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• Teachers: Huang Jing-Hua
• Students: unknown
• Contemporaries: unknown

He writes, “Although I am the only disciple of Dr. Huang, I am short of talent, in poor physical health due to cancer, and do not have a great achievement in Taiji. I feel shame in falling so short of the teaching of Dr. Huang.”

He also indicts himself in other ways, for example;

I honestly followed Dr. Huang’s instructions to search for Taijiquan friends among the hundreds of thousands of people in the parks here in Shanghai. Finally, I found a few real Taiji boxers. Mr. Jiang Changfeng (江長風) who, even though he is quite elderly, can lead his internal energy out of his body. Although his energy is not tremendously strong, it is definitely different from the dull force I feel from others. Mr. Jiang is an in-door disciple of Master Wu Jianquan (吳鑑泉). Brother Hong Wenda (洪文達) can take any incoming force from the opponent without resorting to grabbing. Brother Hong is Uncle Tian Zhaolin’s disciple. In addition, I met an elder Taiji boxer who has excellent skills of yielding and issuing energy. He is Mr. Hao Shaoru’s (郝少如) disciple, but he wouldn’t tell me his name. Regarding many other Taiji exercisers who don’t use real Taiji skills, when I touch their hands for exchanging skills, I quickly give up in order to be free from any disputes.

In 1951, Dr. Huang Jinghua began to teach me Yang Taijiquan. Every movement or posture had to be in accordance with Master Yang Chengfu’s “Ten Important Points (太極拳十要)” namely: Keep the head upright to let Qi and Shen rise to the top of the head (niwan); Relax the chest and straighten the back; Relax the waist and hips; Differentiate between insubstantial and substantial in the limbs and body; Relax the shoulders and let the elbows hang; Use mind instead of physical force; Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body to move together as one; Harmonize the internal and external; Move smoothly with continuity; Seek internal stillness in external movement.

Dr. Huang asked me to look at and imitate the Taiji photos of Master Yang Chengfu every day. And when I practiced the form, I had to try to follow all of the Taiji principles, and especially be as relaxed as possible. But as a beginner, my movements were of course not very smooth or even, so Dr. Huang did not insist that I had to coordinate my movement with the breath. After one year of practicing, I finished learning the whole set of the long form.

During the second year, Dr. Huang instructed me to cultivate Qi and coordinate the breath with the postures of the form. Cultivation of Qi must be slow, soft, tranquil and deep. Practice of the form must be soft, relaxed and sunk. It takes at least one year of practicing in this manner to allow the Qi to gradually coordinate with the form.

In the third year, I started to learn push hands with fixed steps (四正推手). When I performed “ward off”, “roll back”, “press” and “push” I had to strictly follow the principles of sensing and yielding to the opponent’s force with my waist and feet, rather than with my hands.

Also, regarding my practice of push hands, I had to be not only familiar with the movements, but I also had to coordinate the movements with Qi. Ward off and roll back coordinated with inhalation; press and push coordinated with exhalation. In practicing push hands, I tried my best not to use any force in my arms or hands, rather I tried to control my body with my waist, relaxing both my waist and hips and harmonizing my waist and feet. Practicing push hands may verify whether or not your form is correct. If your form is incorrect, the whole body will be disordered. Also, if you are not totally relaxed and instead use muscle strength in push hands, you won’t be able to discharge force, and it will be impossible to take any advantage of an opening. Therefore, learning Yang Taiji boxing should not be without learning and practicing push hands correctly in this manner.

In 1954, I became Dr. Huang’s in-door disciple and he told me that day the following, “Over the past three years, you have finished learning the Yang long form. Your body has been softened and your Qi circulation has become smooth. You have built the foundation of a healthy body successfully. However, now as my formal disciple, you have to begin learning the martial arts step by step in accordance with Master Yang’s principles. To build the foundation for martial arts, one has to start by holding postures, primarily the ma bu (horse stance) and the chuan bu (used in Lift Hands and Play Guitar). The essentials of holding a ma bu stance are to lift (提), sink (沈), open (開) and close (合). The purposes of holding a ma bu stance are to circulate Qi within the body, improve the internal energy (內勁) and realize the change of both yin jin (陰勁) and yang jin (陽勁) thoroughly. The essentials of holding a chuan bu stance are to align the body, lead Qi to corresponding points throughout the body and load the center of gravity directly through the Yongquan (湧泉) of the weighted back foot. The purposes of the chuan bu stance are to differentiate between insubstantial and substantial and practice the shift of the body’s gravity between the Yongquan of the two feet as you change from a weighted rear left leg to weighted rear right leg chuan bu. Regarding this practice of holding postures, without the demonstration and explanation from an instructor who really understands Taijiquan, one is unable to realize what is internal energy and how to differentiate between insubstantial and substantial. Removing the core contents of holding postures mentioned above, even if one’s feet and legs are trained until they become like iron, such holding training can only be referred to as rigid holding rather than lively holding. One must practice lively holding and never ever train holding postures rigidly.”

After a half year of training in holding the ma bu and chuan bu stances, Dr. Huang re-trained me in the form posture by posture. The essentials of the ma bu and chuan bu stance training were strictly applied to each posture. Moreover, this time he also taught me the applications of each posture. Taijiquan emphasizes to give up oneself to follow others, and to harmonize yin and yang. The movements of each posture have to yield to the opponent’s postures. Then, one has to make the proper responses in accordance with the opponent’s postures and timing, and never ever move your hands and feet purposelessly. If Dr. Huang wasn’t satisfied with my practice of the first posture, he definitely would not teach me the next. Also, each posture had to be practiced in four directions (right, left, forward and backward). Each movement had to be in accordance with the Taiji principles. Basically, the connection and shift between movements had to be smooth, and only when I could accomplish this was I then allowed to practice the whole long form posture by posture. At that time, Yang Taijiquan was referred to as “two-player boxing”, rather than the so-called “single-player boxing.” Why was this so? As the form was practiced, from the beginning till the end, you had to imagine an opponent was in front of you and that their movements corresponded with your every movement. As you were yang (moving forward), the opponent was yin (moving back), and vice versa. On the other hand, in regards to the application of boxing in a real bout, Dr. Huang advised you should imagine that no one was in front of you!

Dr. Huang asked me one day, “What is the insubstantial form (空架子)?” When I had no answer, he continued, “Only practicing the form externally, without cultivating Qi internally, having no idea about where the energy (jin) is coming from, without differentiating between insubstantial and substantial, and without imagining an opponent when practicing the form, eventually one couldn’t face a real opponent and yield to any incoming energy from the opponent. That is an insubstantial form. In the past, the form you practiced was almost the same as the Taiji exercise that is practiced at many parks. Now, since you are my formal disciple, you should make your best efforts to practice real Taiji boxing in accordance with the instructions of “The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan” . (by Yang Chengfu) ”

According to the tradition of the Yang family, the Taiji boxing that Dr. Huang taught me can be categorized into three levels of form training: heaven (high), human (middle) and earth (low). Although the form has three levels of training, basically their distinctions are not their external framework (e.g. long, short, lower or higher), but rather they are methods, as well as goals, of training the internal energy. As a beginner, one must start learning the low frame method which focuses on breathing and realizing the Yongquan as a source of internal energy. When this is fully accomplished, one can then be trained using the middle frame method which focuses on the training of the dantian, and realizing the “life-door (mingmen 命門)” that is located at the back in line with the navel as a source of internal energy. The high frame method is the last one to be trained. It focuses on opening the “three-gates” (通三關)” and realizing the “Jiaji” (夾脊)” between the shoulder blades as a source of internal energy.

After I was familiar with the three levels of form training, Dr. Huang taught me Yang Taiji fast boxing. The fast boxing form that Dr. Huang taught had only 60 postures. Its framework was a little bit smaller and more “contracted&qu ot; (收斂) than the Long Form. And the stepping was very swift as well as slippery (滑步). Each posture consisted of yielding and fajin (issuing energy). In issuing energy, one had to exhale and make a sound simultaneously. After a few years, I had a chance to exchange boxing experiences with Brother Lin Bingyao (林炳堯), and I asked him about the fast boxing Uncle Chen Weiming (陳微明) taught, and he told me it had 108 postures. Later, I asked Dr. Huang that since the fast boxing that Master Yang Chengfu taught had 60 postures, why did Uncle Weiming teach 108 postures of fast boxing? Dr. Huang told me, “The original fast boxing of the Yang family had 72 postures. But Master Chengfu’s body was big and corpulent, and he was getting bigger and fatter even late in life, so the 72-posture fast boxing was not suitable for him to practice anymore. Therefore, Master Chengfu eliminated some repetitions of the 72-posture fast boxing which shortened the form, and he only taught disciples single postures of this form for free boxing. (散手) What Elder Brother Weiming taught in his fast boxing form also included some Bagua and Xingyi postures. That was why the fast boxing of Elder Brother Weiming had 108 postures. Another Elder Brother, Dong Yingjie, (董英傑) taught 23 postures in his fast boxing form which were extracted from the best parts of the 72 posture fast boxing form. Each one of my Brothers learned the postures and forms of Yang Taiji boxing, but the way each one performs and what they teach might be different. However, the internal cultivation (neigong) must be in accordance with Yang’s principles. Otherwise, what one practices and teaches doesn’t belong to Yang’s boxing!”

Not only did Dr. Huang teach me holding postures and the Taiji forms, but also Quiet Sitting with mediation. He once told me, “Neigong is the basis of internal boxing. Externally, in the practice of Quiet Sitting and holding postures you don’t move the body, but the internal Qi is circulating within your body. Qi-circulation without body movement is real movement. You may stop practicing the Taiji form temporarily due to limiting circumstances or situations, but you have to practice Neigong constantly.”

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), I was re-educated as a laborer, peasant and soldier. At that time, I actually didn’t have time to practice Taiji boxing. However, when it was my turn for guard duty, I took the chance to practice holding postures. During the supervisor’s speeches, I practiced Quiet Sitting. Externally, people couldn’t really see what I was doing, but I actually never stopped practicing Neigong.

In 1983, I suffered from cancer. My body was damaged seriously by having over 60 Cobalt radiation treatments. My doctor considered that even if I survived from such radical and unreasonable radiation treatment, my body wouldn’t be able to recover fully. Nevertheless, I am still healthy even until now, and able to climb stairs to the top of a 10 story building without losing my breath, or even panting. How could I have survived from such ill luck without my continual practice of Neigong that I was taught in the past? So, regarding the effectiveness for physical health, it does matter, as one learns Taijiquan, whether it is with or without Neigong.

In the parks, many friends do Taiji exercise. If they can search for instructors who are truly knowledgeable in Yang Taiji, and who practice Taijiquan with Neigong, even if they don’t learn the martial aspects of boxing, their physical health may be improved, and the goal of longevity may be realized.

He wrote a rather interesting, if historically inaccurate work called “Yang Taiji One Family Across the Straits” which was a hit piece on the Shanghai crowd in order to boost CMC's credibility. Please see articles on Gu Liu-Xin, He Bin-Quan and Fu Zhong-Wen for more info. Notably, the Yang family's official stance (ex. Fu Zhong-Wen's page) disagrees with much of what Qu writes.

His motives may be surmised from the book itself;

One day in 1957, Dr. Huang summoned me with a solemn look. He said, “Please don’t tell others that you are learning Taiji in my house. If you see people who practice Taiji and push hands in the parks, you should never comment on their skills. Since you have learned Taiji spear, you should never push hands with outsiders. In the case that someone entangles you for exchanging skills, you should pretend to be bewildered, and never show people your ability of issuing energy.” Dr. Huang used to often exchange Taiji skills with Uncles Tian Zhaolin and Chen Weiming. However, after that day, he started to isolate himself from most of his Taiji brothers and friends, and stopped talking anything about Taiji. Occasionally, only Miss Pu Bingru and Mr. Zhang Yu visited Dr. Huang. However, Dr. Huang constantly practiced the Taijiquan form and spear daily, and he, even at age 80, still maintained an amazing level of Taiji skills.

Dr. Huang loved painting and calligraphy very much. He often invited me to appreciate painting and enjoy teatime. He used to hang his latest painting on the wall, and look at it from every angle. It seems that appreciating paintings made him very happy and comfortable. One day, when he was age 81, Dr. Huang was home alone, and he climbed to the top of a ladder in order to appreciate a painting. He enjoyed it so much and forgot that he was still on a ladder. Suddenly, he fell from the ladder, and broke the femur in his thigh. To make matters worse, the broken bone wasn’t set correctly during the treatment. From then, Dr. Huang was not able to practice Taiji which had been his daily routine for decades. As a result, his physical condition deteriorated significantly within few years. Sadly, Dr. Huang passed away on January 6, 1993. He had lived 84 years.

When Dr. Huang was about to die, he told me the truth about the following event. In 1957, the People’s Sports Publishing House (人民體育出版社) prepared to republish Yang Chengfu' s “The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan.” When the publisher found out that Dr. Huang, who was one of recorders and the proofreader of that book, was still alive, they invited him to discuss the publishing. During the discussion meeting, one of Chengfu’s distant relatives mentioned the inscription written by Chiang Kai Shek (蔣介石) in that book, and accused it of being anti-revolutionary. All those present at this meeting agreed to remove all inscriptions from that book. However, the names of the authors, Yang Chengfu and Zheng Manqing, and the proofreader, Huang Jinghua were still printed on the last page of that book. Consequently, this distant relative of Chengfu’s also accused Uncle Manqing of being anti-revolutionary. Dr. Huang contended that Manqing was renowned for his “Five Excellences” : painting, poetry, calligraphy, medicine and martial arts. Moreover, Manqing was never involved in politics. Therefore, Dr. Huang could not see any involvement of Manqing in any anti-revolutionary activity. Apparently, what this distant relative of Chengfu wanted was something else beyond merely accusing Manqing. Dr. Huang immediately suggested that they remove both his name and Manqing’s from the last page of that book when it was republished. So from that event in 1957, Dr. Huang isolated himself from the martial arts community.

Dr. Huang mentioned that Chengfu had a lot of disciples, but only Uncles Chen Weiming, Dong Yingjie, Zheng Manqing and Dr. Huang had written books for Chengfu. In 1957 both Dong and Zheng lived abroad, and they, of course, couldn’t be directly affected by the events in that meeting. However, Uncle Weiming lived in Shanghai, and he was severely humiliated and criticized as being member of the boxer community of the “feudal society” . When Dr. Huang saw those brutal facts, he could not help but retreat himself from those disputes. Dr. Huang admonished me that, “Fame, wealth and honor are external things. To get along with people, you should treat fame and wealth as nothing, insist on keeping your integrity and not be ashamed of facing poverty. If you get a chance to meet the lineage-holders of Brothers Shouzhong and Manqing in the future, you must give my regards to them. For so many years, I have not had any contact with them. It is not because I am unfaithful and heartless; rather the external situation does not allow me to do so.” Nowadays, since Mr. Deng Xiaoping initiated the “economic reform,” the Yang Taiji lineages may get together again, revive the old brother-relationshi ps, and exchange Taiji skills.

His work contains other miscellaneous and random attacks against famous masters, such as Hu Yaozhen;

Regarding the lineage-holders of Yang Taiji, the easiest one ignored is Uncle Zhang Qinlin (張欽霖) who lived in the years 1887~1967. Uncle Qinlin earned a special position in the Yang family. He served in the family as a labor worker when he was 15 years old. But he was diligently trained by Grand Master Jianhou. Therefore, he had a very solid foundation in martial arts skills. When Jianhou died, Chengfu’s martial arts skills were not at a high level. Uncle Qinlin, following Jianhou’s dying words, took on the responsibility of secretly acting as Chengfu’s bodyguard, but with a very low profile. A Mr. Wan who was in the lineage of Du Xinwu (杜心五) once surprise attacked Chengfu, and luckily Uncle Qinlin came to rescue Chengfu in time. From that event, Chengfu privately instructed Qinlin in the Yang family Neigong. Eventually, Uncle Qinlin’s level of martial arts skills developed beyond that of the more famous Uncles Tian Zhaolin and Wu Huichuan. Under Chengfu’s orders, Uncle Qinlin was called back from Shanxi (山西) Province in order to instruct Uncle Manqing and Dr. Huang in Neigong. Moreover, Uncle Qinlin became the disciple of Zuo Yifeng (左一峰) in Shanxi in order to learn and cultivate the Neigong of Daoism. Eventually, Uncle Qinlin joined a Daoist sect and disappeared without any information as to his whereabouts. Mr. Hu Yaozhen (胡耀貞), who was a famous Xingyi boxer, once challenged and lost to Uncle Qinlin, and later Hu became the disciple of Qinlin in order to learn Taiji Neigong. After 1949, Mr. Hu acted as a doctor at the Qigong Sanatorium in Beidaihe (北戴河). In 1953, Mr. Hu and Chen Fake co-founded the Capitol Martial School in Beijing, and acted as Deputy Chairman and Chairman respectively. Both Li Jingwu (李經梧) and Feng Zhiqiang (馮志強), who were famous disciples of Chen Fake, asked to learn Yang’s Neigong from Hu. Once, when Hu was dining with his disciples, he threw a chopstick toward a door. That chopstick penetrated the door so deeply that no one was able to pull it out. This incident illustrates just how formidable Hu’s martial skills were. It is unknown if either Uncle Qinlin or Hu Yaozhen have any successors in their lineages.

The text speaks for itself; if it must be said, then I will say it; anyone who is remotely familiar with the development of Tai chi in the 1900s will recognize this report contains many laughably convenient omissions and errors.