People of Tai Chi

Tai Chi: 18 documented people. Also: traditional founder (1), codifier (1), grandmaster (1), master (9), notable figure (1).

Founder (4)

Chen WangtingFounder: Chen Style Tai ChiOfficer of the late Ming dynasty (1597–1664 according to Wile) from Chenjiagou in Henan, whom the Chen family and the historian Tang Hao regard as the creator of Chen-style taijiquan.Sun LutangFounder: Sun Style Tai ChiChinese master and scholar (1860–1933), founder of the Sun style of taijiquan, which combined xingyiquan, baguazhang and Hao-style taijiquan.Wu YuxiangFounder: Wu (Hao) Style Tai ChiChinese scholar from Yongnian (c. 1812–1880), student of Yang Luchan and Chen Qingping, founder of the Wu (Hao) style of taijiquan and author of texts on its theory.Yang LuchanFounder: Yang Style Tai ChiFounder of the Yang style of taijiquan (1799–1872), student of Chen Changxing and martial arts instructor of the imperial family, known as Yang Wudi.

Co-founder (1)

Wu JianquanCo-founder: Wu Style Tai ChiChinese taijiquan master of Manchu origin (1870–1942), co-founder with his father of the Wu style, who taught publicly from 1914 and founded a school and association in Shanghai.

Traditional founder (1)

Zhang SanfengLegendary Taoist master associated with Mount Wudang, to whom tradition attributes the invention of taijiquan; his existence was questioned by the researcher Stanley Henning.

Codifier (1)

Yang ChengfuCodifier: Yang Style Tai ChiChinese taijiquan master (1883–1936), grandson of Yang Luchan, who settled the now most widespread form of the Yang style and taught in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Grandmaster (1)

Chen XiaowangGrandmaster: Chen Style Tai ChiChinese master of Chen style taijiquan (born 1945), grandson of Chen Fake, founder of the World Chen Xiaowang Taijiquan Association and one of the four Buddha guardians.

Master (9)

Chang Dsu YaoChinese master of meihuaquan and taijiquan (1918–1992), a former officer who after leaving the army taught in Italy and in 1977 founded Scuola Chang in Milan.Chen ChangxingMaster 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.Chen FakeMaster of Chen family taijiquan (1887–1957), great-grandson of Chen Changxing, who taught in Beijing from 1928 and made the Chen style famous beyond Chenjiagou.Chen Pan-lingChinese engineer and Kuomintang politician, author of a 99-movement taiji form, founder of the Kaifeng Martial Arts Union and a similar society in Taiwan.Chen PeishanMaster: Chen Style Tai ChiMaster of Chen-style taijiquan, born in 1962 in Chenjiagou, who has taught in Japan since 1988 and spreads the small frame (xiaojia) with his sister Chen Peiju.Chen Qingping7th-generation master of the Chen style and 7th successor of the Zhaobao lineage, author of a small-frame form with 76 postures and teacher of Wu Yuxiang and He Zhaoyuan.Cheng Man-ch'ingChinese painter and taijiquan master (1902–1975), a student of Yang Chengfu and creator of the shortened form of the Yang style with 37 postures, which he spread in Taiwan and the USA.Huang Sheng-shyanMaster of Fujian White Crane and student of Cheng Man-ch'ing, who founded over 40 taiji schools with about 10,000 students in Singapore and Malaysia.Yang BanhouSon of Yang Luchan, creator of the compact Yang Small Frame (Xiao Jia) form and teacher of Wu Quanyou, father of Wu-style co-founder Wu Jianquan, as well as of Wang Jiaoyu.

Notable figure (1)

Donnie YenHong Kong actor and action choreographer, a student of his mother Bow-sim Mark in taijiquan, who played Ip Man in the eponymous film series from 2008 to 2019.

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