Yang Style History
Yang style Taiji Chuan originated during the 19th century in the Tao
Kuang Period of the Qing Dynasty. Up to the present day, the style has had a history of
only approximately 150 years; however, Yang style Taiji Chuan has already spread
throughout the world and is practiced by millions of people each day.
Yang Lu
Chan - The Chen Village Years
The founder of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan was Yang Fu Kui (1799-1872), also known as Yang Lu
Chan. Lu Chan was born of a peasant family in the village of Nan Guan in the county of
Yong Nian which is a part of the Guang Ping Prefecture of Hebei Province. The martial arts
history of the Yong Nian county area was very rich and prosperous, and as a young boy, Lu
Chan studied Shaolin boxing skills.
Yang Lu Chan
One day while Lu Chan was working in a local grain store, a rude man came into the Tai He
pharmacy next to where Lu Chan was working. The man wanted to buy some expensive herbs,
but was only willing to pay a cheap price. The man shouted and waved his fists. The next
thing Lu Chan saw was the man being thrown into the street without any effort by the
pharmacy owner. Lu Chan felt this was quite odd for a person to be able to do such a feat
without the use of force. The name of the pharmacy owner was Chen De Hu. After a few days
had passed, Lu Chan built up enough courage and went to Chen De Hu to ask to become his
student. Chen was at first fairly cautious, but after seeing that Lu Chan was upright and
honest, he told Lu Chan he was from the Chen Village (Chen Jia Gou) in Wen Xian County of
Henan Province. He said there were many people who studied Tai Chi Chuan in the village.
He also explained that his teacher was the famous Tai Chi Chuan master, Chen Chang Xing.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chan was very excited and immediately wanted Chen De Hu to introduce
him to Chen Chang Xing.
The Chen Village Tai Chi Chuan style was created between the end of the Ming Dynasty and
beginning of the Qing Dynasty. The basic standardization of Chen style Tai Chi Chuan was
by the 9th generation ancestor of the Chen Village, Chen Wang Ting. Chen De Hu agreed upon
the introduction to his teacher. Upon the acceptance of the introduction, Lu Chan
immediately left Yong Nian to go to the Chen Village. While Lu Chan was under the tutelage
of Chen Chang Xing, he trained continuously without any interruption no matter if it was
winter or summer. After six years of training, Lu Chan finally returned to his home town.
During the period in which Lu Chan was gone, many people in the village practiced martial
arts and wanted to test Lu Chan’s newly acquired skills. Lu Chan was challenged to a
duel in which he was defeated. Even though he had lost the duel, he did not lose hope. He
returned to the Chen Village to train for an additional six years. The second time he
returned home was during the Chinese New Year. The people were excited that Lu Chan had
returned and thought he would be unbeatable. In the same area there was a martial artist
who had connections with the Chen Village and who had studied many styles of martial arts.
He also heard that Lu Chan had returned home and wanted to test his skills. The result of
the match was a draw. Yang Lu Chan felt his skill level was not completely proficient even
though he was able to hold his own against such a highly skilled martial artist; therefore
he decided to return to his teacher a third time. The third trip to the Chen Village moved
Chen Chang Xing so much that he began to teach Lu Chan everything he knew. After two years
of study, Chen Chang Xing said that when Lu Chan returned home this time, there would be
no one who could defeat him. Subsequently, Lu Chan returned home and was never defeated
again.
Yang Lu Chan studied at the Chen Village for a total of 18 years. Although he obtained the
true teachings of Chen Chang Xing’s Tai Chi Chuan style, he still was not satisfied
with his own abilities. Lu Chan constantly researched every aspect of his style until he
achieved an enlightened level of skill and his fame was known to all.
Yang Lu Chan -
The Beijing Years
Not long after, Lu Chan was invited by Wu Lu Ching, a distant relative, to teach his
martial arts in the capital of Beijing. Wu Lu Ching was a government official of Emperor
Tao Kuang. Upon arriving in the capital, Lu Chan was a guest at the home of a wealthy
businessman named Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang’s business was small at first, but later
became very large and prosperous. Their organization also included instruction in various
types of martial arts training. The first occasion to meet the Zhang family was during a
banquet in which everyone was to perform his respective martial art. One of the heads of
the Zhang family saw the thin body of Yang Lu Chan, and as an insult, placed Lu Chan
behind an ordinary martial artist preparing to demonstrate. After Yang Lu Chan performed
his style, Mr. Zhang asked if the “Cotton Fist” of Yang Lu Chan could actually
defeat an opponent. Lu Chan replied by saying that except for bronze, iron, and rock, his
fist could defeat anything with flesh and blood. Consequently, the man asked if Lu Chan
would take a challenge from him. Lu Chan agreed without hesitation not only to take a
challenge from this man but also from anyone else at the banquet. Following, the guests
went out into the garden court to witness the contest. When the contest first began, a
martial arts master came running toward Lu Chan as fierce as a tiger. As the two met, Lu
Chan raised his arms and the man flew back several meters through the air. Immediately
following, another master came up and challenged Lu Chan. Without completing one
technique, the man was thrown back several meters onto the ground. After seeing this, the
others did not dare challenge the skills of Yang Lu Chan. Upon returning to the banquet
hall, Lu Chan was seated at the head table and was toasted by everyone. From that day on,
Lu Chan began teaching Tai Chi Chuan at the Zhang residence.
After the martial contest at the Zhang residence, people from everywhere came to challenge
Yang Lu Chan; however, all who challenged Lu Chan fell beneath his fist. From that point
onward, Yang Lu Chan was given the title of “Yang the Invincible”. Wu Lu Qing
introduced Lu Chan to many people within the royal Qing government to whom he taught Tai
Chi Chuan. This allowed the art of Tai Chi Chuan to become very popular in the capital;
moreover, the royal family invited Yang Lu Chan to their residence to live and teach.
Subsequently, Lu Chan brought his two sons to the capital to teach Tai Chi Chuan at the
palace.
Yang Pan Hou
Yang pan Hou (1837-1892) was the second child of Yang Lu Chan. pan Hou had practiced Tai
Chi Chuan from childhood under the supervision of his father. His skill level was very
high. His character was very firm even though he had a very hot temper. There was one time
when a martial arts master nicknamed “Man with 10,000 Pounds of Strength” came
to Beijing to challenge Yang Lu Chan. After the Yang family heard of the news, Yang Lu
Chan did not pay much attention to the matter. However, Yang Pan Hou said to his father
that “if our store has something to sell and people want to buy it, why don’t we
sell?” What Pan Hou meant was that his family had true martial ability, so why not
take the challenge. Consequently, Pan Hou went by himself to take the challenge from the
man. When the contest began, the man threw his shirt off and showed his muscles to the
crowd. Yang Pan Hou with his skinny body just stood waiting for the man to attack. When
the fight commenced, the only image seen was the man pouncing toward Pan Hou. Pan Hou
evaded the attack. The man immediately attacked with continuous strikes to Pan Hou’s
face. The crowd heard a yell and immediately following, the man went flying through the
air several meters into the distance. When everyone was able to see clearly, they realized
that Pan Hou used “Separate Heel Kick” to the man’s groin area. While the
crowd was still cheering and admiring Pan Hou’s skill, he returned silently back to
the palace.
Yang Jian Hou
and His Children
Yang Lu Chan’s third child was Yang Jian Hou (1839-1917). His Tai Chi Chuan skills
were a harmonious blend of hard and soft. He was especially talented at issuing internal
energy and the practice of broadsword, straightsword, and spear. His character was very
warm-hearted. Whenever Jian Hou competed and trained with others, he never looked
light-heartedly upon anyone; therefore, he too was never defeated.
The third generation of Yang style martial artists consisted of Yang Ling Xiao
(1872-1930), also known as Yang Zhao Peng, who was Yang Pan Hou’s son. He studied
with Chen Xiu Feng who was one of Pan Hou’s disciples. The first son of Yang Jian Hou
was Yang Zhao Xiong (1862-1930), also known as Yang Shao Hou. Shao Hou studied Tai Chi
Chuan from his youth and was very good at sparring. His movements were fast and his
posture was rooted. The Yang style small frame was transmitted by Shao Hou. There are very
few people who know the small frame style. Some people see the style as strictly for
fighting and do not wish to teach others. Therefore, this may be the reason why
practitioners of this style are becoming fewer and fewer. Yang style small frame leans
more toward the fighting aspect rather than health. Because it is performed with quick
motions, the style is sometimes called Tai Chi Fast Frame or the Fast Small Frame.
The small frame style was researched extensively by Yang Lu Chan for many years whereby he
took the essence of Tai Chi Chuan and the various fighting methods and combined it to form
a routine which incorporates qigong, massage, and the theory of the meridian systems. The
small frame style allows the entire body to receive maximum benefits from small lively
movements. The main points of the style are as follows: There are over 200 postures in the
routine which are performed in less than two minutes. The practitioner must maintain a low
stance whereby the head does not rise higher than four feet above the ground. The fighting
applications must be regularly practiced and combined with internal energy. The small
frame style is practiced mainly by younger people and is quite different from what most
people would consider Tai Chi Chuan. Small frame Tai Chi Chuan not only incorporates
speed, vitality, and lightness, but also maintains the essence of relaxation, quiescence,
roundness, and softness.
Yang Cheng Fu
The third son of Yang Jian Hou was Yang Zhao Qing (1883-1936), also known as Yang Cheng
Fu. Cheng Fu was a very warm-hearted, intelligent person. He trained under the tutelage of
his father in the deepest way. His Tai Chi Chuan skills were like an “iron needle
hidden in cotton". The characteristics of his postures were large, relaxed, and full
of vitality. The postures of Yang Cheng Fu’s large frame style can be divided into
high, medium, and low. The postures can be selected based upon the practitioners age, sex,
strength of body, and other various demands. Because of this, Yang style Tai Chi Chuan is
not only used to cure illness and to maintain health, but also is used to strengthen the
body and to develop a high level of martial combat skills. Consequently, many people have
found his Tai Chi Chuan most suitable.
Yang Chengfu
Yang Cheng Fu was born on July 7, 1883 and passed away on March 3, 1936. He studied the
art continuously in Beijing under the instructions of his father. Not until after the
passing of his father did Cheng Fu travel to southern China to teach. He taught in various
cities throughout China in such places as Wuhan, Hankou, Nanjing, Hangzhou etc.
Some of Yang Cheng Fu’s students were Yang Sau Chung, Tung Ying Chieh, Fu Zhong Wen,
Yang Zhao Xin, Tian Zhao Ling, Chen Wei Ming, Zhang Qing Lin, Wang Ting Xing
In 1925, Yang Cheng Fu published the book, “The Art of Tai Chi Chuan”, using
actual photographs of Yang. Later in 1931, he published “The Applications of Tai Chi
Chuan” using new photographs. In 1928, he was invited to be the head of the Wudang
section of the Nanjing Central Guo Shu Academy. Later he was also invited to be the head
of the Zhejiang Provincial Guo Shu Academy in Hangzhou. In 1930, Cheng Fu settled in
Shanghai where he published the book entitled “The Complete Principle and Theory of
Tai Chi Chuan”. In 1932, he was invited by Chen Ji Tang and Li Zong Ren to teach in
the city of Guangzhou. Two years later he returned to Shanghai. After Yang Cheng Fu
traveled to southern China, he gradually moved away from the martial aspect of Tai Chi
Chuan to more of the health aspects. When Yang Cheng Fu first arrived in Shanghai, he was
invited to demonstrate at the “Soft Fist” Society. When Yang performed
“Separate Heel Kick” he issued much power causing a loud sound to be heard.
Later, he changed the kick to a slow and even movement. “Fist to Groin”
originally issued much power at the last moment of execution, but this was also changed to
a slow and even motion. His method of practice gradually changed to slow and continuous
movements without any breaks.
Yang Cheng Fu was a very large person whose push hand skills were tremendous. His
sensitivity was very keen and agile. When he issued power, he was precisely on target; his
speed was lightning fast; and his striking distance was short so that he could throw a
person several meters through the air without harming his opponent. In fact, according to
some of his students, the feeling of being pushed by him was actually comfortable and
invigorating.
The Story of a
Cotton Thread
In the year 1932, Master Yang Cheng Fu and his disciple, Fu Zhong Wen, traveled south to
the city of Guang Zhou in Guang Dong Province to teach the art of Tai Chi Chuan. One day,
a martial arts teacher by the name of Liu and his disciples went to the residence of
Master Yang. Upon observing the way in which Liu was dressed and the manner in which he
held himself, Master Yang knew that this man’s talents in fighting were
extraordinary. Upon meeting Yang Cheng Fu, Liu raised his hands, saluted Master Yang and
said: “It is well known that your skills in Tai Chi are superior and for three
generations your family has been without equals. I have especially come here to see your
skills.” Master Yang realized Liu was challenging him to a duel and that the conflict
would be unavoidable. Master Yang suddenly thought of an idea to prevent a fight but to
maintain the code of the martial world (Wu Lin). He told his disciple, Fu Zhong Wen, to go
and get out a one foot piece of cotton thread. Young Fu was shocked when he heard this
because the cotton thread was used as a training tool only among the indoor disciples of
the Yang style. It was never before shown to outsiders.
Master Yang warmed up by performing “Grasp Sparrow’s Tail” and “Cloud
Hands"; thereupon, he took the cotton thread between his thumb and index finger and
asked: “Who has the strength of a thousand pounds to tear this piece of thread in
half?” Upon hearing this, Liu sneered at Master Yang while sending one of his
disciples out to take the challenge. The disciple grabbed the other end of the cotton
thread and asked: “When shall we begin?” Master Yang replied by saying: “It
is completely up to you.” Following, the disciple fiercely pulled at the thread.
Master Yang adhered to his every move. Suddenly the disciple reversed the direction of
motion, however, Master Yang, without hesitation, also moved in the same manner.
This went on for several rounds without the disciple being able to tear the thread in two.
While the thread was being pulled it remained straight no matter which direction the force
was being applied. Liu saw what was occurring and summoned his disciple to step back.
After Liu performed several exercises to warm up, he jumped into the air and performed
several tornado kicks. Immediately following this, he jumped toward Master Yang as agile
as a rabbit and grabbed the other end of the thread. Master Yang was just as agile and
moved in the same manner. Without hesitation, Liu jumped back in a retreating maneuver
while trying to break the thread; in the same instance, Master Yang followed in Liu’s
footsteps preventing the thread from being broken. Afterwards, Liu shot forward as fast as
an arrow, then darted to the left and then to the right, moving in all directions. Within
all of this motion, both Liu and Master Yang never made contact with each other. The way
in which the two moved was similar to a dragon lantern moving in the night. Spectators
witnessing the event were astonished by the skill of Yang Cheng Fu. The entire time this
was occurring the thread was never broken nor was it even bent. The thread remained
straight during the entire match. After a long period of trying to break the thread, Liu
was completely out of breath and covered with sweat. Master Yang, on the other hand, was
very calm and relaxed without any signs of exhaustion.
When the match was over, Liu realized that the skill level of Master Yang was very
extraordinary and therefore held a grand Panquet in honor of Master Yang. From that day
forth, both Liu and Master Yang became very good friends. In the same way as Master
Yang’s grandfather and father did before him, Yang Cheng Fu had developed his skills
of understanding energy (Dong Jin) and listening to energy (Ting Jin) to an outstanding
skill level. He was able to adhere and yield to every single move his opponent performed
and did not expend any energy. Even to this day, the story of how a piece of thread can
demonstrate martial skills is told in the martial arts community near the Guang Zhou
region.
Yang Lu Chan was able to build upon the basics of Chen style old frame Tai Chi Chuan and
make it more compatible for the common person to learn no matter what his age. At that
moment, people termed his style “Yang family Tai Chi Chuan”. The Yang style
passed through reform and constant improvement during the first two generations of father
and son. The formal standardization of the style finally occurred when it came into Yang
Cheng Fu’s hands. The postures became wide and comfortable; the structure was strict
and demanding; the body was upright and erect; and the movements were harmoniously
flowing, light, agile, and rooted.
Tai Chi Chuan Blossoms
It was because of the hard work of the third generation inheritor that Tai Chi Chuan
became popular and developed into what it is today. Moreover, this allowed the onset of
many other styles to flourish. An example of this was Wu Yu Xiang, a disciple of Wu Lu
Qing, who created Wu style Tai Chi Chuan. Wu Yu Xiang transmitted his style to Hao Wei
Zhen who later developed Hao style Tai Chi Chuan. Hao Wei Zhen passed his style to Sun Lu
Tang who created Sun style Tai Chi Chuan. Yang Pan Hou taught Chuan You who then
transmitted the art to his son, Wu Jian Chuan, thereby creating the other Wu style Tai Chi
Chuan.
In summation, it can be said that Yang style Tai Chi Chuan is the root of Wu, Hao
(partially), Sun, and Wu style Tai Chi Chuan. In 1956, the National Chinese Sports
Association extracted postures from Yang style Tai Chi Chuan to create a simplified
version of Tai Chi Chuan. Afterwards, the 88 posture and the 48 posture Tai Chi Chuan
routines were created.
Yang style Tai Chi Chuan has developed and advanced tremendously over a very short
historical time frame. This testifies to the importance Tai Chi Chuan has in the
prevention and healing of illnesses and the promotion of health and longevity. It is
possible that after the mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge between all Tai Chi Chuan
practitioners, Yang style Tai Chi Chuan can become internationally ranked and can make
great contributions to the health and well-being of the world.
Reproduced with permission from Lars Bo Christensen web page