<title>Tongbei Origin Theory</title>

Gaining strength in recent years with the explosion of crossover knowledge available on the internet.

Also see: Chen Bu-Fu

Hóngdòng Tōng Bèi Quán
The Hongdong Tong Bei tradition traces back to Chen Bu-Fu, 12th generation descendant of the famous Chen Taiji Family. Around the year 1780 he killed a government official and was forced to flee. Leaving Henan he traveled to Shanxi province's Hongdong county in Linfen prefecture where he had relatives living. Hongdong was the original home of the Chen family before they were relocated to Henan during the early Ming land clearances. Changing his name to Guo Yong-fu he sought a job teaching martial arts to the son of a local official. The style he taught was called Wújí Tōng Bèi Chán Quán (Wuji Connected Through the Back Reeling Boxing) otherwise known as Hongdong Tongbei. It's a mixture of early Chen family martial arts and local Shanxi TongBei.TeaSerpent, Aug. 25, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-NExrEP-o

Also See: Taizu Changquan Origin Theory

Re:CHEN CHANGXING’S SONG OF TAIJI BOXING POSTURES

I saw discussion on your blog about the Chen form how old it was, or something like that. From what I could gather, there was a form from the Tong Bei Quan style that was very similar to the Chen Yi Lu, and it was already in existence during the 1500s.

In my research for my book, I saw that a Dong Cheng was the founder. Dong’s Shaolin teachers were Guo Wan-qin and Zhang Wen-kui, both had learned directly from Bai Yu-feng and Li Sou. Dong was the founder of Tong Bi Quan (which was an amalgamation of his ideas mixed with Shaolin forms that he had learned such as Rou Quan, TZ Chang Quan, Pao Chui, and Hong Quan. All Shaolin forms that the Chen family writings credit to being their “Village Martial Art”. Later, by the time he met up with Chen, Dong had mixed in the “13 Postures” from Taoist arts such as Six Harmony Spear and Hong Quan Staff (the Chen Yi Lu, like all Shaolin forms can be done with a staff with no change to the movements at all) and changed his style into Tong Bei Quan. This is back in the 1500s. I have a copy of his manual. In his middle years had some exchanges with Zhang Songxi, influencing Zhang Songxi’s boxing style, Songxi Nei Jia Quan, particularly, Zhang’s ‘Tongbei Six Roads’ and ‘Ten Section Brocade’ sets. But, Dong was most influenced himself by the ‘Thirteen Postures of Zhang Sanfeng’ (known in the area as Rou Shisan Shi - ‘Soft 13 Postures’ or Shisan Shi Rou Quan - ‘13 Postures Soft Hands’) that he learned from a practitioner named Wang Zong-yue. This set is also found in Shaolin as the Luohan 13 Postures Gong (which came first? unknown).

These different Tongbei styles all originated with Dong Cheng, the creator of Tongbi quan. White Ape Tongbiquan (白猿通臂拳), Qi Family Tongbeiquan (祁氏通臂拳), Taiji Five Phases Tongbeiquan (太極五行通背拳), Four Sides Eight Directions Tongbeiquan (四面八方通背拳), and Hongdong Tongbei Coiling Fist (洪洞通背纏拳): ALL these different Tong Bei Quan are just sub-styles, variations of what Dong Cheng and others taught throughout Henan and spread to other regions (Hebei, etc.). They all come from single source. The arts that these three people learned from Dong Cheng at these different times in his life were not all the same. The Tongbi quan that he taught in his later years to Xu Shoulu was particularly different. A comparison of the manuals from the three different lines of his teaching reveals a process of continued progression and refinement. This has to do with Dong's exchanges with practitioners of the ‘Thirteen Postures’.

At some point, Dong used these 13 posture principles that he had exchanged from Wang Zong-yue to create a set of Tong Bei Rou Quan. This Tong Bei Rou Quan was derived mostly from his Shaolin Taizhu 32 Chang Quan training. Also, it was Dong who incorporated, from the Liu He Spear, the Discussion of Ten Important Points into his writings, which obviously is later found word for word in the Chen family writings. So, Dong is this source? Maybe not, as Chang Nai-zhou had a friendship with Chen Village's 12th generation descendant Chen Ji-xia and his ‘Tendon Change Classic, Chi Channeling Secret’, which was the same as the Ten Essential Points, may have been passed to the Chen Village at that point. Also, note that it is Tong Bei Quan that first used the term “Reeling” (coiling) when doing the postural movements in its forms.

Further, in 1984, a book was published in the Henan province, Shaolin Wushu, which presented a routine named ‘Xinyi Quan’ (Heart and Mind Boxing). also known as Xie Quan (Oblique Boxing). Jia Zhao-xuan declares that his family was in possession of this boxing method since one of his ancestors, Jia Shu-wang, learned Shaolin Quan in the monastery. Jia Zhaoxuan explains that his ancestor had hand copied an old manuscript in the monastery that described this set. This event occurred during the reign of the Xangxi Emperor (1662-1723), around the time of Chen Wangting’s death. The set has the same sequence of techniques as Da Yi Lu (Chen Taiji first form), a lot of techniques have the same name, with numerous and definite analogies.

The ‘Boxing Song Formula’ attributed to Chen Wangting comes from the Liang Yi Tang Ben manual of Chen martial arts; it is also the only old manual that records a set popularly called the ‘13 Postures’ (13 Gong, which also can mean 13 Skills, which is the more accurate translation). Its content was an addition that was made to another old Chen manual called the Wen Xiu Tang Ben, which does not record any form called the ‘13 postures’. So it is possible that the Liang Yi Tang Ben is a later manual with additions not found in the original Chen transmission. The poem attributed to Chen Wang-ting is found in the Liang Yi Tang Ben and there is no other evidence to authenticate it. Another early Chen family writer is Chen Zi-ming. It was he who accompanied Tang Hao and Gu Liu-xin on their trip down to Chen Jia Gou for investigations into the origins. His work is thus as important as theirs in terms of evidence for the early Chen arts. In his book on the Chen family arts he quotes from the old manuals and records old song formulas, many of which are revealing.

Dong Cheng's nephew Dong Bin-Qian, learned the Tong Bei arts and later met up with and exchanged MA material with Chen Wangting 陈王庭 (1600-1680). So, rather than a mysterious “Jiang Fa”, the real person Dong Bin-Qian brought Chen Wang-Ting this new outside Chen village martial arts material. Dong Bin-Qian taught the “Thirteen Postures Soft Hands Tongbei Gong” and “Thirteen Postures straight sword”. In another village, Wang Bao, Wang Zhong-jin learned “Thirteen Postures Soft Hands“ from Bogong Wu-dao, and learned Liu He Qiang (Six Harmony Spear) from Dong Bin-qian. Wang's family book and quan pu also says, ”Dong Bin-qian passed the art of Thirteen Postures soft hands to Wen county's Chen Wang-ting, and passed the art of Liu He Qiang (Six Harmony Spear) to Boai Wang Bao's Wang Zhong-jin.

So, all the pieces seem to fall in place that give a good picture of the Chen Yi Lu form and where it comes from, which is a blend of the 13 Postures (whether of Taoist or Shaolin origin) and the Shaolin TZ Chang Quan material.

You can see following the Tong Bei Rou Quan form is pretty much the same form as the Chen Yi Lu form, and pre-dates it. Today's Chen Taiji Quan was created by Chen's 14th generation Chen You-ben, who created his own mix of ‘Thirteen Postures Soft Hands’ and material from Tongbei Quan (which was postures from a Taizhu Chang Quan set that Dong Cheng’s Tongbei Quan style practiced). Another of Chen's 14th generation, Chen Chang-xin passed the original ‘Thirteen Postures Soft Hands’ to Yang Luchan, which explains why Yang Taiji Quan’s main routine’s movement names are the same as in the ’13 Postures Soft Hands” rather than as the movement names of standard Chen Taiji Quan (for example, terms like “Seize Sparrow’s Tail” are in Yang Taiji Quan and in the ‘13 Postures Soft Hands’, but not now used in Chen Taiji Quan).

Compare these form names from Tong Bei Quan to Chen TJQ, and they are essentially the same form:

白猿仙通背柔拳四十九势名 – Bia Yuan Xian Tong Bei Rou Quan Si Shi Jiu Shi Ming - White Ape Immortal Tong Bei Rou Quan 49 Patterns Names

厂本》的 “十三势目” - Chang Ben (Original) of 13 Shi Mu (13 Postures contents)：

CHEN'S FIRST thirteen postures soft hands (Created By Chen You Ben): 《陈氏拳械谱》 陈两仪堂记 头套十三势拳歌 (“Chén shì quán xiè pǔ” chén liǎng yí táng jì tóutào shísān shì quán gē) – “Chen's Boxing Instrument Spectrum” Chen Liangyi Clan Records – First Set 13 Postures Boxing Song

Chen Lao Jia Yi Lu - current classic Chen Old Frame First Set