 1930, master Hong Junsheng, together with his master Liu Mu-san and his fellow students, became a student of Chen Fake in Beijing. He stayed on to learn the details of the entire Chen Family Taiji curriculum from Chen Fake for 15 years. As a result, he became a very healthy person with profound Chen Style Taiji skills and understanding. His Chen Style Taiji had the characteristics of looseness, roundness, spiralling, continuous, powerful and holistic. He very much possessed the personal style of his master.
Chen Fake (陳發科), courtesy name Fusheng (福生), was born in 1887, in the village known as Chen Jia Gou (陳家溝), Wen County (溫县), Henan Province (河南). This area was known for their martial arts expertise since the establishment of the village in 1374. [2][3]
Chen's great grandfather was Chen Changxing (1771–1853), who taught Yang Luchan (1799–1871), the founder of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Chen Fake's father, Chen Yanxi (陈延熙; 1820 ? – ), was an armed escort by profession. This occupation required him to maintain a reputation in martial arts as he traveled around the country protecting his convoys.
Chen Fake was born when his father was in his sixties and both of his older brothers had died. As a result, he lived a relatively pampered life. When Chen was young, he was often sick and sometimes bedridden. Due to his illness, he did not practice his family's martial art.
This all changed when his father went to Shandong province to teach martial arts to the family of Yuan Shikai (1859–1916) around 1900 when Chen Fake was fourteen. Since this position required Chen Yanxi to be away for an extended period, Yanxi asked his relatives to look after his family. One evening, Chen Fake heard his relatives criticizing his weakness suggesting that he failed to live up to the expectations of his ancestors. (「延熙这一支，辈辈出高手，可惜到发科这一辈就完了，他都十四岁了，还这么虚弱，不能下工夫，这不眼看完了吗？」[2] ) This disturbed Chen greatly. He wanted to prove his relatives wrong but feared it was too late. He was very poor in terms of martial arts ability, when he compared himself to others within Chen village. This question hounded him until he realized that if he dedicated himself to the practice of his family's art he could improve his skills. For the next three years, while others rested or relaxed after their daily chores, Chen would practice the various forms in Chen's family tai chi chuan. If he had any questions, he would ask every one around him for help. His single minded focus made him one of the best practitioner's in Chen village. His father was pleased with Fake's achievements when he returned for a visit.
For two generations, the Yang family of Yang Lu-ch'an and the Wu family of Wu Quanyou spread the fame of the martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan throughout the Qing Empire. The Qing government ended by a revolution and similar disruption were happening throughout Chinese society. It was during these turbulent times that Chen Zhaopei (陈照丕; 1893–1972) went to Beijing to teach Chen's style Tai Chi Chuan in 1928. Chen Zhaopei's instructions attracted considerable interest and in 1930 he was invited to teach in Nanjing. Zhaopei did not want to leave his Beijing students so he suggested that they invite his uncle Chen Fake to take his place.[2][3] At this time Chen Fake moved from a small village in Henan Province to the thriving metropolis of Beijing.
Before the arrival of Chen Fake, the public perception of t'ai chi ch'uan was based on the views of the Yang style and Wu style. This meant that the t'ai chi ch'uan forms were practiced as slow and relaxed movements. Chen Fake showed a different type of training that at times can include fast vigorous actions and explosive moves. So in the beginning, many within the Beijing martial arts community doubt the authenticity of Chen Fake's quan. According to Chinese tradition, when Chen first arrived in the Chinese capital, he was openly challenged by other martial artists in order to establish his credibility. In those impromptu competitions, there were no rules and no preparations so they could be quite dangerous. For the next thirty years, Chen remained undefeated. Chen not only established an unparalleled martial arts reputation but earned the public's respect for his morality and integrity.
According to his student, Hong Junsheng, Chen Fake never criticizes other martial artists either publicly or privately. Chen would also admonish his students for criticizing others. Master Chen was quoted as saying: “The pillar of socialization is loyalty and the method of dealing with people should be based on modesty and cooperation. Loyalty fosters trust; modesty encourages progress; and cooperation befriends people. Modesty and cooperation should be based on loyalty not on hypocrisy.” [4]
Some of the more prominent and recognized students of Chen Fake are his two sons and daughter as many well known martial artists. His sons and daughter were:
Chen Zhaoxu (陈照旭 , 1912 – 1959) was the second son of Chen Fake. His older brother, Chen Zhào Guān (陈照冠) died when he was young. He trained with his father at an early age and later helped his father by leading some of the training sessions. At his father's request, he went back to Chen village to teach. He suffered during the turbulent times of the Cultural revolution and as a result died quite young.[5] His boxing legacy is continued by his two sons. The second son, Chen Xiaowang (b. 1945) is living in Australia and is recognized as one of the leading proponents of Chen style tai chi chuan.[6] His third son, Chen Xiaoxing (陈小星 b. 1952) is now the head instructor at Chen Village (陈家沟太极拳学校校长).[7] Chen Xiaoxing's son, Chen Ziqiang (陳自強)[8] is teaching in Chen village. Chen Yu Xia (陈豫侠, 1924–1986) was the only daughter of Chen Fake. She started to train with her father when she was eight. She obtained a high level of proficiency in Chen t'ai chi ch'uan. In the 1980s, when the students of Hong Junsheng asked Hong about the Chen Sword Form. Hong identified Yu Xia as the expert who still understood the intricacy of the Chen Sword Form and the students of Hong all practiced the form that was taught by Yu Xia. Until her death, she was regarded as a well known authority on Chen t'ai chi ch'uan. Chen Zhaokui (陈照奎, 1928 – 1981) was the third son of Chen Fake. He trained many of the current Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan practitioners throughout China[9] His son, Chen Yu (陈俞, 1962 – ) is teaching Chen style around the world.[10][11]
His nephew was:
Chen Zhao Pi (陈照丕, 1893一1972), courtesy name Ji Fu (绩甫), was a close relative of Chen Fake. Zhao Pi was born in a respected martial arts family. The son of Chen Dengke (陈登科) who was also an established martial artist. Zhao Pi trained extensively with Chen Fake in the Chen village when he was young while his father was away on business. At the age of 21, he left to go to Gansu, Hebei (甘肃, 河北) to teach boxing. In 1928, he was invited to teach in Beijing. By 1930, he was invited by the mayor of Nanjing and the Nanjing government to teach his skills. Not wanting to leave his Beijing students, he suggested that they invite Chen Fake to teach them instead. Zhao Pi continued to teach across China despite the chaos of the war. In 1958, at the age of sixty-five, he retired and headed back to teach in Chen Village. Zhao Pi faced considerable hardship during the turmoils of the Cultural Revolution. Persecuted and banned from teaching a bourgeois and decadent art, Zhao Pi nevertheless succeeded in preserving the legacy of Chen Family t'ai chi ch'uan. He authored four books: Cases of Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan (陈氏太极拳汇宗), Beginner's guide to t'ai chi ch'uan (太极拳入门), Illustrated guide to Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan (陈氏太极拳图解) and Thirteen theory of Chen Style t'ai chi ch'uan (陈氏太极拳理论十三篇). The four leading proponents of Chen Style t'ai chi ch'uan from Chen village, Chén Zhèng Léi (陈正雷), Chén Xiǎo Wàng (陈小旺), Zhū Tiān Cái (朱天才) and Wáng Xī' An (王西安) are his students.[12]
There were many stories about the abilities of Chen Fake but what is unquestioned is his establishment of a Chen t'ai chi ch'uan tradition outside of Chen Village. During his teaching career in Beijing, he trained hundreds of students, some of which were already well known martial artists. By the time of Chen's death in 1957, his students became respected as Chen Stylists in their own right and later trained the next generation of Chen Tai Chi Chuan practitioners.
Some of his students were:
Shen Jiazhen (沈家桢. 1891 – 1972) was an engineer by profession. He was one of the first students of Chen Fake and studied with him for a decade. He wrote a book titled Chen Style Tai ji chuan (陈氏太极拳)[13] with fellow Chen stylists, Gu Liuxin (顾留馨). He was a relentless promoter for the art, but unfortunately, like many other traditional martial artists, he was persecuted, punished and endured great hardship during the era of the Cultural Revolution.[14]
Tang Hao (1897–1959) was one of the first modern martial arts historians. He visited Chen village to research the origin of Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan after meeting Chen Fake. His interest in the martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan continued for the rest of his life.
Yang Yichen (杨益臣. 1904–1959), courtesy name DeFu (德福), was of Manchu descent. His family was part of the Yellow Banners in the Qing court. Yichen grew up in a martial arts family. Yichen and his five brothers were already proficient in the martial arts at an early age. He was training with Liu Musan (刘慕三) in Wu style before switching to Chen style under Chen Fake. He trained diligently with Fake until the civil unrest of 1937 where he moved his family to Xian for safety. In Xian, Yichen continued to teach according to the principles of Fake. Hong Junsheng considered Yichen to have learned the essences of Chen Fake. Many other Chen practitioners often sought Yichen for advice. Despite his early death, Yichen left behind many students who continue the Chen tradition.[15]
Zhang Xuan, (张瑄, 1905–1984), born in a martial arts family that worked with the Qing court. He was training in Xingyi, Badua and Tam Tui with Zhang Jianquan (张剑泉). He was working at the Beijing telegrapth when Chen Fake started to teach his Chen Style. Zhang trained with Chen for three years before he relocated to Xi'an. He continued to teach martial arts with his friend and fellow Chen Fake student, Yáng Yìchén (杨益臣). He spend the rest of his life spreading the art of Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan.[16]
Pan Yong-Zhou (潘詠周: 1906–1996, alias Zuo-Min. Taiwan) was a student at Beijing University. He started to study Yang style t'ai chi ch'uan, then Wu style t'ai chi ch'uan with Liu Musan. Just like his classmate, Hong Junsheng, Pan switched to studying Chen style when Chen Fake arrived in Beijing. He studied with Fake until circumstances forced Pan to emigrate to Taiwan. In Taiwan, together with Wang He-Lin (王鶴林), Wang Meng-Bi (王夢弼, alias Mu-Zhao) and Guo Qing-Shan (郭青山, alias Yang-Zhi) established a strong Chen style tradition in Taiwan. He wrote a book titled " Chen Taijiquan encyclopedia" summarizing his understanding of the art.[17][18]
Hong Junsheng (1907–1996) was one of the longest serving students of Chen Fake. Starting in 1930, Hong trained uninterrupted with Fake until 1945 when Hong moved to Jinan, Shandong province.[19] Through a period of tremendous hardship, Hong toiled tirelessly to teach the traditional martial arts system of his teacher. Near the end of his life, Hong summarized his experience and understanding in one book, Chen Tai Chi Practical Method (Chén shì tàijí quán shíyòng quánfǎ, 陈式太极拳实用拳法).[2] Portion of this book was translated into English by Hong's student Joseph Chen Zhonghua in 2006.[3] Hong used the words "Practical method" ("实用拳法") to emphasize the martial aspects of the art which he felt was the key function of the t'ai chi ch'uan of his teacher.
Gu Liuxin (顧留馨; 1908–1991)[20] He was born in Shanghai and started to be trained in the martial arts since he was eleven. In 1927, he graduated with a business degree from Shanghai University (上海文治大学). He was active politically as a member of the Communist Party of China and was active during the revolutionary wars. Throughout his life, he maintained his interest in the martial art and continued to seek to learn from the leading martial artists of the era including Chen Fake. He was the co-author of the book titled Chen Style Tai ji chuan (陈氏太极拳)[13] with Jiazhen Shen (沈家桢. 1891 – 1972). He also wrote a book on "Cannon fist".[21]
Lei Muni (雷慕尼; 1911–1986)[22] He was born in Wuchang District, Hubei, and was well versed in the martial arts even before becoming a student of Chen Fake in 1932. From 1961 onwards, he started to teach t'ai chi ch'uan in Beijing. Over his lifetime, he was the author of numerous books on the martial arts including: Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan 45 moves (雷慕尼陈式太极拳45式)[23] and Chen Style t'ai chi ch'uan 33 moves (陈氏太极拳三十三式).[24]
Zhōng Mínggāo (钟鸣高, 1911–1998), courtesy name Tiānshēng (天声), once enrolled in the Whampoa Military Academy and continued serving in the military and various political offices. He trained with Chen Fake when he was in Beijing.[25]
Li Jingwu (李经悟; 1912–1997)[26] He was born in Ye County, Shandong, and started to train in the martial arts in 1927. In 1941, he was in Beijing studying Wu Style tai chi (吴式) with Yang Yuting (杨禹廷) and Chen Style with Chen Fake. After the founding of the People's Republic, he was an active promoter of t'ai chi ch'uan. He participated in the 1956 Beijing Wushu Competition and was awarded first place in t'ai chi ch'uan. He was part of the National Sports Commission committee that created the Standard Simplified t'ai chi ch'uan in 1958. In 1959, he was transferred to a nursing home in Beidaihe District to teach Qigong. He continued to research and promote the martial arts.
Chen Yunting (陈云亭, 1912 – ) was born and raised in Chen Village. Together with his brother, Chen Guiting (陳桂亭) studied extensively with Chen Fake. In 1930, he started to teach t'ai chi ch'uan in different regions of China such as Xuzhou. He trained many Chen stylists over his lifetime.
Wang He-Lin (王鶴林; 1915–?)[27] He started his martial arts training when he was seventeen. He emigrated to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war and continued to teach Chen Style for the rest of his life. Together with fellow student, Pan Yong-Zhou, Wang was considered to be one of the six elders of Chen style tai chi ch'uan in Taiwan.
Tian Xiuchen (田秀臣; 1917–1984) initially studied Shaolin Boxing when he was young. Later, he studied Xingyi quan with master Tangfeng Ting (唐凤亭). He switched to studying Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan after meeting Chen Fake in 1941. In Mianhua Hutong ask Chen Fake to teach Taijiquan, and he send to teach Tian Xiuchen, so he was the only disciple to had permission to teach Chen Taijiquan with his master variations.[28] His nephews Tian Qiumao (田秋茂, b.1945 – ), Tian Qiuxin and Tian Qiutian, who also trained with Feng Zhiqiang, continues to teach Chen style in Beijing.[29]
Feng Zhiqiang (冯志强; 1928–2012 ) was already proficient in Xinyi Quan under the tutelage of Hu Yaozhen (1879–1973) before he started to train with Chen Fake in 1953. After Fake's death, Feng became one of the leading proponents of Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan first within China then internationally. He summarized his understanding of martial arts to create a new training program which he called Hunyuantaiji (混元太极). This new system is being practiced worldwide.[30][31]
Xiao Qing Lin (肖庆林, 1929–2010) born in Yexian (掖县), Shandong. He studied with Chen Fake and maintained his interest as well as actively promoting Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan in the Beijing area for the rest of his life.
Li Zhongyin (李忠荫,died 2000), Born in Beijing, indoor student, also master of Xin Yi Liu He Quan under famous Wang Jiwu(王继武) first secretary of Chen Fake's Beijing Chen Taijiquan Association.
Tian Jianhua (田剑华) ,born in Beijing, younger brother of Tian Xiuchen, youngest indoor disciple of Chen Fake and now 90 years old, only one still living disciple of Chen Fake. Now honorary advisor to Beijing Chen Taijiquan Association.
Conventional history credits Chen Fake with the creation of the New Frame (Xin Jia, 新架) of Chen t'ai chi ch'uan that are currently practiced by some branches of Chen t'ai chi ch'uan practitioners.[32] He is also given the credit of promoting the Old Frame (老架) which is the form he taught when he first arrived in Beijing.[33] Each instructor after Chen Fake also performs and teaches the form slightly differently. This proliferation of styles has led to the obvious argument about the authenticity of the forms. As an extension of this question, the t'ai chi ch'uan community also tried to debate the merits of the different t'ai chi ch'uan Styles or even the difference between Internal and External martial arts. [34] This quest for authenticity and efficacy is one attempt to prove the legitimacy of the training within the traditional Chinese martial arts.[35]
For Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan, Chen Fake did not leave any written material to indicate his view on the matter of form. Hong Jung Shen noted that Chen Fake changed his teaching method over his thirty years career.[2] Hong also noticed that his fellow students such as Chen Zhaoxu, Chen Zhaokui and Feng Zhiqiang all practiced their forms differently from him. Hong finally asked Chen Fake about this issue during his last meeting with his teacher in 1957. Chen told Hong to ignore the external appearance of the form but focused on the idea that any correct t'ai chi ch'uan form should be based on the same fundamental principle and that each element of a form should have a purpose. Accordingly, the external appearance is not important as long as those two requirements are met. In Chen Fake's words: “This set of Taijiquan does not have one technique which is useless. Everything was carefully designed for a purpose.” (“这套拳没有一个 动作是空的, 都是有用的”) . This principle, according to Hong, can be derived from “The Taijiquan Treatise” (太极拳论) by Wang Zongyue (王宗岳). This idea is expressed by the phrase “Although there are myriad variations, there is only one underlying principles.” (“虽变化万端, 而理为一贯”).[2]
Chen Fake and his generation were probably the last true traditional Chinese martial artists. It is only through a series of fortunate coincidences that he was able to teach his art in the capital of the Chinese nation. He attracted and cultivated a group of exceptional students and those students ensured that his knowledge and skills were passed down. Even through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution and the eventual international dissemination, this selected group and now their students continues to teach according to their master's instructions. This dedication provided the strong foundation needed to foster a thriving and sustainable Chen style t'ai chi ch'uan community. Chen t'ai chi ch'uan practitioners can now be found all over that world. This is the enduring legacy of Chen Fake.
The lineage tree is a simplified representation of the student-master relationships for t'ai chi ch'uan. The real story is considerable more complex because some students studied under many teachers. What is the most important point from the lineage tree is the pivotal role of Chen Fake and his contribution to the dissemination of Chen t'ai chi ch'uan outside of Chen village. A minor error in the tree is the linkage between Chen Zhaopi (陈照丕). Chen Zhaopi did not train with the father of Chen Fake (Chen Yanxi, 陈延熙) but rather Zhaopi's own father Chen Dengke (陈登科). Chen Dengke was of the same generation as Chen Fake. Chen Dengke's father is Chen Yannian (陈延年) who was the brother of Chen Fake's father, Chen Yanxi (陈延熙). The father of both Yannian and Yanxi was Chen Gengyun (陈耕耘).[36] As the tree shows, Gengyun was of the same generation as the other t'ai chi ch'uan practitioners including Yang Luchan and Chen Qingping (陈清萍). Both Luchan and Gengyun were students of Chen Changxing (陈长兴).