Chen Changxing
Master of Chen family taijiquan (1771–1853) from Chenjiagou, creator of the Laojia forms and teacher of Yang Luchan, the first documented student from outside the Chen family.
Quick Facts
ChinaBiography
Chen Changxing, courtesy name Yunting, was a master of Chen family taijiquan from the village of Chenjiagou in Henan province and the teacher of Yang Luchan, founder of the Yang style. According to the Jiaozuo municipal culture bureau, he was born in 1771 and died in 1853. He belonged to the 14th generation of the Chen family and the 6th generation of taiji masters.
The Jiaozuo bureau credits him with creating the large Chen style form with a first and second road, the second of which is called Paochui, or cannon fist. English Wikipedia, citing Gaffney and Sim, states that he condensed the training of the family without weapons into two forms known as Laojia. No available source names his teacher.
His students included Yang Luchan, according to English Wikipedia the first documented student from outside the Chen family, and Chen Gengyun, whom the Jiaozuo bureau lists as his son. Chen Fake was a great-grandson of Chen Changxing. For his upright posture he received the nickname Paiwei xiansheng, Mr. Ancestral Tablet.
What exactly he taught Yang Luchan is disputed, and none of the theories is fully documented. The book by Chen Zhaopi from 1935 attributes three short texts to him, but the reviewer Graham Barlow believes that the ten main principles largely repeat an older text on xingyi. We have not found a quote with a documented origin.
Early life
According to the Jiaozuo municipal culture bureau, Chen Changxing was born in 1771 and died in 1853, and his courtesy name was Yunting. He belonged to the 14th generation of the Chen family in Chenjiagou and the 6th generation of taiji masters. English Wikipedia gives the village of Chen in Henan province as his birthplace. According to the Jiaozuo bureau, Chen Gengyun was his son, while Wikipedia lists him only as a student.
Training and teachers
No available source names the teacher of Chen Changxing. The family book Chen Family Genealogy lists him as a martial arts teacher, according to English Wikipedia, but does not describe the style. According to the text by Hong Junsheng, his great-grandson was Chen Fake, who made the Chen style famous in Beijing.
Contribution and innovations
According to the Jiaozuo bureau, he created the large Chen style form with a first and second road, the second being called Paochui, or cannon fist. English Wikipedia, citing Gaffney and Sim, states that Chen Youben and Chen Changxing simplified the earlier syllabus into the forms Yilu and Erlu, which have 74 and 44 movements. The book by Chen Zhaopi from 1935 attributes three texts to him, a short verse, a list of stance names and the ten main principles of taijiquan.
Legends and documented facts
According to English Wikipedia, there are two theories about what Chen Changxing taught Yang Luchan. According to one, it was a style taken from Jiang Fa from outside the family tradition, according to the other, adapted traditional forms of the Chen family, but neither is fully documented. The reviewer Graham Barlow claims that the ten main principles attributed to Chen Changxing largely repeat a text on xingyi attributed to Yue Fei. Mark Chen states in a reply that he does not claim authorship and that the text may have originated during the lifetime of Changxing.
Legacy
His students included Yang Luchan and Chen Gengyun, according to the Jiaozuo bureau and English Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, Yang Luchan was the first documented student from outside the Chen family and later founded the Yang style. The Jiaozuo bureau gives his nickname Paiwei xiansheng, Mr. Ancestral Tablet, which Wikipedia connects with his upright posture.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
A Chinese family of internal martial art styles with slow forms and tuishou, documented from the 17th century in Henan. Zhang Sanfeng is a legend, UNESCO 2020.
Chen Style Tai ChiMaster→A family style of taijiquan from the village of Chenjiagou, linked to Chen Wangting. It alternates slow and fast movements with explosions of force (fajin) in three frames.