Cheng Style Baguazhang
程式八卦掌The baguazhang branch bearing the name of Cheng Tinghua, one of five students of Dong Haichuan who, according to Green, founded today's baguazhang schools.
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About Cheng Style Baguazhang
The Cheng branch of baguazhang bears the name of Cheng Tinghua, one of Dong Haichuan's students (1789 to 1879 according to Green). According to Green's encyclopedia of martial arts, of Dong's many students only five took over the art in full, and they founded the schools still taught today: Cheng Tinghua, Li Cunyi, Yin Fu, Zhang Zhaodong and Liang Zhenpu. The Beijing listing of baguazhang on China's national intangible heritage list from 2011 ranks Cheng among Dong's successors whose teaching was widely passed on.
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We have few reliable details about Cheng's life. The Kung Fu Tea blog says that Sun Lutang began studying with him in 1889 and stayed three years, and that Cheng was shot by German soldiers who were looting Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. The Chinese Wikipedia gives the years 1848 to 1900, a birthplace in Shen county in Hebei province and a spectacles shop in Beijing. Green, citing Kevin Menard, adds that Cheng befriended Li Cunyi, a master of xingyiquan, and that the Hebei style developed from the two men practicing their systems together. The technical form of the branch is described mainly by the English Wikipedia: a palm called the dragon claw with the thumb spread wide, a hooking and a whipping step, and eight basic palms, of which the first three are regarded as the oldest and as the legacy of Cheng himself. The same article writes that, thanks to his experience with shuaijiao wrestling, the Cheng branch emphasizes throws, whereas the Yin branch emphasizes strikes. Green ranks Cheng's family school among the five baguazhang schools that seem most popular today.
History
In his encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World, Green writes that Dong Haichuan (1789 to 1879) had many students, but only five took over the whole art and founded baguazhang schools still taught today. One of them was Cheng Tinghua. The Beijing listing of baguazhang (Xicheng district) on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage from 2011 states that Dong taught in Beijing during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras, and names Cheng among the successors whose teaching was widely passed on.
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The blog Kung Fu Tea describes how in 1889 Sun Lutang came to Cheng with a recommendation given to him by Guo, and studied baguazhang with him for three years, then a fairly young system according to the blog. The same blog states that Cheng was shot by German soldiers as they looted Beijing in connection with the Boxer Rebellion. Further biographical details come only from Wikipedia. Both English and Chinese Wikipedia give the years 1848 to 1900 and a birthplace in Shen county, and the Chinese one adds Hebei province and the eyeglass shop that Cheng opened in Beijing. They describe his death differently: according to the English one Cheng resisted forced conscription into a labor gang, according to the Chinese one a foreign rifle hit him in the stomach as the troops of the Eight Powers entered Beijing. They also disagree on the order of Dong's students: English Wikipedia ranks Cheng fourth, Chinese third and writes that Yin Fu introduced him to Dong. Chinese Wikipedia adds that Yin Fu taught in the palace and Cheng in the city, and that after Dong's death baguazhang thus split into the Yin branch and the Cheng branch. Green, citing Kevin Menard, writes that many baguazhang and xingyiquan masters lived in this province and many became friends, above all Cheng Tinghua and Li Cunyi. According to him, the Hebei style developed from the mutual practice of the two systems.
How it differs
English Wikipedia explains the difference between the Cheng and Yin branches by Cheng's experience with shuaijiao wrestling: according to it, the Cheng school emphasizes throws, the Yin school strikes. Chinese Wikipedia describes the difference in palm shape. The Yin branch keeps the palm flat while walking, the so-called ox-tongue palm, the Cheng branch spreads all five fingers into the dragon palm. According to it, the Yin branch also has fewer palm sets. Green adds that some Cheng lineages, for example the one by Zhang Junfeng, are more straight-line, and links this to the mutual influence of xingyiquan.
Technique
A detailed description of the Cheng branch's technique we found only on English Wikipedia. According to it, the branch uses a palm called the dragon claw: the thumb wide, the second to fourth fingers slightly apart. Of the steps it names the hook and swing steps. According to the same article, each subgroup of the Cheng branch rests on eight basic palms, of which only the first three count as the oldest and as Cheng's own legacy: single palm change, double palm change and smooth stance palm. Chinese Wikipedia writes that the Cheng branch has more palm sets than the Yin branch and stresses the dragon palm. The Beijing listing on the national list, which describes baguazhang as a whole and not just the Cheng branch, states among its content sixty-four palms and weapons that are, according to the listing, long and heavy.
Training
Green gives as an example of the Cheng lineage the style taught by Zhang Junfeng, Cheng's student: eighteen exercises of mostly straight-line character. Green links this to the mutual influence of xingyiquan. The Hebei listing of baguazhang on the national list (Langfang, 2008), which concerns baguazhang in general, gives eight basic palms and mud-walking as the introductory foundation.
Today
The Beijing listing of baguazhang on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage (Xicheng district, 2011) counts Liu Jingru and Sun Zhijun among its representatives. English Wikipedia, which places them in the genealogy of this branch, states that they belong to the Cheng branch. The same listing states that in 1982 a baguazhang research society was founded at the Beijing wushu association, and that it was the first civil research society of a single style since the founding of the People's Republic of China. English Wikipedia lists the Gao, Jiang and Sun baguazhang as styles derived from the Cheng branch. Green ranks the Cheng family school among the five baguazhang schools that today seem the most popular, alongside Emei, Wudang, the Yin family school and Yin Yang.
Did you know
Chinese Wikipedia, which cites no source for it, writes that the Empress Dowager Cixi reportedly gave Cheng a plaque with an honorary inscription and enrolled his descendants among the Han Eight Banners, securing them a claim to imperial grain. The same article states that Cheng's body was taken for burial by his brother and son.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Cheng branch of baguazhang named after?
After Cheng Tinghua. Green ranks him among the five students of Dong Haichuan who took over the art in full and founded today's baguazhang schools.
How does the Cheng branch differ from the Yin branch?
According to the English Wikipedia, the Cheng branch stresses throws, the Yin branch strikes. The Chinese Wikipedia gives a different palm shape: the Cheng branch spreads the fingers into a dragon palm, the Yin branch keeps it flat.
How did Cheng Tinghua die?
According to the Kung Fu Tea blog, German soldiers shot him as they looted Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. The Wikipedias give 1900, but each describes his death differently.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.